13 ladies attended today. Sue Kidder, the senior outreach person for New Scotland, came in today to pick up the lap quilts for seniors that we made. Daryl also contributed several knitted/crocheted items. So Sue left with her arms full and can take some of the warmth from our group into the homes of those less fortunate. Next week we will be having our holiday lunch at Maggie's Cafe on Western Ave. I called them today to make a reservation so it's all set up. Hopefully the ice will have melted by then so we can all make it safely. Agnes brought in some holiday (Christmas and Hannukah) table runners she has made for gifts and Betsey brought in her Christmas wall-hanging. Ethel was working on a beautiful beaded Christmas tree skirt. This is a busy time of the year. I've requested some time off work so I can finish my holiday sewing. No mischief making for us--we're far too busy!

12 ladies attended today. It's very cold and windy out today so kudos to those who braved the weather. I pulled out the last of the lap quilts and sewed the binding on. We now have 4 lap quilts for New Scotland seniors. Hurray for us! I hope Sue Kidder will come pick them up next week. Betsey H. cut out the pieces for a prayer quilt for her church. Ethel was working on a very nice Christmas quilt. Cathy M., Fran and Pat are looking forward to the 2008 Flying Geese Saturday morning quilt they will be making. Marguerite gave us an update on Hattie. She's okay but her husband is quite sick. Agnes reports that Winnie is doing well. They were on an outing last week and missed Nimblefingers but had a very good time. In 2 weeks, on the 18th, we will be going to lunch. 12:30 at Maggie's. After that there will be no Nimblefingers for 2 weeks because of the holidays.

14 ladies attended today. We tied one of the 2 unfinished lap quilts and sewed on the binding. Next week we'll finish the binding and add a nametag--then it's done! We decided today that on Dec. 18th we'll have our holiday lunch at Maggie's on Western Avenue. This Saturday is our meeting with the Junior Nimblefingers followed by a sew-in. We only have 4 girls signed up but I know they are very eager! I hope some of you come as well!

13 ladies attended today. Pat brought a cherry pie. It's great having bakers in the group! I got out a sewing machine and tried out the walking foot. I quilted the lap quilt I made. I hadn't tried machine quilting on the new machines so was glad to do so. It worked so now we've almost finished a 4th lap quilt for the New Scotland seniors. Marguerite brought her grandson Nathan in for a little bit. He's such a cute little guy it's fun to see him periodically. Alberta has discovered a new craft! She is paper-cutting a pop-up Christmas tree insert for her home-made Christmas cards. Her little trees are delightful and everyone wanted a lesson but Alberta says we have to go buy the stamp--then she'll teach us. Deb took home some denim from our closet-cleaning spree last week and is recovering boat cushions for her husband. It looked great and I think her husband will be thrilled! That denim did come in useful after all--you just have to find the right person to give it to.

Today we had 14 ladies at Nimblefingers and I put them to work. I needed to clean out our closet so with a lot of help from Deb we unloaded a bunch of fabric. Our closet looks much better now. Fran, Cathy M. and I sewed labels on our raffle quilt and the 3 lap quilts then fearless Deb hung them all up. I'll keep them up for a few weeks then deliver them to Sue Kidder for the seniors. Pat brought in a cake today and she brought in one last week which I froze and put out today so we had a lot of cake. It was Ann Bave's birthday so we would have celebrated but she didn't come so we didn't. We took up a collection to donate to the Methodist Church and Kiwanis in the name of Bill Childs. We were all saddened by the news of his passing. Word is that Winnie is holding up well so I'll hope we'll see her back in the group soon. Everyone is starting to talk holidays--the time has come when we all get busy with our families!

16 ladies attended today. Diana Marshall from the Gloversville Sewing Center came to teach us how to use our sewing machines. She ended up giving us many quilting and sewing tips as well. It was a surprise to us just how many things we can do with our machines! We also learned that many of us do things the wrong way, use the wrong supplies, etc. It was a learning experience. Home Economics class was a long time ago and all of the tools have changed so it was nice to get some of this new information. We spent most of the afternoon learning the tricks of our sewing machines. Otherwise, Cathy M. brought some scrumptious Apricot nut bars, Fran showed us the quilt she is working on (I don't remember the name of the pattern but it looked like an easy one), Deb and I discussed the problems of dealing with adult children, and I don't really know what else went on but we had a good time as usual. Cathy Y. is wondering how big her quilt needs to be to cover a queen size bed so I found some info about that to give her next week. Plus next week we need to spend some time cleaning out the closet! The fabric and the batting both seem to multiply so it's time to start weeding!

