To all my friends,

Nora's Potato Candy

1/3 c cold mashed potatoes (no seasoning just the potato)

2 c   confectioner sugar

2 c   chopped shredded coconut

1/4 t salt

3/4 t  clear vanilla

2 squares baking chocolate

Combine all ingredients except the chocolate

Let mixture stand 10 min.

Form small balls

Let stand 20 min to get dry enough to dip

Dip base of ball into melted chocolate

Place on wax paper until chocolate hardens

Enjoy!

December Meeting photos

The photos from the December meeting have been uploaded to our Flickr account.  Here's a slideshow of the photos including the veteran's quilts and show and tell.


Created with flickr slideshow.

Double Wedding Ring - close-up

Here's a close-up of the Double Wedding ring quilt made by Annie (our Vashon Island, WA member). Annie did a fine job of piecing it and sent it to Terri Watson for machine quilting. Once Annie had done the binding, she sent it to CSQ to be given to a veteran. This quilt may have as many air miles as it does yards of quilting thread. 

See Vicki's earlier post or try this link to see what all Terri is doing:   Terri's blog

Wow, Annie and Terri, it is really a beauty!

Thank you to each and every person who contributed in making the 51 quilts that Betsy and Kitty will deliver on Christmas Eve. In one way or another, each quilt will touch the life of someone else. Our joy has been in the making and giving.

Look what I am giving myself for Christmas. You can still join us.

Carolyn

SEW WHAT?…… is a sewing cruise, it is a quilting cruise…..it is 10 days on board a luxury cruise ship bobbing about in the Caribbean…..it will be SEW WONDERFUL!  No instructors, no classes, no contests, just sewing WHATever you please.    

I have been working with an old friend who happens to be a travel agent.  He is helping me put together the “SEW WHAT?” adventure.  We have pinned down the date, March 18-28, 2014 ….the ship will be Royal Caribbean’s Grandeur of the Seas and the departure port will be Baltimore (so close!).   On board we will have a conference room that is ours to use anytime during the day or night…we have the key! You may SEW WHATever, whenever!

The ports of call include St. Thomas, St. Maartin, San Juan Puerto Rico and Haiti plus four glorious days at sea… sewing, laughing, sewing.  There will be shore trips offered, or you may stay onboard and SEW WHAT?. Cruise life is easy to love….your days can start with coffee and breakfast delivered to your cabin, or you may go to the main dining room for a fancy breakfast, or to the Windjammer for a more casual, but just as delicious, meal.  Lunch can be in the dining room, the Windjammer buffet or just a snack….from Ben and Jerry’s, perhaps?  Dinner is always gourmet in the main dining room, a great place for us to gather in the evenings to recount our experiences onboard the ship. There is a Day Spa, a fitness center with yoga and aerobics classes, a jogging track, 6 whirlpools and 3 big swimming pools, a shopping area……. shall I go on? At night there are Broadway-type shows, a casino and lounges….so many choices! Or you may SEW WHAT? all day and all night!

You may choose an inside cabin for under $950, an outside cabin for a smidge over $1,000 or a cabin with a balcony for around $1,600….all prices are per person, double occupancy.  The only $$$ that is undetermined at this time (and therefore not included) are the taxes and a possible fuel upcharge. We can travel as a group on a charter bus to Baltimore, cost to be divided among those participating, so add about $100 to cover round trip bus.  We can sew, cruise, sew and have a great time together for 10 glorious days!

If you are interested in the SEW WHAT? cruise, please email me at kikiproost@comcast.net.   Sew What? is limited to 24 persons.  Husbands and non-sewers are welcome to join us and do not count as part of the 24 maximum!

My bags are already packed…..I can’t wait to SEW WHAT?!

