In Pieces, In Stitches

Students in Jennifer McFarland’s geometry class have learned that geometry is more than just pencil and paper, proofs and angles.

The Lopez High School students learned how to apply geometry to modern quiltmaking during a project that began last January. They first designed quilt squares on paper. Then, with the help of Dawn Lease of the Enchanted Needle, they drew and printed out the pattern pieces using her computer and quilt-design software. Lease also guided them in cutting the pieces and sewing them up on her Bernina machine. She said she enjoyed volunteering on the project, especially watching the kids discover that the process is really fun. Photos of the students are indelibly printed on their squares, thanks to special fabric and an inkjet printer.

Lease joined the finished squares into a quilt that will be displayed during the Textile Celebration of the Lopez Island Historical Society, August 27 through 29 (Friday through Sunday) and September 1 through 5 (Wednesday through Sunday) at the Port Stanley Schoolhouse and the Lopez Historical Museum. The Celebration will also feature demonstrations of spinning, weaving, knitting and quilting, and exhibits of antique and contemporary quilts and clothing. Hours are noon to 4:00pm.

On September 3, Anne Dawson and Ann Bodle-Nash will be at the Schoolhouse for the “Anne and Ann Show,” noon to 4:00pm. The two friends will examine your old quilt and share their expertise about its age, style, and value. Dawson is a Quilt Restorationist, and Bodle-Nash is a Quilt Appraiser certified by the American Quilting Society. A $5 fee for each evaluation will be donated to the Lopez Island Historical Society. No appointment is needed.

Quilt Historian Karen Alexander will present a program called Threads of Legacy: Documenting the Family Quilt at Lopez Center on Thursday, September 2, 7:30pm. Also a genealogist, Alexander “inherited” her passion for quilts from her mother-in-law Wini Alexander, who was for years one of Lopez’s leading quilters.

For more information on the Textile Celebration, call the Lopez Historical Museum at 468-2049.

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