Pine Belt Quilters 25th Anniversary

Little did I know back in October of 1984 when Doris Aultman, Susan Kelley, Gail Rowland, and I formed Pine Belt Quilters that the guild would be so large and vital 25 years later. Our beginning membership of 25 has grown to nearly 200 and has led to some of the best friendships and memories of my life.
To celebrate this milestone, the guild issued an anniversary challenge to create a wall quilt (min/max 24"-30"). Nine members created a variety of clever pieces, with Jo-Ann Evans winning the challenge (see PBQ's blog entry of November 2009). PBQ means so many things to me that I could not limit myself to one event or image, so I created a collage or album of photos scanned onto fabric and applied to the background. It contains our membership directory covers, photos from early retreats, shows, and activities. I quilted it on my new Handy Quilter 16. It was fun going back through our interesting history to gather reminders of learning, sharing, and fellowshipping.

Pacific Coast

Pacific Coast is my rendition of a scene I photographed on a trip to Washington State in 2004. The piece is 18" wide x 15" high and finished with organza ribbon on the edges and features several techniques I learned from Linda Schmidt. Beginning with a solid piece of Kona cotton, I painted the sky with blues and pinks and pearl white paints and placed it in the background. The water and sand were painted in several shades of blue/green and tan and then cut apart and restitched in layers. I cut the rocks from a Mickey Lawler Skydyes fabric. Angelina fibers, painted and melted cellophane and organza were added to create ocean foam and spray.

The Quilter Magazine article--March 2010

In November 2009 my good friend Lucy Fazely contacted me saying she was invited to write an article "about a talented machine quilter" for The Quilter Magazine. How thrilled I was that she considered me that person and interviewed me for the article. This took place just before I was to leave for a dream workshop at Caryl Bryer Fallert's Paducah studio and also just before my husband was scheduled for brain surgery for relief of his severe Parkinson's symptoms. So when the March 2010 article came out in January 2010, I was pleased that my rattled state was not apparent, thanks to Lucy's skilled writing. (The surgery went well and we think he shows some improvement.)

How exciting it is to see one's artwork in print and be able to share this news with friends and family. Events like this also give us a chance to think deeply about what we do and why we do it and put those thoughts into words. Our creative endeavors are essential to our emotional wellbeing, and having the fruits of our labors printed so colorfully--well, it is just too rewarding for words!