Enchanted Quilters of Lopez Island

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Healing Waters Raffle Quilt

"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.

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

First Round Robins Revealed

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

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Field Trip to Camino Island Quilt Guild Show

Catching Up on Past Activities

March 2011

Have you ever known this group NOT to have fun when they get together!

Front Row l-r: Annie, Karen, Peggy, Carol, Nancy
Back Row: Edi, Barbara, Darlene, Colleen, Laurie, Christy

A Signature Quilt to document Camano Island Quilters' 25th Anniversary! Yes!

This type of quilt is so much fun to research! Check out the national Signature Quilt Pilot Project at the Quilt Index website here. The Quilt Index is a division of the Alliance for American Quilts

Also check out the Quilt Index's updated quilt ephemera collection project here. They have added hundreds of new pieces of ephemera -- photographs, booklets, fabric swatches, catalogs, the journal Uncoverings, and much more.

25th Anniversary Block for Camano Island Quilters.

The Camino Island quilters have a very active chapter of American Hero Quilters.

When future quilt historians review the first quarter of the 21st century, they will have thousands of patriotic quilts to document due to several different projects that were begun in the first 10 years of this century.

Quilts with eagles on them have always been highly collectible items. Check out my friend and quilt historian Kim Wulfert's research here.

Botanical quilts have been even more popular than eagle quilts over the course of American history. Check out a recent historic exhibit that the Charleston Museum of South Carolina held Nov 2011-April 2012 by clicking here.

Crows seem to be popular in small quilts the past several years. Maybe it's because they create great contrast.

A layered beach scene - very effective.

Made and quilted by Karen Lowry.

Made by Betty Mantik, quilted by Krista Moser.
Pattern "Quilts in Bloom" by Mary Ross and Barbara Schen

"Thread Painting" by Judy Irish

Love the combination of colors and prints in the next quilt!

"Civil War Sunse"t made by Jo Bond

One of the quilt history on-line discussion lists has been talking about circle patterns, lately, and all their many variations in the 19th and early 20th century. Here is a contemporary circle pattern that is made stunning by the choice and placement of color.

"Grid of Circles" made by Opal Cocke

Here are a couple of rather elaborate antique examples of circles from my friend Julie Silber who carries fabulous antique quilts in her on-line shop The Quilt complex.

Ah, shopping! A little shopping never hurt anybody, right? Guild members are so generous. They donate their UFOs (Unfinished Objects) and scraps (and sometimes even large pieces of quilting fabric!) to their annual quilt shows. If you're a quilter that doesn't have to work with the very latest fabric, these "sales" are a great place to find fabric. And it's so much fun digging thru the boxes. You just never know what you might find!