Pacific Piecemakers Quilt Guild
Bits & Pieces
August 2005 -- Volume 10, Issue 8
Jackie Gardner , Editor
www.pacificpiecemakers.org
AUGUST
Since there is no meeting in August, September's program and workshop with Cara Gulati is all the more special.
Mark your calendar for September 16th at Gualala Arts. "Threads of Imagination" is Cara's one-day workshop, exploring the ways in which fancy threads and yarns can enhance your quilting.
Cara Gulati's exuberant colors and designs enchant artists and quilters alike, and she's sure to be a hit with our guild. Don't miss Cara's lecture and workshop in September! Check our PPQG website for details and updates for September and future events.
And don't forget Art in the Redwoods this month. Hurry and buy your raffle tickets for "Earl's Quilt" pieced and appliqued by Pam Carlson, with Linda Warnock and Miriam Little-john assembling and quilting, with help from guild members. Thanks to all of you for a stunning raffle quilt!
Beginning Class Announcement
After a couple months of confusing, conflicting announcements, hereีs the scoop:
A beginning quilting class will be held starting Thursday, September 8, at 9:30am in the Conference Room at Gualala Arts and will continue for four weeks. There will be room for up to 10 people in the class. We'll cover the basics, including a trip to Rainbow Resources for a lesson on buying fabric. Anyone interested in enrolling or with questions should get in touch with Janet Sears by phone (785-3523) or email (jansears@mcn.org). Students should learn enough to be able to put together a simple quilt top by the end of the four weeks. Cost for the 4 weeks will be $40.
A workshop on sandwiching a quilt is planned for later in the fall. Mary Austin and Janet will teach the intermediate quilting class as soon as Mary recovers from her broken leg, probably soon after the first of the year. And more classes are in the planning stage. The more we learn, the more fun we can have quilting.
Membership News
New member Kathy Vedder, POB 84, Duncans Mills 95430, birthday November 9, 865-2297, email is kav@sonic.net
New information for Reva Basch is 3656 SE Rural St., Portland, OR 97202, (503)788-2668
Guild Glimmers
by Paula Osborne
If you've ever wondered what it's like to live in a two-artist household, ask Jane Sassaman. With slides that began in her hometown of Ames, Iowa, in the '70's, where she met fellow starving-artist college student and husband-to-be, Greg, she took us through the evolution of their family and growing careers as free-lancers in Chicago, revealing much more than her artistic journey. Jane gave us rare insights into a lifestyle that few could emulate. Funny, frank, fascinating, and unique - that's Jane in a nutshell. With grace and humor, she ushered us into her "Adams Family" home, complete with two wacky but charming children, and clear evidence of book-addiction, where "dining table" is not a concept. Iconoclast Jane ignored Midwestern conventions such as meal-planning, and concentrated instead on finding her artistic niche, and making it pay.
Calling herself "mildly creative but focused", Jane believes that being an artist means "being receptive all the time". She finds inspiration everywhere - in books, nature, architecture and interiors, paintings and sculpture, folk art, surface ornament, and Art Nouveau - to name but a few. Jane shared many of her favorite design-source images, as well as entertaining snippets of a different sort, among them Halloween costumes she created for her husband and their teenage son: anatomically correct, stuffed muscle-man full-body-suits (seeing is believing).
When in 1980 Jane discovered the quilts of Nancy Crow, light bulbs began popping inside her head. She had found her medium. Already captivated by textiles, she saw in quilting infinite possibilities for working with fabrics. Though she evolved self-taught from straight to curved piecing and finally applique', Jane's work reflects much the same aesthetic throughout. Her early quilts were already sophisticated in design and workmanship. Now Sassaman designs fabrics that express her characteristic clean lines, bold, clear colors, and crisp silhouettes. Quilt patterns and fabrics featuring stylized botanicals are her trademark. Do check out her most famous quilt, "Willow", named for her daughter.
Certain shapes, such as the spiral, appeal to her immensely, and recur in her quilts. A natural teacher, Jane enjoys the process of guiding students, as she did during our 2-day workshop, "Shapeshifting", to recognize and use shapes that "speak" to them. This process helps to ensure a more personal, artistic statement. Though there wasn't time to practice Jane's finely honed techniques for fully assembling our new designs, the stabilized shapes that emerged from our scissors and exacto knives were already stunning. I'm eager to see the finished products, as the works-in-progress looked more than promising. Stay tuned for some lively show-and-tell at future guild meetings!
We thought it would be nice to publish some of the wonderful comments that people left in the box at the challenge show. Here is a sample of our collective compliments:
"What a wonderful show! Keep up the good work."
"Great Show!"
"Such a wonderful show- so many dimensions. Quilting is such an old art- but this is an entirely different level of art."
"Wonderful creativity and execution. Impressive show!"
"What a wonderful show- thanks for sharing so much of yourselves! The fabrics and designs are gorgeous."
"These are wonderful works! Imaginative & creative."
"Very enjoyable and creative and an inspiration as I am a new and learning quilter. Wonderful."
And a big THANK YOU to Jeri Taylor and Anita Kaplan for putting togther a great concept for the Challenge and bringing it all together. Thanks to our docents and other volunteers that helped with hanging, food, publicity and clean-up! Next year's Challenge is right around the corner!
Library Corner
Ann Graf
This month I have been straightening and inventorying our book collection and have found many titles missing altogether.
Please remember that the Gualala Arts Library check-out system applies to our guild books as well. The white binder is (usually) by the door and has spaces for your name, phone number, title as well as what is on the spine label. Put the date you are taking the book and remember to sign it back in on return. It is important to keep track of our wonderful books.
At home, take a few minutes to look around to see if you have books needing to be returned. Newer editions should be back on the shelf as soon as possible so others can enjoy. Look for some new titles next month.
President's Message:
If All the World Were Quilters...
by Lynne Atkins
July being our birthday month, my husband Phil and I decided to treat ourselves to a little trip. As, always, whenever I travel, I want to stop by the local fabric shops - check out the wares and chat with the folks in the store. AND, as always, I am amazed at the friendliness of the interesting people I meet.
During our stay in Santa Barbara, I visited four shops in the surrounding environs. I was told that the property leasing costs were too great for most quilt shops to afford downtown Santa Barbara locations. So I climbed into the car and headed out of town.
The first shop I visited was holding a beginning quilting class in the back. I was invited to meet the instructor and the students. This was a "baby beginners" class - do you remember when you first learned to use a rotary cutter - how awkward it felt? Then on to the second shop that boasted lovely fabrics, some hand dyed by the shop's charming owner/proprietor. Shop number three was warehouse like - sorta in the style of a Joanne's Fabrics. I asked about the local guild and several ladies said they were members. Then on to the fourth and final shop - which was more of a store that sold quilted goods than a shop for quilters. The work was "country quilt" in style - place mats, lap quilts, bags and aprons. The shopkeeper was a friendly lady who proudly pointed to the place mats that she had contributed to the store's inventory.
Heading back to Santa Barbara, I had a warm comfortable feeling. I had started the day as a stranger and ended it having visited with lovely, talented people. Yes - if all the world were quilters, we would live in a very friendly place!