Events for July 2014

Ninth biennial Japanese quilt exhibit. Guest Curator, Miwako Kimura, states, “Quiltmaking is converting our wishes into tangible form through the use of our hands. It starts with pouring our wish and mind in the quilt for someone we care, for our own dreams, or for serving our society. We have learned the countless patterns and techniques for quilt making from your country, and at the same time, we are thrilled to practice the ‘heartfelt gift in every stitch’ tradition of quilt making.”

For nearly forty-five years, Junko Maeda has been working with natural Japanese fiber textiles such as silk, linen and cotton. They are used not only in quilts but in piece works, clothing, Sashiko works, etc. For the past several years, she has been inspired by handicraft called “Pojagi.” Pojagi is Korean women’s traditional patchwork handed down from mother to daughter in the family. Junko has interpreted the construction, color and the beauty of Pojagi to her own style, creating new art works.
 

On the first floor this quarter, we feature selections from our permanent collection, quilts and comforters pieced by Josie Teeter Schlotterback (1882-1974). Josie, a professional seamstress, left behind many wonderful examples of her work. Her legacy includes utility comforters made of suiting samples in dark colors suitable for everyday use, crazy quilts, and colorful cotton quilts. However, Josie also left behind eighteen unfinished quilt tops, some clearly intended for utility use but others with intricate piecing and tiny bits of cloth sewn into vibrant works of art.
 
The La Conner Quilt & Textile Museum has undertaken a project to finish twelve of these quilt tops. The project includes adding batting and backing to the unfinished top and then either finishing the piece by hand tying or hand quilting. The Schlotterback project is funded in part by the Quilter’s Guild of Dallas, Helena Hibbs Endowment Fund. The exhibit also includes Josie’s sewing trunk and sewing aids, including quilt blocks, patterns and other memorabilia.
 

Butterfly-shaped Cherry Blossom. Students learn to piece vintage kimono fabric pieces, create a family crest of cherry blossom petals, using appliqué and embroidery. Learn about family crests. Workshop Cost includes a required kit. The kit includes vintage kimono fabric, embroidery thread, batting. Kit does not include frame/mat. La Conner Quilt & Textile Museum members receive a discount on Workshops.

This is your opportunity to meet the featured Japanese quiltmakers. Much of the work is hand pieced or hand applique using vintage kimono silks and finished with hand quilting. These two events are open to members and non-members. Tickets are available for the Tour & Reception or for the Reception only. Cost for nonmembers:  $30 for Tour & Reception; $20 for Reception Only. La Conner Quilt & Textile Members are free. Tour starts at 3pm with Reception beginning at 4pm. Reservations required.
 

Students learn advanced and various Sashiko techniques on natural indigo dyed fabric to make either a pillow cover or a table runner. There will be a display of various items showing different techniques and patterns. Workshop Cost includes a required kit.  The kit includes indigo dyes fabric, Sashiko needles, threads, patterns. La Conner Quilt & Textile Museum members receive a discount on Workshops.

Students learn brush writing on “washi” paper, blending it on a small sized quilt and placing it on a piece of silk obi fabric to make a hanging scroll. Workshop Cost includes a required kit. The kit includes fabric for a quilt, a calligraphy pen, washi paper, background obi fabric, and parts for the scroll, rainbow colored silk thread, needle. La Conner Quilt & Textile Museum members receive a discount on Workshops.

Join us for our 3rd annual Reds, Whites and Blues Weekend!
Enjoy specials on our favorite BBQ and picnic Reds and Whites, the blues will be provided by Nick Vigarino on the 4th and Mia Vermillion on the 5th.
Enjoy the view from our deck across the channel, you may spy some fireworks...

Bring your well-behaved dog(s) (or any well-behaved pet) decorated in their patriotic colors! Anyone who participates with us gets a free 4th of July bandana and Thank You card along with one free pet visit or  1/2 hr. of dog walking. 
Remember: it may be hot so bring a water bottle for your pet(s) and poo-bags. Let me know ahead that you're coming by emailing busheypetsitting@gmail.com or text (360)610-3963. See you there towards the back of the parade!
 

Blues Guitar and Vocals

Join us for our monthly education series, wine and appetizers will be served afterwards.

