November 6, 2014

How fast the month goes! I apologize for the lateness of this blog. Time has definitely gotten away from me.

The bus trip to MSQC in Hamilton, Missouri was a great success. Don't know about everyone else, but I could have spent more time, and more money, at both sites we visited. The folks at Blue Top Quilt shop in Lamar were generous enough to open early for us, and they were excited for us to be there. Talk about customer service! A great blogger would have thought to bring her camera and take pictures, but my mind was too full of thoughts of all the gorgeous fabric instead. To those who were not able to make it - I hope you get a chance to visit both of these places at some point in the future. Definitely worth the trip.

A round robin / brown bag was started at this month's guild meeting. 7 people participated. For those who are confused, A round robin is exchanged around each member in the group. 7 people would mean 7 exchanges. A brown bag on the other hand is a shorter version. This one will only involve 4 exchanges, so not everyone will get a chance to work on every quilt. Should still be fun. I look forward to seeing what everyone does.

The BOM this month involves 16 pieces using 2 colors plus your background fabric.

The Christmas party will be held December 4th at 6pm. Smoked meat will be provided. Please bring a small dish of something yummy. If it's really yummy you'd better bring a big dish. :) If you would like to participate in the gift exchange bring a Christmas decoration or ornament. This does not have to be homemade - just something simple. Do not put your name on it. Let someone on the committee know if you will not be able to make it, or if you will be bringing a guest. This gives them a better idea of the number of people to plan for.

Tara took the pillows that were made to Freeman Cancer Center and reports that they were happy to receive them. 74 pillows were donated.

The Donation committee has chosen 2 families for us to sponsor this Christmas. These families were chosen not for their financial neediness, but for their contributions to the community. As before a quilt has been made for each family. Since there are no little ones, the committee is asking for money to be donated and used for a grocery card for each. Several people have helped to make the quilts using Jelly Rolls.

Our fundraiser (auction) meeting has been moved to March this year, so February will be a regular meeting. This gives you an extra month to save money for the auction. Be thinking of what you may want to donate to be auctioned off as well.

If you have been saving up Best Choice barcode labels, they need to be turned in by the end of the year. The guild receives a $30 gift certificate when we turn in 1000 labels. If you have not been saving them, this would be good time to start. Putting the labels in a baggie with a piece of paper showing the count will help whoever has to do the final count.

Ruth, Karen, Peggy and Betty all did a paper pieced Christmas tree. Karen wants to add lights to hers. Betty wants to add ornaments. Peggy did hers a year ago. They all look lovely.

Betty did the quilting for a top her sister-in-law pieced. She also pieced and quilted a quilt for her sister-in-law herself. What a lucky sister!

Betty also did paper pieced a stocking, some rug mugs and some ornaments. I think she likes paper piecing - but that's just a guess on my part.

Nita made a tablet cover and a block using the pattern for a tree skirt. She made the pattern smaller than called for so it could be used as a table decoration. The tree skirt was made using the go cutter to cut the pieces.

Julie and Peggy served refreshments.

See you at the Christmas party.

September 4, 2014

Before I begin, I need to ask if there is anyone who would be willing to take pictures and notes at the October meeting. I can loan you my camera. Otherwise the blog may consist of my vacation pics. This could be good or bad. I usually don't remember to take many pictures. Or I can substitute with quilts I find on the web that I like. If you want valid information, I need a volunteer. Just email or call me. My info is in the book.

It was so nice to see so many faces at quilt guild! There were still some who couldn't make it this month, but many who had been busy during the summer were able to return. Our guild is continually growing, and that is a very good sign. This week we also had some very young visitors who showed off their sewing skills.

September 29 is a 5th Monday night. The Bin will be open for sewing 4pm to 10 pm. This is a great chance to work on Christmas projects or any other UFOs. The project of the night is a denim scrap bag for thread and fabric clippings. If you wish to participate in this project, please bring a pant leg cut from an old pair of jeans ( or denim fabric) plus a fat quarter of your choice. In case you have not seen these at the Bin they really are cute. The denim makes them stiff enough to stand open on your sewing table, yet they are soft enough to squash and put away when not in use. This project would make a cute, inexpensive gift for the sewer in your life.

October 2nd, our usual guild night, is our annual worknight. Start time is 5:30 pm with a short break at 7:00 pm for our guild meeting. Come for as long or short as you can. We have two sets of projects to work on. The first is the throws we will give, along with food baskets, to the two senior citizens (single or couple) we are sponsoring for Christmas. Please bring 5 strips any fabric. These need to be 2 1/2" x width of fabric. Please precut strips. A mixture of light, medium and dark fabric is needed. The fabric for the borders, binding and backing need to be donated. Since this is obviously a scrappy quilt, any design fabric is welcome. The batting also needs to be donated. Nancy will donate the longarm machine time to quilt.

The second project is to support the Freeman Cancer Center of Joplin. We will be making 50 heart shaped pillows. These are more than just decoration. They can be brought along during treatments, put between seatbelts and body in the car, between the knees when sleeping, etc. Bring 2 - 14" squares of fleece for each pillow you plan to work on plus fiber fill. Remember these pillows will be going to adults, so choose fleece accordingly. 50 pillow may sound like a lot, but they shouldn't take too long to make.

Bring your sewing machine if you can. Those who do not wish to sew can be kept busy cutting fabric, pressing seams, filling pillows, etc. There is something for everyone. The more we get done on this night, the less likely we will have to designate a second work night. As always, bring food (sandwiches, chips, salad, dessert) to share. We do need to keep our strength up! For any who have not participated before, this really is a fun night! It is amazing what we can turn out when we all pitch in.

