Expo Excitement and More

We're less than a month away from the Northwest Quilting Expo so things are getting exciting! As the Pine Needle Quilt Shop is one of the drop off points for the quilts to be displayed at Expo our pile of entries grows daily. If you have registered a quilt to be displayed, hurry and bring it in to the shop any time before September 6th.

Check out our two workshops at the Expo as well:

This adorable Iron Caddy which is lined with heat resistant fabric so you can use it to carry your iron to classes and retreats and have your own personally ironing space as well (plus be able to pack up a still-warm iron when the day is done). Check out the Expo class listing for time and date and to sign up.

And, this sewing machine caddy organizer. The quilted pad includes handy pockets for thread snips, bobbins, marking pencils, etc. There's also a pin cushion so you always have a place to put you pins. Check out the Expo class listing for time and date and to sign up.

We had our Westside Modern Quilt Club reveal party Wednesday night. It was convivial as usual, and the quilts for our Transitions challenge are just spectacular. We can't wait for everyone else to see the exhibit at Expo. Club members were asked to reinterpret a vintage quilt (maybe a family heirloom) in a modern way. The variety both of starting points and interpretations is inspiring.

Our Fall catalog is just about ready to be mailed. We've got lots of new quilts and kits to entice our customers. Our new samples are already hanging in the shop and we're busily making kits to go with them.

Mark your calendars for Open House on September 15th and 16th! We'll have demos, our teachers will talk about their upcoming classes, and fabric designer Marcia Derse will be on hand Saturday to tell us about her fabulous new line of fabric, Treasure Hunt.

We can't wait to share a super September with everyone!

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!

Westside Modern Quilt Club March 2017

 We had a fun night in March, starting with some very silly texting for seniors jokes from Geri. 

Catching up on news, the Clark County Quilt Show is this weekend! Go check it out at the fairgrounds in Ridgefield, WA April 6—8.

The Mid-Valley Quilt Guild is having their annual show April 20—22 at the Polk County Fairgrounds in Rickreall, OR.

Don't forget about our Aboriginality Challenge: bring in your quilt, garment, bag, etc, 40" wide or less, by April 15th. We'll display the works until June 15th. We'll have a viewer's choice winner too!

We're also thinking about our Transitions challenge for the Northwest Quilting Expo in September. Check previous blog posts for details, but basically, your modern quilt (any size) inspired by a family heirloom or otherwise inspirational older quilt is due by August 15th. We'll have our usual potluck and unveiling at Millennium Park. We'll pair the quilts with a poster of their inspiration. More details to come on the poster, but be thinking about having a photo that you can print out at COSTCO.

Lilly is coordinating an exhibit of our Tribal Winds challenge quilts at the Lake Oswego Library to celebrate their remodel. If you participated in tribal Winds and have not yet gotten your email info to Lilly, please call us at the shop to get connected.

For our main presentation, our own Kristin La Flamme led us through four steps to critiquing our quilts from an art point of view. Getting beyond "like" or "don't like" when we are analyzing our use of colors, scale, composition, or perhaps even intent, can help us grow as artists and makers. We learned to first Describe, then Analyze, then Interpret, and finally (if desired) Judge. Then we broke into four groups and practiced our investigative skills with a variety of Kristin's quilts. Moving around and discussing in small groups was a great change of pace.

Show and Tell was short but sweet, and our favorite part of the evening as always.

Cathy brought her flannel pinwheels which she had originally made as a class sample, and now it will be raffled at her church to support their Mission program.

Lorie and Lilly participated in our Quilt Till You Wilt pizza party. They used the "2 For One Best Friends" pattern which cleverly lets you cut once to make two quilts. These will be donated to the NW CARES program.

Mardi shared her Farmer's Wife quilt. The blocks all have meaning to her and many reflect specific likes such as fishing. Check out our Facebook page for another photo of this beauty!

Robin's Quilt As You Go "Family Album" is so fun and unique.

Theresa brought her pretty — and seasonally appropriate, "Road to Ireland." 

Mary Fons is Coming to The Pine Needle!

Mary Fons is Coming to The Pine Needle 

September 18!

We have two exclusive and fabulous events scheduled with the energetic and highly creative Mary Fons! Sign up now as space is limited! Call us or click on the register buttons below to sign up online.

Sunday, 9:30 am to 11:30 am

The Mary Fons "Meet & Greet" is a mini trunk show, book signing, and autograph party. Also, it is the 18th of the month (sale day, so the attendees that come to this event will get the first opportunity to get the sale discount! Included in this event is a light Continental Breakfast.  $35 per person

REGISTER FOR MEET & GREET!

