"Sewing Night Fever" 2015 Retreat

We're all remembering the 70's and feelin' groovy as fifty EVQG members spend Thursday to Sunday at our annual retreat. Our home for this far out week-end is YMCA of the Rockies, Rams Horn Lodge in Estes Park, Colorado. This year's theme is "Sewing Night Fever." With the snow covered Rockies as a backdrop, we're in a quilting paradise.

In addition to hours and hours of sewing and quilting, our retreat offers: snacks, gifts, massages, adult beverages, meals, laughter, inspiration, classes, contests, silent auction, games, mystery quilt, and more. Here are a few photos.

All set up and waiting for quilters

The fun begins!

Prize Winners

Three of Mardi Carter's award winners

Mardi Carter, Mary Ann Jobe and Annette Kennedy presented an excellent program at Wednesday evening's meeting. All three are expert quilt makers and are experienced in the art of entering quilts in judged shows. We enjoyed hearing their stories and advice and we especially enjoyed seeing several of their award-winning quilts. Their examples will inspire more of our guild members to enter quilt shows.

Mardi Carter especially enjoys Hoffman Challenges

Marry Ann Jobe encourages us to enter quilt shows.

Mary Ann like bright colors and whimsical designs.

Annette Kennedy discusses the entry process.

Annette specializes in landscape and architectural designs
inspired by her own photos.

Carolyn Mangler shows a quilt ruler holder
she made from recycled jeans.

Competitive Quilting - Program Feb. 11

Mardi Carter and one of her award-winning quilts

Have you dreamed about creating an award winning quilt? Estes Valley Quilt Guild's February 11, 2015 program is where you need to be! Three accomplished, award-winning quilters will join a panel discussion on Competitive Quilting - relating their experiences, giving tips, and answering questions. Please join us at Good Samaritan Village at 6:30 p.m.

Mardi Carter has been sewing since childhood and was drawn into quilting by her daughters.  She began showing her work in 2011 in the Hoffman Challenge, where she won a prize.  With that encouraging start, she went on to win awards in 2013 and 2014.  Her quilts have also won awards in the Denver National Quilt Festival and the Quilt Colorado Show. One of her quilts was shown in a special exhibit at the International Quilt Festival of Ireland.

Mary Ann Jobe is a Colorado transplant from Ohio, mother of three and grandmother of three, who says, "Sewing is my life."  In 2013, Mary Ann's quilt was exhibited at American Quilter's Society Quilt Week in Paducah, Kentucky.  Instrumental in the founding of FACE, Fiber Arts Council of Estes, Mary Ann has also shown her quilts in shows in Colorado.  Her quilting talents employ a variety of media.

Annette Kennedy, an avid amateur photographer, creates her landscape and pictorial quilts using various commercial, hand-dyed, and hand painted fabrics.  She is inspired by her travels, botanic gardens, and hikes in Rocky Mountain National Park.  She has won numerous awards over the past decade at shows in Colorado, Ohio, New Mexico, California, Kentucky and Tennessee.  She is a frequent speaker and teacher and has an on-line class titled "Painted Pictorial Quilts."

Annette Kennedy's "Longs Peak Rhapsody"

Round Robin Evening

EVQG had a good attendance for the "Round-Robin" program last evening at Good Samaritan Village. Four of our members taught techniques: Anita Fiedler (working with wool), Pam Meylor (making a flange and piping), Carol Struve (creating flying geese blocks), and Judy Andersen (quilting by hand).    

Below are photos of our Show & Tell portion of the evening. Our members had some beautiful and interesting items to share.

Colorado Quilting Council

Colorado Quilting Council is a statewide guild which boasts over 800 members. Its monthly meetings /programs are held at different locations around the state. CQC also hosts many special events including: Quilt-A-Fair, Quilt Colorado, Capitol Quilt Show, workshops, retreats, and more. If you would like to expand your quilt related experiences, check out the following links.

http://coloradoquiltcouncil.com/wordpress1/ 

Happy 2015

Our first program of 2015 will be January 14 and will feature a "round robin" series of presentation by four of our members.

Anita Fiedler will show many examples of her work in wool.  She has been making quilts since she was five years old.  Now she sells her needle artwork in many craft shows.  She also stitches and makes mittens for charity.  She will share information on where she finds wool and how she prepares it for re-use.  She will also teach the group how to test fabric for wool content.

Pam Meylor will demonstrate how to make a flange and piping.  She will show us ways to incorporate these two elements into a quilt, a border, or a binding.  This technique is a good way to add an extra punch of color to your design.

Judy Andersen will teach the fine points of hand quilting.  She has been hand quilting for over twenty years and says that she finds it relaxing and therapeutic.  The largest item she has hand quilted was a queen sized bed quilt.  She will discuss marking, lighting, and her favorite tools.  Please bring a thimble for some hands on experience.

Carol Struve will present four methods of piecing a flying goose block.  This three piece unit is frequently used in many larger patchwork blocks.  Making flying geese quickly is very helpful.

Members' Christmas Party

Estes Valley Quilt Guild will hold its annual 

Members' Potluck Christmas Party 

on December 10. All members are invited to attend. 

See the December newsletter for more details.