Sunday, January 30, 2011

Heartstrings Blotto

 

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This is the block for the upcoming Blotto drawing, designed by Lisa Burmann. 

It may be downloaded here.

Blocks are due at the April meeting.

Saturday, January 29, 2011

2011 Shipshewana Quilt Festival, June 22-25

Be creative and share with other quilting friends by entering your quilts in the show. The deadline is May 15, 2011. Details and entry forms are currently available on the web site:

http://www.shipshewanaquiltfest.com/quiltshow.html

While you’re on the Shipshewana site, be sure to scroll down and look at last year’s winners!

Friday, January 28, 2011

Sherrie Jaqua at Evening Star Quilters

The Evening Star Quilters enjoyed having Sherrie Jaqua, owner of Sunshine Quilt Shop in Oscoda Michigan!  Sherrie is the owner/designer for Time to Shine Patterns and has been quilting a long time.  Back in the 80’s, Sherrie was a participant at the annual show “Quilting: A Piece in Time” sponsored by Ami Simms and Caron Mosey which was held at Genesee Valley Center in Flint, Michigan.  Since then, she has branched out, doing commission work, purchasing her own quilt shop and starting her own pattern business.  Sherrie showed the guild at least 50 quilts and tops in all levels of ability, just enough to get us excited and ready to start our own projects for 2011.

If you’d like to visit Sherrie’s shop, it is located at

Sunshine Quilt Shop

311 N State St
Oscoda, MI 48750
989-739-7030

 

STANDISH, Michigan — The Northeast Michigan Arts Council will host its 21st Annual Quilt Show from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday in the Art Center Auditorium at the corner of Grove Road and U.S. 23. 

More information is available by clicking here.

Sunday, January 23, 2011

ART QUILT CHALLENGE

A reminder that the Evening Star Quilters ART QUILT CHALLENGE is due at the January meeting.  Remember, art quilts are subjective in nature and an expression of the maker.  ... if you think it’s ART, then it’s ART.  The minimum size is larger than  225 square inches ( 15x15)  but can be any shape or dimension.   No maximum size limits.  

Speaking of Art Quilts, have you ever visited the Studio Art Quilt Associates website? You can find it at http://www.saqa.com/ .  SAQA was started byYvonne Porcella in 1989, and it has grown since then to “become an even greater resource and advocate for all of the SAQA membership.”

Locally, the Michigan Quilt Artists Invitational exhibit is preparing for their last exhibit with the theme of “Art of the Kitchen.

The remaining traveling schedule for MQAI is:

South of the Border Themed Quilts - 2011

Feb-Mar White Lake Library

Apr - Art Reach of Mt Pleasant

May-June Artworks in Big Rapids

July-Aug Cedarville Historical Museum

Sept-Oct Marquette Library

Nov - 1/2 Livonia Civic Center 1/2 Menominee Library

Dec - 1/2 Waterford "

South of the Border Themed Quilts - 2012

Jan Flint Schools

Feb-Mar Oakland County Center

Apr-June U of M Hospital

July-Aug Charlevoix Library

Sept - Return to Artists

Art of the Kitchen Themed Quilts - 2011

Sept Greater Flint Arts Council - Opening Sept 9

Oct-Nov Ann Arbor Library

Dec Southfield Library

Art of the Kitchen Themed Quilts – 2012

Jan Ortonville Library

Feb-Mar White Lake Library

Apr-June (Waiting for confirmation)

July-Aug Cedarville Historical Museum

Sept - Return to Artists

Sunday, January 16, 2011

January 2011 Meeting

Sherrie Jaqua will be our speaker for January meeting. Sherrie is a quilt designer, teacher and quilt shop owner. Her lecture title is a phrase that has run through all our heads: “The fabric made me do it.” I am sure we will all take something home from this lecture. Sherrie will be at Lucky’s at 4:30PM for dinner. Please join us if you can!

