march 13 meeting

It was great to see Janet so well and to enjoy her hospitality. Six busy gals gathered to talk about one of their favorite activities—making quilts!

Show N Tell

Patricia started by catching us up with her life in Victoria—living in a hotel room with all her quilting gear and slowing down to spend quality time with her parents who require minimal help right now. She showed us a simple baby quilt made with yukata cottons that she whipped up for her great niece Flora who was recently born in New Zealand. The scallop detail was an easy feat by making it with a freezer paper pattern.

Harriet arrived without any quilts, which is not typical for her. Don't worry, she has started on a new quilt after shipping off four quilts to Colorado. The new project is a horse quilt for a teenaged great neice, in blue and orange with lightweight denim thrown in. She also shared a wacky photo of a wall quilt made of homemade stuffed animals in the Wall Street Journal.

Shannon had fun with an embroidery machine at work and created an amazing little bunny that then became a pocket on an irresistible tote with pink pompoms. She also whipped up a baby quilt named Ninjas Go To The Cherry Festival.

Miriam just finished an incredible quilt for Elena Carter using her old hula skirt material. The luscious production is fluffy and delightful with a laundry/tote bag, pillow cases and pillows. Go Miriam!

Pris' quilt Bit and Pieces has stalled due to a technical challenge with the final fit of the front and back. She is started fresh on her YF quilt for Anna Duncan. A trip to Quilt Loft in Ballard yielded greens and purples which she'll use with fun contributions from her stash. The pattern Golden Waves looks tricky but knowing Pris, she'll figure it out.

After lots of cogitation, Janet is getting ready to stitch on her longarm the YF quilt she's making with Maurine and Patricia. She showed us a global fabric she is planning to use in a whole cloth quilt and some dramatic snow dyed cotton she bought at the QA show as well as a beaded bag kit that looks complicated.

february 13 meeting

Piece Makers met at Pris’ house in Magnolia. Pris graciously served fresh baked cookies and hot tea next to her welcoming fireplace. Guests were Janet and Miriam along with Maurine and Harriet who got lost on the hill and were fashionably late.

Show ’N Tell

Maurine reported she and Ed will be moving into their newly remodeled Edmonds home next Tuesday. Shortly they will drive to their winter home in California where Ed will coach girls’ softball.  They plan returning to Edmonds at the end of May.

Maurine displayed a luscious 9-patch quilt in lime and mauve and backed in purple minke. It will be presented to her high school friend’s daughter. Maurine also gave a mini lesson on an easy way of completing the final binding seam.

Janet has been busily practicing on her long-arm. Her friend enjoys piecing quilts and is happy to hand  them off to Janet for quilting practice. She showed a yellow and red 9-patch with red backing and intricate linear quilting. Janet plans to gift a quilt that she displayed last month to the House of Healing.

Harriet showed a puffy quilt she made for her nephew who recently graduated with an AA in auto mechanics. The quilt features steering wheels, propellers, and unidentifiable mechanical parts in black, tomato, and gold stripes with  blue-green accents.

Miriam received several hula skirts from Jennifer Carter that her daughter Elena had worn. Miriam is taking the skirts apart and will fashion them into a bed ensemble and a muumuu for Elena. Miriam also brought a soft blue blanket and matching gown she made for her fifth cousin to be. In case the baby is a girl, she knitted a pink blanket in an intricate basket weave pattern and sewed a pink gown complete with feet and snaps—all things professional. 

Pris modestly presented an intricate hand-pieced quilt she called “Bits and Pieces.” It lovingly features many scraps from her clothing and that of her relatives combining to create numerous fond memories.

january 13 meeting

Seven of us gathered at Flora’s home—Flora, Janet, Miriam, Maurine, Harriet, Patricia and Diane. It was a fun evening of sharing and nibbling on a generous selection of cookies, crackers and cheese, and tasty grapes.

Show ’N Tell

Janet has been having fun with her 12' long-arm.The teal swirl quilt has swirl stitching. The next two quilts are by Jeanne Neptune, a co-worker. Jeanne and Janet sketched ideas for the stitching of clear overlay plastic to plan the stitching designs. The stitching includes loops and fun flowers. To remember how to finish up a binding, Janet made a "work aid" that she shared with us.

Harriet was kind enough to find Maurine at her son's home at the northend of Edmonds and bring Maurine to the meeting. The bright quilt at the top is for a four-year old niece with a birthday coming up. The back is pre-printed flannel that Harriet bought from Sarah Stine at Fabric Crush. The next two quilts are for surviving children of her recently deceased brother-in-law—made with his old shirts.

FYI: When Maurien asked Harriet if she was still doing interior design, Harriet answered "No, I’m a quilter now." Yeah, Harriet!

