Enchanted Quilters of Lopez Island

Xmas Luncheon 2010 and 2011

2011-12-14T14:41:00.000-08:00

EQ members decided almost two years ago that they would alternate between Pot Lucks and catered luncheons for our twice-a-year luncheons. This would give us a break during the busy holiday season but, at the same time, afford us the opportunity of the pleasure of a traditional Pot Luck Feast once a year. (There truly is nothing quite like a Pot Luck Feast for variety of tasty dishes!)

Enchanted Quilters 2011 Xmas Catered Luncheon at Woodman Hall

In lieu of gifts or a silent auction, the committee suggested that we each give to the Family Resource Center. There are giving trees at the Library, Bay Café, Galley and Sunset. Each person could take a request from one of these trees and bring the completed gift to the EQ luncheon or turn it in to the Family Resource Center directly.

Laurie Latta, Peggy Schuld and Nancy Wallace were our organizing Elves for this year's Xmas Luncheon. They also made the table decorations for which we had all donated strips. The lovely Xmas trees that resulted will be donated to the Seniors to decorate the tables at Woodman throughout the rest of the season.

The three of them also came up with a clever way to mix us up, just in case we were sitting at the same table with the same people too often! And once again Laurie managed to bring creative word games on paper for us to play. This year we were introduced to Robert Leighton's 12 Brats of Christmas. (Once again I think I'll share her games with my own family over the holidays!)

I forgot to take a photo of the food catered by Emily Matthews and Peter Neal of South Lopez Bistro and Catering. Ah, well. Suffice it to say, it was delicious: four kinds of quiche and a medley of oven roasted vegetables! Yummy! And of course, some sweets afterwards. (Alas, I had several. Good intentions are useless this time of year!)

(But I will show you some of the sweets EQ members made for the Friends of Woodman Hall Bake Sale the previous weekend!)

Karin Gandini and crew set up the night before.

Fern Christensen shops for the holidays. (Her daughter Rena in red sweater.)

OK. Enough sweets! Back to quilts and needlework and Show & Tell!

Norma Peale has delighted family and friends with her cross-stitched bookmarks for many years. Above is her latest batch.

Edi Blomberg took Mary Lou Weidman's class here on Lopez this spring and turned her

experimental birds into a delightful wall hanging. Adding a bird bath was her own idea.

Another wall

Sometimes some of us take a class and never really complete an actual quilt. The reasons we don't actually make a quilt from what we might begin in a class are legion. But there doesn't even have to be a reason. Sometimes you just want to take a class because it is a process you have never tried before. After taking Mary Lou's class, Barbara Gonce decided to turn her experimental pieces over to Edi. In the wall hanging above, Barb made the Shasta Daisy and butterfly. Edi designed the layout and added the additional stem of flowers for her final wall hanging.

"Hen and Chicks" (Chicks and layout by Edi. Hen made by Barbara Gonce.)

Barbara Gonce once again gave Edi several blocks she did not plan to use. Edi created still more flowers, plus all the flower pots, and turned everything into another delightful wall hanging including a 3-demensional flower in the center.

Edi decided it was time to make a quilt for her sister. Or maybe the sister decided it was time. At any rate, her sister, who has sewn all her life but is not a quilt maker, picked out fabrics from her stash and sent them to Edi. Edi then chose the pattern and set to work, adding fabrics from her own stash as needed.

The back holds a surprise!

Edi added a cross-stitched tablecloth as the back of the quilt which her mother had made in the 60s, thus turning this quilt into a generational family heirloom.

Close-up of the cross-stitched back.

Next came another colorful quilt from the ever prolific Barbara Gonce herself. This first one is called Diagonal Madness and comes from a Kaffe Fassett - Lisa Lucy book.

Barb prepares (above) to unfurl still another quilt made from Kaffe Fassett fabrics, Autumn Log Cabin.

(detail of Autumn Log Cabin)

The above quilt Barb named herself - Snakes in My Garden. She began this quilt in a class taught my Kaffe Fassett himself on Vashon Island.

Karen Alexander shared the above 1950s-60s top that she recently added to her collection.

Detail from Karen's vintage top.

Our Members

The Roving Reporter managed to only capture two tables of festivties this year.

L-R in the photo below: Margit Cerfoy, (her daughter-in-law) Linda Lantos, Christy Sturgill, Audrey Swanson (standing) and Joan Thomas. Margit is one of our newest members.

L-R in the photo below: Carole Knutsen, Barbara Gonce, Anne Dawson, Mary Ann Torric (behind) and NancyWallace

One last Show & Tell piece.

Darlene Demetrick saved a postcard of a saguaro cactus for years, not necessarily intending to make a wall hanging. But one day she walked into Anne Dawson's Quilter's Studio and saw the perfect background fabric....a twinkling night sky. Wa-la! A beautiful wall hanging!

That evening as I was driving home from another event, I suddenly spotted a huge winter moon gliding through the cold night sky and couldn't help but be reminded of Darlene's beautiful piece.

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Another merry Xmas Elf - Roving Reporter Karen Alexander

Now it's time to play catch-up!

Enchanted Quilters 2010 Xmas Luncheon at Love Dog Cafe

Here are a few notes that were passed on to me after a member read the 2010 Xmas post. First, our 2010 Xmas gathering was held on a very wet and cold Lopez day. Everyone was greeted with hot, spiced pear cider. Janice Coltran was the coordinator; Carolyn Baldwin was in charge of securing the restaurant and the menu. Several guild members worked to assemble the favors: patchwork ornament kits with beads and ribbon embellishments included. (Nancy Givens, Barbara Carver, Laurie Latta, Janice, and one other person that we're drawing a blank on.) The gift exchange was established with a $10 limit. Each woman was assigned a number and selected a gift from the array when their number was drawn. Part of the program included everyone singing the 12 Days of Christmas. Twelve women were each assigned one of the 12 days; they chimed in with their solo part each time their day was repeated. Well done ladies!

Some warm pear wassail to start off the festivities!

Darlene Demetrick and Vivian Burt

L-R: (standing) Carolyn Baldwin, Norma Peale
(sitting) Deborah Bundy, Carolyn Woodbury

White Bear had set the holiday mood with her decorations!

A cheery fire makes the reading corner even more enticing
but it was filled with packages and coats at the moment

Exchange gifts gather!

Foreground: Barbara Gonce, Carolyn Woodbury. L-R background:
Colleen Thomas, Laurie Latta, Anne Dawson, Edi Blomberg,

Darlene Demtrick shares one of her stained-glass style wall hangings.
Many of these hangings now adorn her church.

