Club Notes - June 28, 2017

Great party today. Lots of good food, fun games and plenty of laughs.  What more can I say.

We did have show and tell between lunch and games:

Mary Kahlow showed a couple of placemats she made by copying the shape of an old one she had.  She also told us about the number of lost  pins and needles she found inside a couple of old pin cushions she took apart.  Morale - never just throw out an old pin cushion.

Jane Motrinec made 2 pillowcases for Ryans Case for Smiles, a in-the-hoop little purse, and a tote bag to put  it all in.  


She also tried the fabric wrapped clothesline project but admitted she could not get it to curve so her bowl became a hot plate.  Nice save!














Laura Tomich made 6 pillowcases for Ryans Case for Smiles.

Pat Pipa made a pillow case and a fidget quilt.






 

Donna Rissman showed a cute flip-flop wreath and a gadget holder. (The wreath is definitely on the list as a future project.)

Dianna Gosselin definitely deserves the title of pillow case queen.  She comes every week with a stack, but this week she outdid herself, making 19 pillow cases! Way to go.

Audrey Philips was finally able to join us again and she brought her completed fabric wreath.  Great to have you back Audrey.

Chris Leedy wobbled in again on her crutches and we were happy to see her out and about.  She showed 2 beautiful mug rugs with the names of her dogs, Parker and Pickles.  Then she showed a project in the works and talked about the pattern and excellent "Starry Patriotic Templates" that went with it.  The templates are unique in that each one works for 3 sizes and has perfect cut marks for the star tips. We're looking forward to seeing the finished product.

Mary Nazgiewicz made a great fidget quilt.

Carol Riggs showed a neck sewing caddy, consisting of a lanyard with places for sewing tools on the ends.

I showed my work in progress - the first few completed rows for this year's row-by-row contest. 

Next week we will be back to having a project demo.  I will send out supply info in a separate email.   Hope to see you then.

Club Notes - June 21, 2017

Happy First Day of Summer!

A lot of you must be celebrating summer because we had a very light turnout today.  Those of us who did come had a good time though.  Pat Pipa gave a great demo on how to turn a cotton clothesline and some fabric strips into a beautiful bowl.  This is an easy project, but not a quick one.  I worked on mine for about an hour this afternoon and didn't quite finish the flat base.  I expect to see a few of these come back for show and tell, but it may take a few weeks.   

Thanks to the ladies who sorted through the fabric strips I brought this week.  We now have a bunch of fabric strips separated by color, so anyone who wants to sew dryer sheet blocks will have an easier time finding the colors they want.

Announcements:

1. Speaking of fabric strips, this was one of the announcements I made today.  Until we get our donated fabric into a manageable state of organization, I plan to bring a box in each week.  Anyone not working on anything else is invited to dive into the box and sort the contents.  The end result (I hope) will be organized supplies so we can find what we need for any given project without driving ourselves crazy in the process.  I have a spot to store the sorted fabric strips at the rec center, so these will be available for use in dryer sheet blocks every week.

2.  I received a suggestion for continuing the 50/50 drawings each week and using the funds generated to buy supplies for charity projects.  We get a lot of donations that are good for fidget quilts, doggie beds, cat hammocks, and scrappy quilts, but some projects need larger pieces.  Pillow cases, quilt backings, backpacks, and stuffed toys are some examples.  Some of us are able to purchase and donate fabric for these items, but not everyone can.  Those at today's meeting all agreed that this is a good way to get supplemental supplies.  We started this today and the winner kindly donated back her winnings, so we have $20 to start this fund.  We will discuss what to spend this on as needed.

3. A second suggestion I received was to focus our charity project days a little better.  We will set a specific charity project of the month and only bring supplies that support that project.  This will save me from carting in everything in my storage every month and allow us to focus on one project at a time.   At first the supplies may not always be well separated, but I will do my best to bring what we need.  As we sort the supplies (as I talked about above), this will get easier.  The next  charity workshop (July 12) we will work on quilt blocks, either dryer sheet blocks or precut squares.  After that I will ask for a vote.   The other options so far are: fidget quilts, pillowcases, stuffed toys, backpacks, or walker bags.  (Did I miss anything??)  The current list is of 6 projects.  That gives us 2 times a year to work on each one.  Your feedback on this plan is encouraged.  I am open to suggestions always.

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Show and Tell:

Chris Leedy was finally able to join us again on her way back from physical therapy. It's been a long recovery for her.  Let's pray it goes a little faster.  

Despite not making it to meetings she has been reading the blog and trying our projects at home.  She showed her completed 4-way placemat and a purse she made for her granddaughter.(?).

Jane Swafford finished 4 more pillowcases for Ryan's Case for Smiles.

Pat Pipa also finished her 4-way placemat. She also made a stack of dog bed sleeves and a fidget quilt.

This was definitely placemat day.  Eileen DiSanto showed her finished 4-way placemat with all CHristmas fabrics, to be donated to Project Homebound.

I made a fidget quilt and finished another charity quilt from some of our pink donated blocks.   I also showed the Landscape Silhouette quilt I have been working on for the past few months.  Although it still needs a better binding, it is finally done!

