august 09 meeting

show and tell
Sarah is opening her designer fabric store in Magnolia on or before October 1. So far she has 300 bolts of fabric stored in her basement. Her store will also include patterns for home decorator and fashion projects, as well as appliques. (The store will be open Tue-Sat, with classes on Mon and one evening a week.)

She has started a bag made out of some of her new fabric as a sample for the store. With a pieced exterior and a quilted lining, the bag pattern is called Manhattan.

Sarah told us about Carol in Edmonds who is living on the roof of her store, Fabric of Life, until she raises a million dollars. It looks like Sarah will feature batik fabric from Carol's store in her Magnolia store. (see www.upontheroofwithcarol.org).

Flora loves a hand-me-down Bernina bag she got from Maurine. It is being put to good use carrying a needlepoint project she is finishing for a friend.

Inspired by a photo of Seattle she saw at work, Flora is embarking on an ambitious quilting project trying to emulate the image. She has a printout of the photo from a color laser printer and a big plotter. It will be exciting to see how her project proceeds—especially using her new design wall.

Shannon has tendonitis and is wearing a medical boot on one foot. Although she did not bring a quilting project, she has been working on embroidery projects at work. Recently Shannon bought Lorraine Torrance's book: Fearless Design For Every Quilter.

Janet just signed up for a design lecture series, Elements of Design, at Gage Academy of Art. This will help her become more confident in designing her own quilts. She has started on a YF quilt using a pattern called Spin City. Although the pattern shows pastel fabrics, she is using darker colors including fabrics from men's shirts.

Miriam has been making squares with three triangles that are a fun puzzle for her. She also made a wonderful baby quilt, following the nine-patch pattern that Maurine shared with us. Maurine took it home to label before delivering the quilt to Susan Dittig for Plymouth's baby closet.

Maurine attended a three-day quilting conference last week in Lynnwood. The leaders of the group visited Carol's store in Edmonds and spent $1,000. Then they raised another $1000 for Carol's cause by circulating two grocery bags around the room of 500 people.

Earlier this week Maurine was filmed for a community collaboration video. She talked about a quilt she is making with a series of squares Piece Makers produced three years ago with satin-stitching applique. Her story included the recipients—companions at Plymouth Healing Communities.

Maurine's daughter Elin will be featured in a show in Coupeville on Whitbey Island this Fall. The show, at Penn Cove Pottery, opens on October 10, from 10 am to 2 pm, and ends on November 28. The quilts in the show are all made with Elin's hand-dyed fabrics. Let's carpool up to Whitbey to see the show and Elin at the opening!

Harriet is still making little chairs. The newest is eskimo-like with its ruff of white fake fur. This one, made with cardboard, is for dolls or teddy bears. If she makes one with deeper seat out of plywood, a little one could sit on it.

Linda has recently moved into a new condo. She showed us a prototype bag for a project she is working on with homeless women. The next iteration will be made with less pieces, to better match the attention span of her target group. She also displayed a quilt top made for a youth at the New Beginnings shelter.

Deanna, a guest from Portland who is a childhood friend of Shannon, joined us. She has an incredible unfinished quilt with charming cat heads that she inherited from a family member. Deanna was seeking some advice on how to complete the quilt. Good thing Maurine was there to help her.

Patricia brought two finished quilts—a garish red and yellow lap quilt and a pastel baby quilt. Patricia’s big news was visiting the Quilt National show at the Dairy Barn in Athens OH with Maurine. She shared the show book with others.