Tuesday, March 24, 2015

Friday Night Sew

The question was raised at the last meeting whether or not there should be a Friday Night Sew on April 3rd, which happens to fall on Good Friday. There was an email sent out, and after some people cast their vote, the decision has been made to cancel April's Friday Night Sew. It appears the majority of guild members will not be able to make it or are unsure if they will be able to attend. We will not be rescheduling this sew night for another time, though we will continue on as usual with the May Friday Night Sew, unless unexpected circumstances arise.

For anyone who doesn't know, we now have two large bolts of backing (muslin) for our community service quilts. So if you have any unfinished community service quilt tops or tops that you haven't turned in yet, fear not. You can give your quilt tops to Sue at the next meeting and she will get the backing cut for it.

Friday, March 20, 2015

We had a great meeting last night! The attendance was fantastic, and Linda Courtney gave a wonderful presentation on quilt appraisals. We had a very abbreviated guild meeting so that we could make time for our presenter.
Linda is a very knowledgeable lady, and her quilt-smarts are astounding. In the past, quilts were not made for the same reasons that we make them today. They were made to keep warm rather than to decorate with. She stated that several factors go into determining the value of a quilt. The most valuable quilts are not always the oldest. Color is also a major factor in determining the worth of your quilt. Blues and reds are colors that people usually prefer to decorate with rather than pinks and purples, for example. Linda also talked about the proper ways to store your quilts so that they are preserved. For example, you should not place your quilts where the sunlight will fade the fabric. You should not place them where they have direct contact with wooden surfaces, as the chemicals in the wood will bleed into your quilts and cause fiber decay. Plastic sacks are also not a good idea, as they cut off air circulation. Pillow cases or cloth sacks are the best ways to store your quilts (when you're not using them!).
Along with Linda's wonderful talk, some of the guild members brought in some beautiful vintage and antique quilts, one possibly dating as far back as the 1890s.
On another note, our next Friday Night Sew falls on April 3rd, or Good Friday. The question has been raised as to if our sew night should be rescheduled or cancelled because of this. The Kidder United Methodist Church will not be having services that night, so the church will be open to us if we choose to go. An email has been sent out to get feedback from everyone on this and see what we all want to do.

A community service quilt:


Some vintage and antique quilts that were brought to the meeting. The first 5, if I remember correctly, were most likely made after the First World War (the brighter colors were a trend during the Great Depression when everyone was, well, depressed):

This quilt had several fabrics that seemed to be cut from men's shirts:





These crazy quilts have no clear date, but it is likely that they were made in the late 1800s. Various materials such as silks, velvets, and even some rather sheer materials seemingly cut from dresses or other garments were included in these:




Thursday, March 19, 2015

A quick reminder:
Tonight's meeting will be at Crossroads Quilting at our usual time of 6:30. Hope to see everyone there! :)

Monday, March 9, 2015

Carolyn has made a great suggestion regarding future guild field trips. The Kansas City Regional Quilt Festival will be held the 19th-21st of June at the Overland Park Convention Center. The location isn't too far, and the tickets are reasonably priced. As some of you might already know, our local Crossroads Quilting will be a vendor.
Here's the link to their website:
http://kcrqf.com/

Saturday, March 7, 2015

We had a great Friday night sew last night! We had a good attendance, and what's more important is I believe everyone had a good time!

A REMINDER FOR GUILD MEMBERS: OUR NEXT MEETING WILL BE HELD ON THE 19th OF MARCH AT CROSSROADS QUILTING IN CAMERON. Linda of Crossroads will be giving a special presentation on vintage/antique quilts and has invited anyone who has an old quilt to bring it along. She will not be able to appraise your quilts, but will be looking them over and talking about them a bit.

On another note; As it is generally known, Linda and Judy of Crossroads will be taking a retreat to Montana this coming week to take classes from Judy Niemeyer. We all wish you ladies a pleasant journey (and maybe when you get back you can tell some of us how in the world to use these patterns)!


Some photographs from last night:


 Linda's egg-in-the-process (Easter Egg table topper).






Marie's beautiful purple quilt blocks.


 A newly-sewn community service quilt top.