So much to show and tell

 

Janet showed off her "Yellow Brick Road", an Atkinson design. This is a popular design with quiltmakers. 

Bright and beautiful for Autumn! Janet used the Stepping Stones pattern from Elisa's Back Porch company.

 

Another Stepping Stones quilt from Janet. The different fabrics really show off how versatile this pattern is. Very nice!

Judy L. made this lovely quilt for her daughter. "Garden Path" pattern is from Fast and Fun Quilts by Donna Robertston. Judy said this quilt was really fast and fun to sew. Lucky daughter!

At our last meeting, Elly brought in the fabulous landscape quilt she made from yardage. Here Elly peeps over the top of what she made with the "leftovers". Nice leftovers, Elly! 

Like many of us, Jean seems to be devoted to quilting; she always has wonderful goodies for Show and Tell. Every quilters enjoys looking at something new, so keep up the good work, Jean!

This baby quilt is her original design based on Bonnie Hunter's "leaders and enders" scrap process. I wish I could be as diligent and clever with my scraps.

Jean's fresh and neat table runner-"Gingham and Pumpkins" by Hello Melly Designs. 

Oh, black cats just like my kitty, might have to make this one. Jean made this table runner called Pumpkin Hollow by Julie Weaver. 

Jean made this fun tote from June Tailor's printed stabilizer. Maybe we should ask Jean to demo this technique. 

Sandi H. says this paper pieced table runner was quite a challenge. Looks like a very successful challenge, don't you think? Pattern from Judy Niemeyer called "Cactus Flower".

Donna M. showed this Gelato Bargello quilt previously, but she just got it back from the quilter. Kathy B. used a sea creature template that adds so much to an already beautiful quilt top. Very remarkable!

New member Kate wowed us with her collect of Show and Tells. She started off with this log cabin variation. Love those bold colors.

Kate brought a variety of table runners she will be selling at Anne T's shop in Hallowell. Christmas shopping, anyone?

Kate has help from Lori presenting her colorful bags. Also for sale, perhaps? Some great ideas for using scraps for tote bags. 

Thanks for stopping by and seeing what we have been up to!

Yard sale!

Donna W. and Barb D. in front of our raffle quilt "Kaleidoscope Rainbow". 

The hall was filled with tables laden with material, fat quarters, yardage, patterns, and gadgets galore. Not everything was quilt related. Stylish aprons, yarn and knitting needles, card and scrapbooking supplies, ironing boards and irons. You name it, we had it! 

I brought home an armload of goodies. How about you? 

More to come about the winner of our beautiful quilt!

One of our happy shoppers!

Welcome back!

 Welcome back quilting friends. Many of us have warm feelings about starting the new quilting season in September after our summer break. It sure was great to see everyone and catch up this past Wednesday. I know I feel very fortunate that we can meet again, that the pandemic is under control enough for us to feel safe and comfortable together. 

The first news I want to share is that we will be meeting twice a month now! When the rental costs doubled last year we decided to meet only once a month and we would see how that felt. Well, it wasn't good enough! So starting this month we are back to meeting the first and third Wednesday of the month. 

Our quilter's yard sale is coming up September 17 at the Masonic Hall in Litchfield from 9-3. We will be selling raffle tickets on our quilt "Kaleidoscope Rainbow" all day. At 3:00 the yard sale will be over and we will pull the winning ticket. Good luck!

Other big news is that we have a quilting retreat scheduled for October. See Sandi H. for registration forms. This retreat will be a real treat. 

And now for Show and Tell....

"Old Glory" pattern by Reeze Hanson made by Sharon W. made for a veteran's organization.

"Open Options" pattern by Material Girlfriends. Sharon has been busy this summer. Lovely neutral palette. 

"Propensity" pattern by Deb Heatherly. Sharon found these fabrics in the deep discount section of a quilt shop. Nice choices for this pretty quilt. 

Sandi H. is a fan of Stripology, where this pattern came from. Complex and intriguing. 

Sandi gave us a big smile for this close-up of her quilt. 