Alyse Ortega shares her woven pillow top.

Norma Peale shares a large selection of Xmas gift potholders.

Edi Blomberg's creation from the Nine Patch block exchange the group did about two years ago.

Edi's Thistle in a Nine-Patch made as a result of the same block exchange.

Edi's Autumn Leaf table runner.

In the photo above Edi and Anne Dawson prepare to show their Brown Bag Challenge results. A group of about 8 quilters decided to challenge one another by putting together a Mystery Brown Paper Bag of fabrics they liked. Bags remained unmarked. The bags then went into an unmarked selection pool. A non-participant supervised the passing out of the bags to be sure the participants didn't get their own bag back.

Each participant had to make a quilt out of the fabrics in the bag but was free to add additional fabric. However, some of each fabric in the bag had to be used. Each person also had to make a 2nd quilt out of the same fabrics she gave away! No one could show their fabric to anyone else or discuss their project with anyone except non-participants!

In this instance, Edi selected the bag of fabric that Anne had prepared. It turned out to be a color scheme she rarely works with -- muted colors. (It was interesting to learn how each quilt maker felt challenged by her mystery colors! I'll show more of the whole Brown Bag Mystery Project in another post.)

Anne made a Strippy quilt of her fabric.

Edi selected the Ohio Star pattern.

A Barbara Gonce creation.

Barbara often makes her backs as interesting as the front!

Another beautiful quilt from Barbara!

Janice Coltran prepares the Gift Exchange table.

So many lovely packages!

Happy Holidays!!

June 2011 Quilt Exhibit at Woodman Hall

2011-11-09T22:52:00.000-08:00

In February 2011 Enchanted Quilters decided to team up with the Garden Club to present "Quilts in the Garden" during the annual Lopez Garden Tour. The five gardens on this year's tour were: Paul Berg, Linda Anderson at Iceberg, Mary Hayton & Kevin Murphy at the Farm, Janet Hidalgo, Donna Ince on Whiskey Hill.

EQ voted to simultaneously have a small quilt show at Woodmen Hall. Sign-up sheets were passed for people to contribute quilts to the show, to sell raffle tickets and to act as hostesses at Woodmen Hall during the show.

Pieceful Nights

Anne Dawson offered a very challenging class in 2010 based on a pattern called Pieceful Nights. Five EQ members responded to the challenge. The explanation of each quilt for this post was taken from the exhibit signage and written by the quilt maker.

"Pieceful Nights" by Annie Houston (above)

Quilted by Del Schuld

It took me a year and a half to complete my Pieceful Nights quilt. It was a great project and I loved putting the pieces together and choosing the colors. Someday, in the far future….I’d like to try another quilt similar to this!

Annie Houston discusses her quilt with visitors.

Detail of Annie's quilt.

~ - ~

Island Pathways by Patty Ward (above)

I first fell in love with the circular pattern and had to try it out. I saw each piece I made as a wave. Later I found the tree fabric which reminded me of the orchard where I live. When the group I sew with decided to make a quilt expressing what they love about Lopez, I saw how I could put my water and trees together. The intersecting pieces are the pathways that I walk to visit my friends; the stitches I used to outline them represent plants that I see when I am outside. The purple background represents the violets that bloom all through my garden. All of the fabrics were gifted me from friends here on the island.

~ - ~

“Home is Where the Heart is” by Peggy Schuld

Quilted by Del Schuld

This is a block of the month quilt. The pattern and assorted fabrics were supplied and I appliquéd the blocks. It was a Mother’s Day gift which I prompted and really enjoyed the process. I did realize I needed some more lessons in appliqué techniques by the end of this quilt!

~ - ~

The results of another Anne Dawson class.

How quilters each interpret the same pattern is always fascinating.

“Birds of a Feather” by Laurie Latta (above)

Quilted by Karen Brown

I made this quilt in a class taught by Anne Dawson. She used the book Doubledipity: More Serendipity by Sara Nephew. It was so much fun cutting up the bird parts for the piecework. Look closely for legs, beaks, eyes, etc.

"Double Dippity" by Joanne Bryant (above)

Quilted by Del Schuld

Some of the fabric in this quilt was designed by Paula Nadelstern, who favors kaleidoscopes in her quilt designs. I find kaleidoscopes fascinating so this quilt wasa joy to make and use.

“Sunrise on Blue Island” by Edith Blomberg (above)

This quilt was started in a class taught by Anne Dawson. The class was great fun and I am very happy with the results. There will be more hexagon quilts in my future.

~ - ~

“Half-Square Triangles” by Annie Houston

Sometimes when you make a quilt you fall in love with the block. That’s what happened to me and the results are all these small quilts. I made a quilt for my friend Pat using black and white prints and bright colors. I had such a good time that I started playing with all the different ways I could arrange the squares. And then I started collecting fabrics for the borders. And now I have a great stash! Annie Houston

~ - ~

Variations on a Theme by Edi Blomberg

Quilted by same.

The quilt is a result of a class taught by Teri beaver at the 2010 LaConner Quilt Fest. The pattern looks more complicated than it is; I like quilts like that.

"Tumbling Blocks" by Norma Peale

Quilted by Del Schuld

Made in 2001

~ - ~

Eye of the Storm by Darlene Demetrick

Quilted by Del Schuld

Detail of Eye of the Storm

The quilt (above) was one of several I made as a result of a class by Kitty Sorgen of Friday Harbor. The original idea was to put the blocks on point (diamond shaped), but I decided to put this together in a regular vertical-horizontal fashion and ended up liking the result.

God’s Eye by Darlene Demetrick

Quilted by Del Schuld

This quilt was the result of a class given by Kitty Sorgen of Friday Harbor on San Juan Island. It’s a labor-intensive machine-pieced quilt.

~ - ~

Liberated Log Cabin by Carol Whetten

Quilted by Del Schuld

This quilt was created in a workshop directed by Gwen Marston in April 2009 at [the restored historic one room] Port Stanley School. Find the quote “A little birdie told me.” Then look for a little bird in two different locations on the quilt.

Back of Liberated Log Cabin by Carol Whetten

~ - ~

L-R: Annie Houston, Peggy Schuld, Joanne Bryant, Nancy Wallace

"Butterflies" - blocks c. 1935 by unknown maker.

Quilt created out of the blocks by Joan Bryant

Machine Quilted by Karen Brown

This quilt was made for my granddaughter, McKenna Bryant. She is fond of butterflies. I added the sashing as the 1935 blocks had none.

