January guild meeting on Zoom

Welcome to a new year with the Choo Choo Quilters. We will be having our first Zoom guild meeting of the new year this Monday, January 18, at 6:30 pm. Due to COVID, we suspect that we'll continue our virtual meetings into the late summer/early fall of this year... but don't despair! We are planning several things to keep us connected mentally, even though we must remain physically apart. 

Cheers to a new year with the Choo Choo Quilters.

At Monday's meeting, we will have a discussion of possible program ideas and we will need your input. Come join us and contribute your ideas to the guild. We have plans for a Choo Choo Bingo Challenge which will be introduced on Monday. We will also have Show and Tell, so gather up your recent projects to share with the group.  

Cuddle Quilt Update
We will be collecting our cuddle quilts to donate to the Chambliss Center, and we will have a special drop-off on Saturday, February 6 from 2-4 in the parking lot at Valleybrook Presbyterian (where in-person guild meetings were held). 

Sherry and Ginny have arranged to provide hot chocolate and treats for everyone who brings a quilt, and we can have a little socially distanced celebration of our continued work with this fine organization. If this collection time doesn't work for you, post a message on the Choo Choo Facebook page and someone will reach out to you. The quilts will be delivered to Chambliss on Monday February 15. 

In case of bad weather, the collection will be postponed until the following Saturday, February 13. 

So, come join us Monday night and enjoy the company of your fellow quilters!

Charity Quilt Exhibit and Presentation

3/15/20 update: The March guild meeting is cancelled. The Quilt Exhibit and Presentation has been postponed. Thank you for your understanding.

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The fruits of the "2019 Monthly Quilt Blocks for Charity Collaboration" for our guild's community service project will be exhibited at the Choo Choo Quilters March Guild meeting on Monday, March 16, at 7pm. Bed quilts made to support the Chambliss Center for Children will be on display and then presented to representatives from Chambliss.

Ginny (left) and Sherry show one of the finished bed quilts, "Woven."

2019 Monthly Quilt Block program
Lead by Cuddle Quilt Co-Chairs, Sherry Reed and Ginny Minninger, the Monthly Quilt Block Collaboration program kicked off in January 2019. Quilt block patterns were distributed to guild members monthly with prescribed color schemes.

Town Square blocks.

Blocks were returned the following month.

Black/white strip blocks.

An assortment of plaids made up these quilt blocks.

At the July Cuddle Quilt workshop, another block pattern and fabric kits were distributed. Guild members worked at piecing quilt blocks and assembling several quilt tops during the workshop.

Quilt block layout at the July Cuddle Quilt workshop.

As the year progressed, quilt tops were completed, turned in, quilted and bound by various guild members and local long arm quilters.

One of the completed Tea Cup quilt tops. This was a popular block pattern.

Come and see the final results of this year-long endeavor in an exhibit at the March meeting when the quilts will be presented to representatives of the Chambliss Center. The representatives will also speak about the Transitional Living Program, a new program that offers assistance to young people when they age out of foster care at the tender age of 18. The bed quilts will go to the young adults in this program.

Friends and guests are welcome to attend the quilt exhibit and presentation. The event starts at 7pm. Refreshments will be served.

2019 Cuddle Quilt goal surpassed

At the January guild meeting, Cuddle Quilt Co-chairs, Ginny (left) and Sherry, showed several of the large bed quilts that were finished in 2019 for the Choo Choo Quilters community service project. The ambitious goal set in January 2019 was 20 bed-size quilts—8 for the boys group home and 12 for the Transitional Living program at Chambliss Center. At the time of this posting, 25 large quilts are in various stages of completion.

Town Square

Woven

Tennessee Crossroads

Tea Cup

Crazy Patch

Deep Stash (scrap quilt)

Summer Camp

Courthouse Steps Log Cabin (unquilted top)

In progress quilt top using the August quilt block.

Smaller cuddle quilts were also turned in.

Cuddle quilt made with the Greek Cross block,
from the 2010 Great Cuddle Quilt Quest.

Cheryel shows a half-square triangle cuddle quilt.

3-yard quilt

The Cuddle Quilt Committee Co-Chairs enlisted the help of several long-arm quilters in the area to quilt these big quilts. We appreciate these long-arm quilters—especially those who have donated their time and equipment to help us reach our goal.

Shopping bags filled with quilted bed quilts.

