Gee's Bend Quilts at the Paine Museum

As mentioned in the newsletter, there is an exhibit of Gee's Bend quilts at the Paine Art Center in Oshkosh through April 15th. Maggi Gordon, whose husband David was responsible for bringing the large Gee's Bend quilt exhibit to Milwaukee in 2003, will speak at the Paine on Saturday March 31. Gallery talks are at Noon, 1, 2, and 3:00. Maggi will also show a selection of African-American quilts from her private collection.

Videocasts by Bonnie McCaffery

I've really been enjoying Bonnie McCaffery's blog. She offers podcast and videocast tutorials in Angelina, binding, interviews with people like Alex Anderson, reviews of Quilt Shows and exhibits ... She offers a lot of variety. Enjoy!

Bonnie McCaffery's Blog

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.

Karen's Fish

Karen brought her elegant fish wallhanging for show and tell. The border stripes are made with decorative stitching. The fish are dimensional



This is the revised version of Karen's Fish which she brought back to the March Meeting. Karen said she likes to stand back and ask, "What does it need? What's missing?" In this case, the scene was crying out for the red necklace on the left to balance the red flowers on the right. It works! (Yes, that's Karen peaking over the top!)

Glass Fusing

Julie and Katy (along with Julie's mom Sandy, sister-in-law Annette, and friend Lynnae) took a glass fusing class from Mary Jo Weidert of Wild Apple Studios. Julie's pieces are immediately below, and Katy's follow.

Join the March Classes!!

Hello from Theresa (and her son, Matthew)!!

This is a reminder that Darting Needles Quilt Guild is hosting Joen Wolfrom and the March 17, 18 and 19 classes still have open seats available. Joen Wolfrom is a well known national teacher and author. It would be wonderful to have both classes fill up completely. Be sure to keep Monday the 19 in mind as it still has 12 open seats. Monday's topic will be A Marriage of Blocks.

Women Who Run with Scissors Fiber Art Exhibit

March 2- - April 22, 2007

Gallery 110 North, Plymouth Center
Plymouth, WI 53073-0253
920-892-8409
http://www.plymoutharts.org/schedule/index.htm

Opening Reception Friday March 2
5- 8 pm
Admission is FREE!
Musical Entertainment Drea Wagner 5:30-6:30 pm

Located in the Plymouth Center, corner of Mill & North Streets.
Park at north end of adjacent lot, or accross Mill St. in the Plymouth Medical Center Lot.

February Newsletter

Conversations with Cloth February 2007

Some things just never seem to get done. Laundry, dishes, and this newsletter are tops on my list! Think of it as a “just in time” reminder of our meeting Thursday!
Katy
Recap of January Meeting (January 25, 2007)
Katy had show and tell from an uncharacteristic “finishing jag” at the DNQG retreat earlier in the month. Julie brought Grandma’s photo and her crocheted hearts to watch over us as Karen showed us how easy it is to make her crocheted bead necklaces. Check out the photos on our blog: conversations-in-cloth.blogspot.com.

Reminders and Announcements
Karen is planning to attend the Minnesota Quilt Show June 14-16 and is willing to carpool. Check out http://www.mnquilt.org/mq2007/index.htm for more on the show.

Thank you to everyone who renewed their membership. The 2007 member list is included in this newsletter. Please verify your information and bring corrections to the February meeting. If you’re not on the list, this will be your last newsletter unless you renew. You can bring your dues ($10) to the February meeting or just mail them to Katy.

FYI, the library has lots of “stuff” available for us to use during meetings, including a VCR and TV, an opaque projector, an overhead projector, a DVD/VHS projector, an LCD projector, a slide projector, a projection screen, easels, a piano, coffee urns, a lectern, a portable sound system, and a telephone.

February Meeting (Thursday February 22, 2007) at the Menasha Public Library
Michele will teach us the basics of blogging, and even if you don’t want to blog yourself, she’ll show us how to visit our blog and post to it.

Don’t forget show and tell! We still need programs for the back half of 2007, but check out the lineup we have for the first half of the year below!

Upcoming Events
February 22, 2007: February meeting, 6:00. Computer literacy with Michele.
March 29, 2007: March Meeting, 6:00. Sheer window appliqué with Katy.
April 26, 2007: April meeting, 6:00. Couching.
May 24, 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

Crocheted Yarn & Bead Necklace

At the January 2007 meeting, Karen M. showed us how to make these necklaces.




All evening, Karen kept saying that anyone can make these necklaces. You don't need to be an expert at crochet.

