 A chapter of the Greater Hartford Quilt Guild 
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Our monthly workshop is Wednesday, December 10th PLACEMAT WORKSHOP - MEALS ON WHEELS We need as many as possible to be at the Senior Center on December 10th. We need to make at least 20 or more Christmas Placemats for the Meals on Wheels Charity Project. We have right now 28 placemats. We need people to bring machines to sew placemats together, people to cut bindings, people to cut Fabric and Batting and people to sew bindings on by hand. So if you are able, please come and try to be on time, since we only have 2 hours to do this. I will be bringing fabric to be cut and batting. Placemat sizes should be 18"x14". These placemats have to be delivered to Meals on Wheels on Dec 18th, so we need to get going. Total number of placemats needed with a Christmas Theme is 70. If you have questions please call me at 749-8612. If you have placemats already done, please bring them to this workshop, so I can deliver to Cyndy who is making labels and tying them up with pretty ribbon.
Supplies Needed: Thank you, Donalyn Wall
We will meet Wednesday, December 17th, Come early we will set up the potluck for everyone to enjoy. Karen will keep the business meeting short and we can play games, Show and Tell and Raffle and enjoy each others company for the rest of the meeting.
Through Dec. 28
Through Jan. 25
Apr. 19 (Sun)
Jul. 31 - Aug. 2 (Fri-Sun)
Marcia's Mini Mystery Christmas Tablerunner is due this month. December meeting we will be having a Yankee Swap. Please bring a wrapped gift (value - $10) This will be our version of Holiday Grab Bag. Charlie will explain the rules at the meeting.
We have 29 placemats in a wonderful variety, for the Meals on Wheels clients. They need about 70 to cover all the participants, so keep them coming. We could use Christmas/Winter mats for December, then we will collect more in a couple months for Spring, which can be any theme. Marcia's "after-school children" are making drawstring bag for clients in the Children's Home in Warehouse Point. If you would like to help fill those bags, they could use basic toiletries:
The children at the facility are pre-teen and teen, boys and girls. Thanks for all you do! Cyndy
"Fuzzies", they are also more commonly known as "chenille strips". This technique involves cutting fabric on the bias, 45° across the lengthwise andcrosswise woven grains of the fabric. The cut edges, left raw, will get "fuzzy" when washed and dried. They will not ravel or get raggy, just fuzzy. You do not risk clogging your washing machine or your drains with this technique. You do not have to do any clipping or snipping to achieve this fuzzy look. You just need to wash and dry the project, with some agitation. Or you can just get it wet and rough it up with a soft brush, raising up the fibers on the raw, bias cut edges.
At first, you should always test your fabrics before jumping into the project.
After a while, you will begin to get a "feel" for what fabrics will work better than
others, but I still cut and sew test strips. This involves cutting a couple of 5/8"
wide bias strips off the corners of my fabrics, layering 3, sewing them together and
to a foundation, getting them wet, brushing them up, letting them dry. I always sew a
couple of different combinations. If they just lay there or simply fold over and look
flat, I look for different fabrics or other combinations. Fuzzies are best made using
cotton, rayon, linen fabrics, or a blend of any of these fibers. The technique
works best when the fabric is not printed, but only woven, such as a plaid or
stripe. However, using printed fabric in combination with non-printed, produces
satisfactory results. Heavier decorator-type cotton fabrics, such as Bark Cloth, even
when printed, work great, as does Monk's Cloth. Any fabric with lots of "yarn" in the
weave that will let loose when washed will usually result in an excellent fuzzy
edge. Flannels and brushed cottons make very wonderful fuzzies, but one should pay
attention to the brushed side. We have found that if only one side is brushed, that
side should be face down when applied to the project.
'Twas the Night Before Christmas Poem
T'was the night before Christmas and all through the house,
The only one sleeping was a Quilter's dear spouse.
The Log Cabin stockings were almost completed,
"Just a few stitches left," our sweet quilter repeated.
"Then I can hang them and head off to finish
the pillows I'm making, fulfilling Mom's wish
For something quilted to put on her couch and spoke,
as she pricked her poor finger, our quilter said, "Ouch!"
When from out in the kitchen there arose such a crashing,
she sprang from her work, and she dropped all her sashing.
Away to the doorway she flew like a plane,
wondering just what was happening and who she would blame.
When what to her wondering eyes should appear,
but Old Mrs. Claus and her bag of quilt-gear...
With her elves bearing gifts, through the kitchen she came,
she directed and pointed and called them by name.
"Now Elna, now Pfaff, now Bernina and Viking,
the Hoffman and Mumm should be just to her liking.
To the sewing room - there, it's just back of the hall,
now dash away, dash away, dash away all!"
"My Dear," said The Claus (as she liked to be called),
"There really is no need to worry at all.
Your projects will all be completed this night,
I'm terribly sorry we gave you a fright."
"Sit down. Have some tea. It's relaxing, you'll see.
My friends and I've come a long way to help Thee."
She thought she was dreaming, our dear Quilter did,
In fact she quite feared that she near flipped her lid!
But the flash of the needles and twist of the thread
soon gave her to know she had nothing to dread.
They spoke no more words, but went straight to their sewing.
How the work went so quickly she had no way way of knowing.
The stitches, how fine! The corners, how straight!
This Claus-woman's talent was awfully great.
They finished the pillows, then started to quilt.
Before they all knew it, the whole thing was built!
Now old Mrs. Claus, she knew quilters real well,
and she knew they'd need help on this night most of all
So she said to our quilter, "Just move over dear,
I've brought my own needle. We'll get done, never fear.
I told dear old Santa about what quilters do.
How they plan all these projects but have other work too.
So he taught me his magic for doing things fast.
There, that pillows done. Now this is the last.
They tidied their thread snips, and picked up the scraps
and chased our dear quilter's six cats from their laps.
As they scurried away with their thimbles still gleaming
dear Mrs. Claus paused, her cap ribbons streaming.
"Merry Christmas, my dear, now just have a ball!"
(author unknown)
If you have news or events, Classified Ads or other information you would like to submit for publication, please Email it to Vicky, or mail it to Vicky Altenhein, 3 Elizabeth St., Enfield, CT 06082, or call 745-4956. The deadline for newsletter submittals is the first Wednesday of the month. (Jan. 7th)
© 2003-2009 Enfield Quilters - All rights reserved.
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The "fuzzies-to-be" can now be stitched to any foundation through the stitching
line which is running down the center of the 3-layer strip. When you need more length,
just overlap approx. 1/2" and continue stitching down the center of the fuzzies.
If your stitching line was drawn with permanent ink, or if one side of the fabric is
brushed, place that next to the foundation when stitching. When the fuzzies are all
attached, you must wash and dry them, either by machine or by hand (see
above) to raise the fibers and actually make them nice and FUZZY! You will love these
so much we can't imagine only wanting "chenille by the inch". You will need many, many
feet! So have fun making "Fuzzies By The Foot"!
