Sunday, 22 December 2024

Guild Day, Tuesday, December 17, 2024

 Today was our last Guild Day of 2024 and also the day of our Christmas party. We started the day much as usual with work being done on quilt tops from comfort blocks we had worked on throughout 2024. Myrna had demonstrated the Berry Bushel block and one group was working on the assembly of the blocks. I was working on borders for the Squiggle block I had demonstrated while Iris and Moira were hand stitching bindings. 


Sandra is working on joining some Twinkling Star blocks, Lorna is joining Berry Bushel blocks and Zoey is machine quilting her quilt from the Beginner Quilting class.

Members were coming and going throughout the afternoon. Items for our silent auction this evening were being brought in and Lorna and Sandra were setting up the tables and putting out the items and bid sheets.Along with silent auction items members were also bringing in cookies , candy or squares. Visiting was also a priority!

At 5:30 Tammy catered a turkey supper with all the trimmings that was much enjoyed by everyone.





After supper was served everyone spent some time relaxing, visiting and browsing the silent auction table.

At 7:00 PM we held a short meeting to wrap up the year end business and then had our Show and Tell.


Sandra, Heather, Rae and Lynn displayed their Ghost Party quilts. They had taken part in the Ghost Party Sew-along which was an online event. It took several weeks to get the instructions for each ghost block and once done there was an option to share and enter to win prizes. There was a very large number of people taking part so getting a prize was somewhat problematic! The ladies did get their quilts all completed. It’s amazing how differently they turned out!


Rae also completed a lovely Christmas wall hanging. The pattern is The Night Before Christmas from Designs by Susan Clark.


                                 Sandra stitched this Santa cushion to add to her Christmas decor.


Another project was this beautiful zippered holder for sewing items, hand sewing, art supplies or whatever you might choose. It has zipper compartments that can safely hold large or small items. A handy little item to carry when travelling!


This little quilt was an excellent way for Sandra to use black, white and grey fabric pieces from her stash. The yellow sashing and borders add a bright pop of colour.


Sandra started working on this quilt quite some time ago when she said she did not feel comfortable with the techniques that were being taught, but now took it out and completed it as well as doing all the machine quilting. Beautifully done, Sandra!


                                                   The back of the quilt shows off the quilting.


Working on the quilt for one of our Christmas raffles, inspired Lynn to make one for herself. The plaid design works well for Christmas or any time of year.


                                            She used this lovely floral for backing her quilt.


Also on Lynn’s completed list are a bag for her granddaughter made of waxed canvas with a compartment for her laptop, a water bottle and anything else she needs for classes. The smaller case is for sewing supplies or whatever else one might want. Very nice, Lynn!


Charlene’s Christmas quilt is made from a jelly roll with a white backing. It’s perfect for snuggling in front of the TV or fireplace.


                       This snowy forest of evergreens makes the perfect backing for Charlene’s quilt.


                    Lynsie fashioned this Christmas table runner entirely from half square triangles.


Myrna chose a palette of whites and greys for this quilt she sewed for her girlfriend in Yuma who has been diagnosed with cancer. The fabric is from the Rust and Steel collection with the rusts taken out. I’m sure her friend will love this quilt.


Sandra had a kit for this table runner. The kit also contained orange fabrics but she is not a friend of orange so left those colours out.


BUT, then she decided there was a lot of fabric left over so decided to make another runner this time using the orange. I think this is very attractive (but I am a friend of orange)!


After assessing the fabric situation, Sandra concluded she still had too much left so made a rectangular runner. She is a master at using up bits and bobs!


                   A complete change in colour palette resulted in this lovely runner in shades of blue.


The fabric for Sandra’s sweater quilt came from the 440 quilt shop in Saskatoon when her daughter was going to school near Saskatoon.


This lable and the next one will explain her next quilt. She spent many UFO days putting together the blocks after very carefully matching and choosing colours and then laying out the squares the way she wanted them to be assembled.




And here is the result of all her efforts, her pineapple quilt. It turned out beautifully, Sandra! All the work was well worth it.



If you enlarge this photo, you can see the detail of the machine quilting. Sandra used a variety of thread colours on the top of the quilt to match the colours in the blocks, but used white in the bobbin thread.     




    This is my bird quilt, There’s a Bluebird on My Windowsill. The bird block was my choice for my president’s quilt and I wish to thank all the members that sewed these blocks for me. Because I have a ‘thing’ about sewing small quilts, this one ended at 100” x 100”. Not only did I make it large, I chose to miter the corners, use a scalloped border and then had to make a continuous bias binding. The binding went on very easily and I was able to do it all by machine.                                                                        

After we finished the show and tell, the draw for the Show and Tell entries was made. Eileen was the lucky winner of a fat quarter fabric bundle. For those unfamiliar with this draw, everyone who takes part in Show and Tell, enters her name as many times as the number of pieces she shows. Each month more people add their names for their pieces. At the end of six months a name is drawn for a prize.

Bidding on the silent auction items was in full progress after the meeting. A lot of checking and rebidding was going on as we were trying our best to get in that highest bid on items we wanted before Sandra D. could close down the bidding! There was also a lovely fabric bundle for which we could purchase tickets.

After all the auction items were closed we went on to play the Left, Right, Centre game. We used three jelly roll strips in lieu of money. Two tables of players took part with the eventual winners being Jill from one table and Moira from the other. The draw for the fabric bundle was also made. Congratulations to Patty E.! She already has plans for using the beautiful solid colours in the bundle.
 
This brought our evening to a close. Everyone gathered up their purchases or winnings, helped clear away tables, etc. wishing each other greetings for Christmas and the New Year before heading for home. 

Wishing all who read this blog a very Merry Christmas and may 2025 be filled with good health and happiness.

Hoping to see you all in the New Year. First UFO day is January 4th, 2025.
Happy quilting,
Gladys



No comments: