february events

Friday/Saturday sewing on Feb.7 & Feb.8  all day
Tues. night meeting on Tues. Feb.11  (please bring all r/w/b disappearing 9 patch blocks)
Monday sewing on Feb.24  all day

Hope everyone is well, safe & warm as possible! And that everyone can be at these events.

Don't forget!

CSQ has use of tour regular meeting building in Montpelier on Monday, Feb. 27.
Come with a project to work on, get help with or to just socialize.

Barbara Brackman's Block of the Month

Barbara Brackman has started a new Block of the Month, on her Civil War blog.

"Threads of Memory" will feature a history lesson from the civil war era as well as a quilt pattern each month. It was my pleasure to stitch blocks for Barbara to use on her blog - so much fun, that I made a second set using fabrics from her newest line of Moda fabric: "Ladies' Album" which will be available in March.

To go to the blog, click:  Here

The BoM will feature 12 Star Blocks (no applique). A new block will be posted the LAST Saturday of each month. I hope you will want to sew along, or read along for the interesting history lessons.

As people make their blocks they are posted on a Flickr page  - to see those just click on the photographer on the left side of the blog. It's so much fun to see everyone's block. Barbara's blogs attract quilters from around the world - leaving comments and sharing ideas, as well.

Below are my blocks for January: Portsmouth Star for Ona Judge Staines

Threads of Memory - 12" blocks by Becky Brown

Happy sewing everyone! 

Donate Blood in Iris' Honor

Since I don’t know most of you and didn’t want to overstep my role as your “cyber member,” I asked Becky to pass along a comment from Deb Jacobs’ latest report on Iris’s treatment.  She suggested that I write it up – so here goes.

Deb and I “met” each other when she did a spectacular job quilting the first Veterans’ quilt I sent.  Our email exchanges soon revealed that we not only shared a love of quilting, but we both had goats!  Kindred (possibly that should be “Kid-red”) spirits; I liked her immediately and was overwhelmed with her quilting.

One of the frustrations of being 3,000 miles away is that unlike you, I can’t deliver meals for the family, offer to clean the barn, etc.  It’s frustrating because I want to do something.  We all do.  Curative casseroles may not physically heal Iris, but they express support and love.

Today Deb mentioned that Iris will need blood transfusions and she asked us to consider donating blood.  While our blood is not going to Iris, it IS going to another person whose life depends on it.  Becky’s email to me stated a very stark fact – our one pint of blood can actually save a life.

I’m going to ask friends on this side of the country to join me and follow Deb’s request and donate blood in Iris’ honor.  If you’ve given blood before you know it’s painless (these people are good), safe, and pretty fast.  Where else can you do something so important and have someone encourage you to eat cookies and juice afterward? 

Will you join me and help another Iris?  http://www.vablood.org/contact-us/donor-centers/ 

Thank you.  Annie

Read Deb's updates here.

January Block of the Month

Union Square by Annie (see directions at end) 

Each month we offer a pattern for the CSQ Block of the Month. Each member makes a block and returns it the following month. The blocks will then be assembled into quilt tops that will be quilted (thank you, Vicki) and given to a veteran.

Our cyber member, Annie, provided our block this month: Union Square. The pattern directions were passed out at our meeting Tuesday evening.  Annie established the color palette this month with her blocks in gold with an off-white (creamy) background. Gold/mustard/cheddar-ish - how's that for a color description! This pattern LOOKS more complicated than it is and it's a good block for skill-building, keeping with an accurate 1/4" seam and making those cute hour-glass blocks also known as Quarter Square Triangles.

I haven't researched the pattern, but it appears to be a very old design that would make a perfect signature quilt, with that nice square-in-a-square in the center.  Perhaps someone who has the history about this block can leave us a comment. We hope you'll enjoy making this block.

 

 Six 12" blocks - click on this picture to enlarge it.

 

Using orphan blocks - some resources

As a follow up to our program Tuesday on using orphan blocks I wanted to share some web resources for getting great ideas for using orphan blocks.

This Pinterest board has lots of great ideas.

