We had our first meeting in person in over a year!  The theme of the meeting was technique demos from some of our amazing members. We met at one of the member's house and got to see the beautiful pool project she's been working on.

Tracy Visher

“The Hole Megillah”

 Tracy demonstrated an interesting way to create a raised, covered and backed cord “ring” that is pushed through a hole you cut in your quilt (GASP…what?!). Tracy calls herself the “mad scientist” and is always trying out-of-the-box approaches and techniques. This one as was inspired by Betty Busby’s work. The basic technique is to cover a rope ring with stretchy medical tubing that has been dyed. A piece of fabric is placed behind the hole in the ring and attached. The ring is pushed through the hole that has been cut through the quilt top and batting and secured. It looks really cool!!!

                        

Jan Reed

Creating Smooth Transitions

Jan showed us how she uses colored pencils and oil pastels to soften the transitions of color or value between objects or pieces of fabrics in her work. She demonstrated on a fused piece-in-process that depicts colorful rocks that are under water. Jan uses her fingers and sometimes brushes to blend the added medium with the fabric and the results are stunning. It was clear that this is a skill that requires much experimentation and practice. Jan is a master.

Jane Haworth

Mono-printing Botanicals using a Gelli Plate

Jane demonstrated a technique for making mono-prints with a gelli plate using plants and leaves. She has been experimenting making these on fabric so they can be used in her quilting and they can be made even more easily using paper. Jane uses various acrylic paints, a gel plate, and stiffened fabric (she sprays it with Terial Magic) to create layers of color and pattern. The designs produced are unpredictable and serendipitous and it is great fun to see what happens. The resulting fabrics are great to cut up and use in collage work.

Shelli Fried

Bury Those Threads…Easy Peasy

Shelli passed out needle, thread, and fabric to get everyone hands-on. Most people were new to this super-easy way to bury thread ends or pull stray threads, yarn, etc. through to the other side. The technique uses the loop created by putting a doubled thread through a needle. The threads to be buried are captured in the loop and are pulled through along with the needle. Hard to explain – easy to do. If you missed it, ask Shelli.