February 19, 2009 Guild Meeting

Our monthly meeting for February was held at the Newtonia Community Building on the 19th. Our meeting was opened by Rebecca and the business dealt with. Among that business was the appointment of a nominating committee to come up with the two people to fill the Vice President and Treasury vacancies next month. I cannot believe another birthday of the Newtonia Battlefield Quilters Guild is upon us. I believe we will be 5.

Anyway, the meeting was fun. Coralee introduced our new BOM block. It is a "Kite". It is to be made with a soft blue background, bright colors for the kite and a cute tail made by "couching" a ribbon.

This darling quilt can be made with 15 Kite blocks or even with just 13.

We learned what "Couching" is and how to do it in our program part of the evening where we had "Thread play" by Suzanne. She told us a little bit about what types of thread pertained to what type of project we were working on. She covered silks, mono-filament, and heavier metalic to name a few. Needles were also discussed before she went to her machine to show us "Bobbin work".This is a process where you wind the heavy thread loosely on the bobbin. The top thread is of normal sewing weight. Then you sew your pattern on the wrong side of the fabric so that your bobbin thread shows on the right side of the fabric. It really makes a striking design.

"Couching" is made when you place a narrow piece of ribbon on your project and zigzag across it to hold it in place.

Vea showed us how to free hand quilt on our sewing machines using the darning foot. Tips on how to use special tools such as fingertip grips and or gloves to maneuver the fabric while moving it through the machine, were given.

Thanks to Suzanne and Vea for a fun and informative night.

Mary won our "Pink Dogwood" blocks, 30 quilts were turned in for Project Linus and a delightful snack was served and enjoyed by all.

Next month is our Guild Birthday Party. "Geometric" design 2 1/2" strips are for our fabric exchange and we will learn what our last BOM block for the year will be. Dues of $12.00 are due and after payment is received, each member will receive their new membership cards. New officers and committee members will take over in April. See you in March.