October 21st meeting

Our meeting was called to order at 7:00pm with 9 members present.  Minutes from the Sept 16th meeting were read by our secretary, Charmayne and approved as read.  Shelly gave the treasurer's report.  Our balance was given and mentioned that one check from the shop ( I originally wrote sock hop.... showing my age) hop is still outstanding. 

Roxie reported that the quilts will be delivered on Dec.10th.  Anyone wanting to go along should contact her. Also any quilts unfinished or being stored should be given to Roxie as soon as possible.  There won't be another work or sewing day until January.  November and December are such busy months for everyone.  We should now be working on our 40x40 quilts and our walker bags.

Old business included a reminder of the Christmas party held at Dorine's.  Remember to bring a homemade gift for a member exchange.  Some quilters are diabetic and some have allergies, so keep that in mind if baking something.  Approximately a $10 limit on these gifts.. Also bring the gift for your secret sister as they will be revealed at this time.  If you are unable to attend don't forget your secret sister.  We all need to remember our obligation , if you took a name you should try to fulfill your gifts. 

Roxie also had our program for October. She showed us how to make the cutest origami bags.  She gave us all a pattern so we can make them at home... Great idea for Christmas gifts.


There were only a few show and share quilts...

all very nice... and we enjoyed seeing them.

We played Quilto.... who was the winner??? I think Elaine.... she will get our turkey/thanksgiving material to make something with.  Next month we will bring a 10" square , Blue and white, snow/snowflake/snowman fabric.

Betty Morris will have the November program.... "surprise bags"   a pattern I think she found in Paducah.

Remember UFO's are due in November... If you have had to give them as a gift... be sure to bring a photo.  Next meeting will be November 18th.

See you then.....

Quilto, in November

Thanks to all that gave me heads up for October meetings Quilto game. It is a 10 inch square of Thanksgiving pattern....

See you Oct 21.

Sally

Spotlight on our members

Sharon Guffey Lewis has loved quilts all her life and started quilting herself a couple  years ago.  Sharon prefers small wall hangings, table runners and lap quilts. 

Sharon was a teacher for 20 years. She then went to seminary and became a pastor in the United Church of Christ.   Besides her work in the ministry she enjoys sewing and gardening, along with quilting, of course.

Sharon really enjoys our group and especially enjoys the sew days, where she feels she learns a lot.

Even though she hasn't been quilting long she has 6 totes, 2 chests, 2 hampers, and 2 piles that consist of her stash.

Sharon married Steve Lewis in 2001.  Together they have 5 children and spouses and 9 grandchildren.

September 16th meeting

Dorine called our meeting to order with 13 members present.  The minutes were read by Charmayne and approved.  Shelly noted that 2 checks had been written for the shop hop drivers and Dorine was given a check for  quilting our John Deere quilt.  Shelly also issued a check for postage and cards to Charmayne, so that she can keep them on hand.

Roxie talked about the walker bags and brought lots of quilt blocks that had been squared up by Shelly and are ready to go for bags and quilts. All members were encouraged to take them home and work on them. The next work day is October 18th at 9:30 at Roxie's.

Sharon reported on the shop hop for the group.  Roxie and Vivian each won one of the drawings at quilt shops that we visited.  Betty told us about her "shop hop" in Kentucky and Tennessee and brought us all book marks from Eleanor Burns shop. 

We discussed the final plans for the Christmas party.  It will be Dec 9th at 6pm at Dorine's home.  We are to bring our secret quilter's Christmas gift and a homemade gift with the approximate value of $10. Also everyone is to bring a finger food to share and beverage of your "choice". 

The one yard Challenge quilts were displayed.  Roxie won best of show, and Elaine most unique .  Sharon won best use of color.  ( I hope that is right).. It was fun to see all the interesting uses of the 5 fabrics.  Photos will follow.

UFO's are due at the November meeting. 

The program for the night was done by Elaine.  She showed us a very clever way to make hexi's from a circle.  Some made perfect hexi's... unfortunately some couldn't quite get the technique down... lol

Several ladies brought show and tell.  Shirley displayed a beautiful Red and White quilt.   Again, photos to follow.

The October program will be Roxie, Origami Bags. 

A reminder that the Des Moines Expo is October 1-4.

We played quilto... and I am sorry, I didn't write down who won... They got the fall leaves strips. 

The next meeting will be Oct 21.. If anyone remembers what we are bringing for Quilto....let me know... I will add it to the blog.... ( I must have been distracted when I was making my notes..... glad I am not the official secretary!!)

