November 6, 2012

If you are not too "hung over" from watching the results of the election, we'll hope to see you tomorrow in the Fiber Room at the Lyndon House--9:30 AM.  We have lots of things that we can do to get some more quilts made and donated before Christmas.
See you tomorrow.  Remember that we will NOT meet on Wednesday of next week, but we'll meet on that Friday--it's the third Friday of the month.  Ellen

November 2, 2012

We did some sorting of blocks to get ready to make a group of disappearing nine patch quilts.  We also have some quilts that could be bound.  We will meet as usual next Wednesday, 9:30 in the Fiber Room at the Lyndon House, but the following Wednesday, November 14, there is a Guild workshop planned for the room, so we will NOT meet on November 14, but we decided that since Friday, November 16 is the third Friday in the month and we usually gather to work on UFOs or anything that suits your fancy, we will meet on Friday, November 16 at about 9:30 in the Fiber Room.  Bring something that you need to work on, or you can work on items for the Charity group.
        Ellen

October 30, 2012

See you tomorrow in the Fiber Room at the Lyndon House.  Come ready to cut, sew, straighten and enjoy the conversation.
See you there about 9:30 AM.
        Ellen

October 23, 2012

It's that time again.  I have to attend another meeting, so I won't be there to "check up on you gals."  By now, you know the drill.  Cut what needs cutting; iron what needs ironing, and sew what needs sewing!  Be sure and leave the room  neatly organized.  Last week I forgot that there was going to be a group doing some soy dying, and I had left some disappearing nine patch blocks lying out on a table.  I guess this week, you can see if you can find them and also find the others that have not gotten to that stage.  We had originally set our enough blocks to make one quilt.  I'll see you next week, same time, same place.  Another Ellen just may show up.  I met her at the Gwinnett Sewing expo last Thursday, and I have put her on our mailing list, and she knows the meeting time and place, and she just may join our guild.  I believe she lives in Watkinsville, but don't hold me to that thought--I have a bad case of CRS disease!!    
    Ellen

October 20, 2012

Nancy, Martha and I showed up on Friday at the Lyndon House for our UFO day.  Martha, God bless her, continues to cut blocks out of our scrap fabric--without complaining!!!  Nancy had a beautiful Christmas disappearing nine patch (but in black, beige, and gold!!!) that she was working on.  She also brought a darling table runner that was a Happy Birthday celebration.  She put alternating bright colored prairie points around all sides.  I brought a 95" square quilt that I had promised to the gals from Elbert County Schools for a raffle to raise money to send all 5th graders to Washington, DC in the spring.  I needed to sew the sleeve on the back.  We left (whoops, because there was a soy dye workshop this morning in the Fiber Room that we had forgotten) some of our disappearing nine patch blocks arranged on one (only one) of the tables.  I imagine they could easily move them if they need the room.
    Next Wednesday, October 24, we hope you see you all back in full force.  We are still cutting blocks from scraps, but we have started sewing them together into disappearing nine patch designs to begin a stash of "older" quilts to give to Santa for a Senior.  Other blocks that we find to be juvenile, we will do the same for our "kid" quilts.  Since we have completed our rush for Sandy Creek items that we sell so we can buy supplies that are not donated, be will concentrate on our "real" purpose--to make charity items for local needs.
    See you on Wednesday--9:30 until. . . . . .  If you bring your sewing machine, you can sew; if not, don't feel left out, we'll have something you can do to speed the assembly line process that we use to get quilts out.
    Ellen

October 17, 2012

We had a small group today--about half a dozen, but we got some work done.  We sorted through all the items left for sale and donated many of them.  Martha cut squares, Phyllis worked on a kit, Nancy arranged some of our 4 1/2' blocks by color and I sewed them together.  Frances ironed the blocks, and Jan picked out stitching on several blocks that were not uniform in size.  We've got a good start on two quilts using the disappearing nine patch pattern.  Three of us, Nancy, Martha and I said that we were able to return on Friday (3rd Friday--UFO day) to sew.  If you have time, come and join us.  We'll either be doing our own thing or finishing those quilts we started today.
    Ellen

