Annual Quilt Guild Potluck Dinner

 I have  been a member of the Heritage Quilters of Huntsville since right after I moved to Huntsville, AL, in 1988. It is a great guild and has been an important part of my joyful journey as a quilter. 

For various reasons, it's been a year since I was able to attend a meeting. This past week we had the annual potluck dinner and membership renewal. I was determined to be there. Good food, good friends, being a part of a like-minded group of quilters--what's not to love?

A few scenes from the evening,  as we are now celebrating 35 years of quilt guild strength.

Outgoing President Suzi Wilbanks with the "President's Quilt" made for her by her Board. She loves teal and this is the perfect quilt for her: 

Board Members wearing their 35 Year Anniversary t-shirts: 

What I didn't eat--there were TWO dessert tables and I only visited to take home a treat for my husband--he LOVES this meeting:

More: 

The Board provided the fried chicken, all the paper goods and drinks: 

We all brought side dishes--the non-desserts were placed on the table in front of the person who brought it. When it was time for dinner everyone moved left, inside and out, all go LEFT!  No one is stuck with whatever is left after everyone else is called. I love this method--it's a brilliant way to feed lots of people at once. Everyone moves around the entire horseshoe table layout and we all get back to our seats about the same time so everyone eats at the same time. 

The drinks, chicken and desserts were in other areas of the room, so it was easy to get those things after we circled the tables. 

Just one side of the room--we had about 70 members in attendance:

Good Friends  April and Suzie--they asked me to "take our picture" so I did: 

I paid my dues for this next year and was really glad I was able to attend this meeting. The only time we do food is this August meeting and the December meeting--when only sweets are served--my husband loves that meeting too.

Let's quilt.

Barbara

HERITAGE QUILTERS OF HUNTSVILLE QUILT SHOW

My guild in Huntsville, AL does an amazing quilt show every two years. The original date of October 2021 was moved back to March 18-19, 2022 because...well, you know why.

If you are anywhere in driving distance I strongly encourage you to come. At least 200 quilts, special exhibits, great vendors and so much inspiration. We have very talented members at all skill levels--you are sure to see something you love that will inspire your quilting journey. 

Here is my Public Service Announcement:

The $8 admission charge is good for both days so come on Friday, then return on Saturday and bring a friend.

Saturday afternoon someone will go home with the Opportunity Quilt featured on the postcard above. It could be YOU! Tickets are only $1.00. It costs a lot of money to put on this show so Ticket Sales and Attendance are critical to the success of the show.

I hope to see YOU there!

Barbara

One Quilt, One Day, Start to Finish

Yesterday I made this quilt:

OK, so it is only 11" x 13" but it's finished!

The backstory:

Our guild, the Heritage Quilters of Huntsville, is having a little contest this year:

1. Check a book out from our large library
2. Make a quilt from the book
3. Bring the quilt to a guild meeting
4. Fill out a slip
5. At the end of the guild year, August, two people will win $50 gift certificates to my favorite shop, Patches & Stitches .

I had known about this for a few months with no plans to participate. At the last guild meeting, Thursday, the Librarian made a pitch for this because, more than half way through the year, there was only ONE participant, the Librarian herself.

So the next day I was in Patches on other business and since our library is housed there, I checked out this book, Little Handfuls of Scraps  by Edyta Sitar:

That night I looked all through the book--there are several designs I really like in it. I selected the one I wanted to make, Sophie, page 66.

The next day, yesterday, I was ready to begin about 11 a.m. I selected all the fabrics from a shoebox full of reproduction prints I keep close at hand. All the pieces were cut out and assembled on a flannel board I use to take blocks ready to sew from the cutting table to the  machine:

I sewed and  pressed, took a short lunch break, sewed and pressed some more and  had the top done pretty quickly. I cut the batting and backing to size, ready for quilting.

My plan was to hand-quilt it as I needed a hand project for evening sewing. But first I would stitch-in-the-ditch on the Bernina Q20 sit-down longarm machine. That didn't take long so I thought, I'll just machine quilt the entire thing. That didn't take long either, less than 45 minutes to fill the squares with "orange peel" designs, using curved rulers.

Next, it was time to trim it, cut and create the binding, cut and create the hanging sleeve, and attach the binding and sleeve by machine.  By 3 p.m. it was done. Last evening I hand-stitched the binding and sleeve in place and this morning I hung it in the hallway.

So, one quilt, one day. I sent an email to the Librarian to let her know her pitch was heard by at least one of us. She was happy. Next month I'll take it to show and put my name in the hat.

Let's Quilt!

Barbara

Fanfare 2017--Heritage Quilters of Huntsville Quilt Show

Our 15th biennial guild quilt show was this past weekend and as always, the quilts were fabulous! We have about 200  members and the show had about 200 quilts--though only about half the members entered. Here are some of my favorites, beginning with my entries:

Stella's Splendid Sampler, my quilt

Rajah Revisited, my quilt

Color in Black and White, Small, my quilt

Smitten, my quilt

X Marks the Spot, one of my favorite quilts

Best of Show and Viewer's Choice, Baltimore Rhapsody--Symphony by Teresa Rawson of Fabric Therapy, totally original designs and patterns, which she has available on her site. This quilt won Viewer's Choice at two AQS shows in earlier years. It is stunning:

Teresa's other entry, Contentment, a 25th anniversary quilt, all original designs:

Stars and Stripes by Sharon Stifflemire, I have the fabrics to make this someday:

 Chronicles of the Civil War by Jerry Alexandria:

Daughter's Choice by Lewis Harmon, quilted by Mechelle Armstrong--it won Best Track Machine Quilting:

Contemporary Strings by Teresa Covington, quilted by Elaine Poplin:

Imperial Star by Ben Darby:

Not Your Grandma's "Whitman Sampler by Mary Millhouse:

School Rules by Kari Hawkins:

Masquerade by Ben Darby:

These next five are all by Elaine Wick Poplin, one of our younger members, who is following her bliss and just keeps getting better. You can probably tell she  has a mathematical side--she is a high school math teacher. She quilts on a Longarm.

Touchdown, Alabama April 27, 2011. The radar image of a tornado:

Linus:

Fusion. This quilt also received a National Association of Certified Quilt Judges Award of Merit:

Vertigo:

The Plan Is: There Is No Plan:

We had funny quilts, like Eclipse by Bonnie Spencer. The subtitle is "Totality Awesome":

Bonnie also coordinated a Special Exhibit of Doll Beds and their quilts from our members. These are just a few:

Another special award, Judge's Choice, went to Sue Bartlow for her memory quilt, Life Full of Memories:

We had a few garments too. My favorite is Indigo Patchwork Jacket by Cecelia Bruton:

My other favorite, I Love Purple, by Claire Whitmore:

Last, but by no means least, every teacher loves when a student gets an award. Donna Daniel entered her Smitten quilt, which she titled Meander, in the category First HQH Fanfare Quilt, for those who have never entered our show before. She got First Place:

This is just a small sample of the great quilts we have in our show. Each show just gets better and better. I hope you can make it to the 2019 show.

Let's Quilt!

Barbara