February meeting slideshow

If you missed the February meeting you can see the show-and-tell quilts here:



Created with flickr slideshow.
Or see them in Flickr here. If your photo isn't included it's because my photography skills were not up to par. Some of them were too blurry.

Shaded 9-Patch

Shaded 9-Patch is our block for February. Directions were passed out at the February meeting, along with yellow squares for you to use for the center as well as a blue square (you decide placement). I was asked to post the information here on the blog. We will need 48 blocks to make a quilt for a veteran, so please make a couple blocks. Remember that variety is the thing that makes scrap quilts look good - here is a sample using several styles of fabrics: 30's, batiks, civil war era, etc.  Together, our blocks will look great.

Cut your squares 3 1/2" - make 2 HST and trim to 3 1/2"
Cut and sew carefully so that your finished block measures 9 1/2" - final size will be 9"

Return blocks at our March meeting.

Thanks to Karen for the pattern and Vicki for quilt designs!

 

 

 



 

10 Questions - Elsa Brooks

If you don't know Elsa then you haven't been to many meetings. Elsa is knows for 2 things. She's on the board of the Virginia Quilt Museum and keeps up up to date on everything going on at the museum. She's also known for her miniature quilts. She makes tiny quilts with even tinier pieces. This month we get to know more about Elsa.

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 lived in the South Norfolk section of Chesapeake until I graduated from VCU in 1969. After graduations I got married and started my working career at Blue Cross.

One of Elsa's miniature quilts

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

I thought I would be a teacher, decided in high school to take the general classes.  No biology or physics classes for me.  I decided to major in accounting when I failed shorthand and made an “A” in bookkeeping.

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

When I can, I enjoy visiting various quilt shops in the area.  Now the shops tend to specialize in a specific area such as reproductions, batik or bright large print fabrics.  We are so fortunate to have several shops in the area.

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

I don’t have any other hobbies other than quilting.  Before I started quilting, I did counted cross stitch.  I made several things for family members.  Below are three pillows I made for my mother which she used on their boat. 

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

As a child, I always enjoyed going to my grandmother’s on the Eastern shore of Maryland.  We would travel in the summer by boat up the Chesapeake Bay for two weeks of fun with my cousins.  Later, I would work at my aunt’s fishing party business, cleaning rooms and serving dinner.  Always enjoyed getting some extra spending money.

I’m looking forward to going on a Danube River cruise in May with a friend from work.

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

It is best to give than receive.  I like to help others.  Randall and I have been fortunate to have good working careers and we are able to help other individuals and organizations.

Elsa also makes cool handbags.

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

I would need at least a year to get my quilting room looking halfway decent.  I usually know where things are, but sometimes I have lost things.

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

Currently, we still have my Christmas quilt on our bed.  I need to wash the other quilts that I use, but don’t have an area in the basement to spread out the quilt to dry as Randall has a tent hanging from the rafters on my side of the basement.

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 quilt that is my least favorite.

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

My favorite quilt is the one my aunt gave me for Christmas a few years before she died.  She chose the fabrics for the colors.  It’s not a 100% cotton quilt, but a poly blend.

Sewing Feb 7 & 8

Two days of sewing together was a nice time of sewing and visiting and learning from each other. Here's what everyone was doing:

Sandy's "Two's Company" quilt - she added a border after the picture was taken.

 

 Carole joined her "Disappearing 4-Patch" blocks.

She's making it for a veteran and added a border after I took the pictures. 



Estelle was given all these pieces and she met the challenge of getting them together in a quilt for a veteran and she had so many pieces leftover, she started another one!

 

 

 Brownies by Julie - need I say more?

Carol cut strips and started sewing her batik quilt.

 



 Julie used jelly rolls to make this pretty Pink and Chocolate donation quilt.

She got it all together and added 3 borders - see bottom picture.

 

 Karen used her time with us to bind a quilt that will be given to a child. 

 

Linda's quilt - I don't remember the name of it - nice border!

 Linda was also busy piecing blue and white stars.

 

 Nancy brought her light box and prepared more pieces for her "Ladies of the Sea" quilt

 Nancy also started piecing on a veteran's quilt

Peg sewed squares for a quilt her daughter designed.

 

 Terri pin pasted her quilt (she designed the block) - see close-up below.

Terri also pieced blue and red stars for a new project.

Becky's 6" paper pieced blocks using repro fabrics.

In search of bad fabric

I am doing some more testing of my process for removing excess dye from fabric that has bled. I'm in search of bleeding fabrics to test. If you happen to have a fabric that you know for sure bleeds I'd really appreciate 1/4 - 1/2 yard of it. I'll be at the meeting Tuesday if you can bring it then.

Thanks,
Vicki

I need some blue fabric

I am putting together the quilt with the "orphan" lily blocks.  I need about 3 yards of medium blue to make sashing.  I thought I had this in my stash, but it turns out I have nothing that will work.  Does anyone have a medium/slate blue similar to the basket shown in this picture?

This looks a little brighter on my screen than it is in person, so if you have something slightly more grey it will probably work.  If you have something you'd like to donate, please post a comment here.  Thanks!