MS Pod - Southern Fiber Artists

Rita Warnock, our President, called our meeting to order and welcomed everyone. Volunteers accepted as leaders this year are as follows: Marilyn Dedeaux, Exhibit Chairperson; Cathy Reiniger, Group Art Project Facilitator; Julia Graber, SAQA Liaison; and Jackie Watkins, Secretary.

Rita led a discussion on a name for our group and the final consensus was Southern Fiber Artists. After a discussion of future meeting places, the artists decided that a central site seemed best since members are coming from Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi.

Meetings will continue to be at the Electric Power Association in Ridgeland, MS when the space is available. You will be notified of a change. Other options will be Crafts Center or members homes.

Marcus Weekley reminded us of the call for entries about strong women and the things they have accomplished since obtaining the right to vote in the U.S. In 1920. Contact Marcus for more info.

Cathy announced that this years group project, Mississippi Ag Museum in Bloom, will be entered in the Old Man River Quiltfest and Pine Belt Quilt Shows in August and October.

Eight challenge quilts on the Yellow/Catastrophe theme were shown by seven members.

Our next challenge is Light bulb/Royal Blue. Create an 8 by 11 piece for our next meeting. 

Julia will take our challenge quilts on the road to the June and October meetings of MQA and to the Alabama SAQA pod meeting to show what Southern Fiber Artists are creating.

Julia announced a SAQA Call for Entries for a 12 x 12 donation quilt, a 10 x 7 for a trunk show that will travel, and a call Treasures Within and Treasures Without from SAQA AL/AR/LA/MS members for a show in Little Rock. See website for details.

Nancy Losure was our guest speaker on "Compounding Interest." She talked to us about adding interest to our quilts. How do we make quilts more interesting? Is interesting the same as beautiful? How do you increase interest in design? Think color, texture, movement, symmetry, flow, intricacy. Know when to stop! What makes a quilt worth a second look? Perhaps it is the makers hand, what the quilt does or does not do. Many examples were shown of quilts that had added interest. Southern Fiber Artists were good critics.

At Show and Tell, Cathy presented a wedding ring quilt of blue background with yellow and orange rings. It goes to her daughter. 

Martha Ginn showed her Challenge quilt from a selfish round Robbin where each participant made an 18x 24 center block and added borders. Shape Challenges called for redesign of each step. Quilt won Viewers Choice and 2nd place, after a tie-breaker, in a quilt show. She also showed a quilt made from Rhonda's surface design painting class, 

plus her Altered Book Project, where she made the cover and others supplied unique pages.

Sue Roundtree showed her Lily Quilt made in Julia's class.

Susan Manno shared her beads and cats, paper mache, challenge made in wool. She had a two color challenge of blue, orange and black, not a color. This was a backyard quilt with, of course, cats.

Marcus showed several quilts he will have for sale at a quilt show at the end of July in Gulfport to raise money for his anticipated move to New York, where he will be a successful screen writer and director. We will miss him here.

Debbie show us her loom and weaving project.

Our next meeting is August 6, 10:30 am at Electric Power Assn. building, 665 Highland Colony Parkway, Ridgeland, MS.