Pot Luck for December meeting

No pics, sorry.  The phone just doesn't stay charged long enough for my needs.   
must.buy.new.camera.

November's meeting included a great talk by Anita Zobens about thread and needles, with a SALE of her wonderful stuff.  Cottonmill Thread Works - link HERE.  She flattered me when she told the guild that I was a 'gem' as the blog mistress, because I keep this little space on the web up-to-date.  It's nice to get a compliment now and then, eh? :-)

DECEMBER 11 - Pot luck dinner at 6:30.  Bring your dish and your plate/cutlery.  If you come for sewing during the day there are a couple of fridges you can use to keep your stuff cold.  Our program for the evening will be a show & tell of the quilts that the Scrappy Club has been working on. 

October's Meeting

There were a dozen of us, or so, who came and sewed for the day.  Then several more came for dinner.  It's a great time to catch up.

Supper by the church ladies.  Lasagne, salad, rolls, squash, pickle tray.  A delicious cheesecake-ey dessert followed with tea & coffee.  We love our church ladies.  :-)

The evening presentation was by Kathy Thompson, History of the Underground Railroad.  That was really interesting.  You can see her wee sample quilt here.

Coming up:
Wednesday Oct. 23rd is an EXTRA UFO SEWING DAY from 9 - 5.  No meeting, just working on our projects.  Bring $5 and your lunch.

Monday Oct. 28th - Scrappy Club for those who have pre-registered.  9 - 5.  If you missed out on this group, maybe you can sign up for a second session that we hope to start in February.

Monday Nov. 25th -  Scrappy Club for those who have pre-registered.  9 - 5.

THE NOVEMBER MEETING WILL BE TWO WEEKS LATE:  WEDNESDAY NOV. 27TH.  We get bumped every year due to the church involvement in the Holiday House Tour.  It will be worth the wait, though - Anita Zobens from Cottonmill Threadworks will be our guest speaker. 

September's Scrappy Group

As you can see, there are some obvious overachievers who are finished a SECOND top already.  A few of us are a little bit slower, continuing to work on pattern number one.  In both cases, though, we are working through our scraps.  Yay!!

September meeting - the start of a new season

Our new season started on September 11th.  As usual, we had several members come in the morning to spend the day working on many different projects.  The church ladies provided a delicious meal of sweet & sour meatballs with all the fixings, followed by a delicious dessert.  The official meeting started at 7:30 pm when programs for the coming year were announced.

For the past year, and going forward, we are covered by our own insurance policy.  This has necessitated an increase in our membership dues to $50 per year.  That works out to $5 per meeting and is still an inexpensive way to spend your evening. 
Membership gives you:

•  a monthly newsletter
• access to our wonderful library of quilting and needlework books
• the opportunity to join in sewing days and catered dinners
• guest speakers exhibiting a wide array of quilts with related lectures and classes
• easy access to members with lots of expertise and the willingness to share knowledge
• fabric swaps, block exchanges, structured quilt block lessons, raffle draws
• social break at every meeting with coffee, tea, and a selection of desserts

This year we are running a Sampler Quilt program that is based on the Underground Railroad quilts.  So don't miss the next meeting!

Coming up on October 9th:

Kathy Thompson from Simcoe is giving a quilt related talk on the history of the Underground Railroad.

Cross Border Quilting

August is not a typical choice for quilt shows, but it worked out really well for five of our members.  Summer is a wonderful time to travel and experience holidays with your friends.  We loaded up our weekender suitcases and headed down the highway to Caledonia, NY for a quilt show by our adopted sister guild.  They refer to themselves as the Caledonia Guild, NY Office.  Ha ha - too cute.

Caledonia, NY is a very old, very pretty town.  I was joking that I think the Stepford Wives must live there - it was so clean and tidy. The quilt show was in a beautiful school where the guild had quilts hung in two gymnasiums.  Lots of quilts.  A surprising number of quilts for a small guild.

This is a wee selection of the quilts I thought looked nice and scrappy (in honour of OUR new Scrappy Club).

We stayed at the Genesee Country Inn - a beautiful bed & breakfast that is a former mill.  The bedrooms were pretty but not fussy, and each boasted a private bathroom.  The beds were super comfy and breakfast was delicious - lasting for a couple of hours, relaxing over coffee.  The owners were friendly and chatty, making us feel really welcome.

Over the next year our guilds will be making cross-border challenge quilts for each other that are destined for donation to our respective Quilts of Valour programs.  So far we have given each other 3 yards of fabric, with a deadline of June 2014 to complete a quilt, approximately sized 72 x 90.  With luck we can arrange a picnic day next June or July to swap the completed quilts and get better acquainted face-to-face rather than via facebook. 

the New Scrappy Club

We had 15 ladies show up for our first Scrappy Club day.  Janice brought super-delicious blueberry muffins to keep our energy levels up, and Ann brought cherry tomatoes from her garden to keep us from getting too fat on the muffins.  Sue took lunch orders and popped over to Jones' Bakery for sandwiches.

