Picnic in a Windstorm

Our July meeting, the annual picnic, took place on July 14, a very windy night. We enjoyed the usual lovely spread of delicious food, good company, and wind-blown hairdos. Show and Tell was quite the challenge for those who volunteered to help hold the quilts. The quilts, aka sails, tried to drag our holders through the park, but they held on bravely.

Some wind-blown hairdos:

Nanette's daughter made this quilt when she was 7 yrs old, and won a blue ribbon for it!

This is one by Edel Ruth.. Nanette does the quilting for her.

This one, by Beth K., tried its best to drag the volunteer holders all over the park, but they held on tight.

Read the previous post about our monthly Saturday Sew-ins, and please join us on July 18 if you can!

Another One-Day Sewing Event

We're going to try to do our one-day sewing retreats more regularly (monthly). We met on June 27 and had a great time. We started at 8:00 a.m. and a couple of us stayed to the very end... 10:00 p.m. Come join us! It's lots of fun, a great sewing space, and we always get a lot done as there are no interruptions from daily life (unless you follow the summons from your cell phone).

Look at what you missed by not showing up -- warm caramel rolls, courtesy of Janet S.!! Yummy!

It's worth coming even without caramel rolls. You'll get to see some of Janet S.'s beautiful hand work.. she does lots of applique, or sometimes she attaches a binding. She doesn't lug along a big machine like the rest of us. It's great to see all the variety of tasks we work on.

Maureen worked on a folded piece that she had learned in a class at MQ. Wait 'til you see it. It's beautiful!

Cindy worked on a shop sample for Quilt Cove.

See how pretty it is? it is now on display at the shop (she made 4 of these blocks).

Carol worked on some charity quilts. These will be donated... somewhere... when she decides where.

If you can, please come to our next sewing days. There is no need to sign up or RSVP. Just show up with your supplies and your projects, and be prepared to work and have fun.

Next dates:
Sat., July 18, 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.
Sat., August 22, 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.
Sat., Sept. 26, 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. - watch for announcements. This date may need to change due to the church needing the space that day.

The place where we meet is St. Paul's United Methodist Church, 700 Wesley Lane, Mendota Heights. Great lighting, roomy, and you don't need to climb any stairs. Just roll on in and get to work! (Please bring your own extension cord.)

Great Show and Tell in June

I missed the June meeting, but Beth K. kindly took pictures and sent them to me with notes. The program was a talk on the Minnesota Quilt Project, given by Jean Loken and Gail Bakkom. These first pictures are from the program:

The rest of these pictures are from Show and Tell. We have such talented quilters in our guild! It's always fun to see their creations.

This first one is by Janet S----e.

The next one is by Janet S----r.

The next four are by Karen A. Notice how she immediately uses up her scraps by making mini quilts with her leftover pieces.

The next 4 are by Mo J.

This one is a high school graduation gift, made by Pat B.:

This is a gift for a nephew, made by Rosemary R. Each picture is in the quilt twice, so he can hunt for the matching picture.. a quilt puzzle!

Sally M. made this for a relative's fruit stand.

This batik top is also by Sally M.

This one is by Stephanie W. It is going to her neighbor's parents in India!

This one is made from a jelly roll, by Susie S.

May Meeting with Diane

Diane Schotl was our speaker this month. She talked about the process of deciding how to quilt a top. Of course there is never just one correct way. She showed us how she examines different options. She even had some sample, duplicate quilts that she had quilted in different ways. Very informative!

The photo below shows some marks Diane has made on a transparency to consider different quilting options.

(Jean's pretty jacket reminds me of the chewing gum paper chains I used to make in junior high!)

During the break the library did some brisk business.

This month was a tea towel exchange, moved from the December meeting in hopes of getting more participation. Ooops! Only two people played, so they just exchanged tea towels. Well, they both did nice spring themes.

Susie did some quilt show wrap up. We voted for next year's board. And we had our usual lovely Show and Tell.

See you again next month, on June 9.

Amish Quilts in April

Our speaker in April was Julie Tebay of Quilting Plus Quilting. She showed us her own collection of Amish quilts. Enjoy the show!

and here is our usual Show and Tell... beautiful, as always

See you at the next meeting: May 12, 7:00 P.M. at Eagan Community Center

The Apron Ladies

We had a blast at the March meeting. The apron contest was a huge success, and everyone had fun. The aprons were amazing and so creative! Thanks for the great job by everyone.

Dixie made an apron for birding! Here she is letting us hear a bird song recording.

Sally, please don't eat your glasses!

The challenge quilts from our show... winners are 1st Place Mary, 2nd place Diane (not present.. hers was the light blue one with a tree going up the right side), 3rd place Jackie. Ask Jackie about this quilt and mammograms. LOL.

Janet was our featured quilter this year, and what a great show she put on! Her Provenance quilt won Viewers' Choice. It was gorgeous!

Show and Tell.. this is for Quilts of Valor... and I believe the next one is, also, if I remember correctly.

Come back soon to see pictures from our April meeting - Amish quilts. Wowsers!

Sew Busy

We had another nice sewing day in March. Only a few people came, but we got a lot done and enjoyed the conversation and the chocolate! (Thanks, Sally.)


Maureen likes to use the floor. I have a picture of her working on the floor at the retreat, too!

Carol worked in pastels for the day... something she doesn't usually do. She had fun!