Meeting was closed.  Hope you are all enjoying the lovely fall weather.

Spot light on our members

I am a little slow getting our monthly spotlight out... sorry, Where did August go... did anyone see it leave?

Our spotlight this month is on Fran Dixon.  Fran has been quilting for about 20 years, but sewing since she was about 10 years old.  She has always been fascinated with quilts.  After Fran retired, she happen to take a class and the rest is history.

Fran says she doesn't have the patience for mini quilts and prefers larger quilts with traditional patterns. 

Fran was a stay at home mom for a lot of years, then got a job in an office and was a legal secretary at a large prominent law firm in Alaska.  She had four children. Carla, Paula, Lynnette and Greg.  As many of you know, Greg passed away in 2013.  She has 10 grandchildren.  Fran is originally from Maine, but spent the last 35 years before moving to Carson, Iowa in Alaska.

Fran enjoys sewing with groups in Council Bluffs, Quilts from the Bluffs. They are a charity group. She is largely responsible for the quilting group that meets in Oakland every  other Thursday at Fellowship of Faith church.

Crocheting, embroidery, and reading are her other hobbies. I also know that she is a wonderful long arm quilter.

When asked how big is your stash.... she just says  too BIG!!!!  I can attest to that... well not toooooo big, but big.

Tuesday, August 19th

August Meeting

A beautiful night in August for our meeting.  There were 11 members present.  We were unable to read the minutes. We will catch up with those next time.  Shelly has been to the bank and all name transfers have been done.  IT'S OFFICIAL>... IT'S OFFICIAL>  Shelly is our treasurer.  She had no activity this month, so our balance remains the same.

Roxie reported on the charity quilting. Just to reemphasize walker bags should be 15 inches square with 8" straps folded in 1/2. Velcro closures are probably be best, but buttons could be used too.  Shirley showed us all the walker bags she had made. They were lovely.  She lined hers and did a great job, as always.  Charity quilts should measure 40x40.  Dorothy tried her talent at the "expanding block" that Shelly demonstrated last month, and has a top ready for us.

Roxie is going to schedule a sew day on Sept 6th  starting at 9:30.

We finalized the Shop Hop info.  We will meet at 8:30 at the Bakery in Walnut on Aug. 23..  Luann, Sharon, and Roxie will drive.  We should have plenty of room with 3 cars.

Everyone was reminded to bring their 1 yard  Challenge quilt at the next meeting on September 16th.   There may be prizes..... lol

We had show and share and as always there were lots of great quilts

I demonstrated Tube quilting. 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOWSp0mTTqE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFqyQSYeW9w&list=UU5Ea9yiDZ2grViTGvc0XzZA

Here are a couple links that may help you out if you are interested in making a tube quilt.

Elaine is going to do the program next month.  It is Sept. Surprise. Everyone should bring a needle and thread for her demo.

We played Quilto and Shirley won.... yeah... she received all the lavender strips.  Next month we should bring fall leaves 2 1/2 inch WOF... fall colors .

New Business included talk of the Christmas party.  It was decided to have it on December 9th at 6:00.  We will meet at Dorine's home.  Everyone will bring finger food to share.  Dorine will have soda and water... if you want something else , please bring that yourself.  We should bring a $10 homemade item for a gift exchange and you should also bring your secret sisters gift.   Secret sisters will be revealed that night. 

We also decided to provide the Secretary, Charmayne , a roll of stamps and an allowance for cards that she sends to members.  We will also try to reimburse her for past cards and postage that she has sent.

We also discussed providing a reimbursement for the drivers for the shop hop.  Since our treasury is  healthy we will give $40 to each driver. If the occupants of the cars want to do more that is up to them.

Sally is collecting quilts for the Carsten's Farm event Sept 6-7th.  She will not be able to attend, so would like to get all quilts before the 4th of Sept.  If any of you have them, either bring to the Shop hop, or call Sally to make arrangements.  If you haven't been to Carsten's, it is great fun, they have vendors and displays.... fun for hubbies too.   

Another busy night, with lots to discuss, and laugh about.

We are especially keeping Charmayne and Shirley in our thoughts and prayers.

See you all at the Shop hop or on Sept. 16th at our next meeting.

We celebrated Christmas in July. Each of us brought our favorite Christmas quilt. We had a lovely variety. Great jobs ladies.

