Club Notes - June 27, 2018

I think a lot of you are either away for summer vacations or entertaining grandchildren.  There were only 9 of us at the pot-luck this afternoon, but there was still plenty of food and fun.

Last Friday-Saturday I started my annual row-by-row quest. Ray and I did an overnight trip to the Jacksonville area.  We decided to get to one shop just over the border into Georgia and I'm so glad.  The shop we found is "Beyond Fabric", and I was amazed at their prices and selection.  All the cotton fabric was priced under $7, and they also carry an assortment of other kinds of fabric, including a back room with rolls of outdoor, upholstery, and marine grade fabrics.  They had some really cute kid's fabrics and, since we have not been getting much usable for pillowcase bodies, I used some of our 50-50 funds and bought some of it. It's in the pillowcase supply box now.  

Show and Tell:

Eileen DiSanto was so happy to figure out that she could run her sewing machine using a button on the machine instead of the foot peddle.  She got her project pile out and made a big stack of microwave bowls.  She also showed the tied fleece elephant quilt she finished.

Pat Pipa finished the twin size fidget quilt she's been working on. She made the back fun too, using a column of strips in the center to extend the size of the backing. 


  She also finished converting a bunch of wine bags into the draw-string bags the Ocala shelter has asked for.

I finished 2 of the foldable fabric boxes.  These were great fun.

Then I showed 2 easy projects that I'm scheduling as club projects.
First, the "Colorful Table Runner" which uses fat quarters and a skewed block design to make it more interesting. This is currently scheduled as an August 1 project.

Then on Aug 15th I'm planning to demo a simple mug rug pattern which can be made with the focus fabric of your choice.

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We had fun with BINGO Lois Style after show and tell. I have been picking up little prizes here and there and the big hit prize was a pen with a ruler and a level on the side. I may have to try to get some more of these.

There will be NO Meeting next week, since it falls on July 4th.  Everybody enjoy a week off.
On July 11th, Lynn will be showing how to make the quilted hug shawl. I'm attaching the instructions to my email again in case you misplaced it.  If you are going to do this, you should try to do steps 1 and 2 ahead of time.  Please come out for Lynn's demo if you can.  This project takes a little more time that most of the things we work on, so it is scheduled for 2 weeks.

My current plans have me away on a panhandle shop hop that week, so Pat Pipa will be running the meeting that day.  I will see you on the 18th.

Club News - June 20, 2018

It was a fun afternoon.  Donna Rissman did her usual excellent job at giving a demo.  Today she showed how easy it is to make a foldable fabric box.  I've attached the instructions, but, for all of you who weren't there, it was much better (and more fun) seeing her explain it. 

 Before the end of the afternoon Marti Rhyne proved her sewing ability by completing the first one!

Announcements:

First one sad note.  Carol Riggs' son has recently undergone some very serious surgery and she has asked us all for our prayers for him.

Eileen DiSanto had vein surgery last Friday, the day before her birthday.  She is in a bit of pain as a result and can't drive or use the foot control on her sewing machine. She was disappointed because she had several projects cut, expecting to sew while she recovered, but she got a couple of hints on how she could sew without using leg pressure.  Prayers for her too.

On a lighter note, the Row by Row season begins tomorrow (the first day of Summer) and continues through Labor Day.  I've scheduled 3 all day shop hops for anyone who wants to come along.  The first will be next Thursday and you can see the details in an email I sent last week.  At the moment there are 4 of us going and my van will hold 2 more if anyone is interested. 

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Show and Tell:

Last week Carol Riggs donated a bunch of wine bags and we were trying to figure out how to convert these to the draw string bags that the Ocala Shelter requested.  Donna Rissman and Pat Pipa each took one home to try an idea and they both came back with the results today.  Both ladies decorated the sides of the bags.  

Donna added a channel for a draw string and left the handle as well.

Pat removed the handles and used a hole punch to make places to thread a draw string through.  Both solutions work great!

Eileen DiSanto showed the placemat zipper bag she finished from the demo a few weeks ago, 

Lynn Kluczynski took some of our ever growing supply of fabric squares and made 2 quilts tops. 







  She also started a third and talked about how this one could be turned into an on-point design.  She showed how it will be sewed blocks together 12 across and 6 down, then during the meeting cut the sides diagonally and showed how the 2 resulting triangles will be sewed together and then to the other piece.  It's not easy to explain, but it came out great.

