Life continues… Before I embark on any more adventures I need to take a few minutes to catch my breath and get up to date…
Our bee meets the first Tuesday of every month. Last Tuesday was no exception and as usual Jean had Show and Tell for us. Besides the literally hundreds of stockings for the troops and several dozen pillowcases she had made Jean had found time to make two new quilt tops from the bags of scraps she had taken away from my basement…
Here is a split rail design with borders…
and a variation on a jelly roll quilt made using my friend Quilter Steff’s pattern, available on etsy.
I really like it in the autumnal shades Jean chose. The little squares are an old Thimbleberries fabric with pumpkins!!
But no time to sit around and I was off to Iowa City to Home Ec. Workshop for two classes. The drive was fine, no wind and only one brief shower this time. Even the trucks seemed to be on their best behavior for a Friday afternoon!
So, we got right to work with our African Folklore Embroidery… no rules, just have fun and keep your needle strictly for sewing…
At least people seemed to be enjoying themselves. They even smiled as they stitched.
These two concentrated hard…
Everyone made a good start on their projects. I am looking forward to receiving pictures?
On Saturday there was a small, select group for the coil pot class. Cody got straight to work with a modern looking selection of fabrics.
Before we knew it there were pots emerging…
and,
Didn’t they do well? Cody got distracted with work, but I guess customers are good? I got a quick picture of her by the register with Stephanie before I left.
I was actually in Iowa City less than 24 hours. That was not long enough. Next time I will plan earlier and make sure I get chance to stay and enjoy more of my surroundings. (Be warned people!) Over 100 trees have been yarn bombed and are cozy for the winter and I didn’t get one picture.
But I had to be home for a Merry Santa Placemat class at Pieceful Heart Fabrics…
After a brief introduction we set to work tracing,
and cutting,
and carefully placing our pieces,
ready for fusing and sewing,
…but I’m afraid no matter how hard everyone worked there was going to be lots of homework before any finished placemats emerged. Here’s a reminder of what we were all working towards!
That was a busy weekend! But not a lot of time to catch up on the programs on the dvr and I was off out again!
The second Tuesday of the month is the regular meeting date for Riverwalk Quilters Guild in Naperville.
We knew we were in for a treat when we arrived and saw the impressive array of vintage quilts set out ready on the tables at the front of the hall.
But first we needed to get through the business part of our meeting. I decided my Quiltapalooza “Queen of Nice” costume needed another airing…
The halo is set off well by the grey hair don’t you think?
But we were really all there to hear from our very own Darlene Shille who had brought a wonderful selection of her vintage quilts to share with us.
It was impossible to choose a favorite but this unusual applique quilt deserved a closer look.
It’s hard to think of any of my quilts being in such good shape in a hundred years.
We then had a special show and tell of members’ own antique quilts. Nancy spoke about one she had found on her travels.
Loraine shared one that her neighbor gave her before she moved away.
Very few of the quilts have any record of their maker or even the year they were made. We are all left guessing why they were made or who sat stitching for all those hours… I’m almost ready to label my quilts while I can remember their stories.
Oh well, first I need to get ready for a few more classes in the next few days, including a bag class at PHF on Saturday and an African Folklore Embroidery lecture/workshop combo at Hinsdale Embroiderers’ Guild on Monday.
Then it will be time to buy a turkey. Is it really Thanksgiving time again?
