"Quilts Then and Now" at OLLI

Linda and I presented a seminar at OLLI entitled "Quilts Then and Now: The Fabric of Life" yesterday. We covered some history and an overview of the place of quilts and quilting in American life, as well as telling our individual stories. I told of my 40-year quilting journey and the beginnings, using graph paper and templates and moving from traditional to art quilter. Linda shared her very different story and how technology and online resources have made her an accomplished quilter in seven short years. She also touched on how quilts have been (and are) featured in books and films and everyday culture. We showed samples of a variety of pieces and both emphasized that it is a great time to be a quilter.

After the joy and excitement surrounding these recent presentations, it is definitely time for some more ordinary days--like adding the binding to a quilt.

This Is My Story, This Is My Song

View from back of room

View from back of room

View from front of room

View from front of room

Linda in front of Rise and Shine, Inner City

Linda showing her technique 

Linda reading about quilts in "Grapes of Wrath"

Beyond the Blanket, Talk at Lauren Rogers Museum of Art

I enjoyed giving an artTALK this week at the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art in Laurel, Miss. My title was "Beyond the Blanket," and dealt with how multiple quilting techniques can be used to create art. This museum is a hidden gem of our state and presents outstanding exhibits, such as the present one from the American Folk Art Museum in New York. 

Programs "My Quilting Journey" and "Beyond the Blanket"

I enjoyed giving a program on "My Quilting Journey" at Pine Belt Quilters meeting last week. My journey began in 1984 and has brought joy and many friendships over these 40 years. Sewing was a part of my life as a child, starting with embroidery, clothes for my children and myself, counted cross-stitch, and then quilting. It was fun talking about the early days of the quilt guild and our shows, the first one at Trinity Episcopal Church Parish Hall in 1985, then ten at Jackie Dole Sherrill Community Center (1987-2006), and six at Lake Terrace Convention Center (2008-2018). 

Cross-stitch Treasure Chest, by 
Linda Ginn and Martha Ginn

This Is My Story, This Is My Song

Rise and Shine, Inner City

Mandy's Dog and Flying Geese Over Lake Michigan

Guild members Jean Martin (left), Karrie Pennington (back), 
Sandra Byrd (right) 

Next week I will do an artTALK called "Beyond the Blanket" at Lauren Rogers Museum of Art on Thursday, March 21, at the brown-bag lunch at noon. The museum's current exhibit is of traditional quilts from the American Folk Art Museum in New York. Dr. Sandra Sider gave a lecture last month about bicentennial quilts from 1876-1976. My talk will deal with how traditional quilting techniques are used to create art, taking the quilt "off the bed and onto the wall." 

What else is going on? It's March in Mississippi and the azaleas are putting on their annual show. Even when a bush is covered in blooms and a rainstorm beats the blooms down, there are hundreds of buds waiting to open for continued enjoyment. My wisteria bush is beautiful, and I keep it from reaching the holly tree nearby.

Buds ready to open

Wisteria blooms

Lacey, my outdoor cat, follows me when I walk. She understands Elizabeth and Rahrah won't let her come inside, but she checks on the kitchen activity through the windows.

Lacey walking with me

Lacey on kitchen sink window

Elizabeth watching Lacey from her cat tree

Rahrah loves to get on Linda's shoulder

The Mozart Requiem and Back Door Coffeehouse

Getting to sing the Mozart Requiem with the Meistersingers of Mississippi was an incredible pleasure. My words are inadequare in trying to describe the impact music can have on us. Quoting John Rutter, famous British composer/conductor, "You express, when you sing, your soul in song. And when you get together with a group of other singers, it becomes more than the sum of the parts." I had sung this before, but my appreciation of this classic is greater now. The sanctuary of Westminster Presbyrerian Church was packed, which says there are many who also loved the opportunity to hear this again.

