25th Anniversary Challenge

Jo-Ann Evans made the winning Challenge piece to help celebrate our guild's 25th Anniversary. The 24" x 30" quilt featured a pieced tree for each year and contained important historical information--organizing date, past presidents' names, and dates and locations of our quilt shows (beginning at Trinity Episcopal Parish House in 1985, then ten shows at Jackie Dole Sherrill Community Center, Hurricane Katrina date, causing us to delay the 2005 show until 2006, and arriving at Lake Terrace Convention Center in 2008).
Other participants in the Challenge were Martha Ginn, Barbara Peters, Allene Korinek, Sally Henderson, Doris Dunn, Donna Crager, Frances Good, and Kim Overstreet.

Sara Ward from Philadelphia presented a trunk show and shared many beautiful quilts with the group. She brought with her several family members representing three generations who are helping to carry on the rich quilting heritage.
After careful thought and discussion, the group decided on the theme for our 2012 show: "Life on Our Planet," opening up possibilities of thinking green, repurposing fabric, and conservation of our natural resources. This will follow 2010's theme of Log Cabins.

Joy O'Keefe--Don't Make Waves

Subtitle: Quilts Should Hang or Lay Flat and Square
At our October 21 meeting we were treated to a comprehensive program by one of our non-resident but active members, Joy O'Keefe, of Paducah, Kentucky. Joy lived in Long Beach, Mississippi, until Hurricane Katrina destroyed her home. When she and husband Maurice were deciding on where to relocate (nearer their son in St. Louis), Joy's love of quilts and quilting made Paducah a logical choice. She comes back to Mississippi for business and medical matters, so PBQ members scheduled her for a program. She displayed two of her seemingly flawless quilts and shared some of the stories of quilts saved and quilts lost. But losses have not slowed down her passion to continue creating beautiful quilts and to do this with the greatest precision possible.

Joy's presentation went from the basics to completion and included information on these vital points:

• Buy good quality fabric, prepare fabrics, cut with accuracy.
• Good sewing machine care, accurate seams, stitching accurately.
• Press (don't iron), beware of off-grain edges, check often.
• Diagonal settings, adding borders (stripped, pieced or appliqued, butted or mitered).
• Blocking, shaping, pinning, squaring, stabilizing, and quilting.
• Binding, finishing, sleeve, labeling.

Joy advised us, when viewing our own quilts or those of others, to train ourselves to be a judge and not a critic. We can utilize our knowledge of the elements and principles of art (combining line, form, space, color, value, texture, and light to achieve harmony, proportion, balance, rhythm, unity and emphasis) and practice these traits through precise workmanship. We should first admire the strengths of a piece (ours or others') before we note any imperfections.
She affirmed each of us with "Quilters are fiber artists. Wear the title proudly."

2010 Show Categories Posted

The categories for the Pine Belt Quilters 2010 Fiber Art & Quilt Show are listed below:

You may enter one piece per category, with an overall limit of eight entries per person.

Appliqué Team Large
Appliqué Team Small

Appliqué Large
Appliqué Small

Pieced Team Large
Pieced Team Small

Pieced Large
Pieced Small

Mixed Team Large
Mixed Team Small

Mixed Large
Mixed Small

Theme (Log Cabin) Any Size

Small/Lap/Crib/Children

Embroidery/Whole Cloth/Stitchery/Other Any Size

Friendship (Group) Any Size

Art Any Size

Pictorial Any Size

Wearables

Miniatures (Maximum Size 24”)

Youth (made by youth eighteen years and under)

Children's Quilts...and Pillows

Our August meeting featured our Parade of Children's Quilts with Doris Dunn's yellow ice cream quilt winning the vote for our favorite. Although our CQ group works all year making quilts, we encourage all our members to make at least one a year and bring to this meeting. Eighteen new quilts were brought in; several people had already turned theirs in to be included in the ones given to the 155th Brigade Combat Team shipping out from Camp Shelby in May.