~ - ~

"Paradise Lost" by Candy Reiter Midkiff

Hand quilted by same.

The red and turquoise fabrics I pulled had a tropical paradise theme. All the red made me think of blood. My best friend felt her true self went on hold when she started menstruating and she reclaimed it only during menopause. This quilt is concerned with the loss of paradise both geographically and personally. The (quilted) serpents of the pre-patriarchical Goddess are protecting the primeval garden. They are beneficial but not harmless.

~ - ~

"Lace Curtain Irish" by Colleen O’Meara Thomas

Hand quilted by same.

Noticie hearts in border.

This quilt was hand stitched over 17 years using my grandmother’s damask napkins as the centers. The lace came from our travels, and the dotted swiss hearts came from my wedding dress.

Detail show lace.

~ - ~

"More Time Than Money" (Floating Star) by Peggy Schuld

Quilted by Del Schuld

Some of the squares of this scrappy floating star quilt on a black background were contributed by friendship block participants from Fidalgo Island Quilters in Anacortes. I needed 80 squares and 56 half-inch stars for borders. Originally I thought I would make it a “community quilt” but realized it took much time to give away.

~ - ~

"Pebbles in the Lily Pond" by Barbara Gonce

Quilted by Anne Dawson

The pattern was designed by Kaffe Fassett and titled “wedding quilt” to be made out of “boot sales” fabrics. This is Kaffe’s way of saying a scrap quilt. I started creating my fabric stash to make this quilt. The 8-pointed star blocks are mostly sewn by hand, while the pinwheels are machine sewn. This quilt has been approximately 15 years in the making. I have admired Monet’s lily pond paintings for most of my life and had the privilege of visiting Giverny a number of years ago. I have had many thoughts about what this quilt would like, but when I saw “Pebbles in the Lily Pond” completed, I realized that this was as close as I would ever get to that fantasy.

~ - ~

Heart Strings by Candy Reiter Midkiff

Hand quilted by same.

Scenes of the family home. 99 years old and still going strong. Three generations represented here, but beloved by the fourth as well – Oh, Mom, if only we could move that house to Lopez…!

~ - ~

Patty Ward asking Annie Houston why the White Rabbit chose the rabbit hole under Woodman Hall.
So he could see the EQ exhibit after everyone else had left for the night. of course!
Everyone knows rabbits can see in the dark.

Avery’s First Birthday by Laurie Latta

Quilted by Karen Brown

My granddaughter just celebrated her first birthday on June 3! I made this quilt for her pink bedroom. I started the quilt at an Empty Spools seminar in California this March. It is an original one-of-a-kind quilt just like our sweet Avery Kay.

~ - ~

Don't miss our next quilt exhibit!

We've got a terrific and prolific bunch of quilters on this island!

You'll see something new every year!

Your Roving Reporter signing out for Enchanted Quilters of Lopez Island!

Healing Waters Raffle Quilt

2011-07-14T16:26:00.000-07:00

"Healing Waters" by members of Enchanted Quilters of Lopez Island, Washington*

Purchase a Quilt Raffle Ticket and Bring Hope to a Community

Just click here to print a page of tickets. Fill them out and send them along with your check to:

California Farmers’ Markets Association

3000 Citrus Circle Suite 111

Walnut Creek, CA 94598

Checks can be made payable to California Farmers’ Markets Association or Epilepsy Foundation Northern California.

Now to The Story!

The Enchanted Quilters of Lopez Island were recently asked by a member of the group to make an extra raffle quilt this year.

Given that EQ was founded in 1984 to help raise funds to assist the Senior Center of Lopez in paying for a new home, the quilters have averaged almost one raffle quilt a year since EQ's founding. And most of the proceeds have gone to putting a roof over the Seniors of Lopez.

Indeed, our raffle quilts continue to help care for the Seniors’ latest home, the venerable Woodmen Hall. The recently renovated Woodmen Hall is one of the oldest community buildings on Lopez and has had a long association with Lopez community life and history. We are very proud to be a part of its present reincarnation.

Above photo: Wini Alexander, one of the founding members of EQ, and Norma Peale in the 1998 Lopez Island 4th of July Parade. The raffle quilt hanging behind them, "Snowbound," is king size and was won by Kay Gagon of Lopez. Some of our quilts are won by off-islanders and thus leave the Island forever.

However, not all the quilts we have made have gone just to the Senior Center. After sifting through EQ archives, I discovered at least one quilt made by EQ members was donated to Lopez Island Hospice and Home Support.

Lopez Island is not a terribly large community. We are home to about 2,500 full time residents. Roughly, perhaps 100 of us have made a quilt at one time or another in our lives. EQ membership itself stands at about 45 at this time.

EQ member Edi Blomberg with granddaughter

Juniper at the Lopez Island Farmer's Market 2006.

More EQ Raffle quilts behind them!

This latest request of EQ members to make an extra raffle quilt was an unusual one. Why? Because the funds raised by this quilt would not go to a Lopez Island non-profit organization. Instead, funds would go to the Epilepsy Foundation Northern California.

Building Community One Gift at a Time

The story behind this unusual out-of-state request came to us via EQ member Barbara Gonce whose life-long friend has a daughter with epilepsy. All of us were so touched by this young woman’s story that we unanimously agreed to make a quilt, with members signing up to make at least two blocks each.

As always, many hands make light work. The quilt top was made in two weeks (some kind of record for us!) and handed off to be machine quilted by EQ member Peggy Schuld’s husband, Del. Within three weeks the quilt was in the hands of Tara, the young woman at the center of this story, and ticket sales began.

Above Barbara Gonce and daughter put the binding on "Healing Waters"

Shortly before the quilt was mailed, we learned that EFNC was going to have help selling the tickets for this quilt. How? EFNC would market the raffle tickets via California Farmers’ Markets Association! This was especially poignant to those of us living on Lopez Island as our own Farmer's Market is a very big part of our lives!

Lopez Island's own Farmer's Market each Saturday from June - August

is very popular with both islanders and tourists.

This is the first time ever, we have been told, that there has been a fund-raising relationship between the Epilepsy Foundation Northern California (EFNC) and the California Farmer's Market Association system to raise money to benefit the EFNC. As EQ members, it has been a joy to be a part of the catalyst that helped cement this joint effort between these two California organizations to help folks like Tara.

So what’s next? We all go to the California Farmer's Market Association website and purchase our tickets, of course!

