HAPPY NEW YEAR

I want to wish each and every one of you a very Happy New Year. Please be safe in your celebrating. I have been reading about people setting goals instead of making resolutions. I think that sounds like a great idea. I am sure I am not the only one who has not been very successful in keeping resolutions. So I have been thinking about the goals that I would like to set. Of course there are always the personal ones - lose weight, be a better house keeper, etc. In my quilting world I am setting a goal to finish at least one UFO each month. And yes, I do have that many UFO's and probably enough to make that a goal for 3 or 4 years. I have been involved in several Block of the Month quilts and have not finished them. I also have a few quilts that were started here at Thunder Bay Resort during a Quilter's Retreat that need to be finished. Right now I am working on a baby quilt that I was commissioned to make. I am also hand quilting my Round Robin quilt. As soon as I finish the baby quilt I am going to get started on the UFO's. I think the first one I will finish is my Broken Star wall hanging. It is a design by Edyta Sitar and I bought the kit at Lolly's in Shipshewana, Indiana in September of 2007. I started piecing the blocks then and just haven't got back to it.

So what are your plans for the evening? Steve and I will be hosting a small dinner party. We have invited our two sons and their wives, our grandson, my parents and his brother and sister-in-law. Our daughter-in-love will be bringing a turkey. Later this afternoon I will be putting a prime rib in the oven. We will also have mashed potatoes, spaghetti squash, a tossed salad and rolls. This morning I made my first cheese cake. It was really fun to make and it smells yummy. I thought I would share the recipe with you.

Oreo Cheesecake

1 cup crushed Oreo cookies

1 TB butter, melted

32 oz. cream cheese, softened

1 cup sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

4 eggs

20 Oreo cookies, quartered

Press a mixture of the crushed oreos and butter in a 9 inch spring form pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 10 minutes. Beat the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla in a mixing bowl at medium speed until smooth. Beat in the eggs until well blended. Gently stir in the quartered cookies. Pour the mixture over the cooled cookie crust. Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour or until set. Loosen the cake from the side of the pan. Let cool. Chill, covered for 4 - 10 hours. Serves 12

Happy New Year to you and your family. I hope the New Year brings joy and happines to all.

Merry Christmas

At this very special time of the year I would I like to send a very Merry Christmas wish to all of my family and friends. My hope is that we all have lots of time with our family and friends during the holiday season. If you are traveling please be safe. And remember that "Jesus is the reason for the season." MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

HELP!! I think I have created a monster.

I suppose it was bound to happen sooner or later. My husband Steve has been exposed to quilting for almost 25 years now and I think he may have "caught the bug". During the weekend I was in my sewing room working on some baby quilts for a local charity. I left my sewing room to go into the kitchen to make dinner. When I returned to my sewing room all of my stuff was moved and there were supplies for another project on my sewing table. Steve had some Christmas gifts that he wanted to work on. Now I don't mind him sewing (in fact, I am very proud of his talent), but I don't know about sharing my space or my tools. I have been very fortunate to be able to completely take over a bedroom in our house for my quilting. Steve has a little room for all of his "stuff". He borrowed one of my sewing machines to work on his projects and I am proud to say that he completed his Christmas gifts during the weekend. Sorry I can't show any pictures until after Christmas. Now ..... does this mean that I have to start going into burning buildings (he is also a volunteer fire fighter of 32 years) or start deer hunting? I don't think so!!!!

Cold, cold, cold

I took this picture of the moon here at Thunder Bay Resort last week. It was absolutely beautiful. But of course with the full moon came the cold temperatures. Right now it is 18 degrees - brrrrrrrrr. And predictions are for more snow starting tonight. If the predicitons come true we could have up to 10 inches of new snow here by tomorrow night. I have been taking a needle turn applique class at Hollyhock Quilt Shop, about a 1 1/2 hour drive from my home. The class was scheduled for 3 Fridays over a 6 week period so we could get our homework done. We have been given 8 blocks so far and I am proud to say that I have 7 of them done. Our class for tomorrow has been cancelled because of the snow storm. I was looking forward to the final class but I also like the idea of a "free" day. I plan to stay home all day, do some sewing and also some baking for Christmas. One of the new recipes I plan to try is for Holiday Pretzel Rings. I found this recipe on Pat Sloan's blog. They look pretty and sound yummy.

