A Special Visit with Wanda

 What a special and joyful meeting we had this month when our close friend and former member Wanda was able to join us. Her dear family—daughter Diana, son David, and granddaughter Natalie—made it all possible and we are very grateful! We have missed Wanda so much since her stroke and we look forward to having more visits in the future as she continues to recover. We love you, Wanda!

                        Calendar

September 14 Meeting. We will be meeting at Marcella's. Drop-in social get-together will start at 11:30 A.M. to 1:30 P.M. Business meeting will start at 1:30 P.M. The enrichment for September will be presented by Sally, who will tutor us on bookmaking. You will be receiving a materials list soon, so check your email. Betts' September Challenge with be a container of your special treasures entitled "These are a few of my favorite things." 

  

September 27, (Friday) we will be gathering at Marcella's for a greeting card workday from 10 A.M. to 3 P.M. Please RSVP if you will be joining us. 

 

October 12, Annual Phoebe Anniversary Potluck. We will be meeting at Marcella's. Please bring a sweet or savory dish to share (more details will be forthcoming). If you are sewing placemats for Meals on Wheels, also bring your completed mats to this meeting. If we find out more are needed, we may resume sewing them in future months. 

August Enrichment

Our August enrichment, designed by Daisy, involved adhering fabrics and trim to three paper dolls that would represent the three Phoebe members we sadly lost over the past few years—Zanaib, Mary, and Harlene. 

Applique items could represent fabrics and items or themes dear to our lost members, such as African, Japanese, and butterflies. 

 We all brought items from our collections and Daisy supplied even more. The three dolls will be ultimately joined together as a triptych. Here are the beginnings of some of the dolls that will be displayed at next month's meeting. 

The August Challenge

Last month Betts challenged us to make tags that included a four-letter word. Donna converted the English word joy to the French Joie and used her tags to decorate the fronts of greeting cards.

And since all of her materials were strewn about, she made some more basic cards.

Caroline expressed her joy of singing.😊

Marcella made 4 cards expressing hope and another 4 with toy dolls representing play.

Suzanne R's tags featured various animals from the Oakland Zoo.

Jennifer, who loves to read (and create) books, found it easy to choose a favorite word.

Geri, one of our avid doll makers and collectors, choose "doll" for her tag word and decorated the tag with smaller versions of dolls she has made over the years.

     Also, here are doll pins Geri has created to represent dolls she has made during her many phases of doll making. 

Betts displayed a box of "a few of her favorite things" to inspire our ideas for the next challenge.

And more!She also displayed one of her favorite treasures in her lace collection...vintage Coronation Cord. 

Daisy's Little Bow Peep doll is so adorable!

Suzanne R completed another great greeting card. 

More placemats for Meals on Wheels have been completed and sewing will continue to make even more until they are due at the October meeting.  

Bonnie has been working to create more of her wonderful small decorations.

She also made a cute, embellished booklet using her collected buttons.

Sally mentioned the possibility of creating expandable booklets like the one above that contains "twinchie" graphics for inspiration. 

 _____________________________A message from Rosie!

Hurrah for the Red, White and Blue

 

The July challenge promoted by Betts was to celebrate the 4th of July. Suggestions included tales of memorable celebrations, items like the ones above, or even being decked out in those colors. Numerous photos in this post will show the challenge was a success.

                                Calendar

August 10 Meeting. We will be meeting at Marcella's. Drop-in social get-together will start at 11:30 A.M. to 1:30 P.M. Business meeting will start at 1:30 P.M. The enrichment for August will be led by Daisy. We will be using Mod Podge to adorn paper dolls with fabric, ribbon, and other embellishments. Refer to the recent newsletter and emails for materials that will be supplied and others that you might want to bring with you. Also remember to bring your August challenge which will be something made with the card and tags Betts has supplied (see photos and info in Show and Tell).

Show and Tell  

While these photos from Geri were taken before the advent of color photography, they show the joyful memories from family 4th of July celebrations.

Suzanne D displayed her happy 4th of July doll which was made from a Patti Culea pattern.

Marcella contributed a wealth of 4th of July mementos. 

Barbara is clothed in celebration colors featuring the lovely red silk fabric necklace she made.

Colorful fabrics were displayed.

As well as wonderful possible embellishments.

For the August challenge, Betts has supplied a card and some tags. Actually, there are no rules or limits in this challenge. Make something original.  For example, perhaps use 4 letters or four words, or express a special theme or a new idea by using your own choice of materials or embellishments.

The Phoebes have volunteered to make place mats for Meals on Wheels. It will be an ongoing project. In June members gathered fabrics from their stashes, cut out kits, and eagerly began assembling and sewing together the mats. 

At the July meeting a total of 44 mats had been completed and gathered to deliver. Many more will be completed over the coming months. This example was sewn by Donna.

Suzanne R has turned into an avid card maker. 

Among her favorite subjects are animals that she sees often as a docent at the Oakland Zoo.

Great job!

Betts, the Queen of button collecting, recently displayed these unusual buttons from her collection that have an interesting history. 

Betts also shared a very creative fabric sculpture she made as an homage to spirits and sayings of indigenous American tribes. This wall hanger was made with paper and fabric on quilted soft fabric. 

Donna displayed her wine bottle decoupaged by using white chalk paint, Mod Podge, 1 layer of a 3-ply printed paper napkin, and a bit of bling.

Suzanne R also displayed her beautiful bottle decoupaged with a lacy rice paper and decorated with a delicate leaf. 

Barbara is working on a new project which will have three die cut embellished panels. She said "sweet image of a vintage armoire, underpinning garment and a fancy out on the town dress! Using my vintage treasures is the best part!" 

Caroline made this lovely brown beaded necklace. 

And, here are two more photos of her very useful shoulder bags. Great for your cellphone and other necessary small items. 

She also made this very cute little pin by using a painted cork and some fibers. Clever idea!

Suzanne D held up this large quilt top she recently completed. It's not only joyfully colorful, but also a complicated design that displays her advanced quilting skills.  

Donna recently completed this watercolor which is basically a technical challenge to use her new masking fluid (blue, for easier removal) in order to paint the background first, and also practice building layers of colors from light to dark. 

Our former Phoebe (Judy who now lives in Florida) has recently completed this terrific oil painting. Our thanks go out to her for keeping in touch and sharing her amazing talent. 

Our dear Rosie shared this photo of young girls in Thailand wearing the cute dresses her sewing group has been assembling and sending around the world. A big thank you goes out to all the Phoebes who have combed their fabric stashes and contributed A LOT of lovely fabrics to the cause. 

Rosie also shared her latest alcohol ink paintings. So lovely and detailed. 

Thank you, Rosie!