We had a great meeting this afternoon. I counted 13 of us. Just a few announcements: I dropped off 4 fidget walker bags for Helpertunity last week. Next week I plan to make a delivery to the Ocala Domestic Violence Center. I pulled some of our smaller quilts out of storage to give them once I wash them over the weekend.
Show and Tell:
Mic Pickard showed some goodie bags that will be offered for sale at the Busy Hands, Happy Hearts sale on Monday. Each bag contains kits or patterns and supplies for a specific craft, such as knitting, crochet, or cross-stitch. They will also be selling many finished items. The sale will be held Monday at Coconut Grove rec center's outdoor pavilion, from noon to 2pm,
Charlotte Cecillio showed a stuffed dino she made. (She handed in a 2nd one by the end of the afternoon.)
Pat Pipa made a fidget walker bag and a zipper bag.
Brenda Severa and Audrey Phillips worked together on a red, white and blue quilt.
Ellen Hein made 2 new bags for carrying our assembly line quilts back and forth
and showed the latest completed quilts.
Ellen made this quilt top, I added borders and quilted it, and she finished the binding.
I looked through our photos and can't find who made this quilt top. If you recognize it, let me know and I will update this entry.
Jean Piccirillo finished this quilt top before she went back north.
Eileen DiSanto showed a mask she made trying out a new pattern.
Bev Minnerly made a walker bag
and a drawstring backpack.
Audrey Phillips hasn't been to meetings for a while, so she brought a bunch of things she has been working on.
First on the list was a set of Easter placemats.
Then she showed some towels she embroidered.
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Today I led the first demo we have had since the COVID restrictions. This was an explanation of how we use USED dryer sheets to make simple quilt blocks. The key points:
- There are at least 3 different sizes of dryer sheets on the market. Make sure you always use the same size/brand to get consistent size blocks.
- Always work with used dryer sheets, not new ones. Once they have gone through the dryer the sticky chemicals that can mess up your iron are gone.
- If the dryer sheet needs to be ironed, use a low (synthetic fabric) setting on your iron.
- You can use any simple paper piecing pattern on dryer sheets. The advantage of dryer sheets over paper is that you don't have to pull the base (paper) out when you are done. The dryer sheet can stay in the finished quilt and it smells nice.
- The disadvantage is that you are limited to the size and shape of the dryer sheet. A Bounce dryer sheet is about 6" x 9".
- If you are using the diagonal strip design we have most often used at our club you have 2 options.
- If you want to make an X pattern quilt like we have been making for patriotic quilts, you need to decide on a standard width white strip to place diagonally from corner to corner. The red and blue strips on either side of the white can be any width. You need to make 2 blocks with the strips angled from bottom left to top right and 2 blocks with the strips angled bottom right to top left. When sewn together they will form the X.
- If you make blocks without the white strip, sashing will probably be needed to separate the blocks, as in most scrappy quilts.
- You can also use some other simple designs, such as horizontal or vertical stripes. I also showed an idea using a small square focus block in the center, with other fabric pieced around it to fill the dryer sheet.
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After the demo everyone went to work on various projects. I brought the 3.5" squares and some ladies took some of them to make 9-patch blocks. Some experimented with dryer sheet blocks.
Ellen finished the binding on a quilt I made.
I put the rows together on a 9-patch quilt top I have been working on.
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I think we can now start having some demos. There are some demos, like today's that can be successful while still keeping safe distances. We are also close to the point when all the ladies who are currently coming to meetings will have received their 2nd vaccine shot. That gives us a little more freedom. I have another demo in mind, but will be saving that for May. I will try to do one demo each month, but if any one else is willing to give a demo on something, let me know and I will put you on the schedule. Remember, the concept this club was originally built on is, "No one is an expert on everything, but everyone knows how to do something. We need to share what we know with our friends and have fun in the process."
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