SAQA Transformations: Hanging the Show

Last Friday after weeks of scattered meetings when we barely had a handful of attendees, four Sisters and a few "Husbands of Sisters" hung the SAQA show, Transformations, at the Guilford Art Center. What an experience! The quilts were wrapped in rolls and packed expertly in two large metal "coffins". Each roll was a treasure of textiles which were individually stunning and collectively arresting. The pieces had to be unwrapped, inspected, loged into the show and then hung. It was our first experience in hanging a show of such magnitude and it was a learning experience for all involved.

Tonight will be the opening reception and we anticipate that it will be very well attended. More photos to come!

Visiting Friends

Martha and Evelyn visited this week, with fresh inspiration and lovely quilts to share. We are fortunate that our former members take the time to stop in and show us their current creations. No photos of Evelyn this time, but Martha obliged. This piece is one in a series of layered architectural pieces with lots of surface design and lovely quilting. We can't wait to see more...

Treasure Hunt

Diane and Linda, fresh from the Connecticut SAQA meeting on Wednesday, couldn't help themselves... inspiration struck in the Guilford commuter parking lot and we are eager to see how you use your new treasures. Notice the look of glee on Diane's face! So what were they so happy about? Rusty, smashed bottle caps. Go figure. We all expect to see them in your next creations...

Sister's Work Featured in Quilting Arts Gifts

Another Sister in Cloth has been featured in a national publication this month... Check out the article Inspired by Nature, Captured in Cloth in the Holiday Issue of Quilting Arts Gifts to see how Vivika Hansen DeNegre creates her bird collages. Vivika has been creating these nature inspired collages for several years now, and has about 40 or 50 different designs in her portfolio. She works mainly from photographs and creates textile scenes that are often mistaken for paintings at first glance. More photos of these little gems are on her blog, and her new website.

Birthday Traditions

Yvette Howard shared her lovely handmade gifts with the Sisters at our last meeting. We had started a tradition of each giving the "birthday girl" a fat quarter of fabric on her special day, but this year we decided that the birthday girl should do the giving. So far we have had lovely pins, cards, beautiful fabric, and fun trims. Yvette has now raised the bar with her amazing packaging she made using a die cutting machine and lots of imagination. We love our butterflies and posies so much, and the packaging is out of this world!

Quiltscapes at The Whistler House Museum

Our own Diane Wright was honored to have been juried into Quiltscapes at the Whistler House Museum in Lowell, MA. It's a wonderful venue, devoted to art quilts during the Lowell Quilt Festival and sponsored by the New England Quilt Museum. Diane was especially happy to be included in an exhibit with artists whose work she admire: artists like Sandy Donabed and Laura Wasilowski. Several of the Sisters in Cloth members made the journey to Lowell and attended the opening. Boy, it doesn't get any better than this! Pictured are Robin Wolek and Debbie Bento, studying Sandy Donabed's piece. Diane's contribution, "Reflections", is on the top left and Laura Wasilowski's is the far right.

We Are SO Proud

Our own Evelyn Judson's quilt, Storm at Sea, was featured on the cover of August/September's issue of Quilter's Newsletter Magazine, as well as inside with a 3 page article. Evelyn started this behemouth ten years ago, and we almost don't recognize it in its finished state. She carried it to many Sisters in Cloth meetings in a beautiful handmade bag, and sat quilting by hand during so many meetings... We are so proud that she received ribbons in Houston and now the recognition she deserves! What an amazing accomplishment and a testament to hard work and beautiful workmanship.

Featured Sister: Marie Kadlec Shepherd

Toby's Chair, By Marie Kadlec Shepherd

The Sisters live on the shoreline of Connecticut, where we are blessed with sandy beaches, sunshine and lazy summer afternoons. This beautiful quilt, made by our very own Marie Kadlec Shepherd, celebrates the very best of the season. Marie spends many of her summer afternoons in a chair just like this one on Block Island.

