Our fearless leader is back! Welcome home, Ardy!

Ardy opening the July meeting with a summary of her absence.



Surprise . . . Ardy’s reaction to seeing her get-well heart quilt.



Oh my, is that for me?



Sandy Poteet and Sandra Bruce display the heart quilt made for Ardy by some of the MAQ members.



Sandra Bruce showing the back of the quilt.  Notice the Bandaid on the heart.



I was surprised, speechless (also dumfounded, flabbergasted and a few
more adjectives) to receive my beautiful heart quilt at the end of the
MAQ meeting  - with my mouth open - - I can't imagine how you all
got the blocks made, got it quilted and bound in just the month since my
surgery! It truly is the most wonderful gift and I thank you all!  I
have now spent a good deal of time looking at each of the blocks - -
your artistry is amazing and I can feel the love you put in every stitch!

 

Special thanks to Sandy Poteet who collected the blocks and assembled
the quilt top with design assistance from Lin Schiffner and Gail Sims;
to Sandra Bruce who quilted it so expertly with hearts and words, and to
Darlynn Evans who added the binding - - all in record time!

 

Extra thanks to Joan Dyer who organized the "feed the Tobins campaign"!
Every evening for two whole weeks, a delicious and healthy dinner
arrived on our doorstep.  That was so much appreciated as I was really
not up to cooking (my husband is a good handyman, but not a cook)!



MAQ has been a great source of joy to me over the past 11+ years! I
promise to go to cardiac rehab, get better and continue to see that our
MAQ continues to provide us with the friendships, inspiration and
validation we all seek.

I love you all and thank you!
Ardy

MAQ had it's second challenge reveal on July 24, 2013. The challenges were: Hole(s),,,a piece wih at least one hole, Chose an Art Genre and Architectural Elements. At the end of the reveal, the members voted for the following, Best Interpretation of Challenge Theme, Best Design, Best use of Color and/or Value and Viewer's Choice.

Hole(s) . . . a piece with at least one hole

Millie Ruffalo
"Hole-in-One"
26" x 21 1/2"

My sense of humor and ideas changes as the quilt is being made.  The quilt tells me what to do.

Patti Henderson

"Wholly-Purple Haze"

13" x 12"

Painted stamped on canvas, Timtex, beads and Inktense pencils were used.  Painted metal using alcohol based paints were also used. The holes are represented by beads and grommets.  Beads were made using "Carla Perry's" straw method.

Lynda Lasich
"Celestial Space"
21" x 17"

Inspiration came from an article, "Stitching on Air" by Nancy Green, in the Oct/Now 2012 Quilting Arts Magazine along with Pine Tree Quilt Guild's challenge "Fabric of Space."  The sun and planets are what I think of when talking about space.  Trying to depict the sun as explosive and bright in the cosmos led to beading on air.

Pat Gillings
"1000 Island Inverse"
15 1/2" x 20 1/2"

I visited the 1000 Island area between Canada and the US recently and this reminded me of the islands clustered together but in reverse colors.  Creating the hole and supporting it as I wanted was definitely the challenge of this quilt.  This was created in the Fractured Circle class by Sharon Alves.

Ingrid Cattaneo

"Fuji Apple"

38" x 31"

Inspired by nature and its range of colors made this piece a challenge. The range of natures colors, particularly "greens" has always fascinated me and has always presented a challenge since green is not my favorite palette. That was my first challenge.  The second challenge was "burning" a hole through the quilt using a wood burning tool.  All the fabrics are hand-dyed, except the branch which is commercial. Original design inspiration came from a photo I took after I had cut the apple branch from the tree.

Winner, Best Design

Choose an Art Genre

Millie Ruffalo

"Rhapsody in Blue"

43" x 20 1/2"

I have always wanted to do a quilt of the music title "Rhapsody in Blue,” written by George Gershwin (Sept. 26, 1898-July 11, 1937) George Gershwin was asked to compose the new American music "Jazzy" and classical by Paul Whiteman.  The music was due in two weeks when George agreed to do the composition in 1924.  Gershwin was on the train from NY City to Boston when he was inspired by the sound of the train. George wrote the composition while on the train. The concert was held in NY City.  “Rhapsody in Blue” was his biggest hit.