Big Quilts workshop this Saturday

This Saturday, July 27 is our Choo Choo Quilters annual Cuddle Quilt Workshop. Our goal this year is to make "big quilts" for the Chambliss Center for Children and our Cuddle Quilt workshop is always very productive for this endeavor but it's also a fun day to sew and visit with fellow guild members, both past and present.

August block: Triangle Surprise Disappearing 9-patch with plaids.

What to bring
If you don't already have something to work on, kits for this year's Big Quilts project will be available at the workshop on Saturday. Two ironing boards with irons will be set up for shared use. Other items to bring are:

• sewing machine and an extension cord 
• the usual sewing supplies—pins, scissors, seam ripper, etc.
• 18" x 24" (or similar size) cutting mat—if you want to work on a Big Quilt kit
• rotary cutter and cutting ruler
• a snack to share (orange juice and coffee will be provided).

Time and Location
The workshop will be held:

Saturday, July 27

9 am - 3 pm

Cross of Christ Lutheran Church

3204 Hixson Pike 

(next door to Stuart Heights Baptist Church)

Hixson, TN

Please park in the lower parking lot in the back. Enter through the door to the nursery. Contact Sherry Reed if you have any questions.

Tea Cup Blocks in coral and blue

With six months into the year, the Choo Choo Quilters Cuddle Quilt project has made strong and steady progress. The June block pattern is another easy-to-piece block called the Tea Cup Block. This block uses only two 10" squares of contrasting fabrics and will yield two blocks when assembled.

Tea Cup Block. Unfinished size: 9" (8.5" finished)

Color, Value and Pattern

• The color scheme for these blocks is ivory/soft white, coral and blue. 
• Value: when choosing your fabric pairing, the fabrics should be a light and a dark or a light and a medium. 
• The CQ coordinators have specified patterned fabrics (not solids). 

The blocks can be made with all blue, all coral or a mix. Here is an examples of a possible fabric pull.

Fabric examples for Tea Cup cuddle quilt blocks.

Assembly

Instructions for cutting and piecing can be found in this video. Bring completed blocks to the July guild meeting or the annual Cuddle Quilt workshop on Saturday, July 27.

Choo Choo Quilters start 2019 with "big" Cuddle Quilt goal

First 2019 bed-size quilt top: Cristy Clark (left) and Veronica Hofman-Ortega
show a bed-size quilt top (72" x 90") that Veronica designed and pieced.

If the amazing, generous and talented Choo Choo Quilters can make over 50 baby and lap size quilts in about 12 months, it's a mere stretch of guild members' quilting know-how to accomplish a goal of several bed quilts for the Chambliss Center for Children group home and its Transitional Living Program. Right???

In 2010, with a plea for larger quilts in the late summer, our guild members pieced and finished 9 bed-size quilts for delivery in December of that same year. Read the blog post here. "It's been a few years since we made our charity quilts to benefit the older children...," said Cuddle Quilt Co-Chair, Ginny Minninger. "Wouldn't it be wonderful to provide them with quilts [again]?"

To respond to this need, our guild will be focusing on making larger bed quilts—approximately 72" x 90" and 80" x 90"—for our community service project this year. Cuddle Quilt Co-Chairs, Sherry Reed and Ginny Minninger, have sourced several easy block patterns and will be providing patterns and "quilty incentives" for participation in and contribution to this endeavor in upcoming meetings.

"Town Square" block. Pattern distributed with permission.
View a tutorial here.

The first block pattern, Town Square, was distributed at the January meeting. Packets of the focus fabric (black squares) and inner (light grey) strips were also given to meeting attendees.

To view an on-line YouTube tutorial for the Town Square block, see this video.

If you'd like to make and contribute a block (or 2, or 5...), here is the requested color placement: use a black fabric for the squares and a light (cream, white, or light grey) for the inner strip. All other fabric strips can be scrappy.

Turn in completed blocks at the February meeting for a chance to win a prize. Or turn in blocks, quilt tops or even finished bed-size quilts and your reward will be the appreciation of a youth at Chambliss.

So, Choo Choo Quilters... are we up for this challenge? Be thinking about our Cuddle Quilt Workshop in July (TBA) and the group basting session which is always so efficient and productive.

If you don't have space to baste a larger quilt top, get the top assembled and take advantage of the group spray basting session! Batting and backing fabrics will be provided by the guild.

