quilt show aka quilt meeting (edited)

Actually it was Bama Belles meeting day and Lois and Bev had quilts to turn in plus Brenda had some tops to show us too.  After seeing them posted and comparing to what is on hand I figured out which one I am missed.  It is currently not at my house so I cannot nab quilt holder to do the honors.  Anyway, enjoy!  I am sure that the children that receive them will----------

ED. NOTE:  My pal Norma reminded me that she has a quilt made from this pattern which appeared  in Fons and Porter's For the Love of Quilting magazine from September/October 2000.  You can see her notes on her blog archive.  F & P called it "Simple Cross"  Good choice for all those 2 1/2 inch scrappy strips PLUS I could use them on the sections I have leftover from Faux Log Cabin!  Still no word on what to call the one in the next post above. 

Bev's Pineapple Blossom

Lois Sashed and Cornerstoned Strings

Lois Frames and 4 patches

Brenda's Sew-in started top and new pattern for her to play with---Scrappy Trip Around the World

Brenda's Quilt Shop Sampler BOM   she will make two quilts instead of one large one

                                                                   Lois Chiclets

Lois and Belles Pineapple Blossom

Lois Scrappy Trips

                      Lois Unknown pattern on my part so it is Sock Monkey on my document 

Lois Jigsaw---pattern from quilting about dot com

Lois Disappearing Nine Patch

Meeting Day

Job one today-----wind 66 yards of batting onto two cardboard cores.  I had dropped one box of our shipment off last week when I was delivering my quilt entries across the street from our meeting place.  I unboxed it so was not surprised when the storage closet was almost pushed  open by the batting roll on the other side of the door.

Bev and then Lois lent a hand in getting this rolled off the giant roll.  Since Lois had three tops to pin we just rolled off what her quilts required while we were at it.

Here is a boy themed rag quilt that Bev had turned in for the kids.  Cute, huh?  Teresa has one as well but hers still needs to be clipped and laundered so I told her I would wait to take the picture for our photo album.

We were missing a few of our regulars today but Nancy and Julie stopped by.  Later Aline came with her little great-grand Lilly.  Lilly just turned a year old recently and was charming all of us.  Aline had an adorable Turning Twenty top that we pinned---lots of dots and bright colors.  Apparently sewing is a bit challenging when Lilly keeps her hopping as she does.  Go figure!  For that reason I am going to quilt the top up.  She may get it back for binding detail though.

And this is a quilt that Teresa made for her son and daughter-in-law as their wedding present.  I believe she used a pattern from Maryquilts but I am not sure what Mary called it.  It is a double rail type block obviously---endless stairs, maybe??  The red and black were the theme colors picked by the bride.

We had pinned this recently and Teresa quilted it herself.  She is fairly new to quilting but is doing well.  I showed her how to do the blind hem applique stitch on the binding today.  As I am incessantly saying it is NOT a hemming stitch like a skirt---you hide the stitches!  I had to drag over a lamp I had left at the meeting site so we could see, LOL--dark red/black print backing and black binding!  As soon as she gets this finished up it will be presented to the bride and groom so I DID take a shot of it though it is not quite done.

I had planned to sew a bit more on "My Sunshine" today but I ended up helping to pin and just did not get to it.  Even had my sewing machine with me but never did get around to threading it.  That's okay though.  I can sew at home and it is better to stay flexible on meeting days.  Help out where I can or provide instruction if asked, whatever needs to be addressed.  A couple of us headed out to lunch after we got the meeting room back in order and went on home from there.

That stack in the bedroom is getting so high that I am thinking about setting up to quilt instead of piece.  The machine I use to piece is packed up so it would be easy enough to swap things out.  I count 13 quilts---1 QOV, 12 kids pro bono quilts ten of which are me generated.  Several of the gals have asked if I have any binding that they could help with----nope, not till I get them quilted.  It may be time.

And sew it goes---------

Meeting notes

I believe that I might be in the market for a new mouse as things are NOT staying clicked. I just ended up publishing several pics without any text. The worst is editing documents as I am doing on an almost daily basis as the by-laws are hammered out for Friendship Quilters guild. To say it is getting frustrating would be an understatement. Do you suppose that its getting knocked off the desk on an almost daily basis might be responsible, LOL? Poor mouse!  Can you use a wireless one on a desktop?

Well, you didn't stop here to listen to me complain.  You came to see some quilts. right?  We had a few of the regulars missing-- one gal is helping out her family by keeping her great-grand, two were under the weather. We still managed to get some quilts pinned and made some plans for the sew-in date next month while catching up with each other for a few that were unable to come the previous meeting.  Like always, LOL.

I will tell you about the special project Bev and I teamed up on in another post but I got two more Wrap 'Em quilts pinned as well the Row QOV top.  Man, does that thing seem like a giant compared to the normal 40 x 60' ish range!  We now use a foot or two shorter table at the church to do the job too and that one definitely needed a longer table!


First up, Lois leftovers top.  I don't know the name of the pattern but believe it is in a Fons and  Porter magazine.  (Her husband had sent me a picture of their cat Mittens who looks like Skyler's much bigger brother curled up in her scrap box and the magazine was propped open in her work space----looked like their layout and font.)  She said she used the cutaways from the recent Pineapple Blossom binge for some of the HST units.   Love scrap quilts!

Next, we have Beverly's horse quilt top that she made for her brother.  I thought we might pin it but she is taking it to the long armer to do.  She said her DIL told her it was too short but Beverly wanted it more for a lap quilt, something to throw over the legs on those cool evenings.

