Friday, May 27, 2016

A Guild of Inspiration

Twenty-two years ago when we left Michigan I also left a fellowship of quilters. There was a large quilters guild that met once a month in Davison and both Katie and I attended the meetings. The group was large and active, holding classes and workshops and inviting speakers in to teach and talk about quilts and techniques. We enjoyed the group and learned a lot. I was also pregnant with Alyssa at that time and when she was born members of the guild worked together to make a beautiful, colorful quilt for my baby.

I was very sad when I had to leave that group so one of the first things I did after settling in Oregon was to try to find another like it here. I found a small group of ladies who met once a week in the basement of a Lutheran church to sit around a frame and quilt- yes, they were holding a quilting bee every week! (They called themselves the "Rather- bes"). I found another small group of ladies who met once a month to sew on projects together. I enjoyed some sewing with both of these groups but they weren't quite the same as a guild with teachers and classes. After having two more babies I had to stay at home more and consequently lost touch with all of those ladies.

Recently at the spring Blossom Festival I attended the annual quilt show and saw a series of wall hangings on display. They were from a group challenge project and I recognized a lot of the names as some of the ladies I had known before. It was then that I discovered that in the interim since I lost contact, a quilt guild had been formed! I looked up their website and discovered they were having one of their quarterly meetings soon.

It was difficult for me to attend the meeting because it was held the same day as my first wedding cake delivery (last Saturday) and it was in a town far away. I made it happen though and I am very glad I did. I found the meeting so inspirational! I was warmly welcomed and met up with several old friends. The guild has classes (one was being held that afternoon), charity projects, a sewing retreat, and other informal gatherings.  I am very pleased to have discovered their existence and I hope to be able to participate more in the future.

A favorite part of any gathering of quilters is the Show and Tell time. 

     
   This star sample quilt was made special by the bold colors and the border settings of each block.


                                     
                                      I love the whimsical effect of tipping the center block.




       
These quilts were the result of one of the class projects. They are "mystery quilts" where the class participants work step by step on instructions without knowing what the final pattern will be. Always fun.



                                      
                                                         Show and Tell- a child's quilt.





         




I sewed with these two ladies years ago and they are still going strong. The lady in black (her jacket is one of her special pieced creations) made this quilt for her grandson.
         
The quilt is her design and represents her grandson's soccer enthusiasm including his jersey and a block with the names of his team members.


                                    
This is the BACK of the quilt. This trend is not new but still surprises me- how much time is spent piecing the backs of quilts these days!




                                    
The guild does charity work also. Here was a table of fabric collections ready to be made into quilt tops. Guild members donate fabric leftovers that are grouped together by colors. There are many possibilities here- baby and child quilts, lap quilts for the elderly, bed quilts, etc. When a top is finished someone else gives it a back and batting and a member machine quilts it. It is then donated to one of many organizations eager to receive them.

I took one of the kits for a baby quilt. Because I am unrealistically ambitious like that. It's a good thing there are no deadlines involved.



                       
I was able to stay at the meeting a bit longer to hear the guest speaker and see some of her incredible creations. 



                       


                       




                               This one was my favorite. It absolutely took my breath away.
                       


                       
                                                                   The back!


           
       
The border!  These fabrics! Obviously the fabrics are a designer collection intended to be used together. I love them. I'm partial to red and white. This quilter said she makes one red and white quilt every year. (Plus many, many others.)


These photos represent only a small portion of the amazing quilt creations I saw that day. I was impressed and inspired by the possibilities!  

A few days later I spent an enjoyable time working on my project. The inspiration of the guild day has helped me figure out how I will complete the design, turning what is now a square into a rectangle to fit a bed.

                                  

















5 comments:

  1. Oh,Oh, Oh, those are beautiful! Thanks so much for both taking the time to go and sharing the pictures with us. And yours looks scrumptious - those colors! This is an inspiring post, even though I am not a quilter. (To all readers:I have no computer to post blogs, and do not know when I will. I am tip-tapping on a little pad presently. So Thank you to Pam, for stepping in with lovely things. If anyone else has anything to share, now is the time to do it. But send it to Pam, if you need help - I can't do anything.) End of month coming...

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  2. So many pretty quilts! And so much time and money in that kind of art...

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  3. So many pretty quilts! And so much time and money in that kind of art...

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  4. Those are AMAZING! And I can't wait to see how your own quilt turns out!

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  5. Just WOW! I will likely never have the patience for quilting like that... but I will admit that I am sort of jealous that you do :)

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