Monday, November 5, 2012

NOVEMBER 2012 NEWSLETTER
Hello ladies!  Fall is here, the leaves in my yard have dropped along with the temperature.  But life goes on, and that is a good thing!  I like the sound of that.  So put on a coat, grab your gloves, and be happy!
OCTOBER MEETING had 17 members in attendance.  Our biggest topic was our quilt show.
FIBER ART EXHBIT "For the Love of Fiber' was a great success.  We received many positive comments, and some nice attendance numbers.  With every show we have, we learn something else that needs to be addressed.  Some of these things were discussed at the meeting, and if you can think of anything that would improve upcoming shows in any way, please feel free to let us know.  One thing is to have real live committee heads.  I know everyone cringes when they hear that request, never make eye contact, never make eye contact....  But for this to run smoothly, we need to get better organized.  Logo-wise, we are good, so no concerns there.  We will be "handing out" the entry forms early, and they will be turned in early so we have a decent idea of how many quilts will be submitted.  This will also allow us to type up a small blurb about what inspired each piece, and hang it along it's side.  Publicity was another concern.  We need to get that going much earlier, contacting newspapers, etc as early as July.  We also discussed having the artist's reception on Saturday rather than Sunday,...it was poorly attended on Sunday, so....  It was mentioned having a box with a slot for people to place cards with their info for future quilt show mailings.  There would be a note explaining that their info would not be used for any other purpose.  As to the banner, we are looking for new blocks to add, maybe a new banner, maybe 2 banners.  There are endless possibilities there!
HEAT AND BOND:  there was a discussion on heat and bond, but in this case a product called Vilene(?) was used.  It was suggested looking on Amazon under water soluble stabilizer.  While looking, pass a lot of info on Solvey, then there will be the Vilene.  And the reason this came up was due to some experimenting done by members after reading the Oct/Nov 2012 issue of Quilting Arts Magazine, specifically the article "The Vessel as Art", Turn Scraps into Unique Sculptureal Bowls by Julia Richardson (p. 18-21).  They used Vilene to turn scraps of just about anything you've got stashed into a heavily machine stitched piece.  It is then placed in water for 10 seconds, and will still be a little sticky.  I assume you then let it dry after draping it onto a form such as a bowl.  They were way cool, and worth checking out the article.  Even if you didn't want to make a bowl, it would make some way cool applique pieces for your work.
NEO-COLORS IN NOVEMBER!  Due to way too much talking, we have moved the hands on demo/workshop to our November meeting.  Please remember to bring pre-washed 5 to 10" squares of fabric to sample the neo-colors.  Also a brush or two would be helpful.  Mark it on your calendar to bring these things, or you'll show up empty handed, as I did, at the October meeting!  Doh!
DUPAGE TEXTILE ARTS GUILD meets at the Elmhurst Presbyterian Church, 367 Spring Road, Elmhurst, IL  60126.  Their meet and greet is at 9:30 a.m. and the program starts at 11:00 a.m., with a luncheon following their business meeting.  The dates are 11-12, 12-10, 1-14, 2-11, 3-11, 4-8 and 5-3,
with Weeks Ringle from Fun quilts being the November speaker.  If you are interested in their other speakers, please visit dupagetextileartsguild.com
THE NATURE ARTISTS GUILD OF THE MORTON ARBORETUM is having their annual holiday exhibit of natural history art.  The artist's reception is on November 9, 2012 from 5 to 9 pm, and the show is on Sat and Sun, November 10 and 11 from 11 am to 4 pm.  Thornhill Education Center of the Morton Arboretum, 4100 Illinois Route 53, Lisle IL.  (NatureArtistsGuild.com)  Their featured artist this year is Nancy Thyfault.  Over 200 works of art, demos by guild members, and the Artisan Shop features handmade items created and donated by Guild members.  All proceeds support the Nature Artists' Guild and ARboretum programs.
OKAY, UNTIL WE MEET AGAIN:  Our next meeting will be on November 26th at 7 pm at the Naperville Art League UNLESS YOU HEAR DIFFERENTLY!  Address info in previous newsletters.  Feeling lazy!  The date may be different due to the art leagues annual holiday sale.  There will be no December meeting due to the holiday sale the art league has going on at that time.