Holiday Party

We weren't able to be together last year, but this year we joyfully gathered at Marilyn's, with her beautiful Christmas decorations.   Renee is our loose thread in Santa Fe and is always missed.  Mary Ann Michelson passed away this year and she is missed.

Leila took this photo and did some excellent photoshop work to get rid of some of the glare.  Thanks, Leila.

Holiday Party

We always have a holiday party at Marilyn's.  She really decorates the house beautifully.  It is a pot luck, of course, and always delicious.  This year was no exception.  After dinner, we adjourn upstairs to Marilyn's music studio and share gifts.  This year the group decided that each of us would bring 6 6" squares of our hand-dyed fabric.  It should be noted that almost no one followed these directions.   Instead, there was dupioni silk and lengths of other fabric and larger pieces of dyed fabric, special ribbons and thread.  Everyone was pleased with their gift.

Adrienne Simpson, Marilyn's daughter arrived with professional photo equipment, lights, umbrellas for the lights, etc. and shot this great photo of all of us.  OK, really Renee wasn't there - sunning herself in Costa Rica, but we missed her, and she was there in spirit, so I did a little photoshop work.

Laura Fogg wins at Houston

Laura received a third place ribbon in the Pictorial Category for her quilt called Girona Portal.  Way to go Laura.

Art from the Heart

Redwood Valley was hit particularly hard by the firestorm that raged through our area last month.  Laura Fogg has contributed art as have many other artists.  Here's the information from Laura:

Tickets and all of the artwork will be at the Corner Gallery after Nov 5. Please buy early and buy often. It's a drawing, not an auction, so one ticket will win each separate piece. You get to put your tickets into whichever envelopes you choose.

Love and thanks,  Laura

Laura Fogg is in a show in Willits - Seven Kinds of Wonderful

Creative Strength Training

Everyone in our group has decided to take Jane Dunnewald's online class Creative Strength Training.  Luckily for us, Jane was teaching a Complex cloth class (which Laura took) and was available for dinner.  So thanks that Holly has a house on the coast and made arrangements with Jane for dinner and we all contributed to a delicious potluck and a lively discussion and sharing with Jane.  It was a beautiful evening.

Quilt Retreat

Last weekend was our annual retreat and something we all look forward to.  This year was no exception.  We set our retreat date early and 95% of the time all of us are there.  But this year was a little different.  Renee was in Hawaii, on her own retreat with her husband, and I was wearing my hat as the silent auction manager for the Anderson Valley Housing Assn.  Annually, the housing association is the recipient of the funds raised by the silent auction at the International Alsace Varietals Festival in Boonville.  Luckily, I was able to get to the fabulous house we rent north of Ft. Bragg on the Mendocino Coast, just in time for wine, conversation and a delicious dinner, followed by music making by our talented group of musicians, Marilyn Simpson, Leila Kazimi, Betty Lacy, and Joyce Paterson.  It was a great way for me too unwind after the frantic effort to get ready for the silent auction.  Leila has made up a songbook and we each selected a song to singalong with.  Great fun with some amazing musicians.

Everyone felt this was the best retreat in all our retreat years.  The difference this year was that we decided not to do any sort of group directed project.  Instead, everyone worked on their own individual projects, from baby quilts to scrap, abstract, nature or geometic quilts.  They are all very different, but reflect the individuality of our artistic group.

I'll be sure to find out when the Alsace Festival is before we sent a date for next year.  I really missed the camaraderie, laughter and high jinks of my quilt sisters.  Next year......

Another Great Year

We had our annual holiday gathering at Marilyn's house.  She goes all out decorating for Christmas, so the atmosphere is always festive.  In lieu of a gift exchange, we each chose to donate money to an organization with textile related projects or loans.  We all agreed that each of had indeed enough fabric, paint, thread, beads, etc. etc. but there are many women not as fortunate as us who could use that $25 we had spent on each other in the past.  So a new tradition is born.

And a new look at our smiling and festive faces, with special thanks to Marilyn's daughter Adrienne for being our photographer.

Pacific International Quilt Festival

PIQF is the one big international quilt show in the bay area.  It's held every year at the Santa Clara Convention Center near the middle of October.  Often our whole group goes, but this year because many of us are going to Houston, there were fewer.  But there were plenty of winners in the group.  And everyone who went to the show enjoyed it, were inspired and some managed to come home with fabric as well.

Joyce Paterson got an Honorable Mention in the category Wall Quilts for her quilt "The Songbirds Garden Duet", below.

Ann Horton was awarded a blue ribbon for Best Sewing Machine Workmanship in the category Mid Century Modern for her quilt "Shelter", below.

Laura Fogg had three quilts in the show.  Below is "American as..."

 

  This is Laura's "Fig Feast"

 

And her "Impressions of  Patzcuaro"

Grace Hudson Museum Show

Due to the efforts of Holly Brackmann, the Mendocino Quilt Artists have been given the opportunity to show our quilts during National Craft month. They will be up until the beginning of November.  I hope many people will get to the show - it's a good one.

Here are some photos of part of the show and opening, thanks to Renee Gannon.  Please note that there are many more quilts not visible in the photos.