Alice Meunier finished another beautiful charity quilt.

Carol Riggs embroidered a bag for table tennis paddles (her other hobby) for a friend

I showed a fidget walker bag with a draw string opening and a twin size fidget quilt.

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Lots of work got done after the demo.  

Carol Coyne finished a pillow she made for her granddaughter.





Some ladies worked on the foldable boxes. Pat Pipa worked on creating decorative panels for the wine bags.  Nella Rose got her twin fidget quilt pinned and ready to quilt.  I worked on sorting a box of 4" blocks by color and separating blocks that were in the wrong box.

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Next week is our summer pot luck  and games . Show and Tell is encouraged as always, but there will be no project  so you don't need to bring a machine.  Bring a dish to share if you can.  I will provide plates, etc. and ice tea.  Even if you can't bring something, come anyway.  There is always plenty.
Hope to see you next week.

Club Notes - June 13, 2018

We had a very small turnout today, but we still had fun and got stuff done. It was the first day in a while with no rain in the forecast, so I'm guessing many of you opted for outdoor activities.

We had a very small turnout today, but we still had fun and got stuff done. It was the first day in a while with no rain in the forecast, so I'm guessing many of you opted for outdoor activities.

Bev Minnerly and I were the only ones with items to show.  

Bev made 4 sets of doll clothes.  

I finished a baby quilt 

and a twin-size quilt with fidget items at the top edge.

Bayview nursing home gave me several fidget walker bags that needed just a little more added, so Pat Pipa and I worked on hand-sewing some stuff onto these.  Nella Rose worked on adding fidget items to the quilt top she showed last week. Others busied themselves with various projects.

Next week Donna Rissman will be showing us how to make a foldable thread box.  I will send out the requirements separately, as always.

I shared plans for 3 potential summer shop hops today.  I will send out those details separately as well.  

Club Notes - June 6, 2018

Seventeen of us braved the thunderstorm this afternoon to come out and play together. Lu gave a great demo on how to make a heart shaped pouch which can be used to hold a gift card or send an encouraging message to someone who needs it.  

Announcements -  The annual row by row shop list has been released and I have begun working up some alternative road trip plans.  The best day for a trip seems to be on a Thursday since several shops are open later that day and it would allow us to get to the last one after 5pm if need be.  There is also another shop hop July 20-Aug 4 called "A Charming Shop Hop".  In that one you pay $8 for a passport and get a bracelet charm from each shop you visit.   There is a little overlap in Row by Row shops and Charm shops, so I may plan one road trip to do both at the same time.  I hope to have a proposal for 2 road trips by next week.  As in prior road trips, I can take 5 passengers in my van and if more than that are interested we'll need to have a 2nd car and driver.  Just something to think about for now.

Show and Tell:

Charlotte Cecillio finished her kitty door decoration.  She also made a pillow out of one of her husband's t-shirts and used the excess fabric to make a couple of the cancer patient caps.

Eileen DiSanto make a mini microwave bowl to hold small ice cream dishes.  She also made some hanging towels by sewing a potholder to the center of a towel and adding a button.  Cute, practical, and easy!

Donna Rissman not only made a stuffed duck to donate, she made a baby one to give to Diana Gosselin, as a thank you for help in making this project. She also showed the square fabric boxes that she will be demoing on July 20th.  These have lots of uses, and she showed one used to hold flowers.

Carol Riggs showed a shirt she embroidered for her table tennis activity.

Diane Placek, Pat Pipa, Lu Karatzas and I all showed completed zipper bags from last week's demo.

Dianna Gosselin made some cancer patient caps and some pillow cases to donate.

B.J. Herter finished another flannel charity quilt.

Marty Rhyne showed a couple of zipper bags she made from a free downloaded embroidery pattern.

Nella Rose put together a quilt top for our fidget quilt challenge. 

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Next week is our charity project week.  I plan to bring supplies to make fidget walker bags and to adorn the fidget twin quilts that Bay View requested.  We also had a request for more small drawstring bags for the Ocala shelter and Carol Riggs brought in a bunch of wine carrier bags that we can convert to these.  Whatever you want to work on, there will be something for you to do, so come out and join in the sewing fun.