Ingredients :

• Crochet thread, monofilament line, 28 gauge wire, yarn or other stringing medium on which your beads, buttons and charms can be strung.
• Assorted beads, buttons and charms (pre-stringing is recommended)
• At least two different, three (3) yard pieces of “fancy” yarn. Eyelash works well for one of them.
• Crochet hook (s) appropriate to work with your stinging medium. (Karen will bring extras for those who do not have one)

In brief, here are the instructions (from Michele's notes):
1) String your beads. Take more thread or yarn than you think you'll need as the crocheting takes up more yarn than you'd think ...
2) Make a slip knot in your stringing medium and begin crocheting 4-5 inches of single crochet stitches.
3) Pull up a bead (already on the line) and crochet around it to hold it in place. Single crochet another few stitches and pull up another bead. Crochet around it to hold it in place. Repeat until you get to the end of your beads.
4) Cut the line and tie off the last crochet. Set aside.
5) Stretch out 2-3 yarns that are 2x as long as your crocheted bead string.
6) Fold the yarns in 1/2 and loop them together. At the center point, atttch to one end of your crocheted bead string. Use a safety pin to anchor your line and braid the yarns with the bead string, showcasing the beads and charms. (Remembering how to braid was the hardest part!)
7) Tie off at the end.
8) Attach a button for a clasp at one end. Create a loop at the other end, big enough for the button to pass through.
9) Fluff the yarns if using eyelash yarn.
VIOLA!

Tips from Karen :
* Use a button (shank type works well) as a clasp. This allows the wearer to double the necklace up as a choker.
* This is also a great way to recycle old jewelery.

Beyond neckwear, this has great potential for seaweed, garland, or any other number of embellishments.
--Posted by Michele

Conversations with Cloth January 2007

Happy New Year! We’re having our “White Elephant” Party on January 14th at 6:00 at Good Company (it’s a Sunday). Be sure to call Julie to RSVP if she hasn’t already talked with you!
Katy

Recap of November Meeting (November 30, 2006)
We met exuberantly with lots and lots of show and tell stored up from the last few months. Karen showed us her crocheted wire and bead necklace as well as a crocheted funky yarn and bead necklace that will be our January project! Marilyn showed us what “Paintstiks” can do, and we think this will make a good program this summer. Marilyn also had her jangly bead “hunting” bracelet to show, and Michele showed us her awesome completed thread scarf. She also showed us some jack o’ lantern wall quilts she’d whipped up with reverse appliqué and Soft Scrub discharge. Her “bubble boy” pictorial quilt of her son came for a visit…it’s quilted! Katy brought her work in progress from the Ellen Anne Eddy workshop she attended in October, as well as some pictures from her Ricky Tims quilt retreat in Colorado at the end of September. The silk waste “bits” she showed are called Bella Nonna petals, available at www.bellanonnaquilt.com.

Marilyn showed us how to make beautiful and EASY flower pins from silk cocoons. Michele offered some reminders on our blog—you can post to it by “invitation only,” so if you’ve lost Michele’s initial invitation email, contact her for another invite. To just read the blog, go to conversations-in-cloth.blogspot.com (yes, there’s no “www”). I post the newsletters there every month, sanitized to remove last names and contact information since it is publicly viewable.

Reminders and Announcements
We’re having our holiday party a bit late…join us Sunday January 14th at 6:00 at Good Company for dinner, laughs, and of course, our white elephant gift exchange. Bring a small wrapped gift (the funnier the better!). Preferably, this is something you find in your basement, but if you must shop, the limit is $5. The focus is more on GIVING a laugh than GETTING a gift! Please RSVP to Julie by Friday January 12th so she can reserve us a table.

Please remember to renew your membership for 2007 if you haven’t already ($10 covers newsletter mailing and a donation to the library in appreciation of providing meeting space). Katy can accept your dues at the party or the January meeting.

January Meeting (Thursday January 25, 2007) at the Menasha Public Library
Karen will teach us how to make her crocheted yarn and bead necklace. She assures me that this is “the easiest crochet stitch there is” and it’s appropriate for even a total novice. Supply list:

• Crochet thread, monofilament line, 28 gauge wire, yarn or other stringing medium on which your beads, buttons and charms can be strung.
• Assorted beads, buttons and charms (prestringing is recommended)
• At least two different, three (3) yard pieces of “fancy” yarn. Eyelash works well for one of them.
• Crochet hook (s) appropriate to work with your stinging medium. (Karen will bring extras for those who do not have one)

Please also bring your show and tell and your ideas for programs for 2007.

Upcoming Events
January 14, 2007: Dinner and White Elephant at Good Company, 6:00
January 25, 2007: January meeting, 6:00. Necklaces with Karen.
February 22, 2007: February meeting, 6:00. TBD.

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