Club Notes - April 26, 2017

I was a little late getting to the rec center yesterday, but was very happy to see that those who showed up on time took charge of getting everything set up.  Thank you ladies.

I mentioned that honor flight quilts are needed for the next flight. Also, the Combat Veterans to Careers Group needs 20 quilts by May 16th. They can be 30” by 30” or 36” by 42”. 

Lu Karatzas and Bev Minnerly represented us at the Opis Bayview Center Volunteer Appreciation Luncheon on Tuesday and they reported that they had a great time.  There were all sorts of volunteers there.  Food and company were both good, everyone went home with some prize or gift.   

Carol Riggs talked to us some more about the Ryan's Case for Smiles project she has been coordinating in our area.  She explained that the reason they need so many pillowcases is that the chemicals the children get in their treatment leach out into the pillowcases, so they can never reuse a pillowcase. Each child gets a new one every time they come for treatment.  One child in particular has received over 200 pillowcases.  Carol has pre-cut fabric available for anyone who just wants to sew some pillowcases, or you can make pillowcases with your own fabric and donate it to the cause.  The pillowcases should only have the main fabric and cuff, no trim.  I sent out patterns last week, but if you still need a copy let me know and I will send you another one or print one for you to pick up at the next meeting.

During show and tell I talked about a water soluable tape I used in setting ribbons and zippers on projects.  I must have advertised it too well because Sharky's is now sold out of it and it will take at least a week to restock.  My offer to pick some up for anyone who wants some still stands.  They will let me know when they get it in again and I will purchase as many as I can for those who email me and ask for it.

Show and Tell: 

Dianna Gosselin made a lovely Sunbonnet Sue Quilt.

Lu Karatzas made a Hospice Veterans Quilt.

Diane Placek made a baby quilt from Hawaiian fabric and finished her zip tote.

Bev Minnerly showed a back pack she made.  She also made 2 walker bags and 2 fidget quilts that went directly to Opis Bayview Center.

Jane Motrinec made her zip tote, 2 pillowcases for Case for Smiles, and a quilt.

Nita Hand showed a travel jewelry bag and a modular table topper.  Both of these will be future projects for us. 

Audrey Philips made a zip tote, a walker bag and embroidered earings that are shaped like sewing machines.  (She and Brenda Severa both had on a pair, and Audrey gave me one too)

Brenda Severa showed the zip tote bag she made, using a place mat as the outer fabric.

Alice Meunier made a pillowcase for Case for Smiles.  She also showed her finished embroidered racetack, which will go to the Foster kids at Christmas.

I showed the placemats I made at an Allamanda Quilt chapter project and a winter themed quilt I made for my niece's husband.

During the meeting sew time, Marti Ryne made and handed in A fidget quilt.

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Next week Donna Rissman will show us how to make a folded fabric wreath.  I will sed out the supply list when I get it from her.

Club Notes - April 19, 2017

Today's meeting started a little different than usual. I didn't have announcements, but others did.

Lu Karatzas has joined a group of retired social workers, counselors and therapists to form a group called TLC (Transition Life Consultants) Services.  Members have obtained certification to practice in Florida and are offering services to Villages residents.  I sent a flyer in a separate message announcing a talk Lu is giving on May 3rd called "Where Did I Put It?"

As many of us know, Carol Riggs has been involved with ConKerr for quite a while.  This organization has changed it's name to Ryan's Case for Smiles.  For those unfamiliar, their goal is to provide cheerful pillowcases for children in Orlando area hospitals.  Carol is coordinating several efforts to raise money for fabric for pillowcases and to encourage any and all Village sewers to make pillowcases for this cause.  She brought some items to our club to sell and talked about the efforts underway.

Nita Hand tried out the scissor sharpening guy that Ellen Hein recommended and came back very impressed.  She brought a stack of his business cards to share.

Audrey Phillips talked to us about the Sewing Studio of Lady Lake, which is the new name of the shop near Spanish Springs that used to be A-White.  Her daughter Lynn is assistant manager there now and they are working on expanding their business. They are offering some special incentives.  If I got this right, they are giving a 40% off on one cut of fabric and a 40% off on one notion this week. 

Show and Tell:

Lu Karatzas showed her completed 50th anniversary string art, her chenille bunny, and a fidget muff.  (I love these creative variations!)

Brenda Severa showed her Chenille bunny and a zip-lock bag tote she made a while back.  She made a scissor cover and needle case out of plastic canvas so these items don't poke through the zip-lock bags

Bev Minnerly made fidget quilts.

Audrey Phillips brought a backpack filled with her supplies for today and a chenille bunny.

Kathy Jones made 2 dog beds and 2 fidget quilts.

