Another member blog to check out

Michelle Subbart, a member who has come back from being gone for a while (she's a military wife and mom) has a blog.  Check out her blog and encourage her to create.  :)
She's going to be gone again for a bit again, but we can keep up with her life through her blog.
Michelle Subbert blog  The link will be on the right with the rest of the members blogs.

New blog on blog roll on the right

Just to  let you all know, Heather Ridges, our block of the month queen, has a blog as well.  Check it out...

http://cowgirl4ever.blogspot.com/

And - did you see our guild and speaker and members in the Hanford Sentinel on January 9th?  If not here's a link.  If it doesn't work, search on the newspapers site for popular artistic pastime and it will come up.  Look at tabs on top of article to see more pictures than what was in the original article.

http://www.hanfordsentinel.com/news/local/popular-artistic-pastime-thriving-in-kings-county/article_95043b80-3b00-11e1-a1c1-001871e3ce6c.html

Guild meeting and committee updates to come probably next week.

Get Ready for 2012

We are going to have a great year  (2012) with a wonderful line up of speakers and workshops.  Don't miss this opportunity to be taught by national leaders in the quilt industry.

We are very fortune to have as our guest in January, Christine Barnes. Ms Barnes has published two books about quilting and color. Her latest is ―The Quilter’s Color Club‖. She has taught at Empty Spools at Asilamor as well as worked with Sunset Magazine. She is a very sought after teacher and lecturer.
Her lecture will be Color, Color, Color and her workshop is Color Camp.  The workshop will provide each of you with an opportunity to learn about the different elements of color and how to use mock blocks to discover how the different elements work in making a quilt pop.
The class will be held at Quilters Quarters (Hanford, CA) on Saturday, January 7th from 9:30 am to 3:30 pm. The cost is $40, which is a bargain for this class. Please contact Charlotte Meade if you want to sign up for the class.  You can check out her web site at: christinebarnes.com


Future programs are:
February 2nd—Sue Rasmussen—―A Desperate Housewife’s Quilt Journey
February 4th – Machine Quilting www.suerasmussenquilts.com
March 1st—Marie Strait—―Successes & Failures on a Fabric Diet
March 3rd—―We Have Scraps, Now What?
April 5th—TBA
No workshop—Easter weekend
May 3rd—TBA
May4/5 Judy Sisneros—―Circle Pizzazz
June 7th – Sara Kelly—Trunk Show
June 9th—Leaf & Flower Bowl
July 5—Revealing of the Challenges and Mystery quilts
No workshop
August 2—installation of new officers

Also start thinking about our boutique next year - what can you make and donate or better yet, what can you do to help.  Check out the committee page for more ideas.

Sorry - no pictures were taken at the December  meeting so no new show and tell pictures.

November 2011 Meeting review

Sorry it's taken so long to update.  We had a wonderful meeting with a great speaker and some big decisions made for the guild.  The biggest being that we will not be having our Great Little Quilt Sale at the Lemoore park on the 4th of July, instead we are planning on a boutique sometime in September.  


Don't forget to come to the Christmas potluck party (in lieu of a regular guild meeting)

Christmas Party

Thursday

December 1, 2011

Kings County Bowl

1050 E Lacey, Hanford

6:00 p.m. Social

7:00 p.m. Pot Luck Dinner

Bring a Guest

Christmas is coming and our party is set for December 1^st to start the month off right.  We will be having a pot luck dinner, raffle of baskets or other prizes and lots of fun.  Some surprises await.

      We need your help to have a very successful evening.  Baskets of all sorts are needed to raffle off.  Themes may be anything, not just quilting.  Try jewelry, any type of meal, chocolate, makeup, fishing, travel, framed photos, quilt racks, quilts or any of your wonderful ideas.  Drop your baskets off at my home or bring them the night of the party by 6:00. You may make up a basket or bring items to us and we will make up the baskets.  If we are to make up your basket we will need it ASAP so we have time to do the necessary preparations.

     The price of tickets will be 6 for $5 or 25 for $20.  There will be bags in front of each basket or item and you can drop tickets into the bag for the prizes you want to win.

     There will be a live auction for some items so bring your checkbook.

     The Pot Luck Dinner is another place you can show off your many talents.  Bring your favorite appetizer, salad, main dish or dessert (please include serving spoons).

     The guild will provide table service, coffee and punch.

If you have any questions, please contact any of the committee members. 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I've updated the show and tell page and the committee update pages.  Please check them out as well.  Also, forgotten in the newsletter are the October board meeting minutes but they are posted here under the minutes tab.  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Now that the guild has voted on having a boutique in the fall instead of the Great Little Quilt Sale in July, we need to get committee chairs to get the ball rolling.  Since this will be the first annual Holiday Boutique* (Name not yet chosen), we will need more time to organize.

The prospective dates will be either October 6 or 12, 2012, the hours would be 10 to 4 with a $3 admission fee.  We have a possible location in downtown Hanford (it would be storefront property).

Linda Carter has graciously offered to be the chairwoman but believes we need co-chairs for the different areas of the boutique.  The idea is to have several selling areas, such as baking, granny’s attic, sewing, quilting and other handmade items, possibly a consignment area.  We will also need someone to handle all the advertising, set up and admission.  Each department will be in charge of pricing their own items.  So we need volunteers.  If you have ever been part of a boutique your expertise would be welcomed.  Please contact either Linda Carter or Sheila Ockey.  You don’t have to do it alone either.  Grab a buddy and co-chair a selling area.