Featured Sister: Linda Sexton-Patrick

We met Linda at a local Connecticut Guild lecture by Ruth McDowell several years ago. Linda's work is lovely, as you can see. She often uses pieced backgrounds and juxtaposes hand applique to create beautiful works of fiber art. The quilt featured above is entitled "Jill-In-The-Pulpit".

In her own words:

What is exciting about the medium of textile art is the collaborative effort it affords between the tactile nature of fabric, color choices applied, and the expression of ideas through design and technique. From initial concepts to the refining of the completed image, it is a joy to be engaged in every step of the creative process. Inspiration often comes from the flora and fauna of the many areas of this country where I have lived. I am particularly interested in including in my work woodland species which are endangered or rarely seen. There are endless possibilities still to be expressed!

Friday Quilting

The most important thing that keeps our group cohesive and productive is our Friday morning meetings. Fridays are sacred to us: we gather at one of the members' home for an hour or two of critique, support, planning, and COFFEE. Diane, our fearless leader, keeps the calendar full of events, trips, venues and opportunities to share our work. There is always a "Challenge" in the works or on display (the latest, Photo Challenge, is hanging in the Guilford Art Center until the end of the month) and a progressive quilt to be passed to the next quilter. "Fridays" are a gift to us all...

Still Time to See Photo Quilt Exhibit

The Sisters' show at the Guilford Art Center has been so successful and well received by the community that the GAC board has asked us to stay a bit longer...

Small Pieces/Big Ideas will continue to hang in the Gallery Shop Space at Guilford Art Center, 411 Church St., Guilford, through the end of June, 2009. Hours are Monday through Saturday, 12-4pm. For more information, see the GAC website http://www.guilfordartcenter.org/

Spot the Sisters

Linda Zimmerman, Yvette Howard, Diane Wright and Debbie Bento all attended my opening at Chroma Gallery in Guilford, CT last Thursday night. It was an exciting evening with about 200 guests enjoying the fused glass, woven rugs and lovely quilts made by three Guilford artists who all belong to the Shoreline Arts Trail. After a few hours of lively conversation and a glass or two of wine, I started taking photos of the attendees... Using the rules of "Where's Waldo", see if you can spot Diane, Yvette and Debbie... Thankfully I was behind the lens and not in front of it!

Excitement is Mounting

The Sisters in Cloth are getting ready for their unveling of a new show in May at the Guilford Art Center. Fifteen photos will be transferred to cloth, resulting in 75 small quilts. April 24 was the "Drop Dead Day" to complete the quilts and ready them for photography. MOST are done, some are in progress, but we can't wait to share the final results! Here are two members, Barbara Coleman Adams and Yvette Howard, admiring a few of the little gems.

Barbara Coleman Adams

These lovely postcards were made by our very own Barbara Coleman Adams. Barbara works mainly in an abstract style, and her pieces have a rhythm and tempo which is all their own. She has been an active member of Sisters in Cloth for several years - always willing to do her share of grunt work to make our group a success. Barbara lives in Guilford, CT with her wonderful husband Roger and daughter Liz. Her work is now available through the Chester Gallery located at 76 Main Street in Chester, CT.

Rayna Gillman Visits the Sisters

All day long while it rained cats and dogs, the Sisters and friends toiled at the Guilford Art Center under the tutelage of Rayna Gillman. We've employed her for the weekend to teach us her creative ways of salvaging uninspired fabric by gelatin printing and silk screening. Pictured is Robin Wolek, carefully applying rubber bands to a block of gelatin. You can see her family crest of four squares which she made multiple times in different colors. We expect to see some interesting surface design techniques used in future quilts!

Lending A Hand

There are many ways to help people in need. Each of the Sisters in Cloth has her own favorite charity. In the past few years of our existence, we have made gift baskets for 65 Roses (Cystic Fibrosis Charity) auctions, a gorgeous raffle quilt for the Guilford Art Center, participated in political fundraisers, and made many additional pieces individually for these and many more worthy causes.

