Busy, busy month of June

Here is a teaser about upcoming events:

June 20, Wednesday: Regular meeting--guest speaker Kathy Brown from Baton Rouge. 

Kathy is an accomplished quilter, fabric designer with Red Rooster Fabrics, and sought after teacher in the quilt industry. (“Take 5” and “Take 5--Quilts From Just 5 Fabrics” and “Strip–Smart Quilts”). 

www.the-teachers-pet.com  

June 27, Wednesday: Viva Orchid! Art Quilt workshop with Gail Bachorik (requires pre-registration). More information follows. Gail presented a program for us last November and we really were impressed with her art quilts, so our new officers lined her up to come back for a workshop. See examples of her work: www.gailbachorik.com.  To refresh your memory of what she showed us, go to the blog www.pinebeltquilters.blogspot.com ; click on 2011 and then scroll down to November 18.  

There are several opportunities* to sell tickets on the raffle quilt. Try to be involved in some of these:

Life on Our Planet

*June 1-2, Friday-Saturday: MQA Workshop Gathering in Jackson

*June 9, Saturday: Blueberry Festival in Poplarville

*June 16, Saturday: Festival South Art Market 4:00-9:00 p.m. at Hattiesburg Depot

*June 26, Tuesday: Senior Fair at Lake Terrace

A pillow addition. There were 70 new pillows turned in at the May meeting. These have been distributed to Forrest General and Wesley Medical Center. 

Not Your Usual Setting

Betty Allen

Our May 18 meeting featured quilts with "Not Your Usual Setting." Our president,  Betty Allen, showed three of her medallion quilts (pictured below) and described how she started with a large center block she liked and then added to this center until she got the size quilt she wanted. She explained how she uses graph paper to  enlarge the design to the desired size. She also discussed how she sometimes adds to the length to allow for the quilt to function as a bedspread and cover the pillow area. 

Doris Aultman

Martha Ginn's Tree

Doris Aultman showed quilts that formed alternate blocks when they were combined with the major block in a quilt. The outer border is appliqued to give an added interest.

Doris Aultman

Martha Ginn arranged a set of various-sized tree blocks from a friendship exchange to create a large tree on a background of log cabin squares which made up the sky and ground.

Linda Basden

Pat Faulkender's Wonky Nine-Patch

Pat Faulkender showed quilts that were made up of innovative piecing arranged freeform as she added to the quilt. She worked with ideas from the book, Thinking Outside the Block, by Sandy Cummings, and came up with her own interesting designs.

Pat Faulkender's Innovative Black/White/Red
 

PBQ Members at Melon Patch Quilt Spring Fever Quilt Show

Mississippi Plantation by Lois Mills,  Viewers' Choice

     The talents of several PBQ quilters were on display at the Melon Patch Quilt Spring Fever Quilt Show held Saturday, April 28 in Lucedale. Viewer's Choice was won by Lois Mills for her MS Plantation quilt, pictured above.
     First place ribbons were won by Betty Bingham in the appliqué wall quilt category for Dragon Fires; Jo-Ann Evans in the small quilt category for her Split Circles; Debbie Davis for her pieced wall quilt, My Guiding Star and Lois Mills in the pieced bed quilt category for her Spring Bouquet.
     Second place ribbons were earned by Peggy Clark for two of her quilts, Heart to Heart and Heart and Flowers, Jo -Ann Evans for her Trio of Hearts a lap quilt, and Peggy Haston in the mixed bed quilt category (pieced and appliqué) for her Dahlia for Barbara quilt.
     Third place ribbons were awarded to Betty Bingham for Tribute to Petra, an art wall quilt, Jo-Ann Evans for her Christmas Sampler (pieced wall quilt). Debbie Davis won two third place ribbons for Winter Friends, mixed wall quilt, and Evie, appliqué wall quilt. Wanda Wallace's granddaughters, Destiny Golden and Harley Blanchard, won second and third place ribbons for their quilts.
     The Melon Patch Quilters extend a heartfelt thank you to PBQ members for your support of our show. Information supplied by Debbie Davis.

Forrest General Honors Volunteers

Forrest General Hospital honored its volunteers at a luncheon at Southern Oaks and Gardens on April 19. Several PBQ members attended to help celebrate the spirit of volunteerism and hear how important this activity is to the patients as well as staff. 

Millie Swan, Ruth Byrd, Joan Stevens

 Ruth Byrd was honored with a 20-year pin; Betty Allen received a 2-year pin, and Carolyn Daley (an 11-year volunteer) was recognized as the Heart of Hospice Award winner in Mississippi for 2011. Another PBQ member (and Ruth Byrd's sister), Louise Cubley, had previously received her 40-year pin.  

