Christmas Luncheon

Our Christmas Luncheon was a huge success. We enjoyed a catered meal by Carolyn Nash. Prizes were given from a variety of generous sponsors, including Nuttall's, Mixi Heart, Casa del Ray, and Applebees. Thank you to everyone who helped plan and set up for the luncheon. The decorations were beautiful. Also, a heart-felt thank you to Arnette Starks who has served this year as our president. We look forward to seeing everyone in January 2014 for the start of another great year of quilting and fun!

November Announcements

1. Our next meeting will be Tuesday, November 19, at 9:30 a.m. Remember to bring two 12" squares of fabric, a marking pencil, your basic sewing kit, a cutting mat, rotary cutter, and ruler, and your sewing machine.
   
2. The Holiday Quilt Show & Auction will be held November 16-21 at the Little America Hotel Mezzanine from 9:30 a.m. - 8:30 p.m. Entrance is $5.
   
3. Our December meeting will be held early in the month on December 10, at 11:30 a.m. This is our annual Christmas luncheon. The last time to purchase tickets will be at our November meeting.

September and October Meetings in Review

The months seem to slip away so quickly. I can't believe it's already November. Since I missed a few months, I'll add a little extra to this post that has nothing to do with quilting and everything to do with eating! I planned a Souper Supper at my church, and I thought all of you might enjoy the three recipes that were such a big hit.

Sausage Tortellini Soup

½ lb. Polska Kielbasa sausage, cut into ¼” half-moon slices

1 can French-style green beans, drained

1 can (28 oz.) Chunky Italian Tomatoes

1 can (10 oz.) French Onion Soup

3 cups water

2 cups refrigerated or frozen cheese tortellini

Simmer all ingredients together for 2-4 hours. Or, place all ingredients in a crock pot and simmer on LOW all day. One hour before serving, add tortellini.  Top individual servings with Parmesan cheese.  If freezing, freeze before adding tortellini.  Thaw in refrigerator.  Reheat and add tortellini one hour before serving.

Chicken Wild Rice Soup

5 2/3 cups water

1 package (4.3 oz) long grain and wild rice mix (like Uncle Ben's or Rice-a-Roni)
1 envelope chicken noodle soup mix
1 celery rib, chopped
1 medium carrot chopped
1/3 cup chopped onion
2 cans (10 3/4 oz each) condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted
1 cup cubed cooked chicken, or chopped canned chicken

In a large saucepan, combine water, rice with contents of seasoning packet, and soup mix. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in celery, carrot and onion. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in chicken soup and chicken. Cook 9 minutes longer or until the rice and vegetables are tender. Yield: 5 servings.

Cheesy Vegetable Soup

10 cups water

4 carrots peeled and sliced thin (we used packages of matchstick-cut carrots)

4 potatoes peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes

1 onion, chopped

4 stalks celery, sliced thin

4 cups frozen broccoli florets

1 TBSP chicken bouillon (we used Tone's Chicken Base)

1cup butter

1 cup flour

1-16oz. jar cheese whiz (we used 2% Velveeta because it was less expensive than the cheese whiz in a jar)

Place water and all vegetables but broccoli in a large pot. Bring to a boil. Turn heat down and simmer with lid on until vegetables are tender. Add the chicken bouillon and broccoli when the vegetables have about 5 more minutes of simmering time. In a separate bowl melt butter. Add flour to the butter and mix until smooth. Add the cheese whiz to the butter/flour mixture and mix until smooth. Add this mixture into the pot with the vegetables. Mix well. Cook on low, stirring occasionally, until the lumps of the cheese mixture are dissolved.

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Okay, so now on to quilting news!

The Civil War blocks are coming along. Judy has done a wonderful job this year of sharing special tips on how to complete the blocks as well as historical stories from the Civil War time period.

The 2013 Block of the Month was completed so beautifully by so many of you!

