GUILD GLIMMERS

         The whirring of sewing machines, the crisp slice of rotary cutters, the soft murmuring of shared conversation — all these elements were in place for last month’s Comfort Quilt Workshop.  Some thirty women cut, stitched, sandwiched, and quilted, devoting themselves to re-stocking the coffers of “the best thing we do.”  Polly Dakin reports that we now have eleven finished quilts (even after giving away two on that Friday) and as members finish what they started we should once more have an ample supply.

            Lola DeLongoria, Laura Hamilton, and Joyce Gaudet provided a substantial luncheon of split pea soup, salad, garlic bread and brownies, all of which gave renewed strength to the seamstresses!

            Everyone took a break for a business meeting during which Lynne Atkins laid out the plans for the gala anniversary celebration (more about that elsewhere in the newsletter).  Anita Kaplan gave final reminders for the retreat, which by now is just a fond memory for those who attended!

            All in all, a day of productivity and camaraderie — how does it get better than that?

INTERMEDIATE PIECING CLASS

            Have you taken a beginning quilt class and feel ready for more?  Do blocks like log cabin, tumbling blocks, pinwheels, drunkard’s path or stars fascinate you but scare you?  Would you like to try Y-seam or partial seam construction, curved piecing, or paper piecing?

            Then begin the new year learning new skills.  The intermediate piecing class will meet on five Tuesday mornings, February 14, 20, 28, and March 7 and 21, from 9:30 until 12:30. in the Conference Room at Gualala Arts. The cost for the five sessions is $60.

             A more detailed description of the class and supply list will be available at the Comfort Quilt Workshop on January 20.  Meanwhile, if you are interested or have questions, please contact one of us.  The class will be limited to 10 students, so sign up early.

            Mary Austin, maustin@mcn.org, 785-2181

            Janet Sears, jansears@mcn.org, 785-3523

MACHINE QUILTING CLASS

            Anita Kaplan will teach a two-day class for beginners and intermediates who would like to gain confidence in their machine quilting.

            Anita will cover all aspects of machine quilting and finishing your quilt, from straight line walking foot quilting through free motion quilting.  The class includes in-the-ditch quilting, stippling, continuous curve quilting, and echo quilting as well as all related topics such as what needles/thread to use, pinning and packaging a quilt for quilting, binding, steaming and blocking, and sleeves.

            The fee is $100 for the two days.  The dates of the class are Wednesday, March 8 and Tuesday, March 14, from 9:00 a.m. till 3:00 p.m.  Call Gualala Arts at 884-1138 to sign up.  There is an eight student minimum and a 15 student maximum and the class is already half full, so act fast!  A supply list will be given out upon receipt of your check by Gualala Arts.

FEBRUARY

SAY IT WITH FLOWERS!

            Melinda Bula is anything but dull.  Her quilts, her wearable art, her “fabulous, fusible flowers” — and her personality — are color drenched and dazzling.  Her sense of humor is legendary, making her lectures and classes inspiring and just plain fun.  Her innovative approach to textiles has generated not one, but two companies of her own:  Melinda Bula Designs, and Yellow House Designs, the latter of which publishes patterns such as her Fabulous Fusible Flowers, which she will teach in Gualala.

            Melinda loves to teach, loves to design and show her wearable art, and most of her lectures include a trunk show of fashion as well as quilts.  Like most quilters, Melinda is in love with fabric, but unlike most of us, she directed that passion towards designing highly marketable fabric and wallpaper.  Her wearables and quilts have won her many prestigious awards, and she is currently working on her first book.

            Melinda Bula will speak to our guild Friday, February 17 following our social time at 12:30 and our business meeting at 1:00 p.m. at Gualala Arts.

            She will teach her workshop, “Fast Fusible Flowers” Thursday, Feburary 16 from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at Gualala Arts.  The class will feature her technique for creating beautiful flowers from fabric.  Seeing is believing, so take a look at her website if you haven’t already done so.  Three places remained in the class as this was written.  Give Janet Windsor a call if you want to attend (785-9324).

                                    Paula Osborne

Quilt Guild Meeting

February 17

12:30 p.m.

Workshop

February 16

10:00 a.m.—4:00 p.m.

GALA A GO-GO!

            March 10 is a day that shall live in history:  PPQG becomes a double digit number at last!  Our gala celebration at Gualala Arts Center combines the opening of Challenge 2006 in the Gallery, a Challenge Quilt Retrospective in the Foyer, and an exhibit of Presidents’ Quilts in the Auditorium.  You won’t want to miss this party — it’s definitely the BIG ONE!