Christmas Gift Idea

Have your husband or kids been asking you what you would like for Christmas? How about a trip to Thunder Bay Resort for a Perfect Quilter's Retreat in 2009? We have lots of fun teachers scheduled to join us here in Hillman. In April Kay Nickols will be teaching her Wonderful 1 Fabric Quilts. In June Nancy Odom will be here and teaching Stars are Gathering. In August we will welcome Mark Lipinski back for a double header. In his first session he will present Mystery With A Twist. He is still working on plans for his second retreat. Also in August Joan Shay from Petal Play will be here and will be teaching Nantucket Hydrangea Basket. In October Sherrie Jaqua will present a Murder Mystery/Mystery Quilt Workshop. Also in October Sue Nickels will teach her Machine Applique Basket. In November we will host a Holiday Gift Extravaganza and Jeanne Perrine will be here to teach her W.O.W bag. All the details of our retreats are available on our website. Four day/3 night retreats start at $395.00 per person. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions. I would also be glad to mail a DVD to you if you are interested. Gift certificates are available from our reservionists at 1-800-729-9375. I am looking forward to welcoming back former retreaters next year and also meeting new retreaters.

Quilt Guild Christmas Party

We held our annual Christmas party yesterday. Our committee, Carol, Sue and Shirley did a wonderful job! Carol prepared a delicious luncheon including a black bean salad, mexican wedding soup, smoked turkey paninis and chocolate mint pie. We were also treated with lots of Christmas cookies and candies. Along with lunch we played a trivia game and several prizes were given out. Secret sisters were revealed and although I wasn't involved it was fun to listend to the excited little screams as reveals were made. We also filled the Christmas stockings that we made a few weeks ago. One hundred and 10 stockings were filled with hand made mittens, slippers, toys and candy. They will be given to children in the area. Betty, a Guild member, told me that when she was a young child she always received 10 shiney new pennies, nuts and hard candy in her stocking. She brought pennies in and we put 10 pennies in each one of the stockings. I think that is such a special tradition and I am so glad she shared it with us. It is always so rewarding to do things for others. I am going Christmas shopping today and along with shopping for my family I will be shopping for a 10 year old boy whose name I picked from the Christmas tree at Church. He has asked for a hat and a pair of mittens. It really brings me back to reality when all a 10 year old asks for is hat and mittens. I plan to add a few extras to his gift.

Snow, snow and more snow

We have lots and lots of snow. In the last 30 hours or so we received about 14 inches of snow. The first picture was taken on Oct. 29 and the second picture was taken this morning. I heard on the radio this morning that we are already at 20 inches of snow above the normal amount for this time of year. Right now I am looking out the window and the sun is really trying to shine through the clouds. Every once in awhile the small snow flakes look like glitter in the sky. We had tickets to attend a Christmas concert downstate last night but decided not to risk the travel. Of course we were bummed as we had looked forward to spending time with my sister-in-law, attending the concert and doing some Christmas shopping. But with all of the crazy weather in most of the state we decided it would be best to stay home. Perhaps this weekend we will make the trip, visit and do some Christmas shopping. I worked yesterday morning, then spent the afternoon in my sewing room. I worked on another Christmas gift and am so excited to share it with the recipient on Christmas morning and then to share it with you on my blog after Christmas. I got up early this morning and finished the machine quilting. This afternoon I will clips threads, trim the quilt and add the binding. If time permits I would like to make a couple small gifts yet, a couple of potato bags and a couple of camera cases.

Hand Made Christmas Gifts

Are you busy making Christmas gifts? I had a great weekend finishing up this I Spy Quilt for a girl friend who has 3 little grand children. I also made the cute little bags for a couple of very good friends. I think they will be great to sit near their sewing machines to collect threads and small fabric scraps. After the holidays I just may make one for myself. I finished 3 other Christmas gifts but I am not able to post them today as I don't want to spoil the surprises. I have one more large Christmas gift to make and if time permits I would like to make a couple of small things. What are you making for Christmas gifts? I would love to hear from you. Have a great day! ~~Pam~~

Hulbert Quilt Camp

I recently returned from a Family Quilt Camp at a friends cabin in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. We had a great time. Participants included my Mom, two of my sisters, a niece, a great niece, my daughter and grand daughter, a very good friend and I. We did a lot of sewing (although there was also some embroidering, rug hooking and crocheting), did a lot of eating and a lot of laughing. We also watched a couple of "chick flicks". We even took a field trip to Village Fabrics and Crafts in Paradise. What a fun Quilt Shop. And believe it or not we also woke up to 18 inches of new snow fall one morning. It was absolutely beautiful. Many thanks to Carol for organizing the camp and for hauling the water and the pellets for the stove. Also thanks to Dave, Jane, Chris and Donna for sharing their cabin with us.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

