Last week I was on vacation but did attend Nimblefingers with my sister who was visiting from Tucson. 15 ladies attended last week and 15 ladies attended this week. Last week my sister and I sandwiched another camp quilt I had made, plus 2 of my own personal quilts. This week I sewed a binding on the Helping Hands lap quilt for the V.A. hospital. This week was special because our friend Louise Claflin from Florida is back. She brought with her a family history quilt she had made. It was a quilt with 9 state blocks from the 9 states she has lived in with pictures taken while living in those states. Louise always has something wonderful to show us on her return and she didn't disappoint this year. Also showing today was Ethel with her very nearly completed bride cross-stitch. With around 400 beads it was truly beautiful. She and her daughter are taking it to be framed, then going to Mexico for the wedding so the framed work should be ready when they return. Cathy Y. did some more quilting on our raffle quilt; Fran was making applique leaves; Jean K. was working on an appliqued bird block; Marguerite's granddaughter Alexandra popped in to show me her finished mile-a-minute pillow top she is making for her mother. She did an excellent job!

Yesterday we had 12 ladies. Marguerite brought in the 3 finished quilts she has worked on for the Camp Erin kids and we hung them on the wall. The room already looks brighter! By next week we may be adding a couple more to the wall. For a small group, I think we're doing pretty well on this project. Pat and Agnes tied the quilt Agnes had made. I sewed Winnie's quilt so that it would flip properly, then Pat, Winnie, Agnes and Cathy tied it. I sewed on the binding to a quilt we had finished a couple of weeks ago. Marguerite took it home to finish the hand sewing. And Winnie took hers home to do the finishing touches. I will take pictures of our wall next week and post them. This weekend Cathy M., Fran, Marie and I are attending the Wings Falls Quilt show. It's always a good one so I'm looking forward to it! Here is a picture of the Village Quilters annual raffle quilt.

10 ladies attended today including Betsey Hoffman back from New Jersey and Arizona. She's looking for a rental here in Voorheesville that she can live in for 6 months of the year so if anyone knows of anything, give her a call. Today we had tons of food. I baked brownies, Agnes baked cookies, and Tina, Ethel and Pat all brought in cookies, etc. in case there wasn't enough. We had plenty. We began the meeting by un-sewing Winnie's quilt which I had layered incorrectly last week and sewn together. With 4 or more of us working on it, it was un-sewn in no time. Agnes and RoseMary layered it correctly and pinned it. Next week I'll sew it together correctly so that we can flip it and tie it. We also pulled out the cowboy quilt for the grieving kids and tied it. I'll take it home to put on the binding then we'll have another one done. Maybe next week we can hang them up and see what we have so far. This is Tina's last week for awhile. She's going to her camp up North next week so we may not see her again until late in the fall.

12 ladies attended today. It was a hard working day. We laid out 3 quilts and pinned them. One of them we tied. Unfortunately, we laid out one of the quilts incorrectly so we will be doing some ripping out next week. All three quilts are for the kids at Camp Erin. I think right now we have 6 quilts finished or in progress. That's not bad for a relatively small group. Thanks to Marguerite and Winnie for their dedication to the cause. Today we also had help from Cathy M. I added the binding to our mile-a-minute raffle quilt. I'm taking that home to see if I can get the binding sewn down and make a nametag for it. Then it will be finished and we can get it out of the closet! I can't wait! We had lots of good eats today too. Besides the store bought stuff I brought in, Jean K. made some delicious brownies and Pat H. some homemade chocolate and peanut butter pieces. Yummy! Other projects being worked on: our newest member, Rosemary M. was working on a prayer quilt for church. Ethel is working on a new project, a needlepoint bell pull. Tina is making a pillow. To tell the truth, I didn't see what anyone else was working on. I had my attention on the camp quilts. Don't forget to vote today!

