Does it seem like it has been forever since we last met in Morganville? It was last year after all.
Fortunately the weather held true this time and some of us were able to get together and have a blast.
And.........
some little elves had been there ahead of us and some changes were made.
If you have left your coat on a chair and then left without it and someone happened to see it and was able to bring it to you - you were blessed. Now we have a rack to hang them up on and hopefully they won't get lost down in between chairs.
The kitchen was the biggest shock. Cupboards have been cleaned and things stored away nicely. Remember the yucky and collection of who knew what? Well - gone. They are still working on sections - but what an improvement. Even that old nasty broom closet is clean and now has shelves. Congratulations to the crew - they have made a difference.
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First things first - go over to the restaurant and order lunch.
Second thing - get to work. Vevia thanks Machelle and Donnis for being such a great help on her UFO project she brought in. Sorry we had to blur out the image and leave you in question as to what they were up to - some UFO's are gifts and can not be revealed ahead of time. hahaha
It was great fun to hear how others tie and to see the progress made by many hands.
Deb has a new string quilt in mind, so she brought her scrap bag and got to work on making those strips - user friendly.
Susie learned how to and how not to on a project for the PQG Tea. Great learning experience for everyone.
We all learned that you can stuff small projects with pieces of wool batting pulled apart - but the stuff compacts, not fills. So buying the poly stuffing makes sense as it bounces back and fills in quicker. Thank you Susie for finding that out for us. And thank you Machelle for loaning your chop stick to the project. Some stuffing bags are now including a stick.
Esther started a quilt and rats! She does not have enough fabric to make it the size she wanted. So she packed up all of her pieces and brought them to the meeting for a confab of minds.
Had to get a close up to see the lovely fabric. No, it is no longer available. Another reason for immediately using what you buy. UFO's or fabric sitting on the side line for too long - does not give you a chance to go back and buy more. And we all wish that Esther had more of these fabrics.
So Esther started to audition this.......
then Susie auditioned that................
Deb came in with an almost...................
Ah!!! with everyone's input, much better. Isn't it fun to mess around with someone else's projects. Not only does it help them, but it stirs up your own creativity. Don't you just love those pastel plaids? Not available anymore either. Several of us would have been glad to take them off of Esther's hands. hahaha Esther, you did check that they were ALL back in your box before you left - right?
Deb is checking out how many squares it takes to go along the side.
Before you knew it - time for lunch and a break. Boy did the morning fly by.
And then..............
Time for Show 'n Tell!
Machelle's sister (or one of her family members) took this box of grandmothers and thought they might do something with all of the yo-yo's. Decided they never would and gave it to Machelle. Boy did we have suggestions of how she could use them - or......she could make the doll.
This is one of my favorite ways to use them. It's enough work just to make yo yo's, why not show them off.
Click here - Pinterest to go get some ideas of all the possibilities. There are several boards of ideas.
Donnis got a pattern from Pat and look at the cute baby hat she made from it.
And Donnis has a new little one coming - what a lovely quilt for a little girl. Donnis is a very busy woman - makes me feel like I should be doing more.
Esther finished her Bargello. Definitely out of Esther's box - but oh so pretty. I just got a visual picture of a slinky going down the stairs. A very active pattern.
Thank you again Donnis for sharing your tips with us.
Esther is also making a tuck it under the mattress - storage sleeve for a grandson.
May not have the title right, hope it explains itself. Things that Esther has learned - make the part that goes up under the mattress perhaps a little longer and incorporate the pocket fabric higher up so it blends under. Perhaps even quilt that part. One of the ideas given was if it is for a twin bed, make another pocket section on the other side. We all are interested in hearing how it worked out for him when Esther gets back.
Hold on to your hats? Click on this picture to blow it up so that you can see some of the work that Susie put into this quilt. Only two years and she had it done.
Here it is in full regalia. Isn't it fantastic. Boy you could look at this one for hours to see all that has been put into it. Anyone interested in making one - see Susie. Picture it in wool. Wow!
Susie's mom loves to embroider and is always giving Susie some blocks. Here Susie took them and alternated the two block styles and made this wonderful throw.
Susie loves her twilling. This is her latest quilt that displays beautifully her hand work.
Not only did she twill, but look at the quilting. What fun to make all those pebbles - NOT! hahahaha Susie did everything free hand, feathers also. She gave a quick demo to us on how she makes her feathers.
Here is another block so you can see how that close quilting with the pebbles, makes the twilled section come alive with depth.
Course the back is as much of a beauty as the front. So could you call it a reversible?
Deb had brought in this tiny eye glass that when you look at one block through it - you see the possibilities of what a quilt would look like with many blocks. Do you know that we all goof up our mouths when we are sighting in. You can not close one eye and not lift that lip.
Having grandchildren sure makes life fun. Look at this darling ball. They brag on it for babies, but Deb tells us that it becomes a wonder toy after they reach one, then the fun begins.
This is the pattern. And we all can tell you - it is fun - even older "kids" can have a toss around.
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Great to see everyone. Missed those that could not make it.
See you all next month - Lord willing and the creek don't rise and nothing bigger than a chipmunk happens.