 

Safe House

This month's focus donation is an easy one. Dishtowels. You can find them at all kinds of stores at a great variety of prices. Maybe you got some as a gift that you haven't used because they are just not "you". Add a pretty potholder to your donation and brighten the day of someone who's been through a rough time and is starting over.

Charm Squares

Charm Square Exchange: For all of you charmers, we will be starting the year with "Bloom". I thought this would be so fun to welcome spring. Any garden floral will be the first charm square exchange. The charm squares will be due at the March guild meeting. The signup sheet will be at the January meeting, but this note gives you a head start so that you can look for your fabric. Interested charmers will cut 6 1/2 inch squares out of three different fabrics for each person that signs up for the exchange. If there are 16 charmers, then you will get 39 different charm squares. These charming squares can be used for a variety of projects. Tote bags, table runners, purses to name a few. There are so many free patterns for these squares now. I am excited to take care of the charm square exchange this year and I welcome any ideas that you may have.

Feb 19th 10 am – 3 pm Project Linus sewing at Church of God, 1215 West Vienna Rd., Clio 1 mile east of N Saginaw in Clio. Go to the big New Life Center part of the church and look for the Project Linus sign on the door. Potluck or bring your own lunch. Gail will make a big pot of soup for lunch, so bring your drink, and something to share. Can bring own fabric to donate.

Details: This event is being arranged by Gail Goudy who participated in our 4 Corners meeting in November. She talked to us about the weighted blankets that she makes for autistic children. February is national Project Linus month, so last year Gail invited folks to come to the Church of God in Clio to sew for Project Linus. Last year they made a pile of quilts to be sent to the kids in Haiti. Project Linus HQ had asked the chapters to make quilts for Haiti – they had no batting inside so they assembled quickly. Gail also had some weighted blankets there that needed to be worked on. It was a lot of fun, and for a good cause, so she decided to do it again this year.

What to bring: If you want to sew, bring a machine and basic supplies. There will be fabric available, and some batting. The goal will be to make small simple quilts using the “envelope” method and tying. So it will be an assembly line situation, with sewing, cutting, ironing, and tying. Pam Braden, chapter coordinator for the Flushing Project Linus will be there with fabric. Or you can bring you own project. This is a good way to use up panels, odd leftover squares from previous projects, scraps, etc.

Gail will also have some weighted blankets to show and to work on. This is Gail’s “special calling” to make these blankets and if you missed her talk at the meeting, these blankets work wonders. They are used for children with autism to help calm them down or to help them get to sleep. The word is spreading that she makes these blankets: she currently has an order for 8 from a teacher in Grand Blanc, and she already made 11 for another teacher, plus she gets individual requests from parents. One family requested one because their child had been sleeping between the mattress and springs on his bed to get the sensation of weight that he needed. Gail made him the heaviest one to date, 28 lbs.

 

clip_image002Quilty Pits and Pieces

http://civilwarquilts.blogspot.com  Commemorate the 2011 Sesquicentennial with a block of the week from Barbara Brackman! For 2011, each week Barbara will provide a pattern for a civil war quilt block. Barbara is a Quilt Scholar and Author, and for years she traveled around the country teaching and lecturing. Her special focus is dating antique quilts and giving an accurate history of quilts associated with the Civil War and the Underground Railroad. She has designed reproduction fabric and is a fan of William Morris and his work. You can read more about Barbara on her website at http://www.barbarabrackman.com.

Saturday, January 1, 2011

Anne Gets Her “Outgoing President’s” Quilt


At the last meeting of 2010, Outgoing President Anne Wohlfeil was given her quilt of thanks for all her hard work.  Being president is no easy task, so as is our tradition, the Evening Star Quilters presented her with her “Thank you Quilt.” 
DSC04064Anne loves bright colors, so this quilt features a plethora of brights from the guild members’ stash.  Each corner of the quilt includes two little girls dressed in their finery with bling, accessories and 3-D hair.  Cute as can be!
DSC04061
               
The pieced back includes a panel with notes and signatures from all the makers.