CQG meeting

 I almost missed the window of posting about our August Cotton Quilters' Guild meeting. There will be another meeting in just a few days. In addition to having our meeting, this month we held a sew day which, I am happy to report, was a great success. But I'm getting ahead of myself. 

President Maggie

Treasurer Irma and Secretary Mary C.

 social distancing and masks

Some of the blocks for our current BOM, which I have yet to begin. Oh dear me! I've decided to finish my current BOM (Sugaridoo) before beginning another. Hmm, maybe not the best idea, but it's decided. Now for a really cool show and tell. Everyone has been busy. It must be this quarantine business.

And two more items, a set of bags that Sheila made. I love how professional they look. She used cork on the bottom one which really gives it a good structure. 

And lastly, also from Sheila, a felt quiet book about "The Three Little Pigs." This is the cutest little book you can imagine. There are several pieces that are separate from the book so that the reader can play by moving the pigs, the wolf, the building materials, etc. around. I think there's even a pot to put on the fire in the brick house. She explain how she makes them and that she makes several every time she builds a new house. I was really impressed! 

CQG Sewing Room Tour 2020

The Cotton Quilters' Guild had such a great time last year on our sewing room tour that we put another one together this year. It's an easy event that is great fun.  We went to four homes this time since five was a push last year. 

 Starting at Mrs. Lee's house, we appreciated the large, open space that she gets to create in. She is a fabulous painter so it's no surprise that her quilts are this pretty.

It was an easy jaunt to Longbridge and Ingrid's place. This little cottage is filled to the brim with antiques, collectibles, and quilts. This was my second time visiting (I got a private tour a few weeks ago) and I am still amazed at how many things I missed. Ingrid knows what she likes and surrounds herself in them, which makes for an inspiring space in which to create.

 After lunch we were off to visit Mrs. Priscilla's house. Here we had a grand tour. Priscilla is known for saving, repurposing, and upcycling old fabrics. Whether a skirt, linens, feed sacks, tea napkins, or some other fabric, she finds a way to incorporate them into her sewing and quilting. She told us she likes "frou frou" which means lacy, fancy, fluffed, gathered, whatever girly word you can come up with. It wasn't necessary to tell us, it's obvious throughout the house and in the number of pillows piled on every bed, chair and sofa. 

And finally, Irma's house and dessert. Her sewing room is a bedroom turned modern sewing haven. Recently retired, she decided to upgrade to all new digital last-minute machines. Maybe I'm exaggerating a little, but not much considering that she was a computer expert for the school system. Do I sound a bit jealous? I might be. 

One of the best reasons to visit other people's creative spaces is that you can find inspiration to create in your own space, wherever that may be. Another is to find ways to make your space better. At each of the four homes, I found something that I liked or that can help me to work more efficiently. It's especially interesting to see how different our spaces are, yet we have so much in common.

GSQA -- Go Lori!

My friend Lori Steib from Baton Rouge is the new president for the Gulf States Quilting Association (GSQA) and presided over her first meeting last Saturday. She's a natural! Here's a picture of her (on the left) presenting a quilt to the outgoing president.

The meeting was interesting and there are many happenings going on. The biennial quilt show is in early April and seminar will be early 2021. There are meetings, classes, Pursuit of Excellence events and so on. I've found a very active group of like-minded people. My goal is to attend as much of these events as possible. I'd really like to attend the meetings, despite that some are out-of-state. We'll see.

The speaker for this meeting was Teresa Duryea Wong, author of American Cotton: Farm to Quilt. You can find her website here. After hearing her speak, I want to find a copy of her book. It just seems interesting to find out more about the fiber that makes the fabric that we love. She also shared vintage and antique quilts to show and used them to explain how cotton and quilts were made before machines took over the world.

In addition to the business of the meeting, we saw quilts during show and share, heard several announcements about upcoming shows and events, and ate delicious goodies. Best (for me) were the door prizes. I won the grand door prize of a Bernina 125th Anniversary quilt kit. 

Cotton and I enjoyed opening the box and petting the new fabrics. These, I think, will be perfect for some zippered bags for the girls. There are several with metallic gold designs, which the girls seem to love. I'll leave you with pictures of a few quilts shown at the meeting.

 

CFAL on Sunday

Joyce, who I know from BRMQG

The Contemporary Fiber Artists of Louisiana (CFAL) meeting was a hoot. Other members had attended a fabric dye workshop and brought their pieces to the meeting. They did some fantastic work! 

Glen of Quilts and Dogs blog

 Even now, looking at the photos I wish I'd tagged along. Truthfully though, I do not need another piece of fabric, or another hobby, or even another project idea. The $150 is prohibitive on my new budget. I'll tell you about that on another post. 

In addition to meeting the new officers, I met a few new members. Some, like Stephanie, are folks I know from the Modern Guild, but there are a few other people whose work has peaked my interest.

Wendy Starn, an art quilter from Alexandria

Another of Wendy's pieces

The last two pieces are from someone whose face I did not manage to capture, but I do love the work. As they showed their pieces, each person explained how she created the pattern. Everyone attended the same workshop but the outcome from each is stunningly different.

Suzi gave a fun, quick workshop on Furoshiki, the Japanese art of folding fabric. She demonstrated how to fold large square pieces to create bags, boxes, and holders. 

 There were a few other things, I'm sure, but I was trying to take notes and listen, so I can learn a few things. The people on either side of me were most helpful in explaining things when I got lost. It's such fun to find new friends!