We will be holding a "Bring and Buy" sale at our May meeting (as well as it being a Skills Evening). Do use this opportunity to offer your unwanted fabric, books and tools. They may be of value to someone else.

Please mark your goods with the price you would like and include 10% for London Quilters.

For further information speak to Kate on 020-8458-4119. There will also be a Trader .

Please bring your cushion covers to the June meeting for a "blind" swap. Hopefully you will not receive your own scraps back û but you never know!

We are looking for new people to join the Committee at the end of this year. This role can be really enjoyable and worthwhile. If you would like to join us or simply know more about what is entailed, call any of the Committee Members for a chat. We look forward to hearing from you.

Organised by London Quilters

18th May, at 7.30 p.m.

(just round the corner from Euston Station)

Tickets £ 8

or £ 5 if you are also attending

Contact Kate Cox for tickets and information

on 020 8458 4119

A group of quilters from San Francisco will be touring the UK in May and attending the Virginia Avery lecture on Thursday 18 May. They would like to meet you!

We would like help to host this group. On the morning of the lecture they are going to the Victoria and Albert Museum and it would be good if some of our members could join them on their tour.

In the evening we would like some of you to join them for an informal meal before the lecture.

If you are unable to help with these events û do look out for them at Malvern if you are there on the Saturday û and say hello, or introduce yourself at the lecture.

For further information, please call Margaret Scholey-Hill on 020-7278-9753.

A number of members of London Quilters may not have fully realized that this is not just an ordinary quilt challenge - it is an innovative and very important project for our group, which is being organised by the elected Committee. It is for everybody - we want to include a whole range of work, from novices to experienced. We are planning to:

1. Apply for a grant from Camden Millenium Projects Lottery funds which are specially targeted to small groups.

2. This grant, if obtained, will be used by London Quilters for the following purposes:

a. To create an educational programme - including a slide show - that can benefit other groups involved in textile art.

b. To arrange a launch of the programme through inviting educationalists and others involved in such programmes to a special event.

c. To create a show of London Quilters' work û preferably in a commercial setting.

d. To find sponsors who will offer prizes in categories that are a little "different" to those offered at the usual quilt shows.

The quilt should measure anything between a minimum of 24" per side to a maximum of 36" by 48". The general theme is: Women into the Millenium / Our Hopes and Dreams. The interpretation is your own, and should be expressed in a written statement of about 200 words. The only other requirement is to incorporate a skill or technique or colour you have never used before. DO JOIN THE CHALLENGE

Tickets £ 5. Send stamped addressed envelope and cheque payable to: Jennifer Hollingdale, 20 Jephta Rd., London SW18 1QH.

It has been almost ten years now since I first became interested in patchwork and quilting. I first became familiar with the patterns and designs and can remember feeling very pleased with myself when confidently recognising Log Cabin and Bears' Paw. I then began to distinguish the commercial fabric producers and designers. After that came the recognition of some of the quilt makers followed by the identification of the teachers. Now I find that in many cases I can also spot the work of specific hand dyers. During his presentation at the "Art of the Stitch" study day at the Victoria and Albert museum last month, Michael James shared that his new direction is moving towards "looking inside his own body". I do not think I will ever be familiar with that!

So, at last it is spring û well on the calendar anyway. The days are longer and I really appreciate the fact that I have more natural daylight in which to work comfortably. Expo VII and the AGM of the Quilters' Guild of the British Isles have been and gone and Malvern is now beckoning. So much is happening in our quilting world that we now have to make choices unless we

want to run here, there and everywhere. We are fortunately able to select the events that we usually enjoy best. Some of us may prefer the more intimate group shows or residential courses whilst others may opt for the brasher, busy and bustling international events. Whatever the choice it appears to me that we are continually seeing the same traders and goods and also the same quilts.

This is not a criticism of quilt makers. I am personally very aware of how much time, energy and expense it takes to complete a quilt and then attempt to show it. Probably my negativity is focussed on the show organisers and publishers of journals who promote the "specialness" of their own particular event. I feel most let down when the excitement felt when approaching a show or opening a journal is replaced by deja vu. And all the time I am left wondering û is it me or do others feel the same? Perhaps I am just going to too many shows.

