Dakota County Star Quilters

2010 Retreat

2010-11-17T13:43:00.018-06:00

Greetings from a blog that has been quiet for too long. Some of us just returned from our Nov 2010 retreat. We had a great time! Hope you enjoy these pictures. Notice how much we got done (and this is just a fraction of it all)!!

This is the beautiful lake as seen on Thursday and Friday

We slept well in quilt-bedecked beds

We ate well

We had fun while working hard

We took exercise breaks (also massage and facial breaks and game breaks such as 'Last One Standing' and 'Quilt Bingo')

On Friday night the snow began to fly!

When it's snowy and cold outside, what's better than staying warm inside and making quilts??

L. created this from the Bag O' Scraps, and M. was the lucky recipient

the worst part of the retreat.... leaving

Mark your calendars for next year's retreat: November 10-13, 2011.

Tribute to Jean L.

2010-07-20T12:50:00.002-05:00

We are sad to report that Jean Loken passed away on July 17, 2010.

Read Carol's blurb about Jean here.

Picnic in a Windstorm

2009-07-14T21:20:00.000-05:00

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

2009-06-30T22:03:00.000-05:00

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

2009-06-26T21:38:00.000-05:00

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

2009-05-16T23:55:00.000-05:00

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

2009-05-06T12:18:00.000-05:00

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

2009-04-17T01:44:00.000-05:00

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

2009-04-05T09:36:00.000-05:00

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!

Over 200 Pillow Cases!

2009-03-15T23:39:00.000-05:00

We had three successful sewing days during the month of February. One was the pillow case "sweat shop." We really cranked 'em out that day! Including the pillow cases that were delivered already completed, we ended the day with 240 pillow cases! Wowie!!! Way to go, ladies! There were more turned in at our March meeting, so the final total inched closer to 300. Pillow cases are being distributed to B. Robert Lewis House (a shelter for battered women and children) and a couple other similar establishments around the area.

The other two sewing days in Feb were dedicated to working on Quilts of Valor and quilts for Home of the Brave. We hear that those days were successful ventures, too.

Color My World!

2009-02-22T08:32:00.000-06:00

I have not been keeping up here promptly enough. Our wonderful, annual quilt show opened on Feb. 11 and runs until March 6. It's a great show! If you are able, I hope you can check it out in person. Here's the scoop, followed by some pictures to entice you:

Color Our World
Dakota County Star Quilters’ 13th Annual Quilt Show
February 11 — March 6, 2009
Dakota County Historical Society
130 3rd Avenue North
South St. Paul, Minnesota

Show Set-Up

2009-02-08T23:47:00.001-06:00

Lots of people turned out and worked hard at putting up this year's show. It's going to be a fabulous show!! I am really impressed! I hope we get a lot of attendees this year.

Jan 10 Sewing Day

2009-01-31T00:23:00.000-06:00

I don't know why it took me so long to get these pictures posted! We had a good day on January 10 - had to change locations last minute, but everything worked out. The alternative site was friendly and happy to help out.

Sylvia taught her applique class in the library; the lighting there was really good.

That left only two of us to do the usual sewing-on-whatever-you-want in the big room. We had lots of room to spread out!

Our next one-day sewing retreat will be in March, back at our usual location in Mendota Heights (the damaged room repair is making great progress). Watch for a date change, however. I am unable to attend on the day we had planned, and I want to be there! Since I'm the one with the key, I get to change the date. Watch announcements, and please join us for a fun day of sewing.

Saturday Change in Location!

2009-01-09T18:47:00.000-06:00

Saturday, January 10, 2009 will be another one-day sewing retreat. Everyone is invited, but please NOTE: there has been a location change! Our original site suffered a broken water pipe, and the room has been damaged. It's currently not fit for sewing.

NEW LOCATION:
Salem United Methodist Church
5590 Babcock Trail
Inver Grove Heights

at the intersection of Upper 55th Street & Babcock Trail
just west of Hwy 52

There is also a change in our time. Sewing time will be 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Sylvia's applique class will still take place in the new location, at 10:00 a.m. as planned!!!

See you Saturday at the new location. Please bring some cash to donate for our use of electricity.

Being Dependent on a Machine

2008-12-30T00:27:00.001-06:00

Here's a story I found at Stillmeadow Quilting blog. I thought it was worth sharing:

The other day my friend and I were sitting in her sewing room, working on projects, and I said to her,

"I never want to live in a vegetative state, dependent on some machine and fluids from a bottle. If that ever happens, just pull the plug."

She got up, unplugged my Juki and threw out my bottle of water ....