This course will be based on acquiring a thorough knowledge of your sewing machine with an imaginative approach to the creation of contemporary, innovative, samples. A basic machine that will do zigzag stitches is required. If your machine has greater capabilities and is equipped with computerized memory, etc., it also will be just fine for this course. The course will be focusing on the large variety of effects that can be achieved through imagination, rather than through the mechanical capabilities of machines. Following are some of the skills you will learn: ?? Painting of fabrics for embroidery ?? Sampling and experimentation with automatic stitches, zigzag stitches and free machine embroidery ?? Appliqué techniques, using straight forward onlay, cutback appliqué using two layers of fabric with automatic and free machine stitching ?? Creation of transparent effects by layering, fusing, appliqué (bonding) ?? Quilting techniques using both automatic and free machine stitches ?? Machine lace ?? Comprehensive notes with color photos will be provided to all enrolled students of the Gail Harker Center for Creative Arts ?? You will create a collection of work showing a variety of inspirational stitch samples and classroom notes which will provide a source of inspiration from which to work for years to come.

Shakespeare Northwest presents the 2014 Skagit River Shakespeare Festival. All performances of "Macbeth" and "Much Ado About Nothing" take place at our beautiful outdoor theatre. Bring a picnic, a comfortable chair, and a light blanket, and enjoy Shakespeare under the stars, the way it was meant to be seen.

Nip it in the bud!  Doing just the right pruning when a tree is young can prevent the need for costly, difficult pruning or structural failures when the tree is mature.  In this lecture and demonstration, Certified Arborist, Christian Pfeiffer will show you the simple steps for training young trees for future structure and beauty,  and how to make the right cuts for the best results. 
 

Create more vertical space and edges that create microclimates and diverse growing space that is artistic and easy to harvest. Join Certified Permaculture Designer Nancy Chase, owner of Shambala Farm on Camano Island, to learn the wonderful ways you can put your trimmings, pruning, weeding and combined organic materials to work in unique ways to create beds that are self-watering and fertilizing. Plus learn composting techniques that can be designed to rotate, sift and make layout ready garden beds simultaneously!
 

We will be pouring tastes and glasses of wines from Barrage Cellars from 1 to 6 PM. Come by and pick up a bottle or two for your cellar!

Fresh from her triumphant tour, Lee Lindsey returns to where is started!

The museum has recently been gifted with a rare treasure; an 1898 Franklin Motorcycle!
Built by Franklin Iron Works of Mount Vernon, this is believed to be one of the first motorcycles ever built.

Swinomish Cash Storm Game Show! Join us at the main stage where contestant(s) have the chance to win up to $2,500!

Join us for Live Music in the 13moons Lounge with Lane Fernando!

JAZZ WITH R&B STYLINGS

Local landscape designer and garden artist Kathy Hirdler of Floribunda Designs returns to Christianson’s to share her knowledge of making hypertufa containers and garden art. Make a hypertufa trough to take home for planting with alpine plants or sedums, while learning about hypertufa and other cement-based materials. Planters, water basins, stepping stones, leaves and sculptural pieces can be made using the techniques Kathy presents. All materials and supplies are provided. Bring gardening gloves and wear old clothes or a sturdy apron and bring a trowel. Space is limited; sign up early!
 

Skagit Artists Together invites you to their 11th Annual Studio Tour.  Studios will be open throughout Skagit County July 19-20, 10-6.  Download the map and brochure at www.skagitart.com

We will be hosting a Thurston Wolfe Winery Wine Tasting. Come for a taste, a glass, and some bottles for your wine cellar!

Come join the Party! Enjoy tastings of beer, wine and spirits as well as food from area vendors. Live Music, food and Fun..
A fundraiser to support the Museum's Programs.

The Skagit Valley is noted for some of the best farmland in the world. ?Celebrate Skagit ~ Dinner on the Farm? offers guests an elegant dining experience in a unique agricultural setting. Each dinner showcases and celebrates the bounty of food and produce grown in and around the Skagit Valley. A renowned local chef will prepare fresh local ingredients for this one-of-a-kind, field-to-plate, elegant dining experience for 50 guests in a rustic setting. Your evening will begin with appetizers and a tour of the host farm. Then, an incredible four-course dinner paired with Washington Wines will be served at a beautiful tablescape. The experience is unparalleled and will leave you with a supreme appreciation of the bounty that is produced in one of the last fully functioning agricultural valleys in the Puget Sound.

