February 2011 Meeting

The meeting was held on Tuesday, February 15 at Helen's house.

Attending: Randi, Helen, Margie, Peggy, Dawn, Linda, Tricia

Despite the blustering wind and looming snow storm, we all managed the drive to Helen's house and arrived there safely. For dinner, Margie made a delicious Israeli stew, which was warm and hearty, and Linda made a light and yummy couscous salad. For dessert, we had Peggy's "reduced guilt" brownies, which, despite being made with nonfat yogurt, were surprisingly gooey and choclately.

Business

We briefly discussed the status of the angel quilt that will be donated to the Cancer Resource Center in Carson City. Only one block is still being completed by Linda, and Helen is the keeper of the squares. Helen, Linda, and Peggy will put the quilt together. It is not clear whether there is an anticipated date of completion for this project.

We discussed whether the Bees as a group should join the Nevada Quilt Guild as a "chartered chapter" at a cost of $40 to be paid anually from our dues. The benefit to group members is that individual memberships are reduced in cost from $25 to $20, but we decided the main reason to join is to support quilting in Northern Nevada. There may also be some competitions and other activities we can participate in as a group. The group voted Yes; Randi and Margie will followup with application and payment.

We also discussed the quilting project for military families (I don't remember the name of the project or organization). Interested families are in the process of applying, and Linda will bring more information when it is available.

Randi was honored by the Nevada Quilt Guide by being considered for a position on the board, and she was also asked to submit three quilts to be photographed for an article that will appear in the Spring issue of Quilter's Quarterly magazine. What an accomplishment!

Show & Tell

Dawn's quilting was awesome, as usual, on both these projects.

Helen completed her placemats as well as a project made from charm squares.

Tricia is enjoying small projects these days.



Peggy had a busy month with both small seasonal projects and finishing a quilt top.

Upcoming Quilt Shows

May 18-20: Nevada Quilt Guild's annual show in Fallon. Complete information, including and entry packet, is available at http://www.nvquiltguild.org/.

July 16: Fabrics Unlimited. This is a free show for exhibit only (no judging) hosted by the Fabrics Unlimited quilt shop at Lake Tahoe. They will hang quilts among the trees on their beautiful property, and it should be a fun day to gather and enjoy the day.

Next meeting: Tuesday, March 15 at Helen's house

Food:

• Helen -- main dish
• Randi -- salad
• Linda -- dessert

Respectfully submitted -- Tricia

December 2010 -- Holiday Party

We met on December 7 at Helen's house for an early celebration of the holiday season. Our potluck theme was "International" and we had excellent representation with tamales, lasagne, German potato salad, Thai green salad, and Indian naan bread -- among other delicious side dishes and deserts.

Attending were Helen, Margie, Peggy, Randi, Linda, Dawn, Tricia, and Ellie.

Business: After a festive dinner, during which we shared many hilarious and touching family stories, we held a short business meeting with Randi presiding. She presented some "food for thought" about service projects we might like to take on in the coming year, specifically the idea of making quilts for our military personnel. One organization to consider is Quilts of Valor (http://www.qovf.org/).

Ellie volunteered to make fleece dog pillows to donate to the shelter from any scraps or "overstocks" of fleece we might have, so please start bringing those to our meetings for Ellie.

Show and Tell: Margie brought her placemats for the 2010 challenge project. Even though we extended the deadline for this project until January 2011, Margie completed hers and is giving them for a Christmas present, so they will be gone by our next meeting.

Tricia showed a Christmas stocking she made for her grandson, which she planned to drop off for him immediately after the meeting.

Peggy made a cute wallhanging showing trucks for her grandson, Jackson, who loves all kinds of trucks and construction equipment. (Footnote: I got to see Jackson, 20 months old, open this present, and his reaction was everything a grandma could ever hope for. His face lit up and he started pointing at it and saying, "Dump truck." He then laid down on the quilt and started snuggling with it. Grandma "P" was beaming.)

Dawn showed us placemats she made with the tool featured by Fabrics Unlimited on the shop hop, which really showed off the technique that yields a three-dimensional pattern. She also showed her yard sale quilt.

