August Newsletter

I went running yesterday. No big surprise there…but the clouds rolling through on Saturday morning were unusual and breathtaking. What will inspire you this month?
Katy
Recap of July Meeting (July 27, 2006)
Show and tell was the feature event of the evening. Marilyn brought a pin she’d made with dyed silk cocoons. We liked it so much she’ll be teaching us this technique in November! She also showed the book “Casting Shadows” by Colleen Wise. Katy, Michele and Gill brought their show and tell from mess night. Gill had a hand-dyed purple fabric that discharged to a light green—very striking! Michele liked mess night so much, she and her son played some more over the weekend. They discovered that colors tend to pound out completely different from the original flower. Check out photos on our blog, conversations-in-cloth.blogspot.com.

Reminders and Announcements
The Marshfield quilt show is October 27-29. Ellen Anne Eddy and Judith Baker Montano are teaching. See www.piecemakers.org for more information. Because several of us are attending Ellen Anne Eddy’s workshops, we’ll be traveling Thursday night when we’d normally have our meeting. As a result, we’ve agreed to have no formal meeting in October. However, the library is still reserved, so we can discuss having an informal work night instead. Bring your opinions to the August meeting.

Bits and pieces to share…Ben Franklin by the mall is closing and clearing out all merchandise. Friendship Quilts in Green Bay has a huge variety of the new Kaffe Fasset fabrics; Marilyn brought her purchases and we all drooled. Marilyn is the chair for the Lakeside Quilters’ Guild show September 9-10; it’s just $4 to enter. For more information or an entry form, call Marilyn or their registration chair, Leah N---. (P.S. You can get forms for the Darting Needles show in October off their website, www.dartingneedles.com, or call Katy.)

The Bergstrom-Mahler Museum has an exhibit on “Children of Haiti” through September 9th. Local artists, including a quilter, have created portraits of Haitian orphans.

August Meeting (Thursday August 31, 2006) at the Menasha Public Library
Mary will teach us how to make thread scarves. These light, beautiful accessories are prefect for late summer and fall! Supply list:

• Spray baste (Mary likes Sulky KK 2000)
• Variety of yarn/threads or any bits of fabric; variety of weights and textures
• Dissolvable stabilizer of your choice (i.e., Fabri-Solvy by Sulky) large enough for a layer on top of finished scarf; e.g., two pieces 8”×62” for a 6”×60” scarf
• Scissors, wide masking tape, pencil, pins, ruler (24”×6” works well to lay out shape of scarf)
• 30 or 40 wt variegated thread to blend with yarn choices
• Sewing machine with free motion capabilities. OK to do with regular straight stitch, but free motion is faster
• Topstitch or embroidery needle size 12

Upcoming Events
August 31, 2006: August meeting, 6:00. Thread scarves with Mary.
September 28, 2006: September meeting, 6:00. Couching party.
October 26, 2006: TBD. No formal meeting; many are traveling to Marshfield.
November 30, 2006: November meeting, 6:00. Silk Cocoon play with Marilyn.

Conversations with Cloth meets the last Thursday of each month at 6:00 at the Menasha Public Library.