Show us your curves!

We're going from "circles" in May to "curves" in June! Up next at the June guild meeting, the program will be "Curves and Apple Cores."

Included in the program will be the history and overall view of the Apple Core quilt with patterns and hints about the construction of this curvy quilt block. There will also be a discussion on another curvy block, called the Centrifuge block, which can be found in Dianne Hire's book, "Vivacious Curvy Quilts."

Should anyone have an Apple Core quilt, please bring it along for Show and Tell.

The Circle program—10 years in the making

Sherry showed step-outs of the Circle technique.

At the May guild meeting, the Choo Choo Quilters were treated to a program that was 10 years in the planning! Sherry presented her "Circle" program to the delight and entertainment of all those present.

Since the first time Sherry worked with this technique—about 10 years ago—she has experimented with the process for creating these circle blocks. With that much time invested, you know she had a lot of tips to share! Recently, she contacted the designer for any the up-to-date information for making successful "Circle Things" and found there was a CD and acrylic templates (instead of paper patterns) available to streamline the process.

From using the templates to create the individual "blocks," to choosing fabrics and colors, and the unique assembly of the rows, Sherry covered all the bases with multiple step-out samples.

A great technique for using up scraps.

Folding back the edges creates the orange peel design.

The "hump jumper" tool, Sherry indicated, is handy for stitching the circles together.

How to use the Hump Jumper gadget.

We waited a long time for this program, and it was worth the wait. Just don't take 10 years to make a circle quilt for yourself!