2 more Hospice quilts completed!!

 Dolly has been a quilting machine!  She completed 2 more quilts.  These were piece, quilted and bound all by her.  Thank you Dolly!! 

Hospice quilt almost completed

Here’s a quilt that has been in my to do list for AWHILE. I got it done on Saturday of our hospice work days

Quilted linens

This is not my quilt, but a friend’s that I quilted for her.  She had a BUNCH of old linens & hankerchiefs from both her and her husband’s family. She made 3 quilts for her 3 grandchildren showcasing the family heirlooms. This is the last one.  If I remember correctly, each quilt had a special, large linen near the middle of it.  They all had the same color scheme - yellow, gray and black - though they all had different sashing fabric and backing.

Dolly and Mary K show hospice quilts made by Mary C

New member Joan Fulton shows her dye-painted, word-stitched art quilt representing her childhood landscape in Saskatchewan

 Carmen behind her stamped piece from Dye Days

Mary K showing a deconstructed screen print from dye Days

 

September 2023 LAQ meeting notes

 We had 15 attendees at our meeting. And we gained three new members! Welcome Sarah Lee, Joan Fulton, and Rocio Gomez!

1. (Un)Common Threads debrief

Publicity: Judy and Kathleen submitted a written report on their publicity efforts, with recommendations for the future. They think that social media and word-of-mouth were the most effective methods of attracting visitors to the show.

Reception: Ronda reported that the food and beverages meant for the Friday afternoon reception actually lasted for the full three days of the show, and seemed to enhance visitors’ experience of the show.

Sales: Brett reported that we had $1,955 in sales. Although not all the bills have been paid, we now have a balance of $1,244 in our bank account.

Overall assessment: Almost 200 people attended, sales were strong (17 pieces out of almost 70), and we had excellent feedback from visitors. People seemed to spend a lot of time looking at the art and asking questions about our techniques.

Moving forward: We agreed in principle to host the show again in 2025 with the same title and (hopefully) the same venue. One significant change would be for LAQ to collect commissions on sales and/or charge non-LAQ members an entry fee to offset the costs involved. (Andrea pointed out that the Laramie Fiber Guild had contributed $50 to cover advertising costs.)

Sharon Cumbie, our curator, declined to be paid, but she expressed a strong interest in one of Mary K’s mandala pieces. We voted to purchase the piece from Mary to give to Sharon.

2. Question of the day: what inspiration did you get from the show?

This question elicited a wide array of positive responses from both those who participated in the show and those who visited it. People commented on the range of techniques and colors on display, the ability to get up close and see the details in the work, the overall sense of joy in the show, the stories in the artwork, the power of creativity in community, the satisfaction of recognition for our work, and the welcoming atmosphere in the gallery.

3. Planning

Our meeting on October 21 will be focused on planning our schedule for 2024. Ronda offered to give a demo on rattail binding for the November meeting.

Informal brainstorming for next year’s programs included lots of ideas:

making name tags

using stabilizers

how to plan and organize a project from the beginning

bead-weaving - Wendi and Judy

using 3D in a piece -- Mary K and Jodie

reviving challenges

designating some meetings as work days for individual projects

Michaella will lead a book study, using Intuitive Color & Design by Jean Wells and will also coordinate another free motion quilting course.

4. Hospice

Mary C will lead hospice work zoom sessions either October 6 & 7 or 27 & 28. Mary K will compile a list of people interested. Dolly suggested that we also schedule some pinning days after people get their tops assembled. Kathleen reported that we have donated 50 quilts to hospice over the past five years.

5. Other business

Joan Fulton told us about a 5-day workshop with Hollis Chatelain scheduled for March 2024 in Loveland, sponsored by the League of Northern Colorado Quilters The cost is $575 which includes some supplies Registration opens October 2 for non-members of LNCQ. Barbara will send information about the workshop in an email to members.

Andrea Graham invited LAQ members to attend the Laramie Fiber Guild meetings on the second Tuesdays of the month at 6:30 at the EppsonSenior Center.

6. Show & Tell

Members showed results of their Dye Days work; photos are posted on the LAQ blog.

NEXT MEETING

October 21 2023

9:00 socializing, 9:30 meeting

Extension room at the Albany County Fairgrounds

Pix from (Un)Comon Threads August 2023

 What a great show we had! Sharon and Stephanie did a stellar job of hanging our work.  We

had more than 150 visitors over the three days we were open.  Best of all, several of us sold some of our work!  Thanks to everyone who showed their work, helped with logistics, and attended the show.

getting ready for (Un)Common Threads - August 2, 2023

 We had a great time laying out all our work for Sharon Cumbie and her crew to see.  We are all so excited about the show!

Lydia's results from Dye Days

Here is some of what I got: Silk cloth is Avacado and Bronze ice dyed. Silk just eats up the colors wonderfully. 

Pulled prints did not lose color this year. But break down of design was very uneven. Phoenix and fireflies: 

 

pix from March and April 2023 LAQ meetings

 

notes from April 2023 meeting

 Laramie Art Quilters Meeting Notes for April 15, 2023

Business

Dye Days is scheduled for July 13-15 in Ashley’s studio on campus. On Thursday and Friday, we can park on 22nd Street; on Saturday, we can park in the lot behind the Visual Arts Building. There is an outdoor spigot for rinsing. Ashley has powdered fabric dyes that we can use. If anyone wants a particular color of dye, let Mary K know by the end of May, when she will place an order to Dharma for dyes and other supplies. In the meantime, save those yogurt and snack containers! Large tub containers and black plastic trash bags are also good for transporting your dyed pieces home. LAQ will provide gloves, but remember to bring your own masks for mixing dye powder.

