Sewing machine
Thread
Scissors
Sharp seam ripper
Some 1 1/2² Straight pins
5-6 pieces of fabric that are 12² x 12² or are all the same size.  Fat quarters are fine. Fabrics that work best are hand dyed or batiks because both sides of the fabric are colored and will be seen. Any fabric that doesn¹t fray easily will work. Fabrics that have a variety of colors and values will yield the most depth in the final piece.

Bronwen led the group in the first meeting of the year. 3 guests, one a former member, joined us.  Debbie Wambaugh introduced Tina, a feature writer from the Santa Cruz Sentinel whose full-page articles on art & craft have impressed Debbie. New member Loretta Gilmartin will join us at our retreat in 2 weeks.
 
Announcements 

• Send annual membership dues for 2008 to Julie Stiller, treasurer.
• Virginia Schnalle offered for sale a wooden sewing desk with an electric lift.
• Terri Thayer showed us a copy of her just published book, the mystery titled, Wild Goose Chase.  For more information including info on the upcoming book signing go to www.territhayer.com
• Contact Nancy Riffle if you left a 6” pair of steel scissors with blue handles at the Embellishment workshop at the Nov. meeting.
• Donna mentioned that SCRAP in San Francisco is a nonprofit for artists at which fabric is available inexpensively.  Also check out www.stitchlounge.com in SF 
  

Topic:  January Retreat
Spaces remain available for the January retreat at the Best Western Capitola located at 1435 41st Ave.  Note address as there are two Best Westerns in that area. Dolores reviewed the relaxed format for the retreat. Members are invited to bring their own projects to work on.  In addition, please bring an idea, technique, innovation, sample, etc. to share with the group.The hotel will provide work tables and continental breakfast.  Again please note, access to the hotel’s conference room begins 9 am Sat. and continues to 5 pm Sunday.  Bronwen plans to check in on Friday and raised the possibility of a group dinner if you are in town Fri. eve. The group embraced Maureen’s suggestion that we set up a FREE/TRADE area of the conference room where we can bring surplus fabric, books, tools, etc. to trade or relinquish to others.To summarize retreat:
         Bring a project to work on and required tools & supplies.
         Please bring an idea, technique, tool, etc. to share with the group.
         Optional- Bring fabric, tools, books, etc. to swap or to give away.

You must make your own reservation directly with the hotel even though a block of rooms are reserved for our group.

Topic: Flyer/Ad publicizing our group
Bronwen and Trudi made some progress on a flyer to distribute at quilt shows, retail shops, etc.  Bronwen put the text with fiber art images on a postcard and passed around samples. She’d like help on making such a card which would include group members’ work. Vista Print offers 1,000 copies of a postcard for the cost of 500.  Bronwen is considering whether the format should be 4 x 6 or the larger 5 x 7” format.  The former is less costly but the latter might attract more attention and better display members’ work.
In a related discussion, a couple of members thought Craig’s List is an effective network, cost free, and that we might yield more members by posting a notice there.  Jaye may have done that in the past.  Jaye?
Resolution: Bronwen and Trudi will continue to work on this. Please contact them if you can offer expertise in preparing this flyer.
 
Topic: Speaker/Workshop
Dolores notes that Esterita Austin plans to be at Asilomar in March and at Cambria for a week in June. We might dovetail a workshop for our guild with her appearances elsewhere in Calif. Apparently, the Santa Clara Valley Quilt Guild is sponsoring a number of speakers this year that might be of interest to this group including Barbara Olson (Jan) and Robbi Joy Eklow in March. In the past, we’ve cosponsored speakers with this guild. That might be fruitful this year.
Resolution:  Dolores plans to contact Esterita Austin about possibly doing a workshop for us when she comes to Calif.
 
Topic: March Meeting
Members asked for demonstrations using unusual materials in fiber art construction.  We are looking for volunteers to show some examples, demonstrations of working with tools like heat guns and materials  like lutradur and tyvek.
Resolution:  Volunteers please contact the steering committee if you can share such expertise.
 
Show and Tell lived up to its past glory as members shared a broad range of causes, techniques and finished projects. Even Debbie Wambaugh’s son completed a full bed quilt in a class at school. Additionally, we heard about a school for young women in Thailand that needs materials like yarn and fabric as well as machinery like sewing machines. The group showed enthusiasm for helping out with such a project. We will consider more specific details at the next meeting.  Maureen used a video by Kerr Grabowski to experiment with Deconstructed Screen Printing. She shared lots of varied samples. Prior to lunch Debbie Wambaugh did a demonstration of her Blooming Chenille technique, one she has been perfecting since 1984 or so. Following lunch, she led the group members through the steps to create their own blooms. Many thanks to Debbie for great preparation and execution.