| June 2005
It is difficult to believe that QBL is just a month away! This month’s
focus is all about getting ready for QBL 2005, with our usual list
of helpful hints. So start revving up your creative energy, store
up on sleep, and get ready for another wonderful year of classes.
Creativity can solve almost any problem.
The creative act, the defeat of habit by originality, overcomes
everything.
George Lois
The deadline to submit quilts to the QBL
“Quilts & Wearables Show”
has been extended until July 1, 2005.
For complete information, click here. The
show shares space with the Merchant’s Mall, and offers you
a wonderful opportunity to show your work. There is no requirement
that entries have a direct connection to QBL, so please enter that
quilt you finished this year!
Show hours are Sunday, July 24 through Friday, July 29 from 11:30
am to 5:30 pm for Session I, and Sunday, July 31 through Thursday,
August 4 from 11:30 am to 5:30 pm. for Session II. Evening hours
are Wednesday, July 27 and Wednesday, August 3 from 7:00 pm to 9:00
pm. The Quilt Show and Merchant Mall are open to QBL participants
only on Friday, August 5 from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm.
In this Issue:
Pleased to Introduce...
Hilary Morrow Fletcher
In the News
Getting Ready: QBL PREP 101
Once You are
There: The Area
Design Exercise
Books to Consider
Quilting by the Lake is thrilled to welcome
Hilary Morrow Fletcher as the opening lecturer in 2005. Ms. Fletcher
is the Quilt National Project Director, Dairy Barn Southeastern
Ohio Cultural Arts Center, Athens, Ohio. With an extensive list
of credits, and a growing quilt collection of her own, Hilary is
sought internationally for her expert knowledge. Please join us
opening night for, “The Evolution
of the Art Quilt: A Quilt National Retrospective”.
Click here
to read an interview with Hllary Morrow Fletcher.
Back to top
The Schweinfurth Memorial Art Center’s John McQueen
exhibit was reviewed in American Craft
magazine’s April/May 2005 issue.
Diane Rode Schneck
had her prime time debut on national
television on Queer Eye for the Straight Guy airing on Tuesday,
June 21, 2005! Diane provided embroidery expertise for the home
makeover, and demonstrated some of the fundamentals of the art.
This is sure to be a fun one to watch, and in our market the show
repeats several times, so you can still catch it.
Back to top
Each year as we look forward to QBL we also have to face
the daunting task of preparing to go. What should I take? How much
fabric will I need? And if this is your first year, what can I expect?
What are the dorms like? The classrooms?
Here are a few hints I hope you find helpful. If you have more specific
questions, please feel free to e-mail me, and I will do my best
to answer your questions. QBLnews@aol.com.
1. Personal
- Comfort & practicality are the focus.
Most people dress very casually.
- You will need clothing for cool, warm, and
hot weather. We often get some of all of this, although I have
also been at QBL with wonderful weather the whole time. Most classrooms
are not air conditioned, and those that are may be quite chilly,
so layers work well.
- Comfortable shoes for walking. If you have
not been before, the campus is a little hilly, so you may want
to plan for this.
- A bathing suit if you want to take advantage
of the early morning swim time. Exercise clothes if you want to
walk/run/hike around campus or in the area.
- Umbrella or raincoat.
2. Your Room
- The rooms are typical dorm rooms with 2 of
all of the expected furniture and 2 closets.
- If you are used to comfort, I would suggest
you bring towels (they are provided, but are small and rough,
and not very absorbent!), a mattress pad (the mattresses are plastic-covered),
and a fitted bottom sheet. The beds are also long twins, so plan
accordingly.
- The rooms are generally clean, but some wipes
or all purpose cleaner is generally a good idea.
- Clothes hangers if you need/want to hang up
clothes. There will not be hangers in the rooms. There are 2 dressers,
though.
- A fan. The rooms can get hot without one.
If you have a window fan, they work really well. My friends usually
ask how I keep my room so cool. The answer is a window fan.
- A power strip if you plan to sew in your room.
- The lighting has improved in the last couple
of years, but if you need bright light for your work, bring a
small lamp.
- An iron if you will need one for your work.
- A cooler is a nice addition, especially if
you are staying over the weekend when meals are not served. Ice
is available in the cafeteria and in town.
- Beyond this, what you bring depends on how
you are traveling and how much space you have. Some participants
bring portable CD players, special chairs, and even rugs.
