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!

Yesterday 15 ladies attended. Ellen and Sue had taken a class to make a Halloween quilt which they brought in to add embellishments. They were very cute. It was a class on machine applique taken at the Log Cabin fabric shop. Jo-Anne, Diane M. and I are all taking a class on clothesline basket making this weekend. I'm looking forward to that. I brought in a bunch of quilts to sandwich, I finished 3 out of 4 (with some help from Elaine) before I ran out of batting. They should keep me busy for awhile anyway.  Fran is looking forward to her trip to Cuba which is coming up soon. It was already cancelled once so she's keeping her fingers crossed. She has a meeting about it this week so she's hoping it's to make final arrangements, not announcing that it's off again! Sue R., Betty, Cathy, Fran and I all participated in the Apple festival at the Altamont fairgrounds last weekend so we had some discussion about that. Rosemary reported that Marie was not doing so well, Winnie and Jean visited her last week after the farmer's market and that cheered her up immensely but she's not getting enough visitors. She's lonely and frustrated at not being able to get out of the house. Jo-Anne and I stopped by after Nimble fingers for a visit and I am going over Thursday to help her with a quilt. She was going to the doctor today to find out if she could get a portable oxygen tank so we are hoping she gets it. That would allow her to travel again and she really misses Nimblefingers. I'll find out tomorrow when I go. In the meantime, if you have some time to spare, stop by for a visit. She would greatly appreciate it.

Yesterday 14 ladies attended. Jo-Anne C. and I had gone on a bus trip sponsored by Log Cabin fabrics the previous day. We went to a quilt store in Ithaca which was really nice, then to a quilt store in Syracuse which wasn't as good. It was a full day trip and we came home tired and a little lighter in the pocketbook but it was fun. I brought my purchases in to show everyone. I didn't spend as much as I was afraid I would (considering that I didn't need a single thing!) but Jo-Anne did her part to keep the quilt stores in the black. Marguerite is back with us now that school has started. She was baby-sitting all summer with her grand kids. She still has to leave early but at least she can spend some time with us. Marie is still at home recovering. After the meeting Cathy M. and I went over to visit with her for a bit. Apparently she fell down on Monday and had to have her son come rescue her but she seemed pretty good on Tuesday. She and Rosemary were just sitting down outside to watch the world pass by when we arrived. Pat L. is going to be having knee surgery again. The last surgery was botched by her previous doctor and she's been in pain ever since. Now she has a new doctor who's supposed to be the top guy so hopefully she'll feel much better soon. Right now she's still waiting for the date to be set. Cathy M. will be getting a pacemaker next week. I hope that goes well for her. Everyone is asking when Tina and Kathy O., our summer campers, will be returning. I bet we see Tina first because her camp is farther north but we'll see! Now for what people are working on: Elaine has to make a block for the musical group to which she belongs (they are making a group quilt) so she asked me for some advice; Joanne R., our newest member, is determined to teach herself to crochet granny squares; Ethel finished her teddy bear needlepoint for one of her new granddaughters (I'm having a hard time keeping track of her grandchildren any more); Pat OR is working on her wool mitten Christmas ornaments; Fran is appliqueing; and I'm not sure about everyone else. I am getting ready for the Apple Festival in Altamont this weekend. Some of us will be selling items there. I hope we have nice weather and lots of people looking for Christmas presents!

11 ladies attended today--a small group. Must be summer vacation time! Rosemary greeted us with unfortunate news: Marie was in the hospital. She developed a high fever Saturday night so they took her to the ER. At first they thought she had double pneumonia but the diagnosis was later changed to a urinary tract infection. She should be home tomorrow. Her daughter from California is visiting and I know Marie wanted to bring her to Nimblefingers but it looks like she might not make it this year. Marie was probably lucky that her daughter was staying with her and could be here to take care of her. Other Nimblefinger news, Jo-Ann was back from visiting her son and family in Seattle. She had managed a trip to a quilt show so brought in her new goodies to show us. Fran was also back--from her stint at the Altamont fair. She reported on her bus trip to Lowell, Mass. to the quilt show and quilt museum. It was an adventurous trip with traffic jams on the Mass turnpike and one person getting locked on the bus at a stop. I don't know about the quilt show, but I think the New England Quilt Museum is a great place. It's small but really nice. She said the exhibit there was on "cheddar" quilts. I saw a talk on "cheddar" quilts at the Houston quilt festival one year so I know exactly what she was talking about--a lot of "cheddar" quilts came from a particular area of North Carolina where they made the dye that produced the color cheddar. I was told that the bus to the show was full but apparently it was actually only half full (people may have decided to skip it because it was a very rainy day). I'm sorry I missed it. Other news, Agnes showed Winnie how to take pictures with her cell phone camera so she proceeded to take pictures of all of us. She particularly wanted to get pictures of Joan who will be moving eventually to Delaware. Joan assured me that she will probably be here through the winter so Winnie doesn't need to start missing her yet. Joan brought in some needle work projects to give away as she is trying to downsize. Cathy M also brought in a big stack of quilt magazines to give away. We all want to get rid of our excess. Cathy Y wasn't here today because her daughter is coming for a visit. Maybe we'll see her daughter next week. She's a knitter so Cathy often brings her to the group. That's all the news for today. Hi to Kathy O and Tina, our campers! We miss you!

Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Yesterday we had 14 ladies in attendance. It was another gray, rainy day. We assumed the group was small because everyone was already celebrating the 4th of July. Nevertheless, we had a nice time. Jo-Ann told us about the jazz festival at Spac. She saw Tony Bennett, 84 years old and still going strong. That must have been really nice. I personally love Tony Bennett. I have many of the CD's he's made with pop singers and I listen to them all the time. She also saw Buddy Guy and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band. Sounds like fun! Elaine L. came back to join us and brought her son Caiden. She also brought her portable spinning wheel and sat spinning cashmere. We were all oohing and aahing over the soft cashmere. Fran demonstrated a different way to do applique: marking the pattern on the back and basting on the pieces. Having the pieces basted on makes them easier to turn under for some reason and therefore makes applique easier. Elaine S. brought in a self-published book her husband Robert made of their Grand Canyon rafting trip and passed that around. I brought in my finished wool candle mat. I watched a lot of TV on Sunday so got it finished. Sue Rk. was sewing the binding on a wall hanging she made for her new baby grandson. It was a Sue Pritt pattern of a mama duck with baby ducks following, the last baby duck wearing boots. It was very cute. I took pictures and will add them when I figure out how to do it. This is my first blog posting from home (since I'm retired now!). I will try to make this a habit so that I don't miss weeks because I know my vacationing ladies like to keep us with us. Speaking of which, thanks for the card Kathy! It was very apropos! I wouldn't mind visiting that island paradise!