March 2007 Newsletter

I’ve had a little time to sew this month, and it’s a more than welcome break from the otherwise hectic pace of life. Still, my best project this month I didn’t do all that much sewing on—I sat down with a ten year old friend and we made a delightfully hideous sock monster! I was so proud of Alek learning to sew.
Katy

Recap of February Meeting (February 22, 2007)
Michele introduced us to our blog. We learned to post text and photos, and how to comment on the posts of others. Michele provided a detailed handout that illustrates and explains every step. Access our blog at conversations-in-cloth.blogspot.com. The free photo management software that Michele mentioned is called Picasa from Google (picasa.google.com).

Show and tell was fruitful this month. Julie brought fused glass samples from a class she and Katy took with Mary Jo Weidert of Wild Apple Studios, Menasha. Karen brought her elegant fish wallhanging. It features three-dimensional surface design made from fused fabric layers. Julie brought handmade paper from her visit to the Paper Discovery Center in Appleton. Sneak a peek at all of these on our blog. (Julie’s paper appears as a background in one of the fused glass photos.)

Marilyn was clearly up to no good during her time in Florida. She showed us all sorts of exotic goodies, including soy silk, a fusible iridescent film (it’s the raw material for Angelina fiber) and samples and ideas from several Florida artists. Check out Diane Smith at www.fibersmith.com, and Jennie Zipperer at embellishedcloth.com.

Reminders and Announcements
We’ll be in the Gegan Room (long conference table) in April and October. All other meetings, including the upcoming March meeting, are in the Activity Room as usual. Notice a correction to the schedule: the May meeting is the last Thursday in May (the 31st), not the 24th as erroneously printed last month.

A selection of quilts from Gee’s Bend is on exhibit at the Paine Art Center in Oshkosh through April 15th. The Paine is open from 11 to 4 Tuesday through Sunday; admission is $7. Don’t forget about the Women Who Run with Scissors Fiber Art Exhibit through April 22 at Gallery 110 North in Plymouth. Hours are 12-4 Tuesday through Saturday, and 1-4 on Sundays. Admission is free!

March Meeting (Thursday March 29, 2007) at the Menasha Public Library
Katy will teach her sheer window appliqué technique. She developed this technique while working on her Rhapsody quilt at Ricky Tims’ retreat last fall. Supply list

• Background fabric of your choice (cotton)
• Appliqué fabric—we will fuse this, so strange, weird, and wonderful fabrics are just fine.
• Sheer fabric—we will cut a hole in the appliqué fabric and insert the sheer. The background fabric will show through the sheer. You will not see any fusible, so very open fabrics like netting are acceptable, as are more traditional sheers like chiffon or organza. You can even make your own with Angelina.
• Fusible webbing—any type, bring your preferred brand
• Freezer paper (I’ll share)
• Teflon iron sheet or parchment paper (I’ll share)
• Scissors, pencil
• If you have a “Bohin Anti-Glossing Teflon Iron Shoe,” bring it (and your iron). This is the flexible type of Teflon iron cover, not the metal type. I’ll bring mine to share but a second never hurts.
• Optional: “fiber soup”, glitter, tiny beads, etc. to trap behind your sheer.
• Optional: Sewing machine and thread to match your appliqué fabric. Bring these if you wish to stitch down your appliqué at the meeting. Your learning of the technique will not be hindered if you choose not to sew.

Upcoming Events
March 29, 2007: March Meeting, 6:00. Sheer window appliqué with Katy.
April 26, 2007: April meeting, 6:00. Couching.
May 31, 2007: May meeting, 6:00. Fabric Postcards.
June 28, 2007: June meeting, 6:00. Paintsticks.

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