Ruminations 1

 Now that we’ve been through almost a year of non-social quilting (and everything else), how have your views of our quilt guild changed or been modified? Is the guild purely social with the glue holding us together quilting and love of pretty fabric? Is the social part as important as learning new techniques and getting ideas from members? Is the confirmation and affirmation we get from show and tell and petting  pretty fabric that other people have found the most important benefit to guild membership? Were lectures and demonstrations by experts we pay to visit us the most disappointing hole in your guild year? 

How important to you and to the mission of the guild is community service? (Comfort Covers, Toys for Tots, Operation Shoebox/ditty bags for service members) Others: mastectomy pillows, chemo covers, women’s crisis, homeless shelter support, more. Local or nationwide? What speaks to you?

Have you been a member for so long the hole in your monthly routine was the disappointment? It had little or nothing to do with quilting, fabric, or friends? 

How much did you miss the June picnic and the December party?  (enough to help run them; what picnic? What party; I just missed the food. 

What if we had day meetings in even months (Feb, April, etc) and evening meetings in odd months (January, march, may etc)? Our parties are in even months and during  the day.  Or, what if we had member demonstrations and community (charity) sewing as the program for day meetings and lectures as we’ve always done at night.  What else?

Do you Zoom? Do you Facebook? Do you MeWe?

Please let us know your ruminations, thoughts, musings, and plain old opinions by email or text, or if you’d prefer to be anonymous, by USPS.  

Preserving your Quilts (suggestions from Karen Powers)

 In my past life as a quilt appraiser, I often saw stored textiles with permanent stains resulting from long term contact with wood or wood products. The acid in wood products can seep into quilts stored in wooden chests or cardboard boxes creating brown stains.
When cleaning out my own grandmother’s home, I found four quilts on a shelf in a bedroom closet. I was so excited! The quilt on top, nestled into the next quilt was in the best condition. But edges of the other three quilts where they had come in contact with the closet walls were brown with wood acid stains, and the bottom surface of the folded quilt that rested on the shelf was very discolored and heavily stained.
Since wood and wood products leech acid, how can you protect your wall hanging when supporting it with a wooden dowel or or other type of wooden hanger?
Many people seal wood with common sealers such as polyurethane or shellac. Either would be a fine choice.
But when fashioning a hanger, I often use a simpler solution. When I make the hanging sleeve, I usually make it 1-2” shorter than the width of the project, and use a wooden dowel just a bit longer than the sleeve so it peeks out of the sleeve on either side. This way the wooden rod doesn’t show from the front when the project is hung.
If you’re using this method where the wooden rod won’t be visible when hung, the easiest way to prevent wood acid from staining your project is to cover the rod with aluminum foil.

Aluminum foil, you say? How weird is that But, many serious quilt collectors store their quilts in regular cardboard boxes lined with aluminum foil to prevent the wood acid in the cardboard from leeching into the stored quilt. Much cheaper than purchasing the museum quality archival boxes!

Laser lines

 Tired of drawing diagonal lines for HST? Look at this.  

2020-2021 Centre Pieces Quilt Guild Challenge Reminder

My Town

Where does your imagination go when you think of “My Town”?

For this challenge there are no requirements other than your piece must have a label on the back (or inside) that references the challenge, what town or area you picked, and why you chose the town or area. Your quilt or quilted item can be pieced or appliquéd, traditional or modern, realistic or abstract, embellished or not!

Hopefully, we’ll have a June picnic in 2021 where your creations will be revealed. Contact Karen Powers for more information.