Show and Tell and Round Tuits is my favorite part of the meeting each month.

Don't you just love what the ladies accomplish and share each month?

And Crystal's magic show (teaching us how to use Texture Magic) was nothing short of A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!

Here are a couple of tips that Verneal shared at our last meeting:

• Put of piece of paper behind the needle. This makes it possible to see the needle's eye!
• Keep a jelly jar by your sewing machine. Drop small scraps in as you work. Then, when you need a small piece of fabric for applique, use the scraps in your jelly jar.
• You can use pins on an ironing board to make your own bias tape as wide or as narrow as desired.

August Meeting in Review

Sorry about June and July meeting reviews. Life has been busy around here this summer. Rather than put off posting until I can get caught up, I just decided to move forward!

Our August meeting was a great success. We enjoyed a beautiful Show and Tell. . .

Verneal's Tip of the Month included how to properly change thread on our sewing machines. Cut the thread close to the spool and remove the spool of thread. To remove the remaining thread, pull the end of the thread by the needle. This action kind of "flosses" the tension disks and helps avoid getting dust, thread, and lint caught in the tension disks.

If you would like to continue with Civil War blocks, please contact Judy Petersen. You will need to pay an additional $5. This month's blocks can be seen in the first picture, upper right hand corner, behind Brigid. I forgot to get individual pictures of the blocks. :)

Saltbox Sampler is due at our November meeting. It MUST be completely finished. . . quilted and bound. Please sign up with Mary to let her know that you plan to have yours completed by that date. She is working on prizes and would like a count.

Our Christmas Luncheon is coming soon, on Tuesday, December 10. The theme for this year is "An Old-Fashioned Christmas." Janine provided a grab bag with instructions for this year's challenge (cost of $1). The grab bag contains instructions to a specific block and some fabric that must be used in the block.

Thank you to everyone who donated Quilts for Cops! We gave 20 quilts to Tooele and 12 quilts to Grantsville.

This month at our August meeting, we completed 7 quilt tops for PJ's Forgotten Children (a charity that works with children being treated for mental illness through Tooele Valley Mental Health). Thank you to all the ladies that stayed and worked on the quilt tops, and especially to those that volunteered to take the tops home to add borders. If you don't plan to quilt the top you took home, please bring it back to the September meeting. We used the HIGH LIGHT quilt pattern from All People Quilt. It's a beautiful pattern that can be altered to incorporate whatever colors you or the special recipient desires.

Our calendar for the coming months includes:

September - Charity Quilts for Tooele County Children's Justice Center AND our annual Silent Auction. If you have items to donate for the Silent Auction, contact Brigid.

October - Crystal will be teaching us about Texture Magic.

November - Verneal is up again with more ideas on using squares.

December - this is our annual Christmas luncheon and the date has been changed to December 10; more details will be forthcoming.

May Meeting in Review

Round Tuits and Show n' Tell

 Lots of projects to ooh and aah over this month. . . 

 Kimberbell's Sweet Land of Liberty pattern put together artfully in three different ways, a beautiful self-binding receiving blanket with a cute touch of ric-rac, a quilt made for $1 (Guess who? The blocks were purchased for $1 at a yard sale, and then put together as a rag quilt using scraps of batting!), and an amazing way to put drunkard's path blocks together.

A quilt entered to be judged, Fallin' in Love designed by one of our very own quilters, free motion practice on a whole cloth quilt, and beautiful patchwork! 

 More mesh bags, another caboodle, and bright Hawaiian colors!

 Upholstery sample pillow, Sarah's monthly table runner, and more beautiful patchwork.

THS is lucky to have such a talented quilter willing to donate her time and talents to make a donation quilt! In the lower left-hand corner is a finished block for the Civil War Quilt (she's going to add the names of her relatives who fought in the Civil War in the six white triangles). Don't you just love the enlarged one-block quilt?