Or just click here to print a pdf file/page of tickets. Fill them out and send them along with your check to the address printed onthe ticket.

Thank you for helping us create a future for those who suffer from this terrible disease!

Karen Alexander

The EQ Roving Reporter

*A quilt historians details:

Darlene Demetrick found the pattern in the February, 2009 issue of American Patchwork and Quilting Magazine. The name they gave the pattern is Zen and was designed by Amy Walsh of Blue Underground Studios.

The fabric was cut by Kitty Sorgen of Friday Harbor, San Juan Island. Blocks were sewn by Karen Alexander, Carolyn Baldwin, Edi Blomberg, JoAnne Bryant, Ginny Burt, Barbara Carver, Darlene Demetrick, Peggy Schuld, Nancy Wallace, Carolyn Woodward and Barbara Gonce. Kitty and Penny Torkington, also of Friday Harbor and Barbara Gonce laid out the blocks, then Barbara Gonce selected and purchased the fabric. The sewing together of the blocks was done by Darlene Demetrick, Peggy Schuld, Nancy Wallace and Barbara Gonce! Del Schuld did the quilting.

First Round Robins Revealed

2011-05-11T11:17:00.000-07:00

Wow! What an abundace of quilts we saw at the May meeting!

With our Fearless Leader off celebrating her 80th birthday with her family, Co-Vice President Barbara Carver ably led the day and kept things moving.

The excitement generated by of the unveiling of the group's first series of Round Robin Quilts set the pace for the morning.

But let's start with the group shop we managed to take thanks to the deck on Woodman Hall that made it possible to catch the whole group....with the help of a few well placed chairs.

See that hand floating above everyone's head on the left? It is a hand without a face.

Can't let Candy get away with this so we managed to catch her between shots. You can see the source of the hand in the background between the two ladies (Joan Thomas and Elyse Ortega) in blue in the next shot .

Now, on with the show!

Above: Joanne Bryant, Anne Dawson, Laurie Latta and Candy Mitkiff gather around the top they jointly made for Laurie Latta. Laurie made the center medalion that included the boats.

Joanne Bryant made the first border that includes two mermaids bottom center of that first border. Candy Mitkiff made the next double border that includes a lot of muted red and Anne Dawson made the final border that includes more sail boats.

The quilt top to the right but hidden by the quilters is Joanne's quilt top. I'll have to get a better photo so that we can give this quilt top its due. It is beautiful!

Anne Dawson's quilt has little sayings on it. I need more detailed photos of this quilt!

Candy Mitkiff chose to use the recent V& A commemorative panel as the starting point of the medallion quilt top.

Above is the book cover of the spectacular quit exhibit the Victoria & Albert Museum presented in 2010 that the commemorative panel at the center of Candy's quilt is based upon. The book is very exciting reading and shows great very early examples of the type of quilt that Candy asked the Round Robin to help her make....a tradition British Medallion quilt.

Edi Blomberg

Edi has been creating a lot of small quilts in the past year and has successfully sold several at the Farmer's Market and at the new craft shop in the village. Below are several of her latest experiments.

Elyse Ortega

Elyse took a very tradition scrab quilt pattern and appliqued a large floral motif in the right hand corner of the quilt. This is a spectacular combination lending it a very unique contemporary folkart look to her quilt!

Nancy Givens

Nancy used the fabric you see on the back of her quilt in each of the blocks on the front....only the fabric is stacked 6 layers deep and then cut at a 60 degree to create a sense of whirling movement. Her inspiration came fromthe book Double Dippity: More Serendepity.

Cheryl Clark

Joan Thomas

Carolyn Woodbury

Favorite Quilt Tools

2010-11-11T15:47:00.000-08:00

EQ Show & Tell at Woodman Hall

Our theme for the November 2010 meeting was "Your Favorite Quilting Tools". Each person was to bring one or two favorite tools to show and share.

Some tools were new to us. Some we had been using for decades. Here is the familiar quarter inch sewing guide that two members shared that day. Many of us have used this particular tool for years.

Your Roving Reporter wishes she had thought to keep a running list of what folks brought to share. Instead she has bugged Anne Dawson all evening to verify details when she couldn't find the needed EQ member at home.

Some of the tools were quite fascinating and new to us. Others were familiar but with suggested new uses.

Becky Huffington recently lucked onto 1934 model of a Singer Featherweight portable sewing machine as a result of being asked to help a woman sort and clean up after another family member had moved away.

These particular sewing machines weigh about 11 pounds so are very popular with quilters who have to haul sewing machines to a class. They are also highly collectible among all sewing machine afficiandos.

Here Christy Sturgill shares a thread dispenser and pin holder all rolled into one that E. L. Heickel of Goldendale, the brother of a friend, used to make.

Carole Knutsen (below) showed us of one of her favorite "how-to" quilting books, explaining how clear she finds each step of its illustrated instructions. (Oh yes, the hat....i.e. fabric on Carole's head. That does deserve an explanation.)

Woodman Hall is very cold but it's amazing how much body heat one can conserve by placing a square of coloful fabric on one's head. It actually works! At the next meeting, bring a square of fabric for your head as well as a small quilting project for your lap and you'll stay toasty warm the whole meeting!

L-R: Christy Sturgill, Carolyn Woodbury, Carole Knutsen

Karen Alexander shared an array of measuring devices that her mother-in-law and EQ founding member Wini Alexander used in her earliest years of quilting in the 1970s and 1980s. Wini had even made a storage bad for them of corduroy.

Candy Midkiff shared an iron that surely doesn't seem that old to most of us. But do you remember ever seeing so many different types of fabrics listed on an iron before?

Click on the photo to read the list of fabrics de regueur of the day!

L-R: Peggy Schuld, Candy Midkill, Carol Whetten

Anne Dawson (below) brought a number of goodies along to share that she carries in her shop.

L-R: Joyce Landau, Nancy Wallace, Barbara Carver, Joanne Bryant

One of her newest products is called "Best Press Batting" for joining together batting remnants so as to create a new batt that is useable. If anyone has attempted to sew batting remnants together in order to use them up, you know how woppy-jawed the batting can become from the sewing stitches. This little product keeps all those pieces nice and flat!

Kathy Montgomery, Carolyn Baldwin, ? , Laurie Latta

Anne also shared a new white mechanical pencil which several members picked up from her shop and love. Several also mentioned how indispenable the small bendable tiny "lamp" is that attaches to your sewing machine. (Anne can also get this item for us. (See mine below).

