I recently posted a picture with an incorrect caption which read “Carol Z showing Quilts of Valor quilt made by members of Roanoke QOV Stitchers.” The caption should have read “Carol Z showing Quilts of Valor quilt made by Star Quilters Guild members Gayla H and Joyce N.” The quilt is truly beautiful and proper credit should be given to the two ladies who made it. My apologies, ladies. The quilt is shown below.

The meeting was well attended and after a brief business meeting, we got on with other things, like the program which was originally scheduled for November but was sidetracked by the Quilt Police. Really !! Then in December, all thoughts of serious sewing and quilting topics were forgotten in favor of a fun and games filled Christmas gathering. Finally, the “Quilt Tips That I Wish I Knew When I Began Quilting” program was underway. There were at least 15 valuable tips and tricks, all typed and handed out with room for notes. What a treasure to keep in your quilting room.

After all that serious talk, it was time to hand in community projects as well as pass out pre-cut kits for same provided by Kathy W. There were scent patches, fidget quilts, adult bibs and pillow cases handed in. Good work, Blue Ridge Quilters!

Kathy spoke further about a possible Round Robin event and asked for a show of hands of those who had participated in a previous Round Robin, and another for those who may be interested in doing a Round Robin in the near future. And she showed two of her completed Round Robin quilts.

And then it was time for Show and Tell, always exciting to see the beautiful items our fellow quilters have produced with their talented hands. Pictures follow.

The meeting was adjourned with everyone looking forward to meeting again in February.

The final get together for the year 2022 . . . although it brings an end to a year, we all look forward to the fellowship, fun, silly but challenging games brought by Kathy W and tasty snacks provided by everyone. It was a fruitful and fun meeting.

One of the highlights of any meeting, of course, is Show and Tell as well as members showing the items made for Community Service projects.

Here are some pictures for your enjoyment, starting out with Community Service Fidget quilts.

Then it was time for Show & Tell, always beautiful and interesting.

Game time !! Go, Kathy W

The Roanoke Quilts of Valor Stitchers made and donated direction signs for when we are meeting in the new location. And, there were tasty refreshments where everyone brought some sort of finger food. Always yummy and satisfying.

Oh, and Happy New Year, looking forward to a productive 2023 where we practice our quilt making skills both for ourselves and equally important, for the benefit of others.

Hope to see everyone at our January 10 meeting, hopefully in the new location, so be sure to watch for the January newsletter !!

The weather was cool but still very nice when the Blue Ridge Quilters gathered to meet. There was a lot of socializing until the meeting was called to order. A business meeting followed and then it was time for the scheduled program, Quilting Tips I Wish I Knew When I Began Quilting, presented by Kathy W.

Everything was going along well when we all heard a loud bang – some likened it to a gunshot, others to the door being broken down . . . uhhhh. But, Kathy just went along with what she was saying. Suddenly into the room strode Cathy H dressed in a uniform and as she entered into the room, she was saying (in an increased volume of voice), This is the Virginia State Quilting Police and I have some questions for you, Kathy. At this point, the gathering relaxed and enjoyed the interrogation. The Quilting Police officer presented a whole list of accusations about such things as Kathy did not always launder her fabric before use; there were times when her points were actually lost when piecing; deviations were made from printed patterns; and on and on. To each of the accusations Kathy presented a rather weak but plausible reason/excuse for her practices with which the group agreed and in some cases even exposed themselves to possible future detainment and interrogation by the heretofore believed to be unreal Quilting Police.

Then came the confession that the whole skit had been cooked up between Kathy and Cathy and the scheduled November program would be presented at the January meeting.

After the very entertaining (and informative) “program” it was time for Show and Tell.

This is a quilt shown by Carol Z as a possible new design to be made by Roanoke Quilts of Valor Stitchers.

The meeting was adjourned pretty early but we all left with a smile on our face and looking forward to the next meeting on December 13 when it will be a Christmas party with refreshments and quilting games galore.

