Kathy Woods was ill, so Kathy Wickham took over the meeting. A handout was available at the desk which contains the event calendar for the year. Items from this list were discussed, beginning with the January meeting. Kathy said there will be a Mystery Row Quilt this year which will be all pieced with no applique. After it is completed, of course, you may feel free to applique and embellish as you desire. She handed out the instructions for Row 1, which should be nearby; click on it to enlarge and print. She suggested that we set aside a coordinated collection of perhaps 6 or more fabrics for this 6 to 8 month project. Feel free to duplicate your Row 1 in other colors Bring your completed Row 1 to the February meeting.

For February, please bring your cutting/sewing gear as we will be making simple little blankets for the Neonatal unit of Carilion Hospital. Some flannel will be provided, but if you have some you would like to bring, please feel free to do so. NOTE:  Instructions for these little quilts says 1 yard each of 3 assorted flannel prints; that will make 3 quilt tops. Don’t sit this one out – there are 60 full beds in the Neonatal unit !

Kitty Yates spoke about Straight Street, which is a local ministry dealing with girls who have been involved in human trafficing, some as young as 10 or 11. There is opportunity for us to contribute twin size quilts, either already made or helping to make blocks for same.

March is National Quilting Month and the Guild has volunteered to do the Library Display Case. If you have small-ish items or photographs you would like displayed, please bring them to the February meeting and Loretta will collect them and let the Guild know when to meet to get the display done. Then all the hard work is followed by going to lunch!

And then there was Show & Tell. First was Mary Ann Maurelli’s California King quilt which she machine pieced and hand quilted. She said it took her 2 years. Whew !! Shown are both the front and back. Also shown is Loretta Twiford’s scrappy piece, CQC 2014 BOM, and One Fabric Wonder quilt from a book by the same name. These quilts use what is called Wallpaper Print fabrics. Kitty Yates also had Show & Tell with a set of very attractive placemats she had made. Thank you Carol Zaleski for taking these photos.

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At 3:00pm on Saturday, January 10th at Colonial Baptist Church off of Mountain Pass Road there was a surprise celebration of the 90th birthday of Jo Bell hosted by her son and daughter-in-law and youngest daughter. Present were approximately 60 people consisting of family, friends, neighbors, church friends and quilting friends. There were several yummy Italian dishes provided as well as birthday cake, and a good time was had by all.

The photos nearby (taken by Carol Zaleski) show some of the event. First is a surprised Jo as she entered the hall; then a sign stating a few things about her life; a photograph on display of Jo when she was approximately 17 years old; another photograph of her as a bride at age 20. Next is a picture of Jo with her youngest daughter, Susie. Then there is a picture (from shortest to tallest) with Jo, her youngest daughter, Susie, daughter-in-law Ellen and son, Mike.

We are thankful to have Jo among us as she is a continuing inspiration to us all. Happy birthday, Jo !!

Happy 2015 to everyone in the Blue Ridge Quilters Guild! We have a great year planned and hope we will see you at every meeting this year.
Our first meeting of the New Year will be Tuesday, January 13th at 6:30pm. This will be an organizational meeting. We have some great programs planned and you will learn all about them at our meeting. We have a new BOM starting and Kathy and Victoria will tell us all the juicy details. Don’t forget to bring your Show & Tells and this is a great time to pay your dues for the entire year – only $20, what a deal!! Checks can be made out to Blue Ridge Quilters. You can still pay your dues monthly if that works better for you. We also welcome your suggestions for programs, speakers or workshops.

Here are some great quilting resolutions for the New Year borrowed from Kathy Mathews Facebook and sent by Loretta……..

1. Love your fabric, what you have and what you buy.
2. Get rid of anything you don’t love or that makes your sewing room reproachful.
3. Drink tons of water when you sew.
4. Get up and walk around to break up your sewing time, it will feel good.
5. Love what you sew and eliminate “Quilt Envy” from your live. ( more resolutions in February)

“God encourages us to use our talents to create beauty for ourselves and for others.”