December 2021 Meeting/Christmas Party

 Wow! Our combined meeting and Christmas party was a fantastic way to end the year for our Guild. We enjoyed great conversation, delicious food, amazing quilts, and a thoughtful induction ceremony for next year's officers. It was just a lovely afternoon.

First - greeting each other and catching up-

Those who volunteered to decorate tables created a festive and welcoming atmosphere-

Next we enjoyed yummy food and drink -

 Then we moved on to Show and Tell. There were not a lot of items, but the ones that were shown were all beautiful!

 

Then it was time for the installation of the officers for 2022. Sylvia read descriptions of each position that she had written based on the bylaws. She likened each position to a block in a quilt. We all were touched by her words and the gravity of the posts we had agreed to fill.

Officers for 2022

 The grand finale was our table full of Bumble Bags. We can all be proud of the caring hearts of our Guild members. 

A table FULL of Bumble Bags!!!!

Here we are being nice, knowing that Santa is coming soon.

June 2021 Monthly Guild Meeting

 

We had a great meeting in June. It was so nice to be together and share our love of quilting with others who feel the same way.

President Sylvia kicked off the meeting with her usual humor and candor. She is concerned about the number of open positions for next year. Please consider serving your guild by volunteering your time. We currently have 106 members on our roll. Although we are not a large organization, without participation, we will be unable to do all of the fun things that we do.

Jan gave our treasurer's report. All is well.  

During our Tips, Tricks, and Techniques session,  we only had 3 items:

• Sylvia shared that you can use a crocheted scrubbie to clean your cutting mat. She suggested just rubbing the scrubbie on the dry mat. It picks up a LOT of fuzz and loose thread.
• Ellen shared that she had learned the hard way to NOT iron over disappearing in or chalk.
  
• Jackie (a guest) shared that you can mark dark fabrics with the edge of a sliver of soap.

 Exhibit 2022

We next discussed our  exhibit which will take place next year. The label has been put on the raffle quilt and Cathy took it to be photographed. Sylvia reported that the shots turned out wonderfully. The post cards, raffle tickets, and other materials to promote the event have been ordered. As in the past, raffle tickets will sell for $1 each or $5 for 6 tickets. Stay tuned to know when you can have tickets to sell.

One Day Workshop

 Jan and Nancy will be hosting a 1-day workshop at Jan's house on July 17th from 9 am to 4pm. Please bring your own lunch. Snacks and drinks will be provided. We will be treated to a "Discovery Retreat" using short cut sheets from Carla Klop. You are encouraged to bring some scrap fabrics so you can try out the techniques and share your opinion on them. After we eat lunch we will take a break from sewing to play a round of LRC. Please bring 10, 5-inch squares for this game. 5 of your squares should be light-colored and 5 should be dark-colored. Oh, what fun this will be!

We are aware that the online form links from these blog pages are not working correctly and hope to correct that soon.

 Jackie, Ellen's sister and our guest at the meeting was first up for Show & Tell, she showed us a cute quilt in an hour glass variation. I was particularly taken with the backing. PENGUINS!

Cathy wowed us with her modern quilt. The muted tones just made it wonderful.

Once again, Cathy's neighbor used her quilted art as an inspiration for his own art project.

The applique on Deb's 12 Days of Quilting quilt was amazing.

Amazing use of color on this batik fabric quilt!

One block wonder with a variation on the layout.

Maureen shared her very cute Dr. Seuss quilt with us.

Brenda made this pillow from fabric left over from a quilt.

Orphan Block Program

Finally, it was time to play with the orphan blocks that we brought for the meeting.  The guidelines were simple, we divided into 4 teams, each team selected some orphan blocks to use to design a charity quilt. Plain/blender fabrics were provided to serve as background for the proposed quilts. At the end of our creative time, we shared our ideas with the group and one person from each team took the blocks home to assemble into a quilt top. There were a lot of wonderful ideas, some quilty fellowship, and just plain ol' fun shared among the members present. I can't wait to see the completed projects.

May 2021 Meeting Recap

Wow! What a great meeting we had. Lots of learning and plenty of giggles and smiles. It was so good to get together and talk about our hobby. 

President Sylvia began the meeting with a lovely opening greeting. Here are the main points from the business portion:

• The quilt for the 2022 Raffle is ready to go. Those of us who were there got to see it in all of its glory. It will be called, "The Mary Jane Quilt." It measures 96" by 96" and is considered queen-sized, although it could also be used on a king bed with no draping on the sides. Here is a sneak peek for you. The official photos will be taken soon.

  

  The Mary Jane Quilt - for our 2022 Guild Raffle
  

  
  
