Cotton Quilters' Guild meeting

The Cotton Quilters met on our regular first Monday of the month. Since it's October, president Margaret Ducote asked that everyone bring in their fall/Halloween themed quilts. Apparently I'm one in the minority since I have only one of those made years ago. Here are a few of them:

As you can see, everyone has been wonderfully busy. Some of these pieces were made much earlier than the past month, but enjoyed seeing them all the same. As Mrs. Mary said, "You can't see a quilt too many times."

There were some new pieces. Here are a few examples. One thing I have to say is that quilters get pretty excited for show and share. The pink and brown quilt above was hand-pieced and hand quilted by Ingrid. You can't imagine how small those little square-in-a-square blocks are!

There were some new pieces. Here are a few examples. One thing I have to say is that quilters get pretty excited for show and share. Keeping anyone still for a moment to grab a picture is always a funny struggle.

Finally, I pray that those of you who are in the path of Hurricane Delta are out of harm's way. I understand that many, many Louisianans were just beginning to recover from Hurricane Laura, but we are a strong, resilient people. Together we will heroically, steadfastly, and resolutely rebuild our lives. Stay safe and wait for the all-clear before returning to assess the damage.

Cotton Quilter's Guild September 2020 meeting

Did you know that you can hover over the picture and the caption appears? Yes, the magic of technology!

How about getting to the CQG meeting's Show and Share before the week is out? A miracle from Mary! I'm actually quite proud of myself. The photos below are quilts, quilt tops, and charity quilts, with the exception of my own shares. I'll tell you about those later. Some things need finishing. 

 All of the following are WIPs to be sold online via the Cotton Quilters Guild Facebook page. So are tops we worked on during our Sew Day two weeks ago.  Did you know that you can hover over the picture and the caption appears? Yes, the magic of technology!

 And that's about all I have of the meeting. No need to bore you with the details of minutes, etc. Right?

July Cotton Quilters' Meeting

By the time you read this it will have been a week since the Cotton Quilters met in Mrs. Priscilla's home. The rain was pouring out of buckets, so we were forced inside. That was wonderful, because Mrs. Priscilla has a beautiful sewing room and lots of chairs. She's sort of obsessed with making pillows and recovering chairs. So we easily got comfortable.

The meeting went quickly; then Pam gave a quick presentation on the next BOM block. This picture shows two versions of her block. There are many more. Not that I'm keeping up with the BOM. Apparently I can't handle two at a time and Sugaridoo is well underway. 

I gave a demo on thread painting. That didn't go very well. Everyone listened while I showed a few quilts and talked about my process but, when I sat down to demonstrate, they sort of did their own thing. Oh, a few people watched and even asked a question or two. But honestly, I was just a little disappointed. Except that I had decided to work on a postcard to send to my sister, Laura. It's a little thing, but even little things can raise spirits. 

These pictures are from our show and share, which took place over a sofa, so my usually bad pictures are even worse. Sorry about that. Try standing on your toes, reaching over a shoulder, and snapping a picture. Oh, let's not forget that everyone holding the quilt is moving in a different direction. It's insane but fun and funny and I wouldn't miss it! Don't you love show and share at your guild meetings? 

Mrs. Mary Coco's two happy snowman quilts. Each showman/woman has the tools and dress of his/her trade. 

The front (above) and back (below) of Mrs. Priscilla's latest quilt.  She used left over blocks and pieces of the border to create what could be a reversible quilt.

 

And finally Ingrid is working on this pretty pink and brown project. She pieces and quilts everything by hand. You should see the tiny stitches!

CQG Sewing Room Tour 2020

The Cotton Quilters' Guild had such a great time last year on our sewing room tour that we put another one together this year. It's an easy event that is great fun.  We went to four homes this time since five was a push last year. 

 Starting at Mrs. Lee's house, we appreciated the large, open space that she gets to create in. She is a fabulous painter so it's no surprise that her quilts are this pretty.

It was an easy jaunt to Longbridge and Ingrid's place. This little cottage is filled to the brim with antiques, collectibles, and quilts. This was my second time visiting (I got a private tour a few weeks ago) and I am still amazed at how many things I missed. Ingrid knows what she likes and surrounds herself in them, which makes for an inspiring space in which to create.

 After lunch we were off to visit Mrs. Priscilla's house. Here we had a grand tour. Priscilla is known for saving, repurposing, and upcycling old fabrics. Whether a skirt, linens, feed sacks, tea napkins, or some other fabric, she finds a way to incorporate them into her sewing and quilting. She told us she likes "frou frou" which means lacy, fancy, fluffed, gathered, whatever girly word you can come up with. It wasn't necessary to tell us, it's obvious throughout the house and in the number of pillows piled on every bed, chair and sofa. 

And finally, Irma's house and dessert. Her sewing room is a bedroom turned modern sewing haven. Recently retired, she decided to upgrade to all new digital last-minute machines. Maybe I'm exaggerating a little, but not much considering that she was a computer expert for the school system. Do I sound a bit jealous? I might be. 

One of the best reasons to visit other people's creative spaces is that you can find inspiration to create in your own space, wherever that may be. Another is to find ways to make your space better. At each of the four homes, I found something that I liked or that can help me to work more efficiently. It's especially interesting to see how different our spaces are, yet we have so much in common.

GSQA -- Go Lori!

My friend Lori Steib from Baton Rouge is the new president for the Gulf States Quilting Association (GSQA) and presided over her first meeting last Saturday. She's a natural! Here's a picture of her (on the left) presenting a quilt to the outgoing president.

The meeting was interesting and there are many happenings going on. The biennial quilt show is in early April and seminar will be early 2021. There are meetings, classes, Pursuit of Excellence events and so on. I've found a very active group of like-minded people. My goal is to attend as much of these events as possible. I'd really like to attend the meetings, despite that some are out-of-state. We'll see.

The speaker for this meeting was Teresa Duryea Wong, author of American Cotton: Farm to Quilt. You can find her website here. After hearing her speak, I want to find a copy of her book. It just seems interesting to find out more about the fiber that makes the fabric that we love. She also shared vintage and antique quilts to show and used them to explain how cotton and quilts were made before machines took over the world.

In addition to the business of the meeting, we saw quilts during show and share, heard several announcements about upcoming shows and events, and ate delicious goodies. Best (for me) were the door prizes. I won the grand door prize of a Bernina 125th Anniversary quilt kit. 

Cotton and I enjoyed opening the box and petting the new fabrics. These, I think, will be perfect for some zippered bags for the girls. There are several with metallic gold designs, which the girls seem to love. I'll leave you with pictures of a few quilts shown at the meeting.