December Meeting

2008-12-21T22:42:00.000-06:00

In December we met at a church which was so nicely decorated. It felt very welcoming. The pot luck yummy-ness was a great treat! Randomly-assigned seating made for a good mix of people who had the opportunity to get to know each other. Fun idea! We enjoyed the usual amazing Show and Tell, a special showing of Christmas quilts, Christmas block exchange, and some awesome door prizes. Take a look at the beauties: (the quilts are nice, too)

Retreat 2008

2008-11-24T20:22:00.000-06:00

These three won't reveal any secrets, but rest assured, we had a great time and got lots done. Come with us next year, November 12-15, 2009!

Bags of Marvelous Stuff

2008-11-14T22:50:00.000-06:00

This month we got to see the quilts made from the Bag of Stuff challenge. A person puts scraps of her choice into a bag. The bags are re-distributed and are only known by the coordinator who assigns them a number... so the quilter who receives the bag does not know to whom it belongs. The quilter person makes a small quilt, and in November brings the completed quilt back to our meeting (hiding in the numbered paper bag.) After it's revealed, the quilt is returned to the person who put the scraps in the bag. You know what's the funny part? Almost no one can remember what their fabric was, or they don't recognize their fabric in the finished quilt. Who it belongs to is always a surprise.

People go home with a beautiful quilt in place of the scraps they had placed in the bag. The people who did not participate get to see a whole slew of beautiful quilts. This year's rule was to include a curve somewhere in the quilt. It was fun to see all the various ways in which people incorporated curves. Here are just a few examples of the gorgeous quilts that resulted from this challenge.

Missed the October Meeting

2008-10-27T19:24:00.000-05:00

No pictures from October...... I missed the meeting.

Sew-In

2008-10-27T19:02:00.000-05:00

These pictures are from our one-day sew-in that happened in September. We are having fun at these one-day times away from home for blasting out our projects, enjoying the good company, and sharing good food. We'll start these again in January!

Jean is hand piecing this quilt! It's already large, and she keeps making more blocks. It's amazingly gorgeous!

Ideas for Christmas

2008-09-14T14:49:00.000-05:00

At our September meeting, Sue from Quilt Cove came with a couple of demos and also some ideas for Christmas. She brought along a mini-store and did brisk sales during the break.

As usual, our Show and Tell was awesome
by Sandi I.

by Karen A.

by Sue T., for her son who gave her explicit instructions

by all of us, for Camp Wapo

a "rescued quilt" found by Nanette S.

August - New Techniques

2008-08-12T22:58:00.000-05:00

This month Jolene G. showed us her quilts made using the new Quiltsmart technique. I got there late and only saw these last three quilts. It is definitely a method I want to try, especially on a Lone Star pattern.

Here Trisha M. shows us the quick table runner pattern she will teach at our retreat in November. (She owns about a million of these runners!) She uses a "secret" inner layer - not regular batting! Take her class, and you'll find out what it is.

Three years ago Nanette's son entered this little drawing in a competition promoting sun screen. He won, and three years later his design is on some notecards. These can be ordered online; the money goes toward helping kids with skin conditions go to camp. Isn't that cool??

The rest of these are Show N Tell quilts. Beautiful, n'est-ce pas?!

Another Mini Retreat

2008-07-12T22:22:00.000-05:00

We had another good time today socializing and sewing (and eating)! Even if we don't get a lot done, we enjoy the time getting to know eachother. But you know what... even the person who thought she didn't get much done, seemed to make some important design decisions today, with the help of the group, so I think it was a worthwhile day for her even though she didn't have a lot of blocks to show for her time.

These are the people who retreated today: Carol, Arvie, Cindy, Sally, Beth, Janet, Kaye.

Here are pictures of some of what we did today. (And we all hope to do it again some day - no date is on the horizon - and we hope even more can join us. Watch for announcements some time this coming fall or winter.)

A few of us can make quite a mess!

Sally made this out of a placemat! (and her own yo-yo's)

July Picnic

2008-07-10T17:09:00.000-05:00

Our annual picnic was breezy, delicious, and eye-popping. Cindy expressed her glee to be a part of this group. I think we all agree!

Mini Retreat

2008-06-14T22:59:00.001-05:00

Saturday, June 14 was our one-day retreat. Five of us gathered and spent the day sewing. We started at 7:30 a.m. and got right to work.. making blocks, sewing on borders, binding quilts, cutting, ironing, talking, and, of course, eating. Here are some of the results of work by Janet, Kathy, Sue, Cindy, and Carol. We had fun and enjoyed a beautiful day wafting in through the many windows. We'll be doing another one soon. Watch for announcements!

P.S. Carol and Cindy found out that it is not easy to clean up a big quilting room at 10 p.m., in the dark, when a thunderstorm has come through, and electricity goes out. Kinda creepy!

Please Don't Get Dizzy

2008-06-11T13:41:00.000-05:00

This month I remembered my camera. It's a camera just like my previous one that broke, so you'd think it would work precisely the same... but for some reason it's much touchier about holding still and getting things in focus. I took lots of pictures, but most of them are blurry, dizzy-fying photos. If you are prone to vertigo, please look carefully. (You've been warned.)