Here are our postage stamp quilts.  Thanks Dorine for inspiring them.  Roxie was the winner of Best of Show , hers is lower row second from left. Elaine won Best use of Color, hers is lower row, on right. Sally won most unique, hers is next to Elaines bottom row. second from right. Nice work everyone.

Meet our members....

The spotlight is on Betty Morris this month

Betty started sewing clothing in 4 H and graduated to quilting about 20 years ago.

Betty likes to do smaller projects. Throw quilts, wall hangings, table runners and toppers are her favorites.

Betty is a mother of 3 daughters. ( lucky her... ) She enjoys reading, her favorite place is the libraray.  She also enjoys wood crafts, painting and decorating mason jars. 

Betty loves the fellowship of the guild and loves learning something new.

 

July 15th Meeting

Dorine called our meeting to order with 11 members present.  Charmayne read the minutes and there were only a couple minor corrections, then approved.

Shelly gave us our treasurer's report and there had been no activity this month, so our balance remained the same. She is still in the process of getting all banking info in her name.

Roxie reported that the work day was canceled due to lack of quilters.   We will wait until September to schedule another day.  Also the nursing home in Oakland would like lap quilts measuring 40x40.   That will be our next project goal.  The walker bags were also discussed. They should measure 15x15 with 8 inch straps. ( folded in half 4 inches on each side)  The strap should have a button or Velcro to make it removable for cleaning. The bottoms can be boxed for additional room, or just sewn straight. 

Sally reported there was nothing new with the blog. Just a side note.  Sally still needs the completed  information forms from all members.

Old business included Shop Hop talk.  LuAnn will schedule with quilt shops in Adel, Des Moines, and Ankeny.  We have tentatively scheduled August 23 for our shop hop.  Sharon and LuAnn offered to drive.  We will leave Walnut at 7:30Am and plan to return around 5:30pm. 

Dorine reminded everyone to remember their Secret Sister.

We then worked on the one yard challenge.  There was a little confusion and I apologize and feel bad that it didn't work out the best.  Most of us got 5 pieces of material and we are able to add 1  other fabric to make our project. Embellishments and other decorative threads are fine too.  We will have our completed projects at our Sept. meeting. 

We also showed our Postage Stamp quilts there were 5 completed projects.   Roxie won "best of show" and received a yard of fabric.  Elaine won "best use of color" and received 10  quilter bucks. Sally won " most unique" and received 5 quilter bucks. 

Quilter bucks will be accumulated for participation in club activities and attendance and at the end of the year they can be spent on projects that have been donated.

We had show and tell of our Christmas in July projects. Everyone shared beautiful quilts, runners, wall hangings, and decorations. There was a wonderful diverse selection.
Elaine also shared a darling runner that she had made with bear prints. Well done Elaine. Sally shared her English paper piecing patriotic mat.

Shelly then gave a demonstration of the "Expanding Block" .
She demonstrated how to make a square in a square and how by adding new squares and cutting them, you could continue to make your block larger. She had a wonderful handout to share that explained the technique.

Vivian had just received a new quilting magazine and shared a great game with us.  We were all asked questions and then our answers created a cute little story. Thank you Vivian, that was fun.

Shirley call Quilto for us and Charmayne was the "lucky" winner.  She received the red, white, and blue, charm squares... I wonder what she will make... Vivian showed us the lovely  green strip placemat she made from last months green 2 1/2 inch strips.

Due to the length of the meeting our new business was cut a little short, or had been previously discussed.  Roxie did bring the Christmas decorations. We have not decided whether we will decorate a tree or not.  Also we tabled plans for our Christmas party. 

Sally will demonstrate "tube quilting" for our program next month.  Also thank you to Betty Morris for the hand out of her table runner pattern.

Well, as you can see it was a busy productive night. We had lots of laughs and shared a lot of information.  Several went to McDonald's for ice cream and more stories were shared.

See you next month . August 19th.
You will need to bring 2 1/2 inch lavender strip WOF

Meet our members........

This months member spotlight is on Dorothy Eggerss.

Dorothy's daughter got her interested in quilting about 6-8 years ago.  Her daughter has some free time on her hands and got interested in quilting and Dorothy caught the bug too.

She enjoys doing large quilts and lap robes.

Dorothy was the postmaster in Walnut, Ia until she retired.  She has 2 children, a son in Woodbury, Mn .  He is married and has 2 children.  She also has a daughter in Omaha.

Dorothy enjoys picking out black walnuts and selling them. She also enjoys reading, knitting, metal detecting , baking, and playing bridge.

