Club Notes - March 25, 2026

There were 16 of us at today’s meeting.  We are still waiting for the maintenance to finish the cabinet project.  So far, we are managing to work around the chaos.

Last week I gave 56 stuffed toys to the Lake Panaskoffee United Methodist Church.  The lady who picked them up was excited to see them.  She told me about a little girl who called out of the car window while in the food pickup line to say that it was her birthday.  Next time she will get a toy.

I talked about a new charity I have learned about called Kennel Quilts.  The following is a description from their web page:

“Kennel Quilts is a volunteer organization that is available when disasters strike. It is a way to join a larger effort to help our animal friends in times of need by doing what we love. The Kennel Quilt team supplies kennel quilts to shelters.”

When I checked last Friday, the quilts were going to Michigan.  Today the current need is listed as Hawaii.  Wherever there is a current disaster, the address of the appropriate Humane society is posted on the web site.  If any  of you are interested in making these quilts, you can hand them in at any time.  I will hold them until I have enough to fill a mailing box, them mail them to whichever organization is coordinating the current need.

Here are the guidelines for making these quilts:

Guidelines for Small Kennel Quilts:

·         Materials used should be 100% cotton (biodegradable) on the advice of a veterinarian. This includes the fabric, batting, and thread. Do not use fleece for it sheds to much. Do not use flannel for it often has synthetic fibers. Even 100% cotton flannel tends to pill and it is not suitable for Kennel Quilts during a disaster. Terry Cloth is not suitable for Kennel Quilts. Little claws can catch on it. Batting cannot have scrim for scrim is usually made of polyester. This is a safety issue in case the pet chews the Kennel Quilt.

·         You do not have to prewash the fabric, but wash the Kennel Quilt after it is made. (pets can have allergies just like humans). (Note: I will wash them as a group before mailing.)

·         Finished size should be 12" x 18". This fits the most commonly used small kennel used at shelters.

·         When piecing, use a small stitch length (e.g. 14 stitches/inch).

·         Do not use binding as it can be hazardous to pets if it becomes loose. Layer, sew around the edge using a small stitch length, and turn quilts pillow-cover style. Whipstitch the opening with small, tight stitches.

·         Use only simple appliques that are secured with tight stitches along the edges. Avoid using fusibles.

·         Keep the quilting simple and use small tight quilting stitches that won’t catch on pet claws. Do not tie quilts as the ends can get caught in claws or chewed off.

·         Do not use any metallic threads or other embellishments (e.g. beads, charms, buttons, ribbons, lace, trims, etc.) of any kind. Do not add handles or loops to the quilt.

  

Show and Tell:

Janet Murtaugh showed a kid’s quilt she made.

Louise Stem made  2 pillowcases for her husband.

Eileen DiSanto made 4 toys to be stuffed.

Ceal Pedersen showed some more stuffed toys that she painted the faces on to finish them for us. I also sent her home with a big bag full of toys made by Allamanda members, all needing faces.

Carolyn made a bunch of toys to be stuffed, and a wall hanging for her neighbor.

Diane Placek made a tote from 5” squares, using the pattern I demoed last week.  She made the handle and a matching zipper bag from other matching squares.

Eileen St Clair and Ellen Hein showed two quilts that they finished the binding on. 

The first is one that Lorraine Manz put together from fans found in a donation.  

The second, I believe, was a quilt top found in a donation.  The fabrics appear to be vintage.

 

Before the meeting and after show and tell, Janet showed how to make little bunnies from wash clothes.  She brought a stack of clothes for anyone who wanted to try.

I talked about how to make drawstring backpacks from 5” squares.  For the children attending the Youth Ranch summer camps, I suggested a 9-patch design for each outer side and another set of two 9-patch pieces for the lining.  Basically, you need 18 5” squares for the outside, 18 5” squares for the inside, 2- 3”x15” strips for the drawstring channels, and 2 tabs of some sort 5”x2”.   I do not have a written instruction yet but will try to write one within the next week.  We are trying to use as many of the squares as possible, so I encouraged everyone to take some of the squares home and try this.  The squares are also available for any other charity project.

Hope to see you next week.

Lois

Club Notes - March 18, 2026

There were 12 of us at today’s meeting, including 1 potential new member. The maintenance people still have not gotten whatever it is that they need to finish the cabinet project, so we are still missing some of our tables to work on.

There were no other announcements today. 

Show and Tell:

Louise Stem made 6 more pillowcases for us to choose from for the Ranch graduates.

Janet Murtaugh made a bunch of toys to be stuffed, and showed a simple Easter craft called boo-boo bunny.  It is made starting with a washcloth.  Janet will demo this next week.

Robin Barrack showed 2 sets of pillowcases.

Ceal Pedersen showed 16 more stuffed toys that she painted the faces on to finish them for us.