20 ladies attended today. Daryl brought some heavenly zucchini cake and Pat brought some yummy pumpkin bread so we ate well! Kathy Olsen brought in our raffle quilt completely finished! She even put on the binding! Thank you Kathy! I'll bring in a nametag to sew on and we'll be all set to give it to the Friends of the Library to raffle. Today we pulled out a quilt top I had made to donate to our lap quilt cause and made a sandwich of it. I guess we'll have to discuss whether we want to tie it or machine quilt it. Now that we have the sewing machines that might actually be quicker. I had made this quilt in an untitled pattern which is great for using up your scraps so I demonstrated how it is made. Maybe we'll make one after we finish the mile-a-minute quilt that is still in progress. Pat Boyagian, one of our newcomers, brought in some great kids quilts she had made out of heavy, fancy knits. They were very heavy, very colorful and I'm sure are very warm and cozy for her kids. Daryl and Betsy also brought in kids quilts they had made for show-and-share. Today Cathy Y. and Jean K. both brought in freebies--fabric and patterns. And finally, I'm looking for plastic tri-glide belt buckles for a project for the junior Nimblefingers. I'll take any donations! Don't forget, this Sunday afternoon Lori Lupe Pelish will be here at the library showing and talking about her hooked rugs. 1:30 to 3:30--free! Her quilts are to die for so I can't wait to see her rugs!

20 ladies attended today. I pulled out the mile-a-minute pieces and worked on that. Marguerite came and helped me. It's coming together now. Kathy Olsen has been hand quilting the log cabin quilt. It is almost entirely quilted now. She's going to check her stash for something to use for the binding. There was lots of knitting going on today. The Methodist Church craft sale is coming up so there is a push to get items for that ready. And Christmas is on the way. The time when crafters get super busy. Betsey Hoffman brought in a avery old and worn crazy quilt. She found it in the bottom of a box and has no idea where it came from. But the embroidery stitches were terrific!

17 ladies attended today. Next week we can't meet in the community room as they will be setting up for the annual book sale. So instead, we're going out to lunch. We will be meeting at 12:30 at the Cat's Meow on Route 155. Fran says they have a great lobster roll for $9.99. I'll call ahead and warn them that we're coming. Today Marie brought in her braided rug to show us how it's done. I brought in a quilt top to sandwich and Kathy Olsen brought in a completed lap quilt. MaryAnn, Marie and I sewed some more mile-a-minute blocks. I think we have enough now to make a quilt. We're really going to town on these lap quilts! The seniors of New Scotland will stay warm this winter! Diana from the Gloversville Sewing Center was supposed to come to teach us to use our machines but she forgot. Instead she's coming on Nov. 6. Hopefully any problems we have with them will show up by then and we can show her and get help.

14 ladies attended today including a couple of new people. I got out the sewing machines again and we continued making mile-a-minute blocks. We must have almost 20 blocks by now. Next week Diane from the Gloversville Sewing Center is coming and she will give us instruction on the sewing machines and the week after that the community room will be closed for the book sale and we will be going out to lunch. So we won't get back to our block making until Tuesday the 23rd. But we picked out some possible lattice fabric so we're ready to go. Cathy Maikoff did double duty helping with the blocks and helping the new folks with knitting. They had some beautiful yarn they were working with. And MaryAnn Morrison who came for the first time last week was here again. We succeeded in getting her totally addicted to mile-a-minute blocks. She thought it was better than Freecell and for all of us who have dealt with that addiction we know what she is talking about. Next week Marie Russell is also going to bring in her braided rugs to show us. She took some of the donated polyester fabric to use in her rugs and people were asking her to demonstrate braided rug making. For show and share I brought in the little needle felted bag I made last week. It was from a kit--I just wanted to try out needle felting. It was fun!

17 ladies attended today. We got out the sewing machines and made mile-a-minute blocks. Several people didn't know how to do it so we could teach them while using up some of our scraps, getting practice using the machines and making blocks for lap quilts. Marguerite did most of the teaching. Meanwhile, Agnes and I tied one of the finished lap quilts. We now have 2 finished donation lap quilts. Gail Sacco, the director came in and showed us the DVD library commercial starring our own Betty Smith! It's a nice little film and really casts the library in a good light--as an extension of family. She also reminded us to fill out our library surveys, which
several people filled out. Kathy Connors also came in and promoted a healthy living workshop that is being taught at the senior center. Cathy Maikoff treated us with some homemade blueberry muffins. We were an active group today getting a lot accomplished.

