Pens and Needles

One of the groups I belong to is MIX, art quilters who inspire and encourage each other on our individual paths. This often requires that we drink a lot of coffee. We have an annual exhibit (Next spring will be our 10th Annual show!) held at the First United Methodist Church in downtown Portland, OR, that is up for about a month. We sometimes start by reading a book, but may also choose a more general theme unrelated to a particular book. At our meeting yesterday we decided to use Anthony Doerr’s book of stories, Memory Wall, as our book for the 2012 show. It may be the book, one story, a line or a single word that starts the visual imagery churning, but we end up with an amazingly varied collection of pieces. Each year the UMW  prepare a themed luncheon in line with the quilts we’re exhibiting, and sell tickets for the luncheon on opening day. It is always a sell-out and is a terrific fundraiser for their mission work, as well as a delightful day of quilt talks and viewing for us.