We started the club with all of us working on the same pattern, but that will change over time because some of the gals sew faster than others.  For our inaugural quilt we are working on a pattern from Quiltville.com - the Boxy Stars design.  If you'd like to follow along, click that link and it will take you to instructions.  What you do after that is up to you. :-)

At this point, we plan to choose a new pattern every month.  For September we will be doing the Window Pane 9-Patch Quilt that can be found on the Missouri Star Company website.  Click HERE for that tutorial.

HOW WE STRUCTURED THE CLUB
Sue sent out an email to the membership, getting a feel for interested members.  When it seemed there would be enough quilters to make this worthwhile, we chose to run 5 club days for our first group, and selected our dates based on availability at the church, and workable dates for the members.  Next we had to contact the insurance company and determine the additional costs, and review the feasibility of room rental plus insurance. When we agreed the costs were reasonable, the scrappers were required to pay up front for the first session.  This removes the problem of 'pay per day' when people often don't show up, and the guild ends up having to cover the costs.

Our first day was a big hit and we are looking forward to the next four scrap-happy days.

July Sewing Day

Janice turning her new bag right side out.

Judith thinking "Well, if Janice can do it, I can too!".

The bags - turned.  Nice!!

Arlene working on the binding of her Double Wedding Ring quilt.

Sue and her Oh My Gosh.

My Blooming 9-patch.

Dineke pressing pieces for her Oh My Gosh.

Sewing Day in August is Wednesday Aug. 14th.  Bring your $5 and your project - you can sew and visit from 9 - 4:30.

Also in August will be our road trip to Caledonia, NY for our sister guild's quilt show.

I hope you are enjoying the summer as much as I am - heat is WAY BETTER than snow.

June season-ending wrapup

At our June and December meetings every year we celebrate with a pot luck supper.  I was too concerned about filling my plate to get a photo of the contributions to our expanding waistlines, so you will have to use your imagination.

We had lots of entries to the Christmas in June challenge.  The gals who signed up received a fat quarter of Christmas fabric and had to bring a completed project to the June meeting.  This is a small sampling of the items.

These are two of our hard working volunteers - Jane runs the charm swap, and Lynne takes care of our raffle prizes.  That was one heck of a gift basket that was up for grabs.

SUMMER EVENTS

• Even though our meetings are suspended for July and August, allowing us all to relax by the pool (pfftt - I wish!!) we still have sewing days.  You are welcome to come out on Wednesday July 10th and Wednesday August 14th - hours are from 9 am until 4:30 pm.  Bring your project and $5 to cover the rent.  It's nice to keep up with our quilting buddies during the summer.
• I am organizing a road trip to Caledonia, NY to the quilt show of our recently discovered sister guild.  Their show will be held on August 17 & 18.  I have two groups - one planning an overnight stay in NY and the other as a single day trip.  A reminder will go out to our guild members in early August in case you have not signed up yet.

Our regular meetings resume in September and will be held on the 2nd Wednesday as usual.  Daytime sewing is encouraged for all who can join us, supper catered by the church ladies at 6 pm if you would like to eat someone elses cooking for a change, and our scheduled meeting with program at 7:30.

Rosemary Makhan's Trunk Show

Here is a sampling of the quilts that were part of Rosemary's trunk show.  The talk was focused on 30's quilts - the history and how that is translating to our current quilting styles.  Rosemary is a good speaker and shares lots of fun tidbits about the time period.  You can reach her through her website.  EDIT TO ADD:  SAD NOTE - ROSEMARY PASSED AWAY IN JANUARY, 2014.

We also had a SURPRISE visitor.  A week ago I found another Caledonia Quilt Guild on the internet - it turns out they are from Caledonia, New York.  I contacted them through their facebook page to see if they would be interested in a wee cross-border challenge between the Caledonia guilds.  The gal I corresponded with was enthusiastic and promised to get back to me after their next guild meeting.  Well - they sent an EMISSARY to our meeting.  This is Margaret - she traveled 2 1/2 hours to meet us, and she's quite a character!

She smuggled brought 30 bottles of Mary Ellen's Best Press across the border as gifts for each of our members, and sold a bunch of tickets on their raffle quilt.  She came with her mom and was pretty thrilled that they were lucky enough to see Rosemary's trunk show.  They stayed until almost 9 pm, then drove home another 2 1/2 hours.  I hope on her next visit she will call ahead so one of us can make up a guest room for her.

Coming up on June 12 is our annual year's end POT LUCK SUPPER.  Bring your best fare, and don't forget your dishes & cutlery.  We will be eating at 6:30 pm.

what happened in April

April's program was a demo/talk about landscape quilts, by Debra Allen from the Hagersville area.  She came with lots of books, lots of samples, and lots of ideas.

At the end of the evening, after we've had our fill of the wonderful treats brought in by the current month's volunteers, the kitchen cleanup gets taken care of by a couple more gals who have volunteered for the year.

