Pacific
Piecemakers Quilt Guild
Bits
and Pieces
September
2001 Anita
Kaplan, Editor Volume
6 Issue 9
COLOR!
COLOR! COLOR!
12:30
p.m.
Gualala
Arts Center
Monochromatic
or complementary? Or maybe analogous? What is “value,”
anyway? Does warm work
with
cool? Is going neutral safe or just dull? Is it better to use
fewer colors – or many? Anyone who’s ever stood in
front of an array of fabrics in a quilt shop knows the confusion
and insecurity that making color choices can bring. Many of us
are so intimidated by the myriad color combinations and
possibilities that we box ourselves in to “safe”
choices, or repeat the same combinations that have worked for us
before. Yet we all know that, in quilting, color is magic. More
than pattern and design, it tells us about the quilt – and
the person who made it. No wonder color choice is daunting.
Help is
at hand! Christine Barnes will present a two-day color work-shop
September 19 and 20, from 9:30 a.m. till 3:00 p.m. The price is
$75.00, which includes the lab fee. Contact Connie Seale at
785-3545 to sign up and
get a
supply list.
At our
monthly meeting, September 21, Ms. Barnes will talk on
“Color, color, color!” Even if you can’t attend
the workshop, plan to become inspired by her friendly,
anxiety-busting approach to making color choices. We’ll meet
at
12:30
for refreshments and socializing; the meeting will begin at 1:00.
COMING
IN OCTOBER
Lura
Smith will be our Oct. guest. At our Friday, Oct. 19 meeting, she
will speak on “The Journey of An Art Quilter.” On
Saturday, Oct. 20, she will conduct a workshop on designing art
quilts. This is the opportunity for all of you to hone your
creative instincts! Contact Connie Seale for details and spaces
available.
Art-In-The-Redwoods
2001
Elaine
Anderson & Linda Cotton, AIR PPQG Booth Co-chairs:
The big
question is “How did we do?” Here are the numbers: We
received 480 items for sale and sold 60% for a
NET of
$2,457. So, THANKS to all the guild members who so
generously donated their time and talents for this fundraiser. We
had such a variety of beautiful items that there was something
for everyone.
A
VERY SPECIAL THANKS goes to the
following: Naida Mauthe and Snap Binker, Theresa and Rudi
Kohlmeister, Raine and Larry Pauter and Pat and Lyle Ditzler and
Floyd Cotton for the set-up and take-down of our booth and all
the props; Judith Jones for providing most of the props; Annie
Beckett for donating and stamping all the price tags; the pricing
crew of Pam Wilson, Pat Ditzler, Theresa Kohlmeister and Joyce
Gaudet; Reva Basch for printing signs and raffle tickets; Pat
Ditzler for donating the plastic bags used; Renata Lopez helped
arrange merchandise EARLY Saturday morning along with Pat Ditzler
and Naida Mauthe; our crew of cashiers: Pat Ditzler, Mary Jane
Sargent, Claire McPherson, Pam Wilson, Laurie Patterson, Mary
Alice Bastion, Beverly Sloane, Jeri Taylor, Theresa Kohlmeister,
Raine Pauter, Joyce Gaudet, and Marilyn Limbaugh. Thanks also to
Polly Dakin for helping with the credit card charges.
AFTER
A-I-R SALE
All
merchandise not sold at AIR or previously claimed by the donating
member will be on display at our September
meeting
for members to purchase. We still have some beautiful pieces. Any
items left after our September meeting will be returned to the
member who donated the item.
From
the Pres by Janet
Sears
The PPQG
booth at Art in the Redwoods was a huge success, thanks to the
work of so many of you. Thank you, especially, Linda, for the
fantastic job you did pulling it all together. Not only did you
do an excellent job, but you did it all cheerfully and with
enthusiasm. Thank you to everyone who made articles to sell, who
helped price goods, who assembled the booth, who displayed the
articles so invitingly and kept the booth stocked, who sold or
bought items at the booth, and who stayed to the end to repack
what was left and to disassemble the booth . Not only was the
booth a financial success, but it was wonderful advertising for
PPQG. Thanks, all.
