Quilt exhibit

Three things to be happy about:
(1) new movie releases
(2) a hot cup of tea
(3) fall foliage

My bee had a quilt exhibit at Harmony Hall in Ft. Washington, MD from the middle of August until October 5.  It was very successful; here are some of the quilts we displayed.

These are just a few of the beautiful quilts we displayed, I've forgotten the total number.  The opening reception was very well attended, and there were dozens more visitors during the weeks the exhibit was open.

Sew forth and sew on til later!

Wee Bee, a new project

Three things to be happy about:
(1) painted wooden frogs
(2) colorful porch chairs
(3) Maryland Live! casino

Last time I went to Maryland Live! I didn't win big, but I'm still happy about it!

That was some stay-at-home bee, wasn't it?  You'd think I was sewing and quilting all month long and should have a trunkful of stuff - not!

But I did get a good start on another house quilt among other things, using a lot of my black and white fabrics.

We had great show n tell at Saturday's bee, as usual.

This cute bee block was shared by Marlene, using a stained glass technique.  All the black parts are actually the background square.

Sandra E. made this mask using her own pattern.

She was inspired by a workshop she took in March at a 54-40 Quilters Guild retreat.

Carolyn asked for suggestions on a name for this bicycle quilt.  It was partly made from feed sacks, so a few of us suggested "Recycle".

Carolyn created the bicycle!

Marlene's shoes!

I was in a shoe block swap a few years ago, where'd I put those pesky blocks??

It was all followed by a string workshop, where I shared techniques on how I made this star quilt.

Do you recognize the bag-o-scraps in the background?  They're the leftovers I rescued from the guild meeting in March, hoping they'd all fly away. 

Sadly there are still some leftovers!

That's it for now, sew forth and sew on til later ...

Busy at the Bee

I collected my last Bella Russo gift yesterday, a very nice shoulder bag!

I think I'll probably use this shoulder bag more than the cross-body bag we got the first week, simply because it's not as flat.  My wallet is kinda thick because it has a check book in it, so I need a roomy bag.

So here's my entire set!  It includes a cross-body bag, a reversible bag, a shoulder bag and a lunch tote.

The gifts were free, I just had to go once a week to collect o-n-e at a time.  So, driving to the casino an average of 45 minutes each way, four times - you could say I traveled 3 hours to collect this 4-piece gift set.

Whatever ...

On another note, at this month's bee we were making heart pillows to be donated to Howard University Hospital for mastectomy patients.  I posted about this project in an earlier post, you can read more details here.

There were a ton of pillows to be finished off ... stuffing and more stuffing.

One person added a strap to hers - a great idea that I wish I'd thought of!

Sewing the opening closed, then stuffing a few more!

We even added custom made labels to each pillow, got to have that finishing touch!

I don't know how many we finished Saturday, but we turned them out by the basketful! 

Some of us will make even more at home to be donated later. 

I'm really glad we took on this community service project, it's a worthwhile cause and I know the pillows will be appreciated by the recipients.


That's it for now, have a great Tuesday.  Sew forth and sew on

Moving right along

Hi everybody, it's been a fast couple of weeks, hasn't it?  I guess by now everybody knows I had a birthday, thanks for your well wishes!

I have lots to share from the first Wee Bee meeting of the year; I meant to post these two weeks ago!

As I mentioned before, since we don't meet in December, we exchange Christmas gifts at our first meeting of the year, in January.

This was a great looking group if gifts, impossible to guess what's inside all those packages!  Here are just a few ...

an iron caddy ...

 ... pillows!

a cute doll ...

a pad for under the sewing machine (not sure what to call it!) ...

... a project tote  (I nabbed this one!)

I didn't get shots of all the gifts but they were all nice, all hand made, and all well appreciated.


Lots of show and share too; four row-by-row challenge quilts ...

by Loretta

and Carolyn

and Sandra E

and Gwen.



And then there were two paint chip challenge quilts ...

by Sandra E

and Valerie



Next up, "regular" show and tell ...

Gwen's quilt for her granddaughter

Valerie's ladies

Sandy H's circles

Loretta's t-shirt quilt for a family member

and Marlene's portrait of Nelson Mandela.



Lots of pictures this time, I hope you enjoyed them!

Sew forth and sew on til later

Linda

Breast cancer awareness month

Three things to be happy about
(1) bright sunshine with cool breezes
(2) the Statue of Liberty
(3) Stephen Colbert

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, an annual campaign to raise awareness of breast cancer risks, the value of screening and early detection, and treatment options.  As a comfort for women who have had a mastectomy, our Bee is donating heart-shaped pillows to Sibley Hospital to be used as an underarm support during healing.

As I was going through the pictures on my camera I realized that although we did this months ago, this month is a very appropriate time for sharing.

The pattern was provided by Sibley Hospital ... place the middle line on the fabric fold and cut out one for the front and another for the back - very very easy!

Sewing and sewing ...

Lots of pretty combinations - the fabric doesn't have to be pink!

Stuffing ...

... and stuffing!

The first batch!

We placed them into clear plastic gift bags, tied with a pink ribbon.

More will be taken to the hospital this month; it always feels good to do good!


Sew forth and sew on

Buzzing at the Bee

Three things to be happy about:
(1) cell phone bling
(2) folding chairs
(3) the color yellow

We had our first meeting of the year yesterday, and the room was really buzzing!

In some cases some people hadn't seen each other since our last meeting of the year in November, so the excitement level was very high.

There was a lot going on; Valerie models her Wee Bee t-shirt...

... while Sondra prepares strips for another chevron quilt.

I like the fuss-free way she pieces the strips; she says you really can't make mistakes.

If I know Sandy, she'll probably have the quilt - pieced, quilted and bound - ready for show n tell at next month's meeting!

Several people turned in their blocks for the Inside Out Pineapple block swap.

I love the different colors, these will make pretty quilts!

What would a bee meeting be without show n tell ...

I received this wonderful "WOW! Bag" as a Christmas gift; notice my initials embroidered on it - wow!  It starts out as a large bag, then it unfolds into an even larger bag with a shoulder strap.

I've wanted one for years, ever since the pattern came out!  Go to this link for details.

Linda S. wow'd us with this square in a square quilt.  The black fabric in the middle is printed with spools of thread.

She doesn't usually make large quilts but this one was super easy!

Double wow!  Pat K made this lovely basket quilt, a Fons and Porter pattern.

Yellow, red, and black-and-white - this is definitely going on my must-do list!

And last but not least, Sondra shared another one of her lovely table runners.

I love those colors!


I always have fun at bee, and I'm looking forward to next month.

Sew forth and sew on ...