program day for May

 Ann had her show and tell before I remembered to get my camera...oh the pressure of doing two jobs at once.....these are wonderful reversible placemats. Great idea, Ann!

 Lilliane made a bag for her grand daughter's doll, decided it wasn't quite what she wanted to do and did another......

 and here it is....both equally as wonderful.

This beauty is Pat's and she got it as a block of the month in New Hampshire. Now that she has it all together she wants to get down to quilting it. It will be gorgeous, no doubt.

 Vera is hooked on these star patterns. I think she's having some fun. Here's a Christmas material star she is putting together.

 Carolyn has been attending the evening sessions and made this great "crap" (Marilyn's word, remember) bag...love the fabric she used.  She also made the  machine mat  and is ready to go for next year.

 Clever  Judy stole a shirt from Carl, did her magic and created two wine bags from the sleeves and made an apron out of the rest.   Don't throw out those shirts, ladies....great gift idea or for the sale table at our next quilt show....

Rhea is finally going to get her quilt from Grammie.....for her first birthday.. About time, Judy!!

 Jean thought she had nothing for show and tell until we reminded her that her Anita's arrow is looking great...going to be part of a quilt we should see in the fall..

 Here's that Vivian, at it again. This wonderful quilt goes to our Comfort quilts.  She does so many we should call them Vivian's Quilts....

 Ethel brought in her brown bag challenge...not the one she made , the one that was made for her.  It is amazing how different they all were and how successful this project was...what do you think , ladies, should we try it again, next year?

Marilyn took a class at the Fabric Cupboard in Moncton and this is the result...it was hand quilted by her cousin (lucky Marilyn) and it is beautiful with batiks...

Guess Who!

Isn't this the neatest picture....our esteemed guide on the wonderful bus trip to PEI...who better than Anne of Green Gables.

Bus Trip 2013

This is the sign that greeted us upon arrival at Summerside, P.E.I. ...sure made us feel welcome....AND to top it off , there were cookies, squares and cold drinks awaiting ...we won't even discuss the fabric, the fat quarters,the patterns and the extra staff to make things go quickly.....we also won't discuss how much money changed hands....right!!!

The back of the bus...where all the rambunctious people sit...you will notice that the pictures are being taken from the middle of the bus....where the fence sitters congregate....

And of course, the front of the bus...notice all the white hair....with the exception of Martha's dark hair...do you think that means something other than white haired women are the only ones that realize the importance of a bus trip to a fabric store.???Inquiring minds want to know.

 Here we are at the restaurant in O'Leary...now I have to tell you we were very surprised at how well they served a bus load of hungry women. We let them know in advance what our orders were and they made sure we got meals that not only were delicious they were hot and served quickly.(except for those that ordered salads..they were fed last to make sure the "hotties" got theirs hot)
Good service, good food and they moved us through the payment line quickly....impressive!!

I kind of forgot about my camera when we hit  McAusland's Woolen Mill in Bloomfield, P.E.I.  I got distracted by the wool...seems like that's my obsession of choice these days...so I apologize for not having pictures of that stop. I will say , however, that the owner was smiling when we started coming to the cash register with armfuls of blankets, wool fabric, yarn, patterns and some hats , mitts and sundry.  I did ask to purchase a wooden spool from them and he was most apologetic that he could not sell me one...it seems that they are not being made anymore and their  new spools are now plastic or cardboard. The wooden spools...a much better tool....are most valuable to wool mills. I guess the few that I already own have increased in value....good to know.

It was a shame that Muriel was ill..we missed her,for sure. However, her stand in did a great job...gave us a few chuckles....fed us with snacks when the time to meals stretched a little longer than we were used to, took care of our schedule and kept us on track.  Many thanks to both Muriel and Marilyn...we would not have enjoyed the day as near as much without their hard work and attention to detail.  It was a great trip...despite the emptiness of our pocketbooks.

Busy Business Day

Here it is, ladies, the last hand quilted nine patch  for the year.  This is the one that Vivian Patriquin pieced and the ladies quilted.  They are such wonderful comfort quilts....