Diane is busy helping out her parents who have a lots of issues with health and old age. The top batik quilt is from a kit she bought at the Ben Franklin store in Monroe on the way to a QA retreat. Diane sewed the bottom colorful quilt top in a day (after the pieces had been cut out with a special ruler). The pattern is so cool that Diane may use it for her YF quilt.

Miriam gave us a full report on the apartment our group furnished. The Sunday of the move-in was the day of a big Seahawks game, so church and the move-in event were lightly attended. Miriam took everything up to the room on her own. When Harriet and Robert arrived 15 minutes later, the job was almost done! (Rob set up the clock and hung the hooks for the shower curtain.)

When the room was complete, Karen Gwilym came by to check it out. Seeing all the details and the quilt on the bed, she said “This is the Piece Makers apartment.“ (There were three quilts total made for the apartments—created by Pris, Harriet and Miriam. Go Team!)

Miriam has been making more green blocks for her YF quilt—she needs 64 total. The baby quilt in the lower photo, now finished with red plaid flannel on the back, was a hit with everyone due to its Gee’s Bend spirit. That quilt will be delivered to June via Harriet, to be given to the next Plymouth baby boy.

It's a miracle that Maurine was able to join us. She has lost 80 pounds since she began her medical journey to rid herself of back pain two and a half years ago. The pain is as bad as ever so it really impacts her life. Maurine spent one month, stitching ten minutes as a time, making the pretty quilt top with yukata cottons. Ironing as she went (because Maurine is a quilt pro) was the hardest for her.

Maurine and Ed bought a single-level house in Edmonds, one mile from their old condo. As they wait for final renovations to be made to the hew home, they are living with their son and daughter-in-law in the northend of Edmonds.

Patricia brought a copy of the Spring edition of Stitch to show an article on Japanese textiles that included quotes from her, photos of her yukata cottons and a link to her Okan Arts website. Patricia also handed out postcards for the fall Quilt Retreat with Joe Cunningham. (It's another fundraiser for La Conner Quilt & Textile Museum.)

For the month of February Patricia’s heading to Victoria to help out her parents.

Flora was beaming about the long-arm quilting machine bequeathed to her by Diane. The delivery of the professional machine inspired Flora to rearrange her garage studio—where she now has a new carpet from Lowe's for a whopping price of $17!

Now Flora can play with the concept of working part-time and taking in quilting projects to help pay her bills. The pictured quilt is one she stitched for a co-worker.

Flora is getting more active with QA. She is taking a week off in March to help out at the QA show in Monroe. It’s the week of her birthday and she wants to do something she loves at that time.

Brigitta: There was discussion about how to teach our senior minister how to quilt. Everyone hopes Brigitta will attend the February meeting so she can meet the Plymouth Piece Makers. Flora has volunteered to privately teach her if Brigitta can find a few hours to come to Flora’s home. Maurine is also interested in teaching Brigitta how to make a baby quilt. Brigitta would have to wait until Maurine came back from California in early June.

december 12 meeting

Five happy quilters gathered at Miriam’s home this holiday season. Festooned with over 50 nutcrackers as well as holiday cheer, her home was a cozy place to meet.

Our Show 'N Tell:

Harriet’s UW quilt is made with specialty fabrics from Quilt Loft in Ballard and Undercover Quilts in Pike Place Market. She has a lot of fun finding motifs that matched her YF recipient.

This small "UW" quilt uses the same fabric as the larger one, with wonderful dyed fabric on the back.

 This large quilt with nature scenes in the framed squares is for one of Harriet’s many nephews.

Flora made this pretty gingham pinwheel quilt to donate to a charity auction or use as a raffle quilt to raise money for a non-profit group. The quilt will be finished with contrasting flowers with button centers.

Now an expert in making t-shirt quilts, Flora taught QA members how to put one together. The top quilt was made for a co-worker. The smaller one is a sample for teaching her students.

Miriam has been busy since June trying to sell the home of an older friend whom she has Power of Attorney. This quilt top was made by Miriam’s daughter, Miriam Louise, for a couple whose marriage broke up. Miriam will be quilting it.

This fresh baby quilt top was made with scraps from the above quilt.

For all her friends at the meeting Miriam gave gifts of hand-crocheted dish rags and handy pot scrubbers.

Miriam announced that the date of the apartment open house has changed to January 13, 1:30 to 4:30 as the contractors won’t be finished by the 5th.

Shannon handed over a cutting board and knife, the last of the gear needed for the apartment. She proudly displayed the quilt she finished for her mother-in-law, Randi, as well as the beginnings of a complementary pillow.

This modern quilt pattern, designed by Katie Pedersen, was free-motion quilted with loops and triangles. It’s for a nephew of Shannon’s who was married in May.

Shannon also brought a book: 15 Minutes of Play—Improvisational Quilts by Victoria Findlay Wolfe that featured quilts made by her friend LeeAnn.

Patricia showed an out-of-print book about a Japanese applique artist as well as reported on the vibrant YF quilt top that Maurine is making with yukata cottons.