At 9 a.m. on that cool Saturday morning of April 24th, 2021, four brave and stalwart (look it up – it fits !) Blue Ridge quilters met at the Rockingham Court UMC just off of Yellow Mountain Road in the Garden City area to work on incubator blankets and Scent Babies for the Roanoke Carilion Hospital NICU. The slideshow above shows some of the activities which involved tracing (Scent Babies), cutting, sewing, ironing, etc. The only “activity” not shown was actual conversation, including laughter and fun, with other quilters ! All in all it was a productive day, especially being the first time in over a year that Blue Ridge Quilters members have gotten together to sew. On the next happy sew-in occasion, we hope to see more quilters present, and we all are hoping the weather will be warmer, too !

Carolyn’s beloved, Ed Zaleski, peacefully passed into that better place during the night of April 23, 2021. Ed is someone who is once met, never forgotten. To a lot of us Blue Ridge Quilters, his absence will be greatly felt.

Just wanted to let you all know that the day after the April 13th Zoom meeting I went online and ordered both the Perfect Piecing Seam Guide and the Half Square 4-in-1 Triangle Ruler recommended by Augusta Cole . . . and they were delivered by USPS today, the 17th !! Now that’s what I call great customer service!

She told us that the Perfect Piecing Seam Guide tool can really help to keep a straight, even, scant quarter inch seam. Place the ruler on the sewing surface with the hole on the right side while you steady the ruler with your left hand on the wider part, and carefully lower the needle into the hole in the tool and lower the presser foot (to keep the ruler from slipping). Then mark your sewing surface with painter’s tape along the right side of the ruler so you can guide your fabric right along that line. This will create a “perfect” scant quarter inch seam. Boy, I am looking forward to THAT! lol Remember to raise your needle and presser foot before removing the ruler!

And, the Half Square 4-in-1 Triangle Ruler is used both for cutting and trimming. The included instructions look very clear and easy to follow. There is even a slit in the ruler to mark your sewing lines 1/4″ on either side of a drawn line to make those hourglass and other blocks. Who knew?

See you all again on May 11th.

The Zoom meeting began at about 6:30pm and was attended by 24 members and one guest speaker, Augusta Cole. The business meeting was short and we got right down to introducing Augusta Cole who is located in Richmond, VA.

Her lecture was Tips, Tricks and Tidbits and it certainly lived up to that title. Here are just some of her tips:

Set a goal; have deadlines
Find a role model and BE a role model
Re-charge by meeting with others for conversation and exchanging ideas
To reassure successful forward movement toward a goal, stay on path
Plan your work and work your plan
Slow down and enjoy the process
Use the best material and tools
Perfect practice makes perfect quality
Make ONE block first to make sure the pattern is correct and you like the result
Cut the largest pieces of your fabric first to make sure you will not run short
Sew assembly line style when possible
Load several bobbins at one time
It is always better to give than to receive

Ms Cole makes a lot of scrappy quilt items and her general plan is this: As you prepare to make your project, iron each piece of the fabrics separately to make sure they are nice and flat. Then put them right sides together and iron them again. She will then cut her fabric set into these strips: 4.5″, 2.5″, 2″ and 1.5″. With these sizes, she can make mix and match half square triangles and blank squares that will fit together nicely.

For her hourglass units, she cuts a 7.25″ square, draws a diagonal line from corner to corner, sews on both sides 1/4″ away from the line. Then, she turns the square and makes her first cut on a diagonal line on the opposite corners and then she turns the block and cuts again on the drawn line between the two lines of stitching. By arranging the 4 resulting pieces, she creates two hourglass blocks.

Here is a slideshow of some pictures taken during her lecture. The scrappy pieces were pretty much all cut using her “standard” cutting stated above.

One thing I picked up personally, was the need to practice trimming blocks to make sure it all goes together perfectly. It is something I am guilty of neglecting.

And bringing up the rear is Rosie . . . too sweet !!

Be sure to visit Augusta Cole’s website, https://augustacolequilting.com/ where you can click on Patterns and then Tools and Supplies where you can order her favorite threads, Presencia, a 60wt cotton (sold/shipped in units of 6), as well as the thread cutters and rulers.

We all enjoyed Augusta Cole’s lecture, which was followed by a Q&A session.

And here is a shot of those attending the April Zoom meeting to watch Augusta Cole. Pretty good turnout for BRQG.

And there was Show & Tell from the members now in a slideshow:

And that is all until our next meeting on May 11th. Keep quilting and stay well !!