FUTURE
2020 PROGRAMS: All programs are
set to be presented via Zoom, but should the opportunity arise to assemble
outside, they are all adaptable to be done so.
The Saturday, November
7th meeting will be open from 12:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. to give members a
half-hour prior to, and a half-hour after the standard (1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.)
meeting time for socializing. To
attend, sign on using the link and passcode provided by email a few days
before.
LESSONS IN ZOOM: How to use the Zoom Chat Function
(on a PC) during a Zoom meeting: Run
your cursor over the open screen. At the
bottom of the screen, a ribbon should appear where you will find video and
audio controls, and see the word Chat. Click on Chat, and a secondary window will
open. Towards the bottom of that window, there is a drop-down window that
allows you to send a personal message to one person or a message to everyone.
Conversely, if you have received a personal message, there should be an alert
to click on at the bottom of the window.
OCTOBER
- MEMBER PARTICIPATION: Members participated
in the October program by speaking about the quilting muses who inspire and influence their quilting personalities.
Linda Cassell says her greatest influence did not come from anyone famous
but, rather, from four of her quilting friends. She started quilting in 2001 through a class given
in her Sunday School class and fell in love with both quilting and spending
time talking to her friends there. Through
joining the Upcountry Quilt Guild, she met Gayle Sexton, Pat Kirko
and Paige Alexander, the latter, her best friend. All these women do outstanding and amazing
work, and each has had a hand in bestowing their generosity, kindness, gentle
teaching and inspiration on Linda. Through
her quilting life, the women she has met, the friends she has made, and the camaraderie
she has with them mean everything. Lastly,
she also admits to her guilty pleasure of surfing Pinterest for
inspiration. (You’re not alone Linda!)
Sandy Helsel sent an email since she could not
attend and said, “Cheryl Brickey
is My Favorite Quilt Designer. Cheryl
Brickey, a friend since I moved to Greenville over eight years ago, first at
Foothills Piecemakers Quilt Guild and now in Greenville Modern Quilt Guild,
will always be my favorite quilt designer. Her designs are fresh in color,
interesting in pattern and design, and explicit with detailed instructions. Her
enthusiasm for expression in quilt designing is contagious and carries with it
adventure in capturing new ideas that spawn creativity in all of us. Cheryl is
an excellent teacher and focuses each of her patterns to specific levels of
sewing and quilting abilities. She energizes her workshops with excitement
making all of us feel, “oh, yes, I can do this!” and what looks impossible, ‘a
walk in the park!’ She can make a
pattern that looks abstract seem much more practical in technique. For me,
Cheryl has taken the strict concepts and rules of Modern Quilt Design and
softened the edges to make it come alive.
I have shared her patterns with quilting friends in other locations
across the U.S. by presenting them with her patterns and books as gifts…, one
of which she co-wrote with Paige Alexander named, ‘Modern Plus Sign Quilts’.”
Faye Jones’ greatest influence
overall are the Gees Bend quilters.
Descendants of slaves who worked and lived in a geographically isolated
area of Alabama, these self-taught women became world famous having created numerous
classically designed quilts reminiscent of modern quilts with absolutely no
formal training. Even before Faye
discovered them, she knew when she started quilting, abstract and improv design
appealed to her nature. Faye shared the
first quilt she made and the first quilt book she ever bought, “Create Your Own
Free-Form Quilts,” by Rayna Gillman. Gillman not only teaches and creates improv
quilts, but also explains how to add something extra with surface-design
techniques. She teaches techniques rather
than providing traditional patterns, and it is these techniques that allow you
to produce something entirely unique.
Sheryl Sane’s greatest
influencer is Dagmar Theodore, who was originally a friend of her
sister-in-law’s, then became and has been her friend for years. Sheryl met Dagmar now and then over the years,
having knitting in common, and she eventually saw some of Dagmar’s quilts. Originally a member of the Traveler’s Rest
Quilt Guild, Dagmar convinced Sheryl to attend the Foothills guild. She went and enjoyed it and eventually, along
with Dagmar, moved on to Modern. She
agrees with Linda, “It’s the people [who inspire].”
Valorie Kasten has been working
on improving the quality of her finished product, the craft, the putting it
together and found Harriet Hargrave to be the most helpful. Hargrave is an extremely traditional quilter,
but she and her daughter have published a series of books called, “The Quilters
Academy,” which are all about achieving exceptional quality. The series contains superior illustrations and
is filled with “all those little tips that help make a great quilt.” Valorie feels Hargrave can’t be beat when it
comes to her instructions for a better final product.
