Success! Mission Accomplished!

Today ... we held our first "Time to Sew" of the fall season!

Darlene is new to Cordova and a new member of our guild!  Welcome!  We're so glad she decided to join in our fun!

Amber inspired us all with her color and fabric choices as she begun her first fusible applique' project!

President Sara had organized the 2013 Auction Quilt.  Using the technique we all learned at Fall Retreat, 13 members each made 10 Crazy blocks!  Today, she organized a team that put those 130 blocks into a quilt!

We didn't waste any time ...

... Barb was busy pinning ...

... the rest of us sewed ...

... full speed!

Before long we had ROWS!

Every guild needs a cheerleader!  We are so fortunate to have one of the best!

Time to prepare the strips for piecing the rows together!

Many hands make light work!

Those last few seams were a handful!

We're so happy with the results!  Wow!  The quilt is 90" X 117"!

A close up ... we all have fallen in love with it!

And look!  It is reversible!  We decided that we like the back nearly as well!  Double the fun and twice the reward!

Thanks go to many ... members who contributed blocks ... Cordova Quilters' Hideout for the big discount on finishing supplies ... also members who precut the connecting strips and are going to apply the binding!  The six members who worked on it today ... what an effort!  Combined ... the work of those that pieced the top together today ... equals 54 quilting hours!  Whew!  Way to go ladies!

Thanks again to President Sara for her leadership!

September! Time to Sew

You won't want to miss out on the guild fun planned for Saturday, September 28th!  First on deck is our combined effort for the Tea and Auction Quilt!  The fun begins at 9:00 am in the Home Ec room!  Many hands make light work ... and we are expert at making it fun!

President Sara has also planned a fun way for members to celebrate Christmas with one another!  A Stitchin' Secret Santa Swap!  What fun!  Here are the details:

Well, the Northwind Quilters Guild is hosting its first Annual Stitchin’ Secret Santa Swap!!

WHAT: Prepare a quart sized Ziploc bag by filling it with scraps and a folded index card with your name inside.  Meet to exchange scrap packs anonymously and then have three months to prepare a secret gift for a fellow guild member.  Meet back up for the final exchange, with a finished project and any unused scraps.

WHEN: Bring bag of scraps to the next Time to Sew in the CHS Home Ec. Room on September 28, 2013.  The exchange will take place at 2:00 p.m. (absent members may still participate with a little pre-planning).  The final (completed project) exchange will take place at the last Time to Sew of the year: December 28, 2013 at 2:00 p.m.

WHY: A fun way to clear out your scraps and receive a unique fabric item. 

HOW: If you want to participate just show up at the next time to sew with your baggie of scraps. Any questions, call Sara at 424-5787.

Things to think about:

When you prepare your scrap bag:

You can put as many scraps in your bag as you would like, and whichever variety suits you…but remember….if you put a ton of itty bitty bits….you’ll probably really challenge your secret Santa (i.e. frustrate them!) …if you only put one or two fabrics with yardage, that could be a challenge, too.  Be considerate of your Santa, a good variety of sizes and fabrics could spark a more creative final product.

When you sit down to prepare a final product:

Try to think about items your recipient might like and that would include colors, themes or styles they would value.  Any finished product will be treasured, so any size or variety will work, don’t feel limited.  Call Sara if you have questions or quilter’s block!

Get Going Ideas: things to make

Placemats, tote bag, table topper, Christmas ornaments, wall hanging, hot pads, table runner, lap quilt, tea cozy, pin cushions, appliquéd art quilt, candle mat, mug mat, supply and project organizers, thread catcher, string quilts, paper pieced blocks…brainstorm or search the internet for more optionsJ

Going Crazy at Fall Retreat 2013!

It was crazy!  Crazy fun!  It all began with traveling in Alaska ...

... ferry complications prevented Marguerita McManus from arriving in time for the events Friday evening!  It was really touch and go until late that evening whether or not she would make it for Saturday's events!  We Alaskans are used to this ... if anything we are flexible!

 But when we arrived Saturday morning ... Marguerita was there to greet us!

As she shared her quilt journey and many beautiful samples, our excitement grew!

Under Marguerita's instructions ...

... we immediately got busy ...

... getting crazy with our 10 inch squares!

A lot of progress was made!

By the end of Day 1, nearly everyone had finished piecing their crazy blocks!  It was fun turning "Layer Cakes" into 20 crazy blocks!

On Sunday, we began the process of quilting our blocks.  Marguerita is famous for her "quilt-as-you-go" techniques.  She is a "Quilt Rock Star"!  Many of our members got to use and explore new stitches!  What fun!

After the blocks were quilted and trimmed, members began exploring different layout options!  It really was such fun!

Marguerita's demonstrations were very effective.  She was great at breaking things down into manageable steps and her instructions were clear.  All characteristics of a great instructor!

There were 15 members in the class, and she gave everyone the personal attention they needed!  Wonderful!

 Blocks were turned into rows!

Rows were pieced together!

 Several members got their quilt pieced together ...

... and a few even got as far as applying binding!

Marguerita was such a joy to have as our Fall Retreat Instructor!  We were so inspired by her talent, that there will be a separate blogpost highlighting her later this week!

A HUGE thank you to Guild President Sara!  She made all the many arrangements for this weekend!  Single-handedly ... without a committee!  This woman knows how to make great things happen!

Thank you President Sara!  

We all grew as quilters because of your efforts!