Christy Proost

(804) 779-3579 or (804) 314-4441

Information on WHEAT

Through the generosity of our members, Cathy Williams had a car load of food to take to the WHEAT pantry Wednesday. At the meeting she mentioned volunteer opportunities at the pantry and sent the following information along about volunteering:

WHEAT Open Pantry dates are as follows: Jan.14 and 28, Feb. 11 and 25, March 11 and 25, April 8 and 22...and the second and fourth Tuesday from now on. Prep starts at 3:30 PM. (Pantry opens at 5 PM until 7. Most of our neighbors come by 6). You may come as early as 3:30 and leave when you need to. If you want to "run" groceries to the cars, dress warmly. Come to the back doors of Mt. Olivet Church and park. Address is 15583 Coatesville Road Beaverdam, VA 

Sign up is with Missy Stanley at missy.stanley@hotmail.com

For more information visit the WHEAT web site.

Annie's Quilter

The middle quilt in this photo is one of the quilts donated by our West Coast member, Annie. When this one came in we were all impressed with the beautiful quilting. You can't see it in this photo but the white space is filled with beautiful feathers. Annie said that she sent to a quilter in Michigan. I thought it might be a blogger that I follow and I confirmed that today. Terri Watson saw this photo on my blog and commented about the quilt and mentioned that she did indeed quilt it. Terri blogs and quilts at Threadtales. She is a professional machine quilter and always has a pretty quilt to show on her blog.

Recipes

We had a lot of wonderful food at our December meeting.

 

More food arrived after I took these pictures, including a "Dump Cake" hot out of the oven. Inkie made the cake for Dot and shared the recipe with us.


DUMP CAKE

l large can of crushed pineapple and juice
l can of cherry pie filling
l box yellow cake mix
2 cups chopped pecans
2 sticks of butter (melted)

Put in layers, in order given, in greased 9 x l3" baking dish.  Bake at
350 degrees for 30-40 minutes!

********

Cranberry Relish recipe given to me (Becky) by Elsa Brooks, Dec. 2010
1 bag of fresh cranberries
2 cups sugar (or less to taste)
2 large oranges (seeded), use rind and all
1 large can crushed pineapple
      (Note: navel oranges do not have seeds and that is what I used)

Easy to make:
Combine cranberries and oranges
Run through food processor or grinder
Add sugar, mix well.
Add pineapple, mix well.

Place contents in plastic containers and freeze. Makes 2-1/2 qts.

Great relish for meat, fowl, or bread. Best to let ripen for a day in refrigerator before packing into containers.

Source:  Nashville 200 Years of Hospitality

Notes from Elsa: I used apples instead of oranges. I cored the apples and left the skin on. The relish (made with apples) tastes very similar to the cranberry relish that I have purchased at the Cheese Shop in Stuarts Draft, VA.

********

Are there other recipe requests? 

I would like to have the recipe for the delicious little coconut goodies.

Veteran's Quilts!

The meeting was fantastic and it was so exciting to see all of the veteran's quilts arrive. Last year we made 45. This year we made 51! Here are photos of the quilts on display. When I took these photos we still didn't have all of the quilts up. It was an impressive pile of quilts to try to fit into Kitty and Betsy's cars.

Everyone also generously donated a lot of food for WHEAT and $117 that Elsa will take to the Virginia Quilt Museum.

What a wonderfully talented and generous group!

Winter Weather

Western Hanover County is on the edge of a "Winter Weather Advisory" for Tuesday.

CSQ policy is to cancel our quilt meeting if Hanover County Schools are closed or close early.

Please check the local news to check for school closing. 

If Hanover schools are closed on Tuesday or close early we will not have a meeting.

Check the blog for possible re-scheduling if our meeting is canceled.

Reminder

Just a little reminder that our meeting Tuesday night is our pot-luck dinner and we will begin eating at 6:30. Our special guests will be Mary Ann, Vicky, and Randy from Hanover Parks and Recreation. Please greet them and thank them for all they do in providing our wonderful meeting place.

The program portion of our meeting will be a display of all the quilts we've made for veterans this year. Betsy and Kitty will be giving them to veterans at McGuire V.A. hospital in Richmond on Dec. 24.

Extra hands are always welcome, so if you can, please come early (5:30) to help set up quilt frames, hang quilts (bring binder clips) and set up the food tables. 