Civil War Blocks

This month is Kansas Troubles and The Comfort Quilt

Quilts for Charity

If you would like to clean out your stash, we have plenty of opportunities for you to share your time, talents, and materials.

Quilts for Cops: We have been asked to make 32 quilts for Tooele County cops to keep in their cars to give when responding to calls. Each quilt should be no bigger than 45" x 60" and should fit into a two gallon ziplock bag which will be provided when you turn in the quilt (so you may have to use thinner batting). These quilts need to be completed and turned in by our August meeting.

Save the Boo Bees: You can purchase a $5 kit to make a 12 1/2" block of your choice with the theme "Sew Lovely." The blocks are turned in this year at Quilt Fest and will then be made into products to sell (such as pillows, quilts, bags, etc.) at next year's Quilt Fest. The money is used to give free mammograms for women in need.

PJ's Forgotten Children is a charity organization that makes quilts and back-to-school bags and kits for children who are being treated for mental illness. Most of the fabric and supplies have been donated by Christensen Wholesale and Riley Blake. Twin-size quilts are preferred. In August, we will be having a sit-n-sew for our monthly meeting. Our goal is to complete 7 quilt tops using All People Quilt's High Light Quilt pattern. Many of you signed up to bring black with white or white with black fabric for these quilt tops. The black fabric should be cut into 8 1/2" squares. The white fabric should be cut into 8 1/2" x 11 1/2" rectangles. Please bring the fabric to our June meeting so kits can be made up for easy assembling of the blocks. The high light strip, binding, borders, backing, and batting will all be provided. So we can stay longer to accomplish our goal of completing 7 quilt tops, lunch will be provided at this meeting.

Tooele County Justice Center: Nearly every month, we put two quilts up to be tied during our meeting. If you would like to bind one of the completed quilts, please contact Rodie.

May Meeting

Thank you, Andrea, for coming all the way from St. George to teach us the beautiful Amazing Grace!

June Meeting

Kay Evans will be teaching two different Art Quilts and giving a trunk show.

Plan to stay later for this meeting

Announcements/Upcoming Events:

Quilt Fest will be October 8-12 at the Zermott Resort in Midway, Utah. We are making a basket to be donated and sold at Quilt Fest. At our June meeting, please bring a fat quarter of your favorite fabric to add to the basket.

April Meeting in Review: Put a Label on It!

Verneal's Tip of the Month:  When using Wonder Under or Heat and Bond for applique, sometimes the quilt top gets really stiff.  Instead of using Wonder Under for the ENTIRE shape you will applique, cut the center of the shape out, leaving 1/4" - 3/8" around the edge of the shape. Finally, to remove the paper side of the Wonder Under, score it with a pin or other sharp object, and pull the paper off from the center of the shape rather than the outer edge of the shape.  This method keeps the raw edge of the applique shape clean and crisp.

Civil War Blocks:  During the coming month, complete Louisiana and Yankee Puzzle (one of two versions).

Quilts for Cops:  If you'd like to participate in this service project, please make a quilt no larger than 45x60.  Be sure to use thin batting, as the finished quilt needs to fit in a 2-gallon ziplock bag.  Bring your finished quilt to next month's meeting.  The quilts will be given to Tooele Police Officers to use to comfort children as needed.

Block of the Month (Saltbox Sampler):  Complete through page 34 by our next meeting.  Mary gave an excellent demonstration on paper piecing (video is available online at ??).

Round Tuit:  Beyonce sings, "If you liked it then you shoulda put a ring on it!" in her song "All the Single Ladies."  Don't you love how creative Michelle and Katie are when they plan the Round Tuit?  This month's Round Tuit trinket was a ring with a little piece of fabric for a label.  The tag said:

- All the Quilting Ladies -

If you liked it then you shoulda put a label on it!