Then, everyone exchanged cards and gifts. I'm sorry I didn't take notes on them all, but a big hit was the rotary cutter blade from Randi, which is actually a carpet cutter from Harbor Freight. This could be a huge money save for all of us!

We then ended with our Round Robin gift exchange followed by dessert. Again, I didn't write down the details, but the gift of the season was Peggy's tree-topper angel made from freestanding lace on her embroidery machine.

Food for January

• Dawn will bring a salad
• Randi will bring chicken casserole

GOALS, GOALS GOALS! We will discuss our goals for 2010 and 2011 at the January meeting. You can review the goals for 2010 in this blog in the month of January 2010. (Scroll all the way to the bottom of the page, and then click Older Posts.)

November Meeting 2010

Attending: Helen, Peggy, Linda, Randi, Dawn, Margie, and Tricia. We miss you, Carol!
We started our meeting as usual with delicious food: chorizo soup (recipe pending), corn muffins, salad, and angel food cake. Let's just say we all had seconds.
Our Christmas Party meeting will be on Tuesday, December 7. Please bring a $10 gift for the gift exchange.

Christmas Party Food: We decided on an international theme.

• Peggy: Appetizer


• Tricia: Thai green salad


• Helen: Tamales, bread


• Linda: Lasagne swirls


• Dawn: German potato salad


• Margie: Garlic bread
  
• Randi: Dessert

November Show and Tell

Randi showed her final penguin quilt birthday wallhanging. It is very, very cute with the penguin applique, and it's a big relief to all that Randi was able to camoflauge the unsightly crooked penguin neck by strategically positioning an penguin wing over it.

Margie knitted an adorable pink hat and booties for Linda's newest granddaughter Olivia Belle. It is so sweet of Margie to do that for our grandbabies.

Dawn showed us a lap quilt she made for her 84-year old friend, and, not to leave out her friend's "best friend," Dawn also made a cute throw for her friend's dog.

Tricia has been having fun taking classes and playing with new equipment. She showed an assortment of small projects: a purse, a cosmetic bag, a Kindle cover (made on her serger), an embroidered pillow case, and a ruffle quilt.

Helen showed completed "box quilts" from 2005 and 2006, and Dawn, Randi, and Linda recognized the quilts and some of the fabrics. A box quilt project is under consideration as a club project for 2011.

Peggy showed an applique'd "Give Thanks" wall hanging for Thanksgiving, a Christmas pillow decorated with cookie cutter and gingerbread buttons, and an "Up on the Housetop..." wallhanging.

Linda shared her Linus quilt.

That's all I have (I might have been distracted later in the meeting). I hope everyone had a joyous Thanksgiving. Onward now to Christmas!

Respectfully submitted, Tricia

September Meeting 2010

The August Meeting was cancelled.

Hi Everyone!

Well it’s finally September and fall is here. Don’t know about summer, I think it was eight weeks long. Not much more than that. Ah well, fall is here and that should be good for one and all.

And now it’s October. I believe I saw snow on Job’s Peak this morning. It rained like crazy last night. So I guess it’s safe to say summer is over and fall is here for sure.

Not that I’ve done anything wonderful lately. I can’t seem to get the energy together to finish anything and I’ve started a bunch. Hey, wasn’t the Shop Hop great? Speaking of starting stuff, I think I got a few more to start. I guess I really am sick huh? Can’t get enough to do!

Ok enough of that. . . Our meeting on September 21, 2010 started off with wonderful food as usual. Thank you all who participated. Oooh the dessert. Mmmm.

In attendance were Randi, Linda, Tricia, Margie, Helen, Dawn, Peggy and Carol. Ellie showed up for a couple of minutes but had to leave.

Next meeting food people are:
Randy – entree
Tricia – salad
Carol – dessert

There is a quilt show coming in May of 2011. We are asked to save a few of our quilts for that. Also when you place your quilt in a show put it in more than one category so you have a greater chance of winning. Just a thought.

We turned in several of our angel squares. We still need a keeper of the angels – Helen will do that. Then we will see about putting them together.

