Veterans Quilts and October Meetings

Last week I delivered 42 more veterans quilts. The total for the year is 111! Keep up the great work.

Our delivery coordinator is Jennifer. She has been responsible for distributing our quilts since 2018 and has handled around1000 quilts! I always check in with her to make sure she doesn't feel burdened. She says she considered it an honor to play her "small" role. She has contacts at both the Richmond and Fredericksburg VA facilities and makes sure they get delivered where they are most needed and appreciated. At the moment she says about 70% go to Richmond and 30% to Fredericksburg. We really lucked into this situation with Terry Muller when she was a member. Terry met Jen through a Facebook Marketplace sale and started this relationship and we are fortunate. I don't know of anyone else who has visibility and connections in both facilities.

To thank her, I made a quilt this summer and gifted it to her when I delivered these quilts.

I started this quilt just for fun but before I had 3 blocks done, I knew it was for Jennifer. She loves vintage things and this quilt fit right into her guest room.

OCTOBER MEETINGS

Tuesday, October 13, 7:30 - our annual Trash To Treasure event. Bring things you want to donate and be ready to shop! All of the money collected at this event goes toward batting and backing for the veterans quilts.

Wednesday and Thursday, October 21 - 22 - sewing days. Bring your machine and project and sit, sew and socialize. 

QUILT CHALLENGE

Marcy's idea of starting a Challenge Group is an opportunity to try something new - a new technique or a way of doing something out of your norm. There are NO RULES, you can make anything you like, any size you like. We welcome others to join in at any time. We hope to have our Alphabet Character Challenges completed by our September Show & Tell. At that time a new challenge will be issued.

While my sister-in-law, Heidi, was here last month I was telling her about our Challenge Project (I think she's already a follower of our blog). Heidi's a recently retired middle school art teacher and she has joined our challenge. I took her to the Montpelier Center to see the art display and we went next door for her to draw from the hat. She drew the letter O and it didn't take her long to decide what to do.

We played in my sewing room one day - showing her my applique method of using freezer paper, starch and glue to create. What a joy it was when she sent me the picture of her drawing along with all her freezer paper templates.  Heidi said "I  traced my drawing onto plastic using a marker school teachers use for smart/white boards so it will wipe off with water or a magic eraser sponge. Then I traced the pieces backwards onto freezer paper with pencil. Just wanted to show you the owl! Patterns are in a ziploc, wings are too big. I'll use a plastic box."

 

Heidi's Owl with Fox drawing

 

Pictures of our first Challenge Quilts are Here on our Flickr Site as the first 4 pictures in our May Show & Tell. Thank you, Margaret for adding pictures every month of our Show & Tell.  She also created an album for our Veteran Quilts. 

 

See the "Our Links" in the right column of our Blog - then click on Our Flickr Site for a great little quilt show! 

 

Challenge Group Report

For those who may be interested in joining a challenge group, a few of us have had one meeting and have come up with our first ideas:

1. Anyone is free to join in at any time, and ideas for future challenges will be welcome.
2. Our first challenge runs till the May meeting of quilt club, at which time we hope all who participated will show and tell about their pieces and the processes they used. (It's not too late to join in the fun!)
3. The first challenge parameters are:
Make a pieced background (using whatever piecing method you like), and place a pictorial image on the background (nothing abstract). Size minimum: 8" x 8"; maximum size is "wall hanging" 24" x 36".
4. To give you an idea of where this adventure might head, future challenge ideas might include:
     A.Cutting up a "treasured piece" you've never used
     B. Creating texture
     C. Doing a "slice" quilt
     D. Theme a quilt based on a randomly assigned letter of the alphabet (example: "V" could be velvet fabric or a word that starts with v like vacation or victory or valor)
     E. An architectural theme
     F. A favorite vacation spot
    G. Something whimsical or comical
    H. Create your own fabric (using any technique you want to)

If this sounds fun for you, please let Marcy George know. You can talk to her at the meeting or contact her using the membership list that Pokey Childress sent out last week.


Marcy George

Nov. 15 Meeting

Does everyone have their calendar marked for our meeting on Nov. 15?  (Date change, due to election)

The program by Marcy will be
"Consider a Quilt Challenge Group"

From Marcy:

For the past 10 years, I have participated in a quilters’ challenge group. The last 2 years we’ve been doing charity quilts. The numbers of participants has varied from 5 – 7. Organically, the group works like any other group – sometimes it works for people, sometimes not, and we give each other grace a lot of the time! But here’s the thing, I originally asked if I could join the group after seeing 1 or 2 quilts that they had already produced. What I saw for myself was the possibility of real growth beyond projects I might choose on my own. Also, the closest anyone in the group lived was approximately 2 hours away, a “safe distance” – no one would see me fumble around, while I “tried on” different ideas! Depending on your desire to try something new, get out of a rut, or wake yourself up with a deadline, a challenge group can really help and provide so much more in the way of inspiration and friendships!!!!

Marcy will be sharing a lot of ideas and quilts.

 

Please bring quilts you have made with a Quilt Challenge Group (Round Robin style, etc.) to inspire and encourage others.

Challenge fabrics are in!

At the June meeting we talked about having a challenge fabric project. We did this about 10 years ago and it made for a great exhibit. We wanted to do another in preparation for our exhibit at the Montpelier Center in September 2016.

Here's how it will work. You will receive 2 fabrics and you make a quilt project no larger than 80" in total perimeter (the total of all 4 side dimensions are 80" or less). There has to be a recognizable amount of both fabrics in your finished quilt.

That's all there is in the way of rules.

You can add any other fabrics, embellish any way you wish, make any pattern, use any technique. ANYTHING.

I decided to unveil the fabrics here on the blog in case you want to purchase any other fabrics from the same collection. The fabrics are Color Crush by Timeless Treasures and I got them at a great sale price from Hancock's of Paducah.

In selecting the fabrics I decided on 2 colorways. I know that we are sometimes more comfortable with warmer or cooler colors so you will get your choice (until supplies run out) of these sets.

 

Cool Fabrics

 

Warm Fabrics

 

I have 16 FQ sets of each.

 

If you feel strongly about which you want just leave a comment on this blog post and I'll reserve a set for you. Fabrics will be available at the August meeting and finished projects are due August 2016!