Show & Tell:  Each project has a story behind it. Quilts for granddaughters, in memory of grandmothers, in honor of breast cancer survivors, in honor of Tooele County pioneers, friendship quilts, for medical research foundation, yard-sale finds, and lots of firsts (first quilt, first free motion quilting, first long-arm quilting, first paper-piecing, etc.).  To me, the quilter and the story behind the quilt makes each quilt extra beautiful.

Put a Label On It:  Michelle carried her Round Tuit theme through her presentation on the how, why, what, where, and when of labeling quilts.  Include your full name, rather than just initials and whatever other information you want to include. . . who the quilt was made for, who designed the pattern and what the pattern is called, who quilted it (or if you quilted it yourself), the amount of time it took you to complete the project (or year started and year finished), special notes, etc.  Embroider the information, applique the information, use a fabric pen and write the information, print the information on fabric transfer paper using your printer.  It really doesn't matter HOW you label it. . . JUST DO IT!

Here's hoping Marilyn's examples will inspire us all to label our work!

May Meeting:  We're excited to have Andrea Cox return and teach us Amazing Grace. You will need 1/4 yard straight cuts (not fat quarters) of thirty fabrics (prints are best) to make a 57"x83" lap quilt. You can make this a controlled scrap quilt, a one color quilt, two colors, or three, or be as wild as you like. The important thing is that you can make six sets, having five fabrics in each and ranging from light to dark. The easiest way to choose your thirty fabrics is to find a "focus" fabric that you like for your border and sashing that has at least four different colors in it, then pull your strip fabric colors from that.  You will need 1 1/4 yards border/sashing fabric, 1 1/3 yards dark fabric, and 1/2 yd of a stripe or "punch" color. If you wish to bind the quilt in any of the fabrics you have already chosen, buy another 2/3 yd of it.  You will also need a 60 degree triangle ruler.  Prior to the May meeting, please cut five strips (1 3/4" x WOF) from each of the thirty 1/4 yard fabrics. It is very important to straighten the fabric first and along the way.

March Meeting in Review

I was unable to attend the March meeting, so I don't have a lot of text and narrative to add.  Hopefully the pictures will give you a good idea of what happened in March at the Tooele County Quilters Meeting!

(Thanks to Brigid for taking photos for me this month!)

The Daisy block was taught by Kaye Hammond:

Judy Petersen introduced 3 more Civil War Blocks to be completed before next month's meeting:
Little Blue Basket
Star of the West
Port & Starboard

Mary and Eileen showed how the Saltbox Sampler blocks look all sewn together.

Beautiful, don't you think?

Rhodie always has at least a few charity quilts to show.

Thank you to everyone who helps piece the tops, prepare the backs, and tie and bind the quilts!

It is a group effort, and we couldn't do all this work without YOU!

Show & Tell with the Tooele County Quilters is ALWAYS a treat!

Michelle always has a fun way to encourage us to get a Round Tuit!

2013 Raffle Quilt

Originally, Michelle made this quilt to be sold at the Wild Horse Festival.  However, because of federal budget cuts, the program has been cancelled.  Instead, we will sell the quilt later in the year through a raffle.

Isn't this quilt gorgeous?  Thank you, Michelle, for donating your time and expertise on this project!

National Quilting Day

National Quilting Day is Saturday, March 16, and you can celebrate with the North and South areas of the Utah Quilt Guild!

FUN, FRIENDS, FOOD, and of course. . . QUILTING!

 Open Sew- Bring your UFOs…work on some, or swap with others

 Power cords, extension cords and surge protectors most welcome

 Demos:
Patty Paulson: ‘Learn Maintenance’ for a Featherweight
Carol Cook: 10-minute Table Runner (bring 2 fabrics- WOF 12 inches/WOF 18 inches)
Caryl Jensen: Disappearing 4 patch

WHERE: St John the Baptist Gathering Place, 300 E 11800 S, Draper- lot to EAST

TIME: 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.