I feel quite confused because I do like seeing quilts time and time again. Like all of you, I am sure, I have some quilt books and show catalogues with the pages worn thin through being examined so often. In fact I have just returned from Strasbourg and Quilt Expo VII and one of the best things for me was the opportunity to familiarise myself with the exhibits and to be able to change my mind about my first impressions and immediate likes and

dislikes. Also to be able to value and appreciate the works that I did not particularly care for immediately on an aesthetic level but over several viewings I could appreciate and evaluate in terms of skill, design and colour. Being a woman, I bask in the right to change my mind.

However for me the best thing in Strasbourg was the Nancy Crow exhibition which had been organised independently of Expo. Seeing 45 of Nancy's quilts displayed under one roof was spectacular. She also gave two lectures on her life, inspiration and work and was present at the exhibition most of the time. She signed books until her hands were numb from the effort. Whether you like Nancy's particular style or not, it has to be accepted that she is probably the most important and influential living quilt maker today.

The exhibition ran up against some of the problems we experience in London Quilters too. Many attendees at Expo could not understand why they needed to pay a separate fee for the show and were clearly unaware of the costs of setting up such an event. We encounter similar concerns, on a smaller scale, when we offer workshops and special lectures. Sadly, participating in quilting-related happenings is becoming more and more expensive and that makes it even more important for us to evaluate and consider our choices.

Another special for me was the opportunity to indulge in purchasing hand-dyed fabrics from Susan Seagram, Heide Stoll-Weber and Gabriele Tisch. Add to that the opportunity to buy African fabrics and Marrimeko I am equally between heaven and the bankruptcy court.

The worst thing at Expo was without doubt the heat in the Exhibition Centre alongside a charge for each item left in the cloakroom and the poor catering that we generally experience at larger events.

I think it will probably be a good idea for me to avoid all such occasions for a year or so and then I might look forward to them so much that I will ignore the discomforts and no longer be familiar with the items on the traders stalls. Everything will be fresh and new for me, even the cheese baguettes and stale Danish pastries.

Whilst taking breath from proclaiming the idea that perhaps there is too much going on in the quilting world, I am delighted to tell you about a new journal entitled "Euro Quilt" which should be on the bookstalls (and certainly at the quilt shows) soon. Gul Laporte tells me that she expects this to develop into a fine quality publication that will be published quarterly. She is as yet uncertain whether it will be available on subscription, at quilt shows only or on general bookstalls. I very much hopethe "Calendar of events" will be extended to list more than the big shows and the local groups can at least have a contact number. Certainly many European quilters visit London and it would be good to welcome them to our meetings.

On Monday March 6th, folk art historian Joan Pearlman spoke to a small group of quilters about African-American quilting. Joan, a teacher at NYU and the New School in New York City was in London on a Sabbatical with her partner for a few months. She was pleased to be able to show her slides and talk about her research to a group of like-minded women.

Her lecture was entitled "The Aesthetic of African-American Quiltmaking" which she has been researching for some time. Joan has been looking into why black women made quilts and in particular, what inspired them to formulate such a unique style.

Her research was sparked by the growth in the United States in the 1980's and 1990's of the number of exhibitions featuring African-American quilts. These mainly focused on the style and technique of the quilts.

Joan found that old African-American quilts were of two types: appliqued quilts full of symbol and meaning and geometric quilts, seemingly pieced at random and often quite asymmetrical. The latter are also known as improvisational quilts, possibly with links to jazz rhythms and syncopation. The slides of these quilts were fascinating to contemplate - the freedom of design and the unusual colour combinations brought a sense of joy to each quilt we studied.

Harriet Powers is the name of the black woman closely associated with the appliqued quilts that set stories into cloth. Her two best known works, the "Bible Quilt" (now in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts) and "Creation" (in the Smithsonian Institute in Washington) feature a myriad of symbols, animals and people that have come to be associated with typical African-American quilts. These machine appliqued quilts were made in the late 19th century in Athens, Georgia. Harriet Powers created images from the Holy Scriptures and of unique physical phenomena (such as a comet, or an eclipse) in cloth. Because Harriet couldn't read or write she was telling stories using visual images instead of written words. As African oral traditions imparted values, taught history and religious beliefs, so did the visual images she created on her quilts.