We will also have our regular "Show & Tell, too. It's going to be a fun evening of friendship, food and quilts.

One, last thing - remember to bring your non-perishable food for the W.H.E.A.T. food pantry!

10 Questions - Cathy Williams

If you are at all active in the club you already know Cathy Williams. She and her husband, Ron, own Williams Bakery and they are very active in the WHEAT Food Pantry. Let's see if you can find out something new about Cathy.

1. If you live in Hanover (or the area), how many generations of your family have lived here and how did they come to settle here? If you moved here, where are you from and what brought you here?

 I have lived in Hanover County for 36 years. My husband was raised in Mechanicsville and I now have a son and granddaughter that live in Mechanicsville. I was born in Lynchburg, Virginia. Obviously, I moved here with my husband of almost 39 years. It is a great place to live and raise a family.  

2. When you were young what did you plan to be when you grew up and what happened with those plans?

 I don’t recall ever thinking about it. I always wanted children and a place to garden and sew. I have all of those things. I am a blessed individual.

3. What are your favorite things to do in the area?

My husband and I enjoy theater, music, surf fishing, gardening and having fun with our church family. We enjoy our adult children and grandchildren and have a lot of fun with them when they visit.

4. What hobbies or activities do you do other than quilting? Where do you do them? How did you get involved with them? If I am not sewing or at church, which is my second home, you will find me in a garden, not particularly my own. I garden at church and lead a community garden effort to feed hungry families in Western Hanover with some of my church friends. The community garden vegetables were delivered to WHEAT’s Open Pantry for distribution. I also can and freeze produce from my garden. I have a jam and jelly business when I get fruit from my garden.

There is a great need for community gardens everywhere. Anyone can provide produce from their garden to help someone who cannot grow crops for whatever reason. It is very important to feed food insecure neighbors good nutritious garden foods.   

5. What’s your favorite vacation spot? Where do you want to go next? We fish a lot in South Hatteras. It is one of the most beautiful spots on earth.  have a dream upon retirement of visiting as many National Parks as possible with the time we have left. Of course, I will take hand work with me.

6. As a child what was your nickname and how did you get it? Do people still call you by that name? My name is Mary Catherine. My mother called me Cathy. I have always been called Cathy.

7. What saying best describes how you like to live your life? Sadly, cautious. I married a very uncautious person. We try to balance each other out. I also like to live my life as a mother and grandmother. I birthed 3 sons and 2 daughters. My husband and I have 9 grandchildren…6 girls and 3 boys. My husband and I are expecting our 10^th grandchild in April. They are all beautiful and wonderful and sooo smart...and I make a lot of quilts for them.   

8. Show us a photo (or photos) of where you create.

Kathy loves her Pfaff sewing machine so much that she bought a spare off eBay in case this one ever dies.

Cathy hand quilted this quilt. When she retired it from her bed she hung it in her sewing room where it inspires her every day.

9. What quilt is your least favorite quilt. Not necessarily the ugliest but the one that you liked the least or struggled with the most or just plain hated making. Why did you choose this one? Do you have a photo of it?

 I do not have a least favorite quilt. I have never met a quilt that I didn’t like. Each is it’s own effort. Anyone that makes a quilt is a very wonderful person and I appreciate each one…quilt and quilt maker.

Cathy is making this landscape I-Spy for one of her granddaughters for Christmas.

10. What is your all time favorite quilt and why? 

I have an antique quilt that my oldest son gave me 2 years ago. He purchased it in an antique store in Philadelphia. He called me and described it to the best of his ability and I told him to get it and I would pay him back. I was so happy he expressed an interest in what I do and love. He later wrapped it in a brown paper bag and gave it to me as a gift. I love it. I put a label on it stating where I had gotten it. It is a traditional log cabin quilt. It’s just great   

greetings

HAPPY THANKSGIVING DAY! to all my friends and fellow quilters.
I am thankful for you all.
blessings,
Karen Arbaugh

W.H.E.A.T. - Food Pantry

W.H.E.A.T.  - Western Hanover Emergency Action Team

As we have in past years, we will also be collecting non-perishable food items at our December meeting on December 10.

