Club Notes - December 22, 2021

 I was pleasantly surprised to find 9 of us at this afternoon's meeting.  So close to Christmas, I wasn't sure how many ladies would be able to join me.

For those who were concerned, last week, one of our newer members, Evelyn Bowman, left our party because her husband was going through some medical tests.  She reported today that all 4 of his biopsies came back negative.  A great Christmas gift for them.

Today I brought a stack of stuffed toy patterns, which will be available in the blue pattern books I keep in the closet whenever anyone wants to see them.  Those books also contain patterns for easy quilt ideas and many of the projects we have worked on in the past.

I also brought the 6" squares and showed a simple way to put 28 6" squares  (14 outer and 14 lining)  together to make a tote bag. 

Show and Tell:

Lorraine Manz showed her Christmas Tree Napkins

and a finished quilt, which she created from a panel in our donation stash.

Diane Placek showed her Christmas Tree Napkins 

and some Spam potholders (a family joke).

Mary Ellen Boutin showed a tote bag she made.

Liz Manzione finished a 2-layer fringe fleece blanket.

Carol Thurston showed a kid's crumb quilt she made.

By the end of the meeting, Ceal Pedersen finished a cute teddy bear.

As part of my explanation of how to make a tote bag with squares, I finished one by 3pm. showing the steps along the way.

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No meeting next week.

We will meet again on January 5th  in the Beach Club room instead of our normal room. During the winter months we lose our regular room and are competing for space with other clubs, so we will only meet on the 1st and 3rd weeks of Jan, Feb and Mar.  I will send an email every week to let you know our schedule.

Wishing you all a wonderful holiday season, however you celebrate.  Hope to see you all in January.

Club Notes - December 15, 2021

We had a small but very fun group at today's Christmas party.   Great food and lots of laughs.  Every year I give a gift to the club member who made it to the most meetings and this year the gift went to Ceal Pedersen.

Show and Tell:

Mary Ellen Boutin showed her Christmas tree Napkins 

and a beautiful clack and white nine-patch quilt top.

Pat Pipa put her new embroidery machine to use and made a Christmas tissue box cover. 

When renewing our room reservation for the upcoming year, the coordinator for our area, Regina, asked if I knew anyone who might be willing to make some aprons for her daughter-in-law and 2 granddaughters.

I referred her to Mic Pickard.  Mic took them to Sew Mini Things to pick out fabric and made the 3 aprons with the fabric they chose, 3 different colors of the same print.

Deb Chapman was busy making another purse, 

a star ornament, 

and her final block of the month for 2021.  

She also brought a quilt made by another member of the Quilting Bees, with a request that it be donated to the Sheriff's Youth Ranch.  I will hold it for one of the 2022 graduates.

Audrey Phillips was  busy making Christmas gifts.  She showed a teddy bear she made, 

some placemats,

 and a completed border fabric table runner.  

She also showed the tree napkins she finished

 and a one-hour table runner she made a few years ago.

I had some fun this week making Owliver and Owlivia from a Shabby Fabrics pattern.

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Last week I was able to bring a bunch of zipper bags, tote bags, pillowcases, and 4 quilts to the Ocala Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Center.  I also delivered all the stuffed toys that have been turned in to the Villages Hospital Auxiliary.  I don't think I mentioned it in last week's note, but I delivered 29 dog beds to the South Lake Animal League this month as well.

We had a very productive year.  I reported 1,326 items, over $34,000 worth of donations to the Quilting guild via Allamanda this year. I estimated that 870 of those items were made by members of Sewing 'N More.  You ladies are all incredible!!

A few weeks ago I sent out emails to members who have not come to meetings this year.  For those who have not responded that they want to stay on the mailing list, this will be the last email they will get.  They can always come back and we will happily welcome them, but in the meantime I don't want to clog anyone's email.  Those of you still on the list will see the sign-in sheet reduced a bit.  

Next week I'm guessing many of you will be away, but we will still have a meeting.   I think it would be a good time to just make some stuffed toys.  I'll bring the box of large pieces of fabric and the patterns for several of the easy toys.  

Hope to see you next week.

