Art Quilt Guild January 2014

Art Quilt Guild January 2014, a set on Flickr.

Hello all, I wanted to share with you our Show and Tell from our January Meeting. Please bear with me on the photos that I took at our meeting. I am new to photography and I only had an I-Pad to take photos. You will see many photos of the same projects as I took a bunch to try and get the best view.

Recap of January's meeting

What a creative and productive first meeting of 2014 GreatFul Threads had Thursday evening. There were 12 members present. Josie took pics and will get those on the blog within a few days.

Our 2014 challenge is a self portrait which is due in October. The rules are as follows:
1. At least 50% must be pieced or appligued. In other words it cannot be 100% painted on fabric.
2. It can be abstract, real or interpretive.
3. The dimensions must be 11 X 14.
4. It must have a sleeve on the back for hanging.

The group is excited about our service project with Children's Discovery Museum in conjunction with the AQS show in September. We will be working with  children at the museum making blocks for 2 quilts as well as a block for them to take home. The quilts will be hung in the museum along with our members quilts during the AQS show. The first quilt will be 64" X 40" in bright colors with rows of sailboats, houses, 4 patch, star-moon-planets, robots, dinosaurs, flowers, and sashing to divide the rows. The blocks will be fused except for the 4 patch ones. We will have the fabrics fused on one side, cut out and placed in individual zip bags. The children can arrange the shapes on the
8 1/2" fabric block. They will then be fused onto the fabric with an iron by one of the members. If buttons are part of the design the children can sew the button on also. The 4 patch blocks will be hand sewn by the older children.  The second quilt will be 36" X 36" and made up of  single 6" blocks that have a smaller contrasting batik hand sewn on top using pearl cotton.

We are on the calendar  Saturday April 12 and 19 as well as  May 3 and 10 to work with the children from 1:00 - 3:00.  We will have a work day to apply fusing to fabric and cut out shapes on 
Feb. 27, time 4:30 at Bernina Sew and Quilt Studio. This is the date of our next GreatFul Threads meeting, we will  simply arrive 1 1/2 hours early.

The group is asked to look over their stash and bring in fabric that would be suitable for the blocks. Example blocks were shown. Batiks will be needed as well as bright reds, blues, greens, white and greys, along with fabric that will be good to cut circles for flowers and to fussy cut dinosaurs. Small, fun buttons will be needed also.

If you have any questions or would like to send a snip of fabric to ask if it would be appropriate contact Delores, Jackie or myself. Ava will be our official photographer for the event.

Seperate from our quilt project at CDM (Children's Discovery Museum), GreatFul Thread members were asked to volunteer  Saturday February 15 and Sunday February 16 in a Make It Workshop at CDM. 4 volunteers are needed each day to assist children in sewing. Machines and fabric are supplied, we just need to show up. The time is form 12:00 to 4:00 each day. If you are interested please contact me  asap so that I can let the museum know. This would be a good time to get a feel for skill levels of  children that go to the museum and also how the system works

Show 'n Tell was fantastic as always. Our program for 2014 is going to be a big success. Each member pulls two art quilt techniques from a basket and chooses one. The following month you will bring in a block where you have used that technique and explain how you did it.  In the basket there are familiar tehniques as well as not so familiar ones.  There are 26 techniques in the basket and our year is only 10 months so that a good variety will be presented.

If you have any questions or comments about the meeting please contact me.

Every day take time to create,

Denise

January Meeting

Art Quilters of the year 2014,

One week from today, Thursday, January 23, is our first meeting of the new year. During the business portion of our meeting we will be discussing a service project for the year in conjunction with the upcoming AQS show in Chattanooga.  We will also officially announce our challenge of the year and what month it will be due.

The program will be each of us sharing what we accomplished with the technique drawn from the basket. Several of you have told me you have been working with dilagence and enthusiasm, what fun it will be to see the variety of creativity.

I am making a new 2014 member list. If anyone has a change in address or phone # please let me know asap. If anyone would like to be added or removed from the list, let me know that also.

See you Thursday the 23rd, 6:00, at
Bernina Sew and Quilt Studio
5950 Shallowford Rd.
Chattanooga

Take time to create, it's less expensive than therapy!

Denise
deniseohlman@yahoo.com

Happy 2014 Art Quilters

Welcome to 2014 and what a creative year it will be. Have you made a resolution concerning your quilting? I do hope each of you resolve to spend more time being creative. I know you are going to be trying more and different techniques, thanks to our GreatFul Threads program for the year.

