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!