From a 2015 BRQ post:
“Dear God, I am sometimes all need, and you are always all-sufficient. When I apply Your sufficiency to my need, I am ready to see another’s need, to love more than tolerate, to accept more than judge. Amen.

The group met in the new location for the third time, Fire Station #1 in Roanoke, VA, where there is plenty of room, plenty of light and lots of plugs in the floor. And lots of comradery while the sewing machines hum and the irons get pressing.

As always, the group was busy making blocks for quilts which will be assembled, quilted and awarded to local veterans who have been touched by war. In the year that this group has been assembled, there have been 24 quilts awarded and an ever expanding list of veterans who have been nominated by loved ones, friends and acquaintances.

It is a privilege to be a part of this organization and have a small part in providing comfort and thanking those brave men and women who have put it all on the line to protect this amazing country.

Oh, great gosh and golly day, the meeting was attended by 23 members and 3 guests. It must have been the great weather, or that at least some of our members (think Vera B here) have been getting the word out about this fun group! Thank you Vera.

There was a business meeting and then community service projects were gathered. There were the adult bibs, pillow case and fidget quilt collected last month, along with a new pile of NICU quilts, scent babies and Kathy W handed out kits for 6.5″ flannel squares for the NICU babies (like a small scent baby), convenient for Mom or Dad to hold next to their skin for several hours so the baby will not lose the bond between baby and parents. The Super Size Nine Patch NICU blankets pattern was included in all New Member Packets.

If not efficient and well presented, at least the program (presented by member Loretta T) was entertaining and the attendees seemed to enjoy seeing and learning more about One Block Wonder Quilts. OBW’s can be quite addictive for sure, but when Janice T pointed out a man on the internet who had made more than 90 of them, my jaw dropped. Whew !! He seemed to enjoy playing with the colors and trying every imaginable way to arrange the hexies to show off the fabric colors. There are many books available on making, embellishing and otherwise One Block Wonder quilts. The basics were completely overlooked in the presentation, but . . . the best results are generally with a fabric that has a 24″ length of fabric design repeat (24 inches between the top of one character printed on the length of fabric to the top of the next identical character printed on the length of fabric). Beautiful pieces have been made from 12″ repeats and even some 6″ repeats, but usually the wider the repeat the better the result because there will be fewer instances of duplicate hexies. At this point in the narrative, it was pointed out that you really must purchase one of the OBW books by Maxine Rosenthal because she gives much better instruction and you will want to keep the book for your next OBW. As Dawn W said, the first one might not turn out exactly as wonderful as it might have if you had played with it a bit more and/or had a plan in mind. Trust me, she knows whereof she speaks. And once you have dabbled in the OBW waters, the way you look at fabric will change – forever! But in a good way. And then the crazy speaker had door prize drawings and gave what she considered suitable OBW fabrics to the unsuspecting. If that fabric does not end up in an OBW, at least free fabric is free fabric after all!! LOL

And then it was time for Show and Tell where members could share OBW’s they had made.

Once again, thanks for dropping by this fun group of quilters who believe any time is a great time for a good time spent with quilty friends.

Ooops . . . kinda slipped up by not putting the September meeting on the net !! Yikes !!

It was a great meeting where there were 15 members and one guest in attendance. Even so, the charitable projects were abundant, with senior bibs, scent babies, fidget quilt, pillow cases, oh my, being turned in. Good job, ladies !!

There must be close to a dozen members of Blue Ridge Quilters who have Featherweight sewing machines and love them. The speaker, Mary Houseman, spoke about Featherweight sewing machines and also had displayed at least half a dozen of her (as it turns out, many) Featherweight machines. Her talk included noting differences between the many machines (who knew?), years of manufacture, features and functions, which was all received by a very rapt audience. Ms. Houseman indicated that she both buys and sells Featherweight machines and is available for information. Something we all found very interesting and just too sweet is that she also sews and makes little teddy bears – yes, with her Featherweight machines. Anyone interested was welcome to her sweet little teddy bear pattern, and several took advantage of the opportunity.