My blog friend, Debra Spincic, is the master of stash quilts and makes a lot using orphan blocks. She is now working on a series of donation quilts for her local fire stations and has some great quick and easy layouts.

Results of an orphan block contest at Scrap Therapy.

Orphan Train blog. There has been no new posts in a year but there's lots of great ideas on the blog.

A Flickr search for orphan block quilts

Sewing Together

It rained like crazy both Friday & Saturday, but it didn't stop us from sewing.

Those who came to sew, knit and visit were: Vicki, Peg, Estelle, Nancy, Betsy, Terri, Carole, Helen, Cathy, Mary and Becky. Keep reading to see what everyone was working on.

Above and below - Vicki's project is a batik quilt made from squares

CSQ members traded a few years ago.

 Peg was busy using her scraps to create a woven plaid look to her quilt.

 

Carole and Terri pin-basted Carole's quilt made from fabrics she bought in

Florida, right before they moved to Hanover.

 Betsy was machine piecing 1/2" segments to make these beautiful small blocks (5 1/2"?)

for a quilt for her great niece, Lulu.



 Estelle was given a bag of scrap squares and triangles and she worked on sewing them

together to make a quilt for a veteran - she thinks she has enough for two quilts.

 



Nancy spent both days prepping her applique pieces -

she's using Sue Garmon's "Ladies of the Sea" quilt pattern.

(I took a picture of her pattern but it didn't turn out.)

 

Mary stopped by to visit while she was knitting a sock.

 

Cathy used her time to cut pieces for a baby quilt.

 

Carole chained pieced these adorable little squares while Helen did all her pressing.

What a great team these two are! 

Helen also cut out a cute little dress for a toddler.

 

Terri was busy machine piecing.

And Vicki was paper piecing blocks.

 

 

DRUM ROLL. . . .

Many hands worked together on Saturday, and we now have all the blocks together for

 our next donation quilt. Borders will be added and it will be machine quilted and given to

W.H.E.A.T. (Western Hanover Emergency Action Team) for them to raffle for a fundraiser.

 

Hanover County has given us an additional sewing day each month.

This month it will be Monday, January 27,

so mark your calendar and plan to spend a day sewing with friends.

It's a great way to be able to visit and get to know other members.



Fundraiser for Iris Jacobs

Terri (one of our new members) visited Sew Refreshing this weekend and found out that they are doing a fund raiser for Iris. Here's the info.

___________________________________________

"Challenge Quilt Kick-Off"

On Wednesday, January 15 we will kick-off our first Challenge Quilt where prizes will be $50 Gift Card for 1st place, $35 for 2nd place and $20 for 3rd place.  We cannot tell you the rules here.  Come to one of our information sessions or stop in between January 15 and January 31 for information and to sign up.

Dates:  January 15 - Information Sessions

Time:  10:30 a.m. and 6:00 p.m.

Cost:  $0

Level:  All

Sewing This Friday & Saturday

Pack up your stuff and plan to sew on Friday & Saturday. These frigid temperatures will be gone and it's always fun to sew with a roomful of friends. 

We will start at 9 a.m. and sew until whenever . . . sewing both days is nice because we leave all our stuff overnight.

We have new members and we hope you'll come. You do not need to bring an iron or ironing board, we have those in the sewing cabinet.

Come to sew, get help, or stop by to visit and remember to bring your lunch.

Hope to see YOU there!

10 Questions - Marian Moody

When I joined Country School Quilters almost 16 years ago (!) I was a pretty new quilter and was intimidated by most of the people in CSQ. I knew if I just sat back and listened that I could learn more from this group of quilters than a dozen quilt books combined. It was true too! One of those "teachers" was Marian Moody. She, Dot and Becky eventually got me over my fear of hand applique. They haven't yet gotten me to take on hand quilting. If you ever get a chance to see Marian do a demo on hand quilting do not miss it!

This month we are getting to know Marian better and see a couple of her beautiful quilts.

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 only lived in Hanover since my teens . My family moved to Hanover after my father retired from the Navy and was sent to Richmond in his new job. He wanted a place in the country. I thought Hanover County was the end of the earth, the far end of the boondocks.

