New Quilting Season

Greetings Fellowship Quilters!!
The new quilting season has started and I have already missed two meetings due to family conflicts.  I even missed the meeting that I was to do the program!!!  It is a good thing that I have a friend who has my back ... Della  taught you how to make the mesh snap bags.  Sounds like everyone liked making them...I did too.
Tracy looks hard at work with the quilt block carrier and I look forward to seeing the finished products.
Della also took pictures but no commentary so we will have to all provide that ourselves...

                                                 Lots of laughs and fun as usual!!

                              We are a group of very hard workers when it comes to quilt projects!!!

                                   So add your own comments and make up some stories to go
                                                   with the rest of these great pictures

                                 This looks like a block of the month project...great job everyone!!!
I hope to see lots of you at the next meeting in October  and look forward to laughs, fellowship and inspiration   from my favorite group of quilters!!!    Kathy

  

June Picnic

It is hard to believe that another year of Fellowship Quilters has flown by and we are into the summer of 2014!!
As usual it has been a wonderful year with some great programs and the fellowship for which this quilting group is famous.  We are a friendly and supportive group of women with such a love for quilting that it blows me away!!
The June picnic was at Joan's community center for which we thank her very much...the food was spectacular as usual..such creative cooks!

 Several views of the tables with all the smiling faces!!  I tried to get everyone but I think I missed a few tables.  We had about 40 members present!!!

 Claudia raises the bar very high with this  beautiful quilt.  The writing is felted wool cut on the bias and then sewn on.  Love the skill of the work and the sayings of the quilt.

 Linda made this gem to brighten her walls this summer.

 Bobbi had several quilts to show but this one was a surprise..a block of the month from several years ago that had been forgotten.  Turned out wonderful!

 Marva has been hard at work for the little people in her life...this is one of two she showed.

 Lynn made this from blocks  from Marcia's stash after she passed away.  So special.  She also announced that she has only 2 items left in her UFO box!!  Wow!!!  She is my hero!

 Sharon made this beautiful wall hanging..what you can't see is that there is yarn around the edge of the flower and the pistol...it is a feast for the eyes.

 Margaret took the half square triangle exchange we had several years ago to make this great ...not sure if it is a wall hanging or a table topper...and shows the true meaning of scrappy.

Dianne brought this quilt top that was a paper piece project the group did..it is really stunning and was a true exercise in points!!
I will be sending a reminder for the Summer Strip Party on June 24th in a week or so.
Thanks to all of  you for enjoying this blog...I love being able to share with all of you.   Kathy

May Fellowship Quilters

Fellowship Quilters met for the May meeting with a variety of programs and lots of fellowship.
We had Sue show how to make a shawl and Ruth repeated her math and measure program as many snowbirds missed it.  They both had lots of tips for us to make us better sewers.
There was  big group and we had fun with a few extra demo's by Sue for the block you see to the left.  Can't wait to see that block put together and quilted!!

The block below is a fun one ...made from flannel and the edge of the small squares will fray when washed.

We have been doing a charity block of the month this year and this was last months that member brought back to be put together.  What a great scrappy block...called Snowball!!

Karen showed her project that was the program Della presented earlier in the year.  Love the flowers!!

I don't usually put my quilts on this blog but have to show off this little one.  Former member Ruth died last December and we inherited much of her sewing room.  She had written out her plan for this little gem and started by fussy cutting the blocks.  I was very pleased to finish her work and sent an email picture to her daughter.

Bobbie has a stunner in the quilt above and it  is a very interesting block.
  Linda has a winner with this quilt below  and it would be a great stash buster.  It is one block and turned on its side as it is put together.  I love it!!

The RQK quilt group is raffling off this Dear Jane quilt below with the proceeds going to charity.  What a wonderful quilt to see and many of our Fellowship members made some of these blocks.  Lots and Lots of love and work.  How do you put a price on a quilt like this...Priceless!!

We finish our quilting year with our June Picnic on June  10th    Hope to see lots of you.  More info with my next email.   Kathy

April Fellowship Quilters

 April is half way done but the weather in Traverse City is still on the cool side.  The spring flowers are trying to bloom but it is not quite warm enough yet.  However the Fellowship Quilters are heating up with major quilting and projects being completed.  We had a great morning class with  artist/quilter
Robin Webb Bransky who brought some beautiful art quilts using a wide variety of different processes.  She uses water colors, batik type painting, fabric dying and lots of imagination as well as her quilting skills.  It really got all the creative juices going and we were wowed by her work.

 The poppy above was done with many little pieces of fabric and glue as well as the quilting.. ..the picture does not do it justice.  It is the same with the sparkly flower below.

 Our project for the morning was to bring an orphan block and re purpose it into something else.  This is Robins block below.  It is amazing to see how one plain block can end up so wildly different.

 Show and Tell is my favorite time in our group.  Lots of great items at this meeting.   Above is Shirley with the quilt she made for her granddaughter...a memory quilt as she is graduating from High School.  Sharon brought the quilt below that she has been working on for awhile...I missed the name of the pattern but it is absolutely beautiful

 Jackie is the queen of the wool hooked rugs and she showed us this vest she made with labels from many clothing items she re purposed.  It is unique with many familiar names that you do not hear any more...like Jacobsens...for those of you that grew up downstate and shopped there.  I grew up in Jackson which was their headquarters so I was there often with my mother.

