Free Spirit Quilt Guild
Highlights of Past Meetings
Click below for 
more about:

Home

Calendar

National Shows 
and Challenges

Weekend Planner
(**Includes local shows and shop hops)

On-going 
Projects

Member Notes & 
Fabric Donation Sites

Links - Members
and Shops

Resources &
References

Officers &
Contacts

By-Laws
(adopted 3/05)

 
 June 24 - UFO Night -   Here are the notes from this meeting:
Remember to get/sell your tickets for our quilt raffle for St. Bernadette's Parish.
Dusty, Gail and Sandy will display the quilt in their shops this summer for a time.
Joan O'Donnell has tickets available.
 
The Quilt-a-thon at Cambridge Springs on June 7th had 36 quilts sewn, bound and
delivered to Shriner's Hospital in Erie!!  A lot of hard work (and fun) for all the volun-
teers that day!  The money raised ($950) went to benefit a 14 year old girl.  She was
a recipient from the Make-a-Wish Foundation and her dream was to go to Disney World.
Congratulations to all who participated!
 
Next month's meeting will be our annual picnic at Kim's on July 22nd.  At 2:00 we will
do an outside project (sun painting) and dinner will be at 6:00.  Bring a tureen to share.
Our fat quarter theme will be "Backgrounds"---beige, cream, etc.
 
August meeting will be UFO's and the fat quarter theme that month will be Thanksgiving
fabrics.
 
St. Bernadette's is having its annual festival this weekend--- lots of Strawberries! games, etc.
 
July 5th is the Quilt Show at Scotland Yards in Edinboro.  It's right off rte. 6N on Fry Road
just east of Wal-Mart.
July 16th-19th there is a Shop Hop.....talk to Gail for particulars.  HomespunTreasuresQuiltShop.com
On July 19th in Cortland, OH there will be 3 shops having a huge "Parking Lot Sale" which
promises to be good/fun according to Dolores.
 
Baldwin Reynolds House is having displays of their collections and quilts from around the area
as well as quilt historians available for talks ("Quilt Chats") on Saturdays at 4:00 in the afternoons.  This will go on during the weekends from July12-13 til August 10th.
 
We began our Quilt Block of the Month this month.  Dolores and Kim had a demo of Log Cabin
blocks which we will explore this year.  There is a pattern for our first one on the web.  We are
all using the same red material for the middle starting square.  We choose the other two shades
ourselves.
 
Nice purses and quilts in our "Sew and Tell" segment!
 
Kim demonstrated a beautiful intricately-folded  bookmark pattern and had supplies for anyone who wished to try making one.  Some folks worked on a Fancy Flap Bookmark.  For the bookmark pattern, click here.  Nice job everyone! 

May 27 -  "English Paper Piecing" - Chuck and Pam Kennedy from Riverside Stitch and Quilt in Warren, PA, were here to demonstrate English Paper Piecing (an addictive pursuit!) and to display and sell their fabrics and supplies.  Thanks, Pam and Chuck, for coming to be with us!  Chuck has a computerized long-arm service and they discussed services he can provide, as well.

Kim announced that Millcreek Vac and Sew is moving on July 7 to Summit Towne Centre,  7200 Peach St., Erie - Unit # 460.  In the meantime, they are having good sales to reduce inventory, so stop by!

Dusty Ferrell from Country Stitchin' reminded the group that they are having a "Quilt-A-Thon" on Sat., June 7.  Stop by to lend a hand producing lots of baby quilts and join in the fun!

Kim reminded the group that the annual picnic will be at her Pavilion on Tues., July 22, rain or shine!  Activities for the day will include sun printing and fabric painting, and of course eating!  More details will follow on what to bring.

The Fat Quarter drawing was won by Diana Householder.

The next meeting, June 24, will be a UFO night, and Kim will discuss a special project that you can make blocks for if you are interested.

April 15 - "Happy Anniversary" Party!

Our 5th Anniversary Party was great fun!  Kim had a surprise for all of us as we began our
Quilt Jeopardy Game.  She had us all "kazoo" the Jeopardy theme song--and boy, were we
good!  There were three teams who answered (asked!) the right questions and in the end
Carol Mengel and Cheryl Weiderspahn (and her helper- Opal) were the winners.  Suzanne
Leonhart and Karen Nowak came in second followed by Lois Allegretti and Bev Rappa.
They all did a great job!  Kim did a wonderful job with the questions (and the Alex Trebec
outfit) and Elli Tinko was our "Vanna" for the evening.
 
Show and Tell time had some interesting projects including a beautiful Double Wedding
Ring quilt made by Opal Seber.
 
Laurie gave the treasurer's report and we hold a balance of $1,743.39.  New memberships
and dues are included in this total.
 