October 10, 2012

We had a good group of gals today.  We got things ready for several of us to "demonstrate" quilting tomorrow at the Lyndon House's Harvest Festival.  I'm sure that we'll be busy.  We got two quilts ready to be quilted (got to purchase fabric for the backing for one of them), and I brought them home.  We arranged the room ready for an influx of students, parents, and visitors.  Martha and Kathy cut blocks and Barbie and I sorted and put our blocks into storage.  Judy took several blocks home with her.  She plans to add appropriate matching fabrics and create two Hop Scotch quilts.  She's traveling for the next two weeks.
    Happy quilting!
        Ellen

October 9, 2012

I'm late getting out this reminder (I was at the Guild Meeting tonight).  We had a pretty successful day at Sandy Creek on Saturday!  Terri bear is planning to offer for sale our left overs on Thursday at the Harvest Days at the Lyndon House.  Several of us plan to be in the Fiber Room working on quilting projects for community members who want to see what quilting is all about.  We'll have our usual meeting tomorrow from about 9:30 until 12ish.  Come and get in on the fun.
    Ellen

October 2, 2012

We just got back from our trip to Wash. DC.  I'll be at the Bee tomorrow.  I didn't get all the quilts quilted, but I am home now, so they will be getting done soon.  I got a call from mary Myles (Sandy Creek).  She said that it has become too complicated for her to get name tags for us, and  she asked if we would be willing to pay the $2 per person entry fee, and when you get to the booth, she will have supplied us with an envelope of cash to reimburse those whose name is on the list.  I told her that would be fine and that most of the attendees would be at the bee tomorrow.  See you tomorrow.
    Ellen

September 26, 2012

    Today we had about a dozen ladies who dribbled in at various times.  In addition, we had a guest who had spoken with Phyllis about writing an article for a magazine that has a target audience of fourteen counties that surround Athens with Jasper County being the most western county and Oglethorpe the most eastern.  She wants to feature quilting, and she probably experienced a long learning curve today because she started with zero knowledge of the craft.  She asked a lot of questions about not only our guild but others in the area.  She wants photos to accompany her article, and one that we will definitely give her is one of our Opportunity Quilt.  She took a bunch of notes, even looked at--and then purchased--a couple of our Sandy Creek quilts.  She plans to do some research on quilting, in general, and then plans to revisit us next week when she is at the Lyndon House already for her garden club.  While the interviewing was going on, we trimmed quilts that had been quilted, measured and priced items for Sandy Creek, matched backings with quilt tops that came in, cut blocks from scraps, and added scraps to our latest Dog bag.
    Next week will be our final opportunity to finish up anything that we planned to do for Sandy Creek which will be Saturday, October 6, from 10 AM until 6 PM.
    See you next week.  Same time (9:30 or so); same place (Fiber Room).
    I am sending Terri Jarrett some  $$ from our early sales.
        Ellen  

September 21, 2012

A BIG Thank You to all the worker bees that showed up today (our normal personal UFO day) to work on organizing the items that we will take to the Fall Festival at Sandy Creek on Saturday, October 6.  We got all the quilts measured, priced and inventoried.  We also came close to finishing EVERYTHING.  Nancy Bruce took 4 wall hangings to put sleeves on when she and Frances L. go on a mini vacation.  Several ladies took quilts to put bindings on (then they will be measured and priced).  We were beginning to be "brain dead" as noon appeared (maybe we were just hungry), so we decided to put ALL the unfinished items in a large plastic bin.  Those items barely covered the bottom of the bin.  We vowed to finish them up next Wednesday at our usual meeting time.  I have about 6 kid quilts left to quilt, and I hope to get them done.  I thought I only had to finish the flower girl's dress to complete all MY part in the wedding preparations, but my granddaughter came over today to see if I could do a few things to the dress that she is wearing.  I spent all afternoon making loops for hooks (and eyes) and I spent a good bit of time making tucks along the back of the dress so that it would lay flat against her back.  Then we found out that the lady who had altered the dress had not sewed part of it together correctly, so that got done also.  Now all I have to do for Sarah is shorten the ruffled slip that she bought at David's bridal so it won't peek out from under the dress.  In addition, there is the remaking of the upper part around the waist since it is high-waisted and is fitted elastic above the waist.  The elastic needs to be made more narrow since the dress dips to the waist in the back, and the zipper needs to be reinstalled.  That was way more than you wanted to read, but by writing it, it is giving me courage to attempt something that I've never experienced.
    Make plans to attend the Bee next Wednesday.  We'll finish up with our Sandy Creek items and then get down to making some new quilts with some of our new pattern ideas.
    See you then.
        Ellen