Nancy Givens shared a new tool used to make perfect binding and mitered corners. She even gave us a short demonstration. The tool is marketed as "Binding Thingy". Yes, you read it correctly!

Barbara Carter shares how she uses the special viewer to see a quilt from a distance. If you can't actually stand back and get that distance physically due to lack of space, this is the tool for you.

Even though the images are slightly out of focus, I couldn't resist adding them; especially this second one because I accidentally captured Barbara's face in the glass.

Since many of the tools were often quite small, your Roving Photographer was unable to get a good photo from across the room of many of them for which she apologizes.

She had great plans for showing you lots of photos and, indeed, did take lots of photos. But!.....quilters were so animated in the showing of their tools that more than half of her photos turned out blurred!

So if you don't see your photo here, it's either because it was so out of focus (see Joann's below as an example) or your object was so small she couldn't catch it on camera from across the room.

Hating to interrupt people's flow of sharing by demanding "Would you please hold STILL!!", she took her chances and lucked out with a few. (Of course it could also have to do with her somewhat limited photography skills. She hopes to have better luck next time with your help.)

Now for some of the quilts that were shared!

Peanut Butter & Jelly without the stickiness!

The following three quilts are a result of Kitty Sorgen's class, Butterbutter & Jelly. Each participant gave her interpretation of the pattern a different food name. Later the group threw a potluck, each bringing the food which reflected the name of her quilt.

"Raspberry Fizz" by Kathleen Montgomery

Laurie Latta's "Butter & Marmalade"

Barbara Carver's rendition of the same pattern, appropriately named Wine & Cheese.

Charlene Demetrick's "One Block Wonder" from a class she took at the quilt shop in Anacortes. The first snapshot gives you a good sense of the movement created by the color and liveliness of the fabrics in this quilt!

Ok, a little less motion here and the pattern comes into focus.

And a still closer look shows us the detials of the fabric itself! The eye's have it here!

Anne Dawson recently offered an applique class at The Quilter's Studio in which you brought your own pattern. Edi Blomberg's fat little turkey based on a pattern Nancy Givens shared at the last EQ meeting.

Janicie Coltran shared a colorful clutch bag recently stitched as a result of a class also at The Quilter's Studio.

Long-time EQ member Anne Dawson, owner of The Quilter's Studio located above Vita's in the village, recently offered another class, "Garden Path". Here is Carol Whetten's interpretation of that pattern thru her own fabric selection of lovely flower prints.

Carolyn Woodbury passed around a photo of her latest quilt for a grandson living in Holland. The quilt contains photos as well as fabric from her recent visit to Holland.

Karen Alexander shared a fragment of an antique quilt top from the 1890s she recently acquired. The pattern is commonly known as New York Beauty and is all hand pieced.

What state of the art needlework tools do you suppose this quilt maker used in her era to make such an intricate piece?

Candy Midkiff won the Door Prize!

You'll have to ask Candy! I didn't get a photo of the contents! But I do know that some of the very tools that had been shared were included!

EQ's Scrapbooks Now Scanned!

2010-11-01T12:32:00.000-07:00

At last, the first EQ scrapbook of our history is now scanned so that I can post it here on the EQ blog for everyone to enjoy!

This post begins with the Introductory page to the scrapbook.

Click on each "page" below to enlarge. Also, click on highlighted words so that you can access the links that I share with you in my posts.

There are two corrections to the spelling in the list below: I am told Barbara Kuntz should be Kurutz. Also, Millie Gillespie should be Milly Gillespie. And, in spite of what the newspaper articles report below, Wini Alexander's name is NOT spelled Winnie; and Tammy Cowan's first name ends in a Y not IE. The newspaper article has it spelled both ways.

Lynwood Quilt Show 1984

(NOTE: If you click on each page it will become large enough to be readable. If you click a 2nd time, it will get even larger. To go back to the regular blog page, hit your BACK arrow.)

EQ's FIRST raffle quilt!

The Oak Leaf Quilt below is thought to be the 2nd raffle quilt creatd by EQ members. The yellow sticky notes refers to the three quilts that follow Oak Leaf.

In 1985 several EQ members visited a quilt group in Oak Harbor. The yellow sticky note on the page above refers to the three quilts that follow.

There is no information accompanying the three quilts viewed in Oak Harbor. It looks like it may have been a Show & Tell.

However, my research shows that the pattern in the applique quilt immedialy below is a Mountain Mist pattern called Sweet Peas. Mountain Mist first offered the pattern in 1933. If you can lay your hands on a copy of Mountain Mist's 1957 Blue Book of Quilts, it's a nice little collector's item. It is actually a 6"x8.5", forty-eight page booklet. You will see this quilt on page 25. It is number 37 in their catalogue.

The actual pattern that you could use to make this quilt can be found in the book Mountain Mist Quilt Favorites published by Oxmoor House in 1998.

The following quilt looks like a scrap quilt that could date from anywhere between 1895 - 1915 based on the fabrics in the quilt. The pattern name varies depending upon how the colors are laid out. A few of the blocks lend themselves to the Bow Tie pattern, but the over all use of color does not indicate IMHO a Bow Tie pattern choice by the quilt maker. Because so many light colors were chosen, you lose the Bow Tie effect.

This next one looks to be a quilt top rather than a finished quilt. This kind of two-color cheddar orange and blue was popular in the South after the Civil War. However, I think the shade of blue plus the emboidered lines on the blue fabric (to indicate the floral nature of the design) pushes this quilt into the 1920s. It would be extremely unlikely to see embroidery on the blue between 1865 and 1900.

Sometime in 1986 it must have been decided to incorporate a portion of the logo from the Enchanted Needle's needlework shop as the logo for EQ for this stamp plus the bill shows up in the scrapbook.

On the Alexander Deck in 1986

Here is another early photo of the Enchanted Quilters of Lopez and Shaw taken just two years after EQ got its formal start.

L-R: Millie Cowan, co-owner of the Enchanted Needle shop, Wini Alexander (my MIL and the one who inspired me to launch myself into this amazing journey I have been on since I started studying quilt history in 1981), Kathryn Powell, Sue Kline, Rosemary Beagley, Virginia Avery (guest teacher from Port Chester, New York), Francis Currier, Jerry Currier, Doug Cowan. Jinny Avery went on to be inducted into The Quilters Hall of Fame in July 2006. You can read more about Jinny Avery here on my other blog.

Edmonds Quilt Show - Fall, 1987

In 1988 a quilter from San Bernardino visited Lopez Island as a result of an Elder Hostel tour and met Martha Larson. Later Ellen sent some photos of a quilt exhibit she had seen earlier that year. The photos and letter are now in the EQ scrapbook.

