Taupe is a very strange color!

 This month, Mary Lee led an activity based on the work of Anne Brauer

 We decided last month to use a neutral- ish palette of taupes and greay with accent colors.  So first mary discussed what taupe is.  It's hard to define.  An old article in Quilters Newsletter magazine showed the full range of taupe, which you can see here.
 These are the fabrics Mary brought to demonstrate some of what she is using as taupes.







Here she is showing us her small layered backing and batting fabric.  This is a good size to start with since it can be accomplished in a short time.
Apologies to Mary that she is making this face. As many of you know, I was not getting great facial shots last night.  





Here is the small sample Mary made to demonstrate the process.  The lines on the batting are registration lines every two inches.  Mary feels this helps keep the strips going straight.  aAren't those pinks yummy?







So we all set out to lay out our strips in a way we liked.

Lori hadn't planned to attend, so she played in Kathi's pile of strips.

Planning isn't Kathi's thing, so she just started sewing her strips down!  It's a flip and sew technique, like paper piecing.  Your piece is quilted when you finish piecing!










Mary Ellen Casey realized she didn't bring enough strips

Beth overlapped hers to see what they would look like sewn together.

Martha is making a bigger piece so she can make a small purse.

This is where Lori left off.  Turns out taupe isn't Lori's thing.

Beth's final layout

Elaine's first try at the layout.  (I'd have stopped there)

Susan is doing a wonderful thing with those cranberry colored strips in the center!

This is where Kathi keft off when time was up.

Beth got a lot done!

And so did Elaine.  Don't you LOVE how she changed her design to add more turquoise??

Martha didn't get as far, but her center looks pretty good!














Hopefully there will be a great show and tell of finished works at the next meeting!