Now, I am probably not alone in thinking that a talk on sewing machine needles would be a big yawn. Not so when the speaker is Trish Brostek! The girl has so much energy and knowledge. The theme of her talk was How the Civil War Changed Quilting and it was quite a trip going from today back to the Civil War. Along the way we learned about the how and of what a sewing machine needle is constructed, just how many points there are amongst those needles and the purpose and use of each. In addition, there are a number of sizes of sewing machine needles . . . who knew? There are fat ones and skinny ones, each with a different opening at the end called an Eye. One of the important things this very interesting, informative and personable speaker brought out is that we actually DO need to change our sewing machine needle from time to time. Some say after 8 hours of use, others say after each project, and some sewists say, really? and cannot recall the last time they did change the needle in their sewing machine.

Personal note – many years ago, after many years of sewing and making clothing, I was sewing a piece of silky smooth fabric (with the same old needle that probably came in the machine many years previous) and when I started stitching, was totally amazed and alarmed when snags began appearing in the fabric and for the first time saw the holes that the needle was punching in the fabric rather than carefully easing through the fabric as a sharp needle would have done without doing damage to the fabric. Lesson learned.

Anyway, having Trish Brostek was a treat. She took the time to answer questions from the audience after her talk and was not bashful in saying that she always gets nervous before a talk and that is one reason she seems to be a bundle of entertainment, movement and energy.

Her email contact is trishbrostek1@gmail.com

After a short business meeting came Round Robin Reveals. The pictures show the Before pieces that were presented and passed on in a closed non-see-thru bag to the other Round Robin participants to receive three different borders added by three different quilters. The next series of pictures shows the final results of each of those pieces in the same order as the original line-up. Each was amazing and beautiful in and of itself.

Then came Show & Tell with quite a variety of quilts and an apron, too.

We hope you enjoyed this presentation as much as we enjoyed the evening in person. The July meeting will be strictly Social with the guild providing the meats (burgers and dogs and buns) and the members bringing all the condiments and other yummies (mayo, mustard, veggies, salads, cakes, pies and drinks).

Til then, happy quilting.