It seems like forever since I have written in our blog! Both of the holidays hit on a Tuesday so we haven't met for awhile. At our last meeting in December, we went to lunch at Maggie's cafe. The food was good but the restaurant was too cold! But we're back at the library today though only 8 people attended. Everyone must be out of town. Nevertheless, it was great to see each other again. Cathy M. brought in a quilt top she has almost finished. It is from the block of the month group from last year. Part applique, part pieceing. It was beautiful. She, Fran and Pat are disappointed in this years block of the month pattern which is unfortunate since it's only January! Kathy O. brought in her new laptop which has occupied much of her time since Christmas. Deb brought in a small cross-stitch piece which I proceeded to finish for her. And I came in with my new haircut. So we're back, ready for a new year!

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!