Pick a card, any card! I've (Beth F.) been working the Summer Scrap Sew-Along from Temecula Quilts. Each challenge calls for 6  3 inch blocks. Each strip is bound and will go together in the potholder method, that is whip stitched together along the long edges. Pinwheel, four patch, flying geese, square in a square, and broken dishes so far. 

Elly S. presented this intriguing wall hanging based on the book  One Block Wonder by Maxine Rosenthal. The mountain scene at the middle is from yardage, not a panel. Elly carefully made stacks of one block wonder hexagons cut from more yardage and appliqued those to her background. The result is stunning, Elly!

New member Meliss S. brought along this original design. Spools and checkerboards all stitched together to make a wonderful wall hanging. Wouldn't you like to have this in your sewing room? Welcome to our group, Meliss, I think we can learn a lot from you!

Although Barb D was busy as a bee at Maine Quilts, she somehow managed to finish two quilts. This one is called Garden Twist, pattern by Sharon Evans Penter. So many complex designs at this show and tell. Great contrast, Barb, really brings out the "twist". 

Pink/Brown Medallion Pizza Box Challenge. Barb says "I made the center, Brenda P. made round 1, Sandi J.pieced round 2, Ann W. created round 3, and SueRap finished round 4 and revealed at the wrapup meeting on June 20, 2019." We all loved the colors! A real winner!

Donna M is always up to something interesting! Here she has a little basket made of Christmas fabrics. There are many free patterns on the internet. Try one and make something cute like this little one from Sweet Jane's Bucket of Christmas. 

Donna M. used ombre fabric for this "Bargello Fiasco" quilt. So beautiful.

Donna is working on another bargello quilt. This one is for a little girls and has a fishy theme. I'm sure any little girl would love that quilt. 

"Zipped Up" pattern by Liz Porter. Donna M. often makes colorful quilts that make me smile. 

What's summer without a picnic?

 We had a large gathering for our annual summer picnic. We set up our chairs under shady trees at Donna M's camp in Wayne. Donna and her husband were so generous to open up their home for us this summer, I"m sure we all appreciated the cool shade and the warm sun, a beautiful view of the beach and the lake. Donna said she goes for a swim every day. I think she has a noodle to relax in the water and let the cares and worries wash away. So lovely and peaceful! 

There were about 15 of us at the camp and we all brought goodies to share. We had casseroles, salads of many kinds-cucumber with peaches and basil was my favorite, muffins and veggies and dip, fresh juicy watermelon, plenty to enjoy. 

The picnic was the day of the bucket list reveal. We had a number of finished quilts to look at and a few photos because quilts had been given away earlier.  Those who finished their quilts all received a little gift in a pink paper bag. Barb made coffee mugs for everyone. We all know Barb is the Gadget Queen so it is no surprise that she has the tools to print out words and decorations for ceramic mugs. Lucky winners!

Of course we had show and tell and quite a few members brought their quilts to share.

Sharon R. finished a quilt she had wanted to complete for a long time. Such a satisfying feeling to finish a quilt! A bucket list quilt for her twin grandchildren. 

Marcia (don't you love the background!) made a small landscape messenger bag in bright colors, sort of crazy quilt style with embroidered seams using different stitches on her machine. Perfect size for a cell phone and credit card, an Anita Good Design pattern. 

Betty L brought two items from her bucket list. a pillow cover and a bed runner. All done in her favorite Kansas Troubles fabrics. Rumor has it she has quite a stash of those. 

Betty with another bucket list quilt. Betty made a t-shirt quilt from t-shirts gathered from her travels. Awesome!

Donna M stitched these two intriguing quilts. Each one is made from just 2 fabrics-one is an ombre and the other a print. The pattern is called Gelato Bargello by Fabric Therapy for The Quilt Clinic. I can just see the sunlight sparkling on the water in the blue one. Delicious!

Donna loves blue, we all know that, and this beautiful quilt adds another favorite, purple. She bought the panel in Florida. A Dragonfly Dance quilt design. 

Donna has not spent all her time floating in the lake, the above two quilts are two sides of  one baby quilt. The request was for a quilt with giraffes and fish. Donna cleverly made one side for the giraffes and one side for the fish. I wonder which one baby will like most? 

