Club Notes - November 19, 2025

There were 15 of us at today’s meeting.   The main order of business was a discussion of how to deal with the volume of donations we have been receiving.  In the past we would sort through donations and anything we could not use was given to Goodwill.  They had a contract with a company that recycled fabric.   Mic has discovered that Good will no longer accepts fabric because they don’t have that contract anymore.  Mic took the time to call around to see if any other organization will take fabric scraps and couldn’t find any place for us to give these leftovers.

This has forced us to reevaluate our policy regarding fabric we will accept.  Tonight I sent an email to the presidents of all the Villages quilt chapters and 2 other sewing clubs that I know have given us scraps in the past.  I have asked them to follow the guidelines below when giving us or Busy Hands their leftovers:

1. Fabric that has been fussy cut and fabric that is quilted to edges of batting needs to be cut into smaller pieces, suitable for use as dog bed stuffing.  

2.  Home decor fabric will only be accepted if the pieces are large enough to make a dog bed. 

3. The only other fabric that will be accepted is cotton pieces, either 2.5" strips or pieces at least as large as a fat eighth.  

4. If you are donating both small scraps and pieces large enough to be cut into strips or squares, please place the small scraps in a separate bag from the larger pieces.

5. We no longer accept any sewing notions or any batting less than 36".

6. Please make sure the fabric you are giving us does not contain any pins or paper.

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Show and Tell: (https://sewingn-more.blogspot.com/)

Kathryn Jeter started us off with dinos she made.

Pat Pipa made 2 cornucopias to donate.  They will go to Freedom Point, along with 3 I made.

Isabella O’Brien showed a large tote bag she made.  She has agreed to do a demo on this next year.

Louise Stem is back at work making pillowcases for the Sheriffs Youth Ranch 2026 graduates.

Mic Pickard showed a hanging zipper bag 

and her completed cornucopia, filled with some crocheted pumpkins.

Ceal Pedersen showed the latest batch of stuffed toys she made and painted.

Lorraine Manz made a bunch of toy fish, waiting to be stuffed,

 a stack of pillowcases, 

and a quilt top.

Laura Tomich took her Christmas fabric scraps and made potholders,

 pillowcases,

placemats, 

and a round table topper.

Eileen DiSanto made some dinos 

and pigs.

Diane Placek showed a prayer quilt she made for her church.

Donna Rissman made some dinos.

Bev Minnerly finished her cornucopia and a potholder.

 

Some time in the past few weeks, a large number of bags containing both fabric pieces and scraps, was delivered to El Santiago rec center for us.  Somehow I missed this, but Mic put it all in her car and was storing it in her garage.  Today, she brought it back in for sorting.  Several ladies chipped in to sort, and where needed, cut the pieces.   We filled 24 dog beds by the end of the day, and I took a couple of bags full home to cut into usable squares. It was a case of many hands making quick work, and I thank all of you who helped.

 

We also received a donation which included several started quilt projects.  Some of these look like easy projects to finish.  If you are interested, I will bring them back to our next meeting.

I brought in a large bag full of quilts that just need binding.  Ellen Hein would usually take these, but she is traveling.  Eileen St. Clair volunteered to take these to finish.  It is nice to have another member to share this work.

Next week is Thanksgiving, and many of us are busy with preparation.  We will not have a meeting next week.  Our next meeting will be on December 3^rd.  I will send reminder emails.

Have a happy Thanksgiving.

 

Lois