Westside Modern Quilt Club July 2017

Our meetings are pretty casual, and Geri seems to have a never ending cache of Oli and Lena jokes to start us off with a cheeky smile.

She also showed off some gorgeous digitally printed fabrics from P&B which we'll be restocking in September, and 100% wool dryer balls which are new to the store and perfect for fluffing up all your laundry without using dryer sheets. Geri also demonstrated that folding your quilts on the bias will help prevent creases and prolong the life of your quilts, especially when stored.

Next month (August) will be our annual pot luck party at the park, where we get to unveil our challenge quilts and turn them in for our exhibit at Northwest Quilt Expo, so of course the details are top of everyone's mind. The image below has all the important dates and information on what to submit and when. If you are submitting a quilt for our Transitions challenge, pick up an Expo catalog at the shop to fill out the entry form, or download it here. Make a copy of it before you mail it in to Expo and turn that copy in with your quilt. We'll be displaying a 14"x 20" (portrait orientation) "poster" of your inspiration quilt, block, or other image, next to your challenge quilt, so be sure to note the picture information below. Because there is no charge for this special exhibit unless you want your quilt judged, we ask that you have your poster created at COSTCO yourself and turn it in with your quilt (this simplifies coordination for us as well). Click the image to see it larger:

Business taken care of, it was on to the fun part. This month we were honored to have Annette McFarlane from our local Studio Art Quilt Associates pod bring a trunk show of 50 small art quilts for us to enjoy. These were small pieces which reflected the huge range of aesthetics and techniques employed by members of SAQA.

We're pretty confident in saying that everyone really enjoyed looking at all the pieces in the trunk show and learning the stories and techniques behind them. More than a few were inspired to go home and try some new things.

Show and Tell was lots of fun and very varied as well. 

Darlene brought a beautiful quilt that was a study in light and shadow:

She also surprised Geri with an oldie but goodie quilt she made from a Pine Needle kit designed by our dear friend and teacher, Sandi Rae.

Elisa brought two quilts. The first is a bubbly Christmas Wreath created to showcase equally exuberant long arm quilting inspired by a class with Rob Apell.

The second quilt is a vintage quilt she beautifully long arm quilted for a customer.

Virginia brought another quilt from her book on the US money system. This one is based on the African proverb that a bundle of sticks is stronger than a single stick. To reinforce the concept (and because she's runing out of time to complete the quilts before exhibiting them at Expo), she plans to have the quilt in a frame at the show so that anyone who wants can help quilt it.

Linda made this smallish quilt as a test for a king sized version she's making for her daughter as a wedding present.

Molly recently went on a knitting tour of Estonia and brought some of her purchases to share. The intricately patterned knits also inspired her to make a quilt with lots of mitten blocks, which she brought, in progress:

Diane showed us her exquisite Fire Island Hosta quilt from a Judy Neimeier pattern. You may recognize it as Dianne and quilter Kazumi Peterson won the President's award at the NW Quilt Guild show last spring. 

Debbie showed off a striking black, white, and red wall hanging of her own design...

and a black, grey, and chartreuse work in progress, hoping to get a little feedback on what direction to take it. We think she got some excellent suggestions.

Patty shared a sweet and simple grand baby quilt she's working on with a friend. The pink and gold is a little outside of her comfort zone, but we all think it's fabulous!

Janet made a super cute Elf Hat quilt, complete with ricrac in the border!

The prolific Deslie brought a box of roomy fabric bags she made to donate to Outside In. These will be great for filling with toiletries and needed items for the kids, and also uses up a bunch of fabric so Deslie can replenish her stash with new patterns.

Deslie also shared two fun quilts. We are partial to the one on the right which makes fabulous use of one of our favorite Anthology batiks.

Pat brought a quirky dimensional quilt which will be inspiration for another quilt she's been commissioned to make, based on the upcoming eclipse, and using a vintage bedcover from the Timberline Lodge on Mt Hood. We're curious to see where Pat's imagination takes her.

Remember that next month's meeting will be at Millennium Park, just down the street from The Pine Needle. If you've made one, bring your Transitions challenge quilts, the inspiration photo on poster board, and a copy of the entry form you will have already submitted to The Northwest Quilt Expo. See you then!

Seen At The Quilt Show (Part 4)

We almost forgot to share a last few quilts. There's a theme to these: trees!


"Ode To The Trees" by Sarah Sharp has none of the expected green, but sparkles in a classic blue and white color combo. It's fresh and modern, yet wholly traditional at the same time.