Dues . We pay $2.00 per meeting, per person. If we do not meet because we have, as a group, decided not to meet, we do not need to pay. However, if for any other reason you are not in attendance, you should pay. Paying at the first of the year $24.00, is probably the easiest and the best way but it’s up to the individual.

Show ‘n Tell: Dawn showed her Linus quilt. And the table topper she finished for her friend that was done in all Japanese fabric turned out beautiful!

Margie – Her convergence quilt. Beautiful.

Tricia – Linus quilt – Glows in the dark. Squirly Q’s quilt. Flying geese – done while waiting surgery on her cancer also turned out very beautiful. It just needs a label.

Helen – finished her Linus quilt and a wall hanging, very nicely done.

Linda – showed her Noah’s Ark so adorable.

Randy – quilt for her daughter in-laws mother – Sunrise –Sunset. Her Linus quilt- beautifully quilted from lessons learned in her quilting class she is taking at Windy Moon in Reno. Her leaves are beautiful.

Peggy – showed her finished Linus quilt in red…beautiful. She also did a “card holder”

for Christmas. She had to rip it out and start again as she had sewn it together wrong. Oh such fun!!!

Please send recipes to Tricia she would prefer them EMAILED. I believe her e-mail is tricia@silverpen.com.

Our next meeting will be October 19th, then November 17th. nothing in December and then in 2011 our January meeting is the 18th. Don’t forget to mark these dates in your calendars ladies.

See you next meeting. Keep b z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z sewing it’s almost Christmas!!!

Love you all.

Carol G.

P.S. Thank you all for you wonderful cards, notes and visits. You have no idea the joy you bring to my life. You are all angels to me. Ok yellow with black stripes and you have a buzz to you, but I love you all.

July 2010 Meeting

Hi Everyone, Well our meeting started off with the usual gathering around the kitchen counter with plates filled to capacity, the sounds slowly diminished to low crunches and murmurs. We were enjoying salads. yummmmmmm Caesars with shrimp and a fruit salad. Boy were they good. According to my husband it's been 102 degrees so salad was nice. Desserts...there were many choices. I want to say Holy Cow but nope, that's not right. Some kind of ice cream sandwich with the name of cow in it. (Skinny Cow) Then chocolate pudding with bananas and strawberries and my choice ended up Root-beer Float. mmmmmm

While we ate we all got caught up on our lives. It's been 2 months I guess since we saw each other. No meeting in June. Children got married, new sewing machines were purchased, children going to get married, babies born, others now expecting. Oh my lots of happenings.

When we finally got out of the kitchen into the living-room for the actual meeting we were given some patterns if you wanted for pillows. Really cute. Linda went to Seattle WA for a trip and came back with fat quarters for each of us. That was neat. Love those fat quarters! Thank you Linda. While in Seattle she went to the Fremont Fair. It was really FREE. I mean people wore NO clothes, but were painted. Does that hit your imagination like it hit mine. It is Xrated!!! I can't believe they do that, but Linda isputting up pictures to show. You decide. WOW!

Show 'N'Tell time. Linda brought two table runners she made, very pretty. Same pattern but so different.

Peggy was busy- she did a Thimble Berries Quilt, - I love those colors. Then with her new machine a beautiful silk of Rose Topiaries. With a chocolate background, truly a WOW! Also a July 4th quilt and disappearing 9 patch and a piece; embroidered and quilted in her hoop a kind of flip'n'sew. Tricia, her sister, did one too. Peggy called hers "Cosmic Shipwreck" (wasn't quite perfect) and Tricia called hers "Perfect Light." They were outstanding!!!

Dawn brought in her T-shirt from her parents 60th wedding anniversary we talked about some time back, really cute with the parents wedding photo on front. Also a beautiful Japanese table runner for a friend. She was so afraid the friend wouldn't like it but she told Dawn she felt like those people on the TV shows that redo your house and they get all excited to see how it was done. She loved everything about it and Dawn was worried. With your talents Dawn it was never anything to worry about.

