I (Heather – you can find me at New Pieces on Monday and Thursday mornings) stopped by the final meeting of the Amazing Asian Block of the Month group last night and found a very relaxed group, in the care of Cindi Cossen. They had gathered to learn how to piece the December BOM block and also to celebrate the first completed quilt of the series.
Susan’s quilt is a stunning blend of unusual Asian fabrics, in a green/orange/plummy palette. It is machine-quilted in the Ginko pattern, by Mary Anne Gayhartt (also of New Pieces). When I arrived, Cindi was showing Susan how to miter the corners of her purple binding. It was exciting to see (nearly) finished work out of this series, and there were blocks from last month’s meeting.
There were more blocks, but my pictures didn’t do them justice. Apologies.
Once everyone had had a chance to ooh and ah, Cindi presented the new December Block.
Cindi says it’s pretty straight forward, but it doesn’t look that way to me! The striped fabric creates amazing chevron patterns and the lattice effect is really lovely.
Samples for the January, 2011 BOM block were on hand, and very tempting...
The Amazing Asian BOM group will meet for an hour on the second Wednesday evening of each month in 2011. There is a Saturday morning BOM at New Pieces as well. Either one could be a great gateway to quilting classes or a minigroup for newer quilters. The time spent in “class” is minimal, but supplies some structure; you also get support from the group and from an experienced teacher. Asian BOM is taught by several different New Pieces teachers, so it is a chance to learn skills and different styles.
At least one BOM member said her ritual involves dinner out with her husband after the meeting each month. Priceless!
xxx