September 19, 2012

    The Worker Bees came in today with lots of items finished for our trip to Sandy Creek Nature Center for their annual Fall Festival.  We plan to return to the Fiber room on Friday of this week to begin the process of pricing and listing all the items that we have for sale and display.  We've got a nice bunch of ladies who have agreed to go to the festival and demonstrate quilting and answer questions about what we do and how we do it.  So, if you have "nothing to do" this Friday, why not join us sometime after nine AM; we'll stay until . . . . .  We still have lots of finishing up to do, and I have been busy quilting all this afternoon.  I plan to work at home all day tomorrow with wedding stuff, quilting for the Fall Festival and putting a sleeve on a quilt that I made for Presbyterian Homes for their silent auction.  See you Friday, if you can come.
    Ellen

September 17, 2012

This Wednesday for the Charity Bee, why not bring your machine (if possible) and let's all work on sewing up something that we could offer for sale at Sandy Creek.  For Example:  I bought some fabric at Mary Jo's last week that is 18 potholder-sized cartoons of that "bitchy" lady that usually has a coffee cup in her hand and gives you her opinion--straight from the shoulder.
My alzheimer's is catching up with me--I can't remember her name, but somehow, Sybil pops into my head.  Those who don't sew can be "gofers" for the rest of us.
    Ditto for this Friday--which is UFO day (3rd Friday of the month).  Bring a sewing machine so we can make something.
        Ellen

September 12, 2012

  Today there is a workshop in our Bee hive.  But next week, we'll be back to the hive working on new creations.  Our stash has been newly reorganized (almost complete), and we will be busy working on items for Sandy Creek and new kits.  We've decided that we might begin to concentrate on Scrappy quilts in order to use up lots of our smaller pieces.  No need to cut kits from bolts of fabric if a scrappy look will work.  That way we can "bite into" our growing stash of smaller pieces.  Save the larger pieces for backing fabrics.  
    Also, bear in mind that Friday, Sept. 21 is the third Friday when we often gather in the Bee hive to work on our own projects.  We'll finalize just who will be showing up on that day when we meet next Wednesday.
    Also remember that Saturday, Sept. 6 is Sandy Creek day.  if you are able to work our book during the 10 - 6 hours, you get free admission to the event.  Work awhile, and then spend some time visiting the booths and always enjoying the fellowship of quilters there.
    Ellen

September 5, 2012

There was a big hustle and bustle today at the Bee.  Phyllis brought in a quilt ready to be quilted.  Sylvia brought in two Christmas vests for Sandy Creek, and I brought in the Halloween vest I started last week.  Judy Cole was back from the wild west, and she may think she shouldn't have come back.  She was immediately given several tasks to do; the first was to match the quilt kits that she had cut out previously and the instructions had been removed from them.  She had no trouble getting the two things together again.  Sylvia worked on a new quilt that she had started, but the rest of us jumped into sorting and rearranging AGAIN!!  Kathy Burkes, Vicki Bauer and I jumped right into the unorganized mess!!!  It seems like we are always doing that.  It's just that we found zip lock bags with parts of quilts, other bags with fabrics in them, bags with contents stashed into some of the bins, etc., etc.  We decided to relabel all the big bins.  One has fat quarters in it.  One has batiks in it.  One has pieces larger than fat quarters.  One has Florals, and three have juvenile fabrics.  We also stored all the blocks that we have been cutting from the one bin that has scraps that need to be cut into blocks.  We decided that we are going to work on quilts that will be primarily scrappy--from either the smaller pieces of fabrics that we have or the blocks that we have cut, and use our solids to go with the scrappy pieces.  We all felt GREAT after scurrying around so much today.  We left the room in PERFECT shape for the workshop that will be held there next week, so, please remember that the Charity Bee will have a week of vacation.  Maybe by the time we get back to our usual Bee meeting, we'll be so fired up that we'll get tons of work done.  It should be easier to make quilts from the bins that we have organized.

    Ellen

August 30, 2012

Try this one out!!!

