Morganville Friendship Group: This was not the meeting to miss!

Fun, fun, fun - and more fun. Laughter was the main ingredient of the day.

And of course - learning!

Donnis was all ready to give her hints and tips to the bargello project.

She brought in the quilt that started the interest....

and her latest version. Bless Donnis. Always easier to show someone what is going on when you have your own going on. What a difference from the one above.

Susie took the time before she left home and grabbed up two of her bargello's to show.

Look at the border on Donnis' smaller Barg and then on the border here, and then.....

no border here. It is so interesting to see several of a topic - colors and everything give you such a different look. The one above is the one that Susie used two machines on and was so upset with the mess it made. Okay! Are we the only ones that had to have her point out where the mistake came in?

By now, your eyes are probably starting to wooze and swirl and you can not see it either.

We laid out all three and such a striking look - even those that were not starting on one today, have now had their imaginations perked.

And then we put Donnis' first block down and Vevia's strips down - okay - our minds eyes are really seeing the possibilities now. How about a red, white and blue, black & white.......etc.

Susie is working on a project for next year at the Clay Center guild.

Leila looked through lots of books and magazines, joined in the conversation and chuckled at the rest of us. Did you know that Leila doesn't think that Vevia is quiet - ever! hahahaha

Deb and Pat each had their projects to work on. Both are finishing up UFO's.

Machelle never gets a chance to set down and go through her books and magazines, so she took the opportunity to chill out and browse. Sometimes you have got to have a day just for you.

Deb had a good laugh over that as she had a day all planned just for her and the bull got out.

Donnis gave us all pointers on how to "help" out, or was that pointers on how to get out of helping out? hahahaha Be warned - don't yell at us.

Vevia passed along a few hints from her Dumpster Diving at Miltonvale. The one above is about a plexiglass piece to use a dry erase pen on to mark out possible quilt designs before you quilt (got idea from Cindy K). Course a much bigger piece of plexiglass is better - Susie has also used this method. See the emery boards? Barb had sent us a tip from California. When you are marking small squares to do half square triangles - use an emery board as your ruler. Does not slide around on you.

Several got a chance to try out the raisin plastic cap with coarse sand paper glued on the bottom for a way to make circles on your quilt project. Easier to glide around the cap edges than follow a line that you have drawn.

Susie told us about using Ultra Clean Washable Markers for marking quilts (click here to see). One of the blogs that she reads told about them and now that it is school starting time - be on the look out. Think Susie said that she got a package of 10 for about $2. As always - TRY ON A SCRAP PIECE OF FABRIC BEFORE doing on your quilt.

Vevia also handed out some dental floss containers - make great scissors when you need to cut thread someplace that scissors are frowned upon.

After lunch - Yeah! Show 'n Tell!!!!!!!

First thing we talked about was cracking and splitting hands.

Pat told us about Amera cuticle mousse - found here

You can also use working hands - check it out - which you can get at Ace Gibson's in Clay Center (about $10, lasts a long time).

Thank you everyone for passing along some great info.

Next...........

Susie stated that this is the LAST crazy quilt she is going to do.

But she is so good at it.

On this one, her mother did a lot of machine embroidery on the crazy quilt blocks - placed where she wanted - was fun to see what she had used.

One of the blocks, Susie had silk ribbon embroidered highlights onto - roses, leaves and such.

Great job Susie.

Didn't get a picture of the brocade back, but had to get a close up of the "binding". It is braid. Susie sewed on to the front, rolled over and hand stitched down the back on to it.

Nice heavy, comfortable beauty.

$1.00

Yep, that is all that Susie paid for this quilt. It was just an unfinished top of applique and embroidery. Susie finished it and then added her special touch......

the quilting just made the rest of it jump out and look fantastic.

Would you believe this is the front?

Susie wanted to try a whole cloth on a patterned fabric. This blue and white swirl is perfect.

Do not quote me, but I think she said polyester and wool batting - quilt and you get this trapunto look. Susie is the one to speak to if you are interest in the process she did to get to this gorgeous piece.

