Thursday, December 18, 2008

A Fun Time




PTQ Christmas Party 12/6/08

Dear Patty Patchwork,

At our last meeting we met at Judy's house. She had it decorated for Christmas. She welcomed everyone and presented Sharon as our outgoing president with a gift certificate to pamper herself when she has a chance to have a manicure and pedicure.

Mary Ann and Derendia explained their project for Jan. and handed out the worksheet of material lists.

The new year will bring a few changes. We have asked the members to fill out a sheet about themselves and about the guild. We also asked everyone that would like to participate in the block lottery to make two blocks. The blocks will be made in the pattern of your choice but are to be made one with black and white prints plus one color and the other is to be made of yellow and blue. This will give us two sets of quilt blocks to give away.

The guests played dirty Santa and had great fun swapping presents over and over. The ones who brought their signature squares exchanged them and the rest will exchange at a later meeting. We all sampled a variety of dishes and enjoyed them. The guests parted with a sample of the pecans Judy had all over her yard and warm wishes for a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Well this is my last installment of the meeting notes as I will take the position of vice president and our new secretary will post in her very own style. It has been an honor letting you know about our guild's news and have you read my words.
Well sew long,
Katie O'Possum

November Blocks Winner and Show and Tell




Show and Tell from Nov 1


PTQ November Meeting - 11/15/08

Dear Cynthia Crazypatch,

Our meeting got kicked off with the usual reading of the minutes and the treasurer’s report. We had a visitor, Gidget, who is a friend of Terri’s and we hope becomes a member of the guild next year. The Christmas party is to be at Judy’s house and we are to bring a $15 gift for the dirty Santa and a dish of party food. If you have your signature blocks finished bring them to exchange.

Sharon found a web site www.quiltwoman.com which has a helpful lesson on color theory and also helps market original quilt patterns.

Derindia and Mary Ann will have a demo on a fat quarter quilt that they will teach at the Feb. workshop. This is to be a fun fast quilt and with a little preparation you should leave with a complete quilt top.

The January workshop will be a Round-2-it so bring something you have been working on and let's try to finish a few UFO’s. Also remember Jan. starts a new year and we will need to be ready to pay our dues of $15.

The fall gathering is to be Oct. 2 and 3 at the First Methodist Church if that doesn’t conflict with any of the plans of the Church. Lauren will co-ordinate the process of planning the meeting and is asking for help from anyone who is willing to help. C.C. and Christine will be co-chairs of the silent auction during the gathering and they will accept any donations during the year to go toward the auction.

Well that brings to my favorite part of every meeting and that’s show and tell. This meeting C.C. brought her finished maple leaf quilt. Annette brought her cathedral window pillow top that she made with yo-yo’s for the centers and her finished BOM quilt. Sharon brought a small cathedral window she had made some time back and admitted she had been quilting longer than she thought. All that want to help is asked to decorate the tree at the library Sat. after Thanksgiving. The block lottery had 23 blocks and our youngest member Jadea’ won them.

Well I guess that about says it all for this meeting. I hope you can come to the Christmas party cause we miss seeing you so till then keep you stitches small and you stash big.

Hanging by my tale,

Katie O’Possum

October Blocks Winner and Show and Tell





PTQ October Meeting, 10/18/08

Dear Fanny Flowergarden,

The meeting began a little differently this time because the ladies from the RAC were downstairs making banners about an up and coming event the center is hosting. Patti addressed the meeting about the fundraiser which will be Nov. 1&2 to showcase designers and how they would display art in an average home. The event will be from 4pm until 9pm Sat. and Sun with a two day ticket for $25 and $10 for Sun. only. She invited anyone interested in having their work possibly included to bring it as soon as possible. She also informed us that the starving artist sale should not have any article priced more than $300.

The minutes were then read and approved and the floor was turned over to the nominating committee. Annette presented the nominees and opened the floor to any other nominations. There were no other nominees and the members voted to accept the following members as next years officers. The president is Judy Stokes, vice president is Mary Ann Abrams, treasurer is Sue Seymer, and secretary is Joanne Slancauskas. Sharon will continue to help with the smooth running of the guild as the past president.

There were 14 present and we had one visitor which was Annette's granddaughter Emily.

The Pine Belters quilt show had 481 juried quilts and several of the PTQ members placed in the show. Watanna, Julia, Judy and Sharon were some of the ones in the show. Sharon won 2nd place on her geisha and Julia received an honorable mention on the piece she did for a class recently. Julia's quilt that she made for her son and had hand quilted won a prize for best hand quilting. The Pine Belters guild has 180 members and this was their 12th show. The next show will be 2010 and the theme is Log Cabin. Oh yes, lucky Linda Dawkins won a sewing machine.