Michaella suggested that LAQ consider having a retreat next year -- a day, perhaps out of town, where we bring our machines and just sew and talk and have a potluck lunch. This would be a way to help re-establish the camaraderie we had before the pandemic -- as well as providing an opportunity for addressing those pesky UFOs.

In the ensuing discussion, we thought it might work to have a mini-retreat at our June meeting as we are finishing projects for the show. Ashley offered her space for that purpose.

August show

While the sign-up sheet for pieces to be entered in the show went around, we brainstormed titles. At the last meeting, we thought the word “threads” was central. At this meeting, 13 names were suggested and voted on. The winner was “Uncommon Threads” / “(Un)Common Threads” / “Un/Common Threads.” Barbara will work with a graphic design student on creating a poster and postcard.

The Fiber Guild will likely submit a group-created piece for the show; they have offered to share some of the publicity costs with us.

Moment of Inspiration

“What inspires you?” The answers were predictably wide-ranging: the natural world, texture, color, music, other people’s work, materials themselves, water, birds, being “in flow”, “this group”, views from our windows, seeing all kinds of fabrics while shopping, old buildings and walls, classes, images that tap into the unconscious. What a wonderfully creative bunch we are!

Brett reminded us of her “diversion list” practice: when she gets distracted while working on a project (“ooh, I want to try that”), she puts the distraction on her “diversion list” for later.

FMQ class / Show and Tell

Several members of this spring’s class brought samples of their work to show. For show and tell, Ronda showed her latest ice-dyeing results. Jodie was carrying a bag that her mother had made from fabric scraps. Debbie brought in examples of her recent glass fusing experiments. And Brett showed her latest crocheted felted “vessels.” Barbara displayed a piece she calls “Veils” made from lace and sari silk strips.

Other business

Judy raised an interesting question about pre-printed panels: are they acceptable to submit for a show? In the lively discussion that followed, the consensus was the type of panel was not original art, although the embellishment on them certainly was.

And, thanks, Judy, for the wonderful apple cake you brought!

Upcoming Events

Laramie Pop-Up Art Show in various businesses in the downtown area is April 26-30.

Sale of Kathleen Clymer’s enormous crafts and fabric collection is ongoing on weekends in April and May (and possibly beyond). 5325 Chaparral (take 287 south to Howe Road, turn east, then south on Chaparral).

The Laramie Sewing Guild sale is set for September 16. If you have items to donate, contact Mary K.

Next Meeting Saturday, May 20 at the Fairgrounds

March 2023 meeting notes

 

Laramie Art Quilters Meeting Notes for March 18, 2023

Debbie and Ronda provided and coffee for the meeting. Thanks!

Brett reported that we have $1,264.95 in our checking account right now.

Ronda updated us on the quilt she donated to the Hospice fundraiser in February. Apparently our request for a $250 minimum bid wasn’t received, but Ronda spoke to the organizers and had it raised to that amount. The final bid was $300. In our ensuing discussion, we realized that this event was not Hospice’s main fundraiser for the year. We will know next time to do better research.

Mary K reported on the meeting that she and Barbara had with Bob Moore of the SOK Gallery. Mary made a sketch of the floor plan and noted the availability of tables, pedestals and shelves that we could use. The cost will be $75 for Thursday set-up, and $100 each for Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Bob does not charge a commission, nor does he provide insurance for the contents of the building that aren’t his. So we should check with our own home owners insurance about coverage for our pieces. Barbara will draft an agreement with SOK.

Barbara has asked Ashley to recommend an outside juror, and will ask Sharon Cumbie if she would be willing to curate the show (as she did for our shows at ArtConnect). [Upate: Sharon has agree to do this for us.]  We have a student graphic arts minor lined up to design our poster. She can have it done by June 15. In the meantime, Mary K can take photographs in May. We can begin publicity even before we have a poster and postcards. Barbara will set up an LAQ Instagram account. Jodie can help link it to Facebook.

We then switched gears and shared around the table our favorite technique of the moment. (Sorry I didn’t take better notes of what everyone said!) Christi’s complex technique of hand-carding, spinning and dyeing wool to make an amazing weaving that represented changing temperatures over the past 100 years reminded us of the question we often get asked: “How long it it take you to make that?” We considered including that information for the pieces we will enter in our August show.

Mary K then reviewed a variety of finishing and hanging techniques, including mounting small textiles on a wrapped canvas and creating hanging sleeves. She also mentioned using slats from Venetian blinds or tension rods rather than wood slats for lightweight items.

Barbara passed around a sign-up sheet for members to list the pieces they intend to enter in the show. While that went around, we brainstormed ideas for naming the show. What emerged most strongly was an emphasis on THREAD as the core idea. We’ll continue to play with titles in the next couple of months.

Debbie Gorski took numerous photos of our show and tell. I will post them on the blog.

Our next meeting is scheduled for April 15 at the Extension building. Thanks, Ronda, for securing this space for us.

Various hanging ideas from March 2023 meeting

 Mounting onto canvas from Lyric Kinard's blog:

https://lyrickinard.com/2019/07/tutorial-mounting-small-textiles-on-a-gallery-wrapped-canvas-pt-1/

Mounting onto canvas from Cindy Grisdela: (fewer photos, but some other good ideas)

https://cindygrisdela.com/2017/05/17/mounting-art-quilts-on-canvas-tutorial/

We will also demonstrate using a window screen frame to create a blind frame.  I (Mary Koenig) have a pdf that explains this process thoroughly.  If you would like this pdf, contact me.  

pix from the February LAQ meeting