Pacific Piecemakers Quilt Guild

Bits and Pieces

September 2001 Anita Kaplan, Editor Volume 6 Issue 9

COLOR! COLOR! COLOR!

12:30 p.m.

Gualala Arts Center

Monochromatic or complementary? Or maybe analogous? What is “value,” anyway? Does warm work

with cool? Is going neutral safe or just dull? Is it better to use fewer colors – or many? Anyone who’s ever stood in front of an array of fabrics in a quilt shop knows the confusion and insecurity that making color choices can bring. Many of us are so intimidated by the myriad color combinations and possibilities that we box ourselves in to “safe” choices, or repeat the same combinations that have worked for us before. Yet we all know that, in quilting, color is magic. More than pattern and design, it tells us about the quilt – and the person who made it. No wonder color choice is daunting.

Help is at hand! Christine Barnes will present a two-day color work-shop September 19 and 20, from 9:30 a.m. till 3:00 p.m. The price is $75.00, which includes the lab fee. Contact Connie Seale at 785-3545 to sign up and

get a supply list.

At our monthly meeting, September 21, Ms. Barnes will talk on “Color, color, color!” Even if you can’t attend the workshop, plan to become inspired by her friendly, anxiety-busting approach to making color choices. We’ll meet at

12:30 for refreshments and socializing; the meeting will begin at 1:00.

COMING IN OCTOBER

Lura Smith will be our Oct. guest. At our Friday, Oct. 19 meeting, she will speak on “The Journey of An Art Quilter.” On Saturday, Oct. 20, she will conduct a workshop on designing art quilts. This is the opportunity for all of you to hone your creative instincts! Contact Connie Seale for details and spaces available.

Art-In-The-Redwoods 2001

Elaine Anderson & Linda Cotton, AIR PPQG Booth Co-chairs:

The big question is “How did we do?” Here are the numbers: We received 480 items for sale and sold 60% for a

NET of $2,457. So, THANKS to all the guild members who so generously donated their time and talents for this fundraiser. We had such a variety of beautiful items that there was something for everyone.

A VERY SPECIAL THANKS goes to the following: Naida Mauthe and Snap Binker, Theresa and Rudi Kohlmeister, Raine and Larry Pauter and Pat and Lyle Ditzler and Floyd Cotton for the set-up and take-down of our booth and all the props; Judith Jones for providing most of the props; Annie Beckett for donating and stamping all the price tags; the pricing crew of Pam Wilson, Pat Ditzler, Theresa Kohlmeister and Joyce Gaudet; Reva Basch for printing signs and raffle tickets; Pat Ditzler for donating the plastic bags used; Renata Lopez helped arrange merchandise EARLY Saturday morning along with Pat Ditzler and Naida Mauthe; our crew of cashiers: Pat Ditzler, Mary Jane Sargent, Claire McPherson, Pam Wilson, Laurie Patterson, Mary Alice Bastion, Beverly Sloane, Jeri Taylor, Theresa Kohlmeister, Raine Pauter, Joyce Gaudet, and Marilyn Limbaugh. Thanks also to Polly Dakin for helping with the credit card charges.

AFTER A-I-R SALE

All merchandise not sold at AIR or previously claimed by the donating member will be on display at our September

meeting for members to purchase. We still have some beautiful pieces. Any items left after our September meeting will be returned to the member who donated the item.

From the Pres by Janet Sears

The PPQG booth at Art in the Redwoods was a huge success, thanks to the work of so many of you. Thank you, especially, Linda, for the fantastic job you did pulling it all together. Not only did you do an excellent job, but you did it all cheerfully and with enthusiasm. Thank you to everyone who made articles to sell, who helped price goods, who assembled the booth, who displayed the articles so invitingly and kept the booth stocked, who sold or bought items at the booth, and who stayed to the end to repack what was left and to disassemble the booth . Not only was the booth a financial success, but it was wonderful advertising for PPQG. Thanks, all.

