Whole Lot of Stitching Going On

May 1st was our windup for this quilting year... and what a windup it was! 
You won't want to grab a cup of coffee to read this entry; you'll want to grab a pot of coffee because it's going to take awhile to go through all this.

And, no, I didn't have a pot of coffee to make me jittery before taking this photo of Adeline.  There was so much show-and-tell at Tuesday's meeting, that people were in fast-forward mode to show everything.  Someone, I think Jaynie, quipped "it was a wet spring."  Lots of time for quilting as these photos

will attest to.

There were 17 charity quilts to show.  Here's Dorothy, our charity chairperson, with some of them.

And here are Lydia, Dorothy,and Bonnie showing three of them.  These are

donations for the hospital.

And here is some of the show-and-tell ... just some!  I'd need a wide angle lens to get it all in.  The ladies are having an early gossip before our delicious supper.  Catered by Rebecca, the plentiful food was a ham and scalloped potato dinner.

Donna showed one of her treasured fabrics from the Sydney/Glendive trip.  Her husband (who obviously modeled for this fabric) will be happy to receive the apron as a retirement gift.  Manly cookie cutters were included in a pocket.

I showed my cherished center piece made by my friend Lyn in Australia.  She gave me the instructions and the pattern proved popular as I made 12 copies and they went quickly and then I had requests for more.  There should be good show-and-tell in September.

We were happy to have Joyce back with us looking as good as ever.  She showed what she was working on during the months she couldn't be with us.

I fell in love with her chickens.

Shelley showed the results of the New York Beauty class.  We all loved her fabric choices.

Lydia had lots to show us including this scrappy quilt ...

... this piece which used a new gadget...

... a table topper ...

... a paper-pieced pretty.  I've got to get the pattern ...

... and a New York Beauty bag.

Our Queen Elizabeth School raffle quilt debuted.  Wow!  We are giving this to Queen Elizabeth School in lieu of rent for the classes we held there.  In the fall they will raffle it.  Anyone want to guess how much money they'll make?  My guess is "LOTS"!  Many contributed to the making of this quilt.  We used the quilt-as-you-go method taught at one of the classes.

Marlene showed this stained glass piece.

Her choice of colors is perfect.

Here's a Christmas one she finished.

And a pillow and a purse she also made.

This quilt of Marlene's is one of my favorites because of the color choices and the design.

Dorothy had goodies to show as well. 

Her work is always meticulous and stunning.

Here's another one of hers which proves she wasn't working on charity quilts all the time.

Dorothy is a master of machine embroidery as shown in the wall hanging/quilt which tells

the story "'Twas the Night Before Christmas."

The rows were separated by a double row of HALF INCH squares.  Would I have the patience to do that?  Dorothy did.

All the blocks were so cute but this one was my favorite.

Barb S. brought her New York Beauty piece and we could tell she mastered the technique completely.  She was brave with her prints and it paid off.  Sensational!

Debbie showed two jean quilts and she was one who moved so quickly that my photo of the blue blue jean one was nothing but a blur.  My favorite of the two was this black blue jean one which was highlighted with red.  So, so pretty!

Vera did a landscape of the round Sanborn barn at Drinkwater.

She also showed this quilt.

And this runner.  She stated that she was glad that she hadn't

paid $9.50 for the pattern.

This eagle quilt was made by Eileen.  Not only is the pattern effective, but the border is totally the right finish.

Dot created this stunning quilt.

Look at the detail.

And look at the detail in the detail.  I repeat, "stunning."

Elaine showed this great scrappy quilt.

Marg finished this Christmas piece as her last UFO ...more about Princess (or is it Queen?) Marg later.

Esther created this wonderful quilt with muted, lovely blue tones.

Adeline showed this large fishing quilt. She did a great job of quilting it.

She also showed some pairs of potholders which were UFOs. 

Bonnie created this even though crows and ravens are not her favorite birds.

I took this picture of it while it was sitting on the table.  The colors didn't turn out right but you can see some of the beading that Bonnie incorporated.

Every color choice that Bonnie has in this little quilt is perfect.  I love the colors and the quilt!

Colleen had some beauties to show as well.  Her time in Florida must have influenced this one.

She was brave enough to stitch this geometric one.  Well done!

Vickie couldn't attend but sent some show-and-tell so we have to thank her for that.

This was another of those warp-speed show-and-tells, but Colleen showed some of the fun pillowcases Vickie created.  Lots of guild members have caught the pillowcase bug ... which is not remotely the same as bedbugs.  :o)

The pile of show-and-tell items was heaped so high that for a while Jaynie couldn't locate her pieces.  Lucky for us, she did.  This thread-painted hollyhock piece is a raffle item to support Art Farm.  Too bad Jaynie didn't bring tickets; she would have sold them faster than Vi hand quilts!  (And that's fast!)

Not only do I love this work, I love Jaynie's title for it: "The Choir Sings."

Her other work is amazing too.  It's entitled "Parkland II."

Look at this remarkable detail.

Did you know that you can follow Jaynie and see her latest works on Facebook?  Look for "Jaynie Himsl - Fibre Artist."

Mystery quilts were revealed.  Here's an eye-popping line-up of them.  Lots commented on how different fabrics made them look like whole different patterns.

I've got to point out Barb S's which is at the far left in the photo above.  It comes with pillowcases.  Here's a closer view of it:

And here's the label for it.  I'm never going to describe my first quilt to Barb as this one is legions above it in quality, color choice, and everything else.

What happened?  Did colorful Amazonian birds fly into the church during our windup?  Why were there feather like this on the floor?  And does the janitor charge extra to pick them up?

They are feathers from the boas that the UFO challenge people wore.  Colleen announced the points that each team had.  Trust me, there were no losing teams in this friendly competition as each member of each team was motivated to complete much more than she would have without the challenge.

Only one of the UFO competitors deserves to be singled out and that's Marg.  She can wear this tiara for the rest of her life, sleeping, awake, at home, on travels, while shopping in quilt stores.  It proves that in our guild she reigns as Queen of the UFO Challenge. 

I was remiss in not taking a photo of our hard working executive from this year.  They are remaining in their positions for 2013-14 (thank you, thank you, THANK YOU) so I can get many photos of them starting in September.  They have been a stellar executive and this year wouldn't have been the success it was without them.  That goes for committee chairs too.

I did get a photo of our hard working lunch convenors.  Get to meetings early, stay late ... that could be their motto.  This is Barb H and Yvonne and I joked with them that the dishwashing soap should have been "Joy" to show how they felt about the job.  The good news is they can change their dishpan hands to model -worthy hands as we decided not to have organized coffee and goodies at next season's meeting.  Those who become parched can bring their coffee from home.  Thanks, Barb and Yvonne; you've done a great job.

There are a few more things you might want to know:
Mondays at the library are now discontinued until the fall.
Sign up with Bonnie for the guild retreat on the September 22nd weekend.  You need to have a cheque for $100 to register.
Our first meeting of the new season will be September 3, 2013.
A Lone Starburst class will be offered on October 19th.  Details will follow.
Our quilt show will be May 2nd and 3rd, 2014.

I love reading two Torquay blogs:  Christa's and Tracey's.  From them I know that their quilt show is on  June 29th and 30th.  Want to fill a Stagecoach bus to go to it?

One last note:  Michele pointed out the obituary for Rose Drescher in this week's Review.  Although Rose passed away on December 10th, neither of us had heard.  Rose had been living in Moose Jaw since 2006.  I'm not positive Rose was a charter member of our guild, but she was one of us in the early days.  She was a friendly and joyful guild member. 

Rest in peace, Rose.