Our latest group charity quilts are soon to fly to Australia, packed tightly in Diane Wright's carry-on bags. With a generous donation of batting from J.T. Trading Corporation (importers of Matilda's Own Australian Wool Batting) the Sisters have teamed up to make two quilts for the victims of the recent bush fires. We all donated 9 patch squares which were pieced by some energetic members two weeks ago and quilted beautifully by Diane. She and Linda are holding the smaller of the two quilts.

We urge everyone to find a cause and support it with your time and talents.

What's In Your Stash?

We all have them: pounds of pins, boxes of buttons, loads of lace, piles of patterns... just because we might need them one day. Well, that day comes for us all when it is time to clear out the stash and move on. This week, Barbara, Linda Z and Vivika cleaned out the studio of an elderly quilter. It was a lesson to all of us to make sure that our families know how to distribute our "stash" when we move on. We also were awed by the unfinished projects yearning for a home. What would someone say about my studio if they had to empty it tomorrow?

We hope that Sarah's cupboard in Branford enjoys all of the lovely 1970's and 80's fabrics we brought to them. We know our knitting friends will make use of the needles we salvaged. But what shall we do with these buttons? Any suggestions?

What's In A Name?

Several years ago, our group decided to choose a name for ourselves. We'd been known by our local guild as The Guilford Group even though several members were from surrounding towns. We met on Friday mornings, and often called ourselves The Friday Morning Group. Both were uninspiring and did not say a thing about who we are or what we do. In true creative spirit, we had a contest to name ourselves, and Diane Wright came up with Gone to Pieces. That worked for a year or two, but it became obvious to the group that we were too "together" to be called Gone to Pieces. Our current and FINAL name was inspired by a Progressive quilt made by all of us and belonging to Diane. She chose the central batik motif and the fabrics, and we passed the project from member to member until it seemed done. You may recognize the row of women on the bottom as our logo. Sister Sister showcases who we are: supportive, creative and happy quilters with a love of fabric, color, texture, and each other. We are truly Sisters in Cloth.

Traveling Sisters

New England can be gloomy in mid march. Although the calendar says "Spring is Here" the weather doesn't always agree. Sometimes you need a change of venue to chase away the end-of-winter-blues... This Thursday a few Sisters had a road trip to Avon, CT to take a postcard class with Sarah Ann Smith. A good time was had by all!

Knock Knock

Nearly all of the Sisters in Cloth love to make cards for friends and family. This postcard was made by Vivika DeNegre for the Edgar Allen Poe "Raven" postcard challenge hosted earlier this month by Linda Tompson. The image was transfered to muslin using a toner copy and oil paint technique described in Cloth, Paper, Scissors. Embellishments of metal, paper and thread were added onto a piece of watercolor paper which had been inked and collaged with vintage ephemera. Can't you hear the raven knocking at the door?

Guilford Free Library Exhibit

The Fourth Annual Sisters in Cloth exhibit at the Guilford Free Library in Guilford, CT was a roaring success. The new library meeting room walls were covered with two glorious collections of quilts. "Strata" quilts, represented by Diane Wright's "Blue Heron with Crab" pictured left, and "Orange" quilts, such as Ruth Anne Olson's Swirl hung at the library throughout the month of January. This annual event is always marked by a reception which is well attended by the community. To see more of the fabulous pieces of art, watch the gallery slide show in the right column of the blog.

Carol's In the News

Carol Ludington, our West Haven Applique Maven, has had her masterpiece, Here Comes the Sun, featured on the front page of the Connecticut Post's March 5, 2009 issue. Click here http://www.connpost.com/ci_11836363?IADID=Search-www.connpost.com-www.connpost.com for a story about the Southport Congregational Curch show, "Fabrics and Fabrications".

Welcome

Welcome to the Sisters in Cloth blog. We are a group of 12 motivated fiber artists living in Southern Connecticut. We show our work in many venues, including quilt shows and galleries. Although our backgrounds are very different, we have a vibrant group ethic which encourages and motivates our members to stretch their artistic talents and abilities. Join us on this journey and follow our blog as we document the work of Sisters in Cloth!