Sunday, 12:30 pm to 1:30 pm

Mary Fons' afternoon lecture: 10 Things I know About Quilting (and Life) NEW!

Mary is all grown up. For the past 8 years, Mary has been learning, teaching, failing/succeeding, creating video, designing fabric, recording TV shows, creating podcasts, lecturing, traveling, and of course, making quilts. She has learned a few things about making patchwork and teaching it - and she has learned about life too. Full of quilt-making tips and inspiration, this funny/touching lecture is a favorite. 

$35 per person

REGISTER FOR LECTURE!

Westside Modern Quilt Club July 2016

Despite hot weather and a potentially warm meeting room, we had a nice turnout (and with fans, a comfortable temperature). Geri let us know about upcoming classes, and new fabrics. We have a fun floral in stock by Kathy Deggendorfer who might be recognizable from her posters for the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show. We might even like the supporting fabrics better than the main floral! Geri also showed off a test copy of Quiltfolk, a magazine we hope to see soon from Michael McCormick (who spoke about his Gabby Quilts books last year).

One word for this month's joke: "Ew!"

We had our last challenge update. The reveal party will be August 31st at Millennium Park at 6:00. That means no Westside Modern meeting at The Pine Needle in August, but meet us at the park to see the quilts so many of you have been working on. Also, there will be no meeting in September as Geri and team will be working on and at the NW Quilting Expo. 

If you have a quilt for the Tribal Winds challenge, bring it on the 31st (bound and with a hanging sleeve) along with the entry form found on NW Quilting Expo's exhibit entry page. Please write "Westside Modern: Tribal Winds" in the notes section. You do not need to pay the $20 entry fee unless you wish for your quilt to also be judged as part of the larger quilt show. Please also bring a 75-ish word synopsis of the inspiration and concept for your quilt. If you can't make it to the August 31st reveal party, please turn in your quilt and paperwork to The Pine Needle before that.

On to Show and Tell, what fun!

Cathy showed off her hexagon quilt top. She's been working out a unique way to assemble her quilt without any hand sewing!

Darlene shared the cozy wool quilt she made for her brother. She quilted the feathers herself on her home machine.

Deslie showed off two lovely quilts she made from scarves she no longer wears. Simple and sublime. Of course, there was also a matching bag.

Elisa C shared the Gravity quilt she made in Pam's class. It has a gorgeous mix of computer and hand guided quilting. There will be a Gravity quilt special exhibit at Expo, so be sure to check it out.

Judith calls this her "Which Side is the Front?" quilt. One side is Storm at Sea and the other is an artful variation of the same blocks but with a somewhat different layout.

Marlene shared her Lone Star quilt with fun fabric choices. There's blueberry fabric in there which she had purchased in Maine (of course). Marlene also talked about working with her long arm quilter on choosing just the right computer-guided design, scaled to look like custom work, for the perfect mix of special and affordable.

Oops, I forgot to get the name of this lady who shared her lovely Log Cabin with a modern layout.

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. Obstetrical fistula is a medical condition resulting from difficult childbirth. Women who become pregnant at a young age or who are small statured because of poor nutrition are at higher risk for fistula, and this condition is primarily seen in Africa and South Asia. Mary Ann shared with us some of the stories of the program in Kenya and the young women helped by it. A separate program pays for the surgeries which can help many, and Beyond Fistula helps with after care in the form of counseling, scholarships, and job training. Mary Anne's part, Quilts for Empowerment, is 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. All of the quilts are one of a kind products made from African fabric and personalized with hand stitching using embroidery floss. Products include table mats, table runners, aprons, as well as decorative quilts that often tell a woman’s personal story through her stitching and choice of fabric. Mary Ann told us amusing stories of her time in Eldoret, and shared some of the stories of the young women she worked with, as well as photos of them and their charming quilts. She also brought a selection of little quilts for purchase. There will be a Fundraiser on November 20th at which guests can meet Christine Fox, the program director (and "den mother") for Beyond Fistula in Kenya. They hope to raise $12,000 for supplies through the sale of hand made quilted products and a silent auction. The Fundraiser will be held at the Wine Country Barn in Newberg, OR. 

Westside Modern Quilt Club June 2016

Our June meeting was filled with inspiration and food for thought. 