Happy/sad.  We lost one of our guild members to cancer.  We made a quilt in her memory and gave it to the family - about 10 family members came to accept our presentation.  There were a few tears shed...

And more happy/sad.  One of my customers gave me a large stack of fabric that she was cleaning out of her stash.  Who does that???  Anyways - I made up kits and several gals took them home.  Here is the first of what will eventually be 11 quilts made for the Juravinsky hospital in Hamilton, to be given to chemo patients.

Coming up in May:
Wednesday May 8th our guest speaker will be Rosemary Makhan from Burlington.  Check out her web site by clicking HERE.

March 13th meeting

One of the best parts of the guild meeting is always Show & Share.
A few years ago we ran a swap of half-square triangle blocks.  Charlotte brought in the quilt she made from her collection.

Extras went on the back.  Nice.

Our Program tonight was hands-on hand work.  OMG, isn't that beautiful?

English Paper Piecing of Hexagons.  I was excused because my arm is still in a cast.

Here is a panel all whip-stitched together.

Next, Madeline showed us how to make these.  After stuffing with a piece of batting they are slip stitched closed and quilted.

Then you whip-stitch them together next time you're on a road trip.

What's coming up at the guild?

MARCH 27TH - Extra UFO sewing day.  No meeting, just sewing & socializing from 9 - 5.  Bring $5 for rent, your project(s), and your lunch.

APRIL 10TH - Next regular meeting day.  Come and sew, if you like, from 9 - 6.  6pm is when dinner starts.  This is catered by the church ladies and you must register for dinner. Sewing day is $5 and dinner is $14.
The real meeting starts at 7:30.  Our program that night will be Debby Allen doing a demonstration on landscape quilts.

February - Quilts of Africa

Garnet Smalley came with his trunk show of the African quilts.  This is a preview he does of the June show - London International Quilt Show, June 12 - 15, 2013.  He brought over 20 quilts - this is just a couple of my favorites.

I wish I could be this happy!!!

Beautiful bowls.

Incredible border work.

Beading.

We also had our Valentines Bag Swap.  Being my usual incredible self, I did not make it over to the swap table in time.  We started with 20 or so bags to swap.

And, of course, our treats table.  Apparently the apple strudel we had for dessert (by the church ladies) was not enough.  We worked up MORE appetite. 

I can't give you any details about the upcoming March meeting - that is still a surprise.  But I have no doubt that it will be lots of fun and very informative.  So c'mon out on March 13th.

January's meeting

Here is the crowd, waiting for the church ladies to finish setting up the buffet.  These gals were hungry - many of them had spent all day sewing.  We had shepherd's pie, salad, rolls, fresh veggies, squash, dessert (which I cannot remember at this time).  Yum.

I presented the evening program.  It was a fun game, challenging teams to assemble puzzles of quilt blocks.  A word scramble of the block name accompanied each bag of pieces, and points were awarded for both the name scramble and the block piecing.

Stay tuned for our February 13th meeting when the Quilts of Africa team gives us a preview of their spring show at the London International Quilt Festival.

January meeting coming up...

Well, the first meeting of 2013 will be happening in two days.  Happy New Year to y'all.
Our Christmas pot luck in December was brimming over with food, as usual.  I was camera-challenged, again, so there are no photos.  For those of us who had to undo the button on our pants after supper, I guess that is a good thing.  ha ha.

Our program gal had us play a memory game, and did not give us a chance to practice first.  Mean Charlotte, mean!  It was fun though.  As usual we had lots of show & share to keep each other inspired.

I provided the members with a pattern to make this bag, from THIS tutorial.

Yeah, ok, I got a little carried away and have made 11 of them now.  This is for our MAKE A BAG, TAKE A BAG, VALENTINES SWAP which will happen at our February meeting.  If you make a bag, fill it with $10 worth of stuff.  Any kind of stuff - sewing things, cosmetics, food, gift cards, liquor, tea, whatever.  You will bring your filled bag, and take a different one home.

Here are my personal EXTRA instructions regarding the ZIPPER.  This will make sense when you are actually doing the zipper.

• Sew the first thingy on the TOP end, leaving the two metal bits exposed so you don’t hit them with the needle.  This will leave ¼” space at the folded end that does not have any of the zipper tape, and will not get in the way when you are grading the seam later.
• To get the other end with the same empty space – get out the pliers and rip off the metal end stopper of the zipper, so you don’t hit it with a needle or cutting blade.  Cut the zipper to a length of 7.75”, starting at the folded edge of the pretty thingy
• Sew the second thingy to the end piece, allowing ¼” space where the fold is.  The length should be 8” when you are finished.

This will eliminate a lot of the bulk at the zipper ends and makes it MUCH EASIER to turn these buggers right side out.

As for our January meeting on the 9th - I will be hosting a puzzle game.  We will split the attendees into groups.  Each group gets a set of quilt block puzzle pieces that they have to assemble.  I suspect we will discover some, um, NEW blocks.