February Notes

Welcome to February, Ties that Bind Quilters!  

It may be snowy or foggy, but it's a lot warmer than the last week in January!  I hope we are all staying warm and staying in stitches.

BOTM

Our block of the month (also known as BOTM) for this year is a little different.  We're having a quilt along!  Our fearless leader, Pam W., has created a special quilt just for us.  The blocks are all variations of Friendship Star.  This is a great theme for our friendly group.

I'm going to show you my blocks as I sew along month by month.  Please remember that I quilt to a different drummer and don't always follow the rules exactly.  My quilt will be scrappy, with lots of 1930s reproduction prints, but the pieces will be cut and sewn the same.

Here's my version of the first block:

I chose 4 fabrics for this block:  the red corners, white/blue polka dots, solid blue, and the center print.  Except for the center, all the rest of the sections in this nine-patch block are made from half square triangles.  All nine sections measure 4.5 in. unfinished, 4 in. finished.  This is a 12 in. finished block.

Check out the block center.  I've had this small piece of fabric forever.  It seemed appropriate to the season.  By the way, all the kids playing in the snow in this print are girls.

The printed directions for this block were available at the last meeting and/or emailed to you by Pam W.  If you didn't get the directions, please contact Pam.

Charity Quilt News
Every year, we just make more and more quilts for our neighbors in need.  This year our group gave 85 quilts to charity.  Most of the quilts went to families and individuals in Washington County.  Some of the recipients were Seeds of Hope (baby quilts), nursing homes, Carl's Place, Family Promise, and Threshold.
We can be very proud of all our hard work, and very thankful for the members who work so hard to quilt the tops, bind the quilts, make and hand out kits, purchase batting, organize and store the group's fabric, and pull everything together.  Our efforts are worthwhile, and appreciated.

Big Sale at Sew Many Pieces!!!
Don't forget the big anniversary sale at Sew Many Pieces. 
Friday, Feb. 15th (9 a.m. to 5 p.m.) and Saturday, Feb. 16th (9 a.m. to 4 p.m.)
Can you believe the store is 5 years old?  Save your money for this sale, it's going to be a good one.

And now, a little show and tell.

Nancy is on vacation, but sent this stack of quilts with Colleen.  Most (all?) are for charity.

These are only a few highlights from our fabulous show and tell. 

Want more?  Come to the next meeting on February 20th!

Happy New Year!

I hope everyone had a great Christmas and a very happy start to the new year.  Can you believe it's 2019 already?

Our meeting is coming up on Wednesday of this week.  It will be so good to see you all again.

Here's Homework Puppy to remind us what to bring this month.

Name Tags (wear 'em! They don't have to be fancy!)

Dues for 2019 (if you haven't already paid)

Food Pantry Donation (we're still collecting cash)

Brown Bag Exchange gift--show us what your secret friend made for you!

Finished Birthday Strips quilts/items for Show and Tell (We're going to do this again, and it will give others some good ideas of what to make)

Block of the Month

It looks roughly like this, in red or pink.  Directions are in my December post, and are included with this month's newsletter.

And now for some virtual show and tell, from photos I took but never got posted in 2018.

Great job, everybody!  Keep up the good work!

December Block of the Month

Hello, Ties that Bind members!  I'm a little late with this tutorial, life just got ahead of me this week.  Luckily, our block of the month is a simple one.  You probably don't need my help, but just in case ...

I don't know the name of the block, since it wasn't on the handout.  To me, it looks like a package.  (Maybe I'm just being influenced by all the Christmas decorations we're seeing everywhere.)

We start with a 10 in. cut square of red or pink (mine is red), and two black strips.  The black strips are both 1.5 in. wide.  One is 10 in. long, and one is 10.5 in. long.

Not a great picture, sorry, but you get the idea.

Now, lay your ruler on the 10 in. square, with the 4 in. line on the left.  Then cut.

We're going to sew the 1.5 x 10 in. black strip between the two pieces of red fabric.
Here it is, ready to sew ...

And here it is, sewn.  So far, super simple, am I right?

Now we're going to cut this piece again, but this time at the top instead of the side.  This cut will also be 4 in. wide.

This photo was taken at an odd angle, but you can see the ruler lined up with the edge, and cutting across the black strip.

Guess what happens next?  We get to sew the remaining black strip between these two cut pieces.

Here it is, laid out.  Only two seams here.

And that's it!  This block looks a little wobbly.  It was better after it was pressed.

The blocks will/should measure 10.5 in. unfinished, for a 10 in. finished block.  As it says on the instruction sheet, the recipient can square the blocks up easily, without worrying about cutting off any points, etc.

Wouldn't this be cute as a Christmas quilt?  Or maybe a birthday quilt for a child?  And it would work up so quickly!

Don't forget, our meeting is earlier this month, to keep from running into holiday festivities.  We are meeting at Little Switzerland on DECEMBER 12TH.  So you've got just over a week to make one or more of these blocks, if you choose.

Another reminder:  How is your Brown Bag Challenge gift coming along?  Those are due on Dec. 12th also.  (I can't believe I got mine done early this year.  It's a Christmas miracle.)

See you on the 12th!

Meeting Reminder--It's This Week!!

Don't forget, the meeting is THIS WEDNESDAY!!
(Remember, we moved it because of Thanksgiving?)

Yes, it is sneaking up on us this month, but don't worry, it will still be a fun meeting.

