BOM - A Tisket A Tasket

The first part of 2010 has been a very busy year for quite a few of our members. Look at all the Blocks of the Month that were on display. The best part was getting up close and looking at all the different interpretations of what you could do with just one basket and one star. We have some pretty fine hands at embroidery and applique. One of our members was astounded by the use of backings that were not white, she never thought of using other options. That is what is great about sharing our work - it opens up the possibilities.

Everyone displayed their blocks on the rolling wall and then during show and tell time, took them off and let the members know who was doing what blocks. I apologize that I did not get a picture of everyone, though I do think we got every block in the joint picture.

Susie got everyone excited with the presentation of two blocks. Because the end of the year is a busy time and we don't always get a chance to do the last block or two for the year, Susie introduced two months at once so that we would have extra time to work on the blocks. February block is to have the basket and one heart. The three examples that Susie, Iowana and Barb did, showed everyone the original pattern - now comes the designing devas and what they will come up with. March is to have the basket and at least one shamrock. It was fun listening during refreshments to what some are thinking about doing.

Barb gave a presentation of how she is using recycled wool in her applique block examples. Barb has not bought any new wool, she picks up jackets, skirts, etc and starts her magic to end up with felted wool that does not fray and produces such beautiful applique. It was interesting to learn her techniques and the tips to save your washing machine and dryer from mishap.

Susie was able to get enough samples of "Quilt Care Liquid Wash" to hand out to all members present. She is trying to get hold of different manufacturers and sellers to get samples of their products to distribute to members during the year so that we will know what is out there and be able to try it out without spending recklessly during this tighter economy. Appreciation and thanks goes out to Susie and her group for the efforts they are making this year with the Block of the Month portion of our guild.