It's been a LONG time coming, but Saturday's meeting was at Joy's house. She hasn't hosted a bee meeting in 3+ years. Granted, she had an excuse during (most of) the last 2 years. Anyway, SHE confused the schedule so SHE got to host the meeting!!! :P
We had a wonderful turn out. There were 12 members (Lisa was with us via FaceTime from England!) and 1 guest present. With all of the pre-meeting chatter, you might have thought that it had been 4 MONTHS instead of 4 WEEKS since our last meeting! LOL
UPCOMING EVENTS:
12/13/14 - NT Holiday Party at Carol's Christmas house. 10 AM for the meeting and most spectacular Pot Luck of the year. Hope to see YOU there!
SHOW AND TELL:
Lisa - Finally we were able to have her join us again!! She gave us a house and studio tour via ipad. Hooray! The quilt studio is not quite ready, but it looks like it will be a nice place to work. And there's a mud room with a sink for fabric dyeing where she can make as big a mess as she wants! Thanks Lisa for giving us the virtual tour - it's so nice to see you and have a peek at your house! And we did have a number of volunteers willing and able to "help" you fill your guest rooms at some future date!
Kirsten explained G. was at Boy Scouts so she swiped her Show & Tell off his bed. LOL! He LOVES his Dragon Quilt and takes it with him all over the place for hockey games. Congrats! on a quilt win.
Margaret showed her X Marks the Spot quilt using 5 fabrics and the Log Cabin style. (If memory serves me correctly, she is working on finishing the binding.)
Her Pi Quilt was next. She started it at Britt's house last month and just picked it up from being quilted at C. Breeze Quilt Studio. She says Friday nights sewing at Sheila's is how she gets so much done!
Lastly, she showed her DOQ Kid's Quilt Challenge quilt. While she didn't finish it in time for the quilt show, she did make it a personal challenge and quilted it herself. Good work!
Helena - She made it to a meeting... AGAIN!!! :o)) (One of these days, she'll surprise us with something to show -for now we just enjoy her company!)
And we welcomed our guest, Ruth S., who showed off her "Candy" bag. The fabric was purchased with Britt & :Linda at her first trip to Mary Jo's Cloth Store in the Spring. The bag was sewn over the summer and she is using it now in the Fall... even though it's not a autumn-inspired bag.
She also brought a floor cloth she painted that was inspired by a Mackenzie Childs piece. With 5 coats of polyurethane over the painted canvas the mat is protected and can take normal use. Very cool!
** Also cool - Dee Dee offered to teach us how to make one next summer! She's made many.
Joy had her Show & Tell delivered by Gayle. The giant (94" x 94") Crumb Quilt has (finally!) been quilted. Thanks, Gayle! The quilting pattern is perfect for it. What a showstopper!
Britt brought a quilt in progress. Since she's quilting her mother's quilt, her new niece's baby quilt AND her MTS Part 2 Re-do it's slow progress to getting one finished! The Mountains to Sea piece is almost done, so she HAD to bring it! (We're glad she did. It's turning out beautifully!)
Dee Dee has been busy! She's been sewing for 3 weeks on a bunch of Christmas gifts for her trip to South Carolina. First, there was the Zig Zag Table Runner for her cat sitter.
Then came a pair of pillow case sets for her friends (using the Sausage or Hot Dog Method - videos available online. (Candy suggested the QOV video for clear instructions.)
Next was a Quilted Tote Bag for her friend Joan using an evolved Karen West pattern. An easy open bag good for arthritic fingers.
Last up? The Christmas Tree Truck made for Dee Dee to keep. It's going to be AWESOME!!
Gayle showed a wool applique bird block that she's been working on.. She and Steve were bird breeders for 10 years and the block is of a now-extinct bird. It's simply stunning!
She has also had a fascination with dolls for years and has been researching doll making. Once she started the creation of her dolls, she hasn't been able to stop! She's made 4, 3 of whom were with us today, and she has another in process. Gayle reported that "the girls" talked all the way here. They were so happy to have a field trip! ;)
Meet Edna Marie, Ginger and Jade...all excited to be here. Their (and Gayle's) enthusiasm is contagious! You can see additional pictures in an earlier blog post.
At home, Gayle can be seen sitting in awkward positions as she studies her arms and legs and then draws patterns for her dolls. She has experimented with different styles of doll heads, as well as sculpted noses and chins. Her dolls are in the style of Charlie Patricolo, with Gayle's own creative flair. The one that we haven't seen was made for a good friend. She was done in aqua and turquoise. Her friend named the doll Carmen and she holds a crochet hook & yarn ball (speaking to her friend's crochet habit.) Being retired, Gayle is even putting together a class, which she will teach out of her house for 3 or 4 pupils to earn extra income and share her techniques.
Carol was up next - her grandson, Bryant's favorite color is orange and Carol decided that she needed a new hand quilting project for game days (this makes her third quilt she's hand quilted - go Carol!!). This cheerful quilt started out as a panel that she reconfigured. Carol plans to bind it before finishing since her dogs enjoy chewing on the exposed batting. It's so cute!
Candy took orders for Amish Black fabric from Keepsake Quilting. She got a lot of takers!
Her "Batik Sale Quilt" done in the Split Rail Fence pattern turned out well with a narrow inner border of Amish Black followed by a mitered border in an interesting print. That outer border was finished with ONE INCH of fabric leftover!!! Yummy colors!
Next came her "Stash Quilt" that she started at Britt's house last month. It is ready for quilting. Good work Candy! This was an unusual project for her since it has no purpose or intended recipient.
Lastly, Candy showed the 3 Quilted Photo Frames that she just made. Look for them at the Senior Center Quilt Show and Sale coming up in Hillsborough.
Jean brought a Houston Quilt Show's 500 Quilts book (a must have purchase since no photography was allowed for some parts of the show!) and a book by Susan Bruebaker Knapp to encourage all to attend DOQ on Monday. She also bought a Fiddlesticks bias strip turner at Houston, but ended up using her old Fast Turn instead. Her show? Four flower pins made from ONE thrift store neck tie found at a fantastic shop in Durham.
She explained that there were 700 vendors and 125 teachers at the International Quilt Show. It was the show's 40th anniversary and she made "Ruby Rememberence" pins for all of her Texas show buddies (done in red, black, and white.) Even a bolo for Barry! Too cute!!
Ruth B. - Showed off her Houston goodies (including iPad photos of her new sewing table now set up in her sewing room!!) Also, drum roll please...
THE JACKET!!!
We've been waiting to see the completed jacket for a very long time. Ruth received a very hearty round of applause. It's lovely!
Off to eat...and what a feast it was! Thanks everyone for bringing food!
Requests were made for copies of Joy's Crock Pot Chili and her Easy Pumpkin Bisque. Those will be sent to members email addresses at a later date. (Hopefully, tomorrow, but there are no guarantees.)
Until next time...
Happy Quilting!
