january 11 meeting

Our stalwart group of quilters met at Miriam’s home in North Seattle for our January meeting. Thank you M for all the goodies and hot drinks.

Show & Tell
Patricia kicked off the evening with her newest quilt in progress made with yukata cottons. This nap quilt, entitled “Healing Garden” is for a friend who’s recovering from brain aneurysm surgery two months ago.
Flora, who sadly missed last month’s meeting due to a mix-up, brought some exciting new work. The first was a finished quilt for Plymouth House of Healing with bright red and white on the front and a perfect pattern of blue and white on the back. Maureen, while at the rehab center, was recruited to hand stitch the binding.
The second project was a memory quilt for Lyla who lost her husband John recently. Flora “channeled” John through the Great Spirit while working on the quilt. The inspiration was a beloved over-the-head tropical shirt that was a favorite of John’s. (The sunflower covers the hole.) Lyla cried when she saw the piece.
At a craft fair over the holidays, Flora picked up a petite little boiled wool dachshund for Patricia. Black and tan, it’s spun so that there are no seams.
Harriet brought two huge quilts. The first one, with wildlife animals, was made for a lucky nephew. The second, with horses and a kaliedescopic pattern, will be for a niece when she graduates from high school. The fabric was stunning—from her Alaska stash.
It was good to see Susan at the meeting. She was kind to come and bring news of a fabulous quilt shop on Vashon Island with a big selection of fabrics. Who wants to go?
Janet finished the quilt she was making for Baby Eisenstein. Many of the pieces are printed with contributed quotes from co-workers. It will be a wonderful gift, filled with so much care and attention.
Miriam showed us how her YF quilt is coming along—with its unexpected combination of fabrics that work so well together. She also had some batting and silver cord to give away to whoever could use them.
Shannon brought a quilt top she just finished. Originally started in a class led by Laurie Shifrin, the piecing was impeccable. Shannon is going to keep this beauty for herself.

december 10 meeting

We gathered at Shannon’s Christmas-decorated home for our December meeting.

Show & Tell
Our first topic of conversation was Maurine. She’s still in rehab and expecting to be there until the middle of January. Each day she works hard to get stronger and is exhausted from her efforts.

Shannon told us about an altar table shawl she made for Bethany Church. It was grey cotton with camelias painted on one side and a bright green pattern with butterflies on the other. Shannon finished the shawl with shallow scalloped edges. It was presented for Bethany’s 10th anniversary.

Although she hasn’t started on it yet, Shannon showed us her collection of dot fabric for her YF quilt.

David and Christopher joined us for a few minutes. We chatted and shared our tiered plates of holiday cookies.

Miriam has been busy with Christmas kitchen doilies. She’s also started her YF scrap quilt. She got the dotted purpley background fabric from In The Beginning. Her selection of scraps include everything!—Christmas, golf balls, plaids—the beginning of a true Miriam signature piece.

Miriam helped an English policewoman get the quilting bug. Already her friend has made a nine-patch by hand! What an inspiration.

Diane has been MIA so we’re thrilled to see her back. Her wonderful piece was a cross-stitch pillow for her sister. All around the chicken are half-stitches which are twice as fast as a full stitch (easy math!). Throughout the meeting, Diane was hand stitching on another project. Always busy hands!

With the kids gone, Diane is getting ready to paint inside her home. Go Girl.

Janet and Kelly made a baby quilt together! Kelly helped pick out the fabric and pattern, and cut out the pieces. Janet stitched the quilt together—a gift for a work associate of Kelly’s.

Janet took 20 of her necklaces to a craft sale at work and sold 16! That was affirming. She is also making a fun “quote” quilt for a baby at her work.

Patricia showed us two projects that she’s finishing up for display in Fabric Crush to promote her Japanese fabric Trunk Show in early February. She also talked about an ambitious fundraising project she’s going to produce in 2011 for the La Conner Quilt Museum.

The evening ended with a look at Barry Kahn’s art in Shannon’s home and in a retrospective book. Barry, David’s dad, died when he was 42. He was a prolific artist who made very intense pieces. Our discussion brought him back to life for a few minutes.

november 10 meeting

We did a quick hostess shift today as Janet was not feeling well. At the last minute, the group was redirected to come to my house. Five of us gathered and Pris almost joined us.

Show and Tell

Susan came back after a departure of many months! In June she traveled to England and Wales on a Deb Robert's textile tour. The highlight of the trip was a remarkable exhibit at the Victoria & Albert Museum showing quilts from the 1700s to 2010. Susan brought the book to show us the full collection.

A pleasing part of the trip was traveling with appraisers, authors, collectors and conservators. Susan gained just as much from her companions as she did from the places they all visited.