- Of course, many who have the space bring quilts
for their beds, and sometimes to decorate the walls.
3. The Classroom
- A luggage carrier. This is one of the most
essential items for getting stuff to & from the classroom.
(If you will need assistance, there is staff to help get you to
& from the classroom.) One with bungie cords to fasten stuff
on is best. Really, a most useful tool, right up there with a
sewing machine, rotary cutter, & scissors.
- A small fan if you have one. Of course if
you or the person at the next table are working with tiny pieces,
this may not be such a great idea…
- Power strip is always a good idea, just put
your name on it.
- White flannel or felt for a design wall.
- Straight pins for the design wall. Some teachers
prefer the ones without large heads, so read your supply list.
- An iron. All the classrooms have irons, but
if you want to bring your own you can. Just be aware that others
may use it thinking it belongs to QBL, and on occasion it might
be used for some kind of fusible stuff. I always bring an iron
and iron cleaner, just in case.
- Don’t forget to look at the supply list.
I am not sure I can make recommendations about what fabric to
bring. This will be my 17th year at QBL, and I am still working
on that one. Some suggestions you might find useful are:
- Pick a focus fabric and bring others to use
with it
- Bring a sampling of light, mediums, & darks
in a variety of textures & colors
- Know that the vendors are open a lot,
and they welcome our business!
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There is much to see & do in the area, so
if you have a car, don’t be afraid to explore! If you do not
have a car, ask around. There is probably someone to explore with.
If you are staying over the weekend, you will have lots of time
for seeing the sites. Some of my favorite highlights include:
- The Schweinfurth Memorial Art Center in Auburn.
Also the sponsor of QBL! For more information on exhibitions and
events call (315) 255-1553 or e-mail mail@schweinfurthartcenter.org
- Stone Quarry Art Park just outside Cazenovia.
A wonderful collection of sculpture, gardens, and hiking trails,
with new sculptures every year. Sometimes the challenge is to
find them! There is a feature in the June/July issue of American
Craft Magazine on Patrick Dougherty
who has a remarkable sculpture at the Art Park.
- Annual Book Sale sponsored by the Friends
of the Cazenovia Public Library from 10 am to 5 pm on Saturday,
July 30th and from 10 am to 4 pm on Sunday, July 31st. Thousands
of great books for sale.
- Secret Gardens: A Self-Guided Tour to benefit
the Earlville Opera House, Quilt Exhibit, and Artisan Gift Shop
on July 29 and July 30 from 1 pm to 4 pm.
- Chittenango Falls State Park. The main feature
of the park is a 167-foot waterfall formed 10,000 years ago. A
trail winds from the top of the falls down to the bottom.
- The Common Grounds Coffee shop in Cazenovia.
Great coffee, sandwiches & snacks.
- Antique shops galore to the east of Morrisville
right on Route 20.
Back to top
Doodles etc.
Just for fun, take a few minutes to play. This is another fun warm-up
exercise, and might result in some interesting designs.
- Fold a 8 1⁄2 by 11 sheet of paper
into 16 sections. (Fold in quarters in each direction.)
- Across the top and down the side make
a simple doodle in each “box”. Make a variety of shapes,
and sizes of doodles
- Continue filling in the boxes, combining
the doodles just above and just to the left of the one you are
working on. They should get more and more complicated as you work
your way down and to the right.
- If you end up with a box you really
like, enlarge it on a copier, make several copies and play with
their arrangement, just as you would with quilt blocks.
Have fun! If you like the results, try it
again. I find it is great for boring meetings.Back to top
I know it is almost time for QBL where I always
hear about great books to read, but I have a couple of books to
add to the ever-growing list. If you are around on July 30th, you
might even find them at the book sale in Cazenovia.
| The Kite Runner |
Khaled Hosseini |
| Fascinating story |
|
| |
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| The Mermaid Chair |
Sue Monk Kidd |
| No Secret Life of
Bees, but worth reading |
|
| |
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| Gilead |
Marilynne Robinson |
| Beautifully written |
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| |
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| A Short History of Nearly Everything |
Bill Bryson |
| If you think you are not a science person,
this book is for you! |
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Back to top
Until the end of July, Happy Creating!
~Kathy
qblnews@aol.com
Past Dispatches
November 2005
June 2005
April 2005
February
2005
October
2004
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