Our speaker was Susan Antell from Colorful Quilts and Textiles in St. Paul (a fabulous shop - one of my faves). She showed us samples of journal quilts, book quilts, just-play-around quilts. They are similar to quilted postcards but of various sizes. Some she keeps in a binder so they can be looked at in "book-reading" style. These are made using various techniques such as paint stix, sun fading, photo transfers, stamping, whatever one's imagination inspires.

She has also used some of the techniques in wall hangings, as she is showing us in the "pottery" quilt.

Our guild has been making star blocks for Quilts of Valor as our gift to Carol J., outgoing (gone) president. We got so many stars in, with more coming, that it seems we will be able to make 4 quilts or perhaps more from all our blocks! We will still accept blocks in July, but then collections are closed. Thanks to Mary B. who volunteered to assemble these tops. She's doing a great job! Several people are donating backing fabric and others are volunteering to machine quilt. What a great group! Watch for more (and better) pictures of these quilts in coming months.

As always, we had beautiful Show and Tell quilts to enjoy...

...and afterwards, there was time for Sandi to show some of the things she picked up at Quilt Market. She shared some of her goodies as door prizes, too.

Next month: picnic meeting at 6:30 p.m. on July 8! We'll meet at the pavilion at the Eagan Community Center site. Come with a hearty appetite!

experiment

2008-06-11T07:12:00.000-05:00

This has nothing to do with DCSQ. I'm just experimenting with the video option here, wondering if I can get it to work.

The Real Thing

2008-06-09T21:34:00.000-05:00

Beth K. shared some of her May-meeting pictures with me, so now you can see how great Sylvia's applique work is, instead of relying on rotten drawings by me! I'll also post some of the show and tell quilts. Wow!

Show and Tell:

See you tomorrow night at the June meeting!

May Flowers

2008-05-13T23:05:00.000-05:00

Guess what I forgot to take to this month's meeting -- my camera! Bummer. I will now subject you to viewing some of my drawings. Instead of photographing the event, I drew it, but only a few, so you're being spared enormous pain.

We had elections for new officers, which meant tonight was Carol J's last evening as president. It was a good year, Carol J. Thanks for your gentle and kind leadership this year. This is a really BAD rendition of poor Carol J. Her hair is not that messy, and she is a cute woman, not ugly like this portrays.

Then Sylvia talked to us about needle-turn applique. She has done some BEAUTIFUL work. See? This is an example of one of her earlier projects. (Just imagine this in fabric, in living color, etc.)

And she showed us what a FQ turns into in the hands of an appliquer.

I was very impressed and loved Sylvia's gorgeous applique work, but I will never turn into an appliquer. Sorry.. my ADD prevents me from taking that on. Believe me, the applique world is better for not having me attempt to join them.

Luckily Beth was taking lots of pictures, so you can see them at the web site. See the link to the right. Next month will be June. Wait a minute.... I'm still thinking this is February or March! What is going on here??

April Showers

2008-04-09T17:13:00.000-05:00

Carol Wagner visited our guild and showered us with lovely landscape quilts. Her quilts are beautiful and very inspiring. I wonder how many of us will give this a try in the near future??

We learned that Sylvia's wonderful train quilt won Viewers' Choice award at our February show. Very well deserved - congratulations, Sylvia!

Speaking of Sylvia, she is coordinating a Bag of Stuff challenge once again this year (hinting it may be the last time for this particular challenge). See her directions at the web site. They have some slight changes. If you plan to participate, bring your bag of fabric to the May meeting!

March Afterglow

2008-03-14T21:00:00.000-05:00

Following our usual March meeting tradition, we talked about some of the quilt show results, and we saw quilts that were made at our show-sponsored classes. Here's an abbreviated photo tour for anyone who might have missed the meeting:

It was Carol J's birthday (a big one ending in a 0) so we had a cake and honored all the March birthday celebrants.

These three quilts won the Show Challenge; left to right - 3rd place, 1st place, 2nd place. Beautiful, n'est-ce pas?

These quilts are from the day-time class taught by Heather Mulder Peterson:

These are from Karen's "Strips and Curves" class:

And these are from the mystery class taught by Jeannette and Barb:

Come to our meeting in April to find out the final details of the show, such as how much we made at the store and who won the Viewers' Choice award.

Mystery Solved!

2008-02-16T23:15:00.000-06:00

There were only 4 of us in Jeannette and Barb's mystery class on Saturday, but we 4 were very happy we were there. This year's pattern was quite different from others in recent years, and we all really liked it. I plan to make the pattern again, but in much more elegant fabrics next time. Mine is kind of whimsical with wonky houses and bright, kid fabrics. I love it but want to try a whole different look next time. This pattern is really adaptable for a myriad of looks and types of blocks/fabrics.

