Cedar Hill Quilters Guild

February 9, 2010                              Vol. 21, #2

Next Meeting: March 8, 2010

 March Refreshments:

Joan Crumroy              Charolotte Humphrey

March Door Prizes:

Pat Kempe                          Joan Crumroy

Million pillowcase challenge: This exciting yearlong national challenge—spearheaded by American Patchwork & Quilting—asks independent quilt shops and fabric stores to join forces with quilters and sewers in 2010 to create and donate 1 million pillowcases to local charities, with the message, Make a Pillowcase, Make a Difference. Many worthy organizations and causes can benefit from pillowcases, including nursing homes, domestic violence shelters, foster children and the homeless.

Guild members wishing to participate may bring them to our monthly guild meeting and give them to Kathy Longstreet, who will collect them before donation.  Members will vote on local charities for donation.

It was recommended that members might like to take some time during the March retreat to make pillowcases.  Those not attending, who’d like to donate fabric for retreat pillowcases, should bring it to the February meeting.

For free downloadable pillowcase patterns and to log in pillowcases donated, see: http://www.allpeoplequilt.com/millionpillowcases/index.html

Retreat at the Compass Center March 4-7. Arrival is anytime after 12 PM. As we did last year, there will be a brown bag drawing for those wishing to participate. Bring a brown bag with a ―quilty treasure‖ to add to the booty, and get your name put into the drawing to receive another such prize.

Among your projects, consider bringing fabric to make a couple of pillowcases for the ―Million pillowcase challenge‖.

From Dallas/Ft. Worth- Take I-35 South to Hillsboro. Take Exit 368A, for Hwy 171. Go to the light and turn left (East) & stay on Hwy 171 to Hubbard - approximately 21 miles. At the signal light – turn Right (West) at the light – that is Hwy 31. You will go approximately 8 miles to FM 339. You need to get ready to turn Right onto FM 339 when you see the speed limit sign lowering the speed to 60 and a sign to Birome. After turning Right onto FM 339, you will go a little over a mile and when you make a sweeping curve, the Compass Centre will be on your right.

Door prizes were won Rhonda Hughes and Kathy Longstreet. Name tag fat ¼’s were won by Ann Anderson, Gladys Janssen, and Barbara Sessions.

Pat Kempe - I was born in San Angelo, Texas quite a few years ago, But soon after my parents moved to Martindale, Texas where I grew up. My father was a farmer and my mother was a schoolteacher. My sister was born a year after I was, and she was followed by a brother about two years later. We grew up playing outdoors and roaming along the creek bank and through the grove of native pecan trees fed by the creek. We lived very close to my grandparents and enjoyed the bonus of loving attention from them, too. My grandmother was known for being a seamstress and making the best buttonholes around. She also quilted with several of her friends, and I can remember playing with my siblings underneath the quilt frame as she and her friends quilted and visited on summer afternoons. I can also remember her sitting by the fireplace piecing blocks and "cording" cotton to make the batting for her quilts.

As all children do, we grew up going to school, being in 4-H club, attending high school and playing in the band, and riding the school bus for endless hours. My sister and I attended Abilene Christian College (now University) and our brother enlisted in the Navy and became a career Naval Pilot. While in Abilene Christian, I met my future husband, Bill Kempe, who had as his goal attending Medical School.

Bill and I got married after his first year in Medical School, and I worked in the flavor lab at Dr. Pepper Company while he finished school. We then moved to Little Rock, Arkansas for two years, and then to Monroe, Louisiana for one year (this to fulfill his military obligation), and then back to the panhandle of Texas, where he started his career of Family Practice in Dimmitt, Texas. Bill was not cut out to live in the rural setting, so we moved back to Dallas after two years, and have been here ever since.

We have two children, Kathi Grist and Paul Kempe, and they have given us four wonderful grandchildren, and last year we became GREAT-grandparents of Amelia.

Having watched my grandmother while she sewed, I had always wanted to quilt as she did, and finally after the kids were gone from home, and I felt I had a little spare time, I watched Eleanore Burns on TV, and decided I could do that! I had completed the top to a log cabin quilt when I met Helen Carr's daughter -in-law in Cloth World one afternoon, and she invited me to come to the Cedar Hill Quilt Club. The rest is History! I found a wonderful group of friends, who have encouraged, challenged, complimented, and been a constant source of inspiration to try different things through the years I have known them. My "Big Night Out" is Quilt Guild meeting night, and my greatly anticipated trip is to our Club Retreat every year. I would wish for every woman the opportunity to belong to a group of women that she could enjoy as much as I enjoy the Cedar Hill Quilt Guild.

Barbara Sessions- Hand appliqué block from the appliqué workshop.

Kathy Longstreet- Reversible Jacket

Karen Kelley- 1. Finished wall hanging, shown last month as a flimsy 2. Appliqué block ―Birds of a Feather‖ for folk art quilt

Gloria Densmore- ―Touch of Blue Elegance‖ quilt, made on her new embroidery machine.

Suzie Harris- Jelly roll purse, Tommy’s first sewing project other than quilts! 5

Peggy Billingsley- Purple and Green Thangles BOM from Just Stitchin.

Judy Purcell- Applique block from class, and book.

Gladys Janssen- ―Cheddar cheese and crackers‖ doll quilt. It was a ―quilt along‖ on the internet (humblequilts.blogspot.com). It’s a replica of an antique quilt, containing over 500 pieces and 35 different fabrics.

Rhonda Hughes- Mystery quilt from Just Stitchin

Virginia Trousdale- Appliqued hearts wall hanging.

Month 3 Make 22 (sorry) 3" (3.5" unfinished) blocks. It may be easier for some of you to paper piece blocks this small if they are a little complicated, or sew them together on the tape from an adding machine paper roll.

Just Stitchin: new store hours, M-F 10-6, Sat. 10-4.