Conducted by Dr Joel Dunlap

Last week saw the conclusion of a very special part of the lives of many of us--the Back Door Coffeehouse at University Baptist Church. David Walker was the driving force behind this 32-year music venue which brought us talent like Kate Campbell, Tom Kimmel, Pierce Pettis, Tricia Walker, Claire Holley, Grace Pettis, and many more, as well as poets like Sharon Gerald. Thanks, David (and the many helpers over the years) who made this possible.

Some finishes

   Maybe having an extra day in February helped with finishing up some projects.  The 5" squares mentioned in an earlier post had 1" strips of ecru sewn as sashing, making the piece five blocks wide by six blocks long. There were four more blocks, so I added a 5" border with these four blocks as cornerstones. Deciding on how to quilt it has me in a dilemma.

  

 There were two quilts for our Pine Belt Quilters community quilts. I quilted and bound the tops that someone else had stitched. The little flying geese piece got bits of maps glued around the edges for finishing of Flying Geese Over Lake Michigan. I had fun making this dog portrait from my niece's photograph.

Flying Geese Over Lake Michigan

It was fun hosting some of the USM international students last week for food and fellowship. Elizabeth and Rahrah had an especially good time and got lots of attention.

Renata with Elizabeth

Rahrah loves all this attention

The Meistersingers of Mississippi will present Mozart's Requiem this Sunday afternoon, March 3, at 3:00 at Westminster Presbyterian Church, Hattiesburg. The rehearsals have been so rewarding; it is a deep pleasure getting to participate with a group of dedicated musicians for this classic composed in 1791. A reception will follow. 

Sandra Sider at the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art

Handstitched Worlds: The Cartography of Quilts, featuring quilts from the American Folk Art Museum, New York, is at the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art in Laurel, Miss., until April 21. Dr. Sandra Sider, a studio quilt artist, author, curator, and past president of SAQA, presented a lecture "Centennial to Bicentennial: Quilt Making in the United Sttes, 1876-1976" last week. She told of the rich history of quilts and how they document events of our lives. It was an honor to have my Cross Stitch Treasure Chest (made by Linda and me) as part of her lecture. 

Black fabric with white embroidery stitches

Educational display

My favorite--2" squares

Detail showing hand quilting stitches

It will be my privilege to talk about quilts and how they have moved from bed covering to art as decoration for our homes at the THIRD THURSDAYS artTALK meeting at noon on March 21 at Lauren Rogers. The artTALK programs are free and open to the public, no reservation required. Bring a brown bag lunch (beverages and desserts provided) for "Beyond the Blanket: Creating Art Quilts." Appreciation is expressed toWest Quality Foods for sponsoring the artTALK programs. 

February

This month is flying by. I've quilted and finished the Square-in-a-Square 32" x 32" wall quilt from the found 6" foundation-pieced blocks found in my closet. The quilting is in a rosy-colored thread in loopy Es and Ls instead of my usual meander. No progress on the stack of 5" square-in-a-square blocks, but the plan is to sash them in muslin/ecru-colored strips. 

Square-in-a-Square, 32" x 32"

Back and binding is a Jeffrey Gutcheon fabric

Katie Pasquini Masopust's Artful Log Cabin technique is a favorite of mine and I have made several art quilts by her method, the most recent shown here. The inspiration photo is a Mexican market in Austin, Texas, I took several years ago while visiting my brother.

Inspiration photo

Austin Market, 32" x 25"

Austin Market, detail (lemons and limes)

Austin Market, detail

Austin Market, detail

Showing at Pine Belt Quilters meeting with inspiration photo
Enlarge to see grid over the photo

More foundation pieced tiny houses were added to an 8" x 10" quilt for Michele Martin in our Southern Fiber Artist group. Dawn Seymour showed us how to make faux fabric backgrounds using papers  sandwiched between two layers of fusible interfacing. I used torn map pieces for my backgrounds and stitched more flying geese.

Tiny Houses, 8" x 10"

Flying Geese over Lake Michigan, 9" x 11"