Gulf States Quilting Association Quarterly Meeting

Packing for the trip

I was privileged to be the speaker for GSQA's quarterly meeting in New Orleans April 30. The meeting was hosted by Mes Amis Quilt Shop and The Stitchy Fingers and Cotton Pickin' Quilt Guilds. These groups furnished delicious breakfast snacks as we arrived, as well as a huge spread for lunch of meats, sandwiches, salads, and even Cajun Gumbo.

We had equipment failure which prevented the PowerPoint pictures, but I had lots of real quilts and fiber art to show. I told the group that I owed a debt of gratitude to GSQA for hossting the many educational seminars and bringing in great national teachers I had learned from over the years. It was after GSQA's first seminar in 1984 at USM Long Beach that four of us in Hattiesburg formed Pine Belt Quilters. . . and the rest is history.

In spite of thunderstorms moving across the area, there were about 165 quilters present. 

Lunch at the GSQA Quarterly Meeting

In addition to the pieces I brought with me to show, I told them about my 2013 trip to China as a guest of the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, South Arts (Atlanta), and Arts Midwest (Minneapolis) for the opening of The Sum of Many Parts: 25 Quiltmakers in 21st Century America. The exhibit visited museums in six cities, and I attended and gave talks in Dalian and Beijing. My quilt, "Rise and Shine, Inner City," was one of the 25 pieces in the exhibit and was shown on the cover of the catalog. This large poster in front of the museum is a replica of the catalog. Mid-America Arts Alliance picked up about half the exhibit and toured locations in the U.S. following the China exhibits. My quilt is scheduled to come home this summer.

Poster outside Dalian Modern Museum

Among my favorite pictures are the ones of the crowds getting up close to see the quilts after I spoke.  I had an interpreter with me at all times, but many of the students asked questions in English and understood much on their own. I donated one of my pieces, "Butterfly Crossing," to the Dalian museum and enjoy thinking that the people will enjoy seeing it and remembering the exhibit.

Gift of "Butterfly Crossing" to Dalian Modern Museum

Students getting close