Black and white fabrics were our Fat Quarter theme this month and were won by Elli Tinko.
Next month's fat quarters will be beige or cream fabric.
The May meeting will include a visit from Chuck and Pam from Warren who will come to
Saegertown around 5 o'clock and bring their trailer of quilt goods (like the quilt bus did when
it came).  We will have a chance to look and purchase things before the meeting.  They will
also teach English paper piecing during the evening.
 
Dusty brought the quilt tops from Mickey in Corry and they can be picked up at his store or
left to be quilted.  He can explain how he will do it if you call or go to the shop.
 
Gail reminded everyone about the Country Charms Quilt Show to be held in Cochranton on
April 26th and 27th.  There will be good food there as well!

March 25 - Michael Kashey, nationally known award winning quilter, was our speaker.  

Along with his slide presentation he told us how he conceived each quilt.  His amazing creativity and planning is one thing, but the execution is equally inventive, time-consuming, and beautiful.  He loves quilting and it comes across in his discussion of his works.  We viewed his quilts and he was eager to share information informally afterwards.
 
Snacks were served as we viewed quilts for Show and Tell.
Carole Morris won both raffles!  Thimbleberries fabrics and
the evening's raffle of cute sewing case, Wool book and
handmade quilt pin made of wood.
 
April 15th is our next meeting--Anniversary party and Jeopardy Games!
April 26th and 27th Country Charms Quilt Show, Cochranton, PA

Also Stephanie and Dusty Farrell from Country Stitchin' told about the 24 hour quilt-a -thon they are sponsoring on June 7.  They need lots of help - small quilt tops for children's quilts, as well as people to come that day.  Read more here!


February 26 - Two-for- one, since the January meeting was cancelled because of the weather!  Kim announced that the April meeting on April 15th is the anniversary party.  Be ready for fun and games - like quilt jeopardy!

A mini-quilt show will be done for Wesbury, in the Grace building, on March 19 at 2 pm.  Anyone interested in helping, please contact Ruth Prest - 724-3668.  It is a fun project!

The next meeting, March 25, will feature national award winning quilter, Michael Kashey, from Edinboro, talking about "Examining the Design Process".  
Please spread the word and bring a friend!  Meeting is open to the public!
Click here and scroll down to see one of Michael's quilts!

Fat Quarter raffle for stripes was won by Debbie Myers, and the one for pastels was won by Phyllis Acker.  Debbie Myers also won the drawing for the Carol Bryer Fallert trivet.

An award from Country Stitchin' for perfect attendance in 2007 was won by Dolores Joshua.  Landscape awards from the December meeting were presented to Bev Rappa and Lois Allegretti.

Dusty Farrell from Country Stitchin' shop in Cambridge Springs gave an informative presentation on getting tops ready for the long-arm quilter.  He and his wife Stephanie brought along an impressive collection of wonderful quilts.  He talked about different battings and their uses, many options for machine quilting, and good tips for preparing the tops.  Just a few of them are:  Trim all loose threads, front and back of the top.  Press carefully.  Remove selvage edges from the center of pieced backings, but leave them on the outside edges so the backing can be loaded into the rack straighter.  If you piece the backing, shorten stitch length and press seams open.  Batting and backing needs to be 3 to 4 " bigger than the top all the way around the quilt.  If the outside border is pieced, staystitch all around the quilt 1/8" from edge.  Do not add embellishments (like buttons or beads) until machine quilting is finished.  Consider the quilting as you begin the design process, don't wait until the top is done and then say "whatever works".  Dusty said that quilts will last longer if the backing is one piece rather than pieced and if they are quilted heavily.  He gave a lot of useful tips!  He quilts free motion, without "patterns" and did over 600 quilts last year.  Truly an artist!

Anita Hotchkiss from Homespun Treasures in Centerville gave an interesting program on hooking wool rugs and also talked about many things that can be done with felting wool.  For rug hooking, she told how to use wool clothing, felt it in the washer and dryer, then cut it up into strips for hooking, to get a primitive look in the finished rug or wall hanging.  Strips are cut 1/4" wide to achieve a primitive look, and a number 2 hook or large crochet hook can be used.  Backings include monks cloth, angus cloth and wool.  The backing is stretched tightly in a hoop or frame, and the strips or yarn are pulled to the top from the back side of the fabric.  Anita brought many samples and wool products from her shop.  She gave many useful and interesting suggestions.

Anita and Stephanie are working together to sponsor a "block of the month" with a beautiful wool applique quilt.  Classes can be taken at either shop or the blocks can be ordered through the mail.  More details on that available soon!