So you’re asking, (I know you are…..) what if I can’t be a committee chair, how can I participate and help the guild raise money for a nationally known speaker and to help fund the charity quilt program?  Here are some suggestions of what you can do.  Do you have a fun craft that you can teach a few friends to make?  You can hold a workshop to make and donate the items to the boutique.  Or while you’re making gifts throughout the year, make one or two extra and donate to the boutique.  If everyone in the guild would donate at least 5 items, we would have a wonderful boutique of craft items.  (Anything that does not sell, goes back to the maker.)

 Some ideas of things to get you thinking:  table toppers or runners, purses, pouches, clutches, napkins and placemats, stuffed animals, Christmas tree skirts, ornaments, banners, knitted scarves, knitted wash cloths, set of cards or gift tags (for the scrapbookers in our group), potholders, aprons, jewelry, fabric baskets, baby bibs, burp cloths, stockings, hair clips, hair bows, brooches, decorative towels, dog collars, dog leashes, pennants, bookmarks, bow ties and the list can go on and that is just craft ideas.  Don’t get me started on the food.  If you want ideas there are plenty of websites that offer tutorials and inspiration.  (Ask Barbara Sindlinger for good sites to go to for FREE tutorials.)

October 2011updates

Check out the committee pages for the latest updates.  I've also uplinked photos from the October 6th Show and Tell.

Have you stopped by the Kings Art Center yet to look at the show.  The Kings Art Center is located at 605 N. Douty, Hanford.  Here's a link to their website - click on the current exhibit tab on front to see a preview of the show.

Your membership directories will be ready for you at the membership table at the November 3rd meeting.  .  They will only be available for paid members.

A Stitch In Time Open House

Tonight was the guild's open house at the Kings Art Center.  Thanks to all the members and friends for showing your support and stopping by.  Here are some photos I took. And thanks to Jodie Bissig (a professional photographer by the way--check her ad in this coming months' newsletters.) I have a few more photos.

Pam Larsen's quilt when you first walk in.

From left to right:  Grace Hoya, Sara Kelly and Mary Jane Loya.  Bowl by Grace too.

Our fearless leader Mary Jane chatting with Debbie Van Fossen, her mother and Sheila Ockey

MaryAnn Wlaschin

Jodie Bissig

Sheila Ockeys neutral quilt on left, Jodie Bissig's straight on and Sara Kellys on the right

I know the moon one is Anna Koelewyns, not sure who's is on the left of that (maybe Charlotte Rogers).  Deolinda's on the far right.  Not sure of the one with yellow.

Two very proud little girls - Mia on left proud of her mom's  work and Georgia -proud of her grandma's work.

Two very proud children of Jodie Bissig.  So cute!

Thought I took more pictures.  If you took some at the show, feel free to email them to me and I'll add here for everyone to see.  Two quilts were already sold tonight which is awesome.  Congratulations to those sellers!

A Stitch in Time Art Exhibit

Kings Art Center


An Exhibition of traditional and non-traditional quilts from members of the Common Threads Quilt Guild

For the fourth time, Kings Art Center in Hanford, California has invited the members of the Common Threads Quilt Guild to display and sell their fiber art quilts October 8 through November 26, 2011 with an opening reception on October 7, 2011 from 5:30 to 7:30 pm. This art quilt show presents many important milestones of the American fiber art movement and illustrates the diversity of this traditional craft. The exhibition features a variety of objects—quilts, postcards, and wearable arts among others—by artists such as Sara Kelly, Deolinda Rhoads, Grace Hoya and Anna Koelewyn.

The variety of objects in this exhibit illustrates how similar techniques and materials serve an artist's personal vision to create strikingly different works. As artists were challenged to expand the expressive boundaries of fiber, they experimented with new materials like plastic and metal and looked beyond the quilt stores and magazines for inspiration.

Other artists in the exhibition use fiber to express ideas or stories about their lives.

The Common Threads Quilt Guild is celebrating their 13th year as a quilt guild in the Kings County, with members from Hanford, Lemoore, Porterville, Coalinga, Visalia, and Tulare. The guild’s goal is to create a community of quilters to share ideas, develop skills and encourage the traditions of quilt making, traditional or more modern. Common Threads Quilt Guild meets on the first Thursday of each month at the Church of Christ in Hanford. We have several nationally known speakers and teachers throughout the year and also use some wonderful local talent.

Members of the Common Threads Quilt Guild have submitted quilt pieces that go beyond the traditional quilts on your grandma’s bed. These are works of art that include beading, painting, thread play and the use of unusual materials. Several guild members have been featured artists at the regional quilt show, Best of the Valley (Anna Koelewyn, Janice Minyard, Charlotte Rogers, Debbie Van Fossen) and many have won Best of Show ribbons at both Best of the Valley and Kings County Fair (Barbara Sindlinger, Elaine Berry, Janice Minyard, Anna Koelewyn, Charlotte Rogers, Debbie Van Fossen to name a few.

Several of the members have exhibited their art at Arts Visalia and Brandon Mitchell Gallery. Sara Kelly, Anna Koelewyn and Grace Hoya had a quilt in a traveling art exhibit called West Coast Wonders.

Sara Kelly, Anna Koelewyn and Barbara Sawyers are members of Studio Art Quilters Associates (SAQA http://www.saqa.com/) and Sara is also a member of the California Fiber Artists, Exhibition Group 2010, and Surface Design Association (SDA) and has shown in many galleries throughout California.