At a Long Beach antique store Susan bought a delightful hand-stitched quilt. She'll be using it in her guest bedroom.

Shannon bumped into Pris when she first stopped at Janet's house. Pris handed off her Plymouth House of Healing quilt that she just finished with copious amounts of hand-stitching. Feeling overwhelmed, Pris headed home and skipped the meeting. Thank you Pris for finishing up your ambitious project.

With some superfun fabric she bought at Fabric Crush, Shannon made a sunny baby quilt. It will be for a lucky and modern Plymouth baby, once it gets a label.

Flora brought a huge red basket filled with giveaway fabrics. Some pieces got new homes and Harriet took home the basket. Flora also showed us some vintage fabric squares and quilt pieces she has recently received. The small squares of old fabric were heart-warming.

Harriet came empty-handed but told us about a quilt with horses and a bright Southwest theme that's on her wall. Flora saw it at a neighborhood dinner at Harriet and Robert's and reported it was fab. The quilt is being produced in three big pieces, quilt-as-you-go. It will be given to a relative.

Patricia showed a small quilt made with big chunks of yukata fabric. The top has four corner blocks made with curvy piecing. It will ultimately be a sample for a class she hopes to teach about simple pattern making.

advent banner painting

Thirteen Plymouth people, including Piece Makers Harriet, Flora and Patricia, participated with Kristen Gilje (the artist who created our Butterfly Banners) in painting 16 silk banners in four designs created by Kristen. The designs were inspired partly by two sessions of Plymouth members discussing this year’s Advent texts:

Nov. 28, Isaiah 2: They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.

Dec. 5, Matthew 3: Even now the axe is lying at the root of the tree; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

Dec. 12, Luke 1: The angel said to Mary: 'The Holy Spirit will come upon you...and the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God....and Mary said: “my soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.”

Dec. 19, Matthew 1: An angel of the Lord appeared in a dream and said, ‘Joseph, son of David,do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus.’

october 10 meeting

Show & Tell

Harriet finished a wonderful quilt for a great nephew with lots of animals on it. She had photos of Alaskan quilts from her trip to the Great North this summer as well as a pile of delightful fabrics with Alaskan motifs. Harriet admitted she went on vacations to get more fabric!

Flora showed us a jacket with hand-painted silk appliques that a friend wants mended. No one is our group could conceive of how to fix the damage. Flora will see if Diane, the pro, can help. A pretty pinwheel top (for a foster child) and the Plymouth House of Healing top are in her queue for long-arm quilting, along with 15 or so other tops!

Flora got distracted one day by taking a 256-mile ride on a Harley Davidson with a fellow employee of WSDOT. It was a charity ride through three counties and the state capitol. Flora says it was great fun and the driver was a perfect gentleman.

From Pris, we oohed and aahed over a delightful pile of fabrics—from Beach Rocks to the Bed and Breakfast collection. She is finishing up her Plymouth House of Healing just in time for the requested deadline of mid-November.

Patricia brought tales of visiting New York and the Empire Quilters guild meeting. She displayed two quilts blocks made with yukata cottons and freezer paper patterns. Her trunk sale at QuiltWorks NW last month was a resounding success.

Janet revealed the contents of her magic box—silver jewelry made with detailed photos and topped with resin. Her work is charming and appealing to all.

sept 10 meeting

show and tell

This summer Harriet attended a silk painting workshop led by Kristen Gilje in Leavenworth. She showed us four gorgeous silk scarves that she painted with different techniques.

Harriet also related an amazing discovery when visiting the Kenai Penninsula in Alaska. She, Robert and travel companions were directed to drive 11 miles out of town to find a quilt shop. There Harriet found a picturesque log cabin on a lake packed with wonderful goodies.

Miriam brought an important report with her: 10 Good Reasons for Buying Fabric. She has copies for others for the next meeting. More exciting, Miriam delivered a gorgeous quilt for Plymouth Healing Communities. Check: Number One out of four completed!

Pris camped on the Columbia River with her family in August and attended the Cathlamet Fair. She learned that the quilts she saw on display will be given to EMTs and highway patrol for accident victims. In that vein, she brought a colorful top for a Plymouth Healing Communities quilt. The colorful scrappy creation is titled "All God's Children." Check: Number Two out of four in progress.

Another great story from Pris concerned the contribution of two sewing machines from Flora. They were shipped to adults in need in Romania. Yeah Flora and Pris!

Janet finished up the Gees Bend top she received at the last meeting. She must have worked non-stop to produce this quilt. It will be given to a companion at Plymouth Healing Communities. Check: Number Three out of four complete.

For the last four months Patricia has been hand stitching a small baby quilt. She doodled on the black and white fabric with neon pens to add some color. It will be gifted to an ex-employee's two-month old daughter.