At our January meeting on the 23rd we will each bring in the block where you used the technique you pulled from the basket. We each pulled two but you are required to use only one. Before the meeting is over we will each pull two again for the month of February. If perchance you were not at the October meeting and would like me to pull two art quilting techniques for you just send me an email.

If any of you have or are making something you would like to share via a picture on this blog, just send me the pic and I will put it on. Or maybe you received something extra special and are bursting at the seams to share the good fortune with your quilting friends, just send the pic.

Please remember we will be meeting the 4th Thursday, 6:00, at Bernina Sew and Quilt Studio, 5950 Shallowford Rd.,  Chattanooga.

Resolve to create everyday!
Denise

December News

The Jewish Federation of Greater Chattanooga is having an exhibit of Jewish prayer shawls at the Jewish Cultural Center now through January 15, 2014. There are 21 tallitot (prayer shawls) of diverse fabrics and styles. I have been to the Jewish Cultural Center several times and the exhibits  are always fascinating.  If anyone would like to go we should consider a group trip to ohhh and ahhh over the workmanship together. The Center is located at 5461 North Terrace Road in Chattanooga. Hours are Monday through Thursday 9:00 - 5:00. Friday hours are 9:00 - 4:00. The gallery will be closed December 24, 25, 31 and January 1.

GreatFul Threads has been asked to work with the Children's Discovery Museum in order to teach basic quilting skills to the children who go through the museum. Quilt blocks made will be put together, quilted and hung  at the museum, along with GreatFul Thread  art quilts, during the  during the American Quilters Society (AQS) show in September. This will be discussed during our first 2014 meeting, January 23.

I do hope all GreatFul Thread participants are working on their blocks displaying the technique each
drew from the basket at our October meeting. Each block is due the following month from which it was chosen.  January being the exception to this rule since we do not meet the months of November and December.

May each of you have an inspiring and creative Christmas season. Send me an email if there are any question.

Denise Ohlman

Recap of October meeting

What a fantastic GreatFul Threads October meeting. Thanks to Melissa for inviting local artist and teacher, Larry Bullington, who spoke to us on the subject of  "Selling our art".  Mr. Bullington is a wealth of experience and information, and we thank him for sharing it so freely with our group.  Melissa takes classes from him weekly. He handed out gift certificates for a free 2 hour class-woohoo! More importantly, he works with children who are in need of art supplies. Our group is very generous, so set aside any paint, brushes, colored pencils, masking and duct tape, yarn, string, soap, art books, glue and National Geographic magazines you might have and we will see that he gets them.

The nametag challenges were lovely and what a joy we will have seeing them every month. It's important that visitors and new members put a name to a face. It makes them feel more welcome and at ease when they can call you by the proper name without worry of offending you with the wrong name. Our challenge was beautiful and functional.

Our 2014 challenge will be a "Self Portrait". The rules are as follows"
1. At least 1/2 of the art quilt should be appliqued or pieced.
2. Size should be 11 X 14.
3. Put a sleeve on the back.

We passed the basket last night and chose our individual techniques for the January 2014 meeting. For those who were not there I have the basket and will gladly pull two out  for you, simply contact me. Each month you will add a different technique to your quilt, making a truly mixed media art quilt. The 30 techniques range from applique to painted surface. You can start with a center block of your choosing and add to it each month or you can make individual blocks each month and put them together at the end OR you can come up with your own plan of action. What's important is that you do the technique each month and explain how you went about doing it and why.

I hope each of you have clicked the button to have the blog sent to you when something new is posted. I will add pics from last night's meeting as soon as Catherine sends them.

Take time to create each day, it's less expensive than therapy,
Denise

October Meeting

Today is the last GreatFul Threads meeting for 2013. Due to Thanksgiving and Christmas falling during the same time of the month we do not meet during November and December. 

Members do not forget to bring your nametag challenge, time is up.   Melissa is in charge of the program tonight and has invited artist and art instructor, Larry Bullington, to speak. This will be an informative meeting that you will not want to miss. We will also draw our January 2014 program "out of the hat" and discuss our options for 2014 challenges. Which I am telling you so that if you have never been to our meetings or have not been in a while and would like to get started back, tonight would be a good time to be there. Do not forget to bring your show n tell. We meet at Bernina Sew N and Quilt Studio, 5950 Shallowford Rd., 6:00.

See you there,
Denise