Sizzling Summer Fabric Postcards

Michele finished her post cards from last month.
The Turtle pattern above appeared in a recent issue of Quilter's Newsletter Magazine.
To see the rest of Michele's Turtles, visit her blog at Sweet Leaf Notebook.


Not wanting to waste anything, I took the curls cut out of the turtle's shells and turned them into this bouquet.

Meet Helga (or Hilda)

Helga (or Hilda) Whoever by Marilyn.

Newsletter June 2007

Several of us were fortunate to take a class with Shelly Stokes, the godmother of Paintstiks on cloth in the U.S., and all I have to say is, “Ooh, we are going to have so much fun this month!” And the time is nearly upon us…gather some nifty textures and meet us at the library on Thursday!
Katy

Recap of May Meeting (May 31, 2007)
Show and tell! Marilyn brought her prizewinning scarf for a visit, along with a delightful purple doll. Karen brought greeting cards she’d made, plus her art journal. She uses it so organize samples and experiments. Michele brought her journal too, and it was great to see all the ideas bursting out. She also had a dazzling book, The Art of Landscape Quilting by Nancy Zieman and Natalie Sewell, to show.

Several reconnaissance scouts noted that the exhibit “Fashion in Film” at the Paine Museum in Oshkosh is excellent. The exhibit runs until September 30. If you’re looking for some artistically minded fellow quilters, Teresa informed us that the Plymouth shop (The Sewing Basket) has regular art sew times. Also, Susan Stein (her work is likely familiar to anyone who’s visited Colorful Quilts in Minneapolis) will be coming to Women Who Run with Scissors.

Mary presented the evening’s program: making fabric postcards. A few notes: The Post Office defines a postcard as being no smaller than 3” by 5”, and no larger than 4” by 6”. They must be less than a quarter inch thick, and nothing can protrude from the surface or off the edge. Make sure your address is legible (a light colored, non-busy postcard back is essential). Another option is self-stick postcard labels sold in photo departments. These are perfectly sized at 4” by 6”. Mary notes that Peltex, which is double sided fusible, makes a nice firm card and machines nicely. And yes, stamps do stick to fabric just fine!

Announcements and reminders
We’ve established a challenge for 2007. We’re calling it “A Finishing Odyssey.” Whether you have one UFO, or 2001, sort through your piles and choose one to bring to the June meeting, in whatever stage of disarray it’s in! (While the challenge is to finish a UFO, we’re starting small…just pick one out for starters! We can share ideas with each other, as desired, at the meeting.
September’s meeting will be a sewing room organization roundtable, by member request. How do you keep track of your stuff? How do you make the most of your sewing time? We’ll talk and share in September.

Marilyn has a copy of Shelly Stokes’s Paintstiks book for sale. Also, if you’re looking to buy your own Paintstiks, Jerry’s Artarama is the place to go online. The cost is close to half that anywhere else. http://www.jerrysartarama.com/. Another excellent option is the company that makes Paintstiks, right here in Kimberly! Jack Richeson & Co. is located at 557 Marcella St in Kimberly, and they have a bargain room!

June Meeting (Thursday June 28, 2007) at the Menasha Public Library
Paintstiks! Here’s what to bring:

• If you have Shiva Paintstiks, bring them; otherwise we’ll share.
• A small paring knife can be helpful to get the skin off the paintstiks.
• A little trash bag and a roll of paper towels
• Stencil brushes and a cup for water
• Fabric! Dark and light are both fun. Marilyn will have FQ of black and white available for $1.50. Pieces as small as 10” square will work just fine.
• Textured surfaces such as stamps (not too complicated), rubbing tiles, paper with a variety of densities (cardstock, construction paper, box, scrapbooking, etc.)
• Stencils (anything you have on hand, or make one out of freezer paper)
• A palette: a piece of freezer or parchment paper paper taped to cardboard or plastic (shiny side up), or a piece of specialty “palette paper” if you have it
• Wear old clothes or an apron…just in case!

Don’t forget your “Finishing Odyssey” piece!

Upcoming Events
June 28, 2007: June meeting, 6:30. Paintstiks with Marilyn.
July 26, 2007: July meeting, 6:30. Couching. Katy and Karen will lead.
August 30, 2007: August meeting, 6:30. Chenilling. Gill will lead.
September 27, 2007: September meeting, 6:30. Sewing room organization roundtable

Conversations with Cloth meets the last Thursday of each month at 6:30 at the Menasha Public Library.

