December 2013 Christmas Party

 Fellowship Quilters met last week for their Christmas Party at the Elks.  We had a good turn out of about 35 members despite the snowy weather and cold temps.  We are a hearty bunch of quilting ladies.
We had a great show and tell with Christmas treasures as well as some new projects from members.
I took pictures of "us " instead of our projects.  What a great bunch of ladies we are!!

Lots of smiling faces!!!

 We had a guest..Sally Hanley from the Grand  Traverse Baby Pantry.  She came to lunch and then took our donations of hand made projects as well as diapers and clothing to stock the pantry.  A great way for us to give back to the community.  We do not meet till the end of January but remember the work bee that is the second Tuesday of January.

November Fellowship Quilters

November brought many quilters out with the promise of a great program.  We created an art wall quilt...with help from our fearless leader Della.
It was a fun time and as many people did not finish  the quilt on the left is one Della made.  I am sure that by next meeting we will have many more creative examples!!!
The December 10th meeting will be our lunch at the Elks. It is always a fun time with our donation to the Grand Traverse Baby Pantry going over the top as usual.  It is so great to see all the Christmas ideas that members create to celebrate the season.  Hope to see lots of you  there!
The January work Bee will be Heart Pillows and hot pads for the meals on wheels folks.
Prayers to several members and their families.

              Connie, Dianne, Della and Judy going over the plans for December...what great smiles!!

                                       The quilt above is Della's also..a 3D version that really pops

                              Joy is using COLOR in her art quilt...can't wait to see the results

                       Linda and Carol looking over Ruth's sewing...I think they approve!

 One of the block of the month quilts to have in reserve for members in need..great job ladies!  Below is a beautiful quilt by Bev..love how each square is different and the border material is what she started with!!

I hope this finds all of you well and getting ready to enjoy the Holiday Season....Kathy

October Fellowship Meeting

Greeting Fellowship Quilters.  We had a wonderful October meeting and so many show and tell items I could not include them all!!  I did not get a picture of our morning project which was a Christmas tree skirt presented by Della.  Those who participated will finish it at home so we may have some that are done for the next blog.  However Sue started us off with a Christmas tree project.  I think everyone has been busy at their machines getting ready for the holidays

 Bobbi showed her quilt which was the block of the month from last year.  It is a very striking quilt!!

 Jacky does such wonderful rugs..so many hours and they are beautiful!!! How can you step on them?

              Liz showed us this unique table runner...what  a wild shape..we are all so creative!!

                          A wonderful winter quilt that Marilyn showed us..good to snuggle under.

Tracey had an interesting story about this quilt she designed and  made from the military uniforms of a veteran.  She will be making a few more for other members of this military family so stay tuned.
Our members have been busy with more charity quilts and baby quilts.  Barbs closet is overflowing but that is a good thing. There was a Habitat House dedication at the end of Oct and I hope to have a picture to share for the next blog Keep up the great work everyone.  Remember we will be donating to the Grand Traverse Baby pantry at the Christmas lunch so keep those sewing machines humming.
Kathy

September Fellowship Quilters

Welcome to the new season of Fellowship Quilters.
The beautiful fall weather we have had has brought out the sewing and quilting in all of us....what great projects everyone showed
at this meeting.
There were 30 to 35 members for the morning program..a big group!   We made Grandma's Gifts...two different baby blankets.
Great fun and great gifts to give or donate to the baby pantry for the Christmas meeting.
The block of the month is back and Bobbie has a great block for us to start with..The snowball block and a nine patch. She handed out directions but I will send them again. We will be able to use them to make some comfort quilts.
Barb has a Habitat House dedication coming on Oct 29th...directions will be coming your way soon

 Judy is in the Halloween spirit with this adorable wall hanging!

What a great eye popping quilt to the right...who is that hiding
behind that beauty??
 I missed this part of the meeting so I don't know but I love the quilt.

              Joan took a different twist with her baby blanket and used scraps to make it work!!  Adorable

              Ruth also is in the Halloween spirit with these great pumpkins! A gift to her son and grand kids.

                                        Mary showing us a wonderful quilt with beautiful blues.
Our fearless leader Della is a retired teacher and runs a tight classroom...she is giving us directions for next months Christmas Tree Skirt...I hope you were all paying attention!   However I will also be sending out the directions so not to worry.  Happy Sewing everyone and we hope to see you all on Oct 22nd.
Remember the work bee on Oct 8th.   Kathy

Fellowship June Picnic

 The June Fellowship Picnic was great fun.

We met at a wonderful fellowship hall ..much thanks to Joan for helping us once again with the location.
The potluck was outstanding as usual and we all ate more than we should!  I keep saying we need to do a cookbook.  Think about it ladies!!!  Linda gave stats on our attendance...average of 37 members per meeting.  Thanks to the leaders of this year for a great year...Linda, Claudia, Jeanette and Judy.   The next meeting is Aug 22 and will be a salad lunch...more later on that.   Linda handed over her crown to a new team of leaders...Della, Ruth and Sue.  I know they will do a great job!!

The project challenge from Barb for this year was her 1/2 and 1/2 Happy Hugs which gave us all several pieces of material and a surprise piece  inside.  We had about 19 quilts made and it was fun to hear and see what the fabrics were, how they were used and what people had to add to make their quilt.  We added more than a few quilts to the closet today.

Barb and Kathy were given pincushions as thanks you gifts with fancy pins made by members.  It was very thoughtful of all of you and I know I speak for Barb when I say you are all the best and thanks to everyone!!!!

We voted for our favorite quilt..So here is the first place winner...Jackie.  Congradulations!

