Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. We will not meet at Sun Valley again until January 9th.

I talked to Pat yesterday and she has a BOM ready so let's plan on doing it on the 9th.

Doris, Janet, Linda and Ilona came today. Next week we can only meet 10am - 2pm. There's not much time left to get those Christmas gifts done. It's time to think about what we want to do next year both as a group and individually. Leave a comment with your thoughts.

Quilt Display

The Southwest Library windows are decorated again this year with quilts by the Southwest Quilting Bee who meet at the Library on Tuesdays 6:30pm - 8pm. Several of the quilters also belong to The Quilting Divas. Stop by to see them. They will be on display thru the end of December.

Nov 21st

Doris, Kay and Janet came to sew. Projects that were worked on included a Christmas wallhanging, a twister quilt from Christmas fabric and a best friends quilt. Bonnie stopped by to see what was happening.

1 Million Pillowcase Challenge

Have you heard about this challenge? Check it out here. I think this fits in nicely with our charity quilts. One or two Saturdays in January we will devote to making pillowcases. I'll post the dates after I get the schedule. We will need some people to sew, some to cut and some to iron. With everyone helping we should be able to make a big difference. Let's set a goal and see how quickly we can reach it.

This is a wonderful opportunity to go through your stash and use it up (so you can buy more of course). Talk to your friends...maybe they would like to join us. I already have a friend who would like to donate money to help buy supplies.

Kosair Children's Hospital is on the list of charities that will accept pillowcases. I called the Hospice inpatient unit at Norton and they would be glad to receive some pillowcases. If you have another charity that you'd like to donate to bring the information to the group and the group will decide.

More Twisters

Ossie, Pam, Linda and Janet all worked on their Twister quilts. Ossie was deciding on borders. Pam was sewing the pinwheels together. It's just amazing how different it looks as pinwheels compared to the squares. Linda added a border to her squares. Janet used the scraps to make small pinwheels to put in the border.

Block of the Month

Doris brought the new block of the month. It is called Chinese Puzzle. If you take your time, look at the pictures and lay everything out before you start sewing it's not as difficult as it looks. The directions also have you making HST's using 2 different methods. You can use your favorite method and get the same results. The last picture on page 2 is for the mirror image of the block above it and is for if you're making a quilt like the one on page 3.

Twister

We had several people come to make their Twister quilt. It is just amazing how different one pattern can look just by using different fabrics. Making that 1st cut into a top is daunting but very rewarding. Amazingly the recutting and resewing went much quicker than anyone imagined (except for maybe Bonnie who is making a king size quilt using the smaller squares.)

Sewing Machine Extension Table

Several people have commented on my sewing machine extension table. Here is a link on how you can make one for your machine using a sturdy cardboard box. You could use that as a template to have a table made out of wood or plexiglass. http://www.how-to-quilt.com/articles/2312-extension-for-machine-quilting.php (You will need to scroll down to the bottom.)

New Members

Friday night we met and had a special visitor. Flat Stacy is on an adventure from NY. She got her picture taken with the quilters. After quilting we went out for a late night snack at Frisch's.

Saturday we had a few new people join us. Melanie, Julie, Judy and Pam joined Delores, Linda, Pat and Janet. The upcoming Twister class was discussed as a couple people were preparing a top for the class. I talked to Yvonne at the Happy Heart Quilt Shop and she expects to have the template for the class in by this coming Wednesday. Melanie is hand piecing her quilt and Judy is designing a quilt. Techniques and ideas were tossed about.

Oct 24th

Ten members came today. We were in the front room as the back room where we usually meet was all set up for Halloween. Everyone was working on their own projects. They included table runners, tissue holders, Turning Twenty quilt, Twister quilt, quilted jacket and charity quilts.

Charity Quilts

These are the first charity quilts completed by our group. We have a contact in LMPD who will give them to CPS and Family and Children's Place. They will be given to children in need.

Oct 3rd

We worked on our own projects. Pam, Bonnie and Ozzie worked on a top in preparation for the Twister class on Nov 7th. Doris sewed the back on a charity quilt. Kay worked on making some turkeys and Janet started a scarecrow table runner.
Kay found out from her son where we can donate our charity quilts. They will go to children in need. We briefly discussed making more quilts. Some Saturdays need to be designated to just work on these quilts.

Sep 26th Meeting

Attending the meeting today were Kay, Ozzie, Kay, Gwen, Janet, Linda, Doris and Pam. Many different projects were worked on including table runners, table toppers, Halloween quilt, bags and pumpkins. Advice and opinions were given freely. Afterward most of us ended up at the Happy Heart Quilt Shop and then we went to Tuscany's.

Class Info

Name of quilt: Twister
Date: Nov 7th 10:30 am - 2 pm
Finished size: 61" x 61"
Location: Sun Valley Community Center
You can see a photo of finished quilts at http://www.country-schoolhouse.com/kits/090209/twister_tool.htm
Description: This quilt is made by making a top using 10" squares, cutting it up and resewing it. The class will cover how you cut the top apart. It does require a special ruler and you can either purchase this ruler from the web site above or The Gathering Room in LaGrange. Prior to the class you need to have the top ready to cut apart. Sew 36 squares together in 6 rows of 6 squares each. You can use a layer cake or cut your own squares. If you use your own squares, do not put the same fabric touching itself. Add a 6 1/2" border. If you need help with this step, it will be available Oct 24th.
If you have any questions you can ask Janet, Bonnie or Doris.

New Block of the Month

Kay's block of the month was the Waterwheel Variation. It is a fairly easy block to make and looks good in a variety of color combinations. Bonnie brought her embroidery machine and worked on a Halloween wallhanging. We had a show-n-tell with everyone showing what they either finished or are working on.

Bonnie and Doris found a quilt pattern that they will teach soon. More details to come. Members present were Bonnie, Doris, Kay, Pat and Janet.

Meeting Times Changed

The meeting time on Saturdays has changed to 10am - 2pm. Extended hours are available on days when the center has a rental.

Charity Quilts

Doris and Janet met on Sunday and worked on the charity quilts. We had some string blocks that were made some time ago. We started with a 10" square of muslin and sewed strings on the diagonal. The center string was a 2" strip of red. We had enough blocks for 2 quilts, one with 20 blocks and one with 24. We decided to complete the quilt using the pillowcase method and then tying it.

We also decided that when we meet on Sundays we will work on charity quilts. So come for as long as you can. We need people to sew, press assemble and tie.

Pat came for a little while and sandwiched her Sunbonnet Sue quilt. She had started this with her grandmothers help. Brenda from Happy Heart stopped in to see what we were doing.

August 29th Meeting

After a month break we were finally able to meet again. Pam brought a quilt that she made for her grandson and we helped her tie it. For some it was the first time they had tied a quilt. Pat helped Janet takee pictures of some of her quilts.
Members present: Pam, Janet, Ossie, Kay and Pat.