MARIPOSA PIECE MAKERS NEWSLETTER – SEPTEMBER, 2008

Hello, Quilters!  Seems like Summer 2008 somehow slipped right through my fingers.  But I did manage to finish a quilt that was intended to be on our bed last Summer!
Hope all of you are making progress on your quilting projects and that your UFO stack has gotten a bit smaller.
                     
As you know, everyone was given the opportunity to vote on whether to hold our quilt show on an annual basis, or on alternating yours.  Well, in case you didn’t hear the announcement at our August meeting, the vote was in favor of  alternating years.  That means the next one will be in 2010.  That sounds waaaay  off in the future, but considering how Summer and most of 2008 has flown by, we’ll be planning that show before you know it!  Thanks to all who voted.  Now, let’s all be thinking about what quilts we’ll make for display in 2010.  And remember, you can sell quilts displayed at the show as well.  Maybe you’ll be inspired to make something from your stash that you’ll put up for sale.

Thanks, Rachel for the wonderful introduction to Dear Jane at the August meeting!  We appreciate you sharing your love of this type of quilt with us, and for the great demo of hand piecing.  Your program certainly was right in line with our focus of Back to Basics.

At the September 13 meeting, Sheila will demonstrate a great, speedy method of making quilts from strips of fabric that includes “quilting as you go”.  What a great idea for those of us who’d like to get things completed fast.  This demo will coincide with our goal of starting more cuddle quilts.  As you’ll recall, we presented 20+ cuddle quilts to Children’s Protective Services as our Christmas party last year.  To date, they’ve gone through over half of those quilts and would greatly appreciate more of them.  In in September and again in October, we’ll get busy as a group and tackle the many tubs of fabric stored at St. Joe’s, and the method Sheila will demonstrate can be practiced right then and there.   By the end of the meeting we’ll all be pros at this new concept.  And we’ll have a great start at turning out more cuddle quilts.    So....please pack up your rotary cutters, mats, sewing machines, thread, and plan to join in the “production line”.

Now, a couple of special notes...
I received a phone call from an Atwater quilter who attended our 2008 Quilt Show and saw the quilt made of denim squares that had those raw edge fuzzy seams.  There was colorful fabric on the back or inside that showed in the seams and added great color to the mostly blue quilt.  If that was YOUR quilt or if you  know whose it way, please let me know right away by return email or call me at 742-2333.  She will be phoning me in a few days and is very interested in knowing if there’s a pattern for this.

Also, Iris, the lady from Children’s Protective Services we met last Christmas has asked if anyone would like to make a quilt for her (to be given to her daughter, who goes all over the works doing humanitarian work).  She is willing to pay someone for this.  If you’d like to discuss this with her, please contact me.

And there was the email I received from Betty Robinson relating a story told to her by Lura Schwarz Smith, a renowned quilt maker from Coarsegold.  Lura was  teaching at Quilters By The Lake in New York when news broke  of the Telegraph Fire.  Lura shared with the class that this was near her home and that she was worried about Betty and others whose homes were threatened.  On the final day of class, Lura was presented with an envelope with money the students had collected, and a note reading “The money we collected is to be given to a charity to help the families who have been burned out of their houses.  This donation is in your honor for all you’ve gien to us”.  As Betty says, QUILTERS ARE GREAT!  I’ll second that.

The website, www.mariposapiecemakers.com, will have this newsletter posted shortly after you receive it.  If you know  a local quilter, please encourage them to take a look.  It will just continue to get better and better!

Happy stitching, Marianne