Linda brought this eye popping quilt...it looks so great and she said it was easy to make.

We are starting to wind up the year and have the May meeting and then the June picnic.
Barb reported that the work bee's have been busy and she had lots of quilts to distribute. 15 to Munson maternity, 10 to neo natal ICU babies, 3 to Hospice House , 5 to meals on wheels, 5 to the Infusion clinic, and 6 to TCHS Pregnancy Teen Program.   Impressive ladies!!!!  Hope to see you all in May...Kathy

February and March Fellowship Quilters

Greeting to all the brave Fellowship Quilters who have survived the winter of 2013-14 in northern Michigan.  It has been one for the record books as far as cold temps and amounts of snow.  I hope it has kept everyone quilting like crazy to keep from going crazy!!!  Mike and I were gone to the warmth of Florida for a couple of weeks so I was not at the Feb meeting.  Della took some pictures and told me about the meeting.

 Renne from Renne's House of Quilts was the morning program and she brought Hex-N-More ruler.  She also brought a die cutter which was fascinating.   Always fun to see what is new and evolving in the quilt world.

 March Fellowship Quilters meeting was also a cold snowy day...when will it end.  We had Sharon from Quilt n' Bee as our morning program to show us some new rulers.  It was great to see how many different ways one ruler can be used.  One was the Add a Quarter Ruler and the other was Leaves Galore.  She had some examples of how to use these rulers...very slick!!!  She also had some door prizes for us.  What a great guest!!!

 Sharon made the table runner above with the Leaves Galore...the curved ruler makes it easy to cut out the leaf shapes and then she appliqued them onto the table runner in a circle pattern...just one of the uses for this ruler

 Lots of Charity blocks turned in this month...remember  it is not too late to do them or turn any of them in!!

 Sue also gave us a great tutorial on how to use Square in a Square Ruler.  It was great to see the kinds of ways to use this ruler...I had no idea it was that versatile!

 Pat was the Queen for the day and brought some fantastic quilts.  The cat one above is paper pieced and the picture does not do it justice.  The redwork one below is striking as only a redwork quilt can be.  Pat is like many of us and has given away most of the quilts she has made but still has an impressive collection.  Great work Pat!

Tracy has shown this quilt before but here it is quilted, complete with buttons and pockets from the military uniforms of her friend.  This will definitely be a family heirloom.
We had a good number of members present even though the weather was cold and snowy and I know lots of people are still out of town.  Della wants to remind us that she and her group are looking for new leaders for next year...don't be afraid of taking this challenge because it will be rewarding.
I will send out a reminder for the next meeting but will give you a heads up that the quilt artist who is coming, Robin Webb Bransky, will have us bring an orphan block to rework into something else and that there will be a small cost for the morning program.  More later.
We had a surprise announcement that Elsa  is moving to the Houghton Lake area to be near family.  We will really  miss her and wish her well.  I will include her new address in my meeting reminder email.

Barb read this quote she got from Brenda   "If people looked at their family, their neighborhood, even the world like a quilter, they would see that you can patch together a lot of different and strange looking fabric to form a warm , inviting work of art."   So true.
Think spring!!!   Kathy

January Blizzard Meeting

 Fellowship Quilters met for the January Meeting under uncertainty as the weather of Northern Michigan has been unpredictable.  However a few hearty souls did brave the elements to attend and we ended up with about a dozen or so at the meeting.  They just kept trickling in one by one.  The sun was out and it was not snowing which helped.
So we were few but mighty!!!
The Work Bee earlier in January produced about 40 heart pillows for Munson's heart surgery unit.
Barb reminds us that we can still make pillow cases for the mental health/homeless group.

Above is a beautiful quilt made by Lynn that is hand quilted with seed pears in the quilting.  The picture does not do it justice.  Elsa made the flower quilt to the right for a lady who has dementia...she quilted it with a beautiful rose pattern.

We lost a long time member before Christmas.
Ruth Tayor had not been active in a few years but was a member of Fellowship and the Presbyterian Church.  She participated when the group made the quilt that hangs in the church narthex and you can see which block she helped make by the key to the side of the quilt.  We got a donation of many of her sewing room items and had a small sale to raise some money for other group projects.  There is still some great stuff left and will be  out for next month.  We also have taken her unfinished blocks and some materials to help with charity quilts.  I know she would be pleased. I hope to post pictures of those as they are finished.

                                Joan made this pet themed quilt which is so sweet...so is she!

 Pat made this wall hanging for her son and daughter in law who have a farm in Maine.  The phrase at the bottom is so true  "Find your passion and pursue it with all your heart"

 Ruth did the program today and has a hand out for those who could not make it.  She is a math wiz and had wonderful tips for figuring out borders, binding and backings.  The quilt above was her demo...good stuff!

So here is the hearty group that made it to Fellowship Quilters today...minus Mary who left early.  Thanks to everyone who came as we had lots of laugh, great food and good fellowship.  
Remember the work bee is Feb 11th and the next meeting is Feb 25th.    Stay warm!!!!