July 2023 Meeting Recap: Nicholas Ball & Inspiring Improv

August 6, 2023

On a sunny summer day we enjoyed a presentation from Welsh quilter Nicholas Ball on Inspring Improv. Nicholas shared his wonderful quilts with us, from his 2014 vegetable quilt (leeks, cabbage, carrots, oh my!) to his newest butterfly quilt. He imparted that inspiration is in the simple shapes around us. Throughout the hour and half he delighted us with his use of color and line and even told the story of his tree ring quilt and the disaster that turned into a design element. Our guild still had plenty of questions for him afterward!

photo of a white man with beard and glasses against a colorful quilt with the words nicholas ball: inspiring improv

Before we dove in with Nicholas there was the usual guild business. Charity Quilt Blocks for the quilt Jane Shapiro is spearheading are due at the August 20th meeting. Bust out those scraps and get ’em finished! Sarah Evans and Sarah Shulman are taking on the coordination of Community Outreach Quilt for QuiltCon 2024. Sew-ins are taking place all over the city, fabric has been prepped and blocks are due August 20th as well. Diane has been busy organizing the Take the Shirt of Our Back Challenge and has submitted a proposal to a venue. Quilts are due in January 2024 and will be accepted in advance. If you have any shirts you’re not using, bring them to the August 20th meeting. 

Don’t forget to bookmark our new website, it’s at the same URL but has a whole new look. And you can even subscribe to the events page so you never miss a meeting or an amazing speaker. Speaking of which (see what I did there?), we are welcoming Sujata Shah September 16th and 17th for a workshop and lecture. Get your spot in the workshop quick — it is half full already!

We look forward to seeing everyone at our August 20th meeting in-person at Rush Hospital in Oak Park. The theme is Stash Management and I am looking forward to Show and Tell in-person. 

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Photo: Triangles quilt by Erika Mulvenna