I WON!  I WON! I WON!

I still need to add the ribbon "wire" hangers and penguin button "nails" to the pictures on the wall above her bed before I can put a sleeve on the back and enter it in the next AQG quilt show.   But (obviously!) everyone liked Mr. Popper's Penguins even without those embellishments.

And speaking of the AQG show, today I wore my new March Madness t-shirt (that I bought at the quilt store in Gilroy, CA recently) for the first time; it'll be perfect for the AQG show in March!

Louise (who as our Program Chair created the challenge) used the original pattern from the magazine 'as is' (I enlarged my pattern, used more blocks for my quilt, and hung pictures on the wall) for her entry, and took 3rd place.  I had no trouble recognizing her Madeline and Nancy Drew blocks, but am unfamiliar with the Hitty (Hittie?) books.

Linda took 2nd place with her Little Women quilt.  She's been quite busy helping take care of her 9-month-old great-grandson, so she hasn't been able to spend much time in her quilting room.  Rumor has it <g> that she was up until the wee hours of the morning today finishing up.  It isn't quite finished, but close enough to compete!

Carolyn M. used a story-teller theme, and most of us were able to identify her favorite stories: Charlotte's Web, The Hungry Caterpillar, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, Alice in Wonderland, The Cat in the Hat, and Clifford the Big Red Dog.

Sharon fudged a little <g> since her quilting room is all packed up at the moment as they prepare to move into a new house, hopefully in a few months.  She had made this quilt before the challenge was issued, and since she was reading Hawaii thought it would be an appropriate entry. Which it certainly was!

The other big excitement at the meeting was that I was able to get volunteers for the 2015 Board.  We needed to vote on that today, and when the meeting started we still had 4 positions left to fill.  But the ladies stepped up, and now we're all set for next year.  Thanks to everyone on our new board: Laura (chapter chair); Janie (vice chair); Judy (continuing as treasurer); Louise M. (continuing as program chair); Linda (secretary); Yolanda (charity chair); and Joan D. (hospitality).  Looking good, ladies!

Mary  (wearing mask) and Viola provided delicious snacks for the meeting, complete with decorations.  You can tell that we are a very staid, stuffy group of ladies.... NOT!  Guess it's working, because everyone who visits seems to join us.

And here are a few more pictures from this morning's Show&Tell:

When Patty came in this morning she was a visitor, but left a member.  

This is her FIRST quilt, made in a class at JoAnn's!

Patty's currently working on a tree skirt.  While it isn't quite finished, we were still glad she brought it with her today.

Joy, one of our newer members, brought in this top (I think she took the same JoAnn's class, with Patty.)  She had some questions about what to do for the backing, and left very happy with our suggestions to piece it with her leftover fabrics.  She had no idea she was "allowed" to do that!

My computer stopped letting me add pictures, so after I tried everything I could think of I rebooted it.  That didn't work, so I won't be able to post the rest of the pictures that go with the rest of the blog.  

BOO!  HISS!

Louise G. took Sharon's class at Busy Bees (I was bummed I missed that class!) and brought in the fruits of her labor.  But since a lot of the ladies today clamored for a class, it looks like I'll have a second chance to learn how to made a basket from cloth-wrapped clothesline.We also want Louise to do a demo on making these flip-flops out of 3 layers of towels.  Instead of bending down and wasting paper towels on floor spills, we can just use these and then toss them in the washer! We all loved this quilt of Joan's!

After the meeting I stopped in at Quilter's Bee (partly to show Margaret my winning quilt, but mostly to find out about getting Janie's Bernina serviced) and ended up buying a new (!) Laurel Burch horse panel.  Since LB died I thought they were only reissuing some of her fabrics, but apparently her husband and son are actually putting out some new ones.  YES!

Then stopped in at The Other Quilt Store to let Sherri know my quilt had won and now she could take a picture.  She asked my permission to post it on her store's website (!) and also mentioned giving a discount to those who can answer a question about it.  This could be my 15-minutes of fame!

Think I'll give the computer a rest and see if it'll cooperate with me later.  HOPE SO!