Something else to do with squares!!!!! After Teri's d-9patch this would be fun, too!

~~N.

  http://andiejohnsonsews.blogspot.com...-tutorial.html

August 29, 2012

We had a good day today with a handful of ladies present.  Kathy cut blocks out of our stash of scraps, and Ellen struggled with lining the halloween vest that she had taken home last week.  I think we finally figured it out, but not the "easy" way that the new patterns show.  Oh well.  Sometimes you just feel stupid!!!  Sylvia brought in some more "cuties" that we will offer for sale at Sandy Creek on Saturday, Oct. 6.  Jodie and Madelyn came today and gave us a copy of the entire workshop programs for the year.  Now if I can just get them all entered on the calendar!!  Our stack of quilts continues to grow, slowly because we can't seem to interest very many guild members to make one for us.

    Come and join us next week.  We'll always have something that you can help us with.

        Ellen

August 22, 2012

  Today there were about 10 who were at the Bee.  Lola has had an accident and broke her heel, and then Le'Ann came in toward the end of the meeting with a cast on her leg!!!  Another broken bone!  Le'Ann took (rather her husband and daughter carried) a huge stack of scraps and a mat, rotary cutter and ruler home with her so she could work while sitting down.  What a trouper!!!  The rest of us either cut blocks from scraps or ironed or straightened up.  Mary Ann Cox cut out the blocks for a quilt like the one using a new SIMPLE pattern that I had brought in.  I started that one and brought home the remainder to finish it at home.  Terri Bear was busy showing us two new blocks (to some of us) that we can use in making quick, but effective quilts.  One, her favorite, the disappearing nine-patch, and the second one I don't know what it is called, but it is made of 5 patches all the same size, and you sew it together using three seams, but the front side looks like a four-patch with a smaller block "on point" in the middle of the four-patch.  You probably can't visualize what it looks like from my description, but it is nice.  Terri says the lady who "invented" it sews the edges of the center patch by rolling the four edges to mimic the cathedral window look.  Seeing is believing!!!  Julie brought in a table runner that she is doing for Sandy Creek.  Phyllis took home a bunch of cute halloween blocks to put 3 each into about 6 door hangings.  By the way, Phyllis, we found the missing block; it has green borders on it.  Frances L took it home to remove the borders; you can get it next week.  Sylvia bought in two grocery bags of cute Christmas tree ornaments for Sandy Creek.  Oh, I brought in Vicki's "broken" mangle.  She told me that if Stuart couldn't fix it--just junk it.  Stuart grew up on a farm where as soon as the Christmas presents had been opened, he and his brother went outside to the junk pile to see what they could make.  Needless to say, both are engineers.  Must be nice to KNOW at about age 10 what you are going to do with your life!!!  And, of course, it now heats and even steams--and as evidence of that, when I put it on the counter, I tipped it "just so," and it soaked my t-shirt!!  Sylvia offered to iron it dry for me.

    About 10 quilts have been finished in the last week, and Jan took the last one that needed binding.  We have stacked them (SH-h!!  Don't tell anyone because we don't want our hard work to "walk out" the door) to decide next week where their permanent homes will be--Project Safe, Prevent Child Abuse, Loren Smith Cancer Center, or to Sandy Creek for possible sale (anything that doesn't sell gets donated as soon as the Harvest Festival is over).

    Gosh, we just have so much fun planning and doing for Charity items!!  Come and join the fun!!

August 21, 2012

See you tomorrow for the regular meeting of the Charity Bee.  We always have plenty that we can do when we meet.  We might want to concentrate on Sandy Creek which will be October 6.  Our stash of items that we can offer for sale is growing slowly.  This will be a good way to use up small pieces of fabrics that we have--not enough to do a quilt, but too big to cut into blocks. 

    See you in the AM.

        Ellen

August 13, 2012

I may be able to get to the meeting on Wednesday--late.  Stuart and I have doctor appointments in Lawrenceville at 9 and 9:30.  I'm going down in a few to work on the quilts I brought home last week.  If I get them finished tonight, I'll drop them off with Nancy when I'm out running errands tomorrow morning.  We still have blocks to cut out from the bin of scraps, and we now can get serious about items to take to Sandy Creek as well as quilt kits to be handed out at the Guild Meetings.

