Pat's Mystery Quilt, part 2 & 3 (Spring 2007)

Mystery Quilt, Part 2
There's a controversy about whether to wash all your fabric or not. I always wash, using a Color Catcher sheet, made by Shout and found in the laundry section of the grocery store. It's your option, but generally wash ALL reds and very darks, as these are the dyes most liable to bleed. Either way, press all of your fabrics, and cut according to the diagram below.

Fabric A: Cut twenty (20) 4-inch squares and eighteen (18) 4 1/2-inch squares.

Fabric B: Cut sixteen (16) 4-inch squares and thirty-two (32) 4 1/2-inch squares.

Fabric C: Cut fourteen (14) 4 1/2-inch squares. (No 4-inch squares.)

This will give you 100 squares in all.

Using fat quarters:













Using long quarters:





Mystery, Part 3




Note: this last part is a scanned image. Click to enlarge.

Show and Tell and Other Fun--March 13, 2007

Marianne's Notes from MAQF
(Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival)

MAQF is my Christmas present from Dick so I was there for the whole thing (and went down 2 days early to see Jamestown during its 400th anniversary and also Yorktown The first two pictures are the best of show quilt. It caught my eye right away as I was signed up for Roberta Horton's Amish Adventures in color class. It was about the only quilt there with no description and the maker was a Yeager. The quilting was so dense that I had the white glove lady, who was teeny tiny, hold up her wee hand to show the proper scale of the quilting.

The next quilt: Clowns on Parade was voted viewer's choice. The award was announced Saturday night at the show and tell of for teachers and students only. it was the first quilt I saw when I entered and I sure voted it as my choice. I dearly love humor in quilts! The next two pictures were a wall hanging. I do not know if it got viewer's choice or not but it got my vote.

The goldfish make patterns just like those dancers on the old Dean Martin show (the June Taylor dancers?) and they are dimensional. I tried to get a photo from the side to show the 3D effect. So much work for such a humble subject; it just cracked me up!

Scenes from our Meeting on March 13, 2007
(Dotty and Rhonda took the pictures,
and Rhonda contributed the photo captions--many thanks!)
Remember to click to enlarge the photos.

Lynn Poulin shows off her "Diamonds are a Girls Best Friend" quilt top from last week's workshop with Gyleen. Stunning Lynn, stunning!

Blanche Carpenter's daughter is one lucky girl. Blanche's beautiful hand quilting done in red really makes the quilt special. Blanche is going to give the quilt to her daughter next week while we are on our retreat in Lancaster, PA. Hopefully we'll all be around to see her expression when she sees it for the first time.

Carol Kunkle shares her inspiration for wanting to learn to quilt with us. Both quilts were made by her Grandmother and Carol fondly remembers choosing the colors of floss used to do all the embroidery work in the state birds....only 48 of the 50 are present, however.

Kay Brill's quilt with appliquéd floral center and scrappy half square triangle border will go on display this month over at the library. If you have a small quilt to share please see Lynn Poulin, our Community Education Chairperson.

Frankie Carroll shows off her "Bullfrog Boogie"....love those googley eyes!

I love seeing the play in Margorie Parkyn's two quilts of the bright and bold fabrics, especially when I spy those favorites of mine by designer Kaffe Fassett mixed in.

In honor of St Patricks Day, Carol Conahan shared her Irish Shamrocks.

Janet Betz contributes her charming Overall Bill and Sunbonnet Sues (not pictured) to Mt Vernons effort to help find a cure for Alzheimer's by placing these "Priority Quits" up for auction at www.Alzquilts.org Janet also completed her Crayola Crayon challenge making an Overall Bill in her yellow and raw sienna colors. Best not bid against Rhonda when he goes up for auction!

Joyce Keating certainly took advantage of our last round of snow days! Look at all of her finshed quilts. We can't wait to get a closer look at the Patriotic quilt at the spring lunchen in June where Ann Poulin's theme "Block Party" is certain to help kick off our summer. (And one more, below!)

