Club Notes - March 29, 2023

Today we got our regular room back and we had a pot luck party to celebrate.  There was lots of good food – salads, 3 kinds of chicken, tuna sandwiches, great breads, and luscious desserts.  We had fun with Florida trivia and bingo after lunch and show and tell.

Show and Tell:

Ceal Pedersen showed her latest baby quilt.

Carolyn Grasso finished a snowman table runner and a bag she made from scraps.

Louise Stem made 2 pillow cases 

and some rows of blocks she is putting together to make a prayer quilt for a friend.

Bev Minnerly made 4 walker bags.

Deb Chapman showed a little card wallet, 

a table mat, 

and a quilt top she made.

Audrey Phillips made a tote bag from a panel she found at Sew Mini Things during last week’s shop hop.  

She also showed a kitchen mitt she made from a sewing class she has been watching.

Anne Knoff made some large totes and handed in a completed quilt.

Ellen Hein completed the binding on 14 quilts I had given her over the past month.

Ellen made these 2 Cornerstone Hospice quilts.

Ceal Pedersen made this one.

Pat Pipa made this one from blocks she found in our stash

Mary Ellen Boutin handed these 2 in before she went back north.

Lorraine Manz made this one before heading back to Canada.

Deb Chapman made these 2 quilts.

I made these next 2

That leaves these last 3.  I couldn't find the photos of these easily, so if you made one of these let me know and I will update this blog entry.

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Next week I thought we’d revisit an old project – Easter Egg placemats. To make one of these you need 8-10 strips of 2.5” wide fabric, at least 12” long and a fat quarter for the backing.  I will bring some batting scraps.  If you want to make matching hot plates or potholders, you need to add insulbrite.  I will send a picture of mine before the meeting.

See you next week.

Club Notes - March 15, 2023

Today’s meeting was lighter on fabric donations than it has been lately.  We did have some dog bed stuffing going on.

I went through the stash of panels last week and pulled out a bunch that have multiple images in each panel.  I cut some of these ahead of the meeting to show the possibilities of using these for pockets or decorations to brighten a tote bag, backpack or walker bag.  Deb and Lisa chipped in to cut out many of the rest of the panels.

I talked about how young mothers associated with some of our charities could use the drawstring backpacks we make.  They just need to be a little sturdier than the ones we had been making for kids.  This can be accomplished either by using heavier fabric for the outside or lining, or by applying a fusible interface to the lining to make the backpack sturdier.   Today’s demo was on how to make a drawstring backpack using cotton fabric and the kind of fusible interfacing often used in purses, like Pelon Décor Bond 809.

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Show and Tell:

Kathryn Jeter showed a lovely large quilt top.

Bev Minnerly made 5 zipper bags 

and 3 walker bags for donation, 

and 2 shopping totes for herself.

Pat Pipa made a tote and zipper bags.

Ceal Pedersen made some 10” strip squares for the quilts Ellen puts together.

Louise Stem made 6 pillowcases.

Deb Chapman showed some little wallet purses she made, 

2 table runners, 

and a quilt top.

Eileen DiSanto showed a baby quilt top she made.

Audrey Phillips showed a pillow, 

2 placemat tote bags,

and some potted Witch Legs she made from a pattern she found at last week’s shop hop.

I showed a place mat tote,

 2 placemat Clutch bags, 

and a purse I made from my favorite Bermuda Bag pattern.

March has 5 Wednesdays, so we get an extra meeting this month. Our March 29^th meeting will be the last one in the Beach Club room for this year.  Starting April 5th we are back in the Hula Lounge and will be back meeting every Wednesday through the end of the year.  To celebrate, we will have our Spring Potluck on April 5^th.  More on this at our next meeting.

That’s it for now.  Hope to see you in 2 weeks.

Club Notes - March 1, 2023

There were 15 of us at today’s meeting.  I brought the 8” squares and the large blocks.  We received several bags/boxes of donations and filled 6 dog beds.  In addition to the dog beds, there were lots of usable large fabric pieces.  I took the potential backings and panels, and Mic took the rest to merge into the bins.  Thanks to new member Lisa for neatly folding the fabric so it is easy to see what is there.

 I didn’t have any announcements this week, but forgot to mention that I a member of the Allamanda Quilters is helping with a neighbor’s estate and has 4 good sewing machines for sale.  If anyone is interested, let me know and I will get the details and put you in touch.

 Show and Tell:

Carolyn Grasso showed a wall hanging 

and some free-standing lace bookmarks.

Ceal Pedersen brought 2 dino toys, 

some zipper bags, 

 

a quilt top, 

and 2 baby quilts.  

Deb Chapman showed her latest “Lazy Girl” purse.

I showed the “Lazy Girl” purse I made last week.

Mary Ellen Boutin made 2 zipper bags 

and 2 quilt tops.

Mic Pickard made several walker bags

and a zipper bag.

Audrey showed an easter towel 

and several treat bags

Ellen Hein brought a bunch of quilts that I quilted and she completed the binding on for us. 

I wasn't sure how to quilt this until Ellen gave me a great sugestion.

Her sugestion gave me the idea on how to quilt this one that Lorraine made.

She also made a zipper bag

and several Cornerstone Hospice quilt tops.

 

The last quilt top she showed was the joint club project.  
Ladies in our club each made squares from some of our scraps and gave them to Ellen to put together.  This is the result.

For today’s demo, I showed how to turn a placemat into a clutch purse or 2 placemats into a tote bag,  I talked about a couple of variations on this, including making your own “placemat” as a starting point from fat quarters )or even fat eigths).

 

Since Ellen took the box of threads we have in the closet to sort through, we had a spot to store one more box.  I chose to leave the large blocks in the closet since I have been bringing them back every week. We only have one shelf in the closet, so I am trying to keep things there that we can use most weeks.  For your reference, in addition to irons, mats, and tools, the items we have stored in the closet are as follows:

Zippers

Fabric for zipper bags

Buttons

Freezer paper for copying patterns

Box of large fabric blocks to incorporate into quilt designs

Used Dryer sheets  (If you don’t know why, ask).

2 blue books containing patterns and helpful hints.

White book containing our permit and club guidelines.

 

That’s it for now.  Hope to see you in 2 weeks.