The July cruise will feature Barrister Winery, with owner/winemakers onboard pouring their special wines on Saturday, July 19th.  This cruise is also the Dungeness Crab Feed, which also includes several side dishes and dessert.  The voyage will take us northbound to the mystical Mermaid Rocks and the Cone Islands, venturing on to Toehead Pass and Obstruction Pass off of Orcas Island, continuing onward to Thatcher Pass, Lopez Spit, Decatur Island and Lopez Pass, and the Marine Sanctuary off of Bird Rocks - then homeward bound. This is a fantastic scenic cruise abundant with eagles, seals, and spectacular scenery.  A chartered bus will pick you up at Hellams Vineyard in La Conner at 5 p.m. (please check in to the shop no later than 4:15 p.m.) We'll then head over to the Mystic Sea, a 100' boat based out of Anacortes at Cap Sante Marina, board and depart at 6 p.m. The boat will return to dock at 9 p.m., and you'll then be chartered back to La Conner.  Cost is $140 per person; $130 for club members (+ tax).  RSVP is required by calling the shop at 360.466.1758.  There is a 10-day, non-refundable cancellation policy in effect for this trip.

Join us at the main stage for Lucky Joker Poker Game Show where contestant(s) have the chance to win up to $2,500!

Singer / Songwriter Guitarist Contemporary Folk Rock MUSIC FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY

Clemaniac, Laura Watson, will demystify the care and pruning of clematis.  Learn how to choose a clematis, how to plant it, what the three clematis pruning groups are, which clematis are the easiest to grow, and which do well in small gardens and containers.  Laura will also recommend good companion plants for clematis (including other interesting vines), discuss kinds of structures clematis like, and tell us how to coax clematis to grow into trees and shrubs. 
 

Songs from the Greats...Merle Haggard, George Jones, Hank Snow, Conway Twitty, and lots more!

Main Stage Music with 'Today's Hits' band, the Gold Digger!

Join us for a weekend of Polo as we celebrate the 9th annual Governor's Cup at the George Dill Farm in La Conner. Grab your prettiest hat, your picnic basket, a bottle of wine and you most comfortable chair and come tailgate for the Silver Cup Trophy. Luxury cabanas are available for both Saturday and Sunday.
Northwest Mustang Car Club with over 100 vintage automobiles will be here.
Formal cocktails and dinner in the hay mow will feature fresh Puget Sound crab, locally grown and organic greens, pasta, and artisan bread & cheese.
Seating in the host tent is available and will provide you protection from the summer sun.
Soft drinks, water and snacks are also available for purchase.
Proceeds benefit the La Conner Regional Library Building Fund!

Be it perfection of bloom that you seek, or just the glorious profusion of color in the garden, John and Kathy Willson can show you how to grow, tend and harvest dahlias successfully.  Special emphasis will be given to watering and fertilizing dahlias without the need for special tools, harmful chemicals or excessive commitment of time or energy.

Volunteer, donate, or just eat! The Bite of Skagit is a tasty family-friendly event that is hosted by North Coast Credit Union for the benefit of Community Action of Skagit's Food Bank Distribution Center, which works to increase the availability of farm grown foods to families that rely on Skagit County's food banks, meal programs, and other anti-hunger initiatives. This year, the Skagit Food Bank Distribution Center was also on the frontline coordinating truckloads of food to Darrington, WA after the mudslide in Oso. Come show your support, sample the best tastes Skagit has to offer, and have fun with your friends and family!

Eradicating weeds may be impossible, but you can find a new way of dealing with them in Ani Gurnee’s insightful look at how weeds work and what you can do to minimize their aggravation. Learn how to devise a weed-management strategy for different garden situations including how to know what your weed tolerance threshold is and pick your battles.
 

Fights start at 7pm, doors open at 6pm. Tickets available now, prices are as follows: $35/$45/$55/$65/$75. tickets available online at SwinomishCasinoandLodge.com, or by calling 888-288-8883 or at the lodge front desk.

Brazilian and American Jazz Guitar

Learn hands-on basics of creating a beautiful bonsai from expert, Tori Lenze. Students will learn how to design and transplant a tree and how to use different tools for shaping. Class fee includes all materials including bonsai pot, plant, soil and screening. Students bring small pruners, scissors and gloves. Additional tools and supplies available for purchase.
 

Skagit County Historical Museum and the Historic Lincoln Theatre are pleased to present Mount Vernon’s own Cheryl Bentyne in concert.  July 29th at the Lincoln Theatre.  VIP reception will begin at 3:30, with the concert following at 5:30.  Tickets are $50 for the reception and reserved seating for the concert, $20 for the concert only.  Concert sponsored by City of Mount Vernon and Skagit Publishing.
 

La Conner Retirement Inn will open it's door and welcome their business neighbors for networking!