Helen Lineham's brightly colored quilt qualifies her for the Crayola Crayon Challenge drawing to be held at the Spring Luncheon. Thanks for "rising to the challenge."

Jim Melton's first completed quilt is all hand pieced and hand quilted, and perfect to share during this month of "Irish Eyes a Shining."

Carolyn Paden had a great time quilting her quilt and experimenting with all the new stitch possibilities on her new machine, and shared her completed flannel quilt...so snuggly and warm in radiating colors.

"Addicted to Diamonds".... Rhonda just had to play with her new Easy Six ruler, and this Harlequin quilt was a perfect project.

Rhonda's quilt is named "A Tisket, as Tasket, a Green and Yellow Basket (and a pink and a blue one, too)."

Here's Rhonda's version of "Diamonds are a Girl's Bests Friend," inspired by Gyleen Fitzgerald's workshop last month. She remarked that it was a personal challenge to piece the diamonds into the border. You go girl!

And just when you think you've used up all that donated fabric, one more quilt emerges. Kathy Edwards pieced this crooked log cabin quilt to donate to Quilts of Valor. If you quilts to donate, please contact Pat Alfredson...the need continues to grow.

March 2007 Newsletter

Mount Vernon News
Quilters Unlimited
March 2007

Mount Vernon Chapter Officers 2006-2007
Co-Presidents --Mary Mazzuchi and Pat Alfredson
Co-Vice Presidents--Joyce Keating and Rhonda Adams
Secretary --Cathy Hanratty
Treasurer-- Barbara Dove
Nominating Chair-- Nancy McGlasson

President’s Message

The ides of March are upon us early, so we'll have to wait until next month for our Presidents' Message. So, instead of wise words, here's a Shamrock Paper Piece block (at the end of the newsletter). On a copier, enlarge the two parts to the desired size (they suggest 3 1/2" wide), then make yourself a good luck charm for March! Happy Quilting!

Treasurer's News, from Barbara Dove

Attached is an updated roster, including contact information for the new members who joined in January 2007. It contains information for 5 new members: Carol Conahan, Carol Kunkel, Carolyn Paden, Gigi Corbin, and Libby Dudley. There are also email address updates for Bev Krysa and Mary Stauss. If you ever have changes to your roster information, please send them to me so I can keep the roster up to date.

As a reminder, your membership cards expire on June 30, 2007. I will begin collecting dues in May for the 2007-2008 membership year. All members, including returning and life members, must fill out a membership form in order to be included on the 2007-2008 membership roster. Forms will be available at the meetings beginning in May. The balance in the treasury is listed in the email notice you recieved.

Hospitality Reminder

We are in need of a few more volunteers to help with hospitality during the month of March. As Pat Alfredson often says, "many hands make for light work," so please contact Jim Melton if you can bring a dish and help with hospitality on either of the dates below. Having a minimum of three people is our goal.

March 13, 2007: Kathy Zahaczewsky, Barbara Van Keuren
March 27, 2007: Dotty Eisenhour

Quilts of Valor

This special thank you came in a recent email sent to Rhonda from her friend Sara Kenny in Nebraska, who, as a guest at one of our guild meetings last year, joined in the efforts to make quilts to donate to Quilts of Valor.

Rhonda, Please thank your guild member, Pat Alfredson, and others for all their efforts with Quilts of Valor. My husband saw the news report on the horrid conditions at the off-site housing units for Walter Reed, and the one bright spot he noticed was that all the beds had beautiful Quilts of Valor on them. Very cool! Sara

Quilt Show

And the numbers are in: Mt Vernon members submitted applications for 52 quilts which will hang at the Quilters Unlimited Quilt Show June 1-3, 2007. Fourteen of these quilts will hang in a special exhibit showing Mt Vernon's effort to help support the the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative, a grassroots effort to raise awareness and fund research. Following the show in June, these special "priority quilts" will be sent in for auction online at www.AlzQuilts.org. Way to go Mt Vernon!!