Susan Rink’s great influencer
is Eleanor Burns, famous for her “Quilt in a Day” series. Susan’s first quilt was a Log Cabin from a Burns
book, one of many that teaches everything from straight grain of fabric to how
to strip piece. Susan took a fantastic class
from Nancy Johnson-Srebro in Lancaster County when rotary cutters and
rulers first came out. If you can find
one of her old books and are new to rotary cutting, Susan recommends it. Later, when she saw an exhibit of Australian
quilts with all the many bright, saturated colors, and wild fauna and flora,
she was hooked and never looked back. She
naturally came to appreciate Kaffe Fassett’s work and as one of his
biggest fans, follows his Collective on FB.
Additionally, she is inspired by a variety of non-quilter artists posting
on Instagram, e.g., National Geographic photographers, and through her
travels to Italy and Paris. Susan found
the colors and color combinations in Brian Cook’s “Landscapes of Britain”
illustrations to be fascinating and inspiring.
She is continually motivated by fellow quilters in guild meetings,
seeing the quilts in Quilt Quark and social media, and learning from others as
to how they translate their ideas.
Darleen
Sanford
used to be a very traditional quilter, using a lot of browns and other earth
tones in her classical quilts. Then while
the GMQG was still in its infancy and being held at Bernina, Marilyn Hagopian
invited Darleen to attend. As the guild
grew, simply attending the meetings and observing other members’ work fired her
imagination. She left the traditional
behind and gradually got more modern, using less browns, a lot more color, and
more improvisational methods. Darleen has
made several quilts inspired by Jaccquie Gering and Katie Pedersen’s
“Quilting Modern: Techniques and Projects for Improvisational Quilts,” which provides
the fundamental principles from which quilts may be created without patterns
per se.
Elise Dunbar similarly shared Gering and
Pedersen’s ‘Quilting Modern’ book with a focus on Katie Pedersen. Elise made her daughter’s college quilt from
this ‘fabulous’ book then took a class from Pedersen in Seattle, subsequently
producing the two orange and blue quilts she shared in Quilt Quark. The guild itself, along with classes, and
seeing what everyone is doing has also been amazingly inspirational. Elise shared the old “Quilt in a Day – Log
Cabin Pattern” book by Eleanor Burns referenced above by Susan
Rink. Elise said it’s the best book,
from which she got started making baby quilts. From there she moved on to more
fun colors and modern style. Heather
Jones has influenced Elise with her wonky patterning based on the art of Josef
and Anni Albers. Josef’s work both
in Europe and the U.S. formed the basis of modern art education programs of the
20th century (albersfoundation.org). The Modern Quilt Guild’s QuiltCon,
Pinterest and Instagram are continually inspiring; see dailyoverview on
Instagram for photos taken from satellite where potential-quilt inspiration
abounds. Other influencers include Melanie
Tuazon, a quilter and fiber artist whose process includes a spectrum of
improvisation, and Timna Tarr who does map quilts and otherwise “sees
each block in a quilt as its own element independent of the other blocks. After constructing all the blocks, she
arranges the small compositions to play off each other… to create a larger whole.”
Travis
Seward
is influenced and inspired to distraction by so many things, he never knows
what he will want to design and make next.
It’s been a process of figuring out who he is, what his quilting style is,
and what he enjoys making. He says it’s
also about giving himself permission not to judge his work or himself by
others’ standards and not being intimidated by other people, because we’re all
valid and deserve to be happy and make things that make us happy. He was struggling earlier in the year with
these things and fearing his work might become derivative if he continued working
on things that have been done before such as the Log Cabin when Cindy suggested
he read, “Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative,”
by Austin Kleon. The book is a tiny
inexpensive ‘quick read’ that presents ten transformative principles designed to help you
discover your artistic side and build a more creative life. Kleon says nothing is original, so embrace
influence, school yourself through the work of others, remix and reimagine to
discover your own path, and don’t wait until you know who you are to get
started - just go do it. Kleon goes on
to say side projects and hobbies are important and you should draw on those
things. Be nice (which we happily do
well in our Guild), and it’s ok to be boring.
This and Kleon’s follow-up books will help to ground you and get your
thoughts together if you’re at loose ends.
Another enlightening book in this genre is, “Your Inner Critic is a Big
Jerk,” by Danielle Krysa. On the
opposite end of the spectrum, the International Quilt Museum in Lincoln,
Nebraska, has a beautiful Instagram feed of outstanding historical quilts. Travis is greatly drawn to people who came
before us, the work they’ve done, the world they created, and this collection
that exists.