  Remember the strip parties this summer...
June25th at Elsa's home     July 23rd at Ruth's home.  bring your  own bag lunch, sewing machine, thread.  10 am till 3pm  Call each hostess to reserve your spot!
A health tip from Pat who had a scare and shared her experience with us...check out the web site and pay attention to your body.   www.skincancer.org    thru the American cancer society.
Have a great summer.    Kathy

May Fellowship Quilters Meeting

 Greetings Quilters!!
The May meeting of Fellowship Quilters was a big one with over 40 people present.  We had some new members so we continue to grow.
The morning program was a felted wool and embroidery project brought to us by  Carmen              of Cousins Quilt shop.  It was a fun project and we all stretched our hand sewing abilities as well as our vision threading those needles.  The project can  be made into a pin cushion or a needle holder when finished.  Lots of fun to make and to socialize as we sewed together.

 We had two guests from Habitat for Humanity, Nancy and Angela, who came to updated us on the current house projects.  They also thanked us for our work and presented us with a certificate of thank you.  We heard several stories of grateful families who received our quilts.  The best story was about a young man who was in Iraq and the only thing he wanted his Mom to send him from home was the quilt he received from us at the time his family built their Habitat House.  It brought tears to many eyes and is a affirmation of our Mission
                "to provide quits when needed to enrich the lives of others".

 Queen for the Day was Bobbie who showed us many wonderful quilts.  This is the pattern that Joan"s son Bob showed us, a fractured 4 patch, and we now seem to be calling "Bob's Pattern"  It looks wonderful.

Bobbie had a great story about this quilt.  She joined Fellowship in 2000 and this is one of the first quilts she pieced in the group.  She had packed it away and forgotten about it till finding it recently....sooo she quilted it last week just in time to show us.
 That is a great UFO story!

 Sally always makes us laugh but really outdid herself with this adorable pink baby quilt with so many wonderful different blocks.  Note Bob's block in the middle!!

Show and tell is always a wonderful place to  get great ideas and marvel at the talent in the room.  Gail proudly shows off her latest creation....love that purple!
We are winding down for the year and the June 11th picnic is the last meeting for the year.  It has been a fun year and the Leaders have done a wonderful job.
There will be two Strip Parties this summer...June 25th at Elsa's and July 23rd at Ruth's....more specifics later.
Keep up the great work ladies....Kathy Nolan

Apriil Fellowship Quilters Meeting

 Greetings Fellowship Quilters

The April meeting of Fellowship Quilters was a fun one.  We had the morning program with some great  sewing machine covers. The one to the left and the one below are just two examples.   The creative juices were flowing as each member brought their own interpretation to this project.  It was a practical and fun program!  Thanks to the leaders once again for helping us expand our sewing repertoire.

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                                                           Gail and Joy working on projects

                                                    Judy giving some direction to members

 Sharon was the Queen for the day and brought some of her quilts to show us.  The one above is made of individual pieces, many with memories from dresses her mother made for Sharon and her sister when they were girls.  Wonderful to have those memories.  The quilt below is her Dear Jane and is spectacular!

Joan's son Bob was visiting from Vermont and brought many wonderful quilts he has made and quilted on his long arm quilting machine.  He gave us the pattern for this quilt...a disappearing four patch as seen by his quilt to the left.

Dates to Remember
     June 11th is the end of the year picnic
     May 28 th meeting last day for 1/2 square triangles  
     May 14th work bee.. pillow case sew-in ..kits will be ready

Hope to see you all in May
Kathy Nolan


   

March Madness

 Yes it is March Madness in Michigan and at the Fellowship Quilters March meeting it was all about pillow cases!!
However we did have time for some beautiful show and tell items...Sharon put lots of time in on this scrappy quilt...Beautiful!
The Zentangles morning program was a hit with all who participated.  It is always good to stretch ourselves and learn new things.
Spring is slow in coming so we still have lots of indoor quilting time.

 We have started a new project for a charity...The Foundation for Mental Heath helps get people off the street and into housing.  We are making pillow cases to give to this organization that can then  share  them with clients.  We need about 90 to start with and got a good sampling at the meeting.  Belinda  Tracy, Ruth and Joan(who missed the picture) were hard at work as you can see.  Barb has fabric from the closet you can pick up to make a few or dive into your stash and clean house.  You can find patterns on the Internet.  I found a super easy one called.. Roll it Up from American Patchwork Quilting... just google " make a pillow case " and you will get lots of options

 Lots of colors and patterns that we hope will bring smiles!

     

Della has new twins in her family and made these adorable critters.
We continue to remember our two members, Leah and Marcia, who we lost this last month and those who attended the funerals were very moved.  We got many messages about how much they both loved the quilts we sent them.
Discussion about how to handle the memorials resulted in a collection to start a separate fund in order to make memorial contributions without using our funds for supplies. $205 was collected and we will keep this separate and add to it when needed.
We will also start on some blocks to put together quilts for members in need...stay tuned for more on that.

Happy Spring to everyone and hope we see all of you in April
Kathy Nolan

Feb Fellowship Quilters Meeting

I was not at the last meeting but have some pictures to share of some beautiful quilts!!

Phyllis did an outstanding job with the two beautiful quilts pictured here.  She has been busy!!

The garage sale was a success and we raised $134 for our group!  Great work ladies.

Pat Fisher showed some great items...the cat below looks like it would jump off the quilt!!

 We had a speaker , Emilee Syrewicze pictured below, from the Foundation for Mental Health.  She reviewed what services her group provides in our area and what their needs may be  for us as a group to help with.  We will be starting out making some pillow cases so stay tuned for some of those awesome kits from Barb Roberts!!!
Keep our members in need in your hearts and prayers and remember the work bee is March 12th.  Hope to see you all there!!!  Kathy Nolan