Thursday, November 6, 2014

Elizabeth Hartman "wow's" Westside Modern Quilters

The WestSide Modern gals were at it again. Their meeting on the 29th of October featured guest speaker, Elizabeth Hartman, who was there to talk about her new book Patchwork City which will be available shortly.

Before Elizabeth got started, the big news of the night was all the buzz over the Bridges of Portland quilts at the Quilt Expo held at the end of September. Honoring those quilts, the Port of Portland would like to display selected quilts at the airport! The following quilts were selected:

  • St. John's Bridge (by Sharon Rauch)
  • Morrison Bridge at Night (by Lisa Crnich)
  • Riveting - Steel Bridge (by Mary Kay Price)
  • Girders Look Up - Oregon City Bridge (by Susan Borger)
  • St. John's Bridge (by Carol Wilborn)
  • Arch Bridge - Oregon City Bridge (by Adrian and Key Wegner)
  • The Bridge of Life (by Janet Murdock)
  • St. John's Bridge (by Gerrie Thompson)
  • Bridge Lift - Hawthorne Bridge (by Linda Dyer)
  • Tillicum Crossing (By Virginia Hammon)
  • St. John's Belly - St. John's Bridge (by Janet Surbrook)
  • A Path to St. John's (by Carol Wilborn)
Next year's quilt theme for the Expo is under discussion. Geri is challenging the group to come up with a "Magazine in Fabric" all about Portland's Pearl District. This will be discussed further at the next meeting (on November 19) with sign-ups for various parts of the "magazine".

The display at the airport will be from November 4, 2014 through April 30! 

NEW AT THE PINE NEEDLE

New books to check out!

 The Little Spark by Carry Bloomston    A Month of Sundays by Cheryl Arkison   My Life in Fabric by Valori Wells

Geri also shared some fabulous new Alison Glass fabrics and Yarn Dyes that will be coming in after the first of the year and be available in a fun new quilt kit.


SHOW AND TELL

Kathy White's 1/2 square triangle quilt
Lily Logan's Irish Linen quilt
Kathy White shared her quilt that she made in Katie Pederson's Double Trouble Quilt Workshop at the Quilt Expo.  She said that this type of 1/2-square triangle quilt would be perfect for leftovers! (Left)

Lily Logan also showed off her very first attempt at a quilt with linen she purchased in Ireland. (Right)
       
Gerri Linardos with her challenge piece
Mallory Jarbol's Foxes
Pam Grogan's Fox quilt















Gerri Linardos showed off her 20" x 14" challenge piece featuring solids, batiks and prints (above left). Mallory Jarboe (center) and Pam Grogan (right) both showed their versions of Elizabeth Hartman's Fancy Fox pattern.

GUEST SPEAKER: ELIZABETH HARTMAN

Following up on her two previous books (Practical guide to patchwork, and Modern Patchwork), Elizabeth's latest book, Patchwork City, is about to hit the store shelves. This new book features 75 block patterns for modern quilts, 7 quilt projects and a multitude of "How-to's".


Elizabeth also brought a sampling of her wonderful quilts.  She had great advice and tips and even brought fun and playful patterns for purchase.

TIP: How to quilt on a regular machine
  • "Wear" the quilt on your body to help move it around.
  • Start from the back and pull it toward you - it is much easier to see where you are going.
  • Push your table against a wall.  This helps manage the weight of the quilt and prevents it from falling off the table.
  • Work on one quadrant at a time.
TIP: Quilting spirals
  • Use a walking foot 
  • Trace a circle in the middle and work out from their using the width of the foot
TIP: Helping with design
  • Take a picture of your design wall. It gives you a different perspective on your work.
  • Take a black and white photo. It shows you values better to help balance your piece.
  • Use gray as a background color and even incorporate it into the block. This helps make the colors "pop" (she finds that black is a bit harsh).
  • When quilting, use a thread the same color as your lightest piece.  Whiter quilting stitches look better on dark colors than darker quilting stitches on lighter colors.  The darker quilting stitches on lighter pieces detracts from the design.
Below are some examples of some of the quilts that she brought:
      

      

ANNOUNCEMENTS
Ann Johnston will be the quest speaker at the next Lake Oswego Women's Coalition luncheon.
Date: Wednesday, November 19, 2014
Time: 11:30 (Preview of quilts), Noon (lunch), 12:30 (slide show) Q&A follows.
RSVP: To Jackie (503-747-2573)
Fee: LOWC members $19 (non-members $21) cash or check.
Ann will be available to autograph her books, some will be available for purchase.

NEXT MEETING (November 19)
Join us and bring a friend! Guest speaker will be Susan Beal who will be giving us a slide show about the history of Pendleton.  She will also be signing her new book!