It is sad to think about hungry people in our own community but with the efforts of many we can help provide food to approximately 80 families now in need.  For additional info:  www.wheathelp.org

Suggested items are:

Peanut butter & jelly
Cereal, pancake mix & oatmeal
Rice and instant potatoes
Pouches of dried milk
Pasta sauce and spaghetti
Small boxes of mac & cheese
Canned fruit and vegetables
. . .you get the idea

We will collect the food on a table near the door - Thank you!

Our Pot-Luck dinner will begin at 6:30. 

Fabrics that "Bleed"

Posted by Becky

If you've ever experienced fabric whose colors bled, and haven't we all - you'll want to check out Barbara Brackman's blog on the subject. Barbara turned to Vicki for advice on a quilt with bleeding red fabrics. Following Vicki's advice Barbara had success with her quilt top. 

Barbara also introduces us to St. Hunna, the Patron Saint of Laundresses.

Here's the link:

http://barbarabrackman.blogspot.com/2013/11/running-reds.html

Sewing Friday and Saturday

Sewing Friday and Saturday is always fun but it was extra special this month. Becky offered to teach an applique class. She had so many students that she did sessions on both days. Everyone had a great time and we all discovered that Becky is a fabulous teacher. Here's what you missed.

Behind Becky are some applique blocks that she's working on for a new quilt.

Cathy and Nancy making stems.

Linda, Betsy and Nancy paying close attention to Becky.

Kris working on her first circle.

Karen and Georgie trying to bee good students. (The Saturday class was rowdier than the Friday class!)

Elsa making great progress.

Kitty preparing a leaf for applique.

10 Questions - Peggy Ladner

If you've been a member for a long time you already know that Peggy Ladner is multi-talented. She's not just a quilter. She explores a lot of other crafts and is very skilled with a paintbrush too. She's the one who has made the beautiful decoupaged boxes that we use for our quilt raffles. Recently she shows us how she does it. Well, I wanted to see where she does all of this great creating so I asked her to be our featured member this month. 

1. If you live in Hanover (or the area), how many generations of your family have lived here and how did they come to settle here? If you moved here, where are you from and what brought you here?

I'm originally from Baltimore County, MD, but lived in the DC area for about 12 years before moving to Hanover County in 1989 for my hubby's job transfer.  We moved to Caroline county's Lake Caroline subdivision in 2012, in a house we custom built.  I'm hoping to not move again. 

2. When you were young what did you plan to be when you grew up and what happened with those plans?

I wasn't that focused on what I wanted to do, just what I didn't want to do.  I didn't want to stay home and keep house, I wanted to work.  I'm over that now and am looking forward to retiring in a few years.

3. What are your favorite things to do in the area?

I like going to estate and yard sales.  I have a running list of things I'm looking for, and it's amazing how often it's possible to find the things on the list in a fairly short timeframe. I love going going out to Syria in Madison county or Culpeper or Sperryville - I like the mountains. 

I also like going to Fredericksburg, both the old down town and the town center at Spotsylvania mall.

  

4. What hobbies or activities do you do other than quilting? Where do you do them? How did you get involved with them?

 I love painting stuff - like furniture, but there are limitations on how much furniture you really need. After Christmas I plan to paint a hutch that I've had for about 20 years.  It was unfinished originally, and I stained when I got it, but now I think painting is in order.  Time for a change.

I crochet some, have taken a couple classes in glass fusing and used to do some fabric dying (I learned from Joyce Hartley) but not for the last several years.  I made sure there was a utility sink installed in the garage when we were building our house, because I would need it for furniture painting or fabric dying, since I do both in the garage.

 5. What’s your favorite vacation spot? Where do you want to go next?

My favorite vacation spot is Hilton Head Island in the off season.  The weather is moderate, and there are no crowds.  I have my mom's very basic Kenmore sewing machine so I take it and work on piecing a quilt, read, or go outlet shopping while Eric plays golf, then we go out to eat - very relaxing! 