Jeannette helped Jackie get her blocks arranged.

Here are my house blocks arranged in order, but I didn't yet know what else was coming.

Kay arranged her tea cups.

Jeannette helping Janet

While we worked on the mystery, Barb made this beautiful outfit for the doll.

Jeannette showing one of Janet's quilt panels.

This is the final quilt! We'll have three separate panels. Isn't it great? The pattern came from the Free Spirit website.

Some of us hope to have ours finished in time to show them at the March meeting. Janet plans to hand quilt hers so won't have it done by then. Hers is going to be worth the wait! It's gorgeous!

Home of the Brave

2008-02-15T21:38:00.000-06:00

I just finished nine blocks for the Home of the Brave project. For those of you who have trouble getting your blocks to measure 12.5", this might help: cut the large piece 10.5" instead of 10.25" as the pattern says. When I used 10.5" for the large piece, I had no trouble getting the block to trim to the correct size.

You probably notice that I added my Shelfari bookshelf to this blog. I wanted to add it to my other blog that is just my own quilty thoughts (giraffe dreams), but it didn't work. So here it sits. I guess it's OK to share my reading list with the guild, instead. Go ahead and peek at my books and see if they inspire you to do any reading.

Winners!

2008-02-14T17:12:00.000-06:00

These are the winning quilts in our show's challenge. There were some really beautiful entries this year, and more than we've had in a while. Fun! Congratulations to Janet S., Beth K., and Mary B.

Here are their gorgeous quilts:
First place quilt is by Beth

2nd place is by Janet

3rd place is by Mary

These three were my favorites, and I had a hard time choosing which one to vote for! I bet I wasn't the only one who struggled. All the other quilts were great, too. Every year I'm amazed at the variety and the clever ideas.

The Show!

2008-02-02T19:07:00.000-06:00

Greetings from your friendly, neighborhood featured quilters! The show is up and it is spectacular! Go to Dakota County Historical Society and catch a glimpse of the stars (Star Gazing - our 13th annual quilt show). You can read the details about time, dates, place at our web site -- see the link to the right, on the side bar.

If you make it there, be sure to sign the guest book!

Want my Place in Class?

2008-01-28T11:30:00.000-06:00

I signed up for Karen A's "Strips and Curves" class, and now I can't take it. Does anyone want my spot? It's on Feb 9th. Unfortunately I had completely forgotten about a previous commitment, so I can't do the class. If you want my slot, please contact me! I would love for someone to take my place in class so it's not wasted.

Carol E.

Quilters Without Borders

2008-01-10T22:05:00.000-06:00

OK, today's title is just a play on words, but what we did talk about at our January meeting was borders. Some quilters may feel they are without border ideas... so Carol J. gave us an interesting slide show on the different types and varities of borders one could use to jazz up a quilt. It was fun to see all the examples! If you want a unique border, something more than just a chunk of fabric, it is clear that a good imagination will provide you with endless options. [and of course Carol offered a list of resources - good books with good border ideas]

We managed to suffer through the bylaws discussion without coming to blows.. at least this month. Carol J. is bravely marching us through the entire bylaws revision process, a little at a time, trusting that we can remain at peace while doing so.

Show and Tell made it worth sitting through the bylaws part of the meeting. What gorgeous quilts! The talent in this guild is amazing. Let me just say, as editor, that I happen to know that the two featured quilters this year are feeling humble in the presence of most of you and your amazing talent! Please keep this in mind while gazing upon their work.

Looking forward to the show! It opens on Feb 6 at the Dakota County Historical Society. We know of one person coming all the way from California to see our show! Check out our web site for details (see link to the right).

What a Great Idea!

2007-12-15T19:09:00.000-06:00

Did you ever see something new, and think, "Duh! Why didn't we think of this before??" That's what happened at our December meeting. Trisha and Gerry showed us carpenter tool aprons that they made, patterned after Home Depot aprons. Some of us, especially Trisha, have been wearing these for years at our show set-up days. Trisha carries wire cutters, screw drivers, cable ties, and various other tools she needs for the day's work.

Trisha and Gerry thought it would be fun to have better-looking, personalized tool belts, and they said, "well why not?! We know how to sew!" and this project was born. They both made some mock-ups and shared their two slightly different versions. A completed one was given away as a door prize.

These are going to be fun to wear on show set-up day! Plus, I am thinking they will make great gifts. Someone said what a great convenience it would have been to wear one when she taught elementary school. And who doesn't have a handy person in their family who would like a home-made one?? I just love this idea and hope to get busy making some right away.

If you want to find the directions, just go to our web site. Beth posted the directions there... off hand I can't remember where, but they should be pretty easy to find. I think they are linked in the blurb about what we did at the December meeting.

We did our annual Christmas block exchange. These are the blocks made with white background.

These are made with cream background.

