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

AQS Quilt Show and SAQA Exhibit

     It's been several years since I attended a large national quilt show. Daughter Linda Ginn has a quilt juried into the AQS show in DesMoines this week and we are going! We are looking forward to her first big show--to enter/be accepted and also to attend. Linda's quilt is a unique interpretation of a temperature quilt with the detailed description and method she used to create it printed on a large label on the back. I'm pretty proud of her! 

      Another exciting reason for going is that my very first quilting teacher from back in about 1983, Maureen Grigsby, is meeting us there. We reconnected through a SAQA event recently, and she is traveling from the St. Louis area to see us. 

The story on the back of the quilt

Linda with One Day at a Time: 2021 Temperatures
in Hattiesburg, Mississippi

     Last week I had the unique opportunity to see the Studio Art Quilt Associates (SAQA) 3D Expression exhibit when it traveled to the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art in Laurel, just 30 miles from my home. Susan Lenz gave an artist talk and charmed and enlightened the audience with her description of SAQA's definition of an art quilt: "a creative visual work that is layered and stitched or that references this form of stitched layered structure." This helped explain some of the unusual and interesting pieces in the exhibit. I make it a practice to identify the artists when I post pictures; I apologize that I do not have all of these identified.

With Susan Lenz and Kristen Zohn, curator

Susan Lenz's quilt Saint Anastasia

Ginger Jar by Betty Busby

Detail of large piece in next picture

Groupers

Coat by Marijke van Welzen

Speaking of SAQA, what a neat surprise I got when I opened my latest journal--to see a picture of my cat quilt The Conversation pictured along with two pages of cat quilts.

The Conversation (top left)
Tarbaby, Rahrah, Elizabeth

Donation for Lauren Rogers Museum of Art

Gondola

"Gondola" (16 x 16) was donated to the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art's 2010 annual Gala, The Azure Ball, A Grecian Island Fantasy. The preview party will take place at the Museum on Thursday, December 2.