Cool tools solve construction conundrums

Got some cool tools?

Each year at the Choo Choo Quilters Guild Challenge Reveal, participants present and tell the story behind their Challenge quilts. Quite often, these discussions reveal creative ways in which the Challenge participants navigate and overcome construction conundrums that pop up along the way. Sometimes, we have to get quite inventive to meet those Challenge guidelines!

The 2017 Medallion Challenge was no different and seemed to have prompted the use of several tools, templates and rulers that helped participants make and fit pieced borders around a center motif. Let's all learn from each other's experiences, shall we?

Show and Share
For the January guild meeting, we'll have a Show and Share session. Please bring a favorite tool or a go-to gadget that motivates you or helps with the quiltmaking process—or something that's just too cool and too fun for words! For participants in last year's Challenge, bring a tool or share the technique that helped get your quilt across the finish line. If you please, a short demo is also appreciated.

A few other reminders:

• Dues of $20 for 2018 are now due.
• Photos will be taken at the January meeting for the membership directory (another reason you want your dues paid up).
• Program teams for 2018: Time will be allotted for planning and discussion with your teammates. Come with ideas!
• Last Call for completed Cuddle Quilts! We'll distribute them to Chambliss Center for Children in early February.

See you on January 15 at 6:30 pm.

35 Cuddle Quilts delivered to Chambliss Center

Choo Choo Quilters, Sherry Reed (left) and Ginny Minniger, dropped off
35 cuddle quilts to the Chambliss Center for Children in early February.

Right in time for Valentine's Day, Sherry Reed and Ginny Minninger, representatives from the Choo Choo Quilters, shared "Cuddle Quilt Love" with the children and staff of the Chambliss Center for Children. Thirty-five quilts—in an assortment of child, lap and bed sizes—were dropped off at the Center and received with open arms by Center's staff.

35 Cuddle Quilts.

Each year, the Choo Choo Quilters adopt the Chambliss Center for Children as the recipient of the guild's community service project. Throughout the year, bright and fun cotton fabrics and flannels are sewn together and quilted by the members of the guild to create child and lap-sized quilts. The guild's annual Cuddle Quilt workshop—usually held on a Saturday in August—is set up for group sewing, quilt top assembly and quilt basting as well as day of camaraderie for the guild members. The sandwiched quilt tops and backings are then quilted and bound by the members and turned in by the end of the year.

Ideas for block and quilt patterns were presented at the recent February guild meeting for this year's Cuddle Quilt workshop. Ginny Minninger, one of the team members that presented the February program on "Making Do," cited that about 15 of the 35 quilts that were recently delivered to the Center were from a quilt design presented at the 2016 Cuddle Quilt workshop.

"Let's see if we can surpass the 35 number this year," said Ginny. "One year, we made and donated over 70 [quilts]," she added. In 2010, the guild received a unique request for bed-size quilts and members generously responded with a donation of 9 bed-size quilts. Game On, Choo Choo Quilters! Let's make an impact.

Cuddle Quilt block tutorial using precut strips

For those who couldn't make it to this year's Cuddle Quilt workshop, this is a tutorial on how to make the quilt blocks. These blocks use pre-cut (2.5") strips.



Be aware that once the strip sets are cut and opened, all the edges of the blocks are on the bias. Careful pressing and spray starch will help keep their shape.

Cuddle Quilt workshop 2016

Thanks to our fabulous Cuddle Quilt Coordinator, JoAnn, and the CQ committee, the annual Choo Choo Quilters Cuddle Quilt workshop this Saturday was fun and productive.

JoAnn (left) and Martha cutting strips sets at the August Cuddle Quilt Saturday.

In addition to working on Cuddle Quilts, those attending also discussed and pondered the great mysteries of the world: the Single Sock Syndrome, why "bra" is singular and panties are a "pair," and the invention of the "Needle Trip Meter" to notify quilters when to change the needle in their sewing machines.

Saturday's activities started with kits for the "Summer on the Beach" strip quilt. The majority of the strips were cut from the Choo Choo Quilters CQ stash of donated fabrics. However, a few packages of strips were needed to have enough for the kits. The additional pre-cuts were purchased at local area quilt shops: Chattanooga Quilts, Hyderhangout and Pins and Needles Quilt Shop. Note: the Choo Choo Quilters shop local! 