Lynne Harrill said Michael James has
long been a muse of hers; his use of color and design speak to her. An American artist, educator, author, and lecturer,
he is best known as a leader of the art quilt movement
that began in the 1970s. She took a class from him and learned you
need to know the language of art and incorporate it in your work; think about
what you’re doing and talk to yourself. Lynne
is also influenced by non-quilting American artists such as Frank Stella,
a painter,
sculptor and printmaker noted for his work in the areas of minimalism and
post-painterly abstraction; Esteban Vicente, Spanish American
painter who was one of the first generation of NY School abstract
expressionists; and Jasper Johns*, a painter, sculptor and printmaker from SC whose
work is associated with abstract expressionism, Neo-Dada, and pop art, and is
well known for his depictions of the American flag and other U.S.-related
topics. The Greenville County Museum
of Art has one of the ten largest institutional collections of his works. Painter Morris Louis is
considered one of the earliest exponents of Color Field painting where "color is
freed from objective context and becomes the subject in itself," and
was one of the Washington (D.C.) painters who formed the Washington Color
School.
*Speaking
of Jasper Johns, he once said something that might help us tackle the dilemma
Travis described above: “Using the
design of the American flag took care of a great deal for me because I didn’t
have to design it. So, I went on to
similar things like the targets – things the mind already knows. That gave me room to work on other levels.”
Brooke
Stambersky
is drawn to many different types of quilting. She loves quilts with geometric
shapes and bright colors, so you will see her quilts falling into those
categories. A friend of Brooke’s who has
been quilting for several years got her started. Her first quilt was done by taking a block-of-the-month
class at a local quilt shop in Asheville.
She is also gravitating toward collage quilts which she really enjoys. She also loves the inspiration she derives from
the people she follows on Instagram.
During quarantine, she has been incorporating embroidery machine quilting-in-the-hoop
into a Kimberbell quilt-as-you-go quilt.
Kerry Steck’s
quilt beginnings echo those who made an Eleanor Burns Log Cabin, having made
her second quilt with Burns’ pattern.
She has been influenced by many different styles and has always been
drawn to pictorial quilts whether made by collage, appliqué or piecing
techniques. She is most definitely
inspired by color - the colors in nature, lots of blues and greens. Whether it’s seeing everyone’s sewing rooms
during our Zoom meetings, quilts during Show and Share, or going
to quilt shows, Kerry finds lots of inspiration everywhere she looks.
Dagmar
Theodore
may not have grown up with the tradition of quilting in her family, but when
she moved from Germany to America over 20 years ago, she landed in Simpsonville
across the street from Debbie Graves, a quilter and fabric collector.
When she was unpacking her garment fabric, Debbie’s daughter said, “My mom has
way more fabric than you,” a hint of things to come. Debbie eventually took Dagmar to her first
quilting class where she would make her first quilt - a King-sized ‘Trip Around
the World,’ using traditional fabrics. Later,
she read an article about Denyse Schmidt and it was a wake-up call for
her. She is a big fan of the painter, Paul
Klee, and was struck when for the first time she saw a quilt that looked like
a painting. To Dagmar, Schmidt’s quilts
and designs were more art than craft.
She bought her book, “Denyse Schmidt Quilts,” which includes a lot of
small projects, e.g., how to make sewn notecards, potholders, how to embellish
a notebook cover, etc., several of which Dagmar made for Christmas gifts. She has since participated in two of Schmidt’s
quilt-alongs, which started her move towards the modern way. Dagmar shared her Schmidt quilts, ‘Proverbial’
with color and improv all in one piece and ‘Freewheeling Single Girl,’ Schmidt’s
interpretation of a Double Wedding Ring quilt.
Since then, Dagmar has found many more inspiring quilters to follow on
Instagram, finds all the quilters around her inspiring, and stretches her creativity
in everyday life, for example, by seeing a magnificent quilt in such a benign thing
as a building.
Cindy
Lange
said when there was a rediscovery of Amish quilts in the late 80s and
90s, it led her to fall in love with the strong, solid graphic presentation used
in their work. In that vein, her most
current and beautifully executed project emulates the Amish-inspired medallion
pattern using deeply hued solid colors. Years
ago, she bought, “Amish Quilts: 30
Traditional Patterns,” by Kenneth and Rachel Pellman but had to “sit on
it” until she retired and had the time to pursue quilting. She just loved the idea of these quiet farm
ladies making these big pieces of pop art, and she wanted to get in on that. The
inspiration that struck her so many years ago finally came to fruition when, as
a retired empty nester, she “took up the needle.”