The party that we have been invited to attend by the Golden Triangle guild at the First Methodist Church is Dec. 11th 5:30-8:00. We need to respond to let them know how many of our guild can come. The Dec. meeting of our guild will be a Christmas party at Judy's house and you are asked to bring a dish of your choice and a gift of $10-$15. We will play Dirty Santa and exchange our signature blocks that we have made. Anyone wanting to exchange signature blocks but feels they would not have time to do so before the meeting can still exchange theirs at the Jan. meeting. Judy demoed the signature block assembly and gave a hand out to aid in the construction. She also gave a helpful hint to iron freezer paper to the back of the signature piece to stabilize it when you are signing the piece.

Joanne demoed the cathedral window block and instructed us to bring 2-7" squares and 2-2" squares per ornament and anything you want to dangle from the ornament for the class Nov.1. The lottery block for next month is to be black and tan. You may use tone on tone but please any prints need only to be black and tan. As always the pattern is your choice. This month 18 blocks were turned in and Faye Robertson won them.

Well that brings us to the best part of the meeting and of course it's show and tell. Judy brought a quilt that she had made from a class she took a while back from Annis Cox that is called Glory-B which is both machine and hand quilted. She plans to give it to her granddaughter on her birthday. Watanna took the lotto blocks she had in the churn dash pattern and made a charity quilt to add to our charity quilts. CC showed off her king size maple leaf quilt she had made. Ebba showed her Jack-O-Latern quilt top she made with halloween fabric. Annette brought her A block of the northwind quilt and showed how the unique border she pieced enhanced to pattern.

The rest of the day we lunched on goodies brought to the meeting and worked on the borders of the RAC quilt. It is good to have time to do what you love doing and friends to help. We miss seeing you and hope you can join us the next time we meet. Sew till then, Katie O' Possum

Monday, October 13, 2008





September Meeting Photos





Possum Town Quilters September Meeting

Dear Irene Irishchain,
The Sept meeting had a few of the officers absent but we still managed to get a lot of stuff done. Mary Ann read the minutes and they were accepted with one exception of Annette as historian. She asked for a little more time to think about the position. Judy read the treasurer report Sue sent her and gave the new balance after we paid for the northwind class. A motion was made and passed that the guild pay $100 to Sharon to quilt the challenge quilt.
Judy informed us that we could drop off our quilts at the fall gathering and they would be delivered to the Pine Belt show. Judy asked for a list of those that wanted to attend the show in hopes of coordinating a car poole to Hattiesburg. The show will be at the Lake Terrace Convention Center Oct. 10, 11, & 12.
The Christmas party will be at Judy's house and all that want to participate in a signature block exchange need to sign up as soon as possible so that we will know how many blocks to make. The design was voted on and is posted on the web site with the color to be the makers choice. The block will be demo'd after the Oct. meeting for anyone who needs help with the assembly.
The by-laws were read and discussed and an amended version of the by-laws will be posted on the web site. Any questions, comments and typos should be forwarded to Lauren so that we may finally ratify our by-laws at our next meeting. Some of the changes were that we would have one price for membership regardless of when someone joins and we voted that non-monetary assets be donated to a local charity upon dissolution of the guild. We also voted that the officers may spend up to $100 before securing permission from the members by general vote.
We have a nominating committee for our officers next year. They are Annette Pennington, Brenda Crownover, and Christine Anderson. They will present candidates for the next year's officers after speaking with the candidates to secure their willingness to serve. Nominations will also be accepted from the floor for any other candidates.
I guess that brings us to show and tell:
Melissa brought patterns for the lotto block she made.
Sue Skipper showed us a quilt she made for her grandson and a wall hanging of her New York beauty blocks.
Terry had quilts that her great Aunt made that were found in a trunk by her Uncle.
Brenda brought a quilt she had made for her daughter and a wall hanging she made from the C blocks of the northwind block class.
CC showed her wall hanging made from the A block of the northwind block class.
Annette showed the border she was piecing for her A block of the northwind class.
Watanna showed her granddaughter's pink Alabama quilt and her mystery quilt top that is called Tobacco Road.
Lauren won the lottery blocks all 18 that were turned in.
Well that about wraps up all the happenings of this meeting so if it's possible, drop by next month.
Until then keep that sewing machine humming.
Katie O' Possum

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Possum Town Quilters August Meeting Notes