Carol brought in a quilt her grand daughter Rain didn't think she had shown before. It was of a dragon, when she was much younger she loved dragons and so she made a dragon quilt for her. Also she had two women in her life that are having baby girls so she made two quilts similar, tho not exact and one is in sage green and the other pinks. Also kitty quilt of 30's-40's fabrics. Its kinda cute and her other grand daughter, Winter, asked for it, so its "Winter's Kitty's". Also, she showed off her new book Material Obsession. It is great and has several quilts she want to make, one she's already started; flowers in 30's -40's prints on white background. She decided to make it 25 squares and so it amounts to 500 petals and 100 leaves to applique and yes she does it by hand, she loves it. As Carol sees it, she GETS to do it, not has to do it. Her down time. Also the cutest circus quilt is in there and she's been collecting fabrics for that. Never quit quilting. Carol will be quilting in heaven, she knows she will.

Randi is now taking a class, having been encouraged by Dawn, our expert quilter, to take a year long quilting class. She showed us her start and it is awesome. It's with Windy Moon, too far for me. I think I'll check around here and see if we can't get something closer to home. She showed us also her "Hawaiian Sunrise, Sunset" quilt and a really cute Artic quilt for a baby shower.

After all of this Linda gave a demo on doing paper piecing for the Angel quilt we are doing this year to donate to Carson-Tahoe Cancer Resource Center. It will be beautiful. All the angels in certain colors represent a type of cancer. We all took an angel or two and will work on them either separately or together depends. Linda gave a great demo, looks like fun. Really Linda, fun.

There will be NO MEETING for August. Not enough of us around town. Will meet again in September, the third Tuesday, the 21st, 2010.

Food makers will be : Linda - quiche; Peggy - salad; and Margie - dessert.

Meeting over at 8:15PM.

See you then, in the mean time keep cool, enjoy the summer (it finally showed up) and keep Bzzzzzzzzzz!

Carol

Quilting Bees May 2010 Meeting

Attending: Peggy, Randi, Helen, Ellie, Margie, Linda, Tricia (Dawn was at the Fallon Quilt Show)

Attention: No meeting during June. At least five members will be traveling, so we decided to cancel the meeting.

Dinner: Randi brought a delicious main dish for dinner made from Israeli coucous. Dinner was rounded out with bread from Tricia, brie from Helen, and homemade scones with strawberries for dessert from Margie. Just a reminder, ladies -- bring your recipes so that Tricia can start compiling a cookbook.

Food for July: Tricia will bring Indonesian rice as the main dish. Helen will make a cantaloupe and grape salad. We did not decide on dessert, but Tricia is volunteering Peggy.

Meeting: We're all missing Carol, and we talked briefly about how we can let her know we're thinking about her and how much we care, both as individuals and as a group. Margie mentioned that she thought about calling Carol during the week but then just got busy and didn't do it -- and that seems to happen to all of us. Linda brought up how important it is to let others know when we think about them. We are all going to try to reach out beyond our thoughts and prayers to let Carol know that we are actively loving her every day.

Randi showed a "picnic" quilt she made as a wedding present for Linda's daughter. It looks so picnicky in red, white, and blue with checks, and Randi was able to use stash fabrics for almost the entire quilt! Randi showed a really cool insulated picnic bag (rather than basket) she found at World Market, which she will put the quilt in to complete the ensemble.

Live Update: At 6:50 PM, Dawn called in with a report from the Fallon Quilt Show. She said the quilts are displayed really nicely, but it's a small show -- smaller than the one in Silver Springs. She then reported on the judging -- drummmm rrrrroll -- Randi won "Best in Show" for her Garden Fantasy quilt. As she heard the news, Randi became a bit emotional (tears), and she told us that's her favorite quilt ever. And the good news didn't stop there. Randi also won a 1st place ribbon for her Two of a Kind quilt and a white ribbon for her Serenity quilt, and Dawn won 2nd place for her rag rug. Congratulations and way to go, Randi and Dawn!

Show and tell was scant this meeting. Peggy and Tricia showed the purses and wallets they, made and Randi showed her Linus quilt top. Tricia and Randi challenged each other to have their Linus quilts finished by the July meeting.