Member Showcase : Marylin

Marylin was the only one to actually finished a fabric post card at the May meeting (We hope to have more to display next month!). She used a silk cocoon, and Anglina, among other things.:


Marylin also shared the doll she made recently.
She calls it "Beehives are Back" :


Marylin also brought back the Thread Scarf she finished last summer :

Fashion in Film on display in Oshkosh

The Paine Art Center in Oshkosh, WI, has a wonderful new exhibit now.
On Saturday, I spent 2 hours just ooh-ing and ahh-ing at all the gorgeous costumes on display. It was $7 well spent!

Although there are many lovely pieces on display, of special interest to me were the following :

• The green dancing dress from Elizabeth (before she became Queen)
• Karen Blixen's wedding dress from Out of Africa
• The gorgeous gown from the Drew Barrymore Cinderella Story, EverAfter (I was so enanmored of this dress when that film came out, that I actually purchased the video so I could more closely study this lovely dress based on a 1500s style. It's much better in person than I ever imagined--with silk imported from India and lots of beads and pearls ... Too bad we couldn't touch them!

The company who owns the costumes, and gets commissioned to make period pieces for film is CosProp, Ltd. from London.

Now I have a new list of movies I want to see, too!

Newsletter May 2007

Thanks to Michele for writing the April notes. After reviewing the show and tell recap, I’m sorry I missed it!
Katy
Recap of April Meeting (April 26, 2007)
Mary W. went to the quilt show in Chicago, and attended a class with Esterita Austin, art quilter and maker of Misty Fuse. Mary brought in samples of a misty-fused applique which really doesn't seem to change the hand of the fabric. She also had samples of Lutrador a new fabric that is stitchable and accepts paint exceptionally well.

Joanne, Teresa and Pat enjoyed the Women Who Run with Scissors exhibit. Teresa will bring pictures to a future meeting once they are developed.

Teresa also wanted to share that The Sewing Basket in Plymouth offers Creative Art Days and Open Sew sessions on Fridays. She is also looking to purchase an industrial sewing machine--if anyone knows where to get one, please tell her!

Julie was working on a very orange beaded piece for commission. We almost needed sunglasses look at it!

After catching up with each other, we watched the Ricky Tims' Grande Finale DVD. This is an excellent program, and well worth further study/viewings! [Note from Katy: I’m happy to lend out my DVD. Marilyn is first in line.]

May Meeting (Thursday May 31, 2007) at the Menasha Public Library
Remember to please call Mary or Katy if you know you won’t make it in May. Don’t forget the new start time—6:30. Mary will lead us in making fabric postcards that you really can mail! Supplies:

• Variety of fabric scraps; two at least 4” × 6” with one plain enough for address to be written legibly
• Variety of decorative threads for hand or machine
• Any embellishment which will lay flat
• Your favorite lightweight fusible (Like Wonder Under)
• Sewing machine if you choose
• Fabric pens/markers
• Rotary cutter/fabric scissors
• Mary will supply Peltex as the base for 25¢ per card

Upcoming Events
May 31, 2007: May meeting, 6:30. Fabric Postcards; Mary will lead.
June 28, 2007: June meeting, 6:30. Paintsticks.
July 26, 2007: July meeting, 6:30. Couching. Katy and Karen will lead.
August 30, 2007: August meeting, 6:30. Chenilling. Gill will lead.

Conversations with Cloth meets the last Thursday of each month at 6:30 at the Menasha Public Library.

Newsletter April 2007

I recently had a chance to take three days of classes with Yvonne Porcella through Darting Needles. It was a bit of a change to work quickly, spontaneously, and intuitively, and I wound up with a few little pieces I just love. Sometimes something just a little out of control is a great way to spark creativity and bring some balance back into life for me. Find some time for yourself to let a bit of creativity loose!
Katy

Recap of March Meeting (March 29, 2007)
Show and tell…Karen, the “queen of dimension,” brought back her fish quilt with a few enhancements as well as another piece she’d done years earlier. It’s amazing what you can do with an otherwise ghastly necklace! Check out the photos on the blog. Karen’s preferred batting is simply tablecloth padding, found on a bolt at Joann’s.

JoAnne brought her “Bohemian Rhapsody” which was a way to burn off some creativity that was just smoldering in her pocket! It’s packed with fun cheery fabrics, plus it has sequins! A photo is on the blog. Also, she showed us some gorgeous dyed silk, which had been done by her husband’s cousin’s late wife. She had used beeswax resists and Procion dyes. Look closely at the blog photo to see a piece of the silk in JoAnne’s hair!

