December Newsletter

December Newsletter

Happy holidays to one and all!  The season started off with a blast of snow.  There's a part of me that knows that it's much needed to keep us from a drought, but there's another part of me that prefers not to shovel!  Our snowblower was in the shop!  Argh!  But I lived to tell about it, and am now here to tell you about the meeting that I missed.  Thank you, Linda, for providing me with notes.

How to inform the guild:

For those of you who would like to inform the guild of anything,...an upcoming event, about the next meeting, looking for something or info....  It's really not a hard thing.  Keep a recent email that has been sent to the group on hand.  When you need to contact the group, open it up, hit REPLY ALL, and it will go to everyone with email addresses.  It's that simple.

The reason I say this is because that as a general rule, I check my email pretty regularly.  But there are times when I'll go for days without, and it never fails that this is when someone will send me something urgent.  So, I encourage you to bypass me, and just talk to the group directly instead.

Another option is to set up your own Divas mailing list by entering the addresses in the directory that I sent to you a month or so ago.  Easy peasy!

Challenge Info:

Our latest challenge will be very interesting, thank you, Joan.  Choose a title of a book, and go from there.  Find inspiration from the title alone, or perhaps the content of the book!  Dimensions are as simple as a 96" perimeter maximum.  There are more details in the previous newsletter.

Wasco Show in June:

The Fiber Art Divas have been invited to submit garden/nature related works of small to medium size for the gallery in the garden center.  There will be more details coming in January.  It seems that all of us are inspired by nature, so this should be a very easy show to fill!  How exciting!

Burning Bush Gallery in Wheaton:

This gallery is exhibiting fiber art work, some of which are by Sharon Malec, Cynthia Boudreau, Natasha Lehrer Lewis, and Lela Luetger.  The gallery is located in the Gary United Methodist Church, 224 N. Main St, Wheaton, IL  (630-668-3100).   The gallery hours are Sundays 10-12:30, Monday - Friday 9 - 4, or by appointment at 708-705-8669.  I do not have any info as to the length of the show, only that the reception was November 29th.  (My bad!)

Naperville Art League's Gallery of Gifts holiday sale:

Is running from now through December 19th.  Lots of unique items, reasonably priced, include jewelry, ornaments, cards, fiber art, decor, wall art, and more.  Open Wednesdays through Sundays.  Check out the hours at www.napervilleartleague.com.

That's all the news that's fit to print!

There will be no meeting in December due to the holidays.  Our next meeting will be at 7 p.m. on January 25th, 2016.  Three dollars will help us continue to cover the cost of the room, please and thank you.  I wish you all a very merry winter, an extremely happy new year filled with all of your dreams come true.  Thank you for being a part of this group.  You all add so much to what makes us Divas!

xo,

Laurie

November 2015 Newsletter

Well, hello there, and happy fall to you all!  It's a blustery day out there, but we'll all live to tell about it.

The Quilt Show:

Well, the results are in, and we had yet another successful, well attended show!  Congratulations to you all!  We are discussing what adjustments we'll be making for next year, and what has worked so far.  If you have any input on this, please let us know.  Next year's show may possibly be October 10 - 24, 2016.  Still in the "checking it out" phase.  Thank you to all who made this a success, worked in all of the areas such as set up, take down, advertising, go between with the art league, demos, etc.  Many hands make light work!

Latest Challenge:

We are looking for ideas for our next challenge.  Joan gave an excellent suggestion:  Choose a book title as inspiration, and go from there, with a 96" maximum perimeter measurement.  Don't quote me on this yet, but I BELIEVE this is the next challenge.  We're looking for a catchy title for this challenge.

Madeline Island School of the Arts:

We discussed how much fun, and how educational this school is.  They cover many subjects over the year, and fiber arts is taught during the summer.  Go to http://www.madelineartschool.com/ for more information.  This school is in La Pointe, Wisconsin.  Several of our members have attended and rave about it.  Check it out!

Denise Havlan's Class:

I was fortunate enough, along with several other Divas, to be able to attend Denise's class.  Oh, what fun!  Although we were all given basically the same materials (backgrounds differed), they all came out so amazingly different and beautiful!  This was the aspen class that she teaches which incorporates colored pencil, ink and fabric paint.  Can't wait to see them all finished.  When that happens, I'm sure Denise would love to see a photo of it.

Signing Out:

Okay, this is short and sweet.  Our next meeting will be on Monday, November 23rd at 7 pm at the Naperville Art League (508 North Center Street, Naperville) with a $3.00 "cover" charge.  Bring your show and tell, please.  Also, ideas for demos whether they are ones you'd like to see, or ones you'd like to demo for us.  Thanks.  Makes it more interesting and educational.

