Ties That Bind July Meeting

Hello, Ties that Bind Quilters!  I'm coming to you from my house, where I spend almost all my time.  I haven't been at the meetings lately during the pandemic, since I'm babysitting my grandchildren including a five month old baby.  I MISS YOU!

Colleen has been kind enough to send photos she took at the July meeting, so all of us who can't come can see some of what you're sewing.

First things first--who won the Color Challenge?  Remember, this was the challenge to make a quilt with two colors plus a background.  Below are some of the entries.

The winner is:  Jeannine!  This is her beautiful quilt, below.

Colleen won second prize:

And Mary M. won third prize.

Congratulations to the winners, and to everyone who participated.

Now, on to show and tell! 

(Just a note on the photos--I'm not sure why they are so small.  I will figure it out and fix it for next month.)

Here's Annette's lovely quilt,

and placemat.

Cindy P. made a fabulous orphan block quilt.  I spy a Christmas sweater block!

Jean B. has been busy!  Here's the first quilt in this pattern, and

here's a second one.   But she wasn't done there.

Take a look at this beauty!

Jen E.'s quilt is gorgeous in green,

and so is the back!

Aren't these colors terrific?  Quilt is by the talented Joan L.

Lola finished this amazing quilt.  The pattern is Frolic, by Bonnie Hunter.  Check out all the tiny pieces!

Mmm, Mary L.'s star quilt is tantalizing. 

Here's a seasonal delight by Mary M. ,

and her knock-out quilt!

Mickey showed this one, a cute classic redwork for Christmas.  I'll bet she could help you make one too.

And now, one of the most prolific quilters in our group, Nancy P., shows what she's been up to lately.  (How does she do it?  Does she sew in her sleep?)

Stunning work!  I always look forward to seeing what Nancy does with scraps.  Or with anything!

Did you make this pretty quilt?  If so, let me know (in the comments or through email) and I would be happy to give you credit.

Masks don't have to be boring!  These masks are great.  The masks in the first picture are the prettiest ones I've ever seen.  The ones made of patriotic fabric are for the V.A., and I don't know who made them, but good job, ladies.

So that wraps up another monthly meeting.  The next one is August 19th.

Keep safe, and keep quilting!

April Meeting Show and Tell

Hello, Ties that Bind Quilters!  I hope you were able to come to the April meeting.  Our speaker was renown quilt show judge Maribeth Schmidt, from Cedarburg, shown above with one of the wonderful quilts she brought to share with us.

Now for more show and tell!  The following photos are just some of the terrific items shown.  More will follow in next week's post.

I wish I could have gotten a close-up here--the prints are bugs!  Specifically, praying mantis, I think.

This quilt was made from the army fatigues of the recipient.  Isn't this the perfect pattern?

Colleen made this phone stand.  I absolutely WANT one.

A cute scrap quilt for charity.

Bright and beautiful!

Strings!

Lovely colorful top!

A traveling quilt, with lots of Route 66 fabrics.  This is the front ...

And this is the back.

Great job, everybody.

More photos next week.  Til then, keep smiling and keep sewing!

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!

Just a Sampling

When it comes to samplers, make mine chocolate!
Or, quilts!
Many of our first quilts were samplers.  A sampler quilt is a great teaching tool.  Different blocks teach us different techniques, and when we're done piecing, we learn to quilt and bind.
The following are some of the sampler quilts from our last meeting, when we brought our first quilts for show and tell.

Very nice color scheme here, and nicely done.
I have to admit, I didn't have the best angle for taking pictures.  Plus I'm still learning my new cell phone camera, so I apologize for the poor quality photos, and for sometimes accidentally cutting out the quilt maker.  (Nancy looks good, though, doesn't she?)

I'm not sure if this is a sampler or a quilt of valor, sorry.  Either way, it's a lovely red white and blue.

Good colors, here, too, and lots of patterns.

A nice selection of blocks here.  Some of them don't look like beginner blocks to me!

It's amazing how different a quilt looks, just based on the colors.  Lots of nice stars here!

Fifteen great blocks here, nice set!

Beautiful selection of patterns and colors.

Isn't the blue and yellow color scheme striking?
Nicely done, ladies!
And good job finishing your first quilts.  
How inspiring!

By the way, don't forget the block of the month!  We're making 12 in. Sawtoothed Square blocks, in two florals, light and dark, like this:

Click HERE for the directions.

Are you working on your project for the Brown Bag Challenge?  I am actually hoping to start on mine before December 1st.

Thanks for reading the blog.   See you on August 15th!