Jane turned in this String quilt that Aline had made.  I had quilted it in the end of the year pile of quilting and Jane volunteered for binding detail.  I warned her that my pinned WTIL's count is up to 9 now.  If  I get that pile quilted soon, she and Nancy will be set for hand work for awhile!

And this is Marilyn's quilt for a family member----there is a new baby due any minute and I think this goes to the family's addition.

Most of us did a  quick Hobby Lobby run---no one had a seam ripper with them including me.  Can you believe it?   I also needed a long tape measure for another task.  I had been prepared to give a quilting demo but the two gals that could have benefited from that the most were not there---we'll do that another time.    I had brought the machine with the walking foot only and minimal tools. Normally if I am even remotely planning on sewing, I have a basket set up that has every tool, needle, supply, tape measure that I would need.  I need to tote that out to the car on quilting days just in case, I guess.  We need to have those two items on premises for all of us to use, just like the group mat, rulers and rotary cutter.  It is good that we hit the half price sale on those items!  We  grabbed some fast food on the way back and re-joined the one that hadn't gone out.

And there you have it--------

meeting wrap up

The Belles met on Tuesday and here are a couple of the lovely finished quilts we saw. Aline had completed her Janet Jones Worley quilt from I believe, "Quilts for Chocolate Lovers "or another of her books. I think this is one called "Red Velvet Cake" Aline duplicated similar fabrics. This was from a workshop that was given at the Jacksonville (AL) guild and Lois has a top made but in lovely teals. Beading, applique and all sorts of pretty things!

Lois had completed this quilt for donation. I call this one "Whatever" because I know of 4 ways to piece it and came up with my own variation concerning those HSTs at the top so in that case, who do you credit?? Lois has made several of these--another is in progress. Somehow those scraps just keep reproducing! I love the wavy quilting lines that she used for this as well as the fun fabric she used for the borders and backing. I had a suggestion for another pattern that she might want to explore---not sure what it is called but something I saw on the stashbuster list some time back. Diagonal Irish Chain perhaps??? I know it is one that I want to do as a "leaders-enders" thing and she might too.

I did get the heart quilt backing that I mentioned in my last quilt done on Monday. I had put phone calls in to the two people who had made the blocks to see if it would be okay to include them but piece them into the backing. Both were gracious enough to allow that. The group pinned the 3 tops that I had ready--I have to say that I didn't do my fair share of pinning but I did get the crosshatching marked for the heart quilt and seamed the batting for it. Does that count, LOL? I really should have gotten a photo of Lois' butterfly top that was also pinned. Definitely when it is minus the pins! She even used a pretty butterfly print for the backing.

The fabric you see is what I passed out for this years challenge quilt. I was trying to describe this to my mom and the FABS. I figured that a picture would be worth a thousand words, in this case. The fabric was given to us by a fellow WTIL list mate with the stipulation that it be made for kids and donated to Wrap 'Em when done. I had enough yardage to pass out a yard or near yard this time though some will use a companion print that is less packed with motifs. Already the minds are whirling with some pattern ideas---Just Can't Cut It, BQ 2 or perhaps any of the links that have been flying back and forth between Pat, Norma and I lately as we try to decide on a project involving Halloween fabrics. HERE was the latest one--does anyone know the pattern source on this one?? Pat thought that it could be easily strip pieced and I believe she is right.

So what exactly did I do at the meeting? I mentioned to one of the girls about a quick method I had just watched on video on the computer. Norma had sent the LINK on to the FABS. It seems that Ricky Timms had showed a flying geese that used just one seam that he had been taught by a quilter(s?) in England. Intriguing, huh? I had Linda cut up some of the scrap fabric she was working with on a crazy patch border she was doing for a quilt and we tried it. He said to cut 2- 3 inch squares for the sky fabric and a rectangle 3 x 5 1/2 for the geese fabric. Well, my "notes got cold" in between times and I really should have sat down and stitched one up right then so I would remember how to demonstrate it to the group. I could remember the sizes to cut but not exactly where to the folded was to be placed. The first one I had her stitch was wrong sides out and the second or third time it landed too close to the top but finally we had it figured out. You make the fold with the WRONG sides together and put the raw edges together at the top of the 3 inch square on the bottom. Overlay the 2nd part of the sandwich and stitch a 1/4 inch seam on the right hand side. It's dimensional! Not unlike the beginning steps you take in making a 3D bowtie. I am a whiz at those!

I ended up making 8 or 9 of these things in no time so they would have something to play with and see how it went together, LOL Linda C said she wished she would have had this trick after she made 200 some of them for a recent quilt project! We had a visitor from one of the other quilt groups who said she missed seeing me at that group as I always had a pattern idea that she enjoyed to share---3D bowties was one of them. Linda M said she had shared it with her MIL and the MIL had made like 5 or 6 bowtie quilts since that time. I bet she shows her this geese thing too and this will spread like wildfire in the Calhoun County quilt groups. Now other sizes will take some calculating but right now my piece measures 3 1/4 by 5 1/2 sewing on someone else's machine.

What fun! Well, I best hit the shower as I have to make my "command appearance" at the Home Extension meeting in an hour. I spent a big chunk of the day making sure that the files were in order--tossed a bunch of papers that I knew for a fact were not even looked at in my tenure. I thought I had held this office for maybe 4-5 years but you know how time gets away from you---I started in November of 01. Sheesh, no wonder I need out from under this obligation. So there goes my morning when I need to be home sewing on that row robin. Keep "nagging", Pat, as I need a giant push, girlfriend.

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Carolyn at Ohio Quilter Journey is having a fabric giveaway. Stop by and answer a question and link back from your blog to enter!