There will be no meeting in December!

Happy holidays.

xo,

Laurie

October 2015 Newsletter

October 2015 Newsletter

We had a nicely attended meeting on September 28th.  I think the upcoming quilt show brought many to get the final details.  It's going to be another great show, with a wide variety of fibers, embellishments, styles,....it has been very exciting to see the entries brought in over the last few months as show and tells.  It will be even better to see them in a gallery setting as they should be!  Thank you, ladies, for being so consistently creative, true to yourselves and what is hiding within.

"ELEMENTS OF INNOVATION"

This show will take place from October 14th to the 24th, 2015, at the Naperville Fine Art Center and Gallery, 508 North Center Street, Naperville, IL  60563.  As always, there is no fee to enter.  The hours are Wednesday and Friday - noon to 4 pm / Thursday - noon to 8 pm / Saturday - 10 am to 4 pm.

The Artist's Reception will be held on Sunday, October 18th from 2 to 4 pm.  There will be demo's given by our members, as well as refreshments.  Come and meet the artist's responsible for these beautiful pieces.  Denise Havlan will be joining us that day, and will bring one of her award winning quilts for you to view.  As a bonus, there may be over 25 PAQA quilts on display (Professional Art Quilt Alliance).  Come one - come all for another great show!  We look forward to seeing you there.

CatherineRedford.com

Member, Catherine Redford has many things happening in her professional life.  One is that she's received a contract to write a mystery book with F & W Publishers!  How exciting is THAT!?!?

Also, the above site is her, well,...SITE!  It leads to all info on her, as well as to her blog.  So, visit and enjoy.  Congratulations, Catherine!

The End:

This isn't the REAL end,...just all that I have to enter for this newsletter.  I look forward to seeing you all at the quilt show next week.  Thank you all for being such artsy, encouraging, supportive, creative members of this group.  Our next meeting will be on the 4th Monday of the month, October 26th at 7 pm at the Naperville Art League, 508 N Center St, Naperville.  $3 will buy you a seat at our round table,...a very nice deal considering what you come home with!

September 2015 Newsletter

September 2015 Newsletter

Hello everyone!  It's going to be a hot week, and please be sure to remember how it feels outside when we are eventually outside shoveling snow!  Enjoy it while we can.  Our last meeting was a very nice one.  A lot of discussion about the upcoming quilt show,...hope we are all at home producing!  The following is what was discussed:

Denise Havlan's Class supply list:

That is the site to find the supply list for her upcoming class on October 31st, offered by the Naperville Art League.  I was unable to find it on their website, so here you go.  http://www.denisehavlan.com/Workshops/aspensuplist.html   If you haven't signed up for this wonderful class on embellishing your quilts with a combination of paints, pens, pencils and machine quilting, you should give it some serious thought.  There is more info on the their website at

http://www.napervilleartleague.com/classes--workshops.html.

Elements Challenge due at September meeting:

Heads up, ladies!  Your earth, wind, fire and air challenge due date is right around the corner.

Remember any combination of elements, or a single element.  Any combination of shapes, any combo, any fiber, with a max size of 96" circumference.  Last month's newsletter gave you sites to check out ideas that represent these elements.  These will be hung in our October show.

Back to surgical curved needles:

I'm hoping someone will buy them and give us the info.  Turns out Sharon received hers from her vet!  We have been informed that you want a "taper point", NOT a "cutting edge" needle.  I think the name sort of tells all, don't you?!

Encrusted by Fiberfusion:

This book was brought to us by Sharon Malec.  Copyrighted 2003.  It gives techniques and projects to make paper, which can then be used as multi-media "fiber".  These products can be painted on, etc.

She had some very interesting examples to show.

Riverwalk Fine Art Fair, September 19 & 20:

The Naperville Art League (www.napervilleartleague.com) is hosting a fine art fair on those dates from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Main and Jackson in downtown Naperville.  This sounds pretty exciting, so be sure to check it out.  There may be more info at their website.

Adios!