Quoting from the letter accompanying the photos shown below, Ellen wrote,

These quilts were done by black women, many done in the south but they had been collated by someone in Oakland, CA and much of the hand quilting was done by women living in that city. You will note that many of the "patches" will not "match." These were made with what the women had on hand; looking closely you could see all sorts of violations of the laws we have been told we must do. They used any and all sorts of materials, often piecing them within the patches, lace with backing, all sorts of uses like that. It was an interesting exhibit and the freedom of expression made me feel like I didn't have to be so worried about keeping everything precise and straight.

The quilts in the above photos that Ellen B. sent Martha Larson are from an exhibit organized by Eli Leon, a well-known collector of one particular genre of African American quilts.

There has been much controversey within the quilt history world since the early 1980s as to what constitutes a "legitimate" African American quilt.

Even within the African American community the subject generates controversey. It's all quite interesting reading so if you are inclined to enjoy pursing historical or sociological controversies, whether the voices come from "the academy" or the "lay historian", here are a few links to browse.

If you can read only one item, I highly recommend the Introduction to Leigh Fellner's Betsy Ross Redux which you can find here.

For African American quilts in children's literature, click here or Every Month is Black History Month.

If you enjoy the geometry within the one particular genre of African American quilts, by all means be sure to read Fractal Geometry in African American Quilt Traditions by Judy Bales.

Kyra Hicks, a personal friend of mine in the quilt history world, has written a story for children about one African American quilter based on factual history, Martha Ann's Quilt for Queen Victoria.

You can see Kyra's books here. I also highly recommend Kyra's blog which you can access from this same link. Kyra will share with you and link you to some of the most wonderful African American story quilts being created today.

If you have stuck with me this far, good for you! Now for a break for both of us! More to come!

EQ's Roving Reporter and Historian signing off until next time!

Karen Alexander

PS: If you are really a glutton for punishment, check out my personal quilt history blog, Quilt History Reports .

EQ's Raffle Quilt History

2010-03-27T16:11:00.000-07:00

The founding members of The Enchanted Quilters taken in 1984: Marge Gradl, Gladys Alexander, Francis Currier (in back), Bertha Kurutz, Wini Alexander, Edith Schwendeman (and husband Harold), Charlotte Lamoureaux, Bernadette Butler and Ernestine Moffitt. Millie Gillespie and Millie Cowan were among the first members also but are not shown in this photo.

Click on photos to enlarge.

Quilts Continue to Raise Funds for Senior Services
by Karen Biedler Alexander

Although there was talk of forming a quilt group as early as 1981 on Lopez Island, it wasn't until 1984 that a formal group of quilters coalesced. The group was begun by members of the Senior Center specifically for the purpose of making a raffle quilt to help the Lopez Seniors earn money to establish a new meeting place. My mother-in-law, Wini Alexander, was one of those instrumental in the founding of The Enchanted Quilters. Her 30 years of correspondence with me is archived in my quilt history files.

That first group of dedicated quilters successfully raised $2,000 with their first raffle, a series of appliqué blocks done in traditional Celtic patterns. It's unusual for a group effort to tackle applique. The fact that they did attests to their skill and ambition.

And, yes, 26 years later the members of The Enchanted Quilters of Lopez Island are still making raffle quilts to raise funds for Senior Services. In fact, they made two colorful quilts this year, a Log Cabin pattern predominantly in blues and tans and North Wind, a delightful scrap quilt. Either quilt will fit any décor! You will find EQ members selling tickets at the Lopez Village Market during the Tour de Lopez this week as well as at the Farmers’ Market all summer.

Lopez Island has a long history of quilting. It probably began with the first European-American female settlers who arrived on the island 1869-1870. We do know that Amelia Davis, one of the first white women to settle on Lopez, mentioned quilting in her diaries.

Quilting and needlework in general enjoyed a big boost in popularity here in the USA in the late 1960s as the “back-to-earth movement” grew in popularity and in the ‘70s as the Bi-Centennial approached. Those on Lopez Island who loved plying a needle got another big boost of inspiration with the opening of The Enchanted Needle needlework shop in October of 1976.

This colorful shop opened in a section of the building that now houses the Fudge Factory and the Bay Café. The needlework shop, founded by the mother/daughter-in-law team of Millie and Tammy Cowan, opened at the east end or “village end” of the building with a much smaller Bay Café at the water end or west end of the building. In between the two —for a couple of years—was the Rub-A-Dub Pub.

As the businesses grew and shop owners readjusted their dreams and plans, The Enchanted Quilter moved to the west end of the building overlooking the water about 1978 and stayed in this spot until the shop was sold in 1988 to Dawn Lease. Then once again the quilt shop and the café swapped places and both gradually expanded.

It was the desire to raise funds for the Senior Center that finally brought quilters together in the 1980s. In the process of making that first raffle quilt, they established such camaraderie that they decided to continue meeting. Those first members were (as seen in the 1984 photo above): Marge Gradl, Gladys Alexander, Francis Currier (in back), Bertha Kurutz, Wini Alexander, Edith Schwendeman (and husband Harold), Charlotte Lamoureaux, Bernadette Butler and Ernestine Moffitt. Millie Gillespie and Millie Cowan were among the first members also but are not shown in this photo.

The group chose the name Enchanted Quilters of Lopez & Shaw Island because of their great appreciation for Millie's quilt shop. In time they were simply referred to as the Enchanted Quilters.

In 2004 a search began to find a buyer for The Enchanted Needle as Dawn Lease prepared to retire. When a buyer could not be found, the shop closed in October 2005 thus another chapter in the business history of Lopez Village came to a close.

However, another much smaller quilt-related shop opened in the Village over Vita’s in 2000 — The Quilters Studio/Anne Dawson’s Quilt Restorations, a business which sells new and antique quilts and repairs and restores quilts. The Notion Nook was added in June 2008.

Stop by and get your winning ticket and help the Seniors of Lopez at the same time! The winning ticket will be drawn at EQ’s first fall meeting September 14th. Let’s hope you buy the winning ticket to one of these beautiful quilts!

Gwen Marston - Part II

2010-01-17T16:18:00.001-08:00

Looking for a change in your quilt making?

For ideas and inspiration for your own work and not just another published pattern?

(Click on photos to enlarge them.)

A workshop with Gwen Marston is an excellent solution. Gwen’s method of free-form Log Cabin is very flexible and allows innovation and light-bulb moments.