12 ladies attended today. I was determined to finish 2 of the lap quilts that have been in process for awhile so I sewed bindings on both of them. Agnes and Daryl each took one home to finish the binding. Then we can add some ties and they'll be finished. Betty brought in 2 treats: she brought in a small Thank You quilt she made to thank the group for the gift of blocks for her birthday and she brought in her gift blocks in a finished quilt! Her granddaughter Linda had put it together for her using different colors as a lattice so it was very colorful and looked great! Betty is pleased and that's what's important. Fran reported that Ann Bave attended last weeks QUILT meeting and is fine. We were worried about her because she had had some kind of surgery so it's good to know she is well. I called Katherine Denegar today and talked to her. She and Russ are also coming right along. Jean Kallop brought in some more of her stash to give away. And Betsey made me a birthday cake! Thank you Betsey, it was yummy! Today was the last meeting Louise will attend--she's leaving for Florida on Friday. We'll miss you Louise! And we decided that next week we are going to use the 3 new sewing machines and make some mile-a-minute lap quilts to use up some of our stash. So be prepared ladies! We'll have some fun!

I've been away for a couple of weeks. I went to visit my mom in Texas 2 weeks ago. Had a good time and taught my sister to make a 4-patch posie quilt. Then got stuck in airport delay limbo for 31 hrs.! Took the train home for the last leg of my journey. Then was sick as a dog (with laryngitis) for a week after that. But I'm back now. Last week 13 ladies attended but this week we had a special day--Betty Smith's 98th birthday--so 28 people attended today. We had made blocks (some of them personalized) for Betty which she could put together. Daryl made a birthday cake, lots of cards, some misc. gifts and the special attendance of many of Betty's family--3 granddaughters, 1 great-granddaughter, and her son. Betty left with arms full and a smile on her face. I think she had a good time. The rest of us had a good time too. Next Saturday is the Altamont quilt show in the park. Some of us are going to meet at the library at 12:30 and drive over together. Anyone wanting to join us is welcome. It should be a nice show.

Only 11 attended today, two young ladies and a young man (Pat's grandson). Laura Di Virgilio made her pillowcase, received her license to sew and still had time left over so made a small quilt! Pat's granddaughter Sophie also tried out the sewing machines and made a pieced pillowtop. The talk among the ladies began with apples, apple pie and what kind of apple to use for pies, then on to toilet training. Laura and I did a little snickering listening to the potty talk. Grandchildren are always a favorite topic though among the ladies. We are beginning to think about getting back to our prayer quilts. We have several members with seriously ill family members and other members going in for surgery. Was it Bette Davis who said "getting old is not for sissies." She had that right. I'm off next week to visit my mother. I'm looking forward to visiting the quilt shop down there and teaching my little sister the 4-patch posy block. So I won't be blogging until 8/28. Have fun next week!

27 ladies today of which 8 were jrs. This was officially our last day of Jr. Nimblefingers but we might have a couple of girls join us next week to finish up their projects. It's been a lot of fun and the kids loved it. They are so proud of their pillowcases and clutch bags. It's been a very rewarding program. But back to my ladies. Hattie was back today after a long illness. I didn't get much chance to talk to her but she looked good. And Marguerite, who never sews just for fun, has gotten hooked on the very fun 4-patch posie pattern. She's now made 2 and has another one in process! Deb Johnson got a kick out of helping the girls at the sewing machine. She said they reminded her of her first encounter with a sewing machine--she was a believer in putting the pedal to the metal! Fortunately, she has learned to slow down as are our young ladies. Judging the pressure on the foot pedal is just one of the many aspects of sewing that improves with practice. More girls graduated with their license to drive today.

I just realized that I hadn't written in the blog this week. Yesterday was an eventful day, Nimblefingers followed in the evening by a Harry Potter birthday party. What fun! We had 17 people at Nimblefingers--only 4 jrs. It was nice being able to work with only 4 girls instead of 10--much less chaotic and even gave me a chance to breathe once in awhile. Of the 4 girls, 2, Alexandra Cunningham and Adele Reilly, both finished their clutch bags and received their "License to Drive." Hopefully, a bunch more will receive them next week. And among the sr. Nimblefingers, Deb Johnson brought in her fish pillow that goes with her fish quilt. The pillow was very nice. She has already given the quilt to her very appreciative mother. One more week of the jrs. then we'll be back to normal except that we will have the new sewing machines to use! The pictures are from top left: Jackson Lalor, Ann Bave and Joyce Laiosa; Adele Reilly and her creations; Alexandra Cunningham and her creations; and Laura Patak at the sewing machine.

21 ladies attended today--8 of them kids. It was another exciting day. As they entered the room my ladies found themselves drafted to help with either sewing, pinning, or ironing. Everyone gets a chance to be a teacher. Several of the girls finished their pillowcases and they were beautiful! I wish I had pictures but we were so busy helping no one had time to take pictures. It was also the last day for at least 3 of the girls. I helped 2 of them with their purses but learned in doing so that the sewing machines don't like really heavy fabric. I couldn't sew one of the purses because the fabric was too thick. Daryl brought in the upholstery so we went through it and pulled out the lightweight ones to use for the bags. I think we'll be fine next week when we start working on them. The girls are all very enthusiastic. They have made great sewing boxes and pillowcases and now have a little experience using a sewing machine. Hopefully they'll go on to sew some more. And all of my helper ladies seemed to enjoy helping even though it is a bit zooey. The kids enthusiasm is infectious so we all had a good time. Thanks to Pat and Winnie for the goodies! Pictured are Sadye and Abigail Goldfarb with their sewing boxes.