Judy L had us drooling over this beauty. She used Kaffe Fasset fabrics for this Floral Plaid quilt. I think she said she is keeping this quilt and I can see why! Judy is not all about the reproduction fabrics, she's a big KF fan, too.

Kathy B gave herself a challenge with this bucket list quilt. The challenge was curved piecing. Lots of practice with this one!  The pattern is called Posh Snowball from Sew Kind of Wonderful. Hot colors will keep someone cozy this winter.

Sue R made this little twister quilt bucket list quilt but gave it away before our reveal. She brought along this photo instead.  Jean P also had a photo on her phone, so she was included in the challenge, too. 

Sue R made this unusual quilt with the interesting block. It looks like piece of candy to me, but maybe that is because I'm dieting. The pattern is called Bon Bon and is free from the Fat Quarter Shop. Nice job, Sue. 

That wraps up (see why Sue has the last quilt?) our summer picnic. See you at Maine Quilts!

Busy June Meeting

 Our last meeting for the 2021-2022 season came to an end at our June 1 meeting. We had a full agenda with lots to discuss. Our charity of choice, CROWNS, will continue through 2023. There were many donations for the Maine Quilts "Quilter's Walk". Too many items for just one basket. Let's hope our donations will make some lucky winner happy and raise funds for PTQG. 

Barb kept a tally of those who participated in this year's bucket list challenge. Many completed old ufo projects and some made quilts they had long-wanted to sew. A reveal and prizes will likely be on the agenda for a fall meeting. 

Tacoma will hold a Quilter's Yard Sale in September at the Masonic Lodge. All sorts of craft items will be up for sale. Time to clean out your sewing room and earn some cash! Fabric, notions, patterns, books, whatever lurks in the dark recesses of your workroom! Not limited to quilting, if you have any other hobby...knitting anyone? ...all are fair game. 

We had a report from Carol T. and Sandi H. about a possible quilt retreat location. They visited a camp owned by the Baptist Church and we were impressed with what they told us. Plenty of space for a large group, meals prepared on site, and 2 bed bedrooms for overnight. We have chosen a tentative date for Sept 20, 2022. Start thinking about what big project you could work on or keep it simple if you just want to sit around and eat and chat-either one sounds good to me!

Our next get together will be a picnic at Donna M's camp in Wayne on July 13. 

Andrea made a wedding quilt for her son and his bride-to-be. Ann H did the machine quilting. Andrea flipped around rectangle scraps and came up with this design which turns out to be an old quilt block called "Windmill". Andrea's son Anthony works for a solar power company that uses windmills, so very appropriate! Andrea needs to hurry to get that binding on before that June wedding. A gift of love, that's for sure. 

Ann W always has the most interesting quilts, don't you agree? The bright floral blocks or 10 inch layer cake squares. Pattern  is "BQ" (big quilt)  from Maple Island. 

Janet showed us a variety of patchwork tote bags she has been making. This one featured the log cabin block. 

A pretty tote bag with crazy patch blocks by Jane C. 

Don't you love this photo of Jean P and her Cathedral Windows tote bag? Machine stitched Cathedral Windows! 

Jean P with a zippered pouch. The pattern is from Missouri Star. 

Jean P. with an "Improv Bag" from The Crafty Gemini. 

Jean P. made "It's a Snap" by Donna Robertson to donate to CROWNS. Someone will love that quilt!

Clever Jean P. figured out how to make this "Shimmering Triangles" quilt and stitched up this beauty! Machine quilted by Kathy Boudreau. 

Judy R borrowed a free pattern from a Tacoma member to make this patriotic bargello wall hanging. Called "Firework Flag", the pattern can be downloaded from Quilt Daily. 

Beth (me) attended a PTQG workshop in Sept. 2021 given by Nancy Mahoney. This is my version of Nancy's quilt "Dot to Dot" that I call "Hopscotch" A fun class with a good teacher, machine quilted by Kathy Boudreau. 

 

Sue R showed us several charity quilts she will be donating to CROWNS and to Margaret Murphy school. She also showed us several strippy quilts using a design that she and Margo C had made in the past for charity quilts. 

A lovely baby quilt by Sue R. More scraps in a rail fence pattern. 

Proving that no scrap is too small, Sue R made this little Christmas quilt.