LUNCH: Potluck- Bring your favorite dish (enough to serve 8 and serving utensils)! Plates, utensils, napkins provided. What a great chance to ‘field-test’ a new or share a favorite ‘old’ recipe. Your last name starts with:

A-G- Finger Foods 

H-O Casseroles 

P-Z Desserts 

Questions? 

Carol Cook @ savvyquilts2@aol.com or 801-414-8426 or 

Caryl Jensen @ caryla2290@msn.com or 801-897-5334

February Round Tuits and Show & Tell

Did you know that quilters are extra-"straw" kissable?

Deonne (top), Cynthia (bottom left), and Teresa (bottom right) all got around to finishing a few projects.  The picture of Deonne's cross-stitched cloth does not do it justice!

And check out all the eye-candy we enjoyed this month during Show and Tell:

*Note that the very last picture (bottom right) is a panel quilted by Crystal's 10-year-old daughter!

February Meeting in Review

Announcements:

• March 7: Utah Quilt Guild Area Meeting
• March 16:  National Quilting Day (Sew-In, Luncheon, & Demos from 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. at St. Johns The Baptist Gathering Place - 300 E 11800 S, Draper)
• March 19:  Tooele County Quilters monthly meeting (remember to bring your  completed apple, birdhouse, bee, beehive, and embroidered blocks for our "All Things Utah" quilt)
• June 6-8:  Wild Horse Festival at Deseret Peak (please donate home-made items to sell; more information will be provided soon regarding the quilt show and prizes available at this event)
• October 8-12: Quilt Fest at the Zermatt in Midway
• November 4-8:  Holiday Quilt Show at Little America (where our "All Things Utah" quilt will be auctioned)

Library Book of the Month:  

Patchwork Sassaman Style:  Recipes for Dazzling  Quilts

Tips of the Month:

Pilot Frixion Pens:  The ink is thermo-sensitive, and is removable by erasing/friction (because friction generates heat). The little nubs at the end of the pens are the erasers. The marks will re-appear when put into the freezer, but will wash out easily with a light hand-washing using a little bit of liquid hand soap or dish soap.

Pressing vs. Ironing: "Pressing is using the weight of the iron and its heat to remove wrinkles and flatten seams.  Ironing is moving the iron back and forth.  Pressing is lifting the iron up and down. Pressing is for quilters!" (Sew, Mama, Sew!)

Civil War Blocks

to be completed by March:

Underground Railroad

Log Cabin

Salt Box Sampler:

Complete through page 10 by the March meeting. The question came up of how to "pop" your seams for pressing (also called "spinning").  Here's a good tutorial from Perkins Dry Goods blog.  Also mentioned were two useful rulers for squaring up blocks:  

• The Square Squared Ruler by Deb Tucker (click HERE for a great youtube video of Deb Tucker, herself, explaining the ruler), and
• The Pineapple Ruler (click HERE for a great youtube video explaining how to use the ruler).

Disappearing Four-Patch:

The Many Ways to Use Squares by Verneal Lowry

Thank you, Verneal, for a wonderful and informative class on a variety of ways to use squares to make beautiful quilt blocks.

1. Sew 2 sets of contrasting squares together. 

2. Sew the sets together into a 4-patch.  

3.  Cut the 4-patch, using the center seam as the guideline. 

4. Now you have a 9-patch. . . flip the middle piece in the top and bottom rows and the outside pieces in the middle row and sew back together!

Or, cut the 4-patch on the diagonal.  You must have two 4-patch blocks to rotate the pieces for a windmill.  Cut and rotate the windmill block the same as the 4-patch block in the first sample.

Variations:  use 4 different colored squares; assemble blocks in a variety of ways to achieve the look you desire.

Next Month: Daisy Block

For each block, bring:

• One 6 1/2" square of background fabric
• Two 2 1/2" x 5" rectangle of background fabric
• One 4" x 5" rectangle of fabric for daisy
• One 1 1/2" square of fabric for daisy center