Katy taught her sheer window appliqué technique. The handout is posted on the blog.

Reminders and Announcements
We’ll be in the Gegan Room (long conference table) in April. Note two schedule changes: We will move back our starting time to 6:30 each month. Folks are finding it harder and harder to arrive at 6:00. Second, in April we will view the Ricky Tims DVD “Grand Finale.” This video covers tons of machine techniques for quilting, binding, and finishing. Couching, originally scheduled for April, will be in July instead. Katy will share what she knows about machine couching and Karen will offer tips on hand couching, but mostly it will be a party for everyone to share ideas and projects.

At the March meeting, we talked about attendance. It’s very helpful for the leader each month to know how many she’s expecting, especially if there are handouts. If you know you won’t be able to make it, please make a courtesy call to either Katy or the leader for that month.

April Meeting (Thursday April 26, 2007) at the Menasha Public Library
Note the new start time—6:30. Remember the library does not mind if we bring our dinners down into the meeting room. We will view the DVD “Grand Finale” by Ricky Tims. Julie will be the hostess for the night (RSVP regrets to Julie or Katy). Michele will take notes, as Katy cannot make it this month. DVD topics include:

• innovative marking techniques
• creating your own quilting designs
• managing the quilt
• machine trapunto
• bobbin quilting
• bobbin trapunto
• bindings made completely by machine

Upcoming Events
April 26, 2007: April meeting, 6:30. Movie night.
May 31, 2007: May meeting, 6:30. Fabric Postcards; Mary will lead.
June 28, 2007: June meeting, 6:30. Paintsticks.
July 26, 2007: July meeting, 6:30. Couching. Katy and Karen will lead.
August 30, 2007: August meeting, 6:30. Chenilling. Gill will lead.

Conversations with Cloth meets the last Thursday of each month at 6:30 at the Menasha Public Library.

Sheer Inset Window Applique

This information was given as a handout at the March meeting. This is my preferred method, although it requires a bit of precision.

1. You can adapt all sorts of patterns to this technique, or draw your own. Shape rules:
   Your sheer fabric must be completely encircled by appliqué fabric
   Your appliqué fabric “window frame” should be at least ½” wide.


2. Trace all pieces onto fusible. Rough cut out. Fuse to wrong side of appliqué fabric. Cut out on lines, but remember to leave “underneath” seam allowance for any pieces that overlap.


3. Cut out window carefully on the lines. You can remove the backing paper from the fusible.


4. Trace the reversed window inset onto freezer paper. Cut out slightly inside the lines.


5. Iron the reversed freezer paper template to the right side of the sheer. Use the Bohin iron shoe or a teflon press cloth to prevent melting synthetic sheers. Turn the temperature down a bit, too. Cut out leaving about ¼” seam allowance all around the template. (A little more is easier, but leave more only if you have a wider “window frame.”)


6. Layer, starting from the bottom: Parchment paper or appliqué sheet, sheer right side up (freezer paper up), appliqué window (fusible side down). Snug the freezer paper template inside the appliqué window hole. Be careful not to fuse the edges of the freezer paper into the sandwich. Fuse gently. Let cool before you peel off the parchment. You should have at least ¼” of fusible at the edges.


7. Fuse in place on your background. Finish the raw edges with stitching of your choice (inside and outside edge of window frame).

Variations
You can capture “stuff” like beads or fiber soup under the sheer.
You can make your own sheer from Angelina and capture “stuff” between layers.

If you want to construct your window from more than one piece of fabric, note the following:

• Your sheer fabric must be completely encircled by appliqué fabric, but the surrounding fabric may come from more than one piece. In this case the sheer will extend into “underneath” the seam allowance.


• One appliqué piece is chosen to be the “main” window frame. You can cut this frame “open” (like a horseshoe) UNLESS the sheer fabric is quite unstable. In this case, leave a thin rim of appliqué fabric to stabilize all around. Remember to leave an “underneath” seam allowance in any case.

JoAnne's Bohemian Rhapsody

JoAnne made this fun fast quilt to satisfy her need to be creative and to finish a project.

I love the glitz in the borders. I think it would be a great picnic blanket!

In her hair, Jo Anne is wearing a hand-dyed silk scarf. She inherited several of these scarves.

Karen's Sea-Scape 1

This is Karen's gorgeous sea-scape.



Detail of Karen's Sea Scape.

Karen says she likes to do putsy work. So many of the seaweed leaves are 3D. She also included green netting for some of the lacier seaweed. She also likes to fussy-cut the fish from a focus fabric. It is heavily quilted.