This is a very short newsletter.  We had great show and tells, but not a lot of news to pass on.  I look forward to seeing you at our next meeting, which will be on Monday, September 28th at 7 p.m. at the Naperville Art League.  A $3.00 per meeting fee will help to house us, as well as fund some of our events.  Thank you, ladies, and enjoy your month.

xo,

Laurie

August 2015 Newsletter

August 3, 2015

Hello there, one and all!  Welcome to the most bizarrest summer of all!  Hope you are enjoying it.  The happiest plants in my garden are the weeds.  But life goes on, and we just keep quilting.  The July meeting was very nice, with some beautiful show and tell, as always.  Thank you, ladies, for being so prolific!  Linda D. had a piece accepted at the Argon friend's and family show!  You go, girl!  :-)  Sadly, it is not open to the public.  :-(  Katherine Redford has a show in Portland showing her African embroidery as well as all her work.  I have no info on that, sorry to say.  Congratulations, Katherine!

Quilt show entry forms:

You will be receiving an email with the entry form attached.  These will be due by the September meeting.  For me, to fill out this form with uncompleted work is a gamble.  But I know that it is highly practiced by most quilters, so go for it!  This early entry form will allow us to gage how many pieces will be shown as well as sizes, so thank you for your many entries in advance!

Quilt Challenge:  Elements - earth, wind, fire, water

I originally started this out with only 3 elements.  I found the 4th element, but I'm going to leave my next bit in here anyway....  Well, you get the idea.  And if you don't, check previous newsletters!  There's a 4th one, but I have no brain.  You'd think I'd be studied by science, yet no one has knocked on my door other than to interview me about the 17 year cicadas several years ago!  They asked because I had netting wrapped around a new tree.  The crew was there for about 90 minutes, asked questions, and I actually said some very well informed comments about them!  Alas, my big moment arrived, my 15 seconds (if that) of fame, and they chose my telling America that

"They're just bugs!  They aren't strangers trying to take your kids away in their cars!"

Well, doesn't that sound just like something I'd say!?  My neighbor's son lives in Arkansas.

It came on the news at work during lunch, and he calls out that I'm his old neighbor!  When it was done, they asked if everyone up north is nuts!

Okay, back to the challenge.  Remember, this is a perfect quilt for the show!  They will be hung in their own little grouping!  You'll be famous!  Like me!  hahahahahahahaha
     Here are some sites that may help you with the fen shui side of the elements:
http://fengshui.about.com/od/thebasics/qt/elements_shape.htm, 
fengshui.about.com/od/thebasics/qt/fiveelements.htm

‎

Dorothy mentioned that there was a pre fen shui movement that discusses what would represent the elements, but I do not know what that was called.  If anyone knows, please get back to us.  Thanks.

Curved Surgical Needles:

What the....!?  We were discussing how to sew a finished quilt onto a "background quilt".

Say you have a finished piece that just seems to be lacking something.  You are able to stitch that to a larger quilt as a framework or border.  The trick is trying to actually sew it without making yourself crazy.  Sharon Malec suggested curved surgical needles.  They are thinner than upholstery needles, and are available online.

http://www.neogen.com/AnimalSafety/pdf/Catalogs/SurgicalNeedles.pdf,

http://www.dentalcorp.com/regular-surgeon-needle-1-2-curve-cutting-edge-size-7.html?gclid=CKqpgrS8jccCFdgRgQodjJoKAg.  Okay, there's a start, and I'm sure you can find more that might help you.  If you have another site, please let us know.

UVA fabric spray:

"Rayblock" has a uva fabric spray to protect your fabric from fading.  Oh, the magic of chemistry!

Show at the Fine Line Creative Arts Center:

The Fine Line has got a show that will be up until August 7th.  "UnpredicTable", which evokes the mood created when people gather together to dine, artwork representing things found at the table, including tableware, provisions and decorations will be featured in this juried mixed media exhibit.  Dorothy said it was very interesting.  They are open Monday through Saturday from 10 am to 5 pm.

http://fineline.org/

Adios!

That's it for now, folks!  Keep working on your quilt show pieces.  Keep weeding your gardens.  And I look forward to seeing you on Monday, August 24th at 7 pm at the Naperville Art League.  Remember $3 gets you through the meeting, please and thank you.  And please mark your calendar with August 24th, and disregard any false dates I'll pass out later because, again, I'm dealing with that brain thing!  Keep enjoying your summer.

xo,

Laurie

July 2015 Newsletter

July 2015 Newsletter:

Well, ladies,...it's July and I have more than 24 mosquito bites on my legs and feet!  All I was trying to do was enjoy the few rain free days we have been given.  But the mosquitos see me as a buffet of sorts, rain or no rain, so I am fair game to them.  Bat rastards!  Of course, this hasn't stopped me from enjoying my life, sitting around the fire in the backyard at night with as much of me covered as humanly possible!  Last night I had my jeans tucked into my socks.  Dan asked that we not walk to the front yard to check something out until after it got darker!  He just doesn't get it because mosquitos consider him to be icky-bad, and don't bother him much.  When he does get bit, I can hear tiny little coughing noises nearby as they try to get rid of that taste!