In the previous post, we took a peek at just a few of the fabric stashes that were hauled in for Gwen's workshop.

(stash #4)

Every color of the rainbow and then some were on hand for consideration, plus lively prints of every conceivable theme.

(stash #5)

Now to review the participants and their works in progress. See if you can match the stashes to the creator's final product.

(Debbie Kosman)

A flannel wall to enable you to step back and “preview” fabric choices has become a prerequisite for many quilters today. On the wall behind Claire Calechu, you can see the first stages of Candy Midkiff and Laurie Latta's project.

On the left Candy is taking advantage of a larger cutting area. Below Candy is seated at the center. You can see the work of Anne Dawson, Candy and Laurie have further evolved on the far wall in the photo below.

Here is a closer shot of Candy's work in its advanced stage. Click on the photo to see the owl at the center of each block.

In quilting, the fabric often carries many stories. Be sure to ask Candy about the story behind her owl fabric.

Click on the photo to the right to enlarge so that you can take a better look at Anne's fabrics. Next she uses the "preview" wall to decide placement.

Laurie Latta's Caribbean color scheme sparkles! Notiice how much she has advanced compared to the wall behind Claire above.

Gwen works her way around the room taking a peak at works in progress and answering questions. Notice Barb Carver and Carolyn Baldwin visiting Laurie's corner. We'll see their work in a few more photos.

Choices, choices! Quilting teaches decision-making. You can't be afraid of making choices when you are a quilter!

No quilt event is complete without the requisite chocolate.

Much more to come so stay tuned!

Your Roving Reporter

PS: You can read more of my quilt research by clicking here.

Catching up on Some Activities in 2009

2009-09-07T22:11:00.000-07:00

Gwen Marston and Liberatated Quiltmaking

On June Friday, June 5, 2009, Lopez Island hosted quilt teacher Gwen Marston from Beaver Island, Michigan.

Island-to-island, quilter-to-quilter — diplomacy at its best!

The weekend began with a free Lecture and Show & Tell of Gwen’s quilts at the Grange near the south end of the island followed by a two-day workshop for those who had pre-registered.

JUST CLICK ON PHOTOS TO ENLARGE

(left: "Gwenny's Variable Star" 1992)

Your Roving Reporter decided to be brave and sign-up for the workshop because she knew of Gwen’s reputation as a teacher:

....i. e. the student can do no wrong! (Besides, she had heard there were no points to match and no triangles to be cut on the bias. Yippee!)

(Above: "Liberated Log Cabin With Appliqued Borders" 2008. Left - a corner of "High Dessert Country III" 2008 - by Gwen Marston)

The workshop was held at the restored Port Stanley one-room schoolhouse on the north end of the island.

Oh what fun! It must have been 20 years since I had done a quilt workshop where you drag your sewing machine to the workshop, PLUS fabric, needles, thread, scissors, pins, rulers, rotary cutter, rotary mat, special marking pen and brain. There was color everywhere as each participant began to unpack her stash!! (stash #1)

A lot of work goes into planning one of these events! Nancy Calechu and Anne Dawson out did themselves. Here we catch Anne rushing out the door to take care of still one more detail.

Flowers, food, fabric and friends! What more could you ask for on a day's outing!

After a brief introduction by our hosts Nancy Calechu and Anne Dawson, Gwen called us all together around the Big Table and outlined the day and its goals....

Have fun! Have fun! And have MORE fun!

Soon everyone was busy at work. The low hum of chatter as well as the quiet hum of sewing machines did not affect concentration at all. What did break my concentration was the eager desire to see what everyone else was doing. But how to get any work of my own done! Everyone's fabrics were so different! (stash #2 and #3)

Our only Mother-Daughter team!

Nancy Calechu and daughter Clarie.

Of course, no quilting event is complete without fabric to buy! Needle Nook outdid itself to be sure we had the extra supplies we might need.

The next post will show each person at work and her work in progress.

Thank you for visiting the EQ Blog! It's fun being your Roving Quilt Reporter!

Karen Alexander

PS: Keep on eye on those stashes to see what emerges in the next chapter of this creative drama!

Please leave coments or e-mail with corrections!

Another Piece of EQ History

2009-04-24T10:14:00.000-07:00

The Gathering 2008 - Enchanted Quilters of Lopez Island host first inter-island quilt gathering. (More details and photos in a future blog post! Tease, tease.)

(Click on the photo to enlarge. If someone could help me ID all the non-Lopezians in the above photo, I would really appreciate the help.)

For those of you new to blogging, if text within a blog is both highlighted and underlined, it means it is a live link to another site that fills in the story the blogger is telling. The first such example is the Lopez Historical Society link below. Click on it and it will take you to the LIHS website. Do visit it. They have recently redesigned it!

Digging into the History of Quilting on Lopez Island

It is such fun to comb through old files! Not only do I have the EQ guild history albums to glean from; I am also able to explore the files of the Lopez Island Historical Society for information about the history of quilting on Lopez Island.

The community here on Lopez is most fortunate to have such an amazing historical society and museum for a community of only about 2,500 fulllltime residents — as well as blessed to have such a dedicated group of volunteers to oversee its museum!

Here are a few articles I came across that give us a more substantive history of our quilt group as well as that wonderful resource we had here on Lopez for so many years -- The Enchanted Needle needlework shop, which would eventually become known to many simply and affectionately as "the quilt shop".

The first article, announcing the creation of The Enchanted Needle needlework shop, is dated October 26, 1976, and appeared in the Island Record.

(Most images will open into a larger format if you click on them. This will enable you to read the article in full or to see the individuals in the group photos more closely.)

This next article dated Sept 29, 1982 announces the creation of the Lopez Needlearts Guild, the pre-cursor to the Enchanted Quilters group? (I am not certain that the later quilt group has ever formally adopted the word "guild" to describe itself.) I need to consult a couple of the founders who are still with us about this particular aspect of the history.

Another article in the file dated May 23, 1984, from The Island's Sounder announces that Millie and Tammy Cown, mother-in-law/daughter-in-law team, are opening a second Enchanted Needle shop in Friday Harbor.

On March 6, 1985, the San Juan Journal ran the following short blurb with the header Enchanted Needle gains nataional exposure.

Another chapter in quilting history on Lopez began when Millie and Tammy Cowan sold the shop to Dawn Lease in July 1988 and the focus of the shop shifted more and more to quilting, though never entirely giving up the other needle arts. Knitting was probably the 2nd most popular form of needlework that the shop continued to support.

