On June 19, 2024, the North Star Quilt Guild lost one of its founding members with the passing of Margaret Harrower. She was a dedicated, active member up until the time that she began having vision and mobility problems. She requested that her quilting and sewing supplies be donated to our guild, so on Tuesday her family members brought her “stash” to the church. We are grateful to Marg and her family as her generous donation will go a long way towards helping us achieve our goals for the comfort quilts we make and donate to those in need.
A number of members spent the day sorting through the bins and preparing fabric for storage for later use.
Marg was working on joining the strawberry blocks after the sashing strips were constructed.
One strawberry top in construction. There will be enough blocks to make another top. We will be sure to share the photos of the completed quilts and hopefully I’ll have a more focused photo!
Comfort quilts:
A flannel strip quilt sewn and donated by Eileen.
Another strip quilt from Eileen. Thank you Eileen! These type of quilts are a good and simple way to use up scraps! We all know that scraps have a way of accumulating.
This creation is one of three donated by Marg. Some little one will love this!
Creation number two from Marg will be the favourite of a little girl!
Number three is a study in blues and greens.
Heather stitched up these frogs, perfect for a boy.
Sandra D brought back some Arizona fabrics she was able to acquire at a bargain price. I figured the Mahjong pattern would suit the large prints, so I volunteered to stitch the quilt. I added extra borders to give it enough size for an adult quilt. The binding is a flange with the flange part (the white) made wider and then stitched down so it would give the appearance of a double binding.
Marg F donated a number of smaller pieces that will work very well for penny parades or door prizes at the craft sales we attend. We have also been told that at the Cranberry markets we have to have items for sale, not just tickets for a raffle. That is something we will have to work on in preparation for next year.
Number two from Marg.
Number three, from table runners to placemats.
Number four is a pineapple table runner.
And finally, number five, table centrepiece or wall hanging. Thank you Marg for all the donations.
We now have 50 comfort quilts in our donation buckets. If anyone still has a comfort quilt at home please try to have it ready to turn in for the October guild day as November guild day is when we make the donations.
We have distributed 11 Emergency Agency quilts and now Audrey is working on quilts to be donated to the RCMP to be placed in their cruisers.
Show and Tell:
Charlene found some lovely fruit and vegetable fabrics and made some pretty placemats with a little utensil pocket. Each photo shows a different food and colourway.
Blueberries, very appropriate for this time of year!
Raspberries.
Peas.
Tomatoes. We can tell you are enjoying your new hobby. Beautiful pieces, Charlene!
This round table centrepiece was a special request from her daughter to fit her round coffee table and match the bowl she sets on it at Christmas time. She specifically asked for the red plaid fabric.
This 94’ x 94’ quilt is made from 2 1/2” squares with 6” squares for the border. A lovely way to use up those squares!
This is Rae’s version of the Row by Row quilt Sandra S shared with us last month. Coincidentally, one of the magazines that Marg H donated to us has this pattern on the cover!
This quilt is made from a Kaffe Fassette collection using the Highway Ten pattern, Home Quarter. Kaffe Fassette fabrics have very colourful vibrant shapes and colours.
This is the quilt Rae will be selling tickets on at the St. Ann ‘s bazaar on October 26. She completed the top while she was in Parksville for the winter and had it quilted by a longarmer there.
Plains and Pine had this quilt pattern online as a quilt along. Rae participated and made some extra blocks to enlarge it somewhat. To finish it she decided on a flange binding with the flange as the lime green used in her squares. It beautifully finishes the quilt! She says she is not totally happy with the binding, but we all assured her that it was very nice! Rae is a perfectionist!
Sandra S closed our show and tell with this table runner she made from the jelly roll strips she won at our Christmas party last year. Many were vintage type fabrics and she added some from her stash to complete the runner.
Program:
Bev H and Donna presented the program, a demonstration of the Jewel Box square. Packages of backing
were distributed and members were asked to donate the jewel squares from their stash.
Each square looks very simple but when arranged with the other squares will give an interesting pattern. A quilt made from this should be quite masculine.
These are the instructions for the block should you be interested in making one for the quild or for your own use.
A reminder that there will be no UFO day in October as October 4th and 5th are our retreat days. This time the retreat will have a $20 fee to cover our building rent. Sewing runs from 9 - 4 each day with a catered turkey supper on Friday. If you are interested in coming to the supper, contact Lynn. After the meal, the horse blocks we have been working on will be shown.
The Empty Bobbin from Swan River will be here as a vendor so if you need some fabric for that special project be sure to stop by. Members of the public are welcome!
There will be an open house from 1 - 4 each day when members of the public can attend and view the comfort quilts we have made and some of our own quilts which will be on display in the sanctuary.
Outlaw Coffee is planning on being present on Saturday afternoon.
Our fall raffle quilt will be drawn for at 4:00 pm on Saturday so if you still have ticket books out please be sure to turn them in on Friday, if possible, so they can be readied for the draw.
Our October guild day is also when our membership fees are due. Fees this year are $50 for the year.
Hopefully I haven’t forgotten anything important! See you at the retreat!
Happy quilting!
Gladys