"De Beem (Trees)" by Lindsey Neil was part of the Best of QuiltCon exhibit and is sublime in it's simplicity. One thing that can get missed in viewing quilts like this online is the small or surprise details only seen up close, like the floral binding that perfectly finishes this lovely quilt.

"Mountain Scene" by Heather Black hits all the right design notes. Circles, triangles, and rectangles read easily as clouds, mountains, and water. Each area has it's own quilting design too. Beautiful.

It's been great fun seeing quilts from all over the country, and as always, we look forward to returning next year. Of course, we've got the Northwest Quilt Expo in September to look forward to as well, so there's always great quilt inspiration at hand!

Seen At The Quilt Show (Part 3)

Probably the best part of attending any quilt show is knowing that there will be wonderful colors, fabrics, patterns, and craftsmanship that will grab your attention and draw you in. The following are some of the beautiful quilts which simply begged us to stop and take notice.

Kristin liked the way "Annie's Birds" by Mary Reynolds showed off a special fabric. Mary had several quilts on display which used a focus fabric in the middle, flanked by strips that draw your eye inward:

"Eccentric Circles" by instructor Tonye B Phillips had it all! There's rich, sophisticated, colors; tiny bias strip appliqué, wool felt circles (don't they make an exuberant border?), and a mix of hand and machine quilting.

"Hang 10 Ombre Style" by Natalie Barnes of Beyond The Reef Patterns has a lot of visual texture. Ombre in many guises has been hot for a while and this is an exciting variation:

Pam Raby, a favorite at The Pine Needle, displayed "Crosscut Blues" in the Teacher's Tent. I hope we get to see more of this one! The limited color palette allows for a broad range of fabrics so it's really fun to look at up close:

Another familiar face, Pinecone Kristin had her quilt, "Me Plus Alison," in the Portland Modern Quilt Guild special exhibit. Kristin made this guild Row by Row challenge out of the last little bits of two fabric lines which she'd been collecting at the shop: 

One of the popular special exhibits was ab*strakt*ed featuring quilts by Maren Johnston, Patty Six, Lou Ann Smith, and Debra Blake. We particularly liked the scale and shapes in this one by Patty Six titled, "New Directions."

"Starfall" by Sally Rogers, quilted and submitted by Corni Quinlivan strikes a lovely balance between the traditional and modern aesthetics. The light but not too sweet colors are refreshing too:

In the more is more category, Sarah Fielke never disappoints. "Night Garden," seen in the Teacher's Tent, is richly scrappy. There were several floral themed quilts with twilight colored backgrounds -- a trend we can fully appreciate!

 

"Desert Bloom" by Sally Frey caught our eye for it's quirky colors and design simplicity with big impact:

And finally, "Rattled" by Tula Pink is just charming. Who knew Drunkard's Path blocks could be so cute? Tula did:

Seen At The Quilt Show (Part 2)

Of course, when we go to shows, in addition to spotting future trends, we're always looking to see what people are making with the fabrics and patterns we stock in our shop. 

We love the Australian fabrics in our shop, so we're always excited to see them in finished quilts. "Australian Clams" by Leilani Seidel organizes the fabrics (which can be a little chaotic), and ties them together with the consistence of cream colored pickle dish-style arcs in complimentary colors. 

A stunner from afar and up close.

"Aboriginal Orbs" by Christine Johnson caught our eye as well. She's chosen purple to unify her fabrics and uses a variety of traditional and "modern" batiks to coordinate with the Aussies.

A new addition to our shop is Twighlight, indigo and mud cloth inspired fabrics by Whistler Studios and Windham. We're inspired by Natalie Barnes from Beyond the Reef patterns' quilt, "Faith Hope & Love" which uses these fabrics beautifully. We've already added the pattern to our shopping list! Since the fabrics are on the heavier side, we're thinking of pillows using just four of these improvisational-looking blocks.

Finding fabrics to represent something in a quilt can be challenging. "Fresh Picked" by Hedda Wright was a beautiful reminded that when depicting something, the mere suggestion through fabric color, pattern, or shape, rather than strict pictorial adherence, is most effective. It's OK to get wild and use polka dots for grass, florals in faces, and stripes for sky as they all have the potential to make the quilt more exciting.