I personally know Dorothy has some great internet sites and I am glad she shares her finds with me and others. 

If you remember Dorothy's Easter bonnet, it is evident that she has a wonderful sense of humor. 

June meeting

We had a great meeting last night and wow seems like we accomplished a lot.

There were 12 members present.  Minutes were approved with only a couple small changes... good job Charmayne.  Vivian gave her last treasurer's report.  Sadly, she will no longer be able to be our treasurer, but Shelly stepped up and took over.  She will be meeting with Dorine and Vivian to get everything done at the bank.

Roxie reported on the Community Outreach program ( our charity quilts).  All labels should read  Donated by  Nishnabotna Valley Quilter's Guild 2014 ( or whatever year is appropriate).  Charmayne is checking on the size of the lap quilts and will let us know. We have enough large quilts for now.   Roxie would like to have another work day at her home on July 12 at 9:30.  She would like at least 3 people to attend , so please let her know in advance if you can make it.  If there aren't at least 3 she will postpone to another day.

We are going to start our one yard quilt challenge at the next meeting.  Everyone is suppose to bring 1 yard of their favorite choice of fabric and style.  It is best if it is ripable ( is that a word??) fabric... as we will be ripping and sharing with all that participate.  If you have any questions, please call Sally 402/578/8994.

Shelly and Fran invited all to come to a local sew day.  The group meets every other Thursday in Oakland at the Fellowship church.  They start at around 9:30 and sew until 4:00, but you can come at anytime and stay as long as you want.  You can bring your machine, or not... it isn't just for quilters, any crafter is welcome... so if you don't want to bring your machine, embroidery, knitting, crocheting, etc are all great projects.  We have been bringing our own lunch, and something to share if you want, but not necessary. You can always go to the DQ or Blimpie's and get lunch.  Please tell  or bring anyone that would like to come.  We are hoping to get a good group of crafters and sewers for this group.  Call Fran or Shelly if you have any questions, or need directions.

Dorine shared a tutorial on Postage Stamp quilts.  She was kind enough to give us all the supplies to try out our own project.  She also talked about knowing the author of the book that she used to make her quilt. It was very interesting.  It is our challenge for next month, so be sure you all bring back your projects for July so we can share. 

We played Quilto and Vivian was the "lucky" winner of the 1/2 inch green strips.. Dorothy shared her tabletopper and coasters that she made with last months pink fat quarters. She passed the pink on to Vivian, so she will create something with the green strips with the option of using the left over pink. Each month the winner will make something with her prize and pass the remainder of fabric on.  Next month bring 1 each red, white, and blue 5 inch charm square for the Quilto prize. 

There was discussion of decorating a Christmas Tree again this year. Roxie mentioned she had ornaments that were given to her and those could be used, she will bring them to the next meeting.  We also talked about having a tree at Dorine's shop and all members could make ornaments and they could be displayed and sold to raise money for our Outreach program.  We tabled the topic for now.

Next month the show and tell should be Christmas in July.  So bring your favorite Christmas quilt, wallhanging, tablerunner, ornament,  you get the idea.... to show all of us. 

I think that about wraps it up.   As you can see, we did a lot.

Several of the ladies went to McDonald's for ice cream after the meeting... lots of giggles and good times there too. 

Great Meeting.

It was another exciting meeting on Tuesday.  We had lots of good discussion and fun to see everyone.

Charmayne talked to us about quilting labels. Those that brought labels showed them to the group and their was a wonderful variety.  Charmayne was also nice enough to pass out a handout of paperpieced labels. (No excuses girls for not making some).  She also showed us a wide variety of labels that she had made and of books that she has available.

There was some discussion about our charity quilts. Roxie's sewing day was a great success and Dorothy and Renee showed us beautiful quilts that they had finished.  Roxie would like to keep track of what everyone is doing, so that she can keep a handle on the number of large quilts being made. So if you are in that process of making large charity quilts, please let her know.  We will probably switch to a lap quilt and maybe holders for walkers later this year.  We have surpass or will surpass our goals.  Stayed tuned.  If you have any questions, I think Roxie is the one to ask.

We had another great game or I should say many games of "Quilto" .  Dorothy was the first winner, we kept playing until everyone had a fat quarter. Fran suggested that we continue playing each meeting.  Next time we will bring a green 2 1/2 inch strip WOF (width of fabric)  for the prize. Also, the first winner will get all the strips.  It was suggested that the winner would then make a project using the prize and bring it to the next meeting.  So with this said, several donated their fat quarters to Dorothy, we'll see if she comes up with anything... no pressure Dorothy.  It should be fun.

