The long awaited day was approaching . . . record numbers of quilters had pre-registered to attend and more were admitted at the door. And WeatherBug said it would be raining from Friday evening through Saturday all day. Oh, great, just what we needed – rain. B-U-T God is good and all went exceedingly well for a gloomy, rainy day. The rain was softly coming down for the most part and when it came pouring down on the rooftop of the agenda, we all looked up and said our Thank You’s that we were inside enjoying looking at all the quilts lining the walls and the fellowship of fellow quilters! Good thing we started the set-up earlier than usual Friday afternoon and got ahead of the Friday night rain. Sometimes things work out right !!
The guest speaker was Maria Degroot who has a pretty fascinating personal story to tell about how she came to meet the Nancy Zeiman crew (Sewing with Nancy) and subsequently leading to working for Checker Distributors and coordinator for Creative Grids (creativegridsusa.com) where she gets to create, demonstrate and educate both for Creative Grids and the Gypsy Quilter (gypsyquilter.com). Ms Degroot is a very friendly, warm and informative lady who loves to quilt and share quilting experiences with others.
One thing I learned from Ms. Degroot is that the Creative Grids rulers carry a QR Code and when you take a picture of the code, it will lead you to their website and that particular ruler (you may have to search it by name, ie 120 degree triangle ruler). The website offers you a photo of the ruler, complete with magnifier for clear viewing, as well as an instructional video AND complete downloadable Instructions which give a visual demonstration of possible usages for the ruler. I thought that was really cool. And, yes, I did download the instruction sheet and watch the short video for ideas and instruction. I have been shuffling that ruler around for quite a while, now it looks as though I may actually use it again! She also said if you are looking for instructions for a ruler which has been discontinued, Creative Grids’ Customer Service can provide the instructions for you from the archives! On many of the rulers at the website, there will also be one or more items under Companion Books, Patterns & Notions for that ruler.
Screen display of CreativeGridsusa.com website 
screen display 2 
screen display 3 showing their weighted rotary cutter 
screen display 4 
Screen display 5 
screen display 6 showing left handed icon 
Speaker Maria Degroot 
speaker sample quilt 1 from pattern suggested by Creative Grids 
speaker sample 2 – pineapple quilt made with Creative Grids ruler, with table runner from leftover blocks 
spreaker sample 3 – what to do with leftover or practice blocks – add to a tote! 
speaker sample 4 – Charm Pack Scramble quilt done with sashing and corner stones for a very different look 
speaker sample 5 – Log Cabin quilt that might be a bit wonky 
speaker sample 6 – log cabin quilt done with a different setup 
speaker sample 7 
speaker sample 8 – Charm Pack Scramble done with color background rather than white 
speaker sample 9 – Charm Pack Scramble 
speaker sample 10 – with Block Carry Case 
speaker sample 10 – Charm Pack Scramble variation 
speaker sample 11 – Charm Pack Scramble showing the fun backing fabric 
speaker sample 12 – Charm Pack Scramble set on point with sashing and corner stones
There were lots of quilters at the event today as you can see by the myriad pictures included. I did not get a shot of each of the quilts hung in the room, but I bet if you check out Face Book, Blue Ridge Quilters in a week or so you will see them there, probably along with more pictures of the event
The winner of this year’s Opportunity Quilt was Rose Marie N. The quilt was Charm Pack Scramble, the pattern designed by Marie Degroot. During her talk, Ms Degroot showed us several versions of the Charm Pack Scramble quilt; some same-ol, some on point, some with sashing, some on point with sashing. Each looked entirely different. Lots of possibilities from one pattern. Shown below is Rose Marie N with the speaker, Maria Degroot. Congratulations.
Of course, a quilting event would not be without Show & Tell.
This dear lady on the left said she does everything, everything by hand, drawing the applique figures to stitching them down. She comes from a non-sewing family and inherited many quilt tops from family members to complete. 
The back of her applique quilt showing the quilting stitches. 
Kathy Wo quilt with a panel and added pieced blocks 
Kathy Wo – good use of color 
Kathy Wo – I really like this one. She found the border print after she had the rest of the top pieced. Good find! 
Marietta F showing her hand drawn and painted quilt of a family member service man and all the medals that he had earned. Excellent portrayal
Then it was time to say farewell to quilting friends until it is time for another National Quilting Day celebration in 2026. Hope to see you there !! In the meantime, God bless you and happy quilting.
Blue Ridge Quilters 