January QBTS Meeting - Part 1 - an Evening with Eileen Williams!

There was an incredible number of quilts shared at our meeting so I decided to split the pictures between two blog entries.  The first entry will feature the quilts of our guest speaker -- quilt artist Eileen Williams!!  To begin with, let me say that I was on the waiting list for her class which was filled.  I just loved her quilts without exception!!  She certainly is prolific as my friend Becky showed me pictures of many quilts that she has exhibited before.  She is a transfer coastal North Carolinian like myself.  She was born in the Philadelphia area like myself as well which was interesting.

This was a display of mini-quilts featuring her favored water and beach scenes -- may contain shells and embellishments and the class featured some of these techniques.  The ladies loved the class and I am sorry I didn't get the opportunity to take it.

The following three pictures feature some of the work done in the class.  

This was the first quilt she showed and  one that she says she did specifically for a show's theme.  That was the last time she worked outside her preferred area which is sea life and the beach.  I liked the piece although didn't care for the coasters hanging from the bottom of it!

Besides the images being just gorgeous (she loves to take pictures like I do as inspiration), her quilting truly enhances the pieces as  you can see here.

I loved this piece with the Great Egret machine embroidered in the middle!

This is the back of the previous piece showing the stitching more clearly.

This piece also has a Great Egret machine embroidered over the background.

 This piece was done in a Ruth McDowell class.  She feels the same deep appreciation of Ruth that I do -- she has always been one of my quilting idols and I am so glad I got to take a class from her before she retired.  Of course I love the subject in this quilt as well.

Another beautiful landscape.

Here is Eileen talking about the first of her two mermaid seascapes.

Another mermaid.  I suspect she didn't see any when scuba diving however!!

We all really loved this piece.  She has used all sorts of embellishments in this ode to the beauty of jelly fish.  Reminds me of one of the tanks at the Monterey  Aquarium.

Just look at the quilting in this one.  My friend Becky showed me that this was one of four in different colors, although we only saw this one.

Another lovely beach landscape -- I would assume dawn if on the East Coast.

Another beach landscape.

Featuring translucent fish whose name escapes me right now

This was developed from a picture of her son surf boarding.  

You can see more of Eileen's magnificent quilts  on her website which is:
,
Fiber Arts of Eileen Williams.

It was a great meeting with lots of show and tell which I will publish in Part 2 tomorrow!