PS There is still plenty of time to consider making a "priority quilt" to send in with our Chapter's submission this summer. Maximum size is just 9" x 12". Quilts need not be about Alzheimer's. Any theme, style, color, technique, and shape are welcome. Please see Kathy Edwards for more information.

Cardinal Quilters

Barbara Zygiel is extending an invitation to those who just might "need" a little more quilting in their lives to come visit the Cardinal Quilters. Cardinal Quilters just celebrated their 30th anniversary this February, of which Barbara has been a member for 25, and has some very talented members in its midst.

Meetings are held on the second Friday of the month at Trinity United Methodist Church located at 2911 Cameron Mills Road, Alexandria, VA 22302 from 10am-12pm. If you'd like more information, please contact Barbara Zygiel via email: tbsghthf@msn.com or Joyce Nicholas: kjnicholas1@cox.net

Upcoming Cardinal Events:
March 9, 2007-- Demonstration on Painted Flower Collages with Linda Cooper. Here is a perfect opportunity to see Linda in action again and pick up more tips to help you finish your collages and see some of her latest work.

April 13, 2007-- Lecture with Mary Kerr, Out of the Trunk and Off the Tables. Sure to be a lot of fun.

Everyone Loves a Great Mystery!

Join Pat Alfredson in this "Who done it, in what color?" mystery quilt by following her clues over the next few months in time to share at our Spring Luncheon. Just a reminder, the success in solving a great mystery lies in choosing your fabrics with high contrast to one another. So start raiding your stash and look for clue #2 on March 13, 2007.

Mystery Quilt Part 1—Choosing the fabric
This quilt is done in five parts, so that we'll have the "finished product," the quilt top at the June luncheon. The finished size is approximately 38" square, without borders. You'll need three different values for this quilt: A, B, C.

A—This is the main focus fabric of the quilt; a medium in value. A print or batik would work well. You'll need 3/4 yard, or 3 different fat quarters, or 3 different long quarters if you want to go for a scrappier look. (If you decide to make this a one-color quilt, and you've chosen green, it would be the equivalent to a Christmas green.)

B—This is your darkest fabric that contrasts well with the others. Make this a rich, dark fabric that works well with your A fabric. You'll need 1 yard of this fabric. (If you were making a one-color quilt, and are working with green, it would be the equivalent to a dark forest green.)

C—This is your lightest fabric. Try for an "eye catcher." Perhaps you can key off one of the lighter colors in your focus fabric. You'll need 1/4 yard of this fabric. (Again, in a one-color quilt, it would be something like a pale pastel green.)

To help keep things straight, cut a small square of your three fabrics and staple each next to their respective letter above. Later on in the work, the placement of fabrics is important and it's easier if you have a key of some kind.

If you want to have borders, you'll need to add to the fabric amounts given. A two-inch border with mitered corners will take 10" of fabric. A three-inch mitered border will take 12" of fabric. A second border will require more. You'll need binding material as well—about 1/3 yard for double binding.

Coming to a guild near you...actually to Mt Vernon, our very own guild!!

Remember the first time you held up a kaleidoscope to the light in complete awe and the hours of fun you had as a child? Remember making new designs happen with a simple twist of the wrist and a turn of the kaleidoscope...the changes, the surprises, the magic, and the visual explosions that took place?

Now, imagine you as a quilter, learning to make those same visual explosions happen by using a piece of complex, beautiful fabric. Not known for being able to keep a really good secret, I just had to share this exciting news with you as soon as I could.

