Dixie Diva May Night Meeting

Tonight was our Dixie Diva May Night Meeting at Jan K's house. We love being together and found plenty of time to laugh as we talked about our quilt projects.
We were all in attendance tonight except Bev who has gone to her condo in Logan for the summer. We miss you Bev!
As a group we have decided to focus the next few meeting in making the pattern "Mumbo Gumbo". We've selected this pattern for our group choice because it's such a stash buster, and right now we are all interested in using what we have rather than buying more fabric.

Mumbo Gumbo by Pie In The Sky Quilts

Jan K. has already made 4 corners of the first block out of her scraps.

Seeing Jan's made me want to run home and start working on mine. I have a few things to finish first and then this project moves to the top of the list.

Pat Peters is finishing up her last month as our Guild President. She has started a new applique project. She already had a stack of blocks finished.

Melissa brought some vintage fabrics she got at a vendor's booth during our quilt show.

She wanted suggestions on how to use these. I thought she ought to make one of Nanette's purses.

Margaret has started a new quilt from Marti Michelle called "B + D with Four Patch Chain". Margaret is a wonderful teacher and often instructs classes using Marti's templates.

This is Margaret's focus fabric with the brown as the accent.

And a few of the completed blocks.

I thought the blue stripe really added to this quilt.

This quilt is in Jan K's entryway.

Another fun evening with the ladies.

Vintage Egg Cooker

I know many of you quilt bloggers show vintage items on Monday's. I usually don't join you because I have very few vintage items in my home.
But today I want to play.
This is an egg cooker that I inherited from my mother. I meant to show you this at Easter to go along with the egg themes.

Do you remember when appliances were made out of a heavy grade metal? This egg cooker is quite sturdy and will probably last longer than I will.

The attachment on top has a measuring area for the water. You can move the dial side to side depending on if you want hard or soft poached eggs.

Inside there is a dish for poached eggs.

Underneath is another section just for boiling eggs. You could do soft or hard boiled.
I kept this appliance because it is a visual reminder of my mother. She had eggs nearly every morning of her life, and I watched her use this appliance year after year. You can still see the mineral deposits from the water. Looking at my mother's egg cooker makes me miss her and wish for another simple morning just to visit over breakfast.

Remember when appliance cords looked like this?
Do you wonder what your family will keep as treasures from your house once you are gone?
I'm sure my mother is up in heaven right now shaking her head and thinking "The egg cooker? Go figure. "

Give That Guy A Needle and Thread

Today I was viewing another quilt blog "Quiltsallot" by Janet in Australia. On her post she showed some vintage quilts that belonged to a private collector.
This sign on one of the quilts touched my heart.

We may be several generations removed and live on different continents, but women share the same struggles. What is it about quilting that soothes our souls?
One time I was riding in a car with my girlfriend on the freeway. There was a car in front of us that was tailgating another car. We could sense that the second car was in a big hurry and very impatient with the car in front. Within minutes the second car revved their engine, spun quickly around the front car and made a hand gesture out the window as they passed.
My girlfriend simply smiled and said "Give that guy a needle and thread."
We had a good laugh, but I knew exactly what she meant.
I wonder what world problems could be solved if we stitched as we talked?

Mr. Cactus just got back from visiting our two daughters that live in Arizona.
Here is a picture of our 3 year old grandson Isaak taking a nap with their new dog Diggy.

Dixie Quilt Guild May Meeting

Today was our May Meeting for the Dixie Quilt Guild.
I have to start this post by highlighting one of our guild members.
Marilyn Badger has won a lot of awards for her work as a long arm quilter. Recently she received a very prestigious award. According to her as we visited this morning, this was the phone call she has been waiting for all her life.
Marilyn and Claudia Clark Meyers won 1st prize for the Gammill LongArm Machine Quilting Award at the AQS Quilt Show in Paducah, KY. Claudia pieced the quilt and then sent it to Marilyn who did the long arm work.
They received $12,000 in prize money, and the quilt will now be housed in the AQS Museum.

Marilyn comes to our guild meetings every month and is so willing to share with us her knowledge and experience. Today she encouraged us to not be afraid to have our quilts judged. She said she has learned every judge's comment, which have helped her to improve each piece she works on.

