IN APPRECIATION Blue bar Quilts October 2022

 IN APPRECIATION

Memory Cloth Circle

October 1 – 30  2022

We are sharing our memories of appreciation, gratitude, caring and love.  There’s so much good in our lives and the world.  What you pay attention to, strengthens.  These artworks and stories will remind you of those who matter to you, those who made your life better.  

Let’s say thank you more and as Ann’s car says “Be Kind.”

 

The Memory Cloth Circle began at Lakeside Coffee House in 2013. Each week people gathered to tell stories and embroider memories. The group was inspired by Amazwi Abesifazane, Voices of Women, in South Africa. Those courageous women began making Memory Cloths to tell their stories of Apartheid; they asked us to share their healing process in the U.S. We honor them in our work choosing our own stories and messages.

The Circle participants, buoyed by the group’s energy and creativity continue to meet weekly. Today the Memory Cloth Circle brings together 20+ professional and non-professional women artists from various backgrounds. All enjoy sharing ideas, resources and stories in stitches using vintage and repurposed fabrics through embroidery, applique, collage, knitting, crochet, and mixed media. 

 

Since the pandemic we have met in-person biweekly alternating with zoom.

We we are delighted that this has allowed participation to include members in Oregon, Texas, and Tanzania. 

 

Facebook MemoryClothsCircle

http://makingmemorycloths.blogspot.com

 

Amazwi Abesifazane [Voices of Women] 

http://www.amazwi-voicesofwomen.com/archives

 

Joyce Carey BLUE TAIL FLY

 Joyce Carey

BLUE TAIL FLY

My husband was a fiddler. 

He gave me an appreciation for American folk music. 

That, together with my love of all things “bug” is the inspiration

 for the Blue Tail Fly.

Laurie Friedman SYLVIA

Laurie Friedman

SYLVIA 

Materials: Embellished pre-printed cotton panel with

 

added pieced and embroidered cotton border.

This piece is in appreciation of my maternal grandmother, 

Sylvia Pauli. Though she had an unimaginably difficult 

childhood, she grew into a sweet and loving adult beloved 

by many. By example, she taught me the importance of 

simplicity and humility. She loved gardening and sharing 

the bounty of her garden, both fresh and preserved. 

 

 

Leslee Nelson INSPIRING WOMEN – AUNT MAE

 Leslee Nelson

INSPIRING WOMEN – AUNT MAE

Materials: Vintage hanky, embroidery floss

 

Starting when I was 10 I got to visit my Aunt Mae in Racine 

for a week each summer.  We would bake cookies and 

she taught me to sew with her treadle sewing machine. 

There was a huge section of Lilies of the Valley next to 

her house. She crocheted tiny high heels with variegated 

thread in a lace pattern. She wore colorful fake pearl 

necklaces with matching earrings for dress up.

Suzy Roth "STITCHERHOOD"

 

Suzy Roth

"STITCHERHOOD"

Materials: Hand dyed threads by Leslee Nelson

Sharpie dyed fabric

14"x 21"

 

My piece celebrates the creative exuberance that 

flows from the Memory Cloth Circle.

Ann Engelman I AM AUNT MARION

Ann Engelman

I AM AUNT MARION

 

Materials: Embroidery on a vintage handkerchief

Many summers were spent on a farm in central Wisconsin 

with Aunt Marion. Adventures were everywhere and included

 a fishing shanty - always my playhouse for the summer and

usually full of motherless kittens to be fed. 

Aunt Marion was the example of kindness, generosity, 

creativity, ingenuity, thrift and the expectation to have a

 curious and industrious nature.

 

Ann Engelman FREIDA

Ann Engelman

FREIDA 

Materials: Embroidery on a vintage handkerchief

Growing up in a small town I did not have a very wide or 

confident view of the world.

As a student at UW-Madison 

I took a class with Professor Freida High. 

She was an example of what I wanted to be 

as a woman. 

I was a mediocre student but aced her class proving 

I could succeed. This was not an insignificant realization. 

 

Claire DeChristina THREE PINES UNDER THE HOWLING WOLF MOON

Claire DeChristina

THREE PINES UNDER THE HOWLING WOLF MOON

Materials: Home color-washed 18-count mono canvas stitched with silk, nylon, and rayon-blend fibers 

 

I have always loved the moon and the way trees appear 

in the moonlight.  I appreciate that she (the moon) 

is always  with us, even though we sometimes 

can't see her, and look for her at night

 and in the morning wherever I am.

This piece is an adaptation of a project developed by Debra 

Steaffens for the Madison Area Embroiderers' Guild.

 

Donna Sereda-DeNovo BLACKPOLL WARBLER

Donna Sereda-DeNovo

BLACKPOLL WARBLER

Materials: Hand dyed and commercial cotton fabrics; 

cotton thread; polyester felt

 

I appreciate teachers.  

British artist Mandy Patullo taught how to make 

this bird using fabric collage and stitch 

in an online workshop.  

I am grateful.