This is our first (that I'm aware of) tea towel exchange.

We repeated a December tradition that had fallen by the wayside during recent years: we took a group photo of ourselves! A community center worker was kind enough to take the shots, and we all stood there looking gorgeous.

Before I got this whole message posted I managed to make myself a tool apron. And that was so much fun, I made another one to give as a gift. I already like having this apron as a quilting accessory. In the pockets I carry a seam ripper, a small magnifying glass, a measuring tape, a pencil, a straight edge, BandAids, a small pin cushion with a few pins, and my scissors fob is attached to the top.

Happy Holidays, everyone! See you again on January 8, 2008.

December Meeting Soon

2007-12-08T16:20:00.000-06:00

Tuesday, December 11, is coming soon! We'll have a good time exchanging some Christmas blocks if you made any, tea towels if you made those, and remember to bring non-perishable food items to share with a food shelf.

See you Tuesday evening!

Reatreat at Camp Wapo

2007-11-24T14:23:00.000-06:00

We had a great time and completed lots of sewing projects, talked, ate, took walks, and even slept now and then. Please plan to join us again at Camp Wapo a year from now - Nov 21-23, 2008.

Camp Wapo... a place of peace to piece

our work space

When I grow up, I want to be just like you!

a first-time quilter makes a stupendous quilt top

Nanette won a table runner!

Sue won the other table runner!

Leaving is bittersweet -- we had fun and got some projects done, but we'd like to have more time.

Civil War Era Quilts

2007-11-19T22:09:00.001-06:00

Laura Nagel provided the interesting program at our November meeting. She talked about Civil War era quilts, the colors and dye processes they used, showed us samples of fabrics from that time, and also showed us various quilts and tops.

This Tumbling Blocks top is from the Civil War era.
The next picture, Drunkards Path, is probably from closer to the turn of the century (1900).

It was fascinating to see uncompleted quilt parts and to see the little stitching that was done by an unknown hand 140-some years ago. What was her life like? What was she hoping for this quilt? Thanks for the interesting program, Laura.

We'll meet again on December 11. Here are some December plans in which you can participate:
1) embellish a tea towel in some way (e.g., applique a mitten on it) for exchange
2) make a holiday 12-inch block. Put it in a paper bag marked white if it has white background fabric or cream if it has cream background fabric. For each block you make, you get to take a different bag home.
3) bring non-perishable food items to donate... this is instead of us paying for cookies. In the season of giving, we'll share instead of stuffing ourselves.

The Return of Noelann

2007-11-03T21:31:00.000-05:00

Former member Noelann was in town in late October. A few of us met her at the History Museum to do some sewing. I was only able to get there for the last couple of hours. It was great to see her again! She loves Texas and has found good friends and good quilting there.

I failed to take any photographs! Bummer.... just pretend there is one here of Noelann, Jacquie R., Gerry M., and me (Carol E.).

Challenge Quilts Revealed

2007-10-10T19:51:00.001-05:00

At our October meeting we revealed our completed challenge quilts! The challenge was called Bag of Stuff. Each participant pur her own fabric in a bag (Bag of Stuff) and gave the bag to Sylvia. Sylvia shuffled them all up, and we each got another bag that was not our own. We didn't know whose fabric we had. We had to make a small quilt and bring it back in October, completely finished. It is such a fun challenge!

Everyone made such beautiful quilts! The funny part is, many people did not recognize their own fabric so didn't know which quilt was theirs! Luckily Sylvia had a master list. We had 30 participants this year, and all 30 completed the lovely quilts and brought them back for display. At the end of the night, we got to take home our own quilt that was made by someone else.

Because there were so many, I can't possibly post all 30 pictures here. So I'll post a few that give you a taste of the beauty and the variety of styles. Aren't they amazing?

I wish you could see the beautiful trapunto quilting Sandi did on this one (above). Maybe if you click on it, it'll get large enough for you to see it better.

Trish did the over-achiever thing and made two! Both gorgeous!

This is me showing the quilt I made. I got it done so early that I hung it in the Dakota County Fair last August and won a blue ribbon for it!

We had a double treat this month, because in addition to the awesome Show and Tell of the challenge quilts, we had our regular Show and Tell. This is Molly showing us her President's Quilt #1.. all done and beautifully quilted by either Nanette or Diane. (I can't remember which of the two quilted it.) Molly is now working on her President's Quilt #2.. the M&Ms.

See you at our next meeting - November 13!

St. Cloud Quilt Show

2007-10-07T22:48:00.000-05:00

This weekend I went to the quilt show in St. Cloud. So did Nanette!

Want to see a few of the quilts from the show? Follow this link to my other blog, Giraffe Dreams. I posted pictures there.

I'm excited for our October meeting - we'll have the Bag of Stuff challenge quilts revealed! Wheeee! Last year it was a show of superb beauty, so I'm expecting another fun mini quilt show this year. See you there on Oct. 9!