December 11 - The annual Christmas Party  was enjoyed by all!
 It included viewing of the Landscape Quilt Challenge quilts, and an exchange of
 - Handmade Christmas Ornaments.  
Fat Quarter Theme was  Polka Dots
Hostesses were  Nancy Mayfield and Bev Rapppa

Nov. 27 - "Make and Take" holiday crafts:
A brief meeting was held.  Anyone wanting to participate can bring a handmade Christmas ornament to the Dec. 11 meeting to exchange.  Dolores talked about the new Block of the Month project coming in January 2008.  It will include 12 blocks which can be made in 12 1/2" size for the block lottery, or can be made in a smaller size for perhaps a sampler.  Bonus patterns will be included, and there will be skill-builder demos.  Anyone wishing to "influence" fabric or color orientation for a given month can donate 1 1/2 yd. of fabric for that month's blocks.  Pat Pitetti and Bobbi Jo Mona won the prizes for asking about this project first.
Make and Take projects coordinated by Kim and Dolores included Yo Yo greeting cards, a tea cozy pattern and a wine glass coaster.  Thanks, ladies, for all your hard work preparing!

Louise Crossley exhibited a collection of lovely antique quilts, most of which were from her family.  Thank you, Louise, for sharing these treasures!

Gail Baker announced that she has a new website for her shop - http://www.homespuntreasuresquiltshop.com/services  and also her sale has been extended throughout the month.  Stop by and also visit the website!  Thanks, Gail!

A historian/scrapbook keeper is needed for the guild.  Please talk to Kim if you are interested in helping!

The Christmas Party is set for Tues., Dec. 11.  Doors open at 6 pm for preparations.  Nancy Mayfield and Bev Rappa will be hostesses.  Bring a homemade ornament to exchange, polka dot fat quarters for the lottery, and auction items for the Christmas auction.  Also bring Landscape Quilts from Christmas Challenge Project!

Oct. 16:  Pot Luck supper and Pumpkin Dressing contest!
Carole Morris with her pumpkin, "Minnie Pearl" was the winner.  Tickets are still being sold for the St. Bernadette's quilt, with the drawing coming up on Oct. 23.   
A new quilt for next year is in progress.

Sept. 25:  Quilting Healthy - Speaker Sarah Oliver, teacher from Millcreek school, inspired the group to focus on heathier ways to stretch and move, and to "push away disease, push away stress," as we go about daily activities.

August 28 - UFO NIGHT/Book share/Short business meeting
President Kim introduced our guest, Abby Wright, winner of the guild's youth quilt award at the Crawford County Fair.  A number of winning quilts from the fair were shown by members who had entered them.   

Members are reminded to keep selling more tickets for the St. Bernadette's quilt raffle.  Money and stubs are to be turned in to Joan O'Donnell by the October meeting, Oct. 16th.

Pat Pitetti, Queen of Yo Yos, presented an impressive display of projects made from yo yos - some lovely pieces!  She then demonstrated how to make them for anyone who wanted to try the technique.  Pat was "Lady of the Night."  Click here to see pictures!

Hostesses: Lois Allegretti, Bev Rappa and Joan Black
Fat Quarter Theme:  Halloween Fabrics - won by Joan O'Donnell.
Raffle prize of quilt holder was won by Carole Morris.

Members are reminded to get antique quilts, tops, blocks, books, patterns etc. to Dolores and Laurie for their exhibit at Chautauqua Sept. 21 to 23, 2007.

Tues. July 24 - 2nd Annual Picnic at Kim's Pavilion

It was a beautiful day for a picnic and we all had a great time.  We pounded flowers on material provided by the guild and had a couple demonstrations of applique by Pat Pitetti and Elli Tinko.  There were show and tell items and we spent the remainder of the time visiting and sewing our own projects.  We had delicious pulled pork sandwiches and lots of good dishes were brought
to share by the members.  Kim's pavilion and yard were filled with flowers and the setting couldn't have been nicer.

Fat Quarter Theme:  Landscape Fabrics

Tues., June 26:  UFO - Landscape Quilting
Demos were done using different fusibles and adhesives and  teflon sheet, also different writing, coloring marking pens etc.  A speaker on breast cancer awareness presented a brief program.
Laurie Wellington was the "Lady of the Night."

Tues., May 22, 2007:  Many members and guests attended the Book Signing with Cheryl Weiderspahn!  
"Low-Sew Boutique" is Cheryl's new book, and all of the samples featured in the book were on display.  Cheryl and the contributing artists were on hand to autograph their pages.

The guild's first "Lady of the Night" was Dolores Joshua, who displayed an impressive collection of her work and other interests, including one of her beloved dogs, Otis.

Tues. April 17, 2007:  The guild members celebrated their 4th Anniversary with a great party.
Decision was made to replace door prizes with a Fat Quarter Raffle.  Bring a fat quarter and get a chance to win them all.  Themes will be determined for each meeting.  You may bring up to 5 fat quarters and will get a chance to win for each one that you bring.  The May Fat Quarter theme is patriotic - red, white and/or blue fabrics.

Tues., March 27, 2007:  Funky Monkey Night was led by Margie Hays. 
Reports were given for the Pat Knoechel program and the mini-quilt shows at Wesbury and Rolling Fields.