More from ASG Quilters

This is the update on ASG Quilters, whose regular meeting was on Saturday, July 20. Another muggy July day where it was almost too steamy to get anything accomplished at all. Especially since there was an electrical problem at the shop. This is not surprising, because I believe that building was built before San Bernardino had electricity, so it's all retro-fit anyway. The problem was that there was no electricity available for sewing machines, but that wasn't a big issue because most of us were cutting fabric instead of sewing it this month. That's what quilting is--cutting fabric up and then sewing it back together. Isn't that fun?
We had a discussion on color, and how to determine the value of colors so that you use lights and darks and mediums in the proper manner in your quilt. Some of us think that is valuable information in quilt planning, and some of us don't see the point. The latter group feel that if they like the colors in their quilt, that is all that is necessary. We ended the discussion by concluding that the rules for using color are helpful if you are insecure or a beginner, but not binding.
Barbara Cortez began cutting fabrics for her Northern Lights quilt. I think it would be great if we had three of the same quilt to use at our Sew What's New Fair display. No pressure, though. Barbara Baker and Phyllis got most of their fabrics cut for the mystery quilt they will make at the Long Beach Quilt Festival, Gina got help from Janet for her next quilt--a Christmas rag quilt that sounds like a lot of fun, and if you want to do one too, contact Janet because she is very helpful.
Barbara Coonce was the only one actually sewing, and we put her in a place of honor on the sewing machine side of the store. Mainly because that's where the electricity was. Barbara is making a pillow for a friend and using her favorite technique of paper piecing to make some lovely flowers. I was so sorry Margaret wasn't there, because we tried to describe paper piecing to her on the quilt run, and she would have been very impressed by Barbara's project.
Denise shared a good tip: save the net bags that garlic is sold in to use as thread nets. This is also a good excuse to buy more garlic, and we should probably start sharing garlic recipes.
Our next meeting will be August 16, and I hope to see you at San Bernardino Sew and Vac for a day of sewing, sharing, and garlic-laden potluck. And you don't have to worry about the electricity because Ray has called in a twenty-first century electrician to make sure we can get up and sewing.