October 2016 Meeting Review

Tuesday night was the monthly meeting for the ladies and gentlemen who HAUNT the Raincross Quilt Guild and it was SPOOKY how much fun we had! On top of visiting SPECTERS we haven't seen in an age, we enjoyed some GHOULishly delicious food and we saw many BOO-tiful quilts!

All silliness aside, our President Jeri R. started us off by welcoming our guests and listing some of the many good things going on in our lives...

• It was a great surprise to have Bonnie H. visiting us from Surprise, AZ! So good to see you, Bonnie! We also welcomed another guest, Jackie H. - we hope to see you again soon Jackie!
• Stephanie Z.'s daughter was diagnosed with cervical cancer 5 months ago - and has recently been confirmed as cancer free. Hallelujah!
• Brenda A. is getting her hip replacement surgery and was able to get in two weeks early - she's be ready to rock n' roll by Christmas time!
• Lois L. also had her knee replaced recently and is recovering well.
• Linda H. had major open heart surgery on August 9th and was able to attend the guild meeting - woohoo!
• It was also great to see Rebecca and Ken in the guild meeting - we missed you guys!
• On October 15th, our own Alice J. and her 95 year old husband Max (Ed. note: I think it's Max - correct me if I'm wrong) celebrated their 72nd wedding anniversary - so inspiring!

Finally, Lois L., with Bonnie H. and Jeri R. helping, showed us some simple stretches we should try to utilize if we are sitting too long, like sewing or working at a computer. Remember, you've got to take care of you!

Next we had Show N Share - check at the photos here. Of note, Christine S.'s sister Kathy in Tucson learned about Happy Bag project and got so excited, she made 17 Happy Bags. Thank you Kathy!

This month was also the due date for the fabulous Overwhelmingly Selvedges Challenge issued by our own Elly H.! What a cornucopia of selvedge projects - be sure to check out the photos!

There are several quilt shows coming up in January and February, all of which have been added to the Raincross Google calendar. If you have a Google account, you can copy any event from the Raincross Google calendar into your calendar - give it a try!

• Road to California Classes: January 24th-30th, Ontario
• Road to California Quilt Show: January 19th-22nd, Ontario
• Valley Quilters 37th Annual Quilt Show: February 10th & 11th, San Jacinto
• South Bay Quilters Guild 2017 Quilt Show - World of Color: February 18th & 19th, Torrance

Upcoming Raincross events include:

• This Saturday is a Happy Bag Sew Day at the Goeske. We've got "kits galore" ready and we'll work on Happy Bags in the morning, then enjoy a Salad Potluck lunch (you are invited to bring a side to share) and then feel free to work on whatever in the afternoon.
• Next weekend is the Raincross Fall retreat at Roughley Manor (now called The Campbell House) and 20 lucky ducks from Raincross will be headed out there next Thursday and Friday for long weekend of major sewing fun.

Our next guild meeting will be our annual "Grab Game" featuring the Itty Bitty Picture Perfect Quilt challenge. Everyone is invited to make a winter themed Itty Bitty Picture Perfect Quilt, which will fit perfectly on an 8.5" x 11" stand up acrylic frame that each member received from the guild at this month's meeting as our annual gift (if you were unable to attend, you can still get your frame at the next meeting).

Jeri R. and Cassandra G. will formalize the directions and get them posted soon, but the quick and dirty version of it is:

1. Make a winter themed mini quilt that has a raw size of 8 3/4" x 10 1/2" before binding. The quilt should be in portrait orientation. 
2. Hem one of the short edges of a piece of fabric 8 3/4" x 9 1/2" and add it to the back of the quilt, raw edge aligned to the top. This will act as the sleeve for the acrylic stand.
3. Add a binding as normal.
4. Stand back and marvel at your creativity and craftsmanship/womansship!

To make sure everyone who participates goes home with something awesome, please make your quilt beautiful and steal-worthy, something that you'd really like to keep!

Kilroy Rebecca was here

Elly shared with us our next Star Block of Month called the Two Color Star - although yes it is technically 3 colors with the background, but Elly pointed out the name of the block is Two Color Star, so...there we go. The pattern is now available on our BOM page.

Sharon K. said a few words about Threads of Love - several folks have taken kits but not yet returned. Sharon has kindly requested that if you took a kit to please try to get it completing it soon, "move it up in your priority just a little". Thank you Sharon for the gentle reminder! Jeri announced we'll have a Threads of Love Sew Day sometimes in January or February, so stay tuned if you're interested in helping.

Speaking of sew days in the new year, we have already set to participate in the annual National Quilts of Valor Sew Day on February 4th at the Rancho Caballero Carefree MH Community Clubhouse. Can't wait!

Door Prizes
Christmas Charm Pack & bobbin saver - Liliana D.
Christmas Charm Pack & gray Aurifil - Jan C.
Rule rack - Julie M.
Pedal mat - Ann M.
Bag kit - Jeri R.

Mystery Box - Gloria

- Cassandra G.