October 10th is the Quilt and Sewing Expo in Kansas City. Those who have already signed up to go with the Extension Office group need to meet at the Extension Office by 7 am. Anyone not signed up will need to find their own transportation. Ask around, there may be someone else who wants to go, but doesn't wish to go alone. More information can be found at the Bin or on the internet.

The bus trip is happening November 8. The guild had voted to charter the 55 person bus hoping we could fill it. Looks like that was a smart move. There are some seats left, but they are going fast, so if you know of anyone who wants to go but hasn't signed up yet, remind them to do it soon. This is a first for our guild and we are all excited. This is an all day trip to Lamar and Hamilton, Missouri. Cost is $45  to reserve your seat on the bus. Bring enough money for your lunch and supper, plus any fabric you buy.

The Kids Sewing Camp needs donations of animal print fabrics ( 1/2 yard pieces) A to Z. This is fabrics with animals printed on them, not just zebra stripes or paw prints. Solid sheets are also needed for backing fabric.

Presbyterian Manor is looking for candidates for the "ageless art" contest. Contestants need to be 64+ years. The deadline is November 12.

The block of the month program is going strong. We have many people still entering their blocks each month.

There will be some cool quilts when we are done! This month's block requires 2 fabrics plus your background fabric. The pieces are all triangles.

Instructions and the dies for cutting are at the Bin or you can get a copy from someone who was at the meeting. Those who have joined recently can still participate. Just ask Nancy for instructions from past blocks.

Gloria presented a program on making a border of diamonds. She got her instructions from www.favequilts.com. There were many options. The pattern she chose is called a Seminole diamond pattern. Three strips are sewn together then cut into blocks. These blocks are sewn together in a staggered manner, the edges trimmed and stay stitching applied. It's an easier way to sew a bunch of triangles using squares and makes a lovely border. More specific instructions can be found on the above website.

This was a neat program and a technique I plan on using.

Nita showed a quilt she made for a wedding gift. It is called London Square. She said it was a little harder than it looked. It looks beautiful now.

Gloria and Karen both finished projects from our recent paper piecing class.

Peggy completed 3 t-shirt quilts made from her daughter's scrubs and sweatshirts. She had so many scrubs she used them to piece the backs.

I showed some tote bags I had made with a friend in anticipation of an upcoming trip.

Our young visitors had many projects to show. Shelby (10), Sydney (8) and Gavin (5) had clothing, bags, a miniature quilt, a pillowcase and a pillow to show. Each item was made by them (with some help). It just shows you are never too young to learn to sew. Their skills will be amazing by the time they are adults! Their grandmother was rightfully proud of them.

August 7, 2014 meeting

Summertime is in full swing and everyone is busy with activities and vacations. Yet there is always time to plan for upcoming projects and to dream of shopping trips. After all, the next best thing to making a quilt is buying fabric for the next one.... or two......or twenty.

With this in mind the guild has decided to charter a bus for a shopping trip to Hamilton, Missouri (with a stop at a shop in Lamar) to see the Missouri Star Quilt Company. If you have not heard of this store you are in for a treat. While I have never been there I have spent quite a bit of time on their website. This shop is actually of series of shops, each one dedicated to a specific style of fabric (batiks, solids, civil war, etc). Missouri Star Quilt Company has bolts of fabric as well as many, many precuts. They also offer a daily deal online that is a pretty good bargain.

The bus will hold 55 people. Cost is $45.00. This does not include lunch or all the fabric you will decide you MUST have. Invite anyone you think may be interested. The more the merrier! Hamilton is about 3 1/2 hours away so this is an all day trip.

There was also a decision to support the Freeman Cancer Institute by providing some lap quilts, twin quilts and seat belt cushions that are given to patient undergoing cancer treatment. The donation committee will be meeting and give further instructions later.

The block of the month this time requires 3 dies. These are available at the Bin along with the instructions. Pay careful attention to fabric choice when cutting the triangles so you don't wind up with a half formed diamond.

Carole showed us her latest apron.....

 and modeled it!

Nancy showed a kitchen towel and washrag set she had made from waffle cloth. Decorative trim and binding is all that's needed to make a lovely gift.

The cloth has a lot of starch in it that can be removed by washing. There is shrinkage after washing, so if making a gift, make it larger than you want the finished project.

Those who entered something in the fair were given a fabric covered notebook, courtesy of Nancy.

The pattern and tips for the towel and washcloth can be found in the current issue of Sew-it.

Nita presented a program called "all pieces work". The idea was to show that all shapes, whether square, triangle, curved, long, short can be fit together to form a block or quilt. We can stretch our comfort zone and still come up with something beautiful.

Nita and Gloria provided cake and ice cream for snacks. It was yummy!

Hope to see all of you at the next meeting.

July 3rd Guild Meeting

The July 3rd meeting was short and sweet. The paper piecing class starts this month. Check at the Bin if you want to sign up. There will be kits available or you can use your own fabric.

The Labette County Fair is coming up quick. There are forms at the Bin if you would like to submit entries. You can bring items to the Bin for entry the Monday before the Fair if you cannot get there yourself.

Interested in a bus trip to Missouri Star Quilt Company? Let Nancy know. No dates have been set yet.

The Block of the Month this month uses a parallelogram die and a triangle die. Care must be taken in placing the fabric wrong side up when cutting with the parallelogram die. Otherwise the pieces will not aim in the right direction. As always, the dies are available at the Bin for use.

Nancy presented the evening program by talking about the Go Cutter. Since we are using it for the Block of the Month she provided tips for better cutting. She also gave some interesting facts on the first scissors (1500 BC) , the first rotary cutter (1979) and the first die cutter (2008). Wish I'd thought of one of them! She said there is also a new Accuquilt cutter coming out that will be electric.

There was no show and tell this month. Everyone must be gearing up for the Fair. See you next month!