Club Notes - December 8, 2021

We had a smaller group this afternoon, as expected.  I know many of you are busy getting ready for the holiday.  I do hope you can take some time out for our Holiday party pot-luck next week.  

 Show and Tell: 

Mary Ellen Boutin turned in a walker bag 

and several totes

Ellen Hein made a fleece hat for her grandson 

and a tutu for her granddaughter.

Carolyn Grasso made a quilt using a bunch of Sesame Street characters I had fussy cut from an old blanket.

She picked a great backing for it.

She made a second quilt top using some angel fabric.

 
Carolyn also handed in 2 Christmas totes.

Audrey Philips showed the latest Sulky embroidery she tried - Holly leaf lights. 

Audrey also embroidered a gift for Brenda Severa, who has been helping her.

Ceal Pedersen showed a quilt top she completed. 

Donna Rissman has been working on pillows for the ad litem guardian group to give to the kids they represent.  She didn't bring the pillows, but she did share a photo of the ones she made so far.

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For the rest of the afternoon some ladies sewed on their own projects and some looked through the boxes of fabric I brought, planning their next projects. 

Elaine DiSanto found some fabric and started designing a quilt. 

I pulled a pile of 5" squares in the purple color family and started laying them out.  Ellen and Ceal joined me and together we designed a purple and pink quilt top, which I took home to sew together.  I also threw some green 8.5" squares on the table near the end as a start of another quilt top.  That one needs work, so it will go on my design wall for modifications before I sew it together. 

Next week is our Holiday party.  Dishes, etc have been taken care of.  Bring a main dish, salad, or dessert of your choice to share.  I will bring the beverages and games. Don't forget your pennies or buttons for bingo.   Show and tell is also encouraged, as always. Hope to see you next week.

Club Notes - Dec 1, 2021

Another fun afternoon.  We had 18 ladies at the meeting, including one guest.   During show and tell Mic Pickard shared her trials and tribulations in working with a quilt with flannel backing.  You had to be there to appreciate it.  This is what I always hoped our club would be - sharing experience and lessons learned with each other.  

Show and Tell:

Brenda Severa showed a Christmas decoration

, pillow wrap, 

and a tree placemat.

Lorraine Manz made 2 quilts from fabric picked up from our stash. 

 I gave her the batting and backing, but she quilted them and finished the binding.

Audrey Philips showed a bib she made for her husband.

Carol Thurston added the binding to a bunch of quilts I handed her a few weeks ago.  The first one was actually one she made the stack and wack top for.

I went back to September photos looking for who made this quilt top, but couldn't find it.  I'm guessing someone slipped this in on my pile.  If you recognize it as one you made, let me know and I will update this post.  

This is another one that showed up in the stuff I took home.  I added the border, backing and quilting, and Carol Thurston finished the binding.

This is another one I couldn't find in the photos for the past 3 months.  If you made this quilt top, let me know. Carole finished the binding and, crazy as it sounds, I don't remember quilting it.  (Of course, I've only quilted about 50 quilts this year. (LOL)

Carole Lamb finished some pillowcases

a blanket

and some zipper bags.

Ceal Pedersen handed in 3 dinosaurs

 and a quilt top. She asked me to add the batting and backing and give it back to her for quilting.

Mic Pickard showed 2 quilts she made to give as Christmas gifts.

Deb Chapman made a bunch of potholders as Christmas gifts, each one with fabric personal to the recipients.

 She also made a couple of tote bags and a purse.

Elen Hein is making P.J.'s for the girl scout collection and showed one of these in progress.

  She is also making travel jewelry trays for some friends.

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Today's demo was how to make napkins in the shape of trees.  This is an easy project with just a little sewing and the rest involves folding and ironing.  I've attached the pattern for anyone who didn't get one at our meeting.

As we get closer to Christmas I know everyone has a lot on their schedule, so we are scaling back for the next few weeks.  Next week is an open sew week.  I will bring the 5 inch squares for anyone who wants to design a quilt.  The 8.5" squares, zipper bag fabric, zippers,  and bags of fiber fill, are also available since I have left them in the rec center closet.  I will also bring the large fabric pieces, walker bags kits, and anything anyone else asks for.

December 15th is our Holiday Party Pot-luck so put that on your calendar.  

Hope to see you next week.