Show and
Tell for September: It’s your turn, Tuesday quilters, to all
bring your work for show and tell on September 21. For all of you
who are not in the Tuesday group, remember that you are welcome
to bring your show and tell any time. And Wednesday group,
remember it’s your turn in October.
A Dear Friend: Doris Buck by Theresa Kohlmeister
Our
quilting community lost an active member and a dear friend last
week. Doris Buck was the perfect model for community
volunteerism. She was involved in so many organizations at The
Sea Ranch and Gualala that the comment was recently made,
“How can such a small lady create such a big hole in our
community and our hearts?” We affectionately called her
Mighty Mouse. She believed that volunteers can accomplish just
about
anything
they set out to do.
In
addition to the many activities mentioned in the ICO article, she
was an accomplished seamstress and quilter and loved to
needlepoint. She contributed to the Sick Baby Project in the Bay
Area together with Marge Thayer. They made hundreds of quilts and
comforters for sick and underweight babies of underprivileged
mothers. She also made beautiful quilts and many cute outfits for
her beloved granddaughters and grandson. As a fellow quilter and
friend of so many, Doris will be sorely missed for her community
involvement and for her friendship. All of us whose lives
she
touched are saddened for her passing and richer for having known
her. There will be a memorial service on September 16th, at the
White Barn, TSR, from 2-4 p.m. If you would like to help out
please call Sally
Skibbens,
785-2641, or Linda Cotton, 785-2233.
In
Memory of Doris Buck
Gualala
Arts is building an outdoor theater. Each of the 45 benches will
be dedicated with a bronze plaque. If you would like to send in a
contribution to Gualala Arts with a note saying you are donating
in memory of Doris Buck for the Pacific Piecemakers Quilt Guild
it will go toward the $500 cost of a bench. If our group comes up
with $500 we will have a separate bench so designated. If we
don’t get the full
amount then PPQG would be listed with other groups (Yoga, Posh
Squash, RCMS, etc.) in the dedication of a bench for Doris.
Birthday
Wishes: September
1 Lenore
Sollom
18 Zoë
Smith
21
Claire McPherson
22
Virginia Trautman
24
Christine Francis
29 Jenny
Rexon
Quilt
Stamps
The
quilt stamps have finally arrived at our local post offices! They
are called American Treasures and portray five different Amish
quilts in sheets of twenty. Be sure to get enough for your
holiday cards and letters. If the supply runs out locally, the
stamps may be purchased online from stamps.com
Member
Info
Changes
for Laura Barry: 401 Clover Springs Drive,
Cloverdale,
CA, 95425, 707-894-4040.
Email
remains the same.
For
Betty Tresidder: 2432 Horseshoe Ct., Rocklin,
CA
95765, 916/435-8678.
Email remains the same.
2002 Challenge
It’s
not too soon to start planning your 2002 Challenge quilt! The
subject: “The Nature of Things: Quilts Inspired by
the Natural
World”. Note the wording “inspired by”. This theme
is wide open. Use your imagination. Go wild! Or tame.
Literal. Or abstract. Macrocosmic. Or microcosmic. Or just cosmic. The April show dates are yet to be determined, but you know what time does...Any questions? Call Annie Beckett at 785-2156.
Recycling
Program Turns Cuffs Into Quilts from
Lands’ End
Lands’
End will hem and cuff over 2 million pairs of pants to order this
year. Which leaves us with a problem: piles of odds, ends and
scraps of perfectly good material. Once destined for the dustbin,
we’re happy to report our pant ends
have now
found good homes. Through non-profit organizations such as
Brother Regis and area churches, the donated pant ends are being
turned into quilts, sleeping bags, or other useful products for
those in need. More good news: last year, the recycling program
kept over 598,000 lbs. of scrap material out of landfills. And we
already have a leg up on doing more this year.
Newsletter
Online
Bits and
Pieces
is now online on our web site within a couple of days after the
print version is mailed — sometimes even earlier. Instead of
the print edition, would you like to receive (a) the text of the
newsletter as an email
attachment,
or (b) a pointer in email that you can click to go directly to
the current issue on the web site? If either of these ideas
appeals to you, let Reva know which you prefer — and make
sure she has your current email address.