Rita
Sassone
lived in Tucson, Arizona, for 15 years and when she returned to AZ recently, was
shocked to learn there were eight quilt shops in her city alone. She loves color, but finds following a
pattern very tough for her because she becomes bored. Last March, she had an opportunity to go to Gees
Bend, and fell in love with those women.
The freedom manifested in their practice to just “wack it” and go on, “wack
it” and sew it, was eye opening. When
she asked them if they could give her some guidance, she recalls being told by
one woman, “you don’t need no help! You
know what you’re doing!” It was that
door-opening encouragement to go forward and trust herself that inspired Rita. Also, in her circle, Johnnie McKenzie
has been a huge influence and challenger, is a talented artist and has a lot of
ideas. It was a revelation to Rita when her
friend, Barbara, challenged her to look at a pattern she likes, to make one
up on her own, and that she could do that.
Joining the guilds and learning from other people inspires her. Every time she comes to this guild’s meeting,
she is inspired to go home and do something, and try something different. She’s greatly appreciative of this group and
loves everyone in it.
Cynthia
Steward
lived in a very remote, rural community in upper Michigan when she started
quilting. She didn’t have much contact
with other quilters, but found great inspiration by watching Nancy Zieman’s,
“Sewing with Nancy,” produced by PBS Wisconsin for 35 years and easily
accessible today at nancyzieman.com.
Although not all the content applied to Cynthia, she did find the show
to be very helpful, solidifying many of her skills. Cynthia had sewn since she was young, but bought
Zieman’s book, “Sewing A to Z,” as a refresher. Zieman did a lot of work on landscape quilts, something
in which Cynthia was very interested at the time. She shared a splendid landscape piece she did
based on a photo her husband took of Mont Blanc, in the Swiss Alps. Cynthia was next inspired by Jean Wells. She had always liked the artistic side of
quilting and bought Wells’ book, “Intuitive Color and Design: Adventures in Art Quilting,” in which Wells
does a lot of improv strip piecing.
Cynthia shared a terrific “combined inspiration” piece she made based on
Wells’ approach as well as by the fine art of 17th-century Dutch
painter Jan Vermeer van Delft, who specialized in domestic interior scenes
of middle class life and is particularly renowned for his masterly treatment
and use of light in his work. Cynthia
has taken a lot of inspiration from many fine artists and likes abstract and
early modern artists as well.
Dana
Blasi
was unable to attend the meeting, but since she is writing these minutes, she
would like to share the following. Her
original muse was her Aunt Frances Watts Browning who made all sorts of wonderful things with
fabric, from wedding dresses to quilts. Some
of her earliest quilting inspiration came from watching Alex Anderson’s
show, “Simply Quilts,” that gradually convinced her she, too, could
make a quilt. In 2002 she designed and
made her first two quilts in anticipation of her twin grandchildren’s births. Dana gravitates toward appliqué and bright
colors, and early on was inspired by the wonderfully colorful art and quilts of
Laurel Burch, quilters Robbi Joy Eklow and Jane Sassaman, British
quilter Phillipa Naylor, and Australian artist and quilter Pam
Holland. In 2015 she joined the GMQG
and found inspiration and encouragement from every member there. Non-quilter artists she looks to include French
painter Henri Matisse, British/Finnish artist Sanna Annukka whose
colorful Scandinavian printed images have morphed into fabric design; “Atomic
Art” such as that of El Gato Gomez; and French modernist artist, Louis
Toffoli’s post-cubist transparent paintings.
Thanks
to all those members who participated in this enlightening program! Thanks to you, our wealth of inspirational sources
and resources has no doubt increased tenfold.
NOVEMBER
– COPYRIGHT ISSUES: CINDY LAMMON AND
PAIGE ALEXANDER, both
published authors,
will
give a presentation on the use of printed and public materials, copyright
considerations, what you can use, how you can use it, and if it is copyrighted,
how to obtain permission to use it from the author of the material.
DECEMBER – MYSTERY
HOLIDAY ELF SWAP:
Sign up to make an item for the Mystery Holiday
Elf Swap! Email Faye Jones at birdie1345<AT>AOL<DOT>com to register for the swap, briefly identifying your
preference for a religious, secular (e.g., HO HO HO, reindeer, ornamental
things), traditional or modern item so that you can get something you will want
and can use. Faye will make the Elf
assignments, then let you know who your recipient will be. There are no parameters or rules for the items
you wish to make. For hints as to what
your assignee likes, you may want to look at past work they’ve done in previous
meeting minutes on the blog. During the
December 5th Zoom meeting, you will show your piece, talk about it a
little, and then reveal for whom the object was made. It will be left to you to coordinate your
swaps.