Show and Tell for September: It’s your turn, Tuesday quilters, to all bring your work for show and tell on September 21. For all of you who are not in the Tuesday group, remember that you are welcome to bring your show and tell any time. And Wednesday group, remember it’s your turn in October.

A Dear Friend: Doris Buck by Theresa Kohlmeister

Our quilting community lost an active member and a dear friend last week. Doris Buck was the perfect model for community volunteerism. She was involved in so many organizations at The Sea Ranch and Gualala that the comment was recently made, “How can such a small lady create such a big hole in our community and our hearts?” We affectionately called her Mighty Mouse. She believed that volunteers can accomplish just about

anything they set out to do.

In addition to the many activities mentioned in the ICO article, she was an accomplished seamstress and quilter and loved to needlepoint. She contributed to the Sick Baby Project in the Bay Area together with Marge Thayer. They made hundreds of quilts and comforters for sick and underweight babies of underprivileged mothers. She also made beautiful quilts and many cute outfits for her beloved granddaughters and grandson. As a fellow quilter and friend of so many, Doris will be sorely missed for her community involvement and for her friendship. All of us whose lives

she touched are saddened for her passing and richer for having known her. There will be a memorial service on September 16th, at the White Barn, TSR, from 2-4 p.m. If you would like to help out please call Sally

Skibbens, 785-2641, or Linda Cotton, 785-2233.

In Memory of Doris Buck

Gualala Arts is building an outdoor theater. Each of the 45 benches will be dedicated with a bronze plaque. If you would like to send in a contribution to Gualala Arts with a note saying you are donating in memory of Doris Buck for the Pacific Piecemakers Quilt Guild it will go toward the $500 cost of a bench. If our group comes up with $500 we will have a separate bench so designated. If we don’t  get the full amount then PPQG would be listed with other groups (Yoga, Posh Squash, RCMS, etc.) in the dedication of a bench for Doris.

Birthday Wishes: September

1 Lenore Sollom

18 Zoë Smith

21 Claire McPherson

22 Virginia Trautman

24 Christine Francis

29 Jenny Rexon

Quilt Stamps

The quilt stamps have finally arrived at our local post offices! They are called American Treasures and portray five different Amish quilts in sheets of twenty. Be sure to get enough for your holiday cards and letters. If the supply runs out locally, the stamps may be purchased online from stamps.com

Member Info

Changes for Laura Barry: 401 Clover Springs Drive,

Cloverdale, CA, 95425, 707-894-4040.

Email remains the same.

For Betty Tresidder: 2432 Horseshoe Ct., Rocklin,

CA 95765, 916/435-8678.

Email remains the same.

2002 Challenge

It’s not too soon to start planning your 2002 Challenge quilt! The subject: “The Nature of Things: Quilts Inspired by

the Natural World”. Note the wording “inspired by”. This theme is wide open. Use your imagination. Go wild! Or tame.

Literal. Or abstract. Macrocosmic. Or microcosmic. Or just cosmic. The April show dates are yet to be determined, but you know what time does...Any questions? Call Annie Beckett at 785-2156.

Recycling Program Turns Cuffs Into Quilts from Lands’ End

Lands’ End will hem and cuff over 2 million pairs of pants to order this year. Which leaves us with a problem: piles of odds, ends and scraps of perfectly good material. Once destined for the dustbin, we’re happy to report our pant ends

have now found good homes. Through non-profit organizations such as Brother Regis and area churches, the donated pant ends are being turned into quilts, sleeping bags, or other useful products for those in need. More good news: last year, the recycling program kept over 598,000 lbs. of scrap material out of landfills. And we already have a leg up on doing more this year.

Newsletter Online

Bits and Pieces is now online on our web site within a couple of days after the print version is mailed — sometimes even earlier. Instead of the print edition, would you like to receive  (a) the text of the newsletter as an email

attachment, or (b) a pointer in email that you can click to go directly to the current issue on the web site? If either of these ideas appeals to you, let Reva know which you prefer — and make sure she has your current email address.

