Then and Now

Today our bee "Prairie Friends" had our annual Christmas Party,

at The Grumpy Goat in Elgin.

What a wonderful time we had.

Our lunch was delicious, but I have to say the company was was even better.

Marcia was our hostess. She made the reservations and planned our day.

Instead of exchanging Christmas gifts, we each were asked to bring

Scarves, gloves and hats to be donated to the women and children 

at the Community Crisis Center in Elgin.

This was a great idea, and we all donated.

When we can all get together, we like to get a group picture.

Marcia surprised us all with photos from the past.

This was all of us in 2010,

Here we are in 1989.

This is us in 1990
The quilt behind us was made by us for the St Joseph Hospital Maternity Unit in Elgin.

Here is a picture of our newest member and her adorable little girl.
We made the quilt they are sitting on.

Here we are today.
I think we are all looking pretty good considering the 26 years that have passed.
The hair styles have changed
a bit through the years.There have been some of our friends that have moved and no longer part of our monthly bee and
 we have gained new friends..  As Linda said today, we are our own family.  We have been there for each other. We have always kept our number at 10, with the thought that we could all fit in someones home easily.
Through the years we have gone to quilt conferences, we stay at a hotel one weekend a year to sew and enjoy each
others company.  We have made  charity quilts and even a couple of raffle quilts that we donated to
the one guild that most of us belong to. We have shared ideas and motivated each other.
We are like sisters, but with different Mother's.
Merry Christmas to all of us, along with a Wonderful New Year.

Mary

Thursday Sew Bee

Last week at our Thursday Sewing Bee Jinnie showed us this beautiful quilt she had just completed.  It is a Bonnie Hunter design.  It is so pretty, ready to snuggle under.

Jo shared this wonderful wall hanging using scrapes.  This is her own design and inspired by the Scrape Club at the shop.  It is a job well done.

Happy Quilting!

Mary

Tuesday Night Quilt Bee

Good Evening,  No I have not been missing in action.  Just very busy working on my "Holiday Lane" project for the blog hop next week. A schedule is located on my sidebar.  My day is Thursday, November 22.  Be sure to stop by and see what I have up my sleeve.


 Last evening was bee.  I think for the first time since January,  we were all there.  It has been quite a busy year.  It was fun to catch up on all the going's on.  Marcia had asked that we bring a quilt to share that we had made, but just could not ever give away.  (Linda showed us the cutest Halloween blocks she had just finished. Aren't they just the cutest?)

Linda shared this quilt. It was one of the first quilts I had seen her make.  This was quite a few years ago.  (Some of us have known each other at least 25 years.)  She loves to add embellishments to her work.

Judy had just taken this quilt down from display and brought it, as it is one of her favorites.  It really is cute.  Great detail.

This quilt Judy said she had hand-pieced the center star. It was done while on an airplane trip to and from Florida, while they were on vacation.  The outer ring was done by machine. She then hand quilted the whole quilt.  It is her favorite.

Marite, made this beauty.  She fussy cut all the flower blocks.  It is gorgeous and beautifully quilted.

This second quilt is also made by Marita and is the left over fabric from the first one.  She always does a great job with her borders and using directional fabric for them.

Marcia shared her Blueberry Baskets quilt.  The applique sets off the baskets so well. Linda always like to remind us that applique is a great additive to complete a quilt.

When Marcia was recovering from surgery last year, she made this wonderful scrape quilt.  She said she did not use a fabric more then 2 times.  It hasn't been used yet, as it was not cold enough.  Marcia thought it would be too big for their bed.  No quilt is ever too big.  Scrape quilts are so much fun.  This one was like playing I Spy, checking out the fabrics.

Marge showed us this wonderful red and green quilt that she made several years ago.  She still thinks she is a "new" quilter. We keep telling her that she has a real flair for quilting details.  I love this quilt!

Here is Lyn's beauty.  She made this one using a fabric we were all challenged to use.  This was her creation. It is beautiful. She added prairie points in the edges.  She loves to add piping as well.

  They did get to see what I am working on for the "Holiday Lane" hop, and think I am going in the right direction.
It was good to catch on what we all have been doing, and to revisit some of our creations through the years. A fun time was had by all.  We have been a bee for over 25 years. I think I have been a part of it for at least 27 years. Some longer then that. We do get together once a month at different members houses.  When I think back all all the wonderful things we have done, the fun times we have had, and all the times we have been there for each other. It is amazing.

Have a great rest of the week.
Happy Sewing!

Mary

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Quilt Bee

Last evening was my time to host our quilt bee. The show and tell was fabulous. Linda made these first 2 tops. They are the same pattern, but each is made with a different set of fabrics.
They are stunnng.

Marcia and Bonnie purchased the same charm pack last February with the challenge that each had to make a quilt by this February. They unvailed their projects last evening. Again, same fabrics, very different results.

Lyn has Edyta Sitar's quilt "Dresden Star" done except for borders. At our quilting bee weekend she got all of this together. It was a quilt I had planned to work on too. She is way farther along then I am. Good Job. It looks so fabulous.

This is another quilt Lyn is finishing up. She just got it back from being quilted. She is is putting on the binding. The batiks are wonderful.

This is another quilt Lyn is finishing up. It is a wedding gift to be given soon. The shades of green with the black and white fabrics is stunning.

Our quilt bee meets once a month at one of our houses. We like to get together to share ideas, and we have show and tell, and of course to catchup on what is going on in our lives. We like to plan road trips to shows and of course shops. We also love to eat. Lyn can always find the great restaurants when we are on the road. We all look forward to our times together.