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.

Club Notes - January 31, 2024

There were 15 ladies at today’s meeting.  I put out the 3.5” squares for anyone who wanted to make 9-patch blocks, and a few large fabric pieces for other projects.

Today’s main project was to make strip blocks on dryer sheets.  I challenged everyone to select a color they like and make 4 blocks with white strips in the center to join the blocks in an X.  I supplied the dryer sheets, 1.5” white strips, and an assortment of strips in various colors.

Show and Tell:

Lisa Strahs-Lorenc showed the heart mug rugs she finished.

Louise Stem made several blocks that she is sending to her friends in North Carolina for baby quilts.

 

 She also turned in two 9-patch blocks.

Bev Minnerly made a mug rug, 

a tote 

and a walker bag.  She also turned a dog bed.

 

Kathryn Jeter has left The Villages for now, but she gave Brenda Severa two 9-patch blocks to turn in.

Pat Pipa made a mug rug.

Mary Ellen Boutin made a drawstring backpack 

and a Valentine mug rug.

Audrey Phillips showed a quilt top she has been working on with her daughter Vicki.

Lynne Delgado showed a tote she made in a serger class.

Yesterday, Allamanda members turned in their “Summer Holiday” challenge projects.

Pat Pipa made a National Parks quilt.

B.J. couldn’t be with us today, so Pat showed B.J’s wall hanging, which won 3^rd place in the competition.

I made a Florida attraction quilt for the challenge.

Deb Chapman came a little late and turned in a tote bag.

I caught Ruth Nelson on her way out with a project under her arm and got her to show me what she is working on.

Ellen Hein brought in the latest batch of quilts she added the binding to.  She also showed several quilt tops she is handing in, with backing, for me to quilt.

This camel quilt and the elephant quilt below were both single pieces of fabric that were donated to us.   I just found backings for them and quilted them.  

Ellen did her usual excellent job of adding the binding.

  

Mary Ellen made this one using larger squares for her 9-patch blocks.

I put this one together with the first set of 9-patch blocks that were turned in.

 

I searched through a box of 6" squares and made this one.

Ellen made these two.

Anne Knoff handed in these next 2 quilt tops last week.  Ellen took them home to match them with some backing she has before I quilt them.

Ellen handed in the next 3 quilt tops with backings.

You can sometimes find little treasures in our donations.  Ellen found 2 fun pieces that she turned into cute wall hangings.

Everyone spent the afternoon sewing and chatting.  I was happy to see the number of 3.5” squares went down enough to easily fit in the 3 boxes, and lots of the various color strips went out to make dryer sheet blocks.  It will be fun to see what comes back next week.

We will continue working on the 9-patch and dryer sheet blocks next week.  I hope to see you all then.