Quilting Friendships and Friendly Gatherings Galore!

Sue and I at Bernina Users Group!

July and almost all of August have zoomed by thanks to all my friendly quilt activities! It’s been a quilt-packed six weeks since I last posted a blog! All these friendly quilting activities keep me really busy … and very happy!! 

Vicky, Joan and I
having a blast!

So, where do I start? How about with the Bernina Users Group! This group meets every fourth Thursday to sew on projects together. Sometimes Sue leads us through a project while other times we have free sew on our Berninas. I have the honor to be Sue's assistant in helping and encouraging our Bernina sewists, and sometimes I even get to teach a workshop for the group! In July, we had an awesome meeting that coincided with the official showcase of the Bernina 990! Sue showed us all the great features of the new Bernina 990 and its embroidery capabilties. Because it a 990 special event, we also had snacks and door prizes and watched a video on this amazing machine. It was a total day of Bernina sewing fun! 

Jennifer is happy to sew
 on her Bernina!

Joan ironing her project.

Georgia is also having fun
with Bernina!

Here I am sewing heart name tags on 
my Bernina Kaffe 475 QE.

Sue, Georgia and Vicky are happy
 with Bernina embroidery.

Marsha and Sue hang out
while the Bernina 770 embroiders.

Sue shows off the embroidery features
of the Bernina 990 for Vicky and Cheryl.

Vicky is working on a Christmas Tree table runner
made from a pattern featured on the Bernina website.

Our Vintage Club leader, Sandy, is the
sewist in the front on the right.

Another group that I especially enjoy is the Vintage Club. I can't take my Bernina sewing machine to this club as it is totally dedicated to non-computerized machines.  So, that's the day I pack up my Featherweight and spend the day sewing with other members of Vintage Club. This club is led by Sandy. We all have a wonderful time "playing" on our vintage machines and working on projects together. 

But, then there are those classes I'm teaching! The Let’s Get Sporty Class, based on the original Bama Fans quilt, was a big hit in July! I had 10 students who came to class ready to learn how to make fan blocks and to talk mascots for their own version of Bama Fans. We had a few Bama quilts in-the-making in class as well as quilts-to-be for Auburn, Kentucky, a hockey team and golfing. One of my students – the young one at the age of 34 – made fabric choices to create a modern version of the fan quilt. In August, the students came back to show the results of their homework and to get a few tips on how to finish up their quilt. Here’s a couple students with their blocks: 

Peggy with her Bama fan blocks.

Moncie with her golfing fan blocks
and her filler blocks. 

Lucy and I with her first
Sundrops block.

The Sundrops and Starflowers Class wasn’t quite as popular. I actually ended up with just one student (the other student cancelled at the last minute). But, boy, what a student! It was relaxing and fun to sew with Lucy, who was able to complete one block in her quilt. 

The grand finale of the summer's friendly sewing events was the Stitchers Summer Retreat at Camp Maranatha in Scottsboro at the very beginning of August. But, before the fun began, I had to struggle through a hardship that I didn't expect. I always travel to Scottsboro the day before retreat to set up the sewing room and take care of a few details. This time, about 10 miles outside Scottsboro, I got a flat tire! I was stranded on the side of U.S. 72. I called Boyd, and he left work right away to help me. But he was an hour away.

I was trying to think about who else could help me when in the rear view mirror I saw a white truck with a company name on the side stopping behind me! The man came to my window and said “Where’s you spare? I’m here to help you.” It was like God sent an angel! I pulled all the retreat stuff out of the back and we got to the tire. This wonderful angel -- a guy named Mark Gillespie who works for Arcus Restoration -- started to change the tire when another man in a company truck stopped and said “I’m going to make sure the traffic passes in the left lane so you are safe while changing the tire.” Another angel! Once the tire was changed, Mark insisted on staying with me until Boyd drove up about 30 minutes later. He wouldn’t take any money, and just kept saying he hoped someone would stop and help his kids and grandkids if they ever had a flat tire. I was so thankful. 

Cindy's birthday celebration
at summer retreat!

I drove to Camp Maranatha on the spare tire. Boyd followed me to make sure I was safe and then he took the flat tire into Scottsboro to have it fixed while I set up for the retreat. He then put the tire on my car, which was another struggle because of the heat. By the time the two of us got home, we were exhausted! 

But, the next day, the sun came out and I returned to Camp Maranatha to welcome 23 fellow quilters who had a wonderful weekend sewing and talking and laughing. I will share more about this group in my next blog. So many projects got done over the weekend and Saturday was the best day because we got to celebrate Cindy’s birthday! More on retreat on the next blog posting later this week.

Hugs and Hope and Happy Quilting! 

Kari