Mark your calendars now so as not to miss this exciting opportunity to meet quilter, artist and fabric designer Paula Nadelstern as she comes to share with each of us her kaleidoscopic quilt making techniques and design concepts in March 2008. (I even had to check the website this morning to see for myself our guild's name in print on her itinerary....very, very exciting...and for those of you at our last meeting, thanks for sharing in my excitement...I felt like a school girl spilling the beans)

On March 4, 2008 Paula will be sharing her lecture, Symmetry and Surprise: The Kaleidoscope as Design Inspiration and on March 11, 2008 Paula will be offering an exciting workshop opportunity, Needle Stars (class sample on right; used without permission from Paula's website). You can check out Paula's website (www.PaulaNadelstern.com) for more information on both the lecture and workshop and to learn more about this exiting quilter and designer. You can also preview the supply list if you plan to take the workshop.


I'll not look at a piece of fabric the same way again...be on the lookout for fabric of symmetry. Fabrics of symmetry are defined as a fabric that is EXACTLY the same on either side of an center axis line drawn on the fabric...not all fabrics that at first glance appear to be symmetrical are, so be careful of what you choose. Get ready to be dazzled!

Calendar Events for March

Please Remember: In case of bad weather, keep in mind that the Hollin Hall Senior Center closes when the Fairfax County schools close and this will cancel our bees or meetings.
March 6: Bee, 12:30, Room #216 Hollin Hall Sr. Center
March 13: Business Meeting 12:30
March 20: Bee, 12:30, Room #216 Hollin Hall Sr. Center
March 27: Program with Corrine Shibley, author of The Right Side of Quilting, Introducing the Whole Quilt Method. Quilters willing to put aside traditional methods and try The Whole Quilt Method (TWQM) will be pleasantly surprised to see that it leads directly to finished quilts. Join Corrine as she teaches us her newly perfected technique where construction is done entirely on the right side (top) of the quilt combining old and new methods. Corrine's simplification of the quilting process allows more time and effort to be devoted to design and color rather than process.

Looking WAY Ahead:

March 17-18 – Cabin Branch and Stone House Quilters 2007 Quilt Show
Prince William County Fair Grounds, Manassas, VA www.cabinbranch.org
March 17-18 – Patches ‘n Pieces Quilt Show at Holy Cross School, Lynchburg, VA
March 20-22 – Mt. Vernon Quilting Retreat in Lancaster, PA
Quilt Retreat to Bird-in-Hand, PA. Call Ro Coller (301-630-3243) for more info.
March 31-April 1 -- Jefferson’s Cuntry Quilt Show by the Charlottesville Area Quilters Guild, Charlottesville, VA www.avenue.org/quilts
April 22 – QU Quilt-In (Mt. Vernon is in charge of the food)
June 1-3: 2007 QU 34th Annual Quilt show at the Expo Center. Classes start May 31. Quilt Show Theme: Jamestown 2007

Upcoming Quilt Shows

Mar 10-11 Southern Comforters, Bowie, MD
April 11-15 Lancaster, PA
April 19-22 Milltown Quilters in the Presbyterian Church, Ellicott City
April 24-28 Paducah Quilt Show, Padukah, KY
April 27-29 Crazy for Quilting, Montgomery Co Fairgrounds
June 9-10 Annapolis Quilt Show, Annapolis, MD
June 22-24 Schoolhouse Quilters, Cumberland, MD
July 26-29 Quilt Odyssey , Hershey, PA
July 26-29 PA National Quilt Extravaganza, Harrisburg, PA
Sept 22-23 Friendship Quilters, Linthicum, MD

March Birthdays

March 1--Blanche Carpenter
March 15--Dee Neigh
March 16--Cathy Hanratty
March 17--Trish Hogan
March 29--Gail English
March 30--Andrea Gribble

April Birthdays

April 2—Lois Altz
April 4—Jim Melton
April 10—Marjie Morris
April 20—Lucy Petitt
April 21—Anita Roby-Lavery
April 26—Beth Smith

Mt Vernon QU Business Meeting
February 20, 2007

The meeting was called to order at 12:35 PM by co-presidents Pat Alfredson and Mary Mazzuchi. There were no new members or guests. The minutes of the January meeting were approved as published in the blog with some amendments. Upon review, I found that the errors were not in the minutes but on other sections of the blog.