Ruth Robinson

"Illusion"

26" x 36"

I took Christine Barnes on-line class in transparency.  I used cotton fabric, cotton Aurifil thread and ink.

Edith Gregersen

"Art Scrap Quilt"

27 1/2" x 28"

Choose an Art Genre.  What does that mean?  "Genre" means a kind of art — well a quilt made out of scrap leftovers can be put together in an artistic, non-traditional way.  This quilt is made of all leftover scraps from other quilts.  It is sewn together in a haphazard way that is balanced yet carefree with colors, triangles, squares and strips harmonizing with each other.  Hung on point gives it a fanciful look.  It is art that is modern in style; traditional in content.

Jan Reed

"Restoration"
31" x 35"

Inspiration for this piece comes from Alphonse Mucha and Maxfield Parish. Hand painted and commercial batiks, sateen, colored inks and pencils were used. An angel, exhausted from helping troubled souls on earth, chooses to rest in the clouds and use beams from heaven to restore her spirit.

Winner, Viewers' Choice

Patricia Porter
"Quiet ABSTRACT"
23" X 25"

Inspired by Ben Nicholson-a 20th century British artist.  Cotton, silk, upholstery fabrics, some hand dyed fabrics were used.  Cotton thread of various thicknesses and wool batting were used. 
Ben Nicholson painted austere geometric art.  He used subdued colors and subtle relief in some of his art.  I echoed his art by using soft colors and upholstery fabrics to create subtle relief in this piece.  I usually work with brighter colors, so this was a challenge for me.  I'm very pleased with the results. 

Karla Rogers

"Oceanic Illusions"

46" x 46"

Source of design was OP-Art quilts by Marilyn Doheny.  The gentle beauty created by rippling water in the Coastal Tide Pools was my inspiration for this piece.  The optical illusion that results from the waters movement often distorts and magnifies the creatures and shells seen below the surface.  It is my hope that the center quilt design and subsequent quilting hint of that gentle beauty that is so dear to my heart! The most challenging aspect was to accurately piece the various strips.  As one can imagine, the narrowest 1/4" strips presented a particularly difficult challenge.

Architectural Elements

Ann Sanderson

"The Windy City"

30" x 37"

This was an attempt to play with bright light fabrics alongside dark fabrics on a neutral background

Winner, Best use of Color and/or Value

Jeanie Ferguson

"The Star Barn"

21" x 19"

Source of design is a historic iconic architecture building that I drive by everyday. I worked with the Searls Library Historical Research to obtain specific info from Mr. Donald Canon, owner of the barn and property. We had a 5-window GMC pick-up truck just like the one pictured. My story is that the old beat-up car in its garage was "resurrected" to be this shiny beautiful 1952 GMC pick-up.

Carol Walsh

"Layers of Time- Clonmacnoise" Ireland

33" x 26"

Source of design was a 2011 visit to this magical and reverent place. The monastery of Clonmacnoise was founded in 545.  It was strategically located on the River Shannon, half-way between Dublin and Galway.  Clonmacnoise became a major center of religion, learning, craftsmanship and trade.  Through the years there were raids by the Viking and Romans and many pilgrimages by followers of Catholicism.  This was my attempt at realism.  I need to learn more about proportion and shading.

Kate Grant
"Interior Screen Door with vines and lizard"
29" x 71"

We needed a door for the doorway to our bunk room, but I wanted light to be able to pass through as well. The main material is nylon screening, cotton fabrics for the door frame, leaves and a lizard.  The door handle is made from ultra suede. When I decided to make a screen door for this space, I was faced with challenges ranging from design to construction to embellishment to installation.  I looked up screen doors on the Internet but didn't find any that appealed to me. So I designed my own.The final challenge was how to hang the door. The door-quilt will be mounted on a swinging rod and when not in use as a door, the quilt will appear to be a wall hanging. I am now searching for a pull-rod, like those used on hotel curtains, to open and close it.