15 ladies attended today. Jo-Anne brought in a quilt she won in a raffle at a spinal cord benefit. It was a single Irish chain scrap quilt made by someone in the Delmar Q.U.I.L.T. group. It was very pretty. Elaine brought in her finished souvenir Grand Canyon table runner. It turned out perfectly! It's a wonderful remembrance of an amazing trip. Pat OR was back. She's been away a couple of weeks. She says Fran is indeed back and had a wonderful time in Cuba. She should be back to Nimblefingers next week. Diane C. brought in a friend today who needed some help with her crocheting so Pat L. and Marguerite gave her some advice. Pat L. reported that Deb is feeling very low with her fibromyalgia. Give her a call if you are able. I visited Marie last Friday. I helped her finish the quilt she has been working on. It is a two-sided quilt (both sides are beautiful) and the back quilt was not as big as the front quilt so I added on a large border. It's ready to go to the longarm quilter now. Tomorrow I am off to Houston to the International Quilt Festival. I'll meet my little sister there and we will take classes, look at the quilt show, spend lots of money at the vendors and have a few margaritas to celebrate! I know we will have a great time! When I come home I'll get together with Marie again and see if we can't get her quilt off to be quilted. I know she wants to have it in our February show.

20 ladies attended today--a big day! Linda H. is finished with the farmer's market so she was back after a long absence. Pat L. came in just 3 weeks after her 2nd knee surgery. She looked good and seemed much more optimistic about getting back to normal. Deb was also there. She took care of Pat after the surgery. Diane M. took the day off work to come in. She is moving to South Carolina in December so needs to use up her sick and vacation time at work. Jo-Anne, Diane and I have done the shop hops together for the last few years and I just don't think it will be the same without Diane at the wheel chauffeuring us around. Diane is also a calming presence when Jo-Anne and I find ourselves in a shopping frenzy. We're still eagerly awaiting Fran's return from Cuba. I'm afraid she missed her flight and is still there. I hope they have some fabric shops there or Fran will never survive! I was still telling my David Taylor workshop tales to those who didn't hear them last week. Jean brought in a cute tissue box holder that looked like a teapot. (I'll try to get the pictures in). She also had this little coin purse she bought some time ago made of one long zipper. It was soooo cool! I hope she does figure out how to make it so that she can teach all of us. Diane spent her summer in South Carolina inside the air conditioning sewing so brought in a quilt she made for her husband, a baby quilt and 2 small wall hangings. She says that's only some of the things she made. Diane also brought in some snowman ornaments made of the wrapped clothesline--just like the baskets we made in a workshop. It makes a cute little ornament. There was lots of talk today with so many people there. After Nimblefingers I went over to visit Marie to see how she was doing. Rosemary was there when I arrived so I got to check up on her too. Rosemary was feeling a little sore after an encounter with an SUV but will probably be back next week. Marie seemed to be in fine spirits. She's still waiting to get her portable oxygen so that she can get out of the house. I'm going to go over again to help her work on her quilt later this week.

Yesterday 14 ladies attended. Sandie was back from her long vacation. She and her husband drove across the northern U.S. stopping in Michigan to visit the Gerald Ford Presidential library and the upper peninsula which she thought was beautiful. Then on over to North Dakota and the Theodore Roosevelt National Park. Then on to Montana and Glacier park. Down to Wyoming and Yellowstone park which closed while they were there. They would told they needed to leave within two days and that there could be no driving around the park looking at things--NO recreating! The park was closed due to the government shutdown. They enjoyed their trip but were happy to return home. I spent two days last week with award-winning quilter David Taylor. I attended his workshop on Thursday and Friday he spoke to the Delmar Q.U.I.L.T. group. He was absolutely hilarious! I don't remember when I've laughed so much! He was also a good teacher. He does amazing pictorial quilts, often of animals. They are truly remarkable. His technique is very involved and is all applique. I haven't done applique in years but I wanted to take his workshop so I'm trying it again. So I told the ladies at my end of the table some of his tips and some of his jokes. I highly recommend seeing him if you ever get a chance. Who doesn't like to laugh?! Fran wasn't at the meeting. I was hoping to see her and hear all about Cuba. Next week I hope. Marguerite was back from Hilton Head. They had beautiful weather and all had a good time. Now Harry is retired from his job at the library so Marguerite is keeping him busy with work around the house and yard. I know we'll all miss seeing him at the library but we'll be able to keep up with him through Marguerite.

11 ladies attended today. We had one newcomer who needed help knitting a Christmas stocking. I recognized her from being a frequent library patron. She got some help but she might keep coming as the Christmas stocking is not getting any easier. Kathy O. was back today from her summer up North. This is the first time she's come back to us without a new pattern to teach us! She did bring in a wrapped basket/vase she had made. I brought in my 2 wrapped baskets but hers was more impressive
because she made it in two parts and hand sewed them together to make a vase that is narrow at the top and wide in the middle. Jean brought in some items she had bought somewhere. They were fish made out of empty soda bottles, covered in fabric pieces and modge podged. They were really cool looking! They would make great bathroom ornaments! Cathy C. who is leaving for the South soon brought in a finished quilt she made for an elderly lady which was beautiful--rose flower fabric on a pale yellow background. It looked very soft and Romantic (as in the Romantic movement). Cathy does a great job with her quilts. Jo-Anne brought in the yarn she bought at the wool festival this weekend. One of her pieces of yarn had a big knot in it so Kathy O., Cathy Y. and Cathy C. all worked on unraveling it. Thank goodness for all the Cathy's! Our friend Fran is down in Cuba now. I wonder if she's sitting on a beach drinking rum punch, or out salsa-ing with her husband! I'm sure she's having a good time whatever she's doing. I don't know where everyone is today. The weather is nice so it's possible they're all using the time to rake leaves. Hopefully they will be back next week.

14 ladies attended today. Cathy C. had requested to see my Accuquilt Go which I am scheduled to demonstrate to the Village Quilters in January. She'll be in Florida then but wanted to see it so I brought mine in, with all my dies, and gave the group a demonstration. I think everyone was impressed. Tina asked for help carrying my Go out to her car so I think she, at least, was impressed. Best of all though, on Monday when I was thinking about bringing it in I wanted to find a quilt pattern that would use the cutting dies. I found one and decided that it would work well for a scrap quilt made from the fat quarters you all gave me as a retirement present so now I've officially begun that quilt! It makes an 18" block so it should go pretty fast. I probably have enough fabric to make a couple of them. Other news, Fran is getting very excited about her upcoming trip to Cuba. She leaves on Sunday. In a couple of weeks we should have some good stories to hear. Marguerite brought in a quilt top she made using squares that someone donated to the group. She used a very bright, cheerful blue for the lattice and borders so it was a very happy little quilt. Barbara M. and Cathy C. have their quilts in the hall this month. They are totally awesome!