October's Relay Race

This was such fun. Except for the part where poor Hanna cut her finger with the rotary cutter. The members of the non-winning team will be bringing treats for the rest of the year. AND we now have 40 9-patch units that we can use in our next donation quilt.

Summer, September, October

We enjoy sewing days in July and August, even though we don't have meetings. After the August sewing day a few of the gals went to Helen-Mary's for a pot luck supper. It was a lovely summer day, but much too windy to sit outside. We'd have been chasing our lettuce across the patio.  l - r :  Hanna, Helen-Mary, Dineke, Sue, Lydia.  Christine took the photo.

As we do every year, the guild had a booth at the Caledonia Fair. Many of our members volunteer, usually in four hour slots, to staff the booth. Here is Candace holding down the fort and holding UP the quilt she'd been working on.

Our September meeting was a Penny Sale which got a little out of hand.  The wee buckets where you drop your tickets got a bit mixed up, so members were winning items they had no intention of bidding on.  Then some items were surreptitiously dropped back ON the tables and had to be forced on members redistributed.

October's meeting will be a relay race.  All attendees will be divided into two teams.  Each team will each be responsible for making 20 nine-patch units.  The losing team must bring treats to the meetings for the rest of the year.

June wrap up

This year our block of the month was run as a whole quilt.  Anne sent out the block instructions every month and members could choose to participate, or not.  Well, my gosh!  Look at all the finished tops!!!  The instructions went out for 16" blocks.  Some of the members shrank that to 12" blocks.  And there was more than one way to set the blocks in to a top.

We also held a fabric challenge which required something for the Kitchen - 20 participants.  And the UFO challenge - 11 gals signed up and 7 completed their UFOs (the other 4, sadly, had to pay a $10 penalty fee).

We don't have formal meetings in July or August, but those who are interested can come out for our Sewing Days - July 13 and August 10 from 9 - 5.  Bring $5 and your lunch.

June end-of-season meeting

Wednesday June 8th will be our last meeting until September.  But don't get confused - we WILL still be having our sewing days on the 2nd Wednesday in July and August.

Pot Luck Supper - we eat at 6:30.  Remember to bring your food and your eating dishes/cutlery.

Challenges are due for those who are participating

• Kitchen Challenge
• UFO Challenge
• Block of the Month quilt

 As far as I know we are still looking for volunteers to run:

• the draw/raffle table
• a new swap to replace the Strippers Club

May 11th recap

Some of the sewing day activities... we had about 14 come and stitch for the day. Several more joined us at 6 pm for supper, catered by the church ladies.




Our guest speaker was Deborah Beirnes. Deborah works at Reichard's The Quilter's Store and does an excellent trunk show. We had her do 'Scrap Quilts' and she did not disappoint. I think we're having her come back in the fall to teach a workshop. You can reach her at deborah.beirnes@sympatico.ca .

Here is a collection of quilts which are being shipped to Japan for survivors of the earthquake and tsunami. Thanks to Diane!!!

Recent Program Nights & Japan Quilt Donations

I have not taken my camera to guild meetings for the last few months so I'm sorry, but I have no pics to share with you.

• February's meeting was a discussion and demonstration of machine quilting done by Charlotte and Lydia.
• March's meeting was a trunk show by Debbie Winn of Hamilton.  Debbie is a longarm quilter who was introduced to quilting by her mother-in-law.  Great trunk show.
• April was a quilting version of the Olympics.  Lots of fun - we were split into two teams.  Each member got a numbered paper bag with a task inside.  The bags had to be opened in sequence, and only after the previous member had completed their task.  Some of the bags required you to use a completed task and continue progress on it.  For example, one of the bags required pin basting a small quilt sandwich.  A later task required you to quilt the basted sandwich, using needles that had been threaded in a previous task.  The first team to complete their bags won.
• May 11th will bring us a trunk show by Deborah Beirnes.

With all the horror of the Japanese nuclear disaster and tsunami many quilts are being sent overseas.  Northcott Fabrics organized a shipment and our guild contributed three quilts.  Here's a link to one of Northcott's blog posts where we are credited.

Diary of a Donation

Step 1:  Starts with the Block of the Month program.  For a few years we had the 'presenter' of the BOM make a sample block and donate it to the guild.  We compiled 20 blocks with a WHITE or very PALE CREAM background fabric.
Step 2:  Have a program night:  Stitching Relay Race.  We split the members into two groups.  Each group had a pile of strips and had to make sashing and 9-patch units.  The losing team brought goodies for the rest of the year.
Step 3:  Have a sewing day and assemble the blocks, sashing and 9-patch units into a top.
Step 4:  Have one of your members generously donate the machine quilting & binding.

Step 5:  A family turns up who could use a fabric hug.

Feb. 9th sewing day activities

We had about 15 members attend for sewing day and (I think) 24 for supper. The church ladies fed us tossed salad, broccoli salad, roast chicken, mashed potatoes, cooked carrots, creamed corn, rolls, and carrot cake. Yum yum. Based on what I saw from the gals who attended, knitting seems to be the new quilting.

January recap

One of our members did a great trunk show for us.  She has spent years doing wonderful things with fabric - making battenberg lace, smocking, and heirloom sewing.

This little kitty even has a lace trimmed underskirt.

We have a new challenge going on for those of us with some UFOs they want to finish up. Charlotte is collecting photos & commitments - if you don't get your item completed by June's meeting you will be coughing up a $10 penalty.

There will be an EXTRA sewing day on January 26th from 9 am - 4:30 pm to help you with some dedicated time.  C'mon out - $5 gets you in the door.