Sad News

2007-10-01T23:30:00.001-05:00

One of our members has passed away after battling cancer. Pat Geronime died on Sept 28. Funeral service is at 11 AM Thursday, Oct 4 at St. Joseph's Catholic Church, 13900 Biscayne Ave., Rosemount. Visitation is Wed. 4-8 PM at Caturia-Smidt Funeral Home, 201 E. 7th St., Hastings, and at the church one hour prior to the funeral service.

Mosaic Quilts

2007-09-12T16:40:00.000-05:00

Wow, a lot happened at our September meeting! First we had Marilyn Boros speak to us about her mosaic quilts. She does some amazing quilts using TINY little pieces... fabric instead of glass ("it's safer").

This is a few of her beauties, some still in progress.

Some of these are labyrinth-inspired quilts.

Marilyn shows us some examples of what she uses for inspiration.. calendars, magazines, mosaic art books, church windows, whatever excites her creative juices.

Most of her work is made from small pieces, but she did this large one (from large pieces) for a church function and had children sign their names in the little pieces. Anything is possible!

Here is some of the other stuff that happened and that we talked about:
1) Marilyn will be appearing at several other venues this fall. One is the Art Crawl in St. Paul.. she will be in the Rosmoor Building, 5th floor, selling handbags, Oct 12-14. She doesn't know the exact location.. at a table in a hallway somewhere on the 5th floor!

2) Oct 14 - an open house at Quilt it Yourself in Savage. You can try out the computerized longarm quilting machine and see if you think you'd like to sign up for classes.

3) Two members won ribbons at the State Fair! Congratulations to Jacquie G. and Judy T-S.

4) Page J. is a regional coordinator of Quilts of Valor. They are having a huge welcome home ceremony in North Dakota on November 11. They need over 500 quilts! If you can help out in any way, see Page.

5) Jean L. has been busy delivering Home of the Brave quilts. Remember to keep making blocks as the need is on-going. See Jean to offer your help.

6) When it's available, grab a copy of the Quilters Newsletter magazine. In that issue Sandi I. will have an article on trapunto. (And next time you see Sandi, ask her to show you a picture of her daughter, Miss Inver Grove Heights!!)

7) We had our first charm square lotto, and the winner was Sue M. Next month, bring autumn colors (6-inch squares).

8) Next month is October - the big reveal of the Bag of Stuff challenges!! Can't wait to see what everyone created this year. Be sure to come and see if you can recognize your own fabrics!

some members need our prayers

2007-08-28T16:40:00.000-05:00

Jackie S., fighting cancer, needs us to send our good thoughts and prayers her way as she undergoes major surgery on Sept 6.

Pat G. is also undergoing cancer treatments. We send Pat our wishes for comfort and healing, as well.

Note to members: both of these lovely women are welcoming heart blocks from us as signs of our good wishes. For Jackie, send a red 6.5" unfinished heart block, any pattern. For Pat, use country colors on off-white/beige, also a 6.5" unfinished heart block, any pattern. Please sign your blocks.

If you need pattern ideas, here are some links:

http://www.quilt.com/BlockOfTheMonth/1998/Heart.html
http://www.cddesigns.com/FreezerPaper/How-Applique.htm
http://www.cddesigns.com/FreezerPaper/How-Needleturn.htm
http://www.piecebynumber.com/pastbom/friendheart6.htm
http://www.piecebynumber.com/pastbom/candybox.htm
http://www.piecebynumber.com/pastbom/kittylove.htm
http://www.yvonnes.dk/unevenheart.htm
http://members.shaw.ca/kigraham/basic.html
http://www.lenzula.com/pattern/free/hearts.php

Work and Socialize

2007-08-14T22:21:00.000-05:00

At our August meeting we brought projects to work on. After a short business meeting and Show and Tell, we socialized and worked individually. We usually have a low key meeting like this once a year. Next month we will have a speaker again. She'll talk to us about making landscape quilts.

Jacquie and Jolene did more announcements and reminders about preparing for next year's show.

Show and Tell .. this interesting shaped top is by Nancy E.

Julie C. made this beautiful quilt, and...

...it's interesting on the back, too.

Kaye G. made this cute baby quilt.

Now that Molly is no longer president, she has time to finish some quilts! Here's her watermelon quilt.

This beauty is also by Molly.

This one won Honorable Mention at the quilters' show in Duluth! It's a beauty! The pattern is from The Quilter's Gift.

Pat showed us some new gadgets by Clover.

During our informal time, Julie worked on a soft and pretty baby blanket.

People enjoyed socializing...

...and talking about quilts.

See you next month on Tuesday, Sept. 11, at the Eagan Community Center!