Winners at AQS Lancaster

Our group is always so proud when members win a ribbon at a show they have entered.  This year Ann Horton and Joyce Paterson entered quilts and both won ribbons.  Congratulations to both of them and what an inspiration for all of us to continue to enter quilts.  Sometimes quilts don't win at one show but will at another, so don't give up!

Ann Horton's Poco Loco won at Lancaster a 2nd place in the Crazy Quilts.  But this quilt has also won 2nd at Road to California and Best Embellishents at PIQF.

Joyce Paterson's Confetti won a 1st place ribbon in the Wall Quilt category.

MQA Holiday Party

Every year we gather at Marilyn Simpson's beautifully decorated home for our annual holiday party and gift exchange.  Actually the food is as important as the gifts, and this year didn't disappoint.  Adrienne Simpson skillfully photographed and photoshopped our group, looking splendid, I think.  It's become an annual tradition.  One of these years, I'll try and post as many of these as I have - the age progression might be too daunting though.  Never mind.  Another time.  But here we are in all our glory.

From left front: Joyce Paterson, Vicky Groom, Laura Fogg, Leila Kazimi, Dede Ledford, Deanna Apfel.  Back row from left: Holly Brackmann, Renee Gannon, Mary Ann Michelsen, Betty Lacy, Ann Horton, Marilyn Simpson.

Mendocino Art Center Show Opening

Our group was asked to put together a show for the Mendocino Art Center.  It's always nice to see your work in a gallery setting, in a beautiful place on the Mendocino coast.  These photos were from the opening December 13, 2014.

Dede and Holly in front of quilts by Ann Horton, Joyce Paterson and Marilyn Simpson

Betty Lacy's buddhas

Betty Lacy's

Vicky Groom's

Quilts by Deanna Apfel, Dede Lefford (in front) and two by Laura Fogg

Quilts by Deanna Apfel, Renee Gannon and Holly Brackmann

Quilts by Dede Ledford and Leila Kazimi

Zucchini Glut by Laura Fogg

Laura's Beets

Leila Kazimi

Marilyn Simpson and Leila Kazimi

Holly Brackmann and Renee Gannon

Vicky Groom

Voices in Cloth at Cranway Pavilion

I received some more photos from the show.  These are sort of birds-eye views of the show and it gives you some idea of the fabulous space of the Craneway Pavilion and of the large number of quilts displayed.  Kudos to the East Bay Heritage Quilters for putting this show on every two years and continuing to grow it and increase its success and attendance.  And a very big thanks for giving us a special exhibit.  It's nice to get those quilts back out into the world.

These photos were taken by Obie Gilkerson.

EBHQ Voices in Cloth

Last year, East Bay Heritage Quilters asked us, the Mendocino Quilt Artists if we would like to be one of the special exhibits at their show, March 22-23, 2014.  We jumped at the chance and emailing of jpgs flew until they had decided which of our quilts to show.  We had asked for no photos of members' newest quilts, but they ended up just posting NO Photos on the entire exhibit, so you'll have to settle for these two, compliments of Renee Gannon.  And BTW that's her quilt, front and center, Rainbow Bridge.  Well done Renee, and Congratulations to us for a wonderful Special Exhibit of our group winners: Shall We Dance, and Bed Quilts, as well as new quilts relating to a theme of Life Marks.

The show is held every two years and this is the second time it's been at the Crane Pavilion in Richmond.  As you can see from the photos, the venue is spectacular.  We would like to give special thanks to Dana Prichard, who suggested us to the EBHQ committee and to Mindy Niualiku for getting it done.  I wish I could have been there, as planned, but a family emergency kept me at home.

Deanna

International Quilt Festival Quilt Scene Magazine

Quilt Scene is published yearly by Interweave Press and the 2013-2014 issue features "33 World Class Quilts".  24 of them are from this year's show Quilts: A World of Beauty.  Now for the best part, "Worn and Mended",  a quilt by Renee, was selected as one of the 24 quilts accepted into the show.  Her quilt has a full page in the magazine, but here it is in case you don't subscribe to the magazine.  Note that that is a lot of hand stitching.

Houston International Quilt Festival

The Houston show is coming right up.  Six or seven of us will be at the show this year, and several members of our group have quilts in the main competition at the show.

Here is Ann Horton's Life Everlasting with more of her incredible machine embroidery work.  This quilt has already won ribbons in other shows.

Joyce Paterson's Artie Facts is also in the show.  This quilt was a winner at Road to California earlier this year.

Pacific International Quilt Festival

Ann, Joyce, Holly, Dede, Leila, Marilyn, Renee, Vicky and I all made our annual pilgrimage to PIQF.  We arrived about 11 am and were met by Leila who had come earlier from Berkeley and seen part of the show and was able to tell us that Ann had won two blue ribbons!!  Way to go Annie.  Ann has really mastered incorporating machine embroidery into her pieced and pictorial quilts.

La Serenata – Best Use of Color, Innovative Category  (scheduled for cover of Quilters Newsletter Magazine – Feb/Mar 2014) also won 1st Place – Innovative Art & Best Use of Thread at Pacific West Quilt Show – 2013

The Birds' Perspective: Life at the Water's Edge won Best Wall Quilt.