Great Wednesdays

Yesterday morning found me at our church, helping Jeremy our sexton (aka "events planner) set up for our evening dinner and program, which we call "Great Wenesdays at Grace", or GWAG. Normally it is quite informal, but since we eat in the Parish Hall and that is presently the site of our Art Festival, Jeremy wanted to dress things up a bit, and I agreed to help. We were expecting 88 for dinner, and spread our ruby red table cloths, and then china and wine glasses. The serving tables were adorned with our silver candlabra and silver serving pieces. In the kitchen, Kristy, our caterer, was preparing roasted Cornish Game Hens, rice pilaf, asparagus with hollandaise sauce, poppy seed buns, roasted cauliflower, tossed salad, and homemade chocolate sauce to adorn her cheese cakes and/or coconut pound cake. As I was setting the tables, my stomach was grumbling and protesting because it wanted to begin sampling things right then and there!!!

I was in charge of the program last night, and if I do say so myself, it was a huge success. First I introduced myself and told a bit about my journey into quilting and dyeing, and then I introduced our guest speaker, Holly Anderson. I first met Holly back in 1994 when she appraised a crazy quilt that I had found in a second hand store in Seattle. At that time she was curating the Olympic Quilts exhibit at the Atlanta History Center. People from around the country were making and donating quilts that would be given to participating Olympians, as a welcome to the '96 Olympic Games held here. She has curated several other exhibits in the Atlanta area, including "Georgia Quilts: Piecing Together History (1800-1920), "Not Just Grandma's Flower Garden", and best of all, she was a consultant for Tinwood Alliance and "The Quilts of Gees Bend" when it came to the High Museum in Atlanta. Holly was certified by the American Quilters Society as a Quilt Appraiser in 1991. Many parishoners brought in old quilts that had been in their families for years or ones that they had purchased, and it was really interesting to hear Holly tell about those particular quilts: their dates, their motifs, the quilting style, etc. She was very wise not to publicly value the quilts, but I'm sure she would not have a problem doing so in a private setting. Most importantly, Holly gave advice on how to restore those quilts without ruining them, how to launder them, and how we should document them. Since I was busy helping hold quilts, I have no photos, which is a real shame.

Well, Blogger is up to his old tricks again, not allowing me to upload pictures. What's the deal here?