  

6. What saying best describes how you like to live your life?

"Always an adventure".  Approach every day with fresh eyes and an open mind.  Don't get bogged down in the negative.

7. Show us a photo (or photos) of where you create.

This is my sewing room, which is in the walk out basement.  I have good light here and lots of space.  I'm lucky to have a dedicated sewing storage room as well.

8. Show us a photo of the quilt that’s on your bed right now.

This quilt is made from shirting prints.  I have a book by Lesley Lindsley that has a quilt made from shirting prints.  I didn't follow the pattern, but I liked how the quilt looked with that type of fabric.

9. What quilt is your least favorite quilt. Not necessarily the ugliest but the one that you liked the least or struggled with the most or just plain hated making. Why did you choose this one? Do you have a photo of it?

I don't have a least favorite.  The most nerve wracking was making a quilt, bedskirt, bumper pads and pillows - all with machine appliques of dinosaurs - for my sister when she was pregnant with my nephew many years ago.  My sewing machine was acting up, so I bought a new one - it was awful so I returned it, then I bought another new machine - returned it as well, and finally found a repair shop for my machine.  I thought I'd never get everything done.  

  

10. What is your all time favorite quilt and why? Do you have a photo of it?

My favorite is a wall hanging quilt out of five different colorways of Kaffe Fassett's Lotus fabric.  I like the repetition of the fabric print in different colors.  I've made a couple other quilts where I've repeated a fabric print in different colorways.  

There is something about repeating the fabric print - not just a block pattern - that I'm drawn to.  I've made other quilts using a print in different colors.  Each has it's own personality, just one of the things that makes quilting so interesting. 

The last 3 quilts!

My personal quiltathon is done! These 3 quilts are numbers 18 - 20 and are the last I will be quilting this year. Now it's time to work on some of my own quilts although these 20 were a lot of fun to do.

I'm sure you can guess that Betsy made this one. All of those little HSTs are a great clue. I quilted this one with an all-over leaf motif.

This quilt is Elsa's. She found it in her UFO pile and thought it would be a good veteran's quilt. Because of the floral print fabric I quilted the leaf meander on this one too.

This is the last of the mystery quilts. Peg made this beachy version. I quilted it with the wavy cross hatch in a pale blue thread. It really emphasized the beach feel of this happy quilt.

I'll bring all of the remaining quilts to the Montpelier Center this Friday. It's very exciting to know that we have 20 more veteran's quilts to deliver in December.

Three more quilts!

It was a productive weekend and I finished quilting 3 more quilts.

Peg assembled this one from out block drive in October. Cathy volunteered to bind some quilts so I'll take this one to her along with the next one.

This quilt was pieced by Annie, our member from Washington State. I love the color palette and the backing is a pretty pheasant print. Perfect for a male veteran!

This one was made by Carol.

Quilts that aren't picked up will be delivered to the Montpelier Center Friday for Friday sewing.

Two quilts ready!

These quilts were made from blocks sent to me by a blog friend. She made them but then didn't like them. I pieced and quilted them and now they need binding. Whoever does these needs to have binding fabric. Reproduction brown prints will work best for these. These are quilts 13 and 14.

November Meeting

The November meeting is Tuesday, November 12 and we've decided to start the meetings a little earlier for the winter so the meeting will kick off at 6:45 instead of 7:00.

Peg asked everyone to bring any orphan blocks. She's going to sort through them and group blocks together to make into veteran's quilts. This is a great time to clean out your cupboards of orphan blocks!

The program will be the Shoo Fly block. Betsy will show us how to make the blocks and a variety of ways to set it.

Also, the December Sewing weekend will only be on Saturday, December 14 so mark your calendar for that. The December meeting is the annual holiday potluck. We will also bring all of  our veteran's quilts to display during the meeting. Betsy and Kitty will take the quilts after them meeting for delivery to the hospital Christmas Eve. If you are pre-washing your quilt please consider washing it in fragrance-free detergent. Since the recipients are in the hospital we don't want to send them anything that might make them sicker.