16 ladies attended today. I stopped and had lunch today with Betty Smith. She is in her living room and still taking visitors. She's happy for the company, but for short visits only. I saw the finished 100 yr. birthday quilt the Village Quilters made for her. It turned out very nice and colorful! Betty's granddaughter Linda is still busy quilting and they had the blocks on the design wall so that Betty can study the arrangement. It will be another beautiful quilt. Linda has a truly great eye for fabric. I came in with a finished top for the grieving children, Marguerite had finished one, and Winnie just needed to sew a border on one. Next week we will have 3 quilts to tie! I sewed together pieces for the binding of the mile-a-minute quilt. I can't wait to sew it on and actually say goodbye to a finished quilt. Then I need to make a binding for the quilt we tied last week. Eventually we will have at least 6 finished quilts for the grieving kids at Camp Erin. They need 60 so we still need to make more. Kathy O. is gone to her summer home up north now. Tina won't leave for her northern retreat until June. Next week Cathy Y. and Deb J. will be on vacation. Cathy M. brought in some pictures from China. It's getting to be vacation time. I am looking for to my son's graduation from RPI next weekend. Spring is finally here and all the things that go with it. Nevertheless, there's always time for needlework.

18 ladies attended today. We had a newcomer join us, Rosemary McGowan, who belongs to the quilt group in Altamont (Cathy M. and Deb also belong to that one) and to the Crafty Christians at the Methodist Church. As a result she already knows about half of the group. Welcome Rosemary! Marguerite and I pulled out some more tables and got out the quilt we prepared last week for the Camp Erin kids. Today, with some help from Cathy Y. and Kathy O., it is all tied and ready to be bound. I hope this is the first of many our group makes. Several of us pricked our fingers while tying the quilt so here is one useful tip: when you bleed on a quilt, use your spit for your blood. Not my spit, your blood or your spit my blood. Strictly, your spit, your blood. Isn't that delightful! Maybe we should wash the quilt before passing it on. The one problem with my working on a project during Nimblefingers is that I don't hear the talk around the table so I can't pass on any gossip or news. Deb brought in a bag full of fabric. Thank you Daryl for taking some of it. It is knits so if anyone knows someone who sews with knits please take this bag of fabric! Jean Kallop was also back today. She's been in Florida for the winter where her husband passed away just recently. She's home now taking care of business and trying to get back into the swing of her life here. Welcome back Jean! Agnes and the bazaar group (or is it the bizarre group?) are making snowmen. They do come up with some cute projects for the annual church bazaar but unfortunately they have to sell them cheaply: no one wants to spend large sums of money at the bazaar. It would be nice if our labors could be priced according to the time and materials spent but instead it seems that it always has to be a labor of love. But at least if you come to the group we can show our appreciation for the work put into these items. We try to support each other in our love of crafts.

15 ladies attended today. Winnie treated us all to brownies with a German chocolate cake topping. It was delicious! I brought in some fabric that I've been carrying around in my trunk for a couple of months and Ethel brought in some yarn to give away. We pulled some of the fabric to use for the grieving kids quilts. Marguerite and I prepared 1 top, 1 back and batting for one such quilt. Next week we can lay it out and tie it. Marguerite has made another quilt top which also needs to be tied. Before too long we should have a nice little start on our grieving kids camp quilt project. Kathy O. will be leaving us soon for her summer home. She usually comes home with some new idea for an easy quilt. We'll have to wait till Sept. or Oct. to see what she learns this summer. Daryl was back today. She had been to the American Sewing Guild show in Worcester, Mass. While she was there she tried out sewing machines. She got an 1 1/2 hr. lesson on Baby Lock so she made the plunge and got a new machine! By buying a machine she got to enter a giveaway contest. She spun the wheel and lo and behold, she won the grand prize--a flat screen TV! I'd say she did pretty well for herself. She's busy cleaning out her sewing room now to make room for the new baby. She's got some fun ahead of her! Our friend Ingrid also came today. We haven't seen much of her lately. She told us the horror story of her husband's fall he had two years ago. He's still recovering apparently. As a result of his fall she retired from her job and has been at home ever since. Hopefully she will decide to come back and spend time with us again. While Marguerite and I were getting a quilt ready, Pat H. and Agnes were cutting netting to make more crocheted scrubbies. They make them for the Methodist bazaar but our group finds them very useful so we keep them busy making more. On a sad note, one of the original Nimblefingers group, Marian Hatch, died last night. She has been in a home with Alzheimer's for several years but we all still remember her impressive Norman Rockwell cross-stitches. Marian was a nice lady with a great sense of humor. We bid her a fond farewell.