Here are the details.
Wednesday, Nov. 14th, 2018
6:30 p.m.
Pilgrim Lutheran Church
462 Meadowbrook Drive, West Bend, Wisconsin

All are welcome.

This month's program is ...

Always a good time!
Bring 3 "lots" (bags, boxes, bundles, etc.) of quilting/sewing/knitting/crafting related stuff.  (You can bring less than 3, but not more than 3.)
If they don't sell, you have to take them home again :-(
So here are some hints on getting your stuff sold.
1.  Bring good stuff.  Maybe it's stuff you're tired of, or don't feel like finishing.  Maybe it's decent fabric, but somehow you can't remember why you bought it.  Maybe, when you look at the item, you've just lost that loving feeling.
2.  Bundle like things together.  If you put all your yarn together, somebody might buy it even though all they really want is the knock-your-socks-off purple variegated wool. 
3.  Be generous.  All the money goes the group, after all.  And if you clean out a bin or a shelf, you are legally obligated to go buy more fabric. 
4.  If all else fails, add chocolate.  With our group,  CHOCOLATE SELLS.  (I really think people would bid on a box of broken rulers if there was a bag of chocolate in there too!)

Here's Homework Puppy to remind us what to bring on Wednesday.

*Silent Auction items

* Cash/checks to pay for silent auction items you can't live without

* Money for the food pantry

*YOUR NAME TAG (Cool or not, please wear it!)

 *Block of the Month blocks (if you made any)


And don't forget...

Show and Tell!

(Did you guess this was my favorite part?)

See you Wednesday!

Block of the Month for November

Hello, Ties that Bind Quilters!  It's time for the Block of the Month.
I think I've been mislabeling these.  This is the block pattern we received at the October meeting, and the completed blocks are due at the November meeting.  So I think it should be called the November Block of the Month. 
Nancy, our fearless leader, won the blocks back in September, and chose this block for us.  There wasn't a name on the handout, so I'm just calling it Nancy's Block.
We're in luck, it's a simple block to piece.

Cutting:

From eight different bright fabrics, cut rectangles 2.5 in. x 4.5 in.

From a neutral background fabric (I chose solid white) cut 8 more rectangles, 2.5 in. x 4.5 in.
Also from the background fabric, cut 1 square 4.5 in. x 4.5 in.

Now for the sewing.
Stitch each bright rectangle to a background rectangle on the long edge.  Normally, we would press toward the dark, but you will have four places to match seams.  I recommend either pressing the seams open or waiting until you've decided how the pieces will go before pressing the seams in opposite directions.

Lay out the pieces as they will be sewn.  (See what I mean about matching seams?) This is now just a nine patch.
Sew the squares into rows and the rows together to get the final block, which should measure 12.5 in. square (unfinished).

Not too tough, right?  This is a cute block that will make an interesting quilt when the blocks are set side by side.

This month's meeting is coming up soon!  We're meeting a week early, to avoid meeting during Thanksgiving week.  Mark November 14th at 6:30 on your calendar!

Don't forget, next meeting is the Silent Auction!  Find three bags/boxes/or bundles of quilting or knitting or sewing related stuff, and bring them along.  All proceeds will go to the group.

How are the Brown Bag Challenges coming along?  Those are due in December.  Our December meeting is also earlier than usual, on December 12th, and will be a dinner meeting at a restaurant.  Check your newsletter for details.

Keep on stitching on, ladies!




 

So, What Can You Do With A Panel?

Last month, at the September meeting, Cheryl from the Sewing Basket in Plymouth showed us all kinds of great ways to use printed panels to make quilts.
Below are some of the photos I took.  BEWARE:  they are not very good photos, but I think they give some idea of what a good presentation it was.

What can you do with a panel?  Well...
You can start by simply cutting out the best part of a panel and quilting it:

 Or maybe adding a decorative border or binding.

 Some panels have multiple elements that can be separated with borders to great effect.  And the borders can be just on two sides instead of four, if you like.

Squares are great additions to panels for borders, too.

Or you could put the elements of a panel into the center of star blocks, like this.

 What about this kind of border for a Halloween panel?  Spooky!

Maybe some simple sashing to separate the sections/blocks would work.  Doesn't this quilt look nice on this couch?

Here's my favorite:  animal blocks separated by alternate blocks with snowball corners.

There are so many cute panels in the stores, just waiting for us to try some of these ideas with them.

I'll bet you can think of a few more.  Maybe you'll bring them to show and tell when they're done!

Thanks very much to Cheryl from the Sewing Basket for her presentation, and to our own Cheryl and Gail for bringing her in.  It was a fun evening.

Speaking of fun, our Ties That Bind October meeting is this week!
Here are the details.

October Meeting
Wednesday, October 17th, 2018
6:30 p.m.
Pilgrim Lutheran Church
462 Meadowbrook Drive, West Bend, Wisconsin

All are welcome.

This month's speaker is Tricia Franklin, and her presentation is called "You Are Sew Worth It!"  She is a member of the Badass quilters.  I can't wait to hear about that.

And now here's Homework Puppy to tell us what to bring to the meeting.

 Your Name Tag (doesn't have to be fancy--WEAR IT)

Block of the Month (if you made one.  The pattern is HERE.)

Cash for the Food Pantry (if you care to contribute)

PHDs (Projects Half Done, if you are participating)

Show and Tell

See you on Wednesday evening!