Fabric for Store

2007-07-22T13:02:00.000-05:00

Reminder - Jacquie and Jolene requested that we prepare FQs for the fabric sales at our next show. I am going through my stash and setting things aside, FQs and other pieces, too. Hope you are doing the same! These are big sellers at the store.

July Picnic - Lots of Pictures

2007-07-11T19:32:00.000-05:00

Every July our guild has a picnic instead of our usual indoor meeting.

Two things we always do in July: (1) eat lots of good food, of course, and..

(2) enjoy a few laughs.

Another thing we always do is give a thank-you gift to our out-going president. Molly was very surprised and pleased to get M&M blocks! She's a walking M&Ms Advertisement, so we thought this would be very appropriate.

We also do a patriotic block exchange in July. This year only two people participated!

Here's Show and Tell... Vicki M. made this quilt for her daughter.

Jackie shows us the heart blocks she has received so far which she said is "a little overwhelming" but she really appreciates them. Healing thoughts and hugs go with you, Jackie!

Sally shows us "Quilt Number Nine."

Sandi showed us that she is now a Cover Girl! Her quilt is on the cover of the September issue of "The Quilter" magazine. (Yes, it is only July, and the September issue is already out.)

Trisha made a beautiful and soft baby quilt for a co-worker.

This gorgeous quilt is made by Edel Ruth. I believe Nanette is going to quilt it.

Can you tell it was a windy evening? What a beautiful day for a picnic! Many years it has been hot and sultry, but this year was pleasantly cool.... a tad too windy, but it was more comfortable than some of the hot picnics we have sweltered through in the past.

Bring projects to work on in August! We'll have a work-on-something evening rather than a formal presentation. We'll be back at the Eagan Community Center on Tuesday, August 14. See you then!

Build Up Your Store Stash!

2007-06-28T17:43:00.000-05:00

Remember at our show in February, we didn't have a lot of fabric options for sale in the store!? Fabric is the most popular sales item, and we hope to have more of it at next year's show. Why not start a Store Stash on a corner of your sewing table? Set a box there, and when you run across fabrics that you no longer want, or you use part of it and decide you can stand to share the rest of it, just toss it into the box, and it will be ready for the next show when we start the formal collection time. Here's mine, already getting full

A Sneak Preview?

2007-06-18T00:51:00.000-05:00

The committee working on the 2008 show is considering Pam Witt of Omaha as a possibility for our speaker. Please check out my other blog, Giraffe Dreams, and see the post from Friday, June 15. Follow this link and you'll get a sneak peek at some of Pam's quilts. She spoke last week at Woodbury, and several of us from DCSQ attended. She is entertaining and has beautiful quilts!

DCSQ members, please take note of the message I wrote at the end of that post (at the other blog). If you can help find another guild or shop that can share expenses with us, we could book Pam for 2008. Read the message and see if you know anyone who would like to share. If you find any possibilities, get in touch with Jacquie Register.

It was fun to see a bunch of you at the MQ show on Friday. My in-laws enjoyed the great quilts, but had to sit down and rest while I visited the vendors. Good thing they waited patiently. I got stuck in a few lines at the vendors. I bought some red and blue fabrics and made these blocks (designed by Carol Doak). I'm trying to figure out a setting... if you're curious, you can see more setting ideas at my other blog, Giraffe Dreams.

See you at the picnic in July!

Hearts, Dogs and Chickens

2007-06-13T09:58:00.000-05:00

We started a new fiscal year in our guild and have a new president, Carol Jacobs. Do you think we should find her a shorter podium? Or maybe a box to stand on? (Just kidding. The angle of this photo makes her appear more hidden than she really was.)

Last night at our meeting people showed quilts from various projects. This is Stephanie showing us her dog-theme row-by-row quilt.

And here's another from the same row-by-row group, this one in a chicken theme.

A few people showed heart quilts they had made when battling breast cancer. They credited these hearts and the support of friends with helping them heal. Another guild member needs heart blocks. She was recently diagnosed with breast cancer and is undergoing chemo. Jackie Swift, we wish you all the best and send you our hugs along with the heart blocks.

This is Jacquie R's.

This is Nanette's.

Here's one more program with which we send our hugs. Home of the Brave quilts go to families of Minnesota soldiers who died in Iraq or Afghanistan. Jean Loken leads this project. You can read more about it at this website. This is another completed Home of the Brave quilt, beautifully machine quilted by Diane Schotl.

I didn't stay for last night's program which was demos of 3-d techniques, such as folded flowers and yo-yo style techniques. Sorry, I have no pictures of that event. There were more quilts with folded flowers shown, but I did not get pictures of those, either. Trust me, they were beautiful. We have some VERY talented quilters in our guild, and the nice thing is, they are not judgmental about those of us who will never achieve such greatness.

Our New Website!

2007-05-31T23:22:00.000-05:00

We have a wonderful, new website! Check it out here:

www.dakotacountystarquilters.org

One of our new members, Beth, volunteered to be webmaster. The site looks great! Thanks, Beth. It's still under construction so check back often to see what is added and what's new.