Denise Havlan's Surface Design Workshop:

The Naperville Art League is hosting a workshop to be given by the world famous Denise Havlan on October 31st, 2015 from 9 am to 4 pm.  (www.denisehavlan.com).  Samples of what we will be doing in this class were shown at the meeting.  It's basically aspen tree trunks on a background.  She will have us fuse the trees on, machine stitch them down, then use textile paint to make the piece your own.  Joan also brought one she had done with Denise.  They were each amazingly different, and one was more beautiful than the other.  I wrote my check right on the spot, and I suggest you do the same!  As you have heard, Divas get the first spots, but that time is running out.

The class fee is $75 to be made out to the Naperville Art League.  At the class, there is a $12 lab fee payable to Denise directly.  This is for textile paints.  There is also a $35 offering that would eliminate the $12 lab fee, and would include the textile paints as well as all the fabrics you would need.

I looked at her site, checked her class listing, and didn't see this offering.  As a result, I couldn't show you a sample on the site.  Sorry about that.  (her site is listed above)

Anyway, Denise is a wonderful, calm woman who is ubber talented.  She will definitely give you another tool for you to use in your work, and help in the advancement of our art quilts.

PAQA's Midwest Show at the Bloomingdale Park District Museum:

PAQA is having their art quilt challenge quilts shown at the Bloomingdale Park District Museum from June 27th to August 1.  The Reception will be on July 19th between 2 and 5 pm.  There are 25 quilts exhibited at 18" square apiece.  (It's interesting.  Their challenge size is usually 18" square because they then send them off to different venues, and this makes for easier shipping!  Something to keep in mind should we ever decide we'd like to move in that direction.)  Anyway, there work is always fun to see, and would be a fun little field trip!

http://www.bloomingdaleparks.org/facilities/bpd-museum/exhibitions.htm

Show of Nature Artist's Guild Work at the Wasco Floral Shop and Nursery:

This show is from September 6th to October 27th.  The site below will give you more info.

One has to love nature!  Okay, not the mosquito factor, but the rest is good.

http://www.wasconursery.com/upcoming-events.html

Wasco Floral Shop and Nursery wants to host a show of our work!!!!!!!

The Wasco Floral Shop and Nursery in St. Charles has an art gallery section, and are interested in showing our work!  Geez that sounds familiar.....  Anyway, our show will be in July 2016, and will hang for one month.  They will be in charge of hanging our pieces, hosting the artist's reception, and taking the show down.  I assume advertising as well, although we can certainly help out there which would maybe get us a chance to show there again!  Now, here is the really REALLY good news:  We do not have to exhibit strictly new pieces!  That means we can pull from the past, have a full show (or at least as much as the gallery can handle), and not be in panic mode!  Personally I HATE panic mode!!

Way cool!  (Yes, I'm living in some sort of time warp!)

http://www.wasconursery.com/upcoming-events.html

sewsweetness.com:

Check it out, ladies!  Nice site for free patterns and tutorial videos!  Some very nice things there.

Challenge:  Elements!  Fire, Earth, Water

Let's not forget about our challenge!  There's a 96" perimeter guideline, which can be added up in any way you'd like.  Square, rectangle, trapezoid, circle, oval,....  There are no restrictions, so go for it!  This is due by our October quilt show at the latest.  Enjoy!

We have a winner in our midst!

Joan Bratton has been a very busy little bee this year!  She has a wool applique piece, "Summer Garden", that has been accepted into the non-juried show in Quilter's Affair in Sisters, Oregon.  

In addition, her "Autumn Grasses" has been juried into the Professional Art Exhibit at the Illinois State Fair!  Way to go, Joan!  Knock their socks off!  (That will be hard to do if their jeans are tucked into them!...just sayin'....)

Renwick Inn, a crafter's sanctuary!

This is a B&B that is set up with crafters in mind.  There is room for 12 guests, and they have crafting areas set up for your convenience.  Gotta love a place like that!  It has been tried by one of our members, and passes muster!  Did I mention the food?

http://renwickinn.com/

July 27th, 2015 is our next meeting:

See you there at 7 pm at the Naperville Art League, hopefully with some show and tell, and maybe some demo ideas!  $3 to cover room rental charges, please.  Hope to see y'all there!

xo,

Laurie

http://renwickinn.com/

April Newsletter Corrections:

Doh!  Thank goodness we have alert members who double check what I've written!

