January Meeting Review

It's always nice to get together again after the busy holidays.

Katie reminded us that sometimes we "slip," and we have to get back up and finish those projects!

Some of the quilters still had Christmas on their minds. . .

While some quilters were looking ahead (or catching up) to Fall and Halloween! The Irish Chain and Girl Block Exchange were stunning.

You don't always have to finish a large project. These mini quilts are perfect for hanging on the wall for decorating your home or sewing room!

Verneal's Tip of the Month was about using different containers for a small travel-size sewing kit. She mentioned that an old glasses container works great, as well as view-tainers (which can be purchased at Home Depot). Carolyn brought a cute way to store sewing supplies, too.

JANUARY PROGRAM: For our program portion of the meeting, Michelle, Katie, and Crystal explained all about the Quilt Market they attended in Houston. They brought a few things back with them to give away. Be sure to be on time next month for the drawing of these items!

BLOCK OF THE MONTH: For the next two months, you should be working on Section 2. Click on the 2014 BOM tab above to get additional helps.

CLASSES: The embroidery and beginning quilting classes started up after the meeting. These classes are now full, but they will likely be offered again later in the year.

NEXT MONTH: Remember to bring any quilt or project that shows texture and dimension. Along with that, we will be learning about the 10-minute 3-seam block. No supplies are needed. Just come and enjoy the presentation and be prepared to participate with your quilt or project that has texture or dimension.

2014 Meeting Schedule

Here it is, ladies! An exciting year of learning and fun has been planned for you. (Schedule is subject to change.)

January: International Quilt Market - What's It All About? by Michelle Jensen, Crystal Zierenberg and Katie Peterson

February:  Dimension and Texture (demonstration of the 10 minute block) by Teresa Wilson

March: "Circle of Nine" by Dianne Matravers

April: A Buggy Barn Day by Crystal Zierenberg

May: Prairie Point and Zig Zag Ruler / Trunk Show by Janet Platt

June: Triangulation Block by Janine Manzione

July: Mary Fojtek

August: "Charm"ing Table Runner by Ora Bridges

September: Dimensional Foundation Piecing by Ruth Jensen

October: Charity Quilts and Silent Auction

November:

December: Christmas party

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.