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Next week is our Summer Pot Luck.  Bring a dish of your choice (main, salad or dessert) if you can.  If you can't no worries, there will be plenty of food to go around.  I will supply ice tea, paper plates, etc. and games.   We will have a couple of different games plus a fun Bingo.  Bring 25 pennies or buttons to use as markers.   Carol Riggs has purchased prizes with our 50/50 funds.  Even I don't know what she got, so it will be fun for all.

Hope to see a good turnout for the party.

Club Notes - June 14, 2017

Yesterday's meeting ran a little different than our usual charity workshops. A few dyers sheet blocks were made, but most of the ladies spent the afternoon sorting through the fabric we have.  In addition to the supplies I brought out of storage we received at least 3 large bags and 3 large bins of donations today. A couple of ladies spent the afternoon sorting fabric into blocks strips, or fabric to be cut into blocks.   I brought my Acquiquilt Go-cutter and it got put to good use, but we still barely made a dent in what we have.  I love the fact that we get these donations, but I am also sometimes overwhelmed.  I am sure I left today with more boxes and containers than I came with.  I just barely managed to squeeze it all into my van.   I got lucky when I got to my storage place though.  A gentleman on his way out saw the load I had and asked if I could use some help, which I gladly accepted.

Show and Tell:

Jane Swafford showed her finished 4-way placemat and a lovely pile of pillowcases.

Linda Parr has been busy in the couple of weeks since the last time when was able to get to one of our meetings.  She crocheted a baby afghan on the bias, finished a Hospice Veterans quilt, and a couple of little zipper bags.

Lu Karatzas showed her finished flag pin cushion.  She is going north for the summer this week and we will miss her.

Mary Nazgiewicz made a pile of lovely pillow cases

Donna Rissman showed her completed flag cushion, but I hesitate to call it a pin cushion.  She filled it with aquarium rocks! 

She also showed a tote bag she completed and a Hospice Veterans quilt.

Pat Pipa showed the project we will be working on next week.  This project is a basket made from cotton clothesline, strips of fabric (1/2 - 3/4 inch wide), and a glue stick.   (These are the supplies you need for next week.)

Laura Tomich showed the pillow cases she made this week.

I showed a quilt I finished from some of our donated blocks.  Ellen Hein and Eileen DiSanto help me lay the blocks out in a pattern during our last charity workshop.

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Supplies for next week's project:

Cotton clothes line (available at Walmart)

strips of fabric (1/2 - 3/4 inch wide)

a glue stick.

a heavy duty needle (Jeans needle 90/14 or 100/16)

I will also have the bin of pillowcase fabric and fabric for dryer sheet blocks as usual, in case you want to do some of that.  Hope to see you all next Wednesday.

Club Notes - June 7, 2017

We had 17 ladies brave the rain today for our club meeting.  The rec center attendant, Patty, was very helpful, holding the front door open and greeting some of us with an umbrella over our sewing machines.  She even carried a bin in for one of our members.

Show N Tell:  (http://sewingn-more.blogspot.com/)

Dianna Gosselin was busy this week.  She brought in 20 finished pillow cases.

Alice Meunier came in with 3 finished pillow cases.

Lu Karatzas finished a Hospice veterans quilt.

Mary Nazgiewicz finished her 4-way place mat from last week.  She also was busy making baby stuff for her some-to-be grand-daughter, showing a bunch of burp clothes and a reversible baby dress.

Eileen DiSanto showed a place mat she made.

I showed a set of four 4-way place mats I made from last week's demo.

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This week's demo was to make a little flag pin cushion and learn a little about paper piecing in the process. I gave the demo and handed out the patterns.  I saw at least 8 of these being worked on during the afternoon.
Next week is charity project week.  Weather permitting, I will bring in as much of our supplies as I can manage. You can make fidget quilts, pillow cases, dryer sheet blocks, walker bags, doggie bed sleeves, backpacks, toys, or anything else we can give to one of our charities.  You can also cut or sort the donated quilt blocks so we can make more charity quilts.  I'm looking forward to a fun meeting next week.

Club Notes - May 31, 2017

24 ladies came out for this week's meeting.  Once more I have to thank everyone who helped get everything set up at the beginning and get things put away at the end.
Show and Tell:

Lu Karatzas crocheted another great fidget muff.

Bev Minnerly made a sewing machine cover and a doll dress.

Ellen Hein made a reversible baby dress.

Donna Rissman made 2 quilts - one for Cornerstone Hospice and the other she wanted to donate to charity.  Since it is a large quilt, we thought it best to go to Operation Shoebox to be auctioned in their fundraiser.

Pat Pipa finished one of her color gradient placemats.

Susie Pendry embroidered a sports tote for her grandson.

Mary Nazgiewicz finished a dog bed and donated a dog blanket and toy to go with it.

Diane Placek showed a quilt she made for her church's charity.

 Marty Rhyne made a big pile of baby stuff.  She also designed and completed a baby quilt for her soon to-be grandson.

Laura Tomich brought in another fidget quilt.

 I made a fidget quilt and an honor flight quilt.

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After show and tell Mary Naz demonstrated how to make a 4-way reversible placemat.  This is a really clever idea and everyone enjoyed the demo.  I saw quite a few of these being worked during the afternoon.

Since Flag Day is coming up in 2 weeks I thought it would be fun to make a flag pin cushion.  This can be machine or hand sewn, your preference, and only takes a little bit of fabric.  I will send out the requirements later this weekend.

Have a great week.