First off, Geri caught us up on details for the Tribal Winds challenge. Hopefully everyone wishing to participate is already well on their way creating their quilts! 
• The 2016 Challenge will debut at Northwest Quilting Expo in September 22-24, 2016. Please print out the entry form from the NQE website (the link is on this page) and bring it, filled out, with your quilt to our reveal party. Write in Westside Modern Quilt Club in the Special Exhibits box. The $20 entry fee is waived for our Challenge quilts. 
• Our reveal party pot luck will be at 6:00 on August 31st at Millennium Park in Lake Oswego. If your last name starts with A-L, please bring a main dish; if your name starts with M-S, please bring a salad of some sort; and if your last name starts with T-Z you may bring dessert.
• The challenge is open to anyone wishing to honor the heritage of the Northwest Native Americans in a Modern Quilt format (please avoid decidedly pictorial solutions). 
• Your piece must measure either 32"x 44" or 48"x 66" and use some amount of the Benartex fabric Sevilla in gold or gold and white. 
• It must also have a 4 inch sleeve attached to the back of the quilt for hanging, and must be bound or otherwise finished (facing, satin stitch, etc.).

As always, Show and Tell was fun!

Cathy brought her Floribunda fabric quilt. She created a design which used fat quarters as efficiently as possible. She still had a few leftover bits, so she incorporated them into a simpler, graphic, back, which she's decided she likes better, so it is now the front!

 

Kathy E brought a vintage hexagon quilt she recently purchased. She's thinking it's great inspiration for a more Modern version. The crafts(wo)manship was gorgeous.

Pat's been using up her stash fabrics. She brought a striking wall hanging made of neutral colored triangles, and a contemporary interpretation of a log cabin in a very Modern green, orange and grey scheme.

Deslie showed off her Fish Fish Fish quilt which features a lively, you guessed it, fish print batik.

Grace brought her shashiko placemats and gorgeously stitched "hexie" quilt, plus a fun bright quilt with a relatively simple design but great impact.

Jane showed two very different quilts, one with batiks and one a nearly whole cloth quilt made from a vintage tablecloth and osnaburg fabric. She did gorgeous long-arm quilting on both.

Susan brought her little sketch quilt from a Jean Wells Intuitive Piecing class, plus two more even tinier ones made from the leftovers. These little compositional studies are like potato chips -- you can't make just one!

Linda D brought the big color wheel quilt she made with a Tula Pink pattern, and her newest Billie Bag adorned with graphic crows.

Robin brought flower quilts! One was a brightly colored quilt from a Weeks Ringle pattern, which Robin quilted as if she were a bee flitting from flower to flower. It's full of charming loops and meanderings. The next is a big sunflower which she created using a Pine Needle kit purchased when she was just learning to quilt. The last was a lovely blue, white, and yellow quilt featuring flower baskets which Robin embroidered masterfully.

Geri showed off some of the new fabrics in the shop -- like a Marcia Derse alphabet panel, House of Hoppington by Portland's own Violet Craft, and especially our new batch of Australian fabrics which we've paired with the Me+You modern batiks to great effect. 

Our guest speaker was Judy Livingston, a pattern designer and former buyer with Maywood Studio and EE Schenk distributors. She gave us an insider's look at what a fabric company looks for when designing fabric lines, and what a buyer keeps in mind when purchasing for a distributor (plus Geri got to chime in from a quilt store's point of view). She talked about new colors for old designs, creating designs from artwork, the batik process, and the difference between batik, silkscreen, and digital prints. I don't think many of us realized how long the process can be, and how many choices have to be made along the way. By the time the fabric reaches your local shop, it has been carefully tailored to that shop's needs. One of Judy's favorite projects was working with Maywood's Japanese-inspired line of taupe fabrics. To celebrate the 10th year of the line, she designed a beautiful quilt using all the fabrics produced for the collection over the ten year period. 

Judy also spoke about inspiration and creativity. She gave us tips for cultivating creativity by simply finding ways to relax and percolate. Learning whether you find thinking about a creative project relaxing and can drift off to sleep letting your subconscious work at it, or find it invigorating and can use the quiet time before getting up perfect for planning an approach to a project, can help us better tap into our creative selves. As a pattern designer, Judy finds inspiration in many things. She likes to look outside of the quilt world, and often looks to nature for interesting color palettes. She showed a "dresser scarf" she made with repurposed pieces of an appliquéd vest -- which was a pretty creative use of fabrics she liked...

but that project then went on to inspire a new pattern design based on colors and Broderie perse flowers.

As always, the meeting was informative and inspirational. We look forward to next month's meeting the last Wednesday in July.