Eileen DiSanto showed her chenille bunny.

 Ellen Hein made some children's pajama pants and some baby no-scratch mittens for her soon to be granddaughter.  She also made a pair of the mittens for Marti's future grandson.

Mary Nazgiewicz is also going to be a first-time grandmother soon.  She showed a baby blanket she made, and a fidget quilt she worked on with Marie Bray.

Charlotte Cecilio took her chenille piece and made a pillow instead of a bunny.

I finished the quilt that Eileen Navikas made and also made a fidget quilt.

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Despite a sprained ankle, Lu gave a great demo on how to make zip-lock bag totes. She has added some interesting flourishes, such as using clear sheet protectors in addition to the zip-lock bags to hold travel documents, favorite patterns, or any other papers you need to bring. We should see some variety of these totes coming back for future show and tell.

Next week we will make thread/scrap catcher bags.  I will send out the supply list in a couple of days.

Club Notes - April 12, 2017

A small group of 10 ladies plus 1 guest made it to our meeting this afternoon.  I hope many of the rest of you stopped in at Carol Riggs' house this afternoon.  I heard from a couple of ladies who stopped there on the way that there was a good turnout.

Those who came this afternoon concentrated on either making dryer sheet blocks, sewing triangles together, or sorting little blocks into matching sets.  We got a lot accomplished.

No photos this week either, but I am posting this note to maintain continuity.

There will be a separate email with instructions for next week's project..  See you all next week.

Club Notes, April 5, 2017

I was happy to see 22 ladies come out for our first meeting of the year back in our regular room.  We are now back on our weekly meeting schedule.

I started with a couple of announcements.

April 10th, Noon - 3PM - Craft Fair for Busy Hands, Happy Hearts, at Coconut Cove rec center.  

The proceeds benefit nursing homes in the area, assisted Living, Boggy Creek Camp, hospice, the homeless and hospitals. 

April 12th, Noon - 3PM Vendor sale at Carol Riggs' house, 3171 Southern Trace, to benefit Case for Smiles.  I will send more info on this is a separate email.

The woman who was going to take donations to MD Anderson Cancer center sent her apologies.  She has to fly to the hospital instead of driving and won't be ble to take the items.  We will find other places to donate the 4 quilts and 2 neck pillows we have.

I took the rest of the pop=tops we collected to the Villages Elementary school of Lady Lake last Friday.  There was an article in the Daily Sun saying they needed to have all donations by April 3rd.  SO now we are starting again, collecting pop tops and box tops for next year.

Show and Tell:

Lu Karatzas started us off by showing her latest fidget quilt.

Audrey Philips showed 2 bunny candy holders and a race track, all made on her embroidery machine.  The race tracks are being made by the MEQ club and will be donated to the foster children's services at Christmas. 






Since our project this week involved chenille, she also showed a wall hanging her friend Norma Shwartz made using several identical layered panels.

Brenda Severa showed a quilt she is working on.  This was her first attempt to use her embroidery machine to quilt .

Marty Rhyme shared that she is expecting her first grandson on October 1st.  She also talked a little about her recent diving trip to Fiji.

Eileen Navikas made a quilt top with her scraps and dryer sheets.  (She gave it to me to finish sandwiching and quilting.)

Ellen Hein made 4 pillowcases for the Ocala shelter and a pair of pants to match the top she showed last week, for her granddaughter-to-be.

Donna Rissman showed a cute carrot candy holder.  We agreed this can be a future project, possibly as a witches hat for Halloween.

Our newest member, Charlotte Cecilio, showed an adorable door stop she made by wrapping fabric and lace around a brick to make a little teddy bear bed.

I showed our latest group project, another quilt made from dryer sheet blocks that I finished.

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Kathy Jones led our Faux Chenille bunny project this week.  She even arranged to take the chenille fabric to a local friend's house during the meeting so they could be fluffed in a dryer.  It will be fun to see a herd of  rabbits come back in 2 weeks.

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Next week is scheduled as another charity workshop week.  Since the Case for Smiles event is scheduled on the same afternoon, we are going to run next week's meeting a little different, to give you all a chance to participate in both our meeting and the charity event if you wish.  So that no one will miss anything, we will NOT have show and tell next week.  I ask you to hold your show and tell items until the April 19th meeting.

I will bring materials for dryer sheet blocks, precut blocks for charity quilts, dog bed sleeve fabric, and a small amount of items for fidget quilts.  You can work on any of these items or just sew your own project.

Since we won't have show and tell, there won't be any set time for you to arrive or leave.  That will give you the option of stopping at the Case for Smiles charity event on your way to our club or on your way home, if you wish to support that event.  I encourage you to take a little time to support this event.