PPQG Listserve by Reva Basch

In addition to hosting our guild web site (www.pacificpiecemakers.org), MCN has given us a free email list for communicating with each other. This list should be very useful for spreading the word in a quick and timely manner

about items that don’t make it into Bits & Pieces — such as class cancellations, changes in event times or locations, additions to workshop supply lists, and other last-minute news. As webmistress, I anticipate that I’ll use the list occasionally to let you know about items I’ve added to the web site, such as photos from Guild events, new class registration forms, and so on. You can also use the list for personal notices and requests that wouldn’t be

appropriate for the newsletter or the web site. I hope you’ll enjoy this new benefit of your guild membership.

Museum of Craft & Folk Art

Shibori: Tradition and Innovation-East to West

Aug. 8-Nov. 25, 2001, Ft. Mason Cntr., S.F., Tues-Sun 11a.m.-5 p.m.

This is an exhibition of Japanese traditional kimonos and recent fashion innovations in shibori that will showcase both the subtle elegance of shibori from ancient Japan and the dramatic new uses of shibori by contemporary artists. Shibori is a dyeing method which has long been associated with clothing such as the kimono, ranging from colorful natural dyes on fine silk for the upper classes to standard indigo on cotton and hemp for the general populace.

The San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles

TAKE 2: Quilts In Two Colors, Sept.14 -Oct. 28, Tues. -Sun., 10am -5pm

110 Paseo de San Antonio, in downtown San Jose, CA.

TAKE 2: Quilts in Two Colors is a select sampling of quilts, both historical and contemporary, utilizing only two colors as the primary design element. The exhibition will include approximately 20-25 works; the majority are drawn from the Museum’s permanent collection. The challenge of working with an intentionally limited color palette has long held

great appeal for artists. The spare aesthetic, it is thought, allows for the exploration of form, value and essential lines, leading to a necessary understanding of the importance of light in art. Despite the stereotype of the American patchwork quilt pieced from many brightly colored scraps, quilt makers share a desire with artists working in other media to explore the limited use of color and have embraced various styles of two-color quilts throughout the years.

In the mid 19th-century, blue and white quilts fell into favor with American quilt makers. The quilts were distinctive for their high-contrast, graphic designs and very fine hand quilting. Now highly collectible, the quilts were typically made with a crisp, bright white fabric paired with a very dark indigo blue. By the turn of the 20th century, blue and white quilts had grown more muted and were often made from two print fabrics or an off white with a soft gray-blue called cadet blue. During the Victorian era, red and white was an immensely popular theme for all forms of needlework and home decor, giving life to several intense quilt fads such as redwork.

From the last quarter of the 19th-century through the middle of the 20th-century, quilt makers in Amish communities worked in a reserved, understated style, preferring simple pieced patterns and solid colors in jewel tones that were in keeping with their beliefs and values. Many of the quilts were made in two colors; often two unexpected colors, that reflect a very clear design aesthetic. Prized for their distinctive use of color and design as well as elaborate hand quilting, classic, high-style Amish quilts are now among the most valuable of quilts. As more artists turn to quilt making as their preferred medium, experimentation and evolution of the art form are inevitable. While contemporary quilts in two colors may share their roots with historical quilts, they also have much in common with several modern art movements. Informed by pop culture, the concept of abstract expression and the legacy of repeated imagery, many contemporary quilt artists utilize both traditional and non-traditional materials and techniques to produce innovative works of textile art.

The Last Word On… Chartreuse

Since one can never have too much chartreuse, here are a couple of items inadvertently left out of the article extolling this color in last month’s newsletter.

•Fast Fact: The complement of chartreuse is fuchsia (and they just happen to be the two hardest colors to spell).

•Crayola has “Green Yellow”; Sherwin Williams has “Festive Green”; Ace has “Lotus Queen”.

•The iconic Fiesta pitcher was manufactured in chartreuse during the 1950s. In 1997, the color was brought back for a limited two-year run.

Chartreuse Fiestaware is now considered collectible.

Don’t be green with envy, try a little chartreuse for balance and bang!