November 2014 Meeting

We met on Tuesday, November 25 at Helen's house with Margie, Peggy, Rita, Helen, Dawn, and Tricia attending. Rita made pasta with sauce made with tomatoes from her garden and stuffed zucchini, and Peggy brought homemade pumpkin pie with whipped cream. It was quite a pre-Thanksgiving feast! We missed you, Randi and Linda.

Next Meeting

Instead of meeting on our usual fourth Tuesday, we will instead meet on the last Tuesday of December for a post-Christmas holiday party.

*** Tuesday, December 30, 5:30 pm ***
J's Old Town Bistro, 30 Pike St, Dayton
(775) 246-4400

We will carry on our usual holiday tradition of a $10 round-robin gift exchange as well as whatever other discretionary gifting each Bee might choose to do on her own. 

Business Meeting

Holiday party: We discussed moving the December meeting from San Marcos Grill in Carson City to a more centrally located restaurant. First & Ten in Dayton is option, but Margie suggested J's Bistro in Dayton because they have a separate meeting room. During the meeting, Margie called J'S Bistro to inquire about using the room, and she ended up leaving a message for the manager to get back to her. (Update -- time and place are set as shown in the "Next Meeting" section above. Thank you, Margie.)

Mackenzie: Peggy brought the second Mackenzie quilt, which is now complete, but in a very sad turn of events, Mackenzie passed away on November 13. The Bees decided to give the quilt to Mackenzie's father, and Rita offered to take the quilt to Mackenzie's celebration of life and give it to him there. Making these quilts was a very personal and moving experience for every Bee as we got to know Mackenzie through her Facebook page and the postings made by herself and her mother. As Peggy said, her heart broke for Mackenzie's mother who posted, "I don't know how to go home without my best friend." Although sad, these types of experiences help us to open our hearts and to grow in caring and compassion, and for that we are thankful. Our prayers continue to go out for Mackenzie and her family.

Show and Tell

Peggy made Christmas baking aprons for her niece and grandniece.

Dawn is making a quilt for her boss who is retiring. She said that he has seen just about every quilt she's made for other co-workers throughout the years, and she can't believe she never thought to make a quilt for him until now.

Dawn also made a quilt for her future daughter-in-law's sister's baby.

Tricia made a rag quilt for her boss who just retired. 

Helen is still busy making quilt tops for donation. 

Thanksgiving Blessings

Rita wanted to share this video with the Bees, but her phone was too small for us all to watch it on. Enjoy and Happy Thanksgiving!

Louie Schwarztberg: Nature. Beauty. Gratitude.

October 2014 Meeting

The Bees met on October 28 at Helen's house with Linda, Margie, Helen, Peggy, Dawn, Rita, and Tricia attending. Margie brought a chicken piccata pasta for dinner, which was accompanied by a salad from Linda and homemade brownies and pumpkin chocolate chip cookies from Dawn.

Next Meeting

*** Tuesday, November 25 at Helen's house ***

Rita - main dish;  Linda - salad;  Peggy - dessert

Queen Bee: Helen

Business Meeting

We had a very limited business meeting with Linda updating us on Mackenzie, who is in the hospital at Stanford awaiting a lung transplant. Mackenzie is gravely ill, but Linda was able to send the Cabbage Rose quilt to her to have in the hospital. Mackenzie's Facebook page is www.facebook.com/BreatheforMackenzie, and it is being updated daily (and more) with status on her condition. The family is also accepting donations to help with traveling and lodging expenses while Mackenzie is in the hospital. 

Because the fourth Tuesday falls two days before Christmas this year, Linda brought up the idea of doing our holiday party after Christmas on Tuesday, December 30 at 5:30 pm. We discussed going to a restaurant this year, rather than doing a potluck supper, and we decided on the San Marco Grill, 260 E Winnie Lane, Carson City. Tricia will call to make the reservation. We can discuss this more at the November meeting. 

Demonstration

Last month, Margie expressed interest in a chenille project she had seen on the shop hop, so Tricia volunteered to do a chenille demo at the next meeting. Tricia showed a finished potholder that was made with four layers of the same fabric. Using the same fabric for each layer is essential for preserving the pattern on the fabric. She also showed a sample of how to sew the layers together on the bias and then how to cut through the fabric using the chenille cutter, and each Bee tried cutting one of the rows. Tricia won the chenille cutter from Sylvia's at the shop hop a few years ago, so she doesn't know how much it costs but thinks about $25. For a small project like the potholder, small sharp scissors could be used, but to make something larger, like a scarf or a blanket, a chenille cutter would be essential. 

Show and Tell

Dawn has been a very busy lady. She made quilts for friends who have cancer. 

 

And baby quilts for her friends' grandbabies.

Rita showed us some projects from her art students that reminded us a bit of zen-doodling.

She also showed us a hand-dyed wall-hanging she made in honor of one of her students featuring a Bible verse from Isaiah 40:31. 

September 2014 Meeting

The Bees met on September 30 at Helen's house with Randi, Peggy, Linda, Helen, and Tricia attending for dinner and Margie arriving later. Randi made a chicken salad and Peggy brought homemade beer bread, making for a healthy yet hearty supper. Linda made a FABULOUS fresh ginger cake, which we enjoyed later during the meeting.

Next Meeting

*** Tuesday, October 28 at Helen's house ***

Margie - main dish;  Helen - salad;  Randi - dessert

Queen Bee: Tricia

Business Meeting

There was very little business to discuss. Linda gave a brief update on Mackenzie with the hope that she and her mother might be able to attend one of our meetings to receive the quilts. One of the quilts is finished. 

Tricia mentioned that she was making a Christmas jelly roll quilt for her daughter, which Margie had admired at the sandwiching day, and Tricia brought up the idea of the Bees cutting some 2-1/2 inch strips from any left-over project fabrics and that they save them for an exchange to make donation quilts. A jelly roll quilt could be made by each Bee during a sewing day at the coop, so that's an idea to ponder for next year. 

Show and Tell

Not too many Bees had things to show this month. Peggy made a beautiful turtle wall hanging using a reverse applique technique where the dark layer on top is the cutout to be appliqued onto the lighter fabric. Peggy also made cute little watermelon purses for both her 2-year old grandnieces. 

Helen made a purse, custom designed to meet her needs. 

Tricia made a Christmas jelly roll quilt for her daughter.

August 2014

The Bees did not meet in August, but instead, Linda reserved the Coop Extension meeting room for a "sandwiching" day. Linda and Peggy met there in the morning and sandwiched seven quilts for themselves and the other Bees. Thank you, Peggy and Linda, for your hard work and generosity!

July 2014 Sewing Day

Instead of a regular meeting in July, the Bees decided to have a sewing day for the Mackenzie quilts at the Coop Extension meeting room in Carson City. With fabrics in hand, the Bees engaged in an assembly line system of cutting and sewing to get the quilt tops completed and sandwiched before wrapping up for the day.

The system worked well, with Randi and Peggy sewing and the other Bees cutting, pressing, and laying out the squares. Both quilt tops were finished, and the "Wild Roses" quilt shown below was sandwiched and ready to go home with Linda for quilting and Peggy for binding. 

The "Cabbage Rose" quilt was not sandwiched at the workshop because the backing needed to be laundered, but Randi took it home for sandwiching and then passed it on to Dawn for quilting with Randi then doing the binding. 

Great teamwork, Bees!