We were all extremely sad to see it close in the fall of 2005 when Dawn was ready to retire and a new buyer could not be found. Thank you, Dawn, for all those years of making classes and quilting fabric available! Thank you Millie and Tammy for creating the shop in the first place! The photo of the quilt shop (above right) was taken in 2005, the year the shop closed.

Here is another early photo of the Enchanted Quilters of Lopez and Shaw. This was taken on the deck of Wini and Loren Alexander's home here on Lopez in 1986 just two years after EQ got its formal start.

L-R: Millie Cowan, co-owner of the Enchanted Needle shop, Wini Alexander (my MIL and the one who inspired me to launch myself into this amazing journey I have been on since I started studying quilt history in 1981), Kathryn Powell, Sue Kline, Rosemary Beagley, Virginia Avery (guest teacher from Port Chester, New York), Francis Currier, Jerry Currier, Doug Cowan. Jinny Avery went on to be inducted into The Quilters Hall of Fame in July 2006.

Imagine my great surprise when I found the group photo (above) among my mother-in-law's files in 2005. Wini probably wrote to me about Jinny's visit to Lopez in 1986 but I had forgotten all about it. That is, until I stumbled across the photo at the same time I started corresponding with Jinny in the late fall of 2005 as we started making plans for her induction into the hall of fame in Indiana. I had never met Jinny in person up to that time.

I feel I owe a great deal of the credit to Wini for all the many opportunities I have had in the quilt world because it was she who introduced me to quilting. And from that first quilt she made in 1976 for our eldest daughter out of Sarah's childhood art work, I had my eyes opened to the extraordinary power of quilts as vehicles of family and women's history.

Karen Alexander presents Jinny Avery with her official medal as the 36th Honoree of The Quilters Hall of Fame.

Keep those needles flying to keep those grandchildren, friends, husbands and victims of war and natural disasters warm! Oh yes, and so that quilt historians will always have new material to study, too!

Karen Alexander
Historian for Enchanted Quilters of Lopez Island

The Art of Fabric Collage Workshop Report

2009-04-15T22:48:00.000-07:00

Today's workshop teacher - Wendy Ward of Carmel Valley, California

Twenty EQ members had color and fabric flying today in the bright sunny community room of Grace Episcopal church. Excitement was palpable as we set up our stations and delightedly spread out our seemingly endless rainbows of fabric.

Meanwhile, teacher Wendy Ward arrived from California on the 9:25 a.m. ferry and was quickly whisked to the village by Mom -- Barbara Gonce. Wendy was here to visit Barb and to lead a workshop exploring the art of fabric collage and to show us examples of her own recent creative exploration in perspective. Wendy, a scientist by profession, working part-time at Monterey Bay Aquarium and part-time at Back Porch Fabrics in Pacific Grove, was an excellent teacher.

The by-word of the day was to explore and "play" –– beyond one's own comfort zones.

Each quilter had pre-purchased Susan Carolson's book Free Style Quilts: A "No Rules" Approach and had dug thru her stash for days, looking for appropriate fabrics for our own project as well as fabrics to share.

Some had even met ahead of time to "interview" fabrics from one another's stashes.

To this reporter the selection and variety students had to "play" with and "borrow" at today's workshop was astounding.

(below) Barbara Carver and Carolyn Baldwin contemplate and concentrate.

In this writer's opinion it was even more astounding to see how different each project turned out to be, even though we were all creating basically the same large fish.

Take a look for yourself.

Darlene Demetrick is just getting started. Unfortunately, I didn't get finished snapshots at the end of the class of all the projects but I'll get photos of all eventually and put them on the blog. Darlene had completed hers by the end of the day, ready for the next step of attaching it to the background fabric.

Laurie Latta told us hers turned out to be a very feminine FEMALE fish!

Anne Dawson's was a bold daring fish ready for a Caribbean adventure!

Hopefully we'll eventually be able to have he finished product on display somewhere here on Lopez before the year is out.

This day's post will have to be completed tomorrow. I'm ready to crash! It's 12:32 a.m. and I am having too much fun for so late at night!

Karen Alexander
Historian for Enchanted Quilters of Lopez Island

Founding of Enchanted Quilters

2009-04-08T09:38:00.000-07:00

Although there was talk of forming a quilt group as early as 1981 in association with the Enchanted Needle, a fabric and needlework shop founded by Millie and Tammy Cowan in 1976, it wasn't until 1984 that a formal group coalesced. EQ was begun by members of the Senior Center for the express purpose of making a raffle quilt to help the Lopez Seniors earn money to establish a new meeting place.

The group successfully raised $2,000 and decided to continue meeting. Those first members were (as seen in photo in the column to your left): Marge Gradl, Gladys Alexander, Francis Currier (in back), Bertha Kurutz, Wini Alexander, Edith Schwendeman, (Harold Schendeman in back), Charlotte Lamoureaux, Bernadette Butler and Ernestine Moffitt. Millie Gilllespie and Millie Cowan were among the first members also but are not shown in this photo.

Millie Cowan was the owner and founder of the Enchanted Needle. The group chose the name Enchanted Quilters because of their great appreciation for Millie's shop. See more history about the founding of Millie's shop in a later post.

Enchanted Quilters Host Inter-Island Gathering

There is nothing like a quilt gathering for good food, good fun and beautiful artwork! Rinky-Dink Doll dropped by for a visit too. She is one of quilt artist Barbara Groves' many playful explorations.

Saturday March 28 (2009) was the 2nd inter-island gathering hosted by Enchanted Quilters of Lopez Island. Our speaker, Barbara Groves of LaConner, WA, wowed us all with a retrospective of her many years wielding a threaded needle.

The talented Barbara Groves who also comes with a great sense of humor!

Title: With Apologies to Picasso: Blue Woman on a Red Day with Cats

Title: Life is Not All Black and White

(Please note as you view these photos: the quilts hanging on the wall are not made by Barbara Groves but rather by members of Enchanted Quilters.)

Title: Tipsy Houses & Staggering Stars (class sample)

One can definitely see the influence of Barbara's previous artistic training...painting. Her color sense is intuitive and powerful. In addition to sharing her own personal quilts, Barbara told us stories about some of the "round robin" quilt groups she has participated in and shared some of those quilts also, plus two of the dolls the group has made. What a challenge –– to make a doll in a round-robin!

"Esther' was created by a group of five fiber artists.

Karen Alexander
Historian for Enchanted Quilters of Lopez Island

PS: You can read more of my quilt research by clicking here.