Our members have really jumped on the bandwagon by making small pillows for the Pediatric Unit at Forrest General Hospital. Ruth Byrd collected 116 more pillows at our September 16 meeting and delivered them to the hospital. This makes a total of 380 pillows we have donated to date! The nurses are so thankful and tell how excited the youngsters are over owning their very own pillow.

MQA Educational Seminar with M'Liss Rae Hawley

Hattiesburg's Pine Belt Quilters hosted the third class of MQA's 2009 Educational Seminar on July 31-August 1 with M'Liss Rae Hawley teaching from her book, Mariner's Medallion Quilts (C&T Publishing). Thirteen students attended the two-day class and reported they gained valuable knowledge in auditioning and selecting fabric for their quilts.

Class participants were, L to R (front): Mary Nell Magee, Marietta Johnson, Gloria Burlette, (M'Liss), Diana Boulware, Kim Overstreet, Chris Jarrell (back): Paula Kopp, Kay Guillot, Therese Springer, Betty Bingham, Cynthia Reaves, Deb Milam, and Wynema McGrew.

M'Liss and PBQ president Barb Peters

The students used a variety of fabrics, as illustrated above. Each student came with a copy of the book and the fabrics she had chosen for her quilt. As each showed her fabrics, the group offered critiques on why one fabric would work better than another and how to complete the quilt after making the center block. M'Liss was courteous with her comments, gently suggesting "how about try this?" instead of criticizing a bad choice, leading the students to explore possibilities and train their eyes to see good choices.

There was lots of sharing of fabrics as quilters recognized how a fabric they had would be the perfect addition to a neighbor's block. M'Liss also gave tips on sleeves and binding which will be helpful later. Due to the serious illness of her mother, she had to fly back home a little early on the second day of class but had packed extra material into the first day's class in preparation of this possibility. Coordinating a flight out of New Orleans with a ferry ride to Whidbey Island in Puget Sound, Washington takes some planning! We enjoyed having her way down South.

Watermelon Patch Quilt Raffle

Diann Loper of Purvis was the lucky winner of the Watermelon Patch quilt at the drawing today at the Pine Belt Quilters meeting. The quilt had been displayed at the June 13 Blueberry Festival in Poplarville where tickets were sold. It was a cooperative effort by Vivian Plummer (the top); Mary Nell Magee (borders and binding); Sally Henderson (machine appliqued watermelon halves in the corners); and Susie Jackson (elaborate machine quilting).
We lost one of our prolific quilters last month--Barbara F. Parker--and her family donated her extensive fabric collection to our Children's Quilts Projects. There was far more than our storage could accommodate, so we offered some for sale to our members. The sale brought in just under $300, which will be used to purchase batting. Proceeds from the Watermelon Patch quilt raffle will also go to Children's Quilts.

Logan Brenner, Women and Children's Operations Manager at Forrest General Hospital, attended our meeting to accept 66 small pillows that our members made for the children. She is pictured with Ruth Byrd, who headed up the project. Logan said the pillows brighten the clinical environment and cheer up the patients as well as the pediatric staff, who appreciate the fact that there are so many wonderful people in our community who care about these children.
Our June program was a presentation by Shirley Wiltshire of advice on ways to organize sewing spaces and supplies. She showed slides of many storage arrangements and encouraged quilters to first remove everything from the sewing area and obtain the proper tables and shelving in order to create the most efficient use of the available space.

Quilt for Homes of Hope for Children

Sarah Dixon, Communications Director of Homes of Hope for Children, is shown receiving the 55" x 70" string quilt donated by Pine Belt Quilters for use in HOHFC's 3rd annual fund raising auction on August 29 at the Hattiesburg Cultural Center. The event will be called Taste of Home and will feature local restaurants with their favorite dishes.

March 8 was groundbreaking day for the first building--the House Parents Relief Duplex. This building will initially be used as counseling/office space during construction of the other buildings on campus. The property is located at the corner of White Chapel Road and Harold Tucker Road in Purvis.

