December surprise!

What?! You mean besides the foot of snow?! Yes! I was notified that the December 1st drawing for the raffle quilt we made “Our Community” was my lucky ticket! I am so thrilled, I can hardly believe it. I have been purchasing quilt raffle tickets ever since I began seriously quilting 25 years ago, and have never had the lucky ticket. I am sure that I have found my rightful place here in our community!

I hope that if you were a maker you will sign it for me in January, as I’d like to fully document this beautiful quilt!

With much gratitude,
Marcy

cancelling December meeting

No meeting due to weather! Cathy Williams has told us we can bring WHEAT donations to the January meeting. Everyone stay safe as we experience winter weather! Wishing everyone a joyous holiday season with family and loved ones.

WHEAT Donations and Program Ideas

Vicki here......
 I think that most of us get blog post notifications via email and I've just figured out that Blogger no longer sends that email for scheduled posts, which is most of what I do. I've done 2 posts recently and, in case you missed them, here are the links:

Information about donations for WHEAT at the December meeting

Program ideas post

Just so the post can have a photo here's a veterans quilt top that I finished just an hour ago!

WHEAT Food/Supplies Drive at the December Meeting

WHEAT Food Drive: Each December we donate a car load full of food to WHEAT.  They operate a bi-monthly food pantry in coordination with several area churches and serve about 80 families each month. Everything they do is to help people in need in our own community. If you want to support WHEAT you can bring items from the following list or a donation check/cash to give to Cathy Williams at the meeting Tuesday.

WHEAT is in the business of providing for families. Please, if you hear about a family that needs assistance in Western Hanover County, please tell them about WHEAT. We are waiting to help with our 24-hour hotline, West Hanover Men’s Wood Ministry and our twice monthly Open Pantry. Our hotline can give information on all of these. Hotline number is 1-877-559-4328. 

The WHEAT Pantry is low in stock so they need all the basics!
WHEAT Needs:

• Cereal, oatmeal, pancake mix w/syrup, sugar free also needed
• 1 lb bags of dried beans, rice or noodles. They can break down very large bags if you want to buy in bulk
• Small jars of peanut butter and jelly
• Spaghetti sauce
• Canned soups or mixes
• Canned meats: tuna, chicken, potted meat, sardines
• Canned vegetables
• Canned fruit, including low sugar and sugar free
• Canned beans, any kind
• Coffee and tea
• One-dish meals - Brunswick stew, hamburger helper, etc
• Boxes of mac and cheese
• Pouches of dried milk
• Hygiene products: soap, shampoo, toothbrushes, toothpaste, bandaids, razors, wash cloths, hand towels, combs, deodorant
• MONEY to buy perishable foods
• Gift cards to grocery stores

The also like to get household items such as:

• Bleach spray
• Comet
• Liquid dishwashing soap
• Scrub pads
• Dish cloths and dish towels
• Toilet paper
• Paper towels
• Tissues
• Wipes
• Small boxes of plastic zip containers for food storage
• Foil
• Waxed paper
• Plastic wrap
• Clothes washing detergent

If you belong to another organization that wants to also have a food drive please talk to Cathy Williams at the meeting or get her number off of the membership list. She is the Open Pantry Coordinator.

Sewing Days are this week - Dec 7 & 8 plus more....

Quick reminder, Friday and Saturday are sewing days! If you are feeling a bit "crunched" with how close the holidays are already, come and laugh and sew with us. No regrets, we promise!!

And, our club meeting is coming up, too -- Next Tuesday, December 11th. Bring a dish to share! We'll be starting the dinner at 6:30, so plan to come a little earlier than usual. We will have an opportunity for sharing "ugly fabric" for our postcard exchange (a 10" square will do it, and we have some left from November, in case you forget).

Show and tell, and please bring something to share with W.H..E.A.T.!! A list of items most needed will be posted this week.

Thanks, all, and hope to see everyone in a few days!
Marcy

Program Ideas

This is Vicki coming to you today.

As we approach Thanksgiving, one of the things I'm thankful for is this group. I joined 20 years ago this year. I came from a very large guild in Tidewater where I never felt part of anything to this little group near my new home where I was welcomed and embraced immediately. Country School is the only organization that I've remained part of since I moved here.

