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.

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.