Program for South Bay Quilters Guild 11-18-10

On Tuesday evening I gave a program on the Thomas Contemporary Quilt Collection for the South Bay Quilters Guild which meets in Redondo Beach, CA. I took my friend Liz Williams to be my helper and it was a good thing she came along because I was really dragging my tail. I haven't regained my energy after the bronchitis and my psoas muscle problem was giving me fits. Liz and I stayed at the Best Western - Redondo Beach for the night and yesterday I taught a "Fiber Postcards/Quiltcards" workshop at a shop that accommodates the guild workshops. I think the students enjoyed the day: everyone created several cards and, perhaps learned something. In the traffic it was slightly more than a 2-1/2 hour drive home. I dropped Liz off at her house, drove home, unloaded the quilts, called someone in my Book Group to say I wouldn't make the meeting and went to bed at 8:30 - almost a first in my life! This morning was a physical therapy session which was a big help with the muscle pain.

There were enough stands to hang seven large quilts across the stage. It was great to have so many quilts hanging so the members of the audience could get close and really study the them. I always wish we could hang all of the quilts during my presentations! Freddy Moran's "Orange Peel Surprise" was displayed on the left of the stage. On the opposite side was another quilt with a Freddy connection.

Here are "Walks in the Woods" - Frieda Anderson, "Pumpkins" - Ruth McDowell, "Rose Garden" - Jane Sassaman, On the table on the left in the foreground the quilts to be shown are stacked face down with the top edges facing the audience so they all appear right side up when they are lifted. The table to the right is draped to receive the quilts after they are shown and on top are a few quilts rolled around a 'stuffie', wrapped with a cover and tied - this is to demo the way I store the quilts.

South Bay Quilters Guild President Pam Overton in front of quilts displayed on stage: "Walk in the Woods" - Noriko Endo and "Chimney Pots" - Elizabeth Barton. These quilts have more color, but the stage lights were not shining on them so they appear faded.

On the left is the podium banner for South Bay Quilters Guild overlapping the small quilts displayed on the folding design board created by Mabel Huseby of Mt. Vernon, WA. On the right is "Freddy's Polkadots" which is composed of blocks made by Empty Spools teachers in honor of the 25th Anniversary of the creation of the Empty Spools Seminars. Freddy Moran (who has been both student and teacher over the years) assembled this quilt top, one of six made from the teacher's blocks, and it was quilted by Don Linn, another Empty Spools teacher. At each session everyone in attendance put their name in the hat and at each session one winner was drawn - I was the lucky one in March 2010 when my name was pulled for this quilt. There is a spectacular yellow/white/black fabric on the back - I'll take a picture and post it tomorrow.

Note: I own three quilts with almost identical names. The title with the plural "walks" is by Frieda Anderson, the title with the singular "walk" is by Noriko Endo, and there is one I made some years ago titled "My Walks in the Woods". Hard to keep the titles straight, but the quilts are distinctly different.