Old Business:
3 Day Retreat: There are still openings for the retreat in Lancaster, PA March 20-22. There are 15 people signed up now.

Mt Vernon January Quilt In: There were 21 participants at the quilt in. Fun was had by all.

Quilt Show Challenge Quilt: The beautiful quilt designed by Gene Ives and quilted by some of our members was displayed. Please e-mail Gene and tell her how much you loved her design.

Committees:
Newsletter: The deadline is March 1st for any information for the newsletter.

Treasurer: There has not been much activity since last month. You can pay your dues for next year beginning on May 1.

Quilt Show: The next meeting about the quilt show is March 7. Today is the deadline for submitting your entries and having them photographed and measured. All of the demonstration slots have been filled by vendors. We will need volunteers to help at the demonstrations.

Quilt Collector: We have 47 quilts including 14 Alzheimer’s quilts.

Programs: There are 22 signed up for Gyleen’s workshop. It will start at 9:30. Gyleen’s lecture on the 27th will start at 12:30 so she can get to another commitment. March 27th is TWQM with Corinne Shibley. April 14th is the workshop with Nancy Hovis to make the quilted jackets using sweatshirts. In March 2008 we will have Paula Nadelstern who makes kaleidoscope quilts. Visit her website at www.paulanadelstern.com .

Hospitality: The next hostesses are Rhonda Adams, Mary Kelleher, and Mary Stauss.

BOM: Next month’s blocks are High Noon and Beacon.

Sunshine: Cards went out to Gail Franchi’s sister and Cathy Hanratty’s sister-in-law who have cancer. Marge will send cards to Marian Schwartz and Lois Altz.

Winter Quilt In: Sunday, April 22, 1-5 PM, Robinson HS, Fairfax. The block patterns for the exchange are in the big QU newsletter.

June Luncheon: No theme yet. The luncheon will be June 5th .

Fund Raiser: Nancy McGlasson is collecting money for Fons and Porter subscriptions. The fee is $20 and our treasury would get $5. This is good for renewals also.

New Business:
Mystery Quilt: Pat Alfredson has the first set of instructions for the new mystery quilt.

Show Program Advertising: The membership voted to spend $25 extra to have a 1/4 page ad like last year. We would otherwise get a business card size ad at no charge.

2009 Raffle Quilt: The membership agreed to see if another chapter steps forward to make the raffle quilt which needs to be completed by September 2008.

New Quilt Group: There is a small group of quilters who meets from 10-12 on the second Friday at Trinity Methodist Church on Cameron Mills Rd. They are the Cardinal Quilters.

Show and tell items were presented by Rhonda Adams, Cathy Hanratty, Dotti Eisenhour, Kathy Z., Kathy Edwards, Donna Walbrecht, Barb Edler, Carol Conahan, Ann Bernard, Pat Alfredson, Frankie Carroll, and Mary Mazzuchi.

The meeting was adjourned at 2 PM so members could enjoy the refreshments provided by Beverly Dasch and Mary Mazzuchi.

Respectfully submitted,
Cathy Hanratty, Secretary

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Mt Vernon Chapter Quilters Unlimited 2007– 2008 Membership Form
Annual membership runs from July 1 – June 30. Any previous QU membership will expire on June 30. Membership payment must be received by September 30th for inclusion in the Annual QU Directory. YOU MUST COMPLETE ALL INFORMATION, EVEN IF RENEWING YOUR MEMBERSHIP

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Please make your check payable to Mt Vernon Quilters Unlimited
Bring this completed form and payment to our next meeting or mail your form and check to: Barbara Dove
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703-799-7814

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Please submit items to me, Elizabeth Eastmond (the Newsletter Editor), by the first of every month. My email address is: mvqu.news@gmail.com. It's March—the luck of the Irish to you!