There are two things that make Country School Quilters really special. The first is NO DRAMA. We had a drama phase several years ago and once that was over I think we all tacitly agreed that we would never allow that again and that has, thankfully, held. The other thing that makes CSQ special is the varied talent of our members. I learn something every month that I attend because there's always someone doing something that I haven't tried or haven't even seen before. Today I want to encourage you to get more involved and consider doing a program for the group.

So too follow up on Marcy's post yesterday I thought I'd offer some ideas that might get you started on a program idea that you could do. We have so many members now that if every member volunteered to take responsibility for 1 program we would have programs for at least 3 years!

My program in January will be some ideas for veterans quilts. It's not anything special that I have to put together because I've already been working on some veterans quilt ideas to help me deal with the massive amounts of scrap and stash fabric that I have.

I'm finishing up an Indonesian batik quilt and I had a lot of scraps from these expensive fabrics. I din't want them to go to waste so I decided to design a veterans quilt to use them up. So my program for January is really nothing more than show-and-tell for what I'm doing in December. Programs do not have to be difficult or require a lot of time. 

Don't let the idea of doing a program scare you. We are a friendly bunch and are grateful for you to share more about what you are interested in or working on at the moment. But if you are nervous, consider teaming up with your quilt buddy and doing a program together. Also, remember they don't have to last a long time. Just 20 - 30 minutes is great!

Here are a few questions/ideas to get you thinking:

• Do you use a lot of specialty rulers that you could demo how to use?
• Is there a gift item that you have made that you would like to demo?
• Are you a new member with lots of quilts? We would love a trunk show. Rita did this for us a few months ago and it was fantastic.
• Do you make a lot of scrap quilts? We would all love your ideas for taking scraps.
• Are you or do you know a physical therapist that might talk to us about quilting injuries and exercises?
• Have you researched different types of batting? 
• Do you specialize in a technique that you would like to share? EPP, trapunto, foundation piecing, writing on quilts, hand quilting.....
• Is your sewing room amazingly organized? Maybe you could share some tips with us.
• Would you like to host a BOM, challenge or other group project? 
• Do you know someone who could do a program? We are in a situation where we could possibly pay for a program if the group agrees.
• Do you work with a local organization that takes donated quilts? Maybe they could come speak to us about that the do, what kind of support they need and how they use quilts.

There are tons of ideas and I know that we have amazing talent in our group. I hope you will consider sharing your talent with us!

Program Notes in the season of Thanksgiving!

It's been so much fun to be a part of our programs this year because of YOU ALL! Thank you to Becky B., Debbie Q., Denise Z., Diane L., Estelle P, Laura H., Margaret G., Rita G.,  who have brought us interesting and wonderful new ideas in the form of a program! And, of course, thank you to everyone who has enthusiastically welcomed and embraced each of our courageous partners willing to share their passion for the craft and the art of quilting! This is truly a talented and giving group! I have learned so much from each discussion, and I know I am not alone!

And, as the end of this year approaches and a new year starts to unfold, I want to ask each of you to consider being a part of 2019 programs for our quilt club! I want to approach 2019 differently.... Instead of asking the group what do we want to hear about, I want us as individuals to think about what do we want to share about? If you have passion & excitement, or fear and loathing of a particular technique, I would betcha you would find willing support within this group of us!

So, I have already heard from 2 people who have come forward to say they are willing to do a specific program next year -- thank you, thank you to Vicki & Miriam. Now, I only need a few more of us. Please let me know with a phone call or an email or a text telling me your topic and a preference for a date, remembering we do have potlucks 2 times a year, Trash to Treasures in Sept or Oct, and that we plan to have our big "quilt show in Montpelier" in Sep & Oct. What do YOU want to share?

Jan. 8 -- Vicki "Three Easy Veterans Quilt Patterns"

Miriam - date TBD - "Beautiful strips" (I've taken liberty to title this, but have already been inspired by Miriam's "strip" topic)

Marcy - date TBD - "Love, & Fear & Loathing of  __X____" (what I do when intimidated by a technique - find another way!)

Here are dates to consider and claim as yours.....

Feb.12  Mar. 12  Apr. 9  May 14  Jun. 11  July 9   Aug. 13   Sept. 10   Oct. 8  Nov. 12   Dec. 10

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!