Great Cuddle Quilt Quest: a raving success

42... 59... 69... 73!
The final count for the Choo Choo Quilters' Great Cuddle Quilt Quest is 73 quilts—a huge and generous accomplishment over the initial, previously-set total of 50 quilts! This number includes 10 bed size quilts, of which 9 were delivered to the Children's Home/Chambliss Shelter in December.

In April 2010, guild members Deb Horn and Veronica Hofman-Ortega conceived the idea of the Great Cuddle Quilt Quest and began the program in May with the distribution of a monthly 12" block pattern for members to follow to make cuddle quilt blocks. The Choo Choo Quilters, a guild of about 20 members, raided their fabric stashes and pitched in to make blocks according to specified color schemes. The color-coordinated blocks were then gathered and bundled together for members to create the quilt tops and ultimately, finished quilts.

In September, several guild members attended a weekend Cuddle Quilt Workshop to assemble, baste and quilt pre-cut quilt kits. The Quest continued through December of 2010 with the resulting tabulation of 73 completed quilts at the January 2011 guild meeting. The quilts are donated to the Chambliss Shelter and will be delivered soon.

Well done, Choo Choo Team! That's a lotta quilts!

"Inspirational Quilting" program begins in January

Most of us call ourselves "quilters," a title that conveys humbleness and modesty. We make careful selections and sometimes struggle with confidence about color, balance or design—yet we choke on taking credit for accomplishing something "artistic" when the work is completed. We often forget that through our quilted creations, we do tap into the “artist” within ourselves—either consciously or subconsciously.

The Choo Choo Quilt Guild is launching a program in 2011 to change some of this. The yearlong program is called, "Inspirational Quilting," and the goal for the monthly exercises planned is to learn to appreciate the marriage of the art and the heart that is enveloped into even the simplest of our projects. For centuries, our fore-mothers knew that quiltmaking served as an artistic outlet. Let us again be reminded of that.

The program begins Monday, January 17 with a lesson called “Learning to See Again.” For Monday’s meeting, please bring:

• a 9” x 12” (or larger) sketchpad,
• a pencil for drawing,
• your copy of "Fearless Design for Every Quilter" by L. Torrence and J. B. Mills; read the "Laying the Groundwork" section for the meeting,
  
• a willingness to relax, experiment, learn and grow.

Rest assured that what is learned through this series of programs will be applied to whatever style of quilting is your personal preference. Be prepared to check self consciousness at the door and surprise yourself! Come ready to experiment, play and learn.

Quick Scarf Craft for January

As a result of our gift exchange at the December Dinner, Ginny garnered a gorgeous scarf from Sherry.  On closer inspection, we realized the scarf was simply made of 13 strands of a variety of yarn types and colors.  "What a great idea!" we all said, "We could make that at the next guild meeting in about 10 minutes!"

And so it came to be.  If you'd like to leave the January Choo Choo Quilt Guild Meeting with a gorgeous scarf, here's what to do:

• Look for some specialty yarns at places like Hobby Lobby or Joann Fabrics, or in your own craft closet.  Specialty yarns can be chenille, eyelash yarns, metallic infused yarns, swirled and textured yarns, boucle tweed, fur yarns, and anything that strikes your eye as being pretty in a scarf.
• Choose a skein of yarn in a blue or green or purple color scheme
• Cut 13 pieces of yarn that are 86" long

Bring them to the meeting.  We will trade them, then knot them, and go home with a beautiful scarf!