Then, what we all were waiting for -- Randi demonstrated how to make a pillowcase using the "roll and turn" technique. She provided printed instructions for everyone and then walked us through how to do it step by step. This is an amazing technique that requires only three seams and ends up with no raw edges. While she was at it, Randi made a pair of pillowcases to go with a quilt she made for her son and was able to cross that item off her "to do" list. If anyone is interested in making pillowcases for the "One Million Pillowcase Challenge," Randi will collect them at our meetings and deliver to Windy Moon. The "One Million Pillowcase Challenge" is sponsored by Better Homes and Gardens "American Patchwork and Quilting" magazine. When you donate a pillowcase, visit their website to enter your name and update the pillowcase counter.
http://www.allpeoplequilt.com/millionpillowcases/index.html

We ended the meeting with a discussion of the Angel Quilt for the Cancer Resource Center. Next meeting, Linda will demo the paper-pieced block. Please bring fabrics in pinks, purples, and turquoise with some yellow accents to the July meeting, and we'll plan how to proceed with the project.

Minutes submitted by Tricia

April 2010 Bees' Meeting

Bees' Meeting, April 20

In attendance: Helen, Dawn, Margie, Peggy, Tricia, Randi, Linda

We spent a long time eating and enjoying a wonderful salad made by Dawn using fresh vegetables she bought at a farmers' market on her way home from visitng her parents in Southern California. Margie made a heavenly orange marmalade cake from scratch that everyone thoroughly enjoyed! Peggy shared about the Honor Flight trip to Washington DC with her father to visit the WW II and other war memorials. That got us all to reminicsing both about experiences in Washington DC and about our parents and other WW II vet relatives.

During the meeting, we clarified that members need to pay dues for missed meetings, except for Ellie, Rita, and Carol. Ellie and Rita -- we welcome you with open arms whenever you're able to make it. Carol, everyone is praying for you and hoping you'll be able to return to our meetings again soon.
Helen is recovering from shoulder surgery and doing well. We are all praying for her full and speedy recovery, and we're grateful for her generosity in opening her home for our meetings.

The Fallon Quilt Show is May 19-23. On Saturday, May 22, it will include a car show and and outdoor quilt show. Dawn has 5 quilts entered in the show. Randi is still figuring out how many quilts she will enter. I'm sure they will represent the Bee's well.

Food for May meeting: Randi will bring a main course -- it will be a surprise. Margie will make another delicious cake, and Tricia will again bring bread of some sort.

The Quilter's Rendevous at the Susanville Armory will be on June 26-27. We also discussed the Nevada Quilt Guild based in Fallon trying to hold meetings in outlying areas to attract more membership. It will be interesting to see how that works out and whether a meeting might come to Carson City.

Show and tell:

Randi made some pillowcases for the Million Pillowcases Project. They were absolutely beautiful both in fabric and design. Randi shared with us a pattern that involves stacking and turning, which she says is a very easy way to make a pillowcase. That method requires 3/4 yard for the main pillowcase, 10 inches for the hem, and 2 inches for the narrow border between the pillowcase and the hem. Randi is going to demonstrate the technique at the May meeting.

Randi then modeled one of the tutus she made for her granddaughter's spring dance recital. The little girls will be dancing to "Over the Rainbow," so what better for that than a rainbow tutu. It was very impressive that her ingenious tutu construction using headbands from Walmart as the waistband allowed for a "one size fits all" tutu for girls from ages 5 on up to adulthood!

Randi and Helen showed their Project Linus quilt tops and Peggy and Dawn showed their FINISHED Linus quilts. That was fast! All of them are truly beautiful, and it was interesting to see the variations in sashing and borders and how those elements were able to tie together all the scrappy fabrics.

Margie showed her first machine quilting projects -- "Noah's Shakeup." Great start on machine quilting, Margie! Margie also gave Linda and Tricia each a set of hat and booties for the grandbabies they're expecting soon -- pink for Linda's granddaughter and blue for Tricia's grandson. Just a sidenote -- Tricia's grandson was born on April 27, and the family is healthy and doing well.

Note from Linda: There are no pictures for this blog because my camera was run over by a car (it may have actually been mine but we'll never know)! If you want to bring items back to the next meeting, we can add them to this blog. I have a new camera so I'm set to click.