 Remember the brown bag challenge we started at the beginning of the new year...well, here are half of them all lined up...aren't they amazing?  That beautiful blue star is mine and I can't wait to start quilting it....I think I will do the grid work and work on my machine quilting...I could do feathers, or apple cores..or.....you'll just have to wait to see.

 Here's the other half of the brown bag challenge. It amazes me how different they are ....so many talented people and they all look gorgeous...I think we should have them backed and/or quilted and ready for the quilt show next year...they would look so good on the tea tables..wouldn't they?

Lucky Muriel is going to become a Grandma and she is excited...can you blame her.  She knows it is a boy and the decor for that beautiful baby boy is airplanes...Nanny is all ready......

 Marilyn is hiding behind one of her "Snowballs in May" tops...she has some red fleece that she will use for backing.  It will make a great cuddle or comfort quilt.

Here's Marilyn's sewing caddy...inside are plastic bags sewn in and just waiting for "stuff"...Love the hexies, Marilyn...

 A lucky bride-to-be will be getting this sweet table runner as a shower gift....she is a cat lover and those kitties are so cute.  Trust to Marilyn to find really neat fabrics.

 And look at this beauty...mostly batiks...I believe it may be called "T Squared"...not sure . Anyway, it sure turned out great....hand quilted and an heirloom for sure.

 Vera got this really neat hexie postcard for her birthday...what a great gift and a neat idea...I must remember , the next time I send a birthday card it just may be a fabric postcard...oh , the ideas!!!

See that beautiful , I believe,  hexagon in  gorgeous shades of turquoise....made by Vera ...she is more than willing to share the pattern and teach us how to make it too....way to go, Vera!!!

 Carolyn took the machine quilting class last week and had some fun doing  free motion on her "Snap bag". She did a great job and had fun too...guess that is what quilting is all about.

Joan always floors us with her beautiful creations..Here is a French Braid done in blacks and dark browns....the gradation of the fabric is stunning.

 Here's Ellen's table runner. In her nineties and still quilting. Amazing woman!

 Marlene had some fun....that fabric has planets and stars and is quilted with circles...seems appropriate to me.

 Renate is having such fun quilting..here's her rag quilt...backed with blanket and so cuddly...makes you want to snuggle up and have a good read...quilting magazines , of course.

Here's Renate's table runner ...such pretty fabrics and quilted 1/4 inch each side of the seams...so effective .

 Debbie started a Dear Jane and decided a wall hanging was more in keeping with what she wanted to do.  Nice colour choices, Debbie.

 Betty made this wonderful quilt in flannels and they worked so well....love the black, it gives such a great contrast.

 She's also a hooker...rug kind that is....and this is so very sweet.....she's a great hooker and great quilter and lots of fun to be around.

Hiding behind this wonderful colour coordinated "Snowballs in May" is Ann...what a wonderful job she did...now we pass them along to Evelyn and Joyce to distribute as needed. It sure feels good to pass along some comfort or cuddle.

What a fun Day!

 This may look like all we did was watch Gail Mitchell draw on her board but, trust me, that's not all we did.  In these two pictures she is demonstrating how to locate your grid, where to start your pattern and how to proceed so that it flows into a continuous line.....ALL important points to know when free motion quilting. Once we got the information from several different patterns it was sit at your machine and sew, sew , sew.  It was sooooo much fun , especially when you could see the possibilities.  Now, let's face it, we did not expect to be as fluid in our sewing with curves and shapes as Gail (not me, the teacher Gail) was but you know it takes practice, practice, practice. Eventually, we will get there.

Just a little note about Gail Mitchell, ...she is a wonderful teacher.  Stays on track, gets the relevant points out there and is very tactful when she comes across someone (not to mention any names, but one starts with G and ends with an L) making a lot of booboos. She gets them back on track with helpful hints and is very encouraging.

We had a great day...and here's Gail posing her
model type pose for a giggle.  I don't know for sure about the rest of the class but I learned so much today. I just wish I didn't get tired and have to stop and rest up.......look out UFO's , you're gonna get done!!!!