member spotlight – Amherst Quilters Guild

April 4, 2013

legos for quilters

Hello all, Mary Ellen’s back. I’ve been busy working on our seminar brochure so we can get it to our members at April’s guild meeting. It’s off to the printer’s now, so I have a bit of time until my next deadline! We (actually Kit and Marija) have lined up wonderful teachers for this year, please join us for 4 days of quilting camaraderie. (Sept 18-21, 2013…go here for more details as they become available) Quilters are often very creative in incorporating tools and gadgets, which are seemingly unrelated to sewing, into our craft. An easy example could be my method of organizing piecing for blocks and quilts with paper plates. Many of you use blue painters’ tape for a variety of quilty tasks. Here is a tutorial from a mom, who is apparently surrounded by her children’s Legos, on how to make a mini sewing machine from them. If […]

February 14, 2013

far and wide

Hello all, Mary Ellen again. This is really cool beans, I think. A few days ago I got an e-mail asking me (by name) to vote on a cover design for a children’s book. Sounds innocent enough. The book involves a quilt lost along the Oregon Trail. So far so good. The e-mail asked me to pass it along to my guild members as well. Whoa! Not so fast. But, something about it sounded legit to me, so I wrote back asking how the author had gotten my name and e-mail address. I received a very nice response which I am sharing below. It seems we AMQG members really get around. Someone attending the Sisters, Oregon show (I’m so jealous–I’ve wanted to go to that show for years, since the days of Jean Wells making multiple, frequent appearances on Simply Quilts with Alex Anderson) mentioned our guild and museum gift […]

December 18, 2012

You know a rock star!

Hello again, Mary Ellen back. Just checked the results of the Morton Masterpiece contest. Our member, Lauren DeVantier, won the viewer’s choice prize! CONGRATULATIONS! If you have seen her work, you know that this quilt is probably truly spectacular in person. I hope she’ll be able to share it with us soon-at least to have it hang in our next quilt show.

November 16, 2012

Kudos to a member

Hello all, Mary Ellen here. If you have been to any of our quilt shows, I’m certain you have admired the beautiful quilts made by one of our guild members, Lauren DeVantier. Her piecing and applique are wonderfully done, and always complemented so nicely by her friend Norma Chapin’s quilting. Lauren is one of the 10 finalists in the Morton Masterpiece contest. Photos of the quilts made by each finalist are posted here and you can vote for your favorite. Voting for the winner is open now and will close on December 15. The quilts had to be made totally with Jo Morton fabrics, and could be a maximum of 60″ square. Lauren’s is just under 57″ square. Use the magnifier option at the site and have a close look at the detail in her blocks. I was told that she started this quilt in April. All of the quilts […]