Joan Alliston of Brandon presented our program to kick off
2013 with the topic "Settings for Sampler Quilts." Joan and her
sister and mother for many years made friendship blocks, challenges, new
patterns, enjoying and encouraging each other through illnesses and losses.
They made trips together, attended retreats and workshops, shared and swapped
fabric and patterns, even completing works for one another, which adds special
memories and meaning to the quilts.
Joan showed the many ways that friendship blocks or sampler
blocks can be set, with various-sized blocks presenting more creative
solutions. She showed examples of sashing and filler blocks and borders to get
the quilts to a desired finished size.
Joan and Georgia Polk are co-chairs of the Mississippi Quilt Association committee to keep an ongoing exhibit of quilts at the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Museum in Jackson; they took down the red/green exhibit this week and hung Log Cabin quilts. Several PBQ quilts are in the current display, which will remain until June.
Locally, Mary Nell Magee arranges for quilts to hang at the Hattiesburg Visitors Center; the current theme is "winter blues," to be followed by "flowers" in April.
Our members have found time to be charitable during their
busy lives. At today's meeting we received donations of 67 pillows, 29 walker
totes, 25 newborn burp shoulder cloths. Many others worked on quilts for
children or the veterans home. A recap for 2012 is listed on last month's blog
report. Forrest General's NICU has requested more isolette covers and furnished
the gray fabric for the linings. Gloria Green will head up this activity in small
groups.
Our membership director distributed copies of our plans for
2013; these meeting programs, boutique projects, and workshops will be listed on
our website in Guild Activities. It should be a busy and productive year! The
Sampler Quilt Challenge Reveal will be the June meeting, with monetary prizes
awarded by viewers' choice balloting.