Today was a special day for this Nana. I attended our 2nd grade grandson, Cameryn's Thanksgiving Play. Cameryn is on the left, our nephew, Christian is on the right and the litle guy in the middle is their buddy. In this picture the boys are wearing their deer antlers. The title of the play was Not This Turkey and it was a very cute little play which had Goldilocks and her Mom looking for a turkey for their Thanksgiving Dinner. The play ended with Goldilocks and her Mom going to McDonald's for dinner! The kids did a great job with each one of their parts.
At this special time we always think about all of the blessings for which we are thankful. I am very thankful for my family, my home and my jobs. I am also very thankful for the over 700 quilters that I have met here at Thunder Bay Resort's Perfect Quilter's Retreats. I am looking forward to welcoming several of our friends back to Thunder Bay Resort and also meeting new friends in the new year. Above all I thank God for all of his blessings. Take care of yourselves and enjoy your Thanksgiving Day with family and friends. And remember to count you blessings!!

Snow, Snow and More Snow

We got slammed with snow here in northeast Michigan yesterday and last night. Several schools in the area are closed today. Days like today make me want to stay home and sew. But, there are always things that need to be done in the office. I have been working on some Christmas gifts and this is very early for me. Usually I am stressing about my Christmas gift sewing during the middle of December. What are you making for Christmas gifts this year??

Doe Sew Day

It is deer hunting season right now in Hillman. Our Quilt Guild held it's 4th Annual Doe Sew Day on Thursday. It is our Guild's version of hunting camp. Karen, staff member at Thunder Bay Resort's Quilter's Retreats hosts the event and does a wonderful job. A license is required to enter the "hunting compound." This year we selected a quilt block name and had to wear something that depicted that block. It was fun to see all of the different interpretations. The group of 24 Guild members spent the day making Christmas stockings for children in need. The very productive group made 103 stockings. A pot luck lunch was enjoyed and prizes were given out throughout the day.

Tiny Miracle Quilts

Charity quilts are very near and dear to my heart. A few years ago I stumbled upon a program where quilters make quilts for preemies and babies with serious health problems. I started making these little quilts in honor of our great niece Amy who is a Tiny Miracle. She was born with many health problems. She is 6 1/2 years old now. She and her family still face many challenges but she truly is a gift from God. I have made over 250 quilts that are given to parents of preemies and/or critically ill babies. It is such a rewarding feeling to be able to help someone in time of need. Some of my quilts are hand quilted and some are machine quilted. There are many, many charities in our world that would greatly appreciate quilts. I urge you to do some investigating and get involved in some charity sewing.

A wonderful Quilter's Retreat

I had a wonderful time at the Quilter's Retreat last weekend in Gaylord, Michigan. I worked on Christmas gifts so I am not able to show any pictures right now. These are pictures of WIP's (Works in Progress) by my friends Carolyn, Eileen and Nancy. Twenty people attended the retreat and there was a large variety of projects in the works. I wasn't able to take pictures of everything. It was so nice to visit with "old" friends and make new friends. It was also great to have meals made for us, we didn't have to cook or clean up the kitchen. The staff even made our beds every morning!! Thanks Sharon for hosting a wonderful 3 day party. I am anxiously looking forward to my next retreat. I will be joining 9 female members of my family for a Quilter's Retreat at a friends cabin in the upper peninsula of Michigan. I know it will be a great time, spending tiime with family and sprinkling in a little quilting.

I am going to a Quilter's Retreat!!

I will be attending a Quilter's Retreat for the next 3 days. I am so excited. This is the 3rd year that I have attended this retreat in Gaylord, Michigan. Sharon from Quilter's General Store started the retreats. Sharon retired and closed the General Store. Delpine Miller opened Delphine's Quilt Shop and will host this years retreat. I have been busy getting some projects ready to work on. By the looks of my project bag there won't be any sleeping for me!! I plan to work on some Christmas gift projects. Delphine's Quilt Shop will also be holding their Grand Opening this weekend so I plan to check that out. She will be having some interesting demonstrations throughout the weekend. It will be fun to visiting with friends at the retreat and just sew, sew, sew!!!!