Dear Rhonda RailFence,

The meeting got off to a great start with the minutes and treasury report being read and approved.
The Needle Chasers of Iuka invited anyone who wanted to display a quilt in their show to enter a form by Aug 20th and the show is Aug 29th. Judy will drop off quilts for anyone interested in showing their quilts in the Pine Belt Quilters Show in Hattiesburg after the meeting in Sept. The show will be Oct.10,11, &12.
The guild has been invited to a Christmas party Dec.11(5:30-8:00) hosted by the Golden Triangle Quilters guild at the 1st Methodist Church in Starkville. They asked those who attend to bring a fat quarter for a swap.
The Challenge winners were 1st place Brenda Crownover, 2nd place Julia Graber, and 3rd place Sharon Hedrick. The vote for viewers choice will be announced at the Sept. meeting.
A motion was made and passed that Diane Lochala be made an honorary member for her work on the web page.
The workshop will start at 8:00 a.m. and everyone should be ready to sew by 8:30. If you have a chance to help setup Fri. please come and bring a power strip also.
Lauren handed out a draft of the by-laws to look over and discuss at our next meeting. At that meeting we will elect a nominating committee for the new year.
If anyone would like to host the Christmas party please contact Judy. The suggestion was made for those that would like to participate to make a signature block for all those choosing to exchange blocks at that meeting.
We had five new members to join us which brings our membership to 28 as of today. A new member Elsie Johnson won the Black and White blocks. The next month's blocks are to be made from red and white fabric.
Annette was asked to serve as guild historian for the rest of the year.
Let's see now that brings us to show and tell:
Elsie showed a cathedral window variation block she made and photo's of quilts she had made and gave to relatives.
Annette made a small clutch from grandmother's flower garden hexagons which will be a door prize at the class in Sept. at her home.
Julia told us about the MQA class she took on design and how they made ink splotches and turned those into fabric. She also took photo's and turned them into a collage and repeated the technique in a wall hanging.
Sharon announced that one of the quilts she quilted won Best of show at the Harrison County Fair in Ark.
Judy showed her wall hanging of teapots and cups she hand quilted and is sending to the Pinebelt quilt show. She also showed her Turning Twenty top.
Christine showed her BOM top and a quilt she made for her niece.
Sue Seymer showed her spider web quilt top she made after she took the class at the MQA meeting and her BOM top.
Lawana, Jo Anne, Linda and Jadea all brought their New York Beauty blocks from Terry's class.
That's all for now.
Sew 'long, Katie O'Possum

Friday, September 12, 2008

Fun In The Country Workshop

Fun In The Country!
Annette Pennington hosted a fun fabric dye and paint workhop at her home on September 2.
Great workshop, Annette!
Pictures below:

Thursday, September 4, 2008

NORTHWIND BLOCK Workshop with Dorinda Evans


A workshop with Dorindia Evans will be held on Saturday, September 6th. She will teach the northwind block class that will begin at 8:30 that Sat. If you plan to attend this class which is free to all guild members then please contact Judy or Sharon to get all the information about the supplies and place your dinner order.

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

July 2008

Dear Lucy Lonestar,

July seems to bring out the imagination in all of the quilters in the guild. Maybe it's all the time under the air conditioner that has our thoughts on making quilts with some really hot colors. The meeting got off to a good start with the minutes and treasurers report read and approved. We had two visitors Elsie Johnson and Gladys Barham. The challenge blocks were handed in and will be put on display for all to see and vote for viewers choice through Sept.
Patti from the RAC came in and spoke to us on the quilt show the center will have for us in July and Aug. of 2009. She said our pieces would hang from panels and they would have hooks to hold rods but we would need to supply rods for our pieces that needed to hang for display. The center will receive 25% of the purchase price of each item so when you enter items you should photograph them, label the piece with your name and price adjusted for the commission. The RAC will send everyone a 1099 at the end of the year if they sell any of your pieces and they also ask that at least 75% of the items you display be for sale. Patti also told us of a starving artist sale that the center holds every year in Nov.-Dec. where local artist can enter three pieces for sale by the week of Oct. 15th if anyone wanted to enter.
The workshop in Sept. will be with Dorindia Evans when she will teach the northwind block class that will begin at 8:30 that Sat. If you plan to attend this class which is free to all guild members then please contact Judy or Sharon to get all the information about the supplies and place your dinner order.
Terry Turnage gave a demonstration on paper piecing the New York Beauty block and will teach this class in the Aug. workshop. This is a good chance to use a lot of those scraps from other projects but keep in mind that large prints and stripes don't always work well in the points. Batiks and tone on tone work well they need to have a large contrast between them. You will also need a machine with a #14 needle, 3 by 5 card, scissors, ruler, and strips cut 1and1/2" by 45" and 2" by 45" ready for class. Terry will have patterns for those who need them.
Judy contacted the Pine Belt quilters about those who live in Al. entering the show and found out that it would be allowed if they had been a member of a Ms. guild by June of 2008.
The fall gathering is going to be in St. Martin and as many as possible are asked to attend since we will be hosting the gathering next year.
The Aug meeting Lauren will have a set of by-laws to lookover and discuss for our guild. Lauren has also been asked to chair the fall gathering we will be hosting.
Watanna won the Christmas blocks and a visitor Valerie Chinn won the door prize of a pillow that was painted in class. The next months block will be a black and white block of 12 and 1/2" in the pattern of your choice.
Our show and tell was lead off by Joanne who had her Chenille bag from class and a hand quilted baby blanket for her grandson. She also showed a miniature set of blocks that she had framed which would be a great gift or item to put in the RAC for sale. Jadea' had a quilt she machine quilted with a little of her grandmothers help. LaWanna showed her BOM quilt top and Watanna showed her BOM blocks. Watanna also showed a quilt she had made for her daughters 50th birthday.
I guess that about covers it I sure hope you can be at the next meeting we always miss seeing your smiling face.
Sew long until next time,
Katie O'Possum