Group Flier

I've been working on a flier for the group, since we are going to do a public display for the League of Women Voters Garden Tour. Let me know what you think. I have already added a contact number, and the blog site.

I have made it a single 8x10, also a page of two and a set of 4 to a page for smaller handouts. I'll bring a few to the next meeting so you can see what they look like. The colors are a lot brighter also, I had to scan it in and redo it cause I screwed up the format. :)

Member's Profile - Cynde

I inherited the maternal sewing gene from the fabulous women who came before me and had needle in hand at an early age. My Grandma Pat gave me my first mini-Singer sewing machine at 6 years old. Through the years, she instructed me through many fall wardrobes we selected and made together. My mother and my three grandmothers all had a part in infusing the love of the needle and thread or yarn into me. Beyond beauty and the art, the meditation calms and soothes me still today.

I aspired to the sciences early on, but came back to the love of cloth and found a fabulous couturier in Los Angeles to study with. From there I received some of my first clients and launched a career in pattern making and fashion design, which led to my own business Couture Dreams. I have had the pleasure of creating everything from high fashion evening gowns for the Oscars and bridal to hero capes for television, curtains, cushions and slipcovers for the interior, and baby bedding and clothes. My latest endeavor has been art quilts. One piece has shown globally in "Currency Exchange" and a Frida Kahlo piece now prominently shows in the office of a L.A. Councilwomen. I am beginning my study for City and Guilds Certification in embroidery and am thrilled by the learning process. Eventually, I plan to take my new knowledge back to fashion and see where it leads.

Iris & Peony Garden Tour

Several of the ladies went on a trip North of Salem on Saturday to tour Schriener's Iris Gardens and Adelman's Peony Gardens. They are about 2 miles apart off Interstate 5, on either side of the freeway, at exit 263. It was a cool day with the sun peaking out, just right for photography. Everything was at it's peak of blooming, though we could have been a week later for the peonies. The best time to see them is between Mother's Day and Mid June. They will still be great for a few more weeks now.

The iris gardens are inter-planted with lupine, delphinium, clematis, allium, poppies, columbine and all sorts of other stuff. Backed by huge old rhododendrons and azaleas, the gardens go on and on, and there was a pond too. The whole area is surrounded by fields of iris, row after row of different colors. They have a wonderful gift shop, and nursery area where you can buy iris plants or order bulbs for fall planting. We took lots of pictures, and worked with the intricacies of our cameras. Hopefully these will inspire us to create beautiful textiles

After shopping we went to Adelman's, it was just a short jaunt on the other side of the freeway. They had beautiful gardens planted with peony bushes, tree peonies and some iris and other filler flowers. The gardens are newer, and have some growing to do, but the flowers were amazing! Huge, full, rich colored flowers, filled with bees, and fragrance, enticed us to walk the paths, around a waterfall feature, and other statuary. They had picnic tables, so we took a nice break for lunch. Their gift shop and flowers for sale were wonderful, Amy had to get a deep red Japanese style peony, and the others got some cut flowers. They were going to be doing a flower arranging demonstration, but we did not stay around to catch it.

On our way home, we stopped at Greenbaum's Quilted Forest in Salem for some fabric shopping, an art gallery that Peggy had found on the internet, and Dutch Bros. for some coffee. We also had time to stop at the Eugene Textile Center, to see what they were all about. One of the guys was taking some shibori silk scarves off the the piping they were drying on, and they were gorgeous. They have a wide assortment of books and fibers, and wonderful classes several of our members have taken.

May 2012 Meeting

Old Business Iris/Peony Garden Trip, Sat. May 16, call Amy. Pat's Journal Cover Sewing day for June 19. The Dye workshop is Friday and Saturday August 3rd and 4th at Vera's. Beatles Challenge - Some of us have started our challenge piece, they are due at the June meeting, no stress tho, have fun. To do or Not to do, that is up to you. Under 12" X 12", any technique. New Business Don't forget the Black Sheep Festival in Eugene on June 22-24, Jana and Peggy are planning a trip. Call Jana to arrange carpools. First Annual Garden Tour for the League of Women Voters, they have asked us to be one of the featured artists on June 16th. Pat and Amy are making the arrangements, we will have our What's My Line Challenge on display. Also we can display other garden inspired art, and the pieces can be for sale. If you have a textile you want to display, let Amy know. They would like someone there to demo our "art" Pat and I will do this, but if others would like to take shifts, please volunteer. Show and Tell Jana finished the traditional quilt top of Roses and Oak Leaves for the Oakland City Recorder who is retiring. She bought some of the fabric at The Portland Show we went to in April. She has several months to finish the quilting. She is working on her Beatles Challenge, "Here Comes the Sun."

Maureen brought a box of thread to share, as she now uses exclusively Floriani threads for her machine embroidery. She also had a roll of heavy duty soluble stabilizer, that we cut up and shared. Nancy showed a pillow she made for her sofa, out of a fine wale black corduroy, it has a circular trapunto design that was very soft and textural. She is so happy her work is no longer just conceptual, we are proud of you Nancy!

Vera and Meredith did some "Ice Dyeing" with several ladies in Grants Pass, their samples were stunning!! They dyed on cotton, silk/rayon blend, silk, and pre-made Dharma silk scarves. WOW!! The colors are intense, the patterns fantastic, and we were all drooling about handling the luxurious silk. They wrapped and folded the fabrics with ice cubes, then sprinkled on powdered Procion dyes, and let them sit, melt and drain for 24 hours, on a rack. We will definitely be doing this in August at our dyeing workshop. Meredith also made a Twisty bag out of Denim with a batik lining. It had no batting, and was very cute and sturdy.

Peggy and Amy had another play day with the gelatin prints. Peggy printed on the same 'ol plate that she had before, it had a frozen crust and LOTS of texture!! The effect was watery from the melting ice, she also stamped and stenciled on some of them. Peggy also made an interesting art piece, following step by step, directions in Quilting Arts magazine, the April/May 2008 issue, an article by Judy Coates Perez. It involved painting and stamping on tea bags, and incorporating that into your work. She also used an American Indian style stencil, paper napkins applied with gel medium, and various rubber stamps. Amy showed a quilt top for a wall hanging that she made with Peggy on the play day, it is four panels of Gelli printing with a new stencil she got at the Portland Show, of Birch trees. Two prints are in black and purple and the other two are the ghost prints from those. She used "Snippets" to add foliage to the top, and cut out leaves and ferns along the bottom, and gives credit to her husband for suggesting she add some birds to it.

Amy also brought along her Beatles Challenge in progress, a fused 12 X 12 square of strawberries, spiraling away into forever. Kay took a Natural dyeing workshop at the Eugene Textile Center, with their instructor Meredith. She recommends using alum for a mordant, as it works with all fiber types. Kay made a samples binder with her fabrics, linen, cotton, wool and silk. They used cochineal, indigo, and other materials. They also "pulled" the color by adjusting the alkalinity or acidity of the chemical brew. Kay also dyed a pair of tennis shoes with RIT dyes, and rubber stamped and painted them. Photographs: 1. Jana's quilt op 2. Nancy's trapunto pillow 3, 4, 5,6 & 7. Meredith, ice dyeing 8. Meredith's denim bag 9. Peggy's gelatin prints 10. Peggy's art quilt 11. Amy's birch trees top 12. Amy's strawberry top