Stitcher's Showcase

A princess and a princess quilt

Last weekend, husband Steve, daughter Heather and grand daughter Allie and I attended a Quilt Show in Gaylord hosted by the Heart of the Pines Quilt Guild. It was a beautiful show. Their members out did themselves with some absolutely beautiful quilts. Allie is sitting in front of a Princess Castle quilt. Of course Allie's Mom strongly hinted to Nana that Allie needs a Princess Castle quilt! Steve and I have attended many quilt shows, from small local Quilt Shows to Houston, Paducah and Chicago. It always amazes me that we have so many talented people in our Quilt World. I urge you to keep your eyes open for Quilt Shows and try to attend a few. I always come away with ideas and inspiration. And don't forget the vendors - they always have lots of new ideas, fabrics, patterns, notions, etc.

Piecing the border

I am not a morning person! My husband will be the first to agree with me. But, this morning I woke up at 6:00 o'clock and started thinking about all of the projects in my sewing room, both already started and the ones I am anxious to work on. So, I decided to get up and do some sewing before work this morning. It was great. I got about 2 hours of sewing in before I had to get ready for work. I am piecing the border for my Spider Hexagon quilt. The border consists of lots and lots of 2 1/4 inch triangles. I am strip piecing them and it looks like I may be able to add the borders some time this weekend. Tomorrow I plan to attend a Region 2 meeting for the Michigan Quilt Network. Election of officers will be held and the hostesses will be sharing quick Holiday gift ideas. During the weekend I am also planning to dig in to some of my fabric totes and pull some fabrics for some quilts for Christmas gifts. What do you have planned for the weekend?

Finally - a post to the blog!!

I am glad to be back to my blog. I have had a very busy month of October and I won't bore you with the details. Now that my big obligations have been met I can get back to some serious quilting. I am in the process of piecing a border for my Spider Hexagon quilt made in a class here at Thunder Bay Resort with Gyleen Fitzgerald. I am also hoping to get some Christmas gifts started too. The weather has been absolutely beautiful here in Hillman during the past few days. With temperatures in the 70's in northern Michigan it is hard to imagine that Thanksgiving and Christmas are just around the corner.

I would like to tell you about a favorite website of mine. Pam Stahl of Real Women Quilt has a wonderful website with lots of tips and humor, items to purchase and fun stuff. While visiting her website be sure to sign up for her monthly newsletter. It is a monthly e-mail newsletter that I always look forward to receiving.

Our First Snowfall of the Season

I woke up this morning to a "skiff" of snow on the ground. As I am sitting here at my desk I have been watching the snow on the roof of the building next door slowly disappear. Right now there are just a few snowflakes left on the roof. We live on the outskirts of town and have a rather large lot. During the last two nights we have had deer in our back yard. I am wondering if this is a sign. I have heard that animals have instincts about the weather. I would imagine the "old timers" could interpret. I have heard that we are in for a rough winter this year. To me that translates to more quilting time. I love to be home, sitting at my sewing machine or hand quilting a quilt. Add a pot of soup simmering on the stove and biscuits in the oven and that is a perfect day.

Ann's Mad For Plaid

Olive and Ann (mother and daughter), from Indiana attended our Quilter's Retreat last weekend. Both of the ladies participated in Amy Davidson's Mad for Plaid class. Ann completed her quilt top and plans to use it as a table topper for the holidays. Isn't it beautiful? It was so much fun to see all of the different color combinations.

This is a quilt by former retreater Karen. She made this quilt for her grand daughter. The little dresses are replicas of dresses she made for her grand daughter, even using the same fabrics. Isn't it just as cute as it can be?

Halloween Decorations

Yesterday after work I pulled out our Halloween decorations. This cat and pumpkin is my favorite decoration for Halloween. I made this BQ (before quilting)! It made me think about my "crafting life." I am sure that many of you can identify with my crafting progression. As a young girl in 4-H we made lots of craft projects involving glue, fabric, ribbon, lace, yarn, more glue, wood and even macaroni. I tried my hand at knitting but soon discovered that it just wasn't for me. I did some crocheting, mainly afghans. I made several counted cross stitch projects, in fact I have a couple that I didn't finish. I got into the plastic canvas for a little while too. Once I was "bit by the quilting bug" it completely took over my life. I have been quilting for about 24 years now. I used to fear the "A" word - applique, but now I feel rather confident with needle turn applique. I have had some experience with the "P" word - paper piecing and I feel that I still need more practice. Hand quilting is my favorite aspect of quilting.

