Well, the weather tells us that spring has ended and the serious heat of summer has begun here in Florida. Seasonals, also known as snowbirds, have departed for cooler temperatures. Others will be leaving for vacations to cooler states, taking a break from the lengthy summer of Florida. We are grateful to Barbe Brolley for taking on the role of "Foreign Correspondent". It is wonderful to hear what folks are up to.
These past few months the Piecemakers have continued to work on Charity Quilts. Many photos of these quilts can be found in the photo section. The chapter has over the past several months made this activity more team oriented by rearranging the room and organizing our fabrics. Donna Parisi organized fabric into coordinated groups. Suzanne Kendrick has come up with two creative ways to make a quilt created by all members of the chapter. Her first challenge was for members to bring in an "orphan" block. These blocks were then sewn together to make a creative quilt. Her latest challenge is for members to utilize their scraps by making what is called a "Confetti" quilt. This project requires members to simply sew on scraps to a strip of Muslim. In the fall, these pieces will be given to Suzanne who will then assemble a charity quilt. Of course she gave a demonstration on this so we could see how easy it was. If you are a member and did not get to see the demo or get the measurements, but, would like to participate, contact Suzanne by email.
The "B"s provided us with a wonderful brunch in May. There were many show & tell items and a good time was had by all. Brunches will resume in September with the Piecemakers hosting. We now have a written guideline as to what needs to be done for this event so people wanting to volunteer for this will have something to refer to. Christy Shaw is chairing the September brunch. Thanks Christy!
The "B"s had a retreat and a few of our members joined in, bringing back some beautiful "Quilt as You Go-reversible quilts. Photos of these, along with other events can be viewed in the "photo" section of the chapter updates on the Guild Website.
The New Quilters (NQ) group is finishing up the blocks and will begin assembling the quilt in the near future. Although created especially for those new to the art of quilting, more experienced members are welcomed to join in the activities.
Esther Meinhardt will be instructing members on how to make a "Bargello Heart" in the near future. She has made a few of these so has a good handle on how it is done. She provided members with a list of fabric needs before she headed off to the Grand Canyon area for vacation.
We are expecting a quiet summer between the vacations and snowbirds being gone. It was decided that although we encourage individuals to work on charity quilts throughout the summer, no chapter meeting would be scheduled to work on them until September.
Speaking of September, we have a few ladies who have said they would do a presentation / teach in the fall so am looking forward to it. If you have something you would like to present, whether it be a pattern, or skill please let Barbara and/or Esther know so they can plan fall meetings accordingly.
We have a new person doing our scrapbooks. Jan had asked to be relieved of this responsibility as she has done it for many many years. We thank Jan Cresap for taking on the task.
Until then, have a great summer and may health and happiness be ever present with you.
Submitted by Barbara Rule-Mispel