Great Gift Ideas!

2007-05-11T23:47:00.000-05:00

Sally Mortenson presented the May program. She showed a variety of quick quilted gift ideas. Unfortunately for me, I was not able to attend the meeting and I do NOT have pictures of what Sally taught. This picture of a bag is just a sample of a quilty gift that could be made. It's not one of Sally's treasures. I heard Sally did a great job! If I get pictures of the real event, I will post them here soon. Meanwhile, our June meeting will be at our usual spot, Eagan Community Center, on June 12, 2007.

Quilting with our Grandmothers

2007-04-12T07:30:00.000-05:00

Our April program featured quilts, quilt stories, and histories related to family members who quilt. Carol Egan's sister and mother joined us from Alexandria. Other members showed quilts they have inherited and/or quilts they worked on with mothers, grandmothers, greatgrandmothers, etc. We saw lots of beautiful and well-loved quilts! Thanks to Jeannette Root and Rosemary Root for coordinating this fun program.

Our May program will be led by Sally Mortenson. Join us on May 8 at 7:00 P.M. at the Eagan Community Center.

Quilt for Maria

2007-03-21T07:46:00.000-05:00

Gladys Reyes is a girl in Dakota County who was hit by a car, dragged a half mile, and run over again before the driver tried to take off. She had one arm amputated and faces numerous surgeries. She was given a quilt which was made by Nanette Sutherland and signed by her friends at school. Doris Kraemer made a quilt for Gladys' friend who witnessed the accident. We decided to also make a quilt for Gladys' mother, Maria. This is the quilt; blocks were made by many members, and machine quilting was done by Diane Schotl. Thanks to Karen Asmundson and Susan Skoog for coordinating this lovely project.

This quilt is for Gladys' friend.

March Meeting

2007-03-10T13:11:00.000-06:00

We had a great quilt show again this year. Thanks to everyone who attended and to the participants. This quilt by Karen Asmundson, "Never Enough Nine Patches," tied for first place in Viewers' Choice. Watch for the other quilt photo (the other first place tie) to be posted soon.

Our March meeting will be on Tuesday, March 13 at the Eagan Community Center, 7:00 P.M. Visitors are welcome.

The drawing for the February Snowball Plus blocks will be held at our March meeting (Snowball plus Eccentric Star in brights with poka dots, stars, ribbons, stripes, etc). The March drawing will also be held (Snowball plus Ohio Star with 30s reproductions - if using white, please use bright white rather than off-white).

We will also watch a short DVD of our Nov '06 retreat, and Pat B. will take registrations and payments for the Nov '07 retreat. Dates are Nov. 15-18, 2007 at Camp Wapo, Amery Wisc.

2007 Quilt Show Up and Running!

2007-02-10T11:46:00.000-06:00

This photo of the nearly-complete work on set-up day gives you a sneak peek at some the great quilts you can see at our 2007 show - going on now! Check our Jan. 26th message to see the details of times and location. Please come enjoy our quilts!

Fabric Postcards Project

2007-01-31T21:35:00.000-06:00

[Be sure to scroll down to the Jan. 26 post to read about our quilt show which begins Feb 7th!]
------
Fabric Postcards Project!

From Colorful Quilts in St. Paul --
Join the Colorful Quilts postcard exchange!
Make a fabric postcard, send it to the store by the end of February, and the store will send you one in return. All the postcards the store receives will be on display during the month of March.
1. Cards should be 4" x 6"
2. Be sure to write your complete address on the card so the store can send you one. Only the front of your card will be on display to the public.
3. A 39-cent stamp works for postage, as long as you don't put too many embellishments on your card. Rub the stamp onto the fabric with your fingernail.
4. Use Timtex or other stiff interfacing for the middle of your card. Have fun!
Store address: Colorful Quilts, 2233 Energy Park Dr., St. Paul, MN 55108

Note: To help you along with this project, Carol Egan will have some Timtex postcard-size pieces available for 25 cents each, honor system, at the Historical Society on Tuesday, Feb. 13.

Welcome!

2007-01-26T21:04:00.000-06:00

Welcome to the Dakota County Star Quilters blog! We haven't found a web master, so we'll use this blog for sharing our news and photos. Please visit often and read about our activities and about our quilting adventures.

We are a guild of about 70 members in Dakota County, Minnesota. We meet on the 2nd Tuesday of each month at 7:00 PM at the Eagan Community Center. Our meeting room is in the back, on the ground floor.

Every year we host a quilt show, and this year's is coming up soon! Read the announcement below (shown in two pictures so you can read all the words), and please visit our quilt show. We think it's beautiful and will be lots of fun.

To contact DCSQ, please leave a comment at any blog posting, and we'll get back to you as soon as we can.