There was a little discussion of the 1 yard challenge. A few of the ladies looked at the video. If you are interested in seeing how it works. Here is the link  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MboqWMKzjo0  A few ladies suggested that we try "Mary Jane" or vintage fabric, other ideas could be "black and whites", or batiks.  We should decide who wants to participate and get started. Hopefully we can decide next month what fabric to go with and who wants to do the challenge.

There were several ladies that had beautiful show and tell projects.  I will contact Roxie and see if I can get some photos to share.  Keep them coming ladies.

Sally passed out a little sheet that she would like members to fill out and return to her. It is a little about each member.  She would like to include a member of the month on the blog. So please return those.  She will bring more to the meeting next month, if you didn't get one.

Be sure to check Facebook for Nisnabotna Valley Quilters.  Just put it in the search box and you will find us.  Add any good quilt sites you might want to share, photos of projects, or anything relevant to our group.

Great tutorials for jelly rolls

http://www.jellyrollfabric.net/Patterns_ep_41-1.html

There are lots of free patterns and ideas here.  Hope you enjoy. 

Sally

Sewing Day at Roxie's

Although we weren't all able to attend the sew day at Roxie's on Saturday I want to share some of the emails about the day.

Vivian wrote,

Hi-We had a fun day with a bit of confusion at times-totally normal.   As usual there were a couple of machines that weren't cooperating also and poor Shirley didn't get to sew a stitch on her's.  She helped all day anyway squaring up blocks and cutting sashing pieces.  Roxie's house is just ideal for sew days-she may wish it wasn't after Saturday.  We had fun sitting around her dining room table and eating our sack lunches.  We finished several quilt tops and have some that just need borders yet. We had some lively discussions at times too--you know how hard it is to make up our minds about things.  Hope more of the members can attend the next one.  More members, more fun!! Vivian

Dorothy wrote,

I was at Roxie's Saturday . We didn't take any pictures, but squared up a lot of blocks and sewed some tops together. There were 6 of us altogether. Dorothy Eggerss

Fran wrote,

Did anyone take pics?

Too busy sewing.

Sounds like we miss a lot of fun.  Thanks Roxie for the great day to complete the charity quilts.

Rainy Tuesday morning

Well, here comes some more rain, isn't it wonderful.

Charmayne has asked me to take over our blog.... so here goes. LeAnn has been kind enough to help get me started, so we will see how this works.  Please always feel free to give me any ideas, or let me know if there is something that you don't like.  I will also be adding a few things to our Facebook site, so check that too.  You will find I am an internet junky, so I will be posting some interesting sites to visit from time to time.

I think it would also be fun to do a member highlight every once in a while.  You may have done this in the past, but I think there are several new members, so hopefully you won't mind if it is a repeat.  I will be passing out forms for you to fill out and tell the group about yourself and your quilting adventure in life.  I would also love to add photos, so you can email me anything you have, currant projects, past projects, problems with projects, family events and milestones.  I think it will help all of us get better acquainted. 

Just a quick recap of the last meeting.

Shirley had a wonderful "Quilto" game for all of us. For those of you that missed, it is like bingo, but with fabric squares.  If you have your quilt board finished bring it each time to the meeting. We will be playing again. In May we would like members to bring a pink fat quarter to share for the prizes.

Also, Dorothy and Charmayne showed several quilts that they had put together from our blocks. We are in need of quilt labels, so everyone is asked to bring along a label or two that they have made, that can be attached to these quilts.

Charmayne had made beautiful Easter baskets for all of us. They were lined and filled with wonderful treats, including a ceramic Easter bunny. Thank you Charmayne for all your work.  Been a long time since I had an Easter Basket of my own. We also had a surprise guest, the Easter bunny came to visit and we all had photos taken, I will post those later.

We all had our Easter Bonnets and there were some great ones... again, pictures will follow.  Sharon  won the drawing and got a lovely basket filled with quilting supplies and fabric.

We also talked about doing another "one yard Challenge" here is a You Tube video explaining it  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MboqWMKzjo0  .  We are all suppose to be deciding on a color or fabric line for our one yard.  It was decided that a color grouping, i.e. Blues, black and whites, purples, batiks.... , would make a prettier result, instead of everyone bringing something different.  So think about what you would like.

I think that is enough for now.  I am looking forward to getting to know a new wonderful bunch of quilters. 

Sew Happy, Sally