Save the Date

On August 22, 2009, the Guild will be enjoying the thread painting expertise of Caren Betlinski of Rushville, NY. Caren did a wonderfully inspirational trunk show for the Guild in August of 2008 and was immediately invited back for a class.






Originally an oil painter, Caren started quilting about 10 years ago and has immediately made a name for herself with her painterly approach to her art quilts. As a member of the Rochester Area Fiber Artists, Caren's work is routinely displayed at venues in Rochester and the surrounding area.





Caren's quilt, "Swamp Angel" was accepted into the 2007 AQS show and contest in Paducah.






Details on the classes will be available at or by the May Guild meeting. Contact Martha if you have questions.

Demo Day!

At the February meeting, the membership approved all expenses necessary to host Esterita Austin in May. So if you've been waiting to sign up for classes, the time is NOW!! She will be teaching "Sheers to You!" on Thursday May 21 and "Creating the Illusion of Depth" on Friday, May 22. Both classes run from 9:30 to 4:00. See the samples here. Classes are filling fast so get your payment in quickly to reserve your spot, especially for the Friday class. Contact Martha at lorshbaughm@msn.com for more information.
The Board would like to thank membership for supporting this event. We hope to be able to host more "big names" in the future. In fact, if you have a suggestion for a teacher or a topic, please contact Martha or Kathi Everett.

Many thanks and great reviews are due Kathi Everett for her work in coordinating a fabulous selection of demos from members of the Guild at the February meeting!! We were treated to the talent and expertise of four very generous ladies who gave of their time and talents to inspire the rest of us!!!


Melanie Watson showed how to turn a placemat into a purse.









Cheryl Doody shows us how to do a perfect binding.









Sharon Larson teaches us that crayons aren't just for little kids anymore. (Actually, these are wax pastels)


Jean Butzer shared how to do stunning invisible machine applique, but the picture I took was awful. Sorry Jean.

Time to Catch up, Part II

Thirty Something and a Pearl

The annual challenge entries were revealed at the January meeting. While there are not nearly as many as in previous years, there are some wonderful quilts and the entrants obviously had fun creating them!

This year's theme. "Thirty Something and a Pearl" reflects the fact that the Guild turns thirty this year. There had to be thirty of something on each entry.
The traditional wedding anniversary gift for thirty years is pearls, so it seemed natural to include that in the challenge. A piece of fabric was chosen to represent the pearl and at least one piece of it had to be included on each quilt.


Fourteen members of the guild took up the challenge; creating a display which includes collections of sailboats and aprons, flowers, fish and hearts. Judging took place on Wednesday, Feb 4 and prizes were awarded based on workmanship and overall appearance.
The judges were Janet Root of Kendall and Adele Gilmore of Greece. Ms Root is a regional quilt teacher, well- known among the local quilting community. Ms Gilmore is a long time quilter and formerly was the costumer for the theatre department at SUNY Brockport.
Award winners were:
First Place: Jean Butzer for "Easter 1911"
Second Place: Elaine Ross for "Longwood Water Gardens"
Third Place: Martha Lorshbaugh for "I heart Pansies"
Best Execution of Theme:
Mary Ellen Casey for "Thirty Fish & a Pearl"
Creativity/ Originality:
Cynda Watroba for "America 2009"
Design: Sharon Larsen for "Colors That Bind"
Best Use of Color:
Gloria Crittenden for "I Remember Aprons"
Applique: Dodie Morrison for "Tea Time"
Hand Quilting: Kate Martin for "Whirlwind"
Machine Quilting: Connie Grimsley for "Set Sail"

The rest of the quilts may be seen here.

Fabric Postcards are fun!

An enthusiastic group of members stayed after the March 15 meeting for a class on fabric postcards. They soon learned how easy and fun it is to create these small works of art.A fabric postcard is a small quilt created on a stiff inner layer that allows it to travel through the postal system.

Teacher Martha Lorshbaugh was happy to share not only her own collection of postcards, but those of fellow member Kathi Everett, to inspire the class. Many of these cards came from internet swaps. The creativity represented on these cards inspired the some of the class participants to play, rather than follow the pattern provided.

Donna's Easter card for her Grands

Ann learned the benefits of taking her time
on the blanket stitching!

Mary Ellen decided to be very artistic- even adding some sequins!

More of the class postcards can be seen here! And hopefully many more will soon follow.

Coming Attractions

So far, 2008 has been good to us, and the Museum Quilt Guild is expecting the rest of the year to only get better!

Several workshops are already on the schedule, with several more in the planning stages. The after meeting "sit and sew" may never have another opportunity to gather!


In March, one of our members, Martha Lorshbaugh, will be teaching members to make fabric postcards! Several members have been showing off postcards they have made and or received in online swaps, which has generated enthusiasm for this class. (See some of Martha's postcards !)



In April, we are pleased to host Joan Ford, with her "Scrap Therapy" lecture. A class will follow, where members can learn how to cut, sort and organize scraps for future projects.



In June, members of the Museum Quilt Guild will be taking a road trip!! A bus has been reserved to transport interested members to "Quilter's Holiday 2008" hosted by the Quilters Consortium of New York State. The trip, on June 14, will cost members $125.00 and includes admission to the show, a lunch with speaker Kaye England, and dinner with speaker Ami Simms. Two locations have been arranged to meet the bus- at the Valu Plaza in Batavia and the Park and Ride in LeRoy. Contact Elaine Ross at elainejr@rochester.rr.com for more information, or to sign up and arrange payment. Reservations must be made before March 31, 2008.



Other upcoming workshops include a wool felt project and a fun dimensional applique class! Check back later for details!

Black and White and.....

The Museum Quilt Guild members turned in quilts to be entered into the annual challenge show on January 19. Among the entries is a "Little Black Dress", a city scape and a tv test pattern! See the entire show here.

The Challenge theme is chosen by the Guild's 2nd VP each spring. The anticipation of each announcement is met with enthusiasm most years. This year the announcement was followed by questions, and more questions: Does grey count as a third color? What about cream? What if I use different shades of my third color??? And yet, despite all the questions, this challenge may be the most popular the Guild has ever had! A total of 33 quilts were entered by 29 members! There are those who participate every year, but this year there were several newcomers to the challenge, including one former member who was inspired to create a challenge quilt and rejoin the Guild!

The Museum Quilt Guild's membership is made up of every level of quilter, from beginner to expert. Many are strictly traditional quilters, while others use the annual challenge to try out a new technique and stretch themselves a bit.

Awards are givien to the entrants based on the workmanship and overall appearance of the piece as well as specific awards for the hand or machine quilting, use of color, creativity, use of theme and design. Visitors to the show are also invited to vote for their favorite, so that a viewer's choice award can be given.

The Museum Quilt Guild hosts a biennial quilt show in October. Much more of the work created by the same artists will be on display there. Please check back for details later in the year!