We had an auction!

 Yes, Tacoma had an auction for our members and by our members. Everyone brought bundles of fabric, patterns, tools, jam, pies anything you can think of that a fellow quilter might like. We had much more than was anticipated and we made much more money than anticipated. 

Our auction was a simple one where each item or, more likely, a group of items had a sheet of paper attached which you could add your name and what you wanted to bid. As the morning progressed, a number of bidders went back to increase their bid if someone had outbid them. A fun way to make some money for the group. 

Barb and Bev

We had a surprise birthday cake for Bev! She was given Happy Birthday cards, as well. 

This fun quilt was donated by a member of Pine Tree Quilt Guild specifically for C.R.O.W.N.S. Looks like an I Spy quilt that is sure to make someone  happy! 

As the morning progressed, the tables got more crowded. We almost ran out of room, but not quite. We were a bit worried that we would have to give up some of the food tables! That would have been terrible as we all know that quilting and eating go hand in hand. 

Here is Leanne helping herself to some of Sherry's delicious chicken and rice soup. We had all kinds of sandwiches and goodies, all provided by our members. No need to go home hungry!

Bracing for the Cold

Wednesday's meeting was a routine business meeting, featuring Mini Raffle; Show and Tell; a reminder about CROWNS, our ongoing Charity Project; the Block of the Month drawing; and some discussion about the upcoming Area 4 meeting. We do not have a firm date for that yet, but we will be working with several other chapters to come up with a program for either April or May. 

Sherry also did an excellent demo on using the X-block ruler. This is our year for Ruler Demos, and we have presentations scheduled for most of our meetings on how to use a variety of specialty rulers. See the Calendar in the right side bar for more information. 

Winter is always a good time to settle in for quilting, and especially this weekend as we brace for arctic cold temperatures. Our members are staying busy this winter!

Our block of the month for February was red and white blocks using Civil War reproduction fabrics. AnnW was the winner this month. 

 

SandiC made several playing card holders using unloved CDs, a clever and simple recycling idea. 

Sandi also made a quilt featuring machine embroidered fish blocks. Her designs came from Embroidery Library. They almost look like blocks from a panel. 

Janice was busy too. Her table runner featuring canyon birds in blush and cream colors is lovely. Pattern "Canyon Birds" by Studio E.

Janice also finished her "Fall Barn Quilt", a design from Riley Blake Designs. 

And she embroidered and framed "Nativity Scene", a design by Adorn It.

Someone gifted Ramona this large bag that she uses for carrying her quilting items. Looks like a great size for toting a large cutting mat. 

Ramona also finished a project of her own, a "lasagna" style quilt  that she used to practice machine quilting feathers for a class she took from Debby Brown Quilts. She created her own jelly roll using Christmas fabrics.

She was also busy making lots of small string blocks and crazy pieced blocks for a Bonnie Hunter quilt she has in the works. 

Brenda had two quilts to share with us this month--a brightly colored one with orphan star blocks that were given to her, and which will be donated to CROWNS, the charity we are supporting this year ....

.... and her quilt, "Pine Tree in the Snow", using a traditional pine tree block that she was working on during our quilt retreat late last year. It definitely looks wintry. 

Leanne is becoming a prolific quilter and continues to surprise us with her creative use of panels. Her lighthouse quilt, "Portland Headlight", features a center panel surrounded by her machine embroidered "Vintage Lighthouses", courtesy of Ace Points Embroidery. The orange gold background she used is eye catching.

Kathy is also a prolific quilter who enjoys creating small quilts for donation. This one has a patriotic color scheme. 

Her bright triangles quilt was created using the Clearly Perfect Slotted Trimmer ruler, a specialty ruler she demo'ed at a recent meeting. This quilt will also be donated to CROWNS.

For this quilt, Kathy used her favorite block to create a scrappy zigzag quilt. I think her design is called "Chop Your Stash".