Ellen Hein showed a twin-size quilt top.

I showed the tote I made from last week’s demo.  This one was made using 38  6.5” squares and some firm Pelon fusible interfacing.  I think I will add another row next time I make one, to make it a little deeper.

I also showed a quilt I made (for myself), using Gnome panels. If you zoom in, you will see that each gnome around the border is holding a little animal (stuffy?).

We are trying to use as many of the squares as possible, so I encouraged everyone to take some of the squares home and make a tote or quilt top.  The squares are also available for any other charity project.

I had planned to show how we can make draw string backpacks using squares, but the week got away from me. I’ll schedule this for a future week.  The Sheriffs’ Youth Ranch will appreciate these for the summer camp kids.

Hope to see you next week.

Lois

Club Notes - March 11, 2026

There were 13 of us at today’s meeting, including 1 new member. Today’s challenge was space.  The building maintenance crew are doing something with the cabinets in the room, and the pottery club had to remove everything from the cabinets.  The Maintenance crew discovered they were missing something and had to stop work until those parts arrived. As a result, several tables were full of stuff and unavailable for our use, including 2 near the outlets.  Fortunately, we were able to work around it today, and hopefully it will be back to normal next week.

I talked a little about last Saturday’s Notions Sale.  There was so much for sale in that room that we had lots of competition and did not do well.  It is not worth our pursuing again.  We have always done better in the craft sales where we can sell finished items.  The next ones will be the Quilt Guild Craft Sale and The Villages Craft Sale.  Both sales are in October (dates TBD).   I am no longer able to manage the process of collecting and tracking the items to be sold and getting there to do the setup early in the morning.   If anyone is willing to be the craft sale “chair” for the fall, please let me know.  This can be a team of 2 or 3.   I will be available to give advice and assist.  You can choose to do one or both of the sales and I will pay the table fees out of club funds.  If no one volunteers we will have to pass on these fund raisers.

Show and Tell:

Janet Murtaugh showed 2 quilt tops for children.

Ceal Pedersen showed some more stuffed toys that she painted the faces on to finish them for us,

and 2 quilts she made for next weekend's craft sale.

Bev Minnerly made 2 “cats” 

and some doll clothes.

Donna Rissman showed several quilts from Moyer Quilters, and a dog bed.

Eileen DiSanto cut out and sewed some critters, to be stuffed.

Ellen Hein showed her finished Veteran’s hospice quilt tops. 

She also handed in one more for me to quilt.

This week I explained how to make a tote out of any size squares.  You need 19 squares for the outside of the tote and can either use 19 more squares of the same size or a piece of fabric for the lining.  Batting, fusible fleece, or other stiffener is recommended, but it is ok to make a “loose tote” if desired.  The pattern is attached.

 We are trying to use as many of the squares as possible, so I encouraged everyone to take some of the squares home and try this.  The squares are also available for any other charity project.

Next week I will show how we can make draw string backpacks using squares.   The Sheriffs’ Youth Ranch will appreciate these for the summer camp kids.

 

Hope to see you next week.

Lois

Club Notes - March 4, 2026

There were 12 of us at today’s meeting. We thought we would be back to normal today, but instead we had a temporary scare.  Eric met me with the information that our green bin with all out rotary cutters, scissors, small rulers, table risers, and patterns was missing.  He searched the entire building and could not find it.  Luckily, Janet Murtaugh decided not to give up.  She spotted something that looked like scissors on the floor under a different set of shelves and discovered that our bin was there.  It was hidden behind several other boxes in a section of the closet that does not belong to us.  We all breathed a sigh of relief.

Show and Tell:

Janet Murtaugh showed some stuffed dog toys.  She also brought some cigar boxes to offer for sale to our group before they are sold on Saturday.

Ceal Pedersen showed some more stuffed toys that she painted the faces on to finish them for us. 

She also showed a quilt she made.

Eileen DiSanto cut out and sewed some critters, to be stuffed.

Isabella O’Brien Showed how she is making progress sewing our 4” squares into quilts.

 

Ellen Hein showed her latest Veteran’s hospice quilt top.

This Saturday, March 7^th  is the Quilter’s Closet & Notions Sale at La Hacienda. 8:30am-12:30pm.   Caroline Grasso, Roxann Wales and Isabella O’Brien have volunteered to help. Come out and check out the bargains.

The  All Florida Shop Hop started on March 1^st and will run through the end of April.  I stopped at the Sewing Studio of Lady Lake after the meeting today and they had the special shop hop fabric plus lots of sales.  Purchase the magazine at one of our local shops to get free patterns and the official passport needed to register for prizes. There are prizes given at the shops plus regional and all Florida prizes. This is a fun way to get to know the area shops.

Hope to see you next week.

Lois