Check out the fun cabbage leaves in not-necessarily-cabbagy fabrics:

Customers will often ask us for help coordinating fabrics (we LOVE doing this!), and the collections are usually based around a desired color or a focus fabric. But what if a quilt were designed around a theme, and any fabric with that theme was fair game, regardless of color?! Kristin thought "Strawberry Sunday" by Marcia Aurdal was pretty fun, and an off-the-beaten-track way to coordinate a quilt. All the fabrics used have strawberries. Of course the red in the berries ties things together, but overall, it's pretty scrappy and free-spirited:

And, speaking of color, the pickle juice background color in "Morse Code" by Lynn Glidden kind of screamed "Geri would love this!" Up close, it also has the Me+You Indah batiks Kristin loves, plus a bunch of Kaffe Fasset favorites for good measure. 

Seen At The Quilt Show (Part 1)

It's been a busy week plus around here. We are blessed to get lots of visitors to our shop as quilters stop in on their way to and from the annual Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show and A Quilter's Affair classes. We're always looking for trends and listening to our customers to find out what's hot. Like last year, our Pinecone Kristin went to the show and brought back lots of ideas and inspiration to share.

Overall, the quilts were wonderfully varied, possibly leaning more towards the Modern and the innovative as opposed to strictly traditional designs. There was definitely something for everyone though.

Maybe it's just Kristin, but house themed quilts kept popping up, and what's not to like about that! Some favorites were this large version of Fierce Ladies by one of The Stitchin' Post's employees (that's a part of the iconic collection of employee quilts always displayed on the side of the store's building):

Another quilt on the side of the building was this one by Laura Simmons:

Kristin loved the whimsy of House Party Revival by Tonye B Phillips in the Teacher's Tent:

Also in the Teacher's Tent, and equally charming was Hunderwasser Takes a Walk by June Jaeger.

More bright houses on view in El Vecindario (The Neighborhood) by Hilde Morin:

Westside Modern Quilt Club - June 2017

Freshly back from four retreat sessions in Washington and Montana, Geri shared crazy country song titles in lieu of a joke. We imagine everyone who went on the retreats had a fun time riffing off the cowboy theme.

The August meeting will be at Millennium Park and we will share our challenge quilts. If you've made a challenge quilt, please download two copies of the entry form, one for Expo and one for our organizational purposes. There is no charge for your entry unless you want it judged or it needs special handling (rolled). At the July meeting we'll talk about getting posters printed at COSTCO of your inspirational quilt.

Kathy White passed on a request from the Metropolitan Patchwork Society. Ruth Ann Marquist is collecting flannel to be used in washable feminine hygiene kits for girls around the world. If you have flannel to donate please bring it to the July meeting and Kathy will collect it. Otherwise contact the MPS.

Our July Speaker was Mary Ann McCammon. She's a local art quilter who has traveled several times to Eldoret, Kenya to help the Beyond Fistula program there. 


Mary Ann spoke to us about the project last year and gave us an update which included well deserved growth in the program. A separate program pays for the fistula repair surgeries which helps many young women, and Beyond Fistula helps with after care in the form of counseling, scholarships, and job training. Mary Anne's part, Quilts for Empowerment, is part of a vocational training program sponsored by Beyond Fistula. The quilting program provides obstetric fistula survivors with an opportunity to learn a new skill, gain self-confidence and earn income by making quilts. They are refining their one of a kind product line made from African fabric and personalized with hand stitching using embroidery floss. Products include table mats, table runners, aprons, as well as ornaments and decorative quilts that often tell a woman’s personal story through her stitching and choice of fabric. 


They have recently added sturdy tote bags with a "story quilt" panel. The full time seamstresses receive a salary and enrollment in a Business and Savings Training course developed in Africa, which is culturally specific. All have the opportunity to go to school or vocational training as payment. Thank you Mary Ann for giving us insight into the lives of these young women and their efforts to overcome adversity.












Show and Tell:
This month's Show and Tell was short, but sweet.

Linda's quilt was a retirement gift for a friend. All the blocks represent things she hopes the friend will do in the next chapter of their life.

Carole brought two quilts, one made from silk ties and tailor's wool given to her by a friend. 

The second was a vintage quilt which she repaired and finished. It's old but has a very modern aesthetic.

Deslie shared a quilt she made using our Elements pattern. It's design perfectly showcased the fussy cut Alison Glass flying geese fabric. Deslie also shared a pro-tip: if your quilts are no larger than lap sized they don't take so long and you can make more of them! 

Don't miss our July meeting meeting (last Wednesday of the month at 6:00 pm): Annette McFarlane from our local Studio Art Quilts Association chapter will bring a trunk show of 50 small art quilts for us to enjoy. There will be a huge range of aesthetics and techniques to study.