In January I decided to look for a new quilt guild. I have joined two different guilds since I moved to Georgia from the DC area and neither one has inspired me the way my last guild did. I decided I was going to have to be willing to drive a bit in order to find a guild that would offer what I am looking for. I did a little research and have found a home!
I have joined East Cobb Quilters' Guild in Marietta, Georgia. I have to drive 80 miles to attend a meeting, but it is sooo worth it!! The first meeting I attended was in the evening in January. The ladies were warm and welcoming and the program was educational and entertaining-it was a demonstration of several ways to make fabric post cards. Most of the business part of the meeting was about the upcoming quilt show. The raffle quilt was hanging up for everyone to see and it was spectacular!
It's called Stars and Sprigs and the picture does not do it justice. It is a gorgeous quilt. I have bought raffle tickets for myself and my friends and I hope one of us wins!!
This is a close up so that you can see some of the details of the fabrics and the quilting.
I attended my second meeting in February-also an evening meeting. The excitement about the quilt show (It starts next Friday!) was at a higher pitch than the month before. I joined the guild that night and signed up to volunteer as a vendor hostess at the show.
I missed the March meeting because I was ill and I was so disappointed. Joe Cunningham, aka Joe the Quilter, was the guest speaker.
The April meeting was my first time to attend a day meeting and it was wonderful. There were so many friendly ladies there. The guest speaker was Pat Wys (she lives in the Atlanta area-we are so lucky to have her nearby!) I was really excited to hear Pat speak because last Fall Anne and I helped Pam (Pam and Anne are my two BFFs) make a quilt for Pam's daughter's wedding from Pat's book Spotlight on Neutrals.
The pictures aren't very good-they were taken at the dimly lit wedding reception. The quilting on it is beautiful!
Pat was a wonderful speaker and it was awesome to see all of her quilts made with only neutral fabrics. She brought other quilts to share, as well. Here are a few pics I snapped.
Pat also showed a two color quilt that I loved. Blue and white has always been a favorite of mine.
I'm a fan of basket quilts too. I love the touch of applique in the sashing on this one.
This quilt got a lot of ooh's and aah's. What's not to love?
Pat and a friend of hers both made the same quilt, but in their own fabric choices. It was interesting to see the difference that color value makes in a quilt.
Another gorgeous two color quilt!
The May guest speaker was Lisa Bongean of Primitive Gatherings. Big fan here!! I have been attending the Original Sewing and Quilt Expo in Atlanta for years and Primitive Gatherings always has a booth and I always buy from them-books, patterns, fabrics, and wool....ahhh, the wool! It's divine!! I haunted their booth at the International Quilt Festival in Houston several years ago too. I bought something (okay-lots of somethings) from them every day I was there.
Lisa was a great speaker. She told us her quilting story-when she started quilting, the reason she opened her quilt shop when she did, and how she gets so much done!
Then she shared her passion with us-wool! She told us where she buys her wool, how she dyes it and how to stitch it up. She showed us lots of wool table runners and candle mats, but I was in the back and couldn't get good pics.
One of the reasons that I love Lisa is because she is such a generous person. She is always ready to share her passion for quilting and wool. She donated wool for door prizes at our quilt guild meeting, she gave away "goodies" to the ladies who attended her workshops and she was so happy to share her knowledge of dyeing and stitching wool with the guild. In the picture above Lisa is again sharing her love of quilting. That's my granddaughter, Sofia, sitting in Lisa's lap at a quilt show. When Sofia told Lisa that she likes to sew and that she had been piecing scraps together to make a quilt for her Curious George, Lisa gave Sofia a precut stack of 2 1/2" squares to use in her next project. Always encouraging and supporting her fellow quilters-that's Lisa!
I can't wait until next month's meeting-Edyta Sitar will be the guest speaker and I am sure it will be great too.
Happy Inspirations!
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