18 ladies attended today including 2 new ladies, Jo-Ann and Pam. They attended our open house and wanted to come back to learn the hidden 9-patch II quilt. But today we had a potluck lunch so they didn't get to--they got to eat instead! We had a very nice lunch followed by a show of quilts from the 2010 Tucson quilt show which I attended last January. You could purchase a disc at the quilt show with all of the quilts on it for $10. They mailed it in March. So now I can relive the share and best of all I can share it with my friends! I think that's a really great idea and wonder why more quilt shows don't do it. Marie was wearing some beautiful hand knitted socks she had made. It was a lily of the valley stitch and they were just gorgeous! She says she's going to bring in a quilt next week that will knock all of our socks off! Coming from Marie, I believe it. She has made so many amazing things!

17 ladies and 1 little girl attended today. Our newest member, June, brought her granddaughter and her lightweight sewing machine to do a little work. Deb joined her with one of our Brothers and worked on her quilt for the Altamont quilt group. They are making what looks to me like a rather complicated sampler quilt. Lots and lots of triangles in it and lots and lots of pieces. Cathy M. is also going to be working on this quilt. I took our raffle quilt home and finished quilting the interior. Now we just need to do the border so I asked Kathy O. if she could take it home and try finishing it on the sewing machine. We've had it around for a long time and it's time to finish it and get on to the next one. Marguerite and I got out the lattice fabric which Fran donated for the prayer quilt so we're almost ready to begin sewing it together. I still am waiting for 1 block to come in. Fran brought in a beautiful small quilt she made that frames the mini-kimonos she had in our display case. Ethel is working away on her cross-stitch Old West Virginia home piece which she wants to finish for the embroidery guild show in April (?). Pat H. was finishing one of her church lap quilts. It was red and yellow--very bright and fun! Marie had finished her crocheted tablecloth and brought that in to show. It was from a French pattern. She had never seen anything like it before so wanted to make it. It has different parts, with different kinds of crochet stitches. Hard to describe but it will be in our show next year and will probably be our showstopper! Agnes was working on a flower applique block that fits into a pieced border. When it is finished it will be a spectacular quilt! I can tell already that next years show will be a great one!

16 ladies attended last Tuesday including a new person. Deb brought in her friend June who brought in her finished Dear Jane quilt top. It was absolutely stunning! She had pieced the whole quilt and it took her a long time but she found that was the easiest way for her to complete the rather complex blocks. She brought it in to show because then it would be put on her quilting frame for another long time. I'm so glad she brought it in though because it is such a beautiful and difficult pattern which makes into a truly fabulous quilt. Other than that, several people brought in their squares for the prayer quilt. I collected more photo release forms. Not much else.

10 ladies showed up today. It was snowing outside so I was surprised that anyone came. I'm glad they did though because we had to take down the quilt show. I drafted Roger, Ethel's husband to come in and climb the ladder for me because Deb was late and I was afraid she wasn't going to make it. So Deb got to take it easy during the meeting. I put the tables in a small circle which was nice because we could all see each other and converse across the table. I passed out a small piece of fabric for people to take home and make a block. Daryl is having surgery so I thought we ought to make her a quilt. I also passed out photo release forms. Apparently I should have done this a long time ago since I put pictures of my ladies on the blog. Now I will have permission though so it will be legal.

Today 8 ladies braved the weather to come to our group. With our small group I pulled out my suitcase which I still haven't unpacked from my trip to Tucson. I gave them a show-and-share of everything I bought. I was quite surprised because they all, except Deb, thought my Elvis fabric was pretty neat. Deb just never liked poor Elvis. It was fun to show off all my prizes but also a little embarrassing knowing that I really didn't need any of this stuff but bought it anyway. She who dies with the most fabric wins--isn't that the saying. I guess I'm in the competition. Deb told us the story of taking care of an elderly couple. The mom of this couple was the one who gave her the dreaded hexagon quilt pieces. This led to a discussion of alzheimer's and the difficulty of taking care of elderly relatives. Winnie came in late and reported that her doctor gave her some good news. We were glad to hear that. Anyway, a fun time was had by all.

Yesterday we held our 2010 Nimblefingers Open House. About 50 people attended. It was another nice showing. Thank you to those of you in the Friday group and the Altamont group. We had a good turnout from those members. I need to get the news to the Delmar Q.U.I.L.T. group sooner but we did have some visitors from that large group. As usual we had great desserts to offer, good punch, good conversation and Kathy O. taught her Hidden 9-patch II pattern to quite a few people. I was told that last year after Kathy taught the Hidden 9-patch I block, that the Delmar Q.U.I.L.T. group made dozens of them for service projects. Jane Stearns, who saw it made at our show, went back and taught them. Maybe she'll do the same with this year's pattern. Cathy Y. found out that the baby for whom she was making a baby quilt was born early, in the middle of a blizzard, so she was eager to get it finished. Agnes helped her get it trimmed, then I sewed on the binding for her. It's a nice flannel quilt so it should keep this blizzard baby warm! Next week I plan to bring in the stuff I bought on my trip to Tucson including fabric, patterns and tools.

17 ladies attended yesterday. I wasn't here last week. I was off visiting my sister in 60 degree Tucson where we attended the annual Tucson quilt show. I had a great trip and the quilt show was fantastic! I can't wait to tell you all about it in a couple of weeks when our activities die down a little. Today we hung the quilt show. It is always an exciting day: do we have enough quilts or too many? Is Deb still spry enough to do her monkey act on the top of the high ladder? But, as always, it looks great! We all deserve a pat on the back for our good work! Next week is our open house so I hope we get a bunch of guests. Don't forget to bring some goodies! We have a bunch of pictures of our setting up so enjoy!