Peppermint Holidays

Love my peppermint during the holidays! Several years ago I found Millstone Holiday Peppermint coffee in Walmart and Kroger. Haven’t seen any this year . . . I’m on my last bag.

Then, I accidentally found Softsoap Wintermint Wonderland Limited Edition body wash this year. I bought as much of that as I could find – 4 bottles. That would be refreshing even in a summertime shower.

I’m not keen on candy canes, but I do like those round peppermint candies wrapped in twisted cellophane.

And I’m sure that if I look through my fabric stash, I’ll find some fabric with peppermints!

What’s your favorite peppermint indulgence?
Happy Peppermint Holidays!

BlockBase Sew Along

I’ve been making the blocks for Electric Quilt’s BlockBase Sew Along. This sew along was set up to encourage people to learn how to use just the BlockBase stand-along software. We are given a block number every other week, and about 11 days later we can upload our finished blocks to the sew along webpage. We're taking a break for the holiday season, but we'll start back up on January 7.

Of the 6 blocks I've made so far, my favorite is the one with green squares. The blocks with stripes and polka dots -- ummmm, not so much.

The BlockBase software is based on Barbara Brackman’s book Encyclopedia Of Pieced Quilt Patterns. The BlockBase interface has been updated recently, but I’m using my older version. Usually I just access the blocks from BlockBase via Electric Quilt 7, but Electric Quilt software is not required.

Even Barbara Brackman herself uses BlockBase.

QGI 2012 Blocks of the Month

I make blocks of the month for three guild meetings each month that are all affiliated with QGI, Quilter’s Guild of Indianapolis.

QGIN is Quilter’s Guild of Indianapolis North. For 2012, with Janet Wickell’s permission, we’ve been making the Anniversary Sampler at About.com. We get to keep these blocks for 2012! Our goal is to have our tops finished by the February 1, 2013 meeting. Just the top – no quilting or binding – I might be able to get that done!

OTLB is the Out To Lunch Bunch. The blocks are submitted at each month’s meeting where the people who participate put their blocks on the wall and their names into a container. After a name is pulled from the container, that person wins all the blocks for the month. I won the Christmas Bow set of blocks in August 2012.

QGI’s general meeting also has a block lottery. I won the gray Lightning blocks in September 2012. I’d like to make a 50 Shades of Gray quilt. Something warm and fuzzy, a sharp contrast to the 50 Shades of Gray book’s content! Maybe appliqué some pretty pale orange flowers across them.

At this moment in time, I feel like I am a blockmaker. Maybe 2013 will be my year of becoming the quiltmaker.

Quilter’s Guild of Indianapolis Fall Retreat 2012

I went on my first quilt retreat in August 2012 at Clifty Falls State Park in Madison, Indiana.

I had never been on a quilt retreat, but I had been to Clifty Falls in my childhood on end-of-the-year school trips for students who had served in the Garfield School City service positions. I had served in the Welfare Department (selling cookies and ice cream sandwiches at morning recess) and in the Health Department (table monitor in the school cafeteria during lunch). I was eager to see Clifty Falls again! Could park visitors still walk behind the falls?

Our accommodations were wonderful! 50 of us stayed at the Clifty Inn and utilized one of the big conferences rooms as our sewing room. The buffet meals were diet sabotage. (But calories eaten at a retreat don’t count!) Every room had a view of the Ohio River. I finished two Carol Doak paper-piece blocks and learned how to make pillowcases with the tube technique. Didn’t get a lot done but sure enjoyed getting to know a lot of other guild members. Didn’t take advantage of the park’s amenities because . . . .

. . . .We’re going back in November 2013. I’m ready! (And I have my tote to carry my mat.)

I now have a coffee mug, a T-shirt, and friendships to remember this recent visit to Clifty Falls State Park.

Carol Doak’s “It’s in the Bag Challenge!!!”

In early November at the Carol Doak Quilting Group, Carol issued a challenge:

It's in the Bag Challenge!!!!

The rules: Make a bag (tote bag, purse, quilt bag or anything that resembles a bag) that contains at least one Carol Doak paper-pieced block and upload the picture by November 30 in the It's In The Bag Album.

I will pull the winning random winner on December 1.

The winner will win 5 YARDS OF FABRIC! Now the more bags you make, the more chances you have to win. Consider using these bags as Christmas and Holiday gifts.

Let those creative juices flow!

Carol Doak

I’ve been carrying my 18” x 24” rotary cutting mat in a pillowcase. I grab the cuff of the pillowcase, and off I go! But of course that means I can’t carry anything else with that hand. Or open doors. Or unlock the car.

So now I have a big bag that looks like a pillowcase with handles. Haven't had a chance to take the bag anywhere yet! Hummm, wonder when the next show-and-tell will be. . . .probably not until January. I'll be ready!

More about the Quilters Guild of Indianapolis

Not only does QGI have that monthly evening meeting I blogged about last week, but there are also two daytime meetings. I love going to both meetings. Each group has its own Block of the Month (BOM) and its own programs.

Quilters Guild of Indianapolis North (QGIN) meets in the afternoon the first Friday of every month at the PrimeLife Enrichment Center in Carmel, Indiana, north of Indianapolis. We’ve been making the blocks in Janet Wickell’s Anniversary Sampler Quilt at About.com. Will I actually put all these blocks together into a quilt before 2013 is over?

The Out To Lunch Bunch (OTLB) meets for lunch on the fourth Thursday of the month (except November and December) at Jonathan Byrd’s Cafeteria in Greenwood, Indiana, south of Indianapolis. Did I mention it is a lunch meeting in a cafeteria? Once a month, great food and great company! It was a wonderful opportunity to sit front-and-center for a presentation of Eleanor Burns’ latest book by Pat Knoechel, Eleanor’s sister. Of course I bought a copy of the book Tales of First Ladies and Their Quilt Blocks and the Braid in a Day pattern. Will I make up the pattern or any blocks from the book soon?

Can’t wait to see what is in store with these two groups in 2013.

The Quilters Guild of Indianapolis

The Quilters Guild of Indianapolis is HUGE! About 400 members.

I have now been a member of QGI for a year. What a year! The group usually meets the second Thursday evening of each month at Second Presbyterian Church on North Meridian in Indianapolis. The church is a magnificent facility. I am in awe every time I drive up to the building. You can see the imposing edifice at Art and Architecture, Click on Chapter #1 Church.

What a year! During 2012 I’ve been helping the Hospitality Chair by greeting members as they arrive and handing out door prizes. As a newbie, greeting members as they sign in has helped me put names with faces.

I attended one workshop by nationally known paper-piecer Quilt Maven Deb Karasik. Learned some great tips about piecing curves and began her Inner Light pattern.

At those Thursday night meetings, I saw trunk shows and watched demos from QGI guild member Carol Schuetz, The Singing Quilter (yes, she even quilts), Wendy Butler Berns, Gayle Bong, and QGI guild member Cathy Franks. So much talent!

And in July I became the newsletter editor for the end of 2012 and the calendar year 2013. What else will be in store for me as a guild member in 2013?