Whew! What a day! We had 15 ladies and 12 kids today. Sue Reilly, Betty King, Betty Smith, Marguerite, and Cathy Maikoff all helped the kids work on their sewing boxes or pillowcases. Only 1 girl, I think, didn't have an opportunity to work on the sewing machine but she was making great progress on her sewing box. Except for the 1 girl, all of the other kids are starting or have started their pillowcase. We're going to end up with a bunch of great pillowcases! I asked Daryl if she could bring in some upholstery samples for the kids to use in the next project. We'll be making a clutch bag which I am going to have to go home and start practicing on so that I can write up a pattern. That's where I'll be this weekend--in my sewing room! Again, I don't know what the talk at the adult table was as I was working up a sweat with the kids. I think next week I'll draft more help so that I can spend some time with my ladies.

Today was the first day of Junior Nimblefingers with the new sewing machines! 10 juniors and 20 seniors came. Joyce helped the first group of girls make a pin cushion and a sewing box. They will finish their sewing boxes next week. Marguerite showed the kids the tools of the trade. I gave them a tour of the sewing machine and got them started sewing on paper. Most of the kids will sew on paper again next week but a couple of kids may be ready to start their pillowcases. I have no idea what my ladies did as I was working with the kids but I did notice that Daryl brought in her Michigan quilt which she has starting quilting with the letter M. It looks great! I brought in a quilt top I made on the new sewing machines. Joyce was wearing a dress she made on one of the new sewing machines. The kids were very enthusiastic--in fact I got my first hug and kiss as a librarian today! I think this will be a fun summer.

The sewing machines have arrived! We had 1 available today for the ladies (18 of them) to try out. Joyce and I each took the other machines home to practice on. I've got to say, they're more complicated than I thought they would be. But we put our many heads together and figured most things out. It will take practice for us adults to use them so it may take even more practice for the kids. We'll find out next week though because the kids will be here! Today Marguerite brought in her blocks for the 4-patch posie quilt she is making. Daryl had her Michigan State quilt spread out to sandwich. Marie brought in a collection of beautiful collars she had tatted, crocheted, knitted and sewn, plus beaded belts and jewelry. She is a very talented woman. We're going to have her display her work in the display case in September. I brought in the fabric I bought at the Vermont Quilt Show, and Louise was back today. We've all been wondering when she would return. Agnes is the only one who finished the table runner Louise taught some of us and she is eager to show it to her. Next week should be an exciting week and probably a bit chaotic. But hopefully, we will start down the road to teaching these kids to sew!

Today we had a small group---only 12 ladies, but it was a special day because we were visited by Karine Abalyan from the Spotlight who is writing a feature article on the Nimblefingers! We're going to be famous! (at least locally). It's nice to be recognized as the friendly, creative group that we are so thank you Karine! Daryl and I each brought in a prayer quilt ready to be tied. However, the table was in use by Linda C. who had 4 quilts to sandwich and Daryl with 1 quilt to sandwich. There was lots of pinning going on today! Back at the table, Alberta and Nancy were working on their card embroidery, Marguerite, Agnes and Pat with their hand-piecing, Betty with her knitting, Ethel with her embroidery, and Marie decided to take a day off and just came to visit. Agnes brought in some strawberry bread that was delicious! And Lew Schedlbauer brought in some more scrap batting for future prayer quilts. Thanks again Lew--you're a good friend! I am trying to clean out our little closet so had put out several boxes of fabric and lots of magazines hoping it would find a home. This will have to be an ongoing project so look for more stuff at our next meeting!

We had a small group today--only 12 ladies. But it was a special day because Karine Abalyan from the Spotlight came to interview us for a feature column in the Spotlight! We're going to be famous! (at least locally). It's nice to be recognized as the friendly, creative group that we are. So, watch for the Spotlight! Today Daryl and I brought in the 2 prayer quilts we are making. They have been anchored down and are ready to tie. Linda Crannell came in with 4 quilts that needed to be sandwiched and Daryl had 1 to sandwich so there was lots of pinning going on. Back at the table Alberta and Nancy continued working on their card embroidery, Marguerite, Agnes and Pat with their hand-piecing, Ethel with her embroidery, Betty with her knitting and Marie decided to take a day off and just come for a visit. Agnes brought in some strawberry bread which was delicious. Lew Schedlbauer brought in some more scrap batting to be used for future prayer quilts. Thanks again Lew! And I pulled out all of the boxes of donated fabric and magazines hoping that people would take them away. Our little closet is getting too full!