Creating with the Wedge Ruler--Leslie Kiger

Leslie Kiger, one of PBQ's many talented members, demonstrated the use of Marilyn Doheny's 9-degree wedge rulers. In the background is Leslie's quilt "Butterfly Bliss," her original design. Leslie sewed strip sets of color into units and then cut wedges from these sets to form her flowers and butterflies. The objects were hand appliqued to the pieced background.

On Wednesday, May 27, Gulf States Quilting Association Circuit Teacher Marilyn Rose, from Jackson, will hold a workshop for Pine Belt Quilters with hands-on teaching of how to use striped fabric and the wedge rulers to create original designs.

141 Quilts for the 155th Brigade Combat Team

At our May 20 meeting we donated 141 quilts to the soldiers of the 155th Brigade deploying in June. These quilts range from crib size to twin bed size and are to comfort children whose parents are away serving our country. The guardsmen who received the quilts told the quilters how much these gifts mean to the families and soldiers. Command Master Sgt. Glen Davis said, "although the troops enjoy cookies and cakes sent to us, we have plenty of food; what really means the most is news from home--newspaper articles, stories of local sports events, any personal contact from friends and family." Three tote bags for young girls were included with the quilts. During the meeting one quilt was sold for $150 at a live auction. This money will be used to purchase batting and children's themed fabrics to make more quilts. Pictured are Sgt. Major Glen Davis, 1st Sgt. Teddy Hadaway, and Brigade public affairs spokesman Rob Edwards.
Both the Hattiesburg American newspaper and WDAM TV sent reporters and photographers to cover the event.

FGH Pediatrics Unit: PBQ also furnished 8 flannel blankets to the Forrest General Hospital Pediatrics Unit. FGH asked if we would make small pillows for the children. Ruth Byrd precut and distributed squares of fabric and batting to the members for the pillows. These will be returned (and photographed) at the next meeting.
Walker Totes: Since we began making walker totes for Forrest General Hospital in 2007 under the leadership and encouragement of our member Louise Cubley, we have made and furnished almost 600. One of our members, Sharon Nobles, brought in 30 more totes, made by a Girl Scout troop in Pensacola, FL.

Quilt for Domestic Abuse Family Shelter

We have donated a 75" x 103" Rail Fence Quilt in bright primary colors to the Domestic Abuse Family Shelter to be used in their efforts to build a new and larger facility. The Hattiesburg American (http://www.hattiesburgamerican.com/) reported in an April 6, 2009, story on the goal of $500,000 for this purpose. This agency serves as a haven for abused women and their children. It is our hope that the proceeds DAFS gains from this quilt can assist in their goals to more adequately serve those in crisis. Becky Sims, Director of DAFS, stresses the need for a place for women to go when they are in an abusive relationship. She said most homicides stem from domestic violence.

(Showing backing of quilt with Charlie Brown and friends fabric)

How to Build a Log Cabin

Members were treated today to a presentation by one of our own, Donna Burges. Donna researched the log cabin block and shared what she discovered. Did you know the log cabin design has been found on cloths used to wrap mummies in Egypt? Here are some other interesting tidbits Donna shared:

• The design was first brought to the US by Swedish immigrants. Pioneer women modified the design to suit their supplies, situation and needs. The log cabin was easily hand pieced while riding in a covered wagon. The design allowed women to make use of any available scrap material. Because of this many of the early quilts had several different types and weights of fabric - for this reason the quilts were tied rather than quilted.
• Though the first documented log cabin quilt was made in 1869, during the Civil War women were asked to make quilts to raffle and raise money to support the troops, the log cabin design was commonly used for these quilts.

The traditional log cabin block has a red center square, signifying the hearth of the home. Some have a yellow center signifying the light of the home. The logs (the walls of the home) are done in lights and darks, the light logs signify sunshine, the dark logs signify shadows. There are many variations of the log cabin block - the pineapple, courthouse steps, and a chevron (made with an off center block). Members shared some of their log cabin treasures to demonstrate the various settings that are possible with this block - Barn Raising, Fields and Furrows, Sunshine and Shadows, and many more.

