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Ann Arbor quilters donate 347 quilts to Safehouse in 2015

GAAQG members stack 89 quilts donated at Nov. 21 meeting from a 2015 total
 of 347 handmade quilts donated to Safehouse Center in Ann Arbor.
Safehouse quilts
When victims of domestic violence arrive at Safehouse Center in Ann Arbor, a handmade quilt covers each bed; and when they depart, their quilt goes with them.

 Yesterday at the Nov. 21 meeting of the Greater Ann Arbor Quilt Guild , Safehouse director Barbara Niess-May thanked guild members for the 347 quilts donated to Safehouse in 2015. Niess-May also accepted a check from the guild for $3324 in support of the work at Safehouse.

 "I am blown away by the thoughtfulness, love, and compassion that have gone into making these quilts," Niess-May said. "Your quilts are part of something bigger -- it's because of all the things we do along the way that allow people to believe things can be better. You are part of that -- your quilt is the first message we get to send that says 'We care.' I can't thank you enough."

 When fiber artist Pat Pauly of Rochester, New York took the stage to deliver her lecture on "Traditional Meets Contemporary" quilting, she first expressed her admiration for the the beauty of the guild's donated quilts. 
Fiber artist Pat Pauly at GAAQG meeting in Towsley Auditorium,
Washtenaw Community College, Ann Arbor MI Nov. 21, 2015
Fiber artist Pat Pauly
The iconoclastic Pauly delighted the audience with her lighthearted determination to follow her own artistic inclination. She also taught a "Slash and Burn" design class to several GAAQG members at the Morris Lawrence Building of Washtenaw Community College on Friday and is teaching a freezer-paper template class today, November 22, 2015. See more about Pauly's Ann Arbor trip on her blog: Pieces and Resistance. You can also see her work in the Oct/Nov 2015 issue of Quilting Arts magazine. Download the digital edition here: http://www.interweavestore.com/quilting-arts-october-november-2015-digital-edition.
Pauly's students share works-in-progress from "Slash and Burn" class held at WCC on
Friday, Nov. 20, 2015. GAAQG president Sonja Hagen on the left.
Quilts 2016 Kirtland, OH
Pauly will be the featured artist at "Quilts 2016" at Lake Metroparks Farmpark in Kirtland, Ohio. Pauly will lecture and teach several classes from March 8-12, 2016. The entire event runs February 13- March 23 includes classes by local teachers and a quilt show. Deadline for show entries is Jan. 5, 2016. Registration begins tomorrow, Nov. 23, at 8 a.m. -- registration links at http://www.lakemetroparks.com/events/quilts2016.shtml.
Kathy Schmidt's beading primer at GAAQG, Nov. 21, 2015
Beading on fabric
Before and after the guild meeting, members offer 15-minute how-to sessions in areas of interest. The November meeting featured GAAQG member Kathy Schmidt sharing basic beading techniques. Schmidt recommends Larkin Van Horn's Beading on Fabric as an excellent primer on the topic. See Schmidt's work on her weblog Quirks, Ltd.

Comments

Pat Pauly said…
The donations of quilts was stunning, to say the least. I was selfishly wanting to keep them for a week to show them all off in an exhibit, before they were given to Safehouse. These were all crafted with care, and the designs were delightful. A treat to see them before they were taken off.

And your photos of me and Kathy are excellent! I look about 20 years and 20 pounds thinner, so please travel with me as my personal photographer. So enjoyed you in class, and had a great time with your group of quilters from around Ann Arbor. Many thanks for taking care of me.

Pat
11/23/2015
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