And the back is just as gorgeous as the front. This is a great Two-Fer. Now for the binding.

That is a story that Susie has to tell you. She still is not sure how she got to where she got to - but she made it work.

For any of you that are interested in continuous bias binding - Click here - Susie, not sure what your brother gave you - but try this.

Machelle is a doll - she does not listen to Tom - but puts her name into door prizes anyway. And look what she won! Okay - no one is quite sure what you can call it - but it looks like a bird and is on a bed spring - so it has to be great. Right? hahahahaha

Machelle has had Vevia on the edge of her seat to see this project. Don't you love those people that say guess what I am doing - well you will have to wait and see? NOT! hahahahaha

On Pat Sloan's facebook, Machelle learned how to make these 3D dresdan blocks.

You can click here to go to her blog - the technique though was shown on facebook.

Machelle gave us a very good quick trip on how to do and look what she came up with.

Thank you Machelle - wonder how many will try and bring them into show and tell next month?

Remember 2 strips, 2 1/2" wide x WOF, sew them together down both long sides. Sub cut into 6" long sections. Cut diagonally from top stitch line to bottom stitch line - same side up always and same direction or you get mirror images. Then.....do your normal dresdan. Call Machelle if you have questions.

Pat has really been busy for her cancer walk. She started with band uniforms, then heard that K State was getting new uniforms - so she talked to the right people and got the old ones. Then away her imagination went. Above is one of the bags that they made and sold. Every bit of it is from the uniforms - front, back, cumberbund, suspenders, etc.

There is even a pocket inside from the cape.

This is one of the wall hangings. And there were blankets also. Are there any left to buy - NOPE. The college sold them (for tax reasons) to alumni and they went like hot cakes. What about the hat? The items were rolled up and offered in the hats. What a wonderful re-cycle project and a great way to make money for a very worthy cause. Pat found out that the purple cancer emblem (made from the cape) - well, the color stands for all cancers. Congrats Pat on a great job.

Thank you Deb for "trying" on one of your new bibs. Can't you imagine that done in an adult version? So cute - love how it goes around the sides.

Both of these are fantastic - click on pictures for larger view.

And finally Deb is done with her candle wicking quilt. This is her second go around with this quilt. First time she tied and made a ruffle and just lots of work putting all these squares together. But then - yuck, she had to do it over. So now it is hand quilted and bound. Deb found more blocks later and maybe, someday, she will put them together in a smaller project. We love it Deb. Loved it before and still love it.

Look at that work. Lovely, lovely, lovely.

Vevia had taken a work shop with Shelly Burge (click for site) in Manhattan, regarding "not your grandmothers strip piecing". This is the project that Vevia did using Shelly's technique. Fabric from stash - imagine done with a color scheme in mind. Course some of you have done this 8 pointed star in a much bigger version.

Vevia has also been in a pincushion mood. Here are two that she has finished lately. The one on the left is a Cathedral Window. When Vevia went to get her gadgets for making a button to match the project, she came across her purse magnetic closures and thought - what if? Worked out fantastic. Now instead of loosing your sewing needle in the cushion - you just lay it on the magnetic button.

And the Biscornu on the right with the rope embroidery stitch is just two - 4 1/2" squares joined together. Click on the name to go see more ideas.

When Susie and Vevia had gone to Des Moines quilt show some years back, Vevia bought the cotton rope and made this little basket. Cute, love it, but the expense and time is a little bit involved.

Then Lori from Linn came to our meeting one month and showed off a beautiful basket. Hers she made with fusible batting and fabric. Well, Vevia has this great big pile of squared off batting scraps and a drawer full of left over binding - so - What if? And these two baskets are what she has left. Few others got given away as door prizes at Miltonvale. (See how tall Vevia is getting when she congratulated herself on using up throw away items - hahahahahahah)

Of course Susie thought that if she gave the others away as door prizes - yeah, Susie won this door prize. No way. Maybe another day. hahahahahahahaha