Pacific Piecemakers Quilt Guild

Bits & Pieces, August 2001, Volume 6, Issue 8

Jackie Morse, Editor

Mark Your Calendars!

September 19-20

Color Workshop with Christine Barnes 

Only a few places are left for this fabulous event, so sign up now! This Quilter’s Adventure will focus on creating pleasing color studies incorporating values, intensities and patterns. 9:30 - 3:30 Wednesday & Thursday for $75 each. Christine will also give a presentation at our meeting on Friday, September 21st.

October 19-20

Lura Smith

Lura Smith will present a not-to-be-missed two day workshop. Friday she will lecture on the “Journey of an Art Quilter”. Saturday she will conduct a unique class on designing art quilts - an opportunity to tap those creative instincts that everyone has but may not know how to access. Here is the answer!

September 17-18-19, 2002

David Walker

David Walker will be here to teach and lecture in September of next year. David is an internationally known art quilter with a lovely wit and a warm, friendly nature. We are fortunate to be hosting him. He will be teaching a three day workshop Tuesday through Thursday, September 17-19, 2002 for a cost of $150 each. The class will be limited to 15 students, and folks are already signing up. Call Connie Seale now if you are interested. On Friday, September 20th, he will present a lecture to the entire Guild. If you would like to learn more about David check out his web site at w3.one.net/~davidxix/. See his beautiful art quilts in his Personal Gallery section and read about his workshops and lecture called “Surviving Mid-Life as a Quilt Artist”. Find your 2002 calendar and mark these dates. This event will be one to remember!

Upcoming Quilt Events

Opening July 20th at the San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles is Kimono Kinship, a select sampling of traditional and contemporary kimonos as well as kimono-inspired art in multiple forms and techniques. In addition to presenting this unique garment, Kimono Kinship commemorates the 50th anniversary of the San Francisco Peace Treaty.

The 23rd Annual Marin Quilt Show will run from August 31st through September 3rd at the Marin Center, Avenue of the Flags in San Raphael.

August Birthday Wishes

Reva Basch - 1st

Pamela Wilson - 23rd

Mary Alice Bastion  - 24th

Jeanne Holmes - 24th

Member Notes

Joyce Gaudet has a new email address at k6cqe@mcn.org

Please correct Barbara Mehl’s email

 address to barba@mcn.org

Art In the Redwoods

August 18-19

by Jeri Taylor

     This is it - our once-a-year, all-out, no-holds-barred fundraiser! The Pacific Piecemakers Quilt Guild booth at Art in the Redwoods promises to be the best ever. Our members have created some truly beautiful, unique items to tempt customers with everything from pin cushions to picnic baskets! More than 300 objets d’art have been created by our quilters, so come by and feast your eyes. The centerpiece, of course, is the incredible Haiku Quilt which has been created by a number of our members and which will be raffled off during the weekend. It’s worth a visit just to see this beautiful labor of love, which will be on display at the front door to the Art Center building. Also being raffled is a Sea Ranch sheep created by Claire McCarthy.

      Those of you who are working the booth know who you are, but everyone should plan to drop by to shop and offer support, BUT: keep moving! Don’t clog the booth! If you want to chat, please do so outside the booth so that other potential buyers can have access to the wares. Remember, our efforts at the booth will be in place of our regular meeting for the month of August.

      Hours for the booth on Saturday are 10:00am to 5:00pm BUT the booth will be unofficially open at 9:30 if members want to scope out the items in advance. Some of the more remarkable pieces will go quickly, so don’t be left out!

      Hours for the booth on Sunday are 10:00am to 4:00pm. At this time the awards ceremony will take place, and the quilt and sheep raffle will be completed.

            This year there will be a brand new look to the booth because of our recently purchased canopy - we’re really going upscale! Many people have put in many hours to make this a successful effort, so be sure to bring your friends and tell them to bring their checkbooks!

Guild Glimmers

by Jackie Morse

      Our members-only picnic at the lovely home and gardens of Naida Mauthe & Snap Binker was graced by sunshine and a gentle breeze through the magnificent trees. About thirty members gathered for an afternoon of cheerful banter and a bountiful feast of exotic salad fixings and delicious desserts. Rumor persisted that the desserts had no calories... Conversation was the primary activity as bocce balls and badminton rackets lay untouched by quilter’s hands.

          We were all thoroughly entertained to hear Anita Kaplan relay her story of negotiating  arrangements for bringing David Walker here to teach next year. As a result, watch for news of an upcoming field trip to Eddie’s Quilting Bee, and be sure to ask Anita for your personal shopping card!

It’s Hard to Love Green

by Anita Kaplan

Green has been my color of preference for a long time. The importance of green in my life predates my acquaintance with quilting. My favorite dress from childhood was an Alice-in-Wonderland type pinafore, with a grass green underskirt and a green print overskirt. I loved it down to the puffy sleeves and the big bow tied in the back. As a young woman, penniless and newly married, my husband and I decided to build a dining room table. Not a simple feat for a couple of city kids who had never seen the blade side of a saw. The final product was slightly slanted but much loved - it was painted a cool, bright, shiny shade of green.

     In fact, except for green Lifesavers I can say I have never met a green thing I am not fond of. As a quilter, I am aware of the myriad shades of green, and even within my chosen color I have a favorite. My friends joke about my preference for a hot, wild, sour shade of green. I use it often and liberally in my quilts and clothing, causing some to dub it “Anita Green” (no reflection on Nita Green). To me the often-maligned color is the ultimate neutral since it brings out the best in other colors.

     With this history and my sensitized radar for my color, imagine my surprise when I recently came across a two-page spread in a home decoration magazine on, of all things, CHARTREUSE. It seems lots of other people are using green in a wide range of applications, from hotels to briefcases to cell phones. Here are some excerpts from those beautiful, flashy pages. Close your eyes and imagine-

CHARTREUSE by Sarah Lynch

Metropolitan Home, July/August 2001 Issue

     This saturated blend of yellow and green can be as phosphorescent as a firefly or take on a retro glow, depending on the application. But whether it is old-school Day-Glo or granny chic, chartreuse is ready for a comeback.

     The color got its name from a the brightly hued liqueur, which is made by Carthusian monks of the Convent of La Grande Chartreuse at Grenoble, in the French Alps. Unbelieveably all natural, it is made from a secret recipe of 130 herbs and plants - a recipe known only by three monks. It is best served chilled or on the rocks, but if the intense herbal flavor is too much to bear, try adding it to gin and vermouth for an Emerald Martini.

     “Chartreuse is a seasonless color - as fresh and crisp in spring when combined with coral as it is lush in winter when mixed with purple and fuschia,” says David Tutera, a special events creator.

     “We needed something to draw people in and up to the second floor. This color says "Beam me up, Scotty", says Anda Andrei, president of design, Ian Schrager Hotels, of their new NYC hotel, Hudson, designed by Philippe Starck. Starck chose chartreuse because it makes an instant statement but also works with the limestone exterior and brick interiors, as well as the dark woods and bronze accents in the lobby.

     In feng shui, yellow is the sun color and stands for longevity, while green is growth, family and health. Chartreuse combines those elements, making it the perfect color for a fresh, modern family room.

     “It’s a vibrant, resonating color. I’m fond of using it in objects throughout a neutral interior. It’s never about complete chartreuse ever! A chartreuse vase with pink peonies is drop-dead gorgeous!” says interior designer Todd Black.

        “I feel that a room decorated in rich textures coupled with a mature palette of chartreuse and deep, rich tomato puts an unexpected spin on the old definition of complementary colors” says David M. Plante, interior designer.