And we’re thrilled! Once upon a time, in 1999, 14 women, who loved quilting, gathered in someone’s living room and wondered if Beaverton, Oregon could support a quilting guild.  Many of them belonged to other quilting guilds in the Portland area; but the guilds were large and the women thought a smaller guild might offer a better opportunity for camaraderie and inspiration. They also wanted to have something closer to home. After their initial meeting, they decided to move forward with a new guild.  Flyers were posted in quilt shops and word spread in the old fashioned way–by word of ..read more

Submitted by Dianne McD. Do you ever get that nagging feeling that you are near something familiar that doesn’t quite fit with your surroundings? That happened to me while we were visiting the Grand Teton National Park last month. Our sons had won a National Park lottery to hike in the backcountry of the Grand Tetons, and we got to go along as their ground support.  Our job was to retrieve Bryce from the Boise airport and Chris from the Jackson Hole airport, get them delivered to the trailhead, pick them up five days later at the other end, and deposit them to the airport ..read more

Studio Art Quilt Associates, Inc. (SAQA) is presenting an exhibit at the Multnomah Arts Center located in Multnomah Village in Portland, Oregon.  The exhibit is called “Emergence: Fiber Art from Concept to Stitch”.  The show began on January 6th and will continue through February 11th, 2023. SAQA is a non-profit organization whose mission it is to promote art quilts and a vision to see the quilts respected as a fine art medium.  Their membership extends world-wide.  You can learn more about them by clicking the button below. The Multnomah Arts Center offers both visual and ..read more

Fifteen years ago, a group of women decided to form a quilt guild on the west side of the Portland Metro area. Terry Grant was part of that group who became the Founding Mothers of Metropolitan Patchwork Society (MPS). She is a graphic artist by training and created the original enamel pin many of our members wear. In the past, Terry has spoken to the guild a couple of times and been the featured quilter at an MPS Quilt Show. She is no longer an active MPS member but continues to explore and create art in her local studio. Her art quilts are made with ..read more

Submitted by Dianne McD. Several weeks ago, Naomi M sent me this video clip from the PBS Newshour.  It’s all about Faith Ringgold and her amazing 60 years of creating art.  She is featured in a major exhibit at the New Museum in New York; and in this clip, she is being interviewed by Jeffrey Brown while surrounded by her story quilts.  While we only get short glimpses of the quilts, one can tell that they are amazing.  And Ms. Ringgold is delightful to listen to.  You can watch the 7-minute clip by clicking on the button below. Thanks, Naomi, for sharing yet another ex ..read more

Submitted by Dianne McD. In February, member Neena K sent me an article about the Gee’s Bend quilters.  Then about a month later, Linda G sent me a link to a video about the Gee’s Bend quilters.  It seems the quilters are back in the news and are finally reaping the benefits of their notoriety.  The video is a news clip from WPBS, a PBS station that serves northern New York.  The article comes from “The Verge” which is an American technology website that is operated by VOX Media. You can watch the video and read the article by clicking on the buttons below.  I ..read more

Bisa Butler is a fiber artist whose portrait quilts are astonishing.  They will draw you in and delight you with all the colors and textures of her materials.  And they will make you wonder about the story behind each piece. The Art Institute of Chicago is featuring her quilts in an exhibition called “Bisa Butler: Portraits”.  The exhibition is open now and will run through September 6, 2021. Ms. Butler and her quilts were also featured in an article in Issue 18 (Illinois) of the Quiltfolk magazine that came out around April, 2021. The link was sent to me by our Chair-elect, Lin ..read more

Special thanks to MPS member Neena K. for bringing this to our attention! If you are a fan of Carol Bryer Fallert-Gentry, then you already know that she works out of her Bryerpatch Studio, which is located in Port Townsend, WA.  But did you know that she has an exhibit in our own backyard? Carol is featured in a solo exhibit at the Latimer Quilt and Textile Center in Tillamook, Oregon.  Her show dates are May 3rd through June 27th of this year, and includes most of her recent work. General admission is $4.00 and Seniors aged 62+ pay $3.00. Carol is internationally known for ..read more

Timna Tarr, an award-winning quilter from Massachusetts, says she has a rule for every quilt!  MPS was delighted to have Timna speak to us at our Guild meeting held on February 23rd, 2021.  She came to us virtually through Zoom and treated us to a wonderful trunk show of her quilts as well as insights into how those quilts came to be.  Those MPS members and guests in attendance came away very inspired by what they had seen and learned. If you would like to see Timna’s work, you can visit her website using the button below.  She also has pre-recorded courses available throug ..read more

Submitted by Dianne McD. Way back in January of 2020, when the world was still normal, our Chair elect Linda, presented a challenge to all of us during our Guild meeting.  Our challenge was to create a quilt that was 20″ x 20″ made from 20 fabrics that were pulled from our stash in 20 minutes.  It sounded like great fun! The grand Reveal of the 2020 Challenge Quilts was set for our Guild meeting on November 24th, 2020. Little did we see then what was barreling down the tracks towards our community. Between January and the end of November, we had experienced a world-wide ..read more