Enchanted Quilters of Lopez Island: January 2013

The 2012 Holiday Gathering

Every year the Holiday Party the volunteer

committee plans and executes so graciously amazes and delights all!

This year the table center pieces were a delightful array of colorful, mysterious small packages interspersed with a variety of glass ornaments that contained the tiniest scraps of left over fabrics chopped up into conffetti-like pieces. In addition, we were provided with a bookmark that contained a pithy or humorous saying.

L-R: Carole Knutsen, Edi Blomberg, Joanne Bryant, Nancy Wallace

Co-Presidents Joanne and Nancy get the meeting started. Edi Blomberg is acknowledged for her as Secretary and the extraordinary detailed and colorful Minutes she often records. Karen Alexander takes a minute to point out how lucky the group is to have such a great detailer of EQ's history. Future quilt historians will sing Edi's praises, Karen noted.

Lopez Comfort Quilts Project

Carole Knutsen

Carol Knutsen has taken on the leadership of the Lopez Comfort Quilts Project. Such projects would never get done without one individual dedicating a lot of personal time. EQ as well as the Lopez community are fortunate to have someone like Carol take on the leadership role of this project. This group has gotten very busy very fast! Here are some of the results already.

Carol shares two of Barbara Gonce's Comfort Quilts

Below: Two Comfort Quilts made by Carol Knutsen with a clever back.

above: Carol shares her own Comfort quilt.

Below: front and back of Pacific Northwest Comfort Quilt made by Barbara Gonce. This quilt went to Lorrie Swanson's Home room Class.

Show & Tell

Joanne Bryant tells the story behind one of her first quilts.

Above: Joanne shares one of her Comfort Quilt tops.
The group will help tie it next month.

Below: Edi Blomberg and the Comfort Quilt she made and contributed.

Below: Edi's Asian Windows which she made for a family member.

Below: Laurie Latta and her quilt made of saved selvage edges of fabric that the

whole group has been saving for her. She had some great tips about working

with the selvage strips.

Another Comfort Quilt -Nautical Beach - made by Laurie Latta. This quilt was placed in the classroom of Connie Holz, the Elementary Literacy teacher.

Below: Barbara Carver shares a quilt top recently made for a grandson.

Below: Candy's Japanese Tsunami commemorative quilt.

Below: Deborah Bundy's latest quilt.

Below: Pat Kuentzel's Comfort Quilt top contribution.

Pat Kuentzel's pillow top below.

Below, the results of Pat's taking Jean Wells class. For the moment she humorously calls it her "Page 26 Quilt", referring to the page number of Jean's book Intuitive Color & Design where Pat got her idea for her quilt.

The difference in coloring has to do with the direction the light coming in from the window. In the above photo, the camera is pointed at the window so the light is hitting the lens of the camera rather than the front of the quilt. In the photo below, the light from the window is behind the camera, thus hitting the front of the quilt.

Pat has added a fabric with a sailboat in the center of each square.

Below Peggy Schuld shares two of her Comfort Quilts.

Does the pattern below look familiar? It should. We used this pattern when the group made the Healing Waters Quilt to raise funds for the Epilepsy Foundation Northern California in 2011. You can see that story here.) That quilt top was made in two weeks (some kind of record for us!) and was then machine quilted by EQ member Peggy Schuld’s husband, Del. Within three weeks the quilt was in California. You can see that story by clicking here.

Below, Peggy shows the version she recently made for a member of her own family.

Norma Peal shares her latest Christmas quilt below using fusible applique.

Karen Alexander Finishes Her 40-year Old Top!

Below are two quilts Karen Alexander recently finished as a result of taking Anne Dawson's class which Anne calls "Miss Anne's Finishing School". The multi-colored quilt top (58x38) was made by Karen's mother-in-law (Wini Alexanders), one of the founders of EQ. Wini passed away in 1999 without having finished the quilt. Karen "merely" had to add the binding. Now it's ready to go to her new grandson, Liam Loren Howk. This quilt contains many fabrics Karen recognizes from various quilts and quilted clothing items that Wini made for herself or for her grandchildren so it is a particular delight to Karen to be able to give it to Liam.

Top made by Wini Alexander about 1997 and finished by DIL Karen November 2012

Karen began the yellow embroidered baby quilt (30x36) when she was expecting her 3rd child and 2nd daughter (Lori Jo, named after her grandfather Loren Joseph) in 1972. Said daughter gave birth to her first child (William Loren) in August 2012 so Karen decided it was now or never. She began working on both quilts a month ago. The baby quilt contains a woven vintage baby blanket from the 1940s which contains the image of the three bears now embroidered on the front. Karen's story is that this baby quilt now represents the 1940s decade, the 1970s decade, and now grandson Liam's decade as well.

The real moral of this story is that it is never too late to finish a project! Karen has two unfinished projects from the 1980s to go! Expect to see them completed in 2013, she says!

A photo Karen took several months ago of the vintage baby blanket
inside the quilt before she closed it up.

And here's the lucky boy - grandson Liam enjoying his new quilt.

The phrase on the quilt reads "Let everything He has made praise Her name".
Yes, that is correct HER name! Karen believes in giving equal opportunity and credit.

Darlene Demetirck shows her Leaf quilt.

Paper-Piecing Pine Trees

See the November EQ blog to catch a glimpse of of this quilt when it was just a pile of blocks! This is the paper-piecing pattern Darlene demonstrated at the November meeting.

Someone will win the Tree blocks above and below.

The small top was made by Darlene Demetrick

Colleen Thomas shares a beautiful piece of needlework
she found at a recent yard sale.

Edi Blomberg and Carole Knutsen examine Colleen's treasure.

October Block Exchange comes back as a finished top!

Audrey Swanson shares the quilt top she made from the blocks
she won in the October Block Exchange.

Talk about recycling!.....and we don't mean the food!

The following series of photos shows how Sherry Fopma-Perry gets her garment analyzed from stem to stern! It was made by a fiberartist who collected odds and ends of black and white knitted garments, took them apart and created a one-of-a-kind long coat-like garment. It is an amazing piece of textile art.