Following are photos of charitable projects as well as those participating in Show & Tell.

Thanks for dropping by.

The program for this meeting was Christmas in August . . . uhhhh . . . well, it is okay to bend a few rules now and again, especially when it comes to quilting! And apparently a lot of members thought so too, because attendance was really good, and it seems as though everyone in attendance had a Christmas project to show, resulting in the biggest show and tell ever !! Oh, and everyone who brought a Christmas project to show and share got their name entered into a door prize drawing, which could help explain the huge participation! But, hey, whatever works. So, after a short business meeting, we got right down to it.

I am putting the pictures in smaller groups to make sure everyone is included.

The binding fabric I showed is unique; there is a cutting line and when you fold it over for your binding, one side will be scalloped and the other polka dot. It came from Fish Museum and Circus, a very interesting site which carries a variety of products for sewing and quilting, including a FREE pdf pattern, Circus Tent Quilt, a quick pattern, especially if you have not used your Strip trading pieces yet! Check them out.
https://fishmuseumandcircus.com/

Hope to see you at the “usual” meeting place in September when Mary Houseman will speak about Featherweight sewing machines.

From Carolyn Z, founder of Roanoke Quilts of Valor Stitchers:

Two Vietnam veterans were awarded their QOV and Vietnam Pins today. Nancy K and her sewing group did an exceptional job…you would never know this was their first ceremony. Here are a few pictures I wanted to share. Congratulations to Nancy for forming a group from her church, encouraging them in their efforts and completing two beautiful quits to present to two deserving veterans. One of the ladies in the group did the presentation of the Vietnam lapel pins. She did a beautiful job also.

And what a meeting it was . . . held at a member’s home which included a swimming pool, enjoyed by several of the members. The rest of us had decided our “girlish figures” had matured somewhat beyond showing off. LOL

The evening included a short business meeting, and then there was the food !! Yea ! There was BBQ pork provided by the hostess (cooked by her husband) and members attending brought a wide assortment of side dishes including meat, salads of all makes, veggie trays, and desserts, oh my. The two July birthday members got to go first in line – tee hee, that was me and Susan V. We made a b-line for the BBQ pork, and was it ever delicious.

Here are some pictures of “the room” and those attending.

After the meal, there was the judging of adult bibs made by the members which had been laid out and numbered; we all voted in 4 categories (as shown in the picture), most appropriate for a male (Cheryl E), most fun (Barbara F), most appropriate for a female (Mary H), and Viewer’s Choice (Vera B). Plus, there was a fifth prize for the one who made the most adult bibs, won by Cathy H. The photo of the happy winners modeling their adult bibs is nearby. These adult bibs are donated to Good Samaritan Hospice; the residents enjoy using them and the staff really like them, too.

Here are some pattern leads for adult bibs which you may want to copy and paste into your browser:

a page of free sewing patterns for adult bibs: https://www.thesprucecrafts.com/adult-bib-patterns-2977861

a free adult bib pattern: https://laurassewingstudio.today/product/abult-bib-pattern/

There was also an impromptu showing of Quilts of Valor quilts. The first is a yet to be completed quilt top made by Mary B for her Marine Corps son. She took a panel and built out on it and it is beautiful, even at this point. Mary was unaware that her effort could be a Quilt of Valor until Carol Z talked with her about the organization and awarding quilts, etc. Then Carol Z showed two completed quilts made by some of the Roanoke Quilts of Valor Stitchers who reside at the Glebe in Roanoke. They are beautiful also. Pictures nearby.

Just after the QOV show and tell, it was time for me to leave the meeting due to a storm coming. It is my understanding the the meeting did break up with the thunder boomers and before the deluge of much needed rainfall.

Until next month, happy quilting.