 

Nancy Parsons On the Road to Port Edwards. . . A Memory of Terry Lichtenfelt

 Nancy Parsons

On the Road to Port Edwards. . . A Memory of Terry Lichtenfelt

I first got to really know Terry when she rode with Madge Klais, Marilee Wertlake and I to the August 2017 Memory Cloth Circle show in Fort Edwards, WI.  We actually did get to a place where the only man-made things in sight were the road and our car.  Everything else was pine trees.  No wonder she couldn't figure out her GPS!

The base of this piece are quilting cottons with a road of knit poly-cotton.  The appliques are mixed poly and cotton fabrics (the trees are recycled pant hem trimmings).  Since I don’t remember what Madge’s car looked like, I used the rear of a neighbor’s Mini Cooper as a model.  The piece is embroidered with cotton floss, 12 wt Sulky cotton petites, and metallic thread.

Marge Engelman PORCUPINES HAVE PRICKLY QUILLS

Marge Engelman

PORCUPINES HAVE PRICKLY QUILLS

Materials: Cotton fabric, handspun yarn, Embroidery floss, 

fur, quills

Since childhood I have loved nursery rhymes of all sorts. 

As get older and am stitching textile collages with embroidery,

 nursery rhymes have inspired me all over again.

 

Karin Hanson A GENUINE LADY

Karin Hanson

A GENUINE LADY

Materials: Vintage dresser scarf and handkerchief, purchased 

fabric, thread, curtain ring, safety pin

My Great-Aunt Mary was a forthrightful person and always 

true to her word.

She served others with dignity as a waitress. 

When she rode the bus to work she wore the 

engagement ring she bought herself 

to "keep potential suitors away."

Her true...secret love...was Walter, whom she cherished, 

but never married.

I thank her for modeling honesty, hard work, and greatest of

 all, confident independence.

 

Sherri Shokler GENERATIONS

 

Sherri Shokler

GENERATIONS

Materials: My great-grandmother’s hankie, pieced quilt circle, vintage buttons and modern quilting fabrics.

 

My mother is in the center of this piece, surrounded by her 

mother Beulah; her grandmothers Louella and Anna; and her

 great-grandmother Leah. I was fortunate to grow up in this

 extended family of strong women.

Sherri Shokler FAMILY AND FRIENDS

Sherri Shokler

FAMILY AND FRIENDS

Materials: Found patchwork, printed family photos, linen, embroidery floss. Machine and hand stitching.

 

Made in tribute to my maternal great-grandmother, 

Anna Jones. 

 

Kris Dohm SEA STORM

Kris Dohm

SEA STORM

Materials:  Hand dyed and commercial cotton, linen, gauze and tulle.  Hand embroidered.

17w x 14h

 

I was imagining the delight of sea creatures playing in the 

chaos of wind and waves.

 

Ann Engelman THANKING FANNY

 

Ann Engelman

THANKING FANNY 

Materials: Embroidery on a vintage handkerchief

Frances “Fanny” Jones Highsmith supported our community 

with her time and her philanthropy.

She believed in the Friends of Lorine Niedecker, a group 

supporting this Wisconsin poet.

When Fanny died, my initial thought was, “How can I ever

thank her enough?”

In every stitch on this hankie “Thanking Fanny” was my

mantra.

Nancy E. Schmitt CLAN DANCE

Nancy E. Schmitt

CLAN DANCE

Materials: Cotton Fabric

In appreciation of, with gratitude for and inspired by the story-

telling art of the Indigenous Cultures of the Pacific Northwest

 of North America, most notably the Tlingit and Haida

Tribes.  Most often seen as wood carving, (such as Totem

 Poles), this art also appears as painting on canvas or drums

 as well as pieced quilts.  The symbols tell stories representing

 events, clan membership, kinship and family crests, similar to

 our Memory Cloths.

 

 

Peg Michel BASKET OF MEMORIES

 

Peg Michel

BASKET OF MEMORIES

Materials: Vintage crocheted bag and other crocheted, tatted and sewn items made by family members.

 

While I learned to sew garments from Mrs. Tull in junior high, 

I learned to love doing handwork much earlier from my 

grandmother. Among other things, she taught me to make 

shade pulls and sachets, like the ones on this basket. I have

 also been inspired by works of my mother, great-

grandmother, great aunts, and mother-in-law. Many of their 

finished and unfinished projects are in my closet as well as on

 this basket. 

 

 

Pamela Phillips Olson

MISSING

Linda Check many BIRDS

Linda Check

Linda Check

BIRD PROFILE COLLAGE

Materials: Cotton fabric backing; DMC thread on perforated 

paper; Glass, stone and metal beads and medallion; Ribbon

Linda Check

CHICKADEE

Materials: Vintage linen; Cotton fabric backing: 

Glass beads; Ribbon

Who cannot be appreciative of a cheerful chickadee?

 Such an energetic delight to have as company in the 

backyard at all times of the year.

 

Linda Check

BLUEBIRD

Materials:  Vintage linen; Cotton fabric backing: Hand dyed 

threads; Glass beads

This was completed during the pandemic of 2020 using 

materials at hand. In addition to being appreciative of the 

beauty of bluebirds, I was also happy to have a creative outlet 

during the time we spent at home. 

Linda Check

THANKS TO ALL BIRDS

Materials: Vintage linen

This quote is inspired by an Onandaga daily thanksgiving to the natural world.