Step-outs for the quilt top.

JoAnn had examples of various steps in the process and gave demonstrations throughout the day. Everyone sewed, sewed, sewed... chain-piecing strips together.

Janice (left) and Teresa sewing strips.

 Look at those piles of strips behind the sewing machines!

Cristy chain piecing.

Then to the irons to press the seams...

Ironing the pairs of long strips.

After hours... and hours... and hours of sewing strips, the cutting went quickly. Using the diagonal line on the ruler, the blocks were quite easy to cut from the strip tubes. Each strip set yielded 6 blocks.

Martha cutting strip sets into blocks.

The fun part was seeing all the colorful blocks emerge and arranging them into a quilt top.

Veronica laying out the blocks.

This is one example quilt layout using batik fabrics.

Batik blocks in a diamond pattern.

Then we decided to swap a few blocks and introduce polka dots, checks and prints to the mix.

Blocks from different strip sets makes a fun, scrappy quilt.

When cut, these blocks are approximately 8.5" or 8.25" square (about 8" finished). The quilts can be rectangular or square, in any design. To make a child size lap quilt at 40" x 48", use a 5 x 6 layout. Alternate plain blocks might also be an interesting setting.

Quilters should bring any unused or leftover blocks to the next guild meeting so they can be combined to make additional quilts.

We missed those guild members that could not attend the CQ workshop. We didn't solve all the mysteries of the universe, but we enjoyed fabulous door prizes, food and beverages, and we got a huge pile of quilt blocks made!

Be sure to visit the Choo Choo Quilters Facebook page for more photos.

45 Cuddle Quilts delivered to Chambliss Center

This year, the Choo Choo Quilters donated 45 cuddle quilts to the Chambliss Center for Children. Virginia Ruston, the new Volunteer Director, was present to receive the quilts from our Cuddle Quilt Program Coordinator, JoAnn Lotan.

Virginia Ruston, Volunteer Director at the Chambliss Center for Children,
lets the children choose their favorite quilt.

The Choo Choo Quilters have made and donated lap and twin size quilts to the Center since the beginning of the guild, 24 years ago. "It was fun to see which quilt the kids would pick out," says JoAnn.

Thanks to all the Choo Choo Quilters for your time, effort and support to this project and to JoAnn and Sherry for coordinating the program last year.

Ready… set… go make Cuddle Quilts

The Choo Choo Quilters had another successful and productive Cuddle Quilt workshop yesterday. Patchwork units were pre-cut and ready...

Pre-cut fabric squares for the Disappearing 9-patch technique.

instructions for a quick 9-patch technique were on display...

Disappearing 9-patch (left) and fabric panel kits (right).

nourishment, caffeinated and sweetened motivation were laid out...

Plenty of yummy goodies.

so when the quilters arrived with sewing machines in tow, they hit the ground running—or make that "quilting."

Here is a recap of the day's activities. Trimming and squaring up...

Dawn and Sherry at the cutting table. Joanna at her featherweight.

piecing and chatting...

Multi-tasking: sewing and talking at the same time.

laughing and layering...

Fluff that batting!

and spray basting (oh, so fast!).

Smooth out all the wrinkles.

"You get a ticket for another basted quilt."

Cuddle Quilts are great reason to go through the stash and purge those fabrics that you've forgotten why you purchased in the first place.

So, how deep is your fabric stash?
Sherry B. had a piece of fabric from 1996.

1996 fabric print.

Ms. Deep Stash, Ginny, uncovered a Daisy Kingdom print from 1992!

1992 Daisy Kingdom fabric panel.

The end-of-day tally showed we surpassed our previous 2011 record of 27 with 28 basted Cuddle Quilts! The basted quilt sandwiches and binding strips went home with workshop attendees for quilting and binding.

Take home

Thank you to Sherry (left) and JoAnn (right), our CQ Coordinators extraordinaire!

Sherry and JoAnn, 2015 Cuddle Quilt Coordinators.

JoAnn announces the name on
the winning ticket.

To make the day more fun, tickets were given out to attendees for various tasks: piecing a top, basting a quilt sandwich, bringing in a dish to share, staying for the clean-up. etc. There was a drawing for a $25 gift certificate at the end of the day.

And the winner is…

(You gotta come to the August guild meeting to find out.)