Club Notes - February 28, 2024

We had a small group of 9 ladies today.  They were the lucky ones to see a very large fabric donation come in. A couple who ran a quilt shop somewhere north contacted me to ask if we take donations.   They closed the shop and wanted to donate the remaining fabric .   Today they came with the prints, mostly yardage, and some fat quarters and 1 yard pieces.  It was overwhelming, but we managed to sort out the Christmas fabrics and smaller pieces. The yardage is sorted somewhat by color/theme. Lynn Delgado helped me put the bags of large pieces into storage. I will bring them back a little at a time in the Spring. 

This couple said they have more and will probably bring the solid fabrics next week.  It promises to be a lot as well. She said something about some marble fabric that she still has to go through, so we may be in for even more.

 Show and Tell:

Pat Pipa showed a 9-patch block and some dryer sheet strip blocks.

Bev Minnerly made some walker bags.

 and a tote.

Ellen Hein made 6 more fleece blankets.

 

During the meeting she also finished the binding on one of the quilts I gave her last week.

With the addition of a stack of 9-patch blocks Laura Paulk dropped of at my house before she headed north, I was able to lay out a green quilt.  I plan to sew it together with white sashing as soon as I can.

In the donations received today there were also several baby quilt tops and pillowcases.  We separated the pillowcases into children’s and adult’s so we can donate them appropriately.

I dropped off a bag of pillowcases for Case for Smiles (including 9 from today’s donation), and a bag of walker bags for Helpertunity on my way home. 

I’m not sure yet what next week’s agenda will be.  I let you know in a future note.

Have a great week.

Club Notes - February 21, 2024

There were 10 ladies at today’s meeting.  I got busy the last few days and forgot to send out a reminder, so that might be why there were fewer attendees.

I put out the fabric strips for the dryer sheet blocks and the 3.5” and 4.5” squares for anyone who wants to make something with them.  I figured out that it takes 48 9-patch blocks from 3.5” squares to make a twin size quilt, and 25  9-patch blocks from 4.5” squares.  I put together 6 sets of the dryer sheet blocks that were turned in and put them out for everyone to see the result of the exercise.

More 3.5” squares went out this afternoon so I expect to be able to put together a green and a blue quilt top soon. 

Show and tell: 

I started show and tell by showing the quilt I put together using the red 9-patch blocks that were turned in.   

 I also showed a fall quilt I pieced together starting with a panel I found in our donations.

Louise Stem made some 9-patch blocks

 and some pillow cases.

Carolyn Grasso also turned in some 9-patch blocks.

Lisa Strahs-Lorenc turned in a set of 4 dryer sheet blocks.

Lisa Holzhausen showed a quilt top she made for her daughter.

Brenda Severa is making a 9-patch quilt with orange squares and she showed some of them,

 She then showed some towels she embroidered using some embossed patterns from www.emblibrary.com.  

We were fascinated with the result and I have included some close-up photos in the blog.

Lynne Delgado enlarged one of our toy patterns to make a stuffed fish.

She also made a set of dryer sheet blocks.

Ellen Hein showed the first of the duffle bags she is making for the Sheriff’s Youth Ranch graduates.  We have 4 graduates this year.

She also went through her fleece stash and made 11 fleece blankets for Project S.O.S.

 

My back surgery has been postponed until March 8^th due to a problem with the surgeon’s schedule, so I will still be leading the meetings for the next 2 weeks.  After that Mic will take the lead until I am allowed to drive again.

For the next few weeks we will continue to work on making 9-patch blocks (or anything else you think of) using the 3.5” and 4.5” squares.  I will also continue to bring the fabric strips for the dryer sheet blocks.

We also need to start making toys again, since we have delivered all we had to the hospital a few weeks ago.  I would like to be able to donate a bag full every quarter.

Hope to see you all next week.

Lois

Club Notes - February 7, 2024

We had a small group of 10 ladies at today’s meeting.  I reported that last Saturday’s Giving Club Showcase was very successful.  There were a lot of people coming through, asking about our club.  Plus I was able to network with several organizations that we could potentially work with.   Since we no longer have a connection to the Ocala Shelter, I suggest that we provide a little more support to “Hands of Mercy Everywhere (H.O.M.E.)” and “Shepherds Lighthouse”.  They ask for twin size quilts for the girls they help.   These should be at least 66” wide and 86” long.  We have so much fabric, this should be easy to do.

The other contact I made was with a nurse at Leesburg Hospital.  She is looking for quilts that can be placed on the floor for a safe place for a baby to play.  She will be sending me the requirements, but this is something I think we can easily provide.

During the show I was able to turn over 5 veterans quilts to Cornerstone Hospice and 10 quilts to Big Brothers/Big Sisters.   I also picked up 10 more center blocks for the Hospice Veteran’s quilts after today’s meeting.

Show and Tell:

Bev Minnerly made 2 backpacks 

and 5 pillowcases.

Mic Pickard showed a bunny she made for the Busy Hands/Happy Hearts upcoming sale.

Carolyn Grasso turned in several 9-patch blocks

Lisa Strahs-Lorenc showed her 2^nd attempt at 9-patch blocks.  After showing me her first attempt last week, I suggested she buy a ¼” foot, and she was very happy with the result.   

She also showed a Valentine hot pad 

and a doll’s medical dress she made for another club.

Brenda Severa is making 9-patch blocks and planning to make a quilt with them herself instead of turning them.

Mary Ellen Boutin turned in several dryer sheet strip blocks.

Lynn Delgado also turned in a set of dryer sheet strip blocks.

I showed a toy frog 

and a little owl I found in the fabric scraps.

  I also showed a quilt I made and quilted from am Egyptian panel I found, 

and some 9-patch blocks I made.

This week I brought a large bin of fabric scraps.  There are no really big pieces in this but there are plenty that could be used to make toys.  That’s something we need to pick up again soon. I also put out the dryer sheets and fabric strips, as well as the 3.5” squares.  It would be great to us as much of these as we can.

Next week the El Santiago Rec Center will be closed for maintenance all week, so we will not have a meeting.  Our next meeting is on Feb 21^st.  I will send out a reminder early next week.