18 ladies attended today. Two of our ladies I was very glad to see, Katherine Denegar came back for a visit and Anne Bave, who has been out with health problems also returned. It is so good to see them again. Katherine came loaded with gifts--lots of patterns, books and magazines. Thanks for the freebies Katherine! I brought in 2 prayer quilts to make into quilt sandwiches. I am taking one home to quilt and Darryl the other. It will be good to have 2 more prayer quilts ready to give away. Lew Schedlbauer came by with some more scrap batting. His scraps come in very handy for small projects. Jeanne Knouse came in today with her ugly fabric challenge quilt which she was just finishing. Unfortunately the challenge has come and gone so she couldn't win a prize but what she has done with her piece of the ugly fabric is gorgeous! She's made a simple rail fence block with bright colors and a fantastic fabric for the border and the backing. It's truly beautiful! Linda O'Connor also stopped by with her granddaughter who was learning to sew on plastic canvas. My guess is she'll end up being as talented a needleworker as her grandmother.

We had a small group today--13 ladies. Betty, Sue, Edith and Marie were all knitting. Marguerite made the last block needed for a quilt. Alberta resurrected her rainbow quilt and was quilting that. I pulled out the future raffle quilt to quilt with some help from Marguerite. Agnes was working on her Irish chain quilt. Marie brought in her finished 4-patch posie pillow. She used fish fabric and it ended up looking like an abstract design. It's a very cool pattern. Wanda Knapp dropped by with a reference question which Jean Kallop was able to answer. She needed to know how to make a fabric book cover. Jean's made several so was willing to give advice. Daryl was making a binding for her granddaughter's art quilt. And Linda was working on one of her interesting baskets. So a small group but a nice day anyway.

20 ladies attended today. Betty Smith came prepared to teach how to cast on yarn so she had a little group of future knitters around her. Daryl was still collecting sign-ups to go to the Quilt Bug on Thursday. A small group of us are going to spend some time shopping. They have even said they'll give us a little workshop. It should be fun. Marguerite brought in some rhubarb to give away and some rhubarb pudding to sample while Jean brought in cookies and the recipes for several kinds of cookies. Marguerite also brought in her finished mile-a-minute quilt top. Betty King brought in a baby blanket and another larger quilt for another grandson. So we had another nice show-and-share.

13 ladies attended today. I got out the future raffle quilt and quilted it. The ladies at the end of the table were busy making Snowmen for their church bazaar. Betsey was finishing a prayer quilt for her church. Edith was knitting a butterfly blanket. Marguerite and Tina discovered that they both owned the same lone star quilt kit so they conferred about that. Jean also has one but isn't sure where it is. It must have been a popular kit years ago when they all bought theirs. Cathy M. was binding a beautiful pink and green quilt which was one of her Flying Geese block of the month quilts. She had it quilted by Linda Denner who did a fantastic job! It was a quiet day comparatively with everyone getting back to the routine after our long Memorial Day weekend.

17 ladies attended today. 3 brought in their 4-piece posie blocks to show from our workshop with Judy Schedlbauer. Many thanks to Judy--these quilts are a lot of fun to make! Other show and tell: Betty Smith's Sudoku quilt and her granddaughter Linda's scrap black/lime green quilt. Lots of food today, store bought pies, ice cream bread (?!) and Pat's delicious choco/peanut butter goodies. Betsy brought in her sewing machine so that she could work on prayer quilts for her church. Tina passed out her home-made finger thimbles. We are also getting groups together to go on a field trip to the Quilt Bug in Esperance and to the Wings Falls quilt show. Several of us are also planning to take one of the bus trips to the Vermont Quilt show later in June. Betty learned a new way to cast-on for knitting. She demonstrated this to some of us. Lots of talk and lots of fun.

Things were really hopping at Nimblefingers today! We had 18 ladies in attendence. Judy Schedlbauer, an outstanding local quilter, came and demonstrated the 4-patch posie for us. At least 4 people came with fabric and equipment to make their own quilt so we should be having some nice show and shares for the next few weeks. Right now the Flying Geese quilt store on Rt. 155 has a show of 4-patch posies so if you want to see some more examples head up there. Also today the Library was filming a TV commercial about the Library in which our own Betty Smith was one of the stars! We will all eagerly await the release of this commercial so that we can see dear Betty on TV. Daryl is trying to get a group of people to take a field trip to the Quilt Bug in Esperance on June 7th, Thursday, in the morning. If you're interested let us know. We are also hoping some of you will sign up for one of the bus trips to the Vermont Quilt Show at the end of June. It's one of the region's best shows and if you haven't been it's well worth a visit. And there's still time to vote on the Village Quilters Ugly fabric contest. Come see the many ways in which they chose to use this particular ugly fabric. Cathy Maikoff left me with submission applications for the Altamont "Quilts in the Park" show in September. If you want a copy let me know. Fear not you non-quilters out there--there were still several sets of knitting needles clicking away today. We aim to appeal to all tastes and all crafts. Always have, always will.