  
• Plans are underway for a Workshop/Mini-Retreat/Sit-n-Sew day at Jan's house. Nancy D. is going to do research on a block we could sew that day to use to create a charity quilt. Keep an eye out for more information on this.
• The program for our June meeting will be an orphan block exchange. Dig out your orphan blocks and bring them to the meeting. Any blocks left after the meeting will be used in charity quilts. 
• Mary announced that our August meeting will be held at the Lakeside Pavilion at Ives Run State Park. More details will be posted in advance of that meeting. 
• Our new agenda item for each meeting is called Tips, Tools, and Techniques. All members present are invited to share their favorites for the good of the order. Here is a list of this month's contributions:
• Sylvia said she just loves her EyeVac Hands Free Vacuum. She recommends using a rubber broom to get all of the dust and fuzzies in place for it. She also reports that her studio floor has never been so clean.
• Kathy recommended using Quilter's Select rulers. She loves that they don't slip and likes the yellow color. She said her 6.5 x 6.5" square is her favorite.
• Nancy D. shared that she has begun putting a weight on her ruler as she cuts. She saw this technique suggested by Donna Jordan and says it really works. You can see some tips and tricks from Jordan Fabrics in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfWBCSz_xiA
• Jan shared two tools she learned of from her husband, a mechanic. Buy a magnetic parts holderl and retrieval tool from your favorite auto parts store. They are much cheaper than the ones sold by quilt supply stores. 
• Ellen shared that she keeps a little bowl on her sewing table that she can place extra bobbins and machine feet in so they don't run off while she is using them.
• Rhonda suggested that when we are at the auto parts store for our magnetic tools, we also look for light bulbs for our sewing machines. They are cheaper there.
• Nikki reminded us that if we need to replace our garden hose, we should save a short section to use it when changing a light bulb in our machine. It protects your hands from a hot bulb and also keeps the oils from our fingers from contacting the bulbs. Just slip the bulb inside and use the hose to grip it.
• Pam was the lucky winner of the door prize and chose a wire quilt hanger.

We then moved on to the Show-and-Tell portion of the meeting.

"My Covid Quilt," by Grace. From a kit from Material Rewards.

 

Judy gave us all a treat by showing us her "Nickel Exchange in Fall Colors" quilt. Just beautiful!

Then it was Betty's turn. First, she presented two of our Guild charity quilts that she had done the binding on to Sylvia. She expressed how nice it is that the Guild members can work together to do these quilts and how happy she was that she can take part in it.

Then Betty showed us some place mats she had made using a "3 Square" method. We all want to know more about this pattern since they look like so much fun to make.

"Not Perfect, But Done," a jelly roll quilt by Betty. She encouraged us that done is more important than perfect.

Betty's "3 Guild Snowman Quilt" with blocks from exchanges. There are blocks by Betty, Sylvia, and Rhonda in this quilt.

Betty's first snowman quilt.

With a joyful heart, Kristin shared her quilt, "Scraps for Grandma's Table" with us. This is made with very tiny, 1-inch strips. It is just beautiful and will have a home on a table that once was her grandmother's.

Kathy shared her scrappy quilt, "It All Adds Up" with us. Every piece used was from her scrap pile so it reminds her of other quilts she has made.

Kathy is very fortunate to be neighbors with artist, Paul Bozzo. He liked her quilt so much he used a picture of it as the background for one of his pieces. She brought a print of it to show all of us.

Marge made this neat wall hanging from a kit. She was unsure how she would hang it if it wasn't a rectangle, so she added the 4-patch squares in the corners. We all agreed that it turned out just great.

Now this is the kind of leftovers we all enjoy. Marge had so much fabric left over from the kit she used that she was able to make this bonus wall hanging.

Then Marge blew us away with this hand-appliqued and hand-quilted piece. It is just amazing!

Nancy made a contribution to the charity quilt collection with this cute, school bus print quilt.

Then Nancy shared this trio of table runners with us. They all looked great.

Jan got in on the table runner showing as well. Her table runners have to come in pairs because she has two daughters to make them for. Can't have an excuses for sibling rivalry, can we?

Jan's "Jungle" table runner was just too cute!

This quilt is a true sister act. Rhonda did a wonderful job of piecing it and Sylvia did the quilting for her. Sylvia reported that as with many beginners, Rhonda's borders were pretty wavy. She explained that the best way to combat that while quilting it is to put in LOTS  of stitches and even hide some tucks in the quilting. The two of them sure did great work as a team.

The last quilt shown for Show-and-Tell was very special. It was not made by one of our Guild members, but was a gift to Rhonda from one of the patrons of the shop she works at. This patron loves to quilt, but her family has no interest in her quilts or in having any of her quilts. She shared this Log Cabin variation with Rhonda who is honored to have it.

We then moved on to our mini-program, "My Pattern Lied," or "How I Fixed This Quilt" by Sylvia. She purchased fabric that she just loved for her new camper. Following pattern instructions, she cut out all of the pieces and started to sew. This pattern had a "Block A" and "Block B" layout. Sylvia dutifully made a mock up of the second block, then sewed 28 of them as directed. She then started on the first block. Well, when she got her first Block A created, it did not match the size of Block B. Did I mention she was at a retreat when this happened? She took what seemed like the logical steps and double-checked that she had used a 1/4" seam. She had. So she took the block apart and resewed it with a scant 1/4" seam allowance. It STILL was too large. There she was, out of fabric and out of idea. She put the block aside and worked on other projects for the remainder of the retreat. The messed up quilt blocks were put in time out for a bit. 

Later, Sylvia came up with a solution to her dilemma and was able to complete not one, but TWO tops in the lovely colors and fabrics she had chosen. She revealed both tops to us at the end of her discussion. I think she triumphed. She said it reminded her of the saying, "Frustration leads to Innovation."

The completed quilt for Sylvia's camper bed.

The "Just Get It Done" After Quilt

Sylvia went on to tell us that she could see a difference in her piecing between when she started the quilt in 2016 and how she pieces today. She said two of the things she does differently are to use 50wt polyester thread and to take her time pressing her pieces. She encouraged us all to continue to grow in our quilting skills and to ask other Guild members for help when we run across a quilt that just has us beat. We have tentatively planned the July program to be a time when we can all bring in quilts that are getting the best of us and share them with the group who will give us suggestions on how to fix them.

With that, the meeting was adjourned. Next meeting, Monday, June 21st, 7:00 PM.