March 4, 2021

fashion statement followup

Hello all, Mary Ellen back again. Linda H. shared this photo of the latest quilted fashion from Paris Fashion Week. How much do you think is the cost of this designer dress? I won’t be running out to buy this–how about you?  
March 3, 2021

a fashion statement

Hello all, Mary Ellen here. Getting out my green quilts for St. Paddy’s Day. I found the pieced shamrock that I made last year and only got to enjoy for a short time. I’m thinking about making another runner or square to use up the left over green scraps from last year’s project. I think this is the pattern I will use, but I’m going to make just one or two shamrocks instead of the whole runner. Click here if you’re interested. (Here’s the link to last year’s shamrock block. click here.) Now let’s take a stroll down memory lane. If you’ve been quilting for a while you may remember when quilted clothing was the rage among quilters. Many of our quilt shows featured a Saturday afternoon fashion show with quite a few of us parading our projects to warm applause. Some of those creations now turn up at ugly […]
February 19, 2021

odds and ends

Hello all, Mary Ellen back again. I’m finally off all restrictions after my cataract surgery. As limiting as they were, I must admit I didn’t mind being spoiled. This was a good time for me not to be allowed to do any snow shoveling! And it gave the teenaged godsons work to do. I also was able to get the boys to carry lots of things up and down my stairs for me. Being treated like a princess is not a bad thing. Last night’s guild meeting was my first Zoom meeting. (I’ve been doing FaceTime on my mac instead throughout the lock down) It was fun to see so many faces and hear what some of us have been up to. I’m looking forward to our meeting in March–in person if all goes well. I hoping to have my first vaccination by then–isn’t the process of finding a vaccination […]
January 28, 2021

valentine’s day quilts

Hello all, Mary Ellen here. I had my checkup from my first cataract surgery and am good to go for the second eye. Had the COVID test yesterday. Second eye is scheduled for this coming Monday. Will be glad to be done with this, although I must say it’s been easy. I’m enjoying be treated like a princess–not allowed to lift anything over 10 pounds, nor to bend over–for 3 more weeks. I am allowed to sew, read, embroider, quilt, knit. Pretty good deal. I’m looking for an easy “something” to make for my nieces for Valentine’s Day. I’m thinking a mug rug would be good. I’ll share these links to patterns I’ve found so far. heart blocks: click here. heart mug rug: click here. heart mug rug: click here. later addition–carol doak crazy patch heart : click here. Heading up to the scrap bins to find pink/red valentine fabrics. […]
January 16, 2021

a tisket, a tasket

Hello everyone, Mary Ellen here. It was so nice to see many of you at the museum on Thursday. I hope you are enjoying your prizes. Since we will not be having a February “in-person” meeting, I will pick another day in February for museum pickup for those of you who did not get your prizes. If you would prefer some other way to get your prize, contact me and we’ll see if we can work something out. In my last post I talked about a patchwork basket I am making for favors for an upcoming shower. It is using up fabric and bstting scraps both. Here is the link to the pattern (Click here. ) and here’s a photo of one I’ve finished. It measures about 3 x 4 x 5.5.   Fill in the blank: When I sit down to piece, I always have _________ on my table. […]
January 8, 2021

blog prize patrol

Hello everyone, Mary Ellen here. Since we will not be having a guild meeting this month, I have spoken with Dierdre at BNHV to set up a pick up day for those of you who won prizes in our prize giveaway announced not long ago. I will be at the museum lobby this Thursday, January 14 from 1-2pm to give you your prizes. Please wear your mask when you come to the museum. If I do not hear from you (euclid314@verizon.net), I’ll expect to see you Thursday.
January 5, 2021

we’re baaaaaack

Hello all, Mary Ellen back again, I hope you all enjoyed the holiday season, despite the COVID protocols we all experienced. I’m hoping that life will begin to return to normal as vaccinations become more available, and the government entities work out ways to let folks gather safely. Did you make a New Year’s resolution this year? How many resolved to use the fabric you already own rather than buying more? I resolve that every year with only moderate success, but I think COVID will be helping me stick to it this year. I’m noticing that on our guild FaceBook page there are posts about using your scraps and stash appearing. I’m working on favors for an upcoming party (wedding shower), trying to use my scraps. It’s a small fabric patchwork basket that I’m making assembly line fashion. When I complete one, I’ll post a photo and share the pattern […]
December 23, 2020

holiday wishes

Hello all, Mary Ellen here. I’m taking a short break for the holidays. I hope you all enjoy the days of celebration and reflection. Let’s hope we can reconvene our guild before long. Watch for a message about blog prize pickups. As soon as I know if we’re meeting in January, I’ll let you know what’s up with our prize patrol.  
December 21, 2020

followup

Hello all, Mary Ellen here.I got this photo from Linda H, one of our guild members. I mentioned crafting with thread spools in a recent blog post. So many of you remember the 4 nails in the end of the spool and making yarn ropes. Lots of other fun craftiness was had at this time of year with spools (and wooden peg style clothespins). I still really appreciate gifts that someone has made, rather than bought. Do kids still make their gifts for mom and dad in school? Here’s Linda’s photo of her spool creche to share. I’m finishing up the holiday cooking today and tomorrow–candy rather than cookies. I only made 3 kinds of cookies for this year–no get-togethers at which to share them, and I have very little willpower if they’re kept here!
December 18, 2020

prize patrol

Hello all, Mary Ellen here. I have finished the drawing of the prizes for commenters. Too bad that we were not able to have any parties this year-my original plan was to award the prizes at our March guild birthday party, then at our holiday party,… While getting ready to draw the names I did a bit of tallying. From the start of the collection of names we had 252 comments submitted by 38 different commenters. The math tells you that most ladies (all of the commenters were women) commented more than once over the period of time, and therefore had multiple entries in the drawing. Here’s the plan for getting the prizes to the winners. IF we are able to  have a January guild meeting, (big if!), I will have all of the prizes at the meeting. If we still are not able to get together, I will pick […]