GMQG 2020 BLOCK OF THE MONTH: LATIFAH SAAFIR: Cynthia
Seward’s October BOM modern influencer is Latifah Saafir. In a recently published book, when asked ‘why
do you quilt,’ Latifah responded simply by saying, “I quilt because I have
to.” This appealed to Cynthia and the
membership alike. Latifah and Alissa
Haight Carlton are Co-Founders of the Modern Quilt Guild who, using early
social media sites, connected with other quilters employing fresher and more
modern styles in their quilt designs.
Both were disappointed with the lack of modern style quilts represented
in traditional quilt shows so they decided to start a modern quilting group. The first ever MQG chapter met in October
2009 in Los Angeles and with the help of the internet, the guild quickly took
off and spread worldwide.
Latifah
has a versatile and distinctive creative voice and uses many elements of modern
quilting in her designs including: Clean
lines; Negative space; Modern traditionalism; Bold graphics; and Minimalism. A lot of her quilts tend to be more whole
quilt designs as opposed to being comprised of blocks. Blue Maize is one of her earlier, and
probably the most traditional of her quilts.
Some of her earlier quilts include Up in the Air, Pickled Beets, Neon
& Neutral (using clamshells, for which she is well-known), and Airshow made
with bias tape. Along with her Porthole baby quilt you will find the helpful guidance:
“One stitch. One Seam. One quilt at a time.” Good advice for the novice (if not for us
all) who may be overwhelmed in the beginning.
Designer. Teacher.
Maker. Muse. Latifah is one of modern quilting’s most
recognizable ambassadors, and she is committed to promoting her love of
quilting and helping others on their own journey of self-discovery. Her website is full of modern patterns and
useful tools, and she teaches workshops, hosts online tutorials, and publishes
in magazines and books.
What
may well be the most unique thing about her is that in addition to reaching the
adult market, she has also developed Quilt Cadets for younger people. Not unlike the Scouts programs, it is a merit-badge
based program tailored to teach kids and teens sewing and quilting skills using
fun projects. She seems to have found a
terrific way to get that next generation interested and hooked, which is never
easy.
One
of the things for which Latifah is well known is curves. Curves don’t have to be difficult; it just
takes practice. Plan sizes – bigger is
easier; Carefully cut fabric; Sew slowly; and Press very well. So, this month’s BOM is the Half-Circle Block
(in any size you choose to make).
Cynthia chose this block because it is a little less common, as well as
a little easier than the quarter circle because it has one less seam to match
up and piece together. An important tip
to use when sewing curves is to use a walking, dual-feed, or Curve Master
presser foot that will move both pieces of fabric together at the same rate.
Instructions
for making a curved template may be found in the PDF block instruction. For more help
on sewing curved pieces, go to Latifah Saafir Studios on YouTube at https: // www.youtube.com/
c/ latifahsaafirstudios (without the spaces).
Email
Cynthia at belleekster<AT>gmail<DOT>com with any questions. Please email photos of your completed
BOMs for the Quilt Quark Gallery (“QQG”) to greenvillemqg@gmail.com to be shared in our virtual gallery and at
the following meeting. We’d love to see
your work!
SEW-IN: There will be no Sew-ins until February
2021.
WILDACRES
RETREAT – 2021: Sandy said we are
awaiting our assigned dates expected late October/early November, and registration
begins in January 2021.
MEMBERSHIP: We welcomed 22 members in our Zoom meeting
this month.
PHILANTHROPY: Faye has received several more charity
quilts and is holding them since the Julie Valentine Center is not seeing many
kids onsite at this time. If you have a
quilt to donate, you may hold on to it for now or coordinate with Faye to pass it
on to her. She thanked the people who have
been sharing their work on the QQG beforehand.
Questions concerning the program and drop off/pickup may be directed to
Faye at birdie1345<AT>aol<DOT>com.
NOMINATING COMMITTEE:
The nominees for
the 2021 Board and extended positions will be voted on during the November 7th
meeting. If you cannot attend the Zoom
meeting next month, please respond to the voting email which will be sent out
prior to the meeting. We are still looking for someone to head up Block of the
Month as well as Facility Coordinator. The
nominees are as follows:
Board of Directors:
- President – Brooke Stambersky
- Vice
President, Programs –
Rita Sassone
- Membership
Chair –
Jill Erickson
