Block Party Quilters

January

January

January

Auction

Anne Dawson

Every now and then, one can still come across a quilt that stops you in your tracks for its complexity and visual impact. In May of 2015 one of those exciting serendipitous moments occurred for a group of quilt friends in the San Juan Islands of northwestern Washington when one member found an extraordinary Connecticut quilt on-line in a quilt history discussion group. Set in a medallion-style arrangement, the quilt contained over 70 different patterns. It also contained the date 1876 and the initials EMC in four separate rather large circles, all part of its stunning medallion setting. Many of the block patterns in this quilt have been around for well over 125 years and most are in the public domain. However, it is the arrangement of the blocks in this quilt that is so unique and so exacting. The journey began in July 2015 after the group obtained permission to pattern the quilt from its owner, Barbara Menasian. It was a taxing journey for all, from creating the pattern to completing 23 quilts - several members making more than one! Completion of all the quilts in the project took well over two years, with the patterns writer and project leader, quilt shop owner Anne Dawson of Lopez Island, presenting 3 to 4 new patterns each month, staying just one or two blocks ahead of the rest of the group. The participating 18 quilt-makers skillfully and beautifully interpreted the original quilt in a wide variety of styles. You can see their quilts on Anne’s website, lopezislandquiltersstudio.com/Quilt Gallery.

Follow the journey of the 1876 Centennial Quilt from discovery to exhibition at the International Quilt Festival. Learn what’s involved in creating a complex pattern and how an antique quilt can be relevant for quiltmakers today. Be inspired to begin a significant quilt.

Catherine Redford

A humorous, educational and interactive lecture including a game with prizes!

I’ll take you on a trip around the globe with the quilts from my exhibit that debuted in April 2017 at International Quilt Festival in Chicago and was at Houston in October that year.

Learn how I found my inspiration, the stitches I used and the finishing techniques I employed.

Carole Lyles Shaw

This lecture and trunk show introduces quilters of all backgrounds to the modern quilt movement. Intimidated by modern quilts or just confused or curious about this emerging trend in quilting? 

Carole dispels some of the myths and misunderstandings so you can understand and

appreciate this new style of creative quilt expression!  There will be lots of time for questions and answers. In addition to the lecture (slides), I also show some of my quilts ‘in person’ on my design wall and table. 

Topics include:

• What makes a quilt modern? Modern quilt design principles explained

• Myth busters: blowing away the myths about what is (and is not) a modern quilt

• Trunk Show: My Modern Quilts influences and evolution

• Minimalism to Maximalism trends in modern quilting

• Resources list (handout provided)

Katie Pascquini Masopust

Katie’s lecture is a compilation of the top quiltmakers in the world, and their views and inspirations for their work. Having transformed her training and talent as a painter to painting with fabric, Katie will talk about her work, current trends, and accomplished artists with whom she has worked with as the President of the national organization of Studio Art Quilt Associates. She will also include a good sampling of her work and her inspirations.

Cynthia Brunz

Cynthia Brunz will be showing many examples from her vast quilt collection on how to use scraps in unique and innovative ways. Her love of color and bold designs can be seen in many of her quilts. Cynthia loves to share how to use anywhere from the smallest of scraps to project leftovers – including orphan blocks. She feels there is a home for every scrap!

MJ Kinman

The most beautiful gemstones capture light and reflect it back to us with unique brilliance, revealing their fiery personalities. Every gem has a story to tell…just like people.

This slide lecture and trunk show chronicle my own story – my 20+-year adventure learning how to create the biggest diamonds in the world in cloth. Most importantly, though, the underlying message to my audiences throughout my presentation is the importance of choosing joy and saying “no” to fear, both in our creative lives and in our personal lives.

During my presentation, I'll discuss how I've learned to spot gemstones with personality – the unique configuration of light and color that translate into a successful work of art. I'll discuss my techniques to create and assemble the hundreds of pieces in each diamond, materials I use to create the wash of color and light across a gem's surface, and the quilting techniques that enhance a gem's facets. We may even talk a little bit (maybe a lot) about Kentucky Bourbon, as I describe the gem quilts in my series “Bourbon Diamonds”!

And as so often happens with any artist's decades-long journey, I'll share insights gleaned from my walk away from the Corporate Life and into the Creative Life.

My conversation with lecture participants includes the following topics:

1. Selecting gemstones with “personality” – the unique configuration of light and color that translate into a successful work of art

2. My unique use of single-foundation piecing techniques, including the coding I’ve developed for color wash, placement, and adjacency

3. Techniques for painting fabric that provide my diamonds with depth of color and flow of light across the facets

4. Quilting techniques that enhance the diamond’s facets

5. Embracing joy and the creative life

Eric Sulky Ambassador

Sulky: how it all began!

• Needle Know How: Why the right type/size needle is important

• Stabilizers: Which stabilizers to use for quilting

• Metallic Thread Magic: Tips and hints for success using Sulky Holoshimmer ™, Sulky Sliver ™, and Sulky Original Metallic Threads

• When to use Polyester thread: Sulky 12 wt and 30 wt Blendables® Thread

• Learn about Bobbin Thread: When and what type to use

• Sulky’s Exciting Thread Options: Rayons, PolyDeco™, PolyLite ™, Petites ™, Cotton + Steel Thread by Sulky, and more!

Cynthia England

An entertaining slide presentation showing the process of making pictorial quilts using Cynthia’s “Picture-piecing” technique. Enlarging the design, fabric selection, and organizational methods are discussed in detail. A question and answer session to follow the power point presentation.