PPQG Listserve by Reva Basch
In addition
to hosting our guild web site (www.pacificpiecemakers.org), MCN
has given us a free email list for communicating with each other.
This list should be very useful for spreading the word in a quick
and timely manner
about items
that don’t make it into Bits & Pieces — such as
class cancellations, changes in event times or locations,
additions to workshop supply lists, and other last-minute news.
As webmistress, I anticipate that I’ll use the list
occasionally to let you know about items I’ve added to the
web site, such as photos from Guild events, new class
registration forms, and so on. You can also use the list for
personal notices and requests that wouldn’t be
appropriate
for the newsletter or the web site. I hope you’ll enjoy this
new benefit of your guild membership.
Museum of
Craft & Folk Art
Shibori:
Tradition and Innovation-East to West
Aug. 8-Nov.
25, 2001, Ft. Mason Cntr., S.F., Tues-Sun 11a.m.-5 p.m.
This is an
exhibition of Japanese traditional kimonos and recent fashion
innovations in shibori that will showcase both the subtle
elegance of shibori from ancient Japan and the dramatic new uses
of shibori by contemporary artists. Shibori is a dyeing method
which has long been associated with clothing such as the kimono,
ranging from colorful natural dyes on fine silk for the upper
classes to standard indigo on cotton and hemp for the general
populace.
The San
Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles
TAKE 2:
Quilts In Two Colors, Sept.14
-Oct. 28, Tues. -Sun., 10am -5pm
110 Paseo
de San Antonio, in downtown San Jose, CA.
TAKE 2:
Quilts in Two Colors is a select sampling of quilts, both
historical and contemporary, utilizing only two colors as the
primary design element. The exhibition will include approximately
20-25 works; the majority are drawn from the Museum’s
permanent collection. The challenge of working with an
intentionally limited color palette has long held
great
appeal for artists. The spare aesthetic, it is thought, allows
for the exploration of form, value and essential lines, leading
to a necessary understanding of the importance of light in art.
Despite the stereotype of the American patchwork quilt pieced
from many brightly colored scraps, quilt makers share a desire
with artists working in other media to explore the limited use of
color and have embraced various styles of two-color quilts
throughout the years.
In the mid
19th-century, blue and white quilts fell into favor with American
quilt makers. The quilts were distinctive for their
high-contrast, graphic designs and very fine hand quilting. Now
highly collectible, the quilts were typically made with a crisp,
bright white fabric paired with a very dark indigo blue. By the
turn of the 20th century, blue and white quilts had grown more
muted and were often made from two print fabrics or an off white
with a soft gray-blue called cadet blue. During the Victorian
era, red and white was an immensely popular theme for all forms
of needlework and home decor, giving life to several intense
quilt fads such as redwork.
From the
last quarter of the 19th-century through the middle of the
20th-century, quilt makers in Amish communities worked in a
reserved, understated style, preferring simple pieced patterns
and solid colors in jewel tones that were in keeping with their
beliefs and values. Many of the quilts were made in two colors;
often two unexpected colors, that reflect a very clear design
aesthetic. Prized for their distinctive use of color and design
as well as elaborate hand quilting, classic, high-style Amish
quilts are now among the most valuable of quilts. As more artists
turn to quilt making as their preferred medium, experimentation
and evolution of the art form are inevitable. While contemporary
quilts in two colors may share their roots with historical
quilts, they also have much in common with several modern art
movements. Informed by pop culture, the concept of abstract
expression and the legacy of repeated imagery, many contemporary
quilt artists utilize both traditional and non-traditional
materials and techniques to produce innovative works of textile
art.
The Last
Word On… Chartreuse
Since one
can never have too much chartreuse, here are a couple of items
inadvertently left out of the article extolling this color in
last month’s newsletter.
•Fast
Fact: The complement of chartreuse is fuchsia (and they just
happen to be the two hardest colors to spell).
•Crayola
has “Green Yellow”; Sherwin Williams has “Festive
Green”; Ace has “Lotus Queen”.
•The
iconic Fiesta pitcher was manufactured in chartreuse during the
1950s. In 1997, the color was brought back for a limited two-year
run.
Chartreuse
Fiestaware is now considered collectible.
Don’t
be green with envy, try a little chartreuse for balance and bang!