A modern quilter who has followed in Harriet Powers1 footsteps of telling a story through the medium of quilting is Faith Ringgold, now a Professor at the University of San Diego, California. One of her series, called the "French Collection" was begun in 1990 and finished in 1997. It consists of 12 quilts giving the story of Faith's life in France. One of the characteristics of Faith's quilts is that the heads are larger than the bodies, just as in traditional African art, the seat of intelligence was considered more important than the body.

Another modern African-American quilter who uses the African boldness of design and the inspiration of storytelling, gives a literal depiction of jazz in his series of quilts representing people playing musical instruments. Michael Cummings feels that art must "evoke a sense of aesthetic emotion." His marvellous pieces, although portraying the same basic image, looked very different from one another because of the special use of fabrics, colours and embellishments.

It was wonderful to look at the slides of African-American quilts and discuss whether their roots influenced the makers, or whether they were influenced by music, or by the circumstances surrounding the creation of the quilts.

All was reassuringly familiar at Ardingly - just like the Spring Fairs last year, really, with the same traders, demonstrators and participants, despite the new ownership of Grosvenor House. It was nice to see Juliet Webster so relaxed and with time to chat, and meet Emma Cooling, who is as calm and pleasant in person as her telephone manner suggests.

Grosvenor House were using the old Patchwork Association stands and layout, though cream backing fabric for the quilts was new. Over 120 quilts were to be seen - a good display.

The show was the usual mix of 'Horizon' and Spring Challenge competitors and invited pieces. Third Horizon comprised nearly 30 quilts, including at least 4 from LQ members. The winner was Nikki Tinkler, with an elegant Japanese hand-dyed piece in blue and white. Other awards were taken by an unusual black/red/white applique quilt from Japan (Hana, by Yoshiko Katagiri), Peacock Feathers - literally with the feathers laid on top - by Sue Rowley, Quilters' Guild London region treasurer, and a lovely batik/bleached fabric log cabin quilt from Dorothy Stapleton, such as we saw at LQ recently. The quality of entries was high, I thought.

The special shows included a luscious display of African-themed quilts selected by June Barnes and Maggie Relph - beautiful colours for a dull day - and fine workmanship for us to admire, from a number of well-known quilters inspired over the years by Africa.

There was also a selection of Australian quilts commemorating women pioneers - a mixed display, I felt - plus a small group of intriguing but lovely hangings from Sind in Pakistan, lent by John Gillow, which would have benefited from some relevant information (as it was, they hung all crooked, but beautifully embroidered, looking rather forlornly out of place - probably made to be draped).

There were also wholecloth quilts by Sylvia Critcher and her students, and the small quilts of the Hoffman challenge and Spring Fair challenge to view, some very nice indeed. Plus an excellent selection of traders and demonstrators, all of whom seemed busy and pleased at atttendance levels. So far, so good for us quilt fans.

The quilting directory is a very interesting source of information about quilting activities, teachers, etc., and has had a major overhaul recently. Check it out at:

The quilts were beautifully displayed against off-white boards, and excellently lit, a welcome change from so many other shows which haven't got the budgets and the sponsorship to provide that kind of facilities. They were a pleasure to see, in spite of the crowds that thronged the place at most times. A great favourite of mine was the display of Antique Amish Quilts from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. They were very large square quilts, made for beds, absolutely stunning in their colouring and shapes, and dating from different times of the twentieth century, some quite early ones.

The International Quilt Association, who organizes both Quilt Expo and the Quilt Festival at Houston, Texas, set up several stunning exhibits: a selection from The 20th Century 100 Best American Quilts; and another of prize-winning quilts from their 1998 and 1999 Houston shows. Many were familiar as I had seen them in books, but nothing replaces the feel of the real thing - even if you could not touch them - the textures and relief of the quilting makes for an added dimension. There were fantastic quilts by Caryl Bryer Fallert, Miriam Nathan Roberts, and many others. I specially admired a rather small one called "Paint Box" by Barbara Ann Woodruff, and "In Praise of Poppies", by Emilie Belak, with extraordinary three-dimensional flowers inspired by the paintings of Georgia O'Keefe. There was a small section showing works on Tactile Architecture, including a quilt by London Quilters' member and now editor of Popular Patchwork magazine, Marion Haslam.