Thanks, Donna for a great presentation. Now get to work, ladies, on building your own log cabin quilt to enter into the next show!

Copyright Matters

Pine Belt Quilters invited Rhonda Blasingame from Jackson to speak at our March 18 meeting on Copyright. Rhonda is passionate about this topic, as illustrated by her "soapbox." Everything she makes is original and she explained the difference between copying a pattern and creating an original design. She said that although quilters have always generously shared with each other, we need to be knowledgeable about protecting the rights of others.
As this relates to quilters, she explained that photographs, quilts seen at a show, quilts pictured in a magazine are the property of the maker and cannot be used without permission. When one creates a tangible object, she holds the copyright (example: publishes a book or article, composes a musical score, writes a song, paints a picture, designs a pattern, makes a quilt, that person holds the copyright, whether or not it is officially registered with the US Copyright office).
Rhonda provided several links for more detailed information. She also fielded questions to help the group understand what constituted copyright violation.
The following is quoted directly from "Copyright Basics" http://www.copyright.gov.

"Copyright is a form of protection provided by the laws of the United States
(title 17, U. S. Code) to the authors of 'original works of authorship,' including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain other intellectual works. This protection is available to both published and unpublished works. Section 106 of the 1976."
To paraphrase, the owner has these rights:
• To reproduce the work;
• To prepare derivative works based upon the work;
• To sell or lease the work;
• To perform the work publicly;
• To display the work publicly.

It's All In The BAG

Linda Basden, Jo-Ann Evans, Florence Peyrefitte, Nancy Knight, Diann Loper, Leslie Kiger, Gloria Green, Marilyn Tucker

Pine Belt Quilters were treated to a scrumptious trunk show of quilted BAGs - just about any type of bag you can think of was displayed to the delight of members. There were organizer bags, weekend bags, bags large enough to transport quilts, evening bags, baby bags and of course the old fashioned (purse) bag! Here are some tips I picked up from the program today, given by Florence Peyrefitte:

• When making quilted bags think border fabrics, they make a very handsome bag!
• A pocket or center portion of the bag is a great place for some of those UFO blocks you have lying around your sewing room.
• For a rigid bottom you can use Deco-Bond, Timtex (both found near interfacing at your sewing supply store), foam core board, stiff cardboard covered with fabric (sort of like a pillow case) that can be removed for laundering, or even plastic canvas (the kind used for cross stitch embroidery.)

At the workshop next week, headed by Diann Loper, participants will fashion their own quilted bags. Can't wait till next month's show and tell! If you are attending the workshop -- before the workshop you need to quilt at least 1/2 yard of fabric using VERY THIN batting. Bring your quilted piece, machine and sewing supplies to the class. A walking foot or even feed foot may also be helpful.

PBQ is already hard at work on the 2010 Quilt Show, the theme is log cabins. Leslie Kiger and Ellen Hall will co-chair the show. Rhoda Libiez has agreed to chair the committee to make the donation or opportunity quilt. Jo-Ann Evans has already come up with ribbons and nametags, and members were asked to pick up patterns and make some. We are off and running....after all, the show is only 20 months away!

Quilters Learn About Tiny Babies

Pine Belt Quilters first program of 2009 featured Terri Daniels of Forrest General Hospital and University of Southern Mississippi with information about the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Forrest General and how this special facility cares for premature babies struggling to survive. Terri is showing two diapers to illustrate the difference in the size of the NICU babies and a full-term baby. Pine Belt Quilters is starting a project to make isolet covers for the hospital's new unit. The inside of the covers needs to be a gray fabric to give the nurses a more true coloration of the babies' skin. The outside can be a cheerful print to give a less clinical atmosphere for the parents. Something colorful can help soften the harshness of the tubes and equipment and frightening aspects of the medical challenges facing these babies.