            You’ll soon be receiving an invitation and RSVP form (with instructions) so that you can reserve a dinner table, or places at a table, by February 17.  Dinner will be expertly prepared by the Gualala Arts Culinary Club, and it will be well worth the $20 per plate — what a bargain!  Entertainment, music — even dancing — will complete the evening, and set the stage for the next ten years!

                                    Paula Osborne

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

            Since this is my last message to you as your President, I would like to tell you how much I have enjoyed my year in office.  You are a wonderful group, so talented, giving and caring.  One has only to witness the attendance at Comfort Quilt Workshops to see the level of commitment you have to the community — or remember the Hurricane Katrina Quilt Workshop to see how your involvement can expand to include those in need—or participate in this year’s fantastic workshops, speaker programs, Block of the Month and Mystery Quilt projects—or taste the yummy refreshments—or borrow a book from our fabulous library—or read the newsletter or enter the Quilt Challenge to appreciate the vitality of our Guild!  I brought my time as your president to a close with a special treat to myself.  In attending the Vichy Springs Retreat, I affirmed my pride in being part of Pacific Piecemakers.  The talent resident in our organization is phenomenal and the willingness to share expertise is the mark of confident artists and friends.  So thank you, dear friends, for allowing me to have such a lovely and memorable year!

                                    Lynne Atkins

IMPORTANT!

PLEASE NOTE!

            Someone left a pair of Gingher scissors on the stage during the Comfort Quilt workshop.  These are beautiful scissors and the owner will surely want them back!  Call Polly Dakin (884-3474) to claim them.

            If you have changed your email address, be sure to let Bonnie Toy know.  She has had to remove some members from the email list because the addresses are no longer valid.

            toyvin@amadorca.com

A PERFECT 10

            The 2006 Challenge is to create a quilt that features “ten” somewhere in the quilt.  What exactly does this mean?  You could have the number ten, or the word “ten” somewhere on the quilt, or your quilt could have ten triangles, ten fingers on a baby’s hands, ten quilt blocks, Roman numeral tens in the quilting, ten different fabrics, ten shades of red — the possibilities are limited only by your creativity.

            The show opens March 10, 2006, in conjunction with the gala tenth anniversary celebration.  There will be a reception from 5:00 to 6:00 p.m.  Entry forms are due March 1 and quilts must be delivered March 8 from 10:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m.  Minimum size is 72” perimeter; maximum size is 60” wide.  Maximum of two entries per quilter.

            Please enter only quilts made for this competition!

            For more information contact Kathye Hitt, 884-3744 or Lynne Atkins, 884-3838.

RETROSPECTIVE PLEA

            The Guild wants to display examples of all the Challenge Quilts that have been made since 1997.  So if any of you have a quilt from any of those years, or can retrieve it from its lucky owner, please contact Karel Metcalf (karel@mcn.org) and Kathye Hitt (kathitt@yahoo.com).  Include your name, phone and email, the year of the quilt, the title and the approximate size.

            Maybe the following will help you recall the Challenge Quilt series:  1997 Log Cabins; 1998 Artistic Expressions; 1999, Math; 2000 Millenium Memories; 2001 Beyond the Borders; 2002 It’s The Little Things; 2003 Something Fishy; 2005 Self Portraits.

            These quilts should also be delivered to Gualala Arts on March 8, between 9:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.

            This exhibit promises to take us all down memory lane and it will be a joy to revisit these spectacular quilts!

MEMBERSHIP NEWS

            You no longer have any excuses — if you haven’t paid your dues yet for 2006, now is the time! It’s still only $35 and you can send your checks for that amount made out to “PPQG” to me, Pam Wilson, P.O. Box 53, The Sea Ranch 95497 right now!  What could be easier?

            Change of address for Pat Cairns: 1911 Wildflower Circle, Medford, OR 97504, (541)857-6195, pcairns@charter.net.

            Margie Rosholt’s email is now mrosholt@mcn.org.

VICHY SPRINGS A WINNER!

            Thirty-two women who attended the PPQG retreat at Vichy Springs Resort will attest that the whole experience was outstanding.  The facilities were comfortable, the rooms charming, the food delicious, the trails appealing, and the mineral springs bubble-ishous!  Two plus days of sewing without making beds or meals — sheer bliss!

            The attendees presented organizer Anita Kaplan with a beautiful orchid to thank her for her efforts in making this the best retreat yet.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Sharon Albert	9
Judy Bianchi	9
Polly Dakin	9
Jolley Thomas	12
Dee Goodrich	18
Mary E. Long	22
Leslie Phillips	25