20 ladies attended today. We had lots of show and share. Daryl had been given 2 yo-yo quilts and an unfinished piece of cutwork. Plus she had made two baby quilt tops for charity. Jean Kallop, back from Florida, showed us her storybook baby quilt for her new grandson. Betty Smith always surprises us with her quilts. Today she had a Sudoku quilt. The fabrics were chosen for her by the guy from the Woodstock quilt store and what a great job he did! The fabrics went together beautifully! Hope Heath had a nice quilt top she had made with lots of bright colors. Marie was wearing another of her wonderful pieced vests. And Julie showed off her San Francisco purchases. Linda O'Connor brought her sewing machine so that she could give extra help on the bags she showed us last week. Next week Judy Schedlbauer will be coming to demonstrate the 4-patch posie pattern. It's fun and easy so come prepared to cut, pin, and play! But don't think we've forgotten about our knitters/non-quilters--there are always a few of them scattered around the tables and we love to see what they're up to as well. With many of our ladies what they work on depends on what they grab as they're leaving the house--fabric or yarn! We are a multi-talented group who love to socialize!

19 ladies attended today. Linda O'Connor was on hand to teach us how to make a purse out of pre-quilted fabric. Several ladies came ready to sew-fold- & sew some more on their bags. Next week we should have a nice little show and share. Also, Linda will return if people run into problems and need more help. Marie brought in a variation of a grandmother's flower garden quilt which she is hand piecing using the English paper piecing method. This is very time-consuming but allows for great precision. Daryl and Pat have been making small baby quilts for a charity from Massachusetts. Several knitters/crocheters were present. As always, a good time was had by all.

20 ladies attended today and we had lots of show and share. Pat brought in a prayer quilt to tie, Betsey brought in an almost finished quilt top she was making for her husband (Irish chain), Kathy O. brought in a blue and white quilt (atypical for her--the Thimbleberries lady), Betty brought in her 4 patch posie quilt top, and Linda brought in a quilted bag which she will demonstrate next week. So if you want to make one, bring in a bound 22" pre-quilted square. She will show us how to sew and fold it to make a nice medium-sized bag. There was much discussion about the Delmar Q.U.I.L.T. show last weekend. We were all very impressed. Fran brought in pictures of her husband building houses in Mexico, Julie told about her 2-days in San Francisco, and everyone enjoyed eating the delicious apple cake Daryl brought to share. Cathy Y. brought in garlic from her garden to give away. Marguerite reported on Hattie who has ongoing health problems. We all wish her well. Cathy M. says next week she's bring Katherine Denegar for a visit. We all enjoy seeing her so that's something to look forward to. Slowly our snowbirds are returning home. Linda this month, Jean next month and someday I assume Margot will return. Welcome home and welcome back to Nimblefingers!

14 ladies attended today. Marguerite brought in her finished completely hand-pieced, hand-quilted apple core quilt. We were all excited about the curved binding which really added to the quilt. Fran made a wall hanging from some geisha girl panels she had picked up. It was beautiful! Betty told us about the 4 patch posie quilt her granddaughter is making so we discussed that for awhile. Many of us would like to learn the technique. Pat brought in a top for a prayer quilt and Cathy's M. and Y. helped make a quilt sandwich of it. And Kathy O. diligently worked on our raffle quilt with some help from Agnes and I. It's getting there but hand quilting is slow. This weekend is the Delmar Q.U.I.L.T. show in Ravena. Several ladies are car-pooling to that on Saturday. Deb J. is off to Myrtle Beach on Thursday and I'm off to San Francisco tomorrow. We both have plans to check out the quilt shops while we're away. Kathy O. had made a trip to Alfred's and discovered the Alexander Henry fabrics. It's from 1997 but it's gorgeous! Fran had already told me about it and I had hit it the week before. It's well worth making the trip for beautiful fabric for $6 a yard.

Today was a joint day with the Junior Nimblefingers. We had 17 ladies and 11 young ladies. What a day! The kids designed small personal quilts then we sewed down the pieces. We had 5 sewing machines going with other adults helping with the designing and the embellishing. Several of the ladies brought their granddaughters. I think we all had a good time--the noise level was high! All of the quilts made were fantastic! Some very creative kids in the bunch. And now for the regular Nimblefingers news. Darryl brought in a card she received addressed to her and Pat Hammond thanking them for making pillowcases for a sick child. Darryl is very interested in doing more community work of that sort so we will discuss that next week. Darryl also brought in some fabric that will work as sashing for another prayer quilt so now we have 2 quilts ready to put together. Kathy Olsen and friends continued the quilting bee on the raffle quilt. She says they do more talking than quilting but that's just fine. That's one of the goals of the group is to bring people together. Lots of good food today and lots of fun.