    Hopefully, I'll see you on Wednesday, but if not, you know what to do.

    Ellen

August 8, 2012

I just got an e-mail from Frances Arnold.  She knows that the Fiber Frenzy group is meeting this Friday in the Fiber room.  I was feeling so bad this morning that I failed to check with the "powers that be" at the Lyndon House to make sure that the room was available.  Can we postpone the Friday sew-in until next week, and on Wednesday we can check to see which Fridays are available for sewing.  I feel a little like Vicki; we had new fabric to get organized, quilt tops to find backings for, scraps to cut into blocks, so none of us really had time to let our creative juices get moving.  I've been wanting to do more sewing, and a few more Fridays at the Lyndon House would be fun if we could meet as a small and often varying group to work on quilt tops for so many of the charitable opportunities that we find in our community.  So, this is an announcement that we WILL NOT be meeting at the Lyndon House this friday, but we'll try to schedule other Fridays as openings occur.

    Maybe we can find some time at home this Friday so that when we come together next Wednesday, we'll have some show and tell.

    OH!!  New News!!  Joan Garland, one of our newer guild members has a long arm, and she VOLUNTEERED to help with the charity Quilting.  I brought an entire bolt of Warm and Natural to the Lyndon House today, and we put it in her car.  Joan and I split the quilt tops that had been completed, and she indicated that even though she can't always make the Wednesday morning Bee, she will be glad to take quilt tops along with backings) home from the Guild Meetings.  Now we should really be able to turn out the charity items.  I had been keeping up fairly well since I caught up from that big pile that grew while my ankle was broken.  Joan and I each took four quilts home because several of you gals have been busy!!!

    See you next week.

        Ellen

August 6, 2012

See you on Wednesday to work on quilt kits, bindings and getting rid of that bin of scraps!!  I hope to have the label ready to go on the Opportunity Quilt, but it depends on how the lettering fits that is in my Embroidery machine.  I usually use the letting in the Bernina software and save the design to be stitched out on the BabyLock embroidery machine.  The sizing of the letters is just about infinite going either direction--large or small with the Bernina software, but the lettering built into the Baby Lock is Small, Medium and Large--that's it.  Pam is using my PC that has the software on it while her PC is being repaired since I don't need that PC very often--my first choice for the internet.  Vicki plans to bring her laptop that has an older version of EQ on it, and we will muddle through a few designs with what I know about the program.  There is LOTS more that I need to learn in order to be efficient with it, but I manage to get some designs done for us to use.

    See you on wednesday at 9:30 AM.

        Ellen

August 4, 2012

I'll see you next Wednesday, same time, same place (9:30 in the Fiber Room at the Lyndon House).  I'm sure that you got LOTS done while I was gone.  I got lots of reading done, so it was a mini vacation.

    I got the form for the Sandy Creek (N. GA Folk Festival) which I promptly filled out, and it is now in the mail.  The date is October 6 (ANOTHER conflict for me--my granddaughter is getting married).  I trust that those of you who can go will have a good time--we always do.  Lots of music, food, conversation and even things to purchase!!!  We have got our stash started on items that we will be taking to sell.  Nancy has made a "ton" of really flashy luggage tags--a great way to identify your luggage on the luggage carousel!  We will probably spend every meeting until then getting ready for that event.  We  take threaded needles in a pincushion so kids and adults can hand sew blocks together.  We also take black and white diagrams of quilt blocks and crayons so kids can color a block.  We'd better get some new crayons; some of those from last year melted together.  We also need to take a stack of cards to hand out about our meeting date and location.  And, last but not least, we'll take some items to sell.  We usually do well enough to replenish some of our much needed "reads as solids" fabrics to go with fabrics that have been donated.

    See you on Wednesday--ready and raring to go!!

        Ellen

July 30, 2012

Just a reminder about the Charity bee this Wednesday.  We are making progress on the big bin of scraps that need to her cut into blocks.  Last week we had a GREAT attendance for the Bee and we got several large bags of fabric donations from the Loren Smith Cancer Center put organized and put away. Now we can get down to the job of producing more quilt kits.  I have been  creating some new designs in EQ7 and next week, I'll bring in the notebook so we can try out some new patterns.  As we try out the new patterns, be aware that we need to proof most of them since they have been adapted from larger patterns to fit the size we need.  Joan took a kit recently, and reported to me via e-mail that corrections need to be made.  Those corrections have been done.  Joan has also volunteered to quilt some of our charity quilts on her long arm (I think that the calvary has just arrived to help out the worker Bees!!  Thanks, Joan, for your offer.  We'll take you up on it.

