"A Rose By Any Other Name

would smell as sweet." so said Shakespeare.  In my small weekly art quilt group we have been talking for a long time about changing our name. Our group was started over 25 years ago as an outgrowth of the Newtown Newcomers Club.  The small group consisted of all traditional quilters who met weekly at menbers' home and they called them selves "The Scrapbaggers", very appropriate at the time.  Over the years the group grew to about 25 members with some of the members starting to make art quilts and with several members joining from other nearby towns. At one point there was a challenge with the idea of exhibiting the results at the local library. It was very successful and became an annual event.

Meanwhile the group was shifting and changing.  New members joined and others left for one reason or another. At the beginning meeting locales were determined by asking, "Who wants to have it next week?".  Then we became more efficient and we started planning ahead and sending postcards with the month's agenda.  Then......came email, which made life so much easier.  Now we can plan ahead and make changes, if necessary, with the click of a "send' button.

But the group was still evolving.  The shows that we put on at the library consisted of all art quilts and "Scrapbaggers" didn't look quite right on the posters.  We usually got around it by called ourselves the "Scrapbag Quilt Artists" or some variation thereof. And alas our group was shrinking.  We only had about 6 active members and decided to open our arms to encompass other fiber disciplines.  Now we have 12 members consisting of women who knit, weave, collage, work with paper and make art quilts.


"Scrapbaggers" just didn't cut it anymore. We really needed a new name and every so often the subject would come up and then get shelved. Some thought that if we had a "mission statement" it might make it easier.  One of the members, Andrea, came up with a good one and I quote it here:

"We are a group of artists who create a diverse range of work, using fabrics, threads and yarns, whether they be sewn, stitched, and/or woven; which are glued, fused, and/or secured, the old-fashioned way, with a needle and/or needles.  We enjoy being the teacher, sharing the good things we have discovered , as well as the student, learning new skills that might enrich our work.  To each other, we give thoughtful critiques when asked and encouragement when needed.  Each of us might be in a different place in our art, but all are enjoying the journey.  Please pass the cake."

You can read her whole blog entry here. It is quite clever and amusing. and she also gives you many of the names that were thrown around.

The meeting was at my house this past Friday and we had our own "sequester".  We would not leave until the task was accomplished.  We had a long list of names, 47 to be exact, that had been contributed by members.  We went round and round, reading them, discussing them, eliminating and finally got down to a final four, then a final two until we had a winner.


Drum roll, please........We will now be formally called FiberWorks, that's one word with a Capital W.

I am pleased to say that we accomplished this efficiently, with no fisticuffs or hurt feelings. We thought that our government could have taken a few lessons.