See you November 12!

VQM Christmas Ornaments

I delivered the Christmas ornaments to the museum.  They are pictured below.

These ornaments were made by Sandy A., Elsa B., Mary K., and Peggy L.  If you have a Star ornaments, the museum would like to receive them by November 15, 2013.  You can mail them to the museum at  301 S. Main St., Harrisonburg, VA 22801.

Volunteers are always needed at the museum.  The November schedule is online.  You can access it at the museum's website, www.vaquiltmuseum.org.  At the site, click on volunteers.  I will be sending a email to members with the password.  Currently, Country School is scheduled for the 5th Saturday in November.  WE NEED SOME FOLKS TO VOLUNTEER.  CURRENTLY WE HAVE TWO MEMBERS ARE WILLING TO GO.  Take the opportunity to go.  The Farmer's Market located behind the museum, has homemade crafts in addition to local produce and baked goods.  Also, there are some nice shops and places to eat on Main St.  Call me if you can help.

Elsa

Two more quilts are ready for binding

I quilted 2 more quilts yesterday. Both of these have a blue hand dyed backing. You are welcome to come pick them up or I'll have them at the next meeting. These are quilts #11 and 12.

Carolyn made this quilt but I think someone else was going to bind it.

This one was made my Miriam.

As of today I have 4 left to quilt but I'm expecting to receive another Tuesday.

Betsy's quilts are ready!

Here are 3 quilts that Betsy made that are quilted and ready for binding. Peg picked up the 3 I posted Wednesday and she and Carol will bind them. We are making great progress.

Fragrance free

I am having a great time quilting all of the veteran's quilts and am willing to quilt as many as I get between now and the end of the month. However, I do have one big request.

As much as possible please avoid using fragrance products, including pre-wasing fabrics in scented detergent and using Best Press. I have a respirator and am wearing it when quilting the fragrance quilts but a respirator is not the most comfortable option (and it's really bad in the middle of a hot flash). So, if possible, please send your tops fragrance-free.

I will be eternally grateful!

Quilts ready for pickup - Peg, Carol and becky

I'm going to post quilts here as they are ready for pickup. It doesn't mean that you must come get them but they are ready if you want them before the November meeting. Any quilts not picked up will be brought to the November meeting.

If you have veteran's quilts that need to be quilted you can get them to me before Oct 23, between Oct 30 and Nov 4. I'm not going to be able to quilt an quilts received after Nov 4.

Here are the quilts that are ready today.

Becky's courthouse steps (from the bock drive a couple of months ago)

quilted with a wavy crosshatch

Carol's (I don't know the name of this one)

quilted with dwirling pattern (looks like a topographical map)

Peg's mystery quilt

(quilted with stipple ribbon)

Veteran's quilt-athon

Thanks to everyone who replied to my backing post. I found the backing at an even better price and ordered about 50 yards of backing fabrics for the same price that we got 33 yards in February! Most of what I ordered is white which is the least expensive option. Since I have leftover dyes every week that I pour down the drain I can now use those dyes to dye quilt backs for your veteran's quilts.

Here are 2 that I dyed recently. Most of them will be blues, greens, grays or browns because that's what I generally have leftover. 

If you missed the meeting last week you missed my offer to quilt any veteran's quilt tops that members have completed this month. I'll do as many as I can between now and the November meeting. 

I am quilting these very simply and quickly. If you have specific ideas for how you want yours quilted you will not want to bring it to me! Call me if you want to drop off a quilt top. I'll post here when quilts are ready to be picked up.

Here are the first few that I finished this weekend and delivered to the Friday and Saturday sewing groups.

This one was pieced by Karen from blocks from one of our block drives.

This one was pieced by Becky from one of the block drives. Peg is binding it.

This one is from Carolyn, also from one of the block drives.

These are from the mystery quilt. One was made by my Mom and one by Nancy. Thanks to Betsy for binding my Mom's quilt!