Ark Angels, LLC
Quilting and Fiber Arts
Quilts that were made by her great grandmother stirred Jeanne to learn more about quilting. Shortly before Jeanne retired, she signed up for a beginner quilting class, thinking that might be the one and only quilting class she would take, but she never stopped quilting. What a fun way to express your artisitic side and to take your mind off everyday worries!
No time to make a full quilt? You can always express yourself with smaller fiber arts projects.
Jeanne encourages savoring the important things in life: our heritage and our loved ones, our gardens and the decorations that make them fun, our photographs, and our quilts along with other fiber arts. How many of us have special and treasured items stored away in a cedar chest, or in the attic, or in a plastic bin? Jeanne encourages individuals to use and display these items while giving proper concern to their preservation. If this historical emphasis is too dry for your taste, Jeanne steps outside of this "historical corridor" to use computer technology and to create imaginative and cutting edge art as well.
What future heritage items will represent our period of time? That is up to each of us and what we create. Tell your story. If not for others, just tell it to yourself and remember each of those special, unique pieces of time that are given to us.
Jeanne tries to make time available to do minor repairs on quilts that have been loved a bit too much. Check with her if you have a quilt that needs some areas stabilized. The repair will be made with special care and concern and to maintain the original character of the quilt
Lectures that are available:
What Kind of Quilter Are You - the Tortoise or the Hare?
Do you carefully ponder which quilt to make and then take forever to decide on the colors to use? After that, do you debate for hours on which fabric to use? Do you pin every square inch of the two blocks that you are joining together? Does it drive you crazy to see two seams that do not match? We will explore the different types of quilters and consider why we may be one or the other. If you are unhappy with your current style, Jeanne will offer suggestions of how to speed up or slow down. This lecture is humorous and will include some of the personal examples of Jeanne that caused her to linger or speed to the finish line!
Story Quilts - What Tale to Tell and How to Tell It
Making one traditional quilt pattern after another causes some people to just say, "Enough!" Where do you go from there? Jeanne will offer ways in which to tell your own stories in quilting format. Your style will be your own - piecing, applique, paper piecing, art quilt, or a combination of styles, but learn why and how to tell your special stories. You will leave wanting to go home and start one right away. Examples will be shown.
From Grandmother's Trunk - Using Vintage Fabrics in New Ways
In addition to those quilts made by her great grandmother, Jeanne has embroidered items made by her grandmother and crocheted items made by each of them, tatted items made by her aunt, antique buttons, vintage costume jewelry, old lace, old greeting cards, notebooks recording everyday life, newspaper clippings, work related sketches made by one of the grandfathers of Jeanne... the list goes on and on. All of these items, are special, but her decorating style does not emphasize "antiques." Jeanne will discuss ways to use these items in your quilting and other fabric arts and will show examples. Do not worry if you did not inherit such things, just go to a consignment shop, flea market, garage sale or antique store and buy exactly what you would like to use or create something that looks old, but is actually new.
Additional topics will be added in 2010. History and Politics Reflected in Quilting will be available late in the summer. Jeanne also expects to offer some workshops.
Lectures are priced beginning at $150. Workshops will be priced beginning at $200 for 20 students. Mileage and overnight arrangements will be discussed with you prior to booking.
(Note from Jeanne: The photo at the top of the page is of a quilt made by my great grandmother, Hermina, that was lovingly used. The fan design is so beautiful in quilting. The quilt shown at the bottom was hand embroidered by my grandmother, Eva, and quilted by her mother, Hermina. It was never used and looks absolutely perfect. Both of these quilts were probably made some time around 1940. Remember to label your quilts or to identify them in a journal. There is no identifying information on these quilt, as is true for all the quilts that my great grandmother made.)