Folded Fabric Sampler

Pam Hively from Fort Wayne, Indiana was our instructor for our Quilter's Retreat last weekend. She taught her originial design, the Folded Fabric Sampler. During the class she taught ten folded fabric blocks, nine for the quilt and one for the label for the back of the quilt. It was a lot of fun. It was so nice to be able to get a top done during the class. I hope to get mine machine quilted before my next Guild meeting Show and Tell. This weekend Amy Davidson from Humble Bee Quilt Works will be here to teach her pattern, Mad For Plaid. We are looking forward to Amy's return visit to Thunder Bay Resort.

A fabulous weekend at Thunder Bay Resort

A couple of the young elk, approximately 3 years old, were doing a little sparring on Saturday evening during the dinner ride. It was really fun to watch them. A couple of the bigger guys were bugling and it sounded like one of them was getting a bit hoarse. We had a wonderful retreat with Edyta Sitar and the 32 ladies that were here. It is so great to make friends with quilters. Congratulations to Sandra from Mason who was our Grand Prize winner. We are now gearing up for a retreat that will begin on Thursday. Pam Hivley will be teaching her Folded Sampler Wall hanging. We still have room if you would like to join us for the entire retreat at Thunder Bay Resort or just take the class with Pam on Friday.

Quilter's Retreat with Edyta Sitar

The retreaters had a wonderful time with Edyta Sitar from Laundry Basket Quilts Works yesterday. Everyone made a Poinsettia Block and practiced invisible machine applique. All of the blocks turned out so beautiful. Several of the ladies decided to make additional blocks from Edyta's Applique Affair.

A weekend on Mackinac Island

Steve and I enjoyed a wonderful weekend on beautiful Mackinac Island. The Island holds a special place in our hearts as our daughter Heather has lived there for several years. No motorized vehicles are permitted on Mackinac Island. Travel is by bicycle, horse drawn taxi or on foot. There are many beautiful homes on the Island. While there we attended mass at St. Ann's Church. The church building is absolutely beautiful. We also attended a Celebrate Your Marriage Conference at the Grand Hotel. We had some excellent speakers and I don't remember when I have laughed so much.

London and Buddy are helping out at the office today

We are getting ready today for our Edyta Sitar that will start tomorrow. Our grandson, London is here at the office helping me out. Buddy is the office dog and he loves attention. London loves anmals and loves to play with Buddy. As soon as we finish up a couple of little projects here at the office we will head to The Quilt Barn to get things set up. It is a little bit rainy today but the weather forecast for this weekend is dry and in the upper 60's. I am looking forward to that and also spending the next 4 days with some former retreaters and making friends with some first time retreaters here at Thunder Bay Resort. We still have room for a few day trippers for the class with Edyta if you are interested.

Do you make labels for all of your quilts?

I am ashamed to say that I have got out of the habit of labeling all of my quilts. Last weekend Pat Sloan hosted a Virtual Quilter's Retreat. During the retreat she presented several different ways of making quilt labels. She had some very interesting suggestions including using rubber stamps. She also suggested using fabric from the quilt to frame your label. I made a promise to myself in a previous post that I was going to make 1 label every day until I get caught up, then make a label for each quilt just as soon as I finish the binding. I managed to make this label and then life got hectic with family and work and I haven't been able to get back to the project. I will do that just as soon as possible. This label is for a quilt that I made with Edyta Sitar. The quilt is finished!! When Edyta comes to Thunder Bay Resort next weekend I am going to ask her if she will sign my label, then I can applique it to my quilt. I was thinkintg that it would be fun to make a label before any class that I take, then I can ask the instructor to sign the label. I think that would be fun. Pat said she plans to do another Virtual Retreat in February and I invite you to check it out. It was a lot of fun, visiting blogs and sharing comments with other quilters. I also won a prize during the retreat. Thank you Pat for the beautiful fabric and label.

My Grandmothers Flower Garden Quilt

I started hand piecing my Grandmother's Flower Garden Quilt last January. I am using the english paper piecing method. The fabrics are from a Charm Square exchange with 6 friends. We exchanged 4 inch squares for the entire year. I enlarged the hexagon shape so I could use as much of the fabric as possible. I have about 3/4 of the quilt put together. While I am stitching the hexagons together I am thinking about how I will hand quilt my quilt!