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

My first memories of what I wanted to be when I grew up was a Navy Wave. I thought they looked so cool in their uniforms. As I got older, I wanted to be a psychologist, and help people (don't laugh), until someone filled me in on how long I would have to go to school. Eventually, I knew I wanted an art career, and was accepted into the art school at VCU. I absolutely hated the VCU urban campus, and a long list of other things about it all, and did not last long. Soon, the love of my life decided he wanted to farm, and before I knew it, the girl who never went out without makeup and every hair in place was beside her husband milking cows, living in rubber boots and sweatshirts.   

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

My favorite things to do in the area, (besides shop for fabric) is to head for the mountains and explore the back roads of the Shenandoah Valley. I love the beach too, but I have sworn off getting fried to a crisp. But nothing takes my breath away like the smell of the ocean.

4. What’s your favorite meal?

Favorite meal is lobster (hands down.)

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

As someone once said about my father, my hobby is hobbies. I have always enjoyed trying new things. But I realized a long time ago if I ever wanted to be good at anything, I needed to narrow my focus, and so quilting it became. I love being outside (in the sun frying) and I love flowers, so when I have time to devote to it, that is where you will find me, either sewing or working in the yard.

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

No favorite vacation spots, but a long bucket list.. First on the list is a trip out west, mainly to visit the National Parks and see the red woods.

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

 "Kindness matters."

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

My youngest moved out last summer, and I began the redo for a sewing room. Then I started a physics class in August, and everything came to a screeching halt. I am so excited to be finished with school so I can resume work on my sewing room, I have been gleaning lots of ideas off of the internet. So, no big reveal until I am done.

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

The quilt on my bed right now is my Baltimore Album, which goes on the bed at Christmas time. I did this quilt while in a study group with Esther Lowry, Dot Holloway and Cathy Moody. Ask me sometime how that group got started. It is a good lesson in never believing you are not good enough...

10. 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 quilt. Every quilt I have made is special to me, because it carries the memories of my life while I made it. I do, however, have a story about taking a judging class, and being selected to judge the ugliest quilt I ever saw. That was a big lesson in looking at a quilt objectively, under pressure, in front of an auditorium of people.

 

BONUS 11! What is your all time favorite quilt and why? Do you have a photo of it?

My all time favorite quilt is my Christmas quilt. Lessons learned with that as well. It was inspired by a Hallmark wrapping paper. No, it is an exact copy of a Hallmark wrapping paper. Should have been inspired enough to change it and create my own design. Only the borders are my design. Because it is a copy of a copyrighted work, I cannot show it in any show. But I will share it with you. The person who designed that wrapping paper had to have been a quilter. I dream of my grandchildren spending Christmas Eve sleeping under that quilt.

About the free fabric

Got your attention?

Estelle asked me to post the following:

Dear Members,

 

During our December meeting, Mary Ann from Parks and Rec, announced that she had access to lots of fabric someone purchased at a storage auction.  I volunteered to check it out.  What I found was a huge number of plastic garbage bags filled with all types of fabric.  It includes good quality garment, drapery, upholstery, fake fur fabrics, and a smaller amount of quilting cotton. I think the owner must have had a sewing business.  I sorted through all the bags as they were not separated by type.  Mary Ann has another person who's group makes tote bags for a cause so I left a portion of the heavier weight fabric there for her.  I sorted through the rest and separated anything I thought might be useful for charity quilts.  There are also boxes of unused patterns.  There are multiple copies of most and they include clothing (adult and children), home dec., doll clothes, dog clothes, stuffed toys, purses, etc.  They appear to be from the past ten years or so.

 

Some of the heavier fabrics would be great for bags and there are some fairly large pieces for bigger projects.  The fake fur would be great for costumes or stuffed toys  If you would like to look at the dress and home dec fabrics please let me know and I will bring the fabrics to the January meeting.  If you can't use any perhaps you have friends that sew or belong to other groups that could use the fabric and patterns. 

 

I will bring everything I have put aside for quilts.  I will also bring the boxes of patterns to the next meeting.

 

Please let me know if you have an interest in the garment and/or home dec fabrics. I have about 16 heavy bags of it and I don't want to bring them unless there is some interest.

 

Estelle