Husqvarna Viking Sewing Machines organised a competition called Keeping the World Sewing. All the quilts had to be the same size, 51" square, and the quality of the entries was absolutely excellent. Quilts by two members of London Quilters, Christine Restall's "Grayton Beach 1 - Evening" and my own "Spheres of Influence" were hanging there with all the others, a great pleasure and honour for us. The winning quilt, "La Terre, la Plus Belle pour Aller Danser" by Ina Georgeta Statescu, was made in silver and gold fabrics and threads, with amazing textured embroidery. A full colour catalogue of this exhibit is available.

France Patchwork, the national Guild of France, organised a French Fabrics Challenge: Les Toiles de Mayenne, which is a range of upholstery fabrics from a particular region of France. The result was a series of relatively small quilts, the fabrics been used in many different ways: from a quilt made all in plain, earth-coloured Mayenne fabrics, to another one using their brighter coloured prints, to a completely transparent quilt holding tiny bits of the heavier upholstery fabrics, held in-between layers of white organza.

The European quilts were often smaller, with a more quilt-art inclination. Bernina Sewing Machines sponsored The Best of Europe, a sampling of prize-winning quilts from European countries. Again, although I have seen many of them in photographs, there is nothing like seeing them in the flesh - works by German artists like Heide Stoll-Weber and Dorle Stern Straeter - the former really glow, the latter almost seem to move within the frame. French quilter Anne Woringer had several works in her signature style of applied shapes in hand-dyed antique linen - including "Merlin's Maze" and "Ecrits: la M£moire Collective".

American and European quilts were represented in another couple of exhibits, shown at another building, the Pavillion Josephine in the middle of the beautiful gardens of the Orangerie: Quilt Art: Europe at the Millenium and its companion Art Quilts: America at the Millenium. Britain was well represented by Mary Fogg's spectacular "Remembering Venice", and quilts by Annette Claxton, Janet Twin and Susan Hagley. I loved Ursula Rauch's four blue panels with mola-style shapes entitled "Living Water", and Soizik Labbens's "Intermezzo", made with intricately patterned French upholstery fabrics.

They were also exhibits outside Strasbourg itself. An afternoon excursion took me to St. Marie-aux-Mines, a beautiful old town at the foot of the mountains, where the French Artifil group had hung their quilts inside a quaint old church. You had to climb over the pews or up the stairs to the pulpit to see some of them! But it was very worth while: the originality and creativity shown by those quilts was amazing. Again, a full colour catalogue of the exhibit is available.

And last but not least, ten minutes away from the main building, in the Palais des Expositions, there was a retrospective exhibition of 45 quilts by Nancy Crow - absolutely fantastic. This exhibition, and her two evening lectures, where the audience eagerly hung to every one of Nancy's inspiring words, were worth the trip just by themselves.

I came back so inspired that I seem to be on a permanent high, and so full of ideas that I've got enough to keep me going for a few years!

Leann Allen writes:

Our name refers to our location in Utah, and has been in existence about 11 years. I'm one of the oldest members. Most of our ladies work full time. We meet twice a month. Our business meetings are the fourth Thursday of each month, and we have a work meeting the second Thursday of each month. In January we started work on a mystery quilt, something our group really enjoys doing. We usually have a block of the month project, a service project each year to help us stay non-profit, and we have several round robin groups going on. I think our state Guild is planning a website and when they get it up and running, I will send the address on. Our Newsletter is sent out on e-mail for those of us who are online.

The Utah Quilt Guild was formed in 1977 to encourage, promote and preserve the art of quiltmaking in Utah by developing and appreciation of fine quilts; sponsoring and supporting quilting activites; teaching about quiltmaking techniques and knowledge of the history of quilting and quiltmakers. An Annual Meeting is held each Autumn, and other meetings shows, and workshops are held throught the year. The Guild publishes the Beeline Newsletter where local groups are listed.

The deadlines for sending material for the next Newsletters are 3rd. July and 3rd. October. Your contribution need not be very long, unless you want it to be. Give it, e-mail it, or post it to Alicia Merrett, Newsletter Editor.