VAA Community Quilt
"We're Chasing The Blues Away"
It is almost time for the Strawberry Festival and the day the Community Quilt raffle tickets will tumble and one lucky person will win this year’s quilt, “We’re Chasing the Blues Away.” Make sure you stop by the Quilt booth at the festival on July 14 & 15. The drawing will be Sunday, July 15 at 4 pm. Tickets are $1 each and proceeds support Vashon Allied Arts.
“We poured our love into this quilt and dedicated it to the memory of Frank Charron—an islander, wonderful man and fellow quilter,” said Quilt Coordinator Catholine Tribble. She is just one of the many volunteers who gather each year to stitch together 20 colorful squares into a quilt like none other. She can’t remember how they came up with the idea about chasing the blues away. “Maybe it was while I was sitting on the bench outside of the post office with Toni Eaton.”
Many of the appliqué artists are dedicated and return year after year with great ideas, said Tribble. The squares depict each artist’s favorite way to beat the blues. “It is fun to examine the squares,” said Tribble. “There are little things to note like read the titles on the quilt square made by Holly Berry. Some of them are made up,” she smiles.
Jo Ann Bardeen and Sharon Munger created squares that show them heading south to warmer places in the winter like Mexico and Palm Springs.
Mary Belshaw finds solace in “A Cozy Chat Over Tea” while Nancy Sipple prefers “Cocktails for Two.” Karen Nebe enjoys a walk on the beach in her square and Catholine Tribble finds the First Friday Art Walk a way to take one’s mind off troubles.
Swimming in the hot sun of Hawaii is Toni Eaton’s favorite place to go to fight the doldrums and Inga Charron depicts the refreshing jolt of jumping into Puget Sound on New Year’s Day as a way to beat the blues.
Flowers brighten anyone’s day and found their way into Sy Novak’s and Catholine Tribble’s squares. Nan Caskey honors a pet’s unconditional love in her square and Karen Pruett finds “Strawberries Beat the Blues.”
Nothing beats home comforts according to Joanna M. Guglielmino’s square and Eileen Bergman couldn’t agree more in her square about being cozy and asleep in her bed. And what about a warm fire in the hearth created by Chris McGrath? Ahhh. Or “Quilting a Memory” by Georgia Galus?
Gamers in action or in leisure round out the squares. “Playing Tetris” was created by Frank Charron and Eileen Bergman. Carrie Sikorski’s square celebrates the fun her family has watching the Super Bowl. Angela Weiss can’t wait to play Mahjongg with friends and to hear the click of the tiles.
If you still don’t have enough ideas to beat the blues, buy at least 10 raffle tickets and you’ll get a free Community Quilt Book which contains the stories behind all the squares noted here. And don’t forget you could become the happiest person on the island if you win this quilt!
Catholine Tribble designed the back of the quilt inspired by her musician neighbors, the Zimbergs. She asked for a picture of Todd Zimberg at his drums and borrowed his wife’s red pumps and Catholine got her husband Stu to photograph Frank Hosick at a recent Portage Fil practice. She combined them all into the unique design on the back of the quilt.
The following poem was found on a napkin at the Blue Heron:
It’s cold, It’s wet, and It’s
January
And it’s time to attend
blues night at the Blue
Heron
the Blue Heron trio plays to
a sold out and
way down blues audience
of islanders
Frank Hosick
plucks on an old bass
fiddle
Todd Zimberg grooves to the
beat
As the raspy deep-throated
Blue Heron moans out a
blues tune
“Summertime and the Living
on Vashon is Easy,
Fish are swimming and…
It’s cold, it’s wet, it’s
January
And we’re grooving at
the Blue Heron”
—C. Tribble
Sneak Preview of the new quilt!