17 ladies attended today. We had some great show-and-tell: Edith Goldstein brought in her finished and framed needlepoint and Ann Bave brought in her 2-fabric circle quilt top. (Click on the pictures for a close-up) Both are exquisite! Kathy Olsen, who is determined to get our raffle quilt quilted, set up a table and got our little quilting bee going again. Winnie, Agnes and Julie helped out. We have 2 more prayer quilts in the works--still working on getting backing and sash fabrics. Joyce, who was on the reference desk, did a little research for us to find out what happened to Alex Anderson's Simply Quilts TV show. She reported to us that it is no longer on the HGTV channel (although you can watch some presentations on streaming video on www.hgtv.com). Alex is now on MWF on the DIY channel at 2:30 p.m. (you can find her on www.diynetwork.com if you look under TV, then Simply Quilts--this has the same instructions, etc. that used to be on the HGTV site) and she is also on a pay web site, www.thequiltshow.com with Ricky Tims. I have added these websites to the links column of the blog, so just click on the link for easy access. We are all sorry to lose our morning quilting fix with Alex. But enough Alex talk... Pat Hammond brought in a delicious fruit salad which disappeared quickly. Next week we'll be working with the Junior Nimblefingers again--it's spring break. They will be making small, personal diary quilt tops so we need to bring in our sewing machine and novelty fabric scraps.

12 ladies attended today. Hattie Kline sent us a thank you note for the prayer quilt we gave her. Hopefully she will find out soon what is making her sick. Cathy Maikoff brought in some quilt blocks for Cathy Yachup and others to arrange for her. Kathy Olsen tried out the standing hoop for quilting but learned that she didn't really like working on it. Several ladies laid out some other quilt blocks to see if we could make another prayer quilt out of them. Pat took home several big pieces of fabric to wash so they could be used in our prayer quilts. Deb came with tools to cut out pieces for her placemat. Marguerite and Pat Orourke were both hand-piecing blocks, Marie Russell was appliquing hawaiian blocks and Julie was finishing up her Sudoku quilt. On the other hand, Betty Smith was knitting more dishrags trying to use up her yarn and Edith was working on the child's needlepoint piece. Lots of food with Pat Hammond back from vacation--more food than people today. It was a quiet group but as always a good time was had by all.

15 ladies attended today. Marguerite brought in her apple core quilt again for more quilting advice. Darryl brought in her Michigan State quilt for advice about a border. I had to figure out the puzzle in my sudoku quilt. Tina was doing cro-hooking so she and Nancy had a discussion about cro-hooks and cro-hooking. Elaine joined us again and impressed us with her wedding wristbands knitted from wool from her very own sheep! Deb is ready to head off for her surfing vacation in Myrtle Beach and hopes to find some surfing fabric for a quilt on the trip. Darryl brought in some patterns for people to copy for table runners and baby quilts. Tina brought in a chocolate/cherry cake and I brought in Watergate salad plus some Price Chopper brownies so once again we ate well. We are all thoroughly tired of the snow and cold and look forward to spring.

Welcome back to me! I spent last week in Texas visiting my mom and soaking up some warmth. Today 12 ladies attended. Marguerite informed me that Hattie has been sick so we tied up a prayer quilt which Kathy O. is taking home to finish. After this we pulled out the to-be-raffled quilt and started quilting. Fran suggested that we all make ourselves nametags because we're all having a hard time remembering each others names. Marguerite brought in her almost finished apple core quilt. She wanted some advice about her quilting pattern which we all gladly responded to. Marguerite does all hand piecing and hand quilting so her quilts are always amazing. She is a great quilter with small stitches that we all envy. Edith Goldstein was back and has started a new needlework piece. I asked her to bring in her finished heraldic piece which we all oohed and aahed over while she was working on it. The new piece is a kids design which will be a great gift for her grandson Adam. Joyce came in for a minute to tell us about the project we will be working on at the next (April) meeting of the Jr. Nimblefingers--a personal statement quilt. Several of us will need to bring in our machines for that meeting. Marie wore her beautiful yo-yo vest she had made from a sweatshirt. After making yo-yo's with the Jr.'s we are all becoming more aware of the fun that can be had from yo-yo's.