This is "Greensleeves" the award winning quilt. (pictures taken off the internet). Marilyn shared that this quilt has been entered into several shows. One judge commented that she felt the inner block wasn't as perfect as it could be. Marilyn took the quilt home, did some more couching around the applique pieces in the center, and submitted the quilt in another show. This was her example to share with us on how listening to the comments from judges is a stepping stone to improvement. Obviously it worked for Marilyn and Claudia!

Marilyn used 10,000 yards of Superior Thread.

Congratulations to both Marilyn and Claudia for their amazing work!

This was our first guild meeting since our quilt show. We announced the winners in for the Challenge Quilt Competition. Do you remember that (ugly) pink fat quarter we were each given and asked to use in a quilt? We had over 40 entry's. The public was then asked to select the Best of Show. We were thrilled to have such a terrific response from those who visited our show. The winning quilt was done by Patti Beck.

I have to tell you how happy I was for Patti today. I think she is an amazing person. Patti is the mother of 12 children (all hers), works full time for Superior Threads, and still finds time to quilt. She is quite shy, and doesn't like to draw attention to herself, so we were especially thrilled that the public recognized her work. She is also one of the nicest people you will ever meet, too. Congratulations Patti!

After Guild business it was time for Show and Tell.

This baby quilt was recently featured on the front of the Fons and Porter "Baby Quilts" Winter 2008 edition.

Annie brought a quilt done by Vickie Lloyd, who made a map of Alaska.

Georgette Kent did the piecing and Cory Allender did the long arm work on this beautiful quilt.

"Royal Cross" is from a class in 2007 taken from Sharyn Craig.

Look at the amazing details!

I am continually in awe at the caliber of talent we have here in Southern Utah.

Wow!

Cory brought another one she is in the process of finishing. This one is a Cathedral Windows with jewels. Cory said some of the layers of fabric are 6 layers deep.

I took this picture from the aisle and I know this shot doesn't do it justice.

Trust me, it's as amazing as all the rest.

This one is a baby quilt for a niece and nephew made by Ginny Afleck.

Annie's Play Day

I can tell I really stirred up the pot when I mentioned my current addiction to making covered buttons. The comments really have been flying! I can tell I'm not alone, because I was informed by some that "I have been bitten by a bug, have button fever, and have even started a world wide epidemic." Some have reported back to let me know they have already purchased jars to put their covered buttons in. The only thing I can say is "Buttonaholics Unite!"

Today I took the most fun class. The above laptop bag was designed and made by my friend Annie Unrein. I knew when I saw it, I wanted to make one too.

Annie offers a "Play Day" at a local quilt store once a month. You can spend the day with her and she will guide you through any of her patterns.

Annie made this one in batik's.

Mine is not finished yet, but I can give you a sneak peak and let you know it is going to be made with some Joel Dewberry fabric.

Can I just say it was a good thing Annie was there for me today to guide me through step by step. This bag has A LOT OF PIECES. Annie provides terrific written instructions, but I am such a visual learner. I needed her to SHOW ME. Now that I've made it, and seen each part, the bag makes complete sense.

Annie taught me a terrific technique for putting in the zipper. That alone made the class wonderful.

Annie ran around the room today helping everyone with their projects. She helped iron, cut out pieces, thread machines, etc., etc., etc. She's going to sleep well tonight because we were there from 10:30am to 5:oo pm.

You can find her patterns at http://www.byannie.com/

This is from one of Annie's classes "Quilted Photography" where you take a picture and break it down into pixels.

Look at all these little itty bitty pieces!

She teaches a wonderful applique technique.

Linda was making Annie's "Star Fire" pattern.

This is her "Seasons" pattern. * Annie informed me that this pattern is actually from "Acorn Quilt and Gift, Co."

Annie and Heather Purcell have just designed the cutest baby quilt using a new product from Superior Threads called "Texture Magic".

I am in love with Texture Magic! You stitch it to the back of a piece of fabric. Add steam and it shrinks 30% in every direction.

Babies love texture, and I think this application will be a big hit. The pattern comes in blue and a pink version. and is called "Bubbly Babies".

Thanks Annie for a wonderful day and for all your help!