Southern Fiber Artist's Meeting, Nov. 12

SOUTHERN FIBER ARTISTS MEETING OF NOVEMBER 12, 2016

Rita Warnock welcomed everyone as she called our meeting to order.  We had many new attendees this time including Rosemary, Gloria, Beth, Vicki, Susan, Rose and Ethel.  We hope you will join us next time as well.

We had the routine drawing for the next 8” x 11” portrait orientation fabric art challenge due on February 11.  The next subject will be time and the color black.

Regarding our present challenge, Julia Graeber brought the mat boards, envelopes and a form to fill out regarding the artist’s statement.  She suggested that we take an extra form so we can have it filled out when we complete our art for the upcoming challenge.

Rita led us in a discussion as to what subjects we would want to explore during upcoming meetings.  Among the ideas were fabric dyeing (an outside activity), elements of design, a round table discussion on inspiration, basics of quilting, 3-D fiber techniques, embellishments, and photo to fabric art.  There was a suggestion that Rita contact Marilyn Dedeaux about her photo to fabric presentation previously given to Quilters by Heart’s Desire Guild.

It was decided that our next meeting, a round table discussion on inspiration, will be led by Martha Ginn.  Please let Martha know if you would like to be part of the panel.  In reality, all of us could share what inspires us.

The following meeting which will probably take place in May will be on dyeing fabric led by Marcus Weekley at Jackie Watkins’ home.

Regarding the photo to fabric art subject, Jackie Watkins announced that at the next Quilters by Heart’s Desire Guild meeting, the President’s Challenge of Photo to Fabric quilts will be unveiled.  All are invited to attend this meeting on November 21, 7:00 p.m., at St. Mark’s on Grants Ferry Road, Brandon, Mississippi.  This meeting is also a potluck holiday celebration, so if you decide to come to the meeting, you might want to bring a dish, but that is totally unnecessary.  There is always a lot more food than the guild members can possibly eat.  Please note that generally the November meeting starts at 6:30 because of the meal involved.  No mention of the time change has been made yet, but will probably come out in their newsletter that the meeting will start at 6:30.  Even if the meeting does not start at 6:30, people will be there by then, and you can mix and mingle with the members.  You should park in the back of the church.  You can walk up the right side of the building, and the first opening on your left will lead you to the meeting location, also on the left.

Many of us participated in this meeting’s challenge of making 4 quiltlets measuring five inches square or 6 inches square to make a total sunflower.  Each person will keep one of his/her quiltlets and trade the other three for three different quiltlets to make a whole fabric art quilt.  The varied techniques used by the makers are listed below:

Gloria Loughman’s Radiant Landscapes technique using tiles

Leaves extending beyond the borders

Crochet

Fused leaves and petals

Burlap

Ribbon

Finished and unfinished edges

Colored pencils

Nylon that crinkles

Paint

Beads applied by hand

Beads applied with glue

Pinking sheers for edges

Permanent pen in fall/orange colors

Eyelash trim

Plastic sunflower center

Orange fruit bag for texture in center

Silk sunflower cut into four pieces

Fusing on both sides for leaves

Three-D techniques

Thread painting

Ruching

Various trims

If you still want to participate in the swap, there is still time.   Swapping will take place at the February meeting.

Show and Tell

Jackie Watkins showed her two-fabric bargello quilt and the accidental art piece started in Rita Warnock’s presentation.

Myra Cook finished her accidental art as well.

Rosemary Taylor used Angelina Fibers in her Aspens in Colorado quilt.

Debbie Stringer has been working on her medallion quilt first started in a retreat with her sister.

Julia Graeber had a Name that Tune Quilt she called Silent Night.  It was a sweet manger scene just in time for Christmas.  She had also made a small poinsettia quilt test sample for her red and flower challenge quilt.

Cathy Reininger has run away with the confetti technique in her Oh Peter quilt.  This quilt won an Honorable Mention in the Pine Belt Quilt Show.

As we broke for lunch, we were invited to peruse SAQA’s Trunk F brought to us by Julia Graeber.

Marcus Weekley announced that the Ag Museum Quilt was in the Quilting Arts magazine.  Jackie Watkins mentioned that Marcus was also in the Quilters Newsletter’s final issue on page 16.  Congratulations to all of our published creators.

Cathy Reininger invited us to participate in the barn slice quilt project.  Each barn has been divided into three pieces.  To participate, take a slice for $3, create your slice, and bring it to the meeting in May.

Debbie Stringer had our hands-on program on creating cuffs or bottle wraps.

Our challenge this month was to create an 8” x 11” portrait orientation quilt using the color red and the subject matter of flower. 

Rita Warnock made a poinsettia with felt on the back and quilting around the design.

Cathy Reininger used her basket of scraps and fusing to create her poppy quilt.

Myra Cook made two quilts, both based on photos.  One of the quilts was from a photo she took in Greece of marble columns waiting to be reassembled in a field of red poppies, the flower being the resurrection symbol.

Jackie Watkins used her twisted branches and confetti techniques to create an oak tree in the woods seen along a path of red flowers.

Marcus Weekly had an interesting design using ice-dyed card stock cut into rectangles, and then held together with red and green tulle.  He then quilted the outline of his flower over that.

Julia Graeber had made a poinsettia quilt using the Gloria Loughman’s Radiant Landscapes technique of tiles.  Julia has really made this technique her own.

Marcus Weekley headed up a project of asking members to make a block.  He then took those blocks, sashed them, and sewed them together.  Rena quilted this beauty, and the quilt was presented to Julia Graeber as a thank you for being our first leader. 

Marcus Weekley also made a presentation of gift cards to previous speakers.

Regarding these gift cards, if anyone wishes to help offset the costs, please send a small donation to Marcus, or bring it to the next meeting.

Marcus Weekley had asked for volunteers to bring four fat quarters to be given away as door prizes.  Three sets were given away at this meeting, and there were enough so that three sets will be given away at the next meeting.

We then adjourned.