Challenge Info:

It is actually Fire, Earth, Water and Air (or Wind).  I stand corrected.  So, now that we're all on the same page, I'm sure we'll definitely have a lot of entries for the show in October!

Quilt Show Update:

Denise Havlan will be joining us with part of a traveling exhibit from SAQA, not PAQA.  Old habit die hard, and therein lies my mistake.  I've seen a portion of this exhibit at the show in Rosemont, and it was really very nice.  You will truly enjoy it.

Well, it's been nice.  Until next time.

xo,

Laurie

April 2015 Newsletter

Hello everyone!  Welcome to springtime in the greater Chicagoland area!  We had a nice little meeting in March, with some very nice show and tell.  Hope to see you all at the next meeting.  So, here you go, a brief synopsis of our discussions:

Quilt Show Talk:  The dates for our next show will be October 14 - 24, 2015, at the Naperville Art League.  Set up will probably be on October 13th.  We will again be asking you to have your work at the Art League by a specific time.  It is too hard to set up a show without being able to see what exactly is going to be hung.  We would appreciate your cooperation on this matter.  If you are unable to get your work there by the designated time, please have someone else deliver it to us.  Take down will be on October 24th beginning at 4 p.m.  Take down, unlike set up, is a very fast operation, very pain free.
     Denise  Havlan will join us at the artist's reception with pieces from PAQA (professional art league alliance).  It is a traveling exhibit, and will be there only for that one day.
     We also discussed the possibility of hanging roughly 15 pieces (20" x 20") from the Riverwalk quilt guild's challenge.  Their theme is the Naperville Heritage Days.  This may also be just for the day of the artist's reception.
     Also, keep in mind the possibility of your giving a demo at the artist's reception.  Don't be shy, or think people won't be interested.  Last year I was hand appliqueing and was amazed at the reception I got!  So don't feel it needs to be anything too extraordinary.  People are always interested.
     Some questioned the fact that the Faithful Circle Quilt Guild Show will be on October 9 & 10.  This will not interfere with our show, and you may hang work in both shows without a problem.

Challenge:  Fire, Earth Water.  That is the theme for the challenge which will be due by the October show at the latest.  There are no restrictions as to your creativity.  The size restriction is a 96" perimeter.

That will allow you to do anything from a circle, to multi faceted sides.  Have a ball, ladies!  There are so many options here.  And just think how nicely it will look hanging in the show!

Carol Bryer Fallert-Gentry exhibit:  Carol will be exhibiting 48 pieces in a show at the Wisconsin Museum of Quilts and Fiber Arts, open through April 8th.  Sorry, sort of dropped the ball here.  I didn't realize it was ending so soon.  http://www.bryerpatch.com/news/news.htm#WMWFA2015

This will get you to her site and the info needed.  Even I can't make it within the next 2 days.  I am SO
sorry.

I also apologize for the weird line spaces.  I have a wonderful alliance with computers...NOT!

Annual Spring Exhibit of Natural History Art:  The Nature Artists' Guild of the Morton Arboretum will be hanging their exhibit at the Thornhill Educational Center of the Morton Arboretum (4100 Illinois Rte 53, Lisle, IL  60532).  This years featured artist is Nancy Halliday.

The show will be on Saturday and Sunday, April 18 & 19, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.  The artist's reception will be on Friday, April 17 from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., and is open to members and guests.  There will be over 200works of art celebrating nature, many inspired by the Arboretum grounds.  There will also be demonstrations by Guild members. 

http://www.mortonarb.org/events/nature-artists’-guild-spring-exhibit

Demo Ideas:  We are still looking for demo ideas for both the meetings, and again, for the artist's reception in October.

PAQA Midwest Challenge:  The Bloomingdale Park District Museum will be hanging the PAQA Midwest Challenge sometime in July.  I checked their website, but no info is up yet.  We'll have to keep our eyes peeled for this one.  It's always very nice.

Woodland Ridge Retreat:  Located in Downsville, Wisconsin.  I met the owner of this fine establishment while at the Quiltfest in Rosemont last week.  Not only can she accommodate 24 guests in eight deluxe rooms, but she is set up with workrooms  She discussed how she also has classes scheduled with prominent quilters.  (I met her through Freda Anderson, who had taught there and raved about it.)  I will be sending you a copy of the postcard, but in the meantime, her web site is www.woodlandridgeretreat.com   Check it out!

Next meeting info:  That's it until next time.  I look forward to seeing all of the wonderful things that are going on in your mind, and emerging through your fingertips.  Our next meeting will be the 4th Monday of the month, April 27th, at 7 p.m., at the Naperville Art League.