What did you do over the weekend?

How was your weekend? Mine was very hectic. We are in the process of getting a new roof on our house and the crew spent all day Saturday and Sunday working on the roof. I now know what a 6 - 12 pitch is!! Steve spent his time removing shingles, delivering wood and shingles to the roof with the tractor and he even made lunch for the workers on Saturday while I was at work. Son Greg and grand dog Reggie helped out too. I made lunch for the guys on Sunday and helped to pick up shingle, tar paper and wood scraps. I also got in a little bit of sewing. But the best part was Pat Sloan's virtual retreat. It was a lot of fun reading all of her advice on making labels and joining in on the discussions about favorite snack foods for retreats and dream trips for quilters. I also visited a couple of new blogs. And ........ I even won a prize from Pat. After reading about the labels and cool new ideas I started thinking about all of my quilts that don't have labels. I am going to make a promise to myself to try to make 1 label every day for my completed quilts and also to make a label for each quilt as soon as I finish sewing the binding on. The label I will make today will be for my Dresdan Star Quilt from a class I took with Edyta Sitar last September.

An afternoon at the Park

Yesterday afternoon the temperature reached 80 degrees in Hillman. Our community has a beautiful park with lots of slides, swings and fun things for the kids. Our grandson London and I made a visit to Tiger Paw Park. Of all the fun things at the park London's favorite are the red and blue cars. He loves to climb in and drive the cars. While there we also took a walk along the Thunder Bay River. And of course, being all boy, London had to throw sticks and acorns in to the river. We also went home with a couple handfuls of acorns.

Wild flowers in our back yard

Last fall Steve and his brother tore down an old shed in our back yard. This spring Steve worked the soil up with the rototiller. I had wanted to plant some asparagus roots or raspberry bushes in that spot but just never got around to doing it. Steve found a package of wild flower seeds in the garage and decided to scatter the seeds in the area and see what happens. He was a bit more optimistic than I was. We have both been pleasantly surprised with the results. I guess I should have spent a little more time out there doing some weeding but it truly does look like a field of wild flowers. This is what we see from our kitchen windows.

My Current Quilting Project

Those of you who know me know that I love to hand quilt. We are having some beautiful, warm days here in Hillman but the nights get a bit chilly. I don't do much hand quilting in the summer so when the weather turns chilly I enjoy having the warmth of the quilt on my lap while I am hand quilting. About a week and a half ago I pulled this quilt out from my pile of quilts to finish. This quilt, Glory, was made during a Quilter's Retreat here at Thunder Bay Resort in October 2006. Amy Davidson of Humble Bee Quilt Works was our instructor and this is her original pattern. I know you can't tell by the picture but this is a very large quilt. I truly enjoyed the class, Amy is a wonderful instructor. She will be back to Thunder Bay Resort on October 23 - 26 and will be teaching another one of her original designs, Mad For Plaid. We still have room if you are interested in joining us. I spent the first week hand quilting the center section of the quilt. I usually quilt for a couple of hours in the evening. I find it very, very relaxing. If you look close enough at the photograph you can see the little brass pins I use for pin basting. Yesterday after work I pulled out my box of hand quilting stencils and picked out two of them that I will be using to finish the quilt. I would love to have the quilt done before Amy comes back to Thunder Bay but I don't think that will happen. But I guess I can dream, cant't I?

Do you belong to a Quilt Guild?

Yesterday I took a class at my Quilt Guild. The class, Double Wedding Ring, was taught by Dee, a fellow member. Carol, a fellow Guild member (and my sister!) is diligently working on her table runner. She chose some beautiful fall colors. I decided to just make one ring and it will be a little gift for our grand daughter Allie. I had issues with the arcs meeting on the outer edges so I have decided that the jumbo rick rack will make a great embellishment! Our Guild is over 20 years old and we have approximatley 60 members. We have members at all skill levels, from beginners to master quilters, hand quilters to long arm quilters. We hold a business meeting once a month, a class once a month and then sit and sew a couple of times a month. Our Show and Tells are always so awesome. If you do not belong to a Quilt Guild I highly recomend you check with your local Quilt Shop or your quilting friends for a Quilt Guild in your area. The friendship of fellow quilters is a great blessing.