    Hope you'll show up on Wednesday even though I will still be in Dallas, TX in a hotel that is actually 3 hotels joined together with their three lobbies.  Seems like we have to walk miles to get anywhere we need to go!!  We are not going outside since it is HOT, HOT, Hot!!!  The nearest restaurants to the hotel are 2 1/2 miles away, so we are eating all our meals inside.

    Ellen

July 23, 2012

We plan to meet this Wednesday--same time--same place.  Nancy and Frances have gone (Tuesday) to get some more fabric that we might be able to use.  Nancy has received the Opportunity Quilt from Mary Beth.  It is BIG!!!  If Nancy doesn't have the binding on it by Wednesday, I guess each of us could grab a needle and thread and sew about a foot each.  Hope to see a big crowd for the photographing of the Opportunity Quilt.  Maybe it will be done then.  See you early.

    Ellen

July 16, 2012

    We're back to "normal" now.  We will meet this Wednesday to continue the "usual."  That is making blocks out of that bin that seems never to get empty, make quilt kits, and put bindings on quilts already quilted.  We didn't have much success at the guild meeting getting  our quilts "adopted." so we may need to put the bindings on ourselves.  Come ready to work; there's always something to do in addition to visiting with other quilters.  We even had JAN LEONARD back with us last week--fresh from knee replacement surgery!!!!  She showed us her 5 week old scar--can't believe she's up and "dancing" around on that new knee so quickly!

    Nancy got the FINISHED top for the opportunity quilt to Mary Beth for quilting.  It should be ready in about two weeks--then binding and the label.  We're waiting anxiously to see that quilt finished!!!  It has been pretty intense!!  TONS of half square triangles with required use of the design wall to get things together correctly.  Then there was the appliqued borders that had to be designed from scratch by Jeanne Lindberg since the borders with the quilt pattern just didn't seem to be "just right."  Thanks to her committee, the finished quilt looks beautiful.  Next comes the selling of the tickets.  I know that members of the Charity Bee will be first in line for those tickets!

    We're in luck!  Friday of this week is also the 3rd Friday of the month.  UFO Friday!!  Come and bring your unfinished projects and work all day where everything you need is readily available--a huge design wall; plenty of irons and ironing boards and even some FeH2O bottles supplied by Vicki Bauer.  You will also find large tables that can be pushed together to allow you to pin your quilt ready for quilting.  Lots of cutting mats, rulers and rotary cutters are available for the big center table that is the perfect height for cutting.

    See you Wednesday or Friday--or even both.

    Ellen

June 28, 2012

We had a good day yesterday.  I brought two new quilt tops (one from Frances Lang's granddaughter and one from Julie) home to quilt.  Several (Julie, Martha, Silvia) cut blocks from our bin of "scraps."  Lola worked on preemie quilts.  Frances A cut the border strips to go on the opportunity quilt and Nancy began the task of getting them affixed.  Nancy also cut out a bunch of quilted luggage tags for Sandy Creek.  Pam used my computer and drew up three new quilt patterns in EQ7.  If you want to watch/learn how to use it, I plan to bring the computer back each Wednesday that we meet during the summer.  Maybe we'll get those printed out soon.  Seems like I, like everyone else, am running from one task to another with the feeling that there are not enough hours in the day to get the things done that I "need" to do.  much of it is probably self imposed work that I don't really have to do, but. . . .  We finished filling another doggie pillow and I brought it home to close up.

    ATTENTION!!!  Since next Wednesday is July 4, we decided that if you don't have family plans for the day, you can just sew at home without coming to the Lyndon House.  In fact, they MAY be closed.  I didn't check.

    In case you are interested, Barry, from Atlanta Sewing Center will be at the Lyndon House this Saturday to service sewing machines.  I will be there with him (I'm bringing something to work on), and he will stay until he finishes the machines that come in OR 5 PM.

    Happy sewing!!

        Ellen