Pacific Piecemakers Quilt Guild

Bits & Pieces

October 2002 -- Volume 7, Issue 10

Jackie Morse, Editor

Comfort Quilt Workshop

October 11th, 9:30- 3:30, Gualala Arts Center

This is a change of date to the second Friday!

    We all join together and provide those who are needy with comfort from our own hands. This project is much appreciated by recipients of all ages and gives us a chance to be useful in the community. The sheriff’s department and individuals have written us moving letters of appreciation. Let’s show our stuff and continue to create and donate quilts.

      If you cannot spend the day please come for any amount of time you can spare. Often members work on a quilt together. You can help with cutting pieces, choosing fabrics, or finishing touches. There are always projects in varying stages of completion so you do not need an original idea. We do plenty of schmoozing while we work and it is lots of fun.

      Bring your sewing machine (or work with someone who brings one), cutting tools, and lunch. Bring fabric if you like but there is great fabric in the fanny basket. For a very special treat the Princess Mira Company has provided some gorgeous batiks for our use in comfort quilts. The guild provides batting.

Quilter’s Flea Market Bonus!

      In addition to the comfort quilt workshop, there will be a Quilter’s Flea Market. Everyone is invited to bring no-longer-loved fabrics from your own stash, and/or notions that you might have in excess to sell. Just pin a tag on each piece of fabric and each item you would like to sell with your name, the size of the fabric, and the price. Bring a shoe box to use as your cash box. It would be helpful to have some singles and some change in your shoebox. The Flea Market will be run on the honor system.

      We will set up tables in the auditorium as an ongoing event during the day. Each person will have a space of your own to display your fabrics and notions for sale. Those who have nothing to sell (and those who do) bring cash or checks! There will be many treasures at good prices out there. You will find interesting items to fit your needs. If you have any questions call Anita at 785-3671.

Program Preview

    November’s program, “Thirty-Five Years of Great American Quilts” will be given by Julie Silber of the Quilt Complex. Julie is a nationally known lecturer, author, consultant and curator. For more than thirty years, she has been teaching and lecturing on quilts for quilt guilds and community groups, at seminars, exhibitions, museums and universities. Julie is the author of award-winning books including “Hearts and Hands: The Influence of Women and Quilts on American Society”, and “AMISH: The Art of the Quilt”.

      Invite your friends and mark your calendars for November 15th. This is another “don’t miss” program brought to you by Pacific Piecemakers.

New Members

Sue Horn-Caskey - 743 Longridge Road, Oakland 94610, 785-2078 or 510-465-0211, birthday May 12th, email shcandcfc@aol.com

Linda Brodie - PO Box 1369, Gualala 95445, 884-9021, birthday May 11th, email lindabr@mcn.org

Ellen Anderson - PO Box 15, Caspar 95420, 964-0897, birthday January 1st, email Faylee@bigvalley.net

Change of Address

Jackie Morse is now at PO Box 403, The Sea Ranch 95497, new phone 785-1039, email remains the same.

October Birthdays

        Janet Sears 2nd

        Iris Lorenz-Fife 16th

        Mirian Littlejohn 21st

        Elizabeth Beckett 29th

Husbands of Traveling Quilters Beware-

Quilting Stores are Everywhere!

by Paula Osborne

    Ever heard of Grangeville, Idaho, or Seeley Lake, Montana? How about Thermopolis, Wyoming?  During a recent three-week circuit of the west, I found quilting stores where I never dreamed I’d encounter any.

        Across the northern tier of states, colorful flannels took center stage. In Bend, Oregon I found 18th and 19th century reproduction fabrics. At Seeley Lake I encountered the latest trick of layered-fabric-stitchery: faux chenille.

        However remote, these shops attract quilters “from all over,” say their owners, and help their towns become regional destinations; which proves yet again that quilting˜and quilters˜are good for the economy. So when you travel, dont forget to take an empty duffel bag!

Beginning Piecing Class        

by Anita Kaplan

      There was lots of energy and excitement in the conference room at Gualala Arts as seven new quilters-to-be embarked on the piecing journey Wednesday, September 25th. We spent three hours learning the basics from how to use a rotary cutter, mat and ruler to strip piecing. It was challenging and fun and culminated in the creation of a Nine Patch block. Homework was assigned (Double Ninepatch) and all will meet again next week to continue adding more skills and blocks to each woman's repertoire. Students include Sharon Albert, Linda Brodie, Linda Hoff-land, Mary Hunter, Dansie Little, Pat Peterson, and Ann Prentice. Welcome to the quilting community!

Upcoming Class

      Interlocking Circles, our class scheduled for January, will be taught by Judy Bianchi. Judy is a much sought after teacher from Fabrications in Healdsburg. In this fun and enlightening class, she will emphasize curved piecing and making color values work for you. You will create a quilt top about 24” x 30” using Judy’s quick and exciting techniques. Learn something new guided by an expert. The fee for this one day workshop on Thursday, January 16th is $25. Send a check to “Connie Seale, FBO PPQG” to sign up, or sign up at the next meeting.

Got Extra Storage Space?

      The canopies and tent poles that belong to PPQG for the Art in the Redwoods booth need to be stored in a new location. The poles are 10 feet in length, and there are about 20 of them, plus the canopies, which are neatly folded into squares and housed in plastic storage bags.

          If you have extra space and are willing to provide long term housing for this gear, please call Paula Osborne to coordinate.

Thank You Quilting Friends

I would like to thank all who contributed to the "Hanging by a Thread" bucket. I am so pleased that I won it and can't wait to try out all the new delicious colors and threads. Thank you most sincerely.               Anita Kaplan

Guild Glimmers

by Annie Beckett, Unstudent

As both artist and teacher, David Walker works small and impacts big. A creator of abstract narrative art in the medium of the quilt, David is also an innovative teacher (make that unteacher), whose focus is freeing the creator within each learner.  Our days with David began with meditation to music, inspirational readings, discussion and biographical videos on artist James Hubble and writer May Sarton.

      The reflective period gave way in late morning to work that created a riotous chaos of fabric activity and machine noise as seventeen quilters, urged to work intuitively, dove headlong into David's techniques of reverse applique background building while he roamed the room, making himself available for consultation. At one point, by way of instruction, David gathered us to simply watch while he made a small quilt from start to finish over the course of a Mozart piece. He finished the last stitch precisely as the last note faded away, a virtuoso performance a deux!

      When the dust of our creative mele cleared, design boards around the Art Center's upstairs classroom exhibited colorful and lyric small works, up to four, even five per quilter. David complimented the group as being the best he'd ever had at comprehending and executing his concept and technique. Were we proud?!

      David's goal for his three day workshop was that his students (make that unstudents), finish the class knowing less than they did when they began. He both made and missed it. Thanks to David we now know less about how we're "supposed" to create art. But we know more about ourselves, how it feels to let go and let the process take over, how not knowing consciously, intellectually, allows deeper, unconscious knowing to guide our creative effort. And, happily, we know much more about the inspiring and dear unteacher we had the privilege of journeying with for three days.