Jane Kingsafer with her mother, Ruth Byrd

Betty Allen

Guest speaker Kym Garraway-Braley described how important volunteers are and how the volunteer is rewarded by an outpouring of love and appreciation. She said she often receives a greater blessing than the object of the efforts. We watched as she completed a painting of Jesus holding a little lamb, which was later used as a door prize. The table floral centerpieces and many gift baskets were given as door prizes. Kym's demonstrated her generosity by placing packets of her note cards as gifts on all the tables.

Kym Garraway-Braley

Ruth Byrd, Sandra Davis, Josette Bonfanti, Carolyn Daley

 PBQ enjoys working all year making children's quilts, pillows, and walker totes; in addition, many members work individually by donating their time and talents in the hospital, offices, or the hospice program.

Ollie Jean Lane Trunk Show

Ollie Jean with Whig Rose

Ollie Jean Lane, quilter extraordinaire, and a faithful Pine Belt Quilter member, shared her quilt story at our April meeting. She began quilting seriously in 1986 after retiring from the Mississippi Extension Service. She related that she made a conscious decision that quilting would be her hobby and main activity and began to organize her schedule by making quilting a priority. She had many responsibilities caring for family members but planned her time so that she could use all waiting and sitting times to full advantage to further her quilting passion. 

Ollie Jean with "Simply Delicious" (Piece 'O Cake Design)

 Her first entry in a quilt show was in the 1987 PBQ show at Jackie Dole Sherrill Community Center and was rewarded with a Viewers' Choice ribbon. She said her quilts never looked as good anywhere as they did displayed at our shows, and she became a regular entrant (and ribbon winner) even though she lived in Yazoo City. She served as president of Mississippi Quilt Association in 1993-1994. Since she relocated to Hattiesburg in 2001, she has been an active participant in our guild activities.

Ollie Jean Lane and Susie Jackson

 Although her quilts are "show quality,"  she and her family use them constantly on their beds, couches, and as art for the walls. She decorates for holidays and changes them out regularly. She brought about 50 pieces to show, and her daughter, Bettie Norwood, who was present for her program, said that each time she sees the quilts she decides on a different "favorite."

Seeing Ollie Jean's work was an inspiration to all, and she encouraged us to give our passion a higher priority and let our other responsibilities fit around our quilting, rather than making quilting wait for that elusive "free time." She described how she keeps about four projects going at all times so that she has a (1) carry-around hand project, (2) a sewing machine project at home, (3) a quilt on the frame, and (4) idea/plan/materials for the next quilt. She not only uses her time wisely in making beautiful quilts, she is cultivating deep friendships that she and many others treasure.

Ann Fox Presents Color Program

Ann Fox, from Brandon, presented a program entitled Coloring Our Quilts to Pine Belt Quilters in Hattiesburg at the March guild meeting. Ann taught x-ray technology at University Medical Center for 37 years. After retiring she visited a quilt guild and became intrigued with all aspects of color. She contrasted her years of studying shades of black, white, and gray to the spectrum of color we see in everyday life all about us. She set about to learn all she could from the color wheel and books and classes.

Ann holds two examples of the Shoo Fly block and explains what a difference can be achieved by manipulating values.

An example of neutrals with only red strips for accent.

The importance of value contrast was stressed in this essentially two-color quilt.

Ann will conduct a Color workshop for the guild on Wednesday, March 28.

2012 Will Be a Busy Year

Pine Belt Quilters got off to a busy start for 2012. New officers began their two-year terms: Betty Allen, president; Donna Crager, vice president; Linda Flanders, Secretary/Newsletter Editor; Margie Hancock, treasurer.

Betty Allen, Donna Crager, Linda Flanders, Margie Hancock

Of course, since 2012 is our quilt show year, many of our activities will center around those preparations, but we have a busy schedule of programs, workshops, boutique workshops, and our ongoing children's quilts and pillow and walker tote projects.

Wanda Wallace, Membership

Our new officers are pictured in front of our raffle quilt, "Life On Our Planet," which depicts embroidered blocks of living things set with pinwheels and flying geese of batiks. Blocks for the queen-size quilt were made by our members, assembled by Jo-Ann Evans, and quilted by Susie Jackson.
Our January and February programs were presented by Donna Burges, Rhoda Libiez, and Kim Overstreet on Sampler Quilts. They will present a variety of block patterns throughout the year and conduct workshops to help members make the blocks.

Rhoda Libiez, Donna Burges, Kim Overstreet

Show and Tell of some completed blocks

Our meetings are held in the Fellowship Hall of University Baptist Church, and sometimes the setup of the room is designed for other events. In these pictures, UBC was preparing for the 20th anniversary of the Backdoor Coffee House. So our quilt program had a little added interest in the background!