October Meeting 2015

Old Business Pattern pieces for the next challenge were handed out, each section is unique, don't lose them, I don't have copies of the shapes. "The Path Less Traveled" is our theme. All the pieces were taken, sorry if you missed out. November's Demo will be by Amy, Muslin & Cheesecloth textures. December's meeting will be our holiday potluck, bring a dish to share and your plate & utensils. January's meeting we will demo Kumihimo Japanese Braiding with Corienne. February's demo with Sara, will be paper & fabric beads with an embossing powder finish. March meeting Lorraine & Pat will demo what they learned at Asilomar with line composition. New Business We would like to do a workshop on Sara's technique for patchwork sweatshirts, time and place TBA. Show & Tell

Amy has ice dyed the silk noil fabric that she got from Meredith. Color combos of turquoise, navy, and royal blue on each piece, one piece got extra bright green, the other got burgundy and purple added to it. She plans on making a jacket with it.

Sara has finished her "She Flies with Her Own Wings" challenge piece. It is titled "Bird in Space" and was inspired by a painting by Constatine Brancusi. She has done free motion quilting with crystal bead embellishments.

Corienne taught a children's weaving class at the Umpqua Valley Arts Center's "Fiber Fest." They made small pouches or flapped pouches with a simple cardboard weaving technique. The wool fibers made a stiffer pouch and the acrylic yarns made a softer one. We had a new member join us, Joanne from Mrytle creek. She likes to do wet felting, including silk.

Cheryl also taught at Fiber Fest, she used a variety of techniques, all based on Peg or Straw looms. The first used soft fleece on a peg loom, wouldn't this make a wonderful pillow or rug.

Cheryl's second peg loom was used with wool to make a weaving for a bag or purse.

A belt or strap can be made with the easy straw loom, Cheryl brought many varieties of looms to show us.

Cheryl with her finished purse.

Only three straws were used to make this narrow strip, which was then stitched together as a coil, and used for rugs or seat cushions.

Vi brought her vest made with Japanese Shibori fabrics. She went to Japan with the Roseburg Sister Cities group, and took classes with the Tie Dye Master. This fabric is made with ladies sitting around a board with lots of nails & fabric, and tying thread in a pattern around each point. It is very labor intensive and expensive, and done in all traditional ways.

A second vest is made with Vi's sun printed fabric. The fabric is chemically treated and put out in the sun with plant materials, the technique is similar to blue prints. She has hand quilted around the details of the leaves. Another new lady is Linda, she likes to do all sorts of sewing stuff and wants to broaden her horizons. Landreth took an online class with Jane Dunwold, she teaches "Strength training for artists" it covers all disciplines and focuses on pushing your boundaries. Landreth is getting a lot out of the class and it's getting her out of her slump.

Meredith worked on her Oriental purse at the Bandon Art Retreat, and has now finished the details. The little pouch has mirrors embroidered on to it.

Tracy's first quilt that she made in High School, is purple and black velveteen patchwork. Sorry the photo is out of focus. Her daughter Annaka is getting inspired by Mom and Grandma, and made a tie dyed bandanna, that got The Champions Ribbon at Coos Co. Fair and a blue ribbon at State Fair. Yea Annaka!!

Ryan has been getting extra equipment together, a welder and items to paint and patina his metal work. He made a sign for their home with their name cut out. He has also made a wooden framed hanging gong for the FFA Auction in Elkton. He is working on the technical aspects of his wooden frame for the "She Flies" project.

The frame extends out at least 6 feet, he wants to create a pull tab, so the viewer can pull it, to open the wings.

These are some of the supplies Ryan has collected from Meredith. A woven rug where the dye ran, some matching hand dyed fabric and some handmade glass beads. He will use this stuff to make the fabric wings on his frame. He was also thinking of a design with a duck/beaver cross, with a winged platypus for the "She Flies" challenge. I can tell this theme inspired him. Chris is a friend of Lorraine's that came today to meet us, she is a traditional quilter who wants to move into art quilts. She took a class at Sisters with Gwen Marsten on Minimalist Quilting.

Sue M. also took a class and it was out of her comfort zone. She created this modern purple wall hanging, embellished with French knots and cross stitched embroidery.

Lorraine has done a lot of research on why "She Flies with Her Own Wings" is the Oregon state motto. She created this collage for herself, on canvas, with history on Abigail ________, who was the leader in woman's suffrage, and got Oregon's women the right to vote.

Lorraine constructed this mixed media nest for her "She Flies with Her Own Wings" challenge. Pat W. just got back from her trip to Homer, Alaska. She got to see the "Washed Ashore" click here traveling exhibit while it was in Homer. They went on a drive one morning and saw Beluga whales off the coast, later in the day there were about 30 Humpback whales off of the spit, and during a walk on the beach they saw a pod of Orcas. She was so amazed to see all 3 types of whales in one day. Pat G. has been packing up to move to a new home, and has found just how large her stash is.

Amy brought her friend Shell, who is working on this coiled basket, stitched with various yarns and ribbons, it represents the trees, water, flowers, and now she is working on the sky and tree tops.

Shell was taught beading on leather from a Native American friend, she drew this pattern based on a photo she took. The colorful butterfly and sunflower will be even more beautiful when she finishes it. Demo For our hands on project this month we made plastic covered foam core boards. So that everyone has a work surface, we can work on projects with paint or glues, with out having to worry about the tables and carpet. Bring your board in November, I'll cover a few extra in case you were not at the meeting you can have one. We had 22 artists in attendance today, what a wonderful turnout, word is getting around, about what fun we have. I hope to see everyone in November.