18 ladies attended today. We took down the quilt show. It's always amazing how much faster it is to take down than it is to put it up. Deb was there doing her aerial acrobatics on top of the ladders. Kathy Olsen has been working on our next raffle quilt. She was going to try to machine quilt it but it was just too big so she went back to hand quilting. She brought it in, laid it over a table and several ladies sat around the table quilting and talking. So we have a good old-fashioned quilting bee going on! Pat Hammond brought in a birthday cake for us. It was her birthday last weekend. So we celebrated by enjoying her cake! Next week I will not be here. I'll be soaking up the warmth in Texas with my mom so see you in two weeks!

Today was the meeting of the Nimblefingers and the Junior Nimblefingers. It was also Yo-Yo day! We had 27 people, 16 adults and 11 kids. We made a lot of yo-yo's, some were made into bookmarks and some into pins. We got out the glue gun and made some button pins too. Door prizes were presented. And we had lots of good food thanks to Pat Hammond and the leftovers from last weeks open house. It was a good time for all with a lot of interaction between the kids and adults. I don't think any of the kids went home empty handed and the adults left with smiles on their faces too. We won't get together with the kids again until the April school break so next week we'll be back to normal.

This week was Open House week. We had at least 50 people attend. It was a big success! Congratulations to us! We had many hand-outs; several of us worked on a prayer quilt, Kathy Olsen demonstrated machine quilting on our next raffle quilt, and Betsey Hoffman demonstrated the braided table runner. We had so many people come in at first that it was hard to keep track of attendance. Cathy Maikoff did a very nice thing and brought our old friend Katherine Denegar to visit. It was good to see her again. We also outdid ourselves on refreshments--what a spread! A good time was had by all.

17 ladies attended today. It was a crazy day--we set up our quilt/craft show! We had ladders going this way and that, piles of quilts everywhere. Thanks to "Fearless" Deb Johnson, who has no problem climbing to the top of any ladder, our quilts reach up to the ceiling! It is a beauty to behold! I think every year we outdo ourselves. We truly are an amazing and talented group of ladies. We are looking forward to our open house next week so I hope anyone local who reads this will come and visit us next Tuesday, Feb. 13th, from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. We'll be here with good food, good company and beautiful quilts/crafts!

Today 13 ladies attended. Pat Hammond treated us with her frosted brownies. We do eat well in this group! Betty Smith was up to her old tricks--she knitted a fabric/yarn bag! She used 90 very thin strips of fabric and knitted them together with eyelash yarn. With polka dot fabric for the lining and the handles. Very cute! Darryl brought in her almost finished crazy quilt. It is ready for binding and will then be done. Others were sewing bindings on their quilts--all trying to get ready for the quilt show hanging next Tuesday. It should be a great show!

Today we had 14 ladies attend and lots of great show and share! Pat brought in a pile of lap quilts she's made to give to charity, Kathy Olsen brought in a Thimbleberries wall hanging, Fran had an Amish Star fling quilt, and Anne Bave had a bright and beautiful baby quilt. I hope I didn't forget any. I think this year we're going to have a great quilt show! Marguerite brought in her mile-a-minute quilt for us to see and buy raffle tickets on. She's raffling it to earn money to help pay for her granddaughter's trip to Alaska next summer with the People-to-people program. So far sales have been brisk so hopefully it will ease some of the financial burden on the family. Last Sunday the library brought a speaker, Kris Gregson Moss from Glens Falls, to show her quilts and tell us about them. The ladies really liked her and many want to try making quilts like hers (squiggle and ravioli quilts). She was clearly an inspiration!

This week 15 ladies attended. Betsy Hoffman brought in a lap quilt she had made from blocks made by her husbands grandmother (I think that's right). They were made probably in the late 1800's. She had enough blocks to made 2 lap size quilts, one for each of her daughters. This one was lovely. I know Betsey was worried about somehow ruining these beautiful blocks but on the contrary, her quilt complements the blocks and allows their beauty to shine. Marguerite announced that she is going to raffle off her mile-a-minute quilt to try to earn some money for her granddaughter who is going to Alaska next summer in the people-to-people program. She will be selling tickets at Nichols on Saturday and her daughter is holding a spaghetti supper at the firehouse so they hope to earn some money for Alexandra. Marguerite promised to bring in some tickets next week so we could buy some so bring your money! And remember, this Sunday, from 2 to 4, Kris Gregson Moss from Glens Falls will be talking about and showing her quilts. Hope to see you there!

We're back from the holidays today. 14 ladies attended. Pat Hammond brought in a cake and some Christmas cookies. Marguerite brought in her finished baby quilt, Kathy Olsen a cathedral window bag, and Elaine Larsen a reversible knitted cap for show-and-share. Pat is in the process of making many lap quilts she hopes to donate to a hospital or nursing home. She is trying, like many of us are, to use up her scraps. All had good holidays although many didn't stay up long enough to see the ball drop. Now we're all ready to get back to normal, non-holiday life.