Enchanted Quilters of Lopez Island: Xmas Luncheon 2010 and 2011

EQ members decided almost two years ago that they would alternate between Pot Lucks and catered luncheons for our twice-a-year luncheons. This would give us a break during the busy holiday season but, at the same time, afford us the opportunity of the pleasure of a traditional Pot Luck Feast once a year. (There truly is nothing quite like a Pot Luck Feast for variety of tasty dishes!)

Enchanted Quilters 2011 Xmas Catered Luncheon at Woodman Hall

In lieu of gifts or a silent auction, the committee suggested that we each give to the Family Resource Center. There are giving trees at the Library, Bay Café, Galley and Sunset. Each person could take a request from one of these trees and bring the completed gift to the EQ luncheon or turn it in to the Family Resource Center directly.

Laurie Latta, Peggy Schuld and Nancy Wallace were our organizing Elves for this year's Xmas Luncheon. They also made the table decorations for which we had all donated strips. The lovely Xmas trees that resulted will be donated to the Seniors to decorate the tables at Woodman throughout the rest of the season.

The three of them also came up with a clever way to mix us up, just in case we were sitting at the same table with the same people too often! And once again Laurie managed to bring creative word games on paper for us to play. This year we were introduced to Robert Leighton's 12 Brats of Christmas. (Once again I think I'll share her games with my own family over the holidays!)

I forgot to take a photo of the food catered by Emily Matthews and Peter Neal of South Lopez Bistro and Catering. Ah, well. Suffice it to say, it was delicious: four kinds of quiche and a medley of oven roasted vegetables! Yummy! And of course, some sweets afterwards. (Alas, I had several. Good intentions are useless this time of year!)

(But I will show you some of the sweets EQ members made for the Friends of Woodman Hall Bake Sale the previous weekend!)

Karin Gandini and crew set up the night before.

Fern Christensen shops for the holidays. (Her daughter Rena in red sweater.)

OK. Enough sweets! Back to quilts and needlework and Show & Tell!

Norma Peale has delighted family and friends with her cross-stitched bookmarks for many years. Above is her latest batch.

Edi Blomberg took Mary Lou Weidman's class here on Lopez this spring and turned her

experimental birds into a delightful wall hanging. Adding a bird bath was her own idea.

Another wall

Sometimes some of us take a class and never really complete an actual quilt. The reasons we don't actually make a quilt from what we might begin in a class are legion. But there doesn't even have to be a reason. Sometimes you just want to take a class because it is a process you have never tried before. After taking Mary Lou's class, Barbara Gonce decided to turn her experimental pieces over to Edi. In the wall hanging above, Barb made the Shasta Daisy and butterfly. Edi designed the layout and added the additional stem of flowers for her final wall hanging.

"Hen and Chicks" (Chicks and layout by Edi. Hen made by Barbara Gonce.)

Barbara Gonce once again gave Edi several blocks she did not plan to use. Edi created still more flowers, plus all the flower pots, and turned everything into another delightful wall hanging including a 3-demensional flower in the center.

Edi decided it was time to make a quilt for her sister. Or maybe the sister decided it was time. At any rate, her sister, who has sewn all her life but is not a quilt maker, picked out fabrics from her stash and sent them to Edi. Edi then chose the pattern and set to work, adding fabrics from her own stash as needed.

The back holds a surprise!

Edi added a cross-stitched tablecloth as the back of the quilt which her mother had made in the 60s, thus turning this quilt into a generational family heirloom.

Close-up of the cross-stitched back.

Next came another colorful quilt from the ever prolific Barbara Gonce herself. This first one is called Diagonal Madness and comes from a Kaffe Fassett - Lisa Lucy book.

Barb prepares (above) to unfurl still another quilt made from Kaffe Fassett fabrics, Autumn Log Cabin.

(detail of Autumn Log Cabin)

The above quilt Barb named herself - Snakes in My Garden. She began this quilt in a class taught my Kaffe Fassett himself on Vashon Island.

Karen Alexander shared the above 1950s-60s top that she recently added to her collection.

Detail from Karen's vintage top.

Our Members

The Roving Reporter managed to only capture two tables of festivties this year.

L-R in the photo below: Margit Cerfoy, (her daughter-in-law) Linda Lantos, Christy Sturgill, Audrey Swanson (standing) and Joan Thomas. Margit is one of our newest members.

L-R in the photo below: Carole Knutsen, Barbara Gonce, Anne Dawson, Mary Ann Torric (behind) and NancyWallace

One last Show & Tell piece.

Darlene Demetrick saved a postcard of a saguaro cactus for years, not necessarily intending to make a wall hanging. But one day she walked into Anne Dawson's Quilter's Studio and saw the perfect background fabric....a twinkling night sky. Wa-la! A beautiful wall hanging!

That evening as I was driving home from another event, I suddenly spotted a huge winter moon gliding through the cold night sky and couldn't help but be reminded of Darlene's beautiful piece.

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Another merry Xmas Elf - Roving Reporter Karen Alexander

Now it's time to play catch-up!

Enchanted Quilters 2010 Xmas Luncheon at Love Dog Cafe

Here are a few notes that were passed on to me after a member read the 2010 Xmas post. First, our 2010 Xmas gathering was held on a very wet and cold Lopez day. Everyone was greeted with hot, spiced pear cider. Janice Coltran was the coordinator; Carolyn Baldwin was in charge of securing the restaurant and the menu. Several guild members worked to assemble the favors: patchwork ornament kits with beads and ribbon embellishments included. (Nancy Givens, Barbara Carver, Laurie Latta, Janice, and one other person that we're drawing a blank on.) The gift exchange was established with a $10 limit. Each woman was assigned a number and selected a gift from the array when their number was drawn. Part of the program included everyone singing the 12 Days of Christmas. Twelve women were each assigned one of the 12 days; they chimed in with their solo part each time their day was repeated. Well done ladies!

Some warm pear wassail to start off the festivities!

Darlene Demetrick and Vivian Burt

L-R: (standing) Carolyn Baldwin, Norma Peale
(sitting) Deborah Bundy, Carolyn Woodbury

White Bear had set the holiday mood with her decorations!

A cheery fire makes the reading corner even more enticing
but it was filled with packages and coats at the moment

Exchange gifts gather!

Foreground: Barbara Gonce, Carolyn Woodbury. L-R background:
Colleen Thomas, Laurie Latta, Anne Dawson, Edi Blomberg,

Darlene Demtrick shares one of her stained-glass style wall hangings.
Many of these hangings now adorn her church.

Alyse Ortega shares her woven pillow top.

Norma Peale shares a large selection of Xmas gift potholders.

Edi Blomberg's creation from the Nine Patch block exchange the group did about two years ago.

Edi's Thistle in a Nine-Patch made as a result of the same block exchange.

Edi's Autumn Leaf table runner.

In the photo above Edi and Anne Dawson prepare to show their Brown Bag Challenge results. A group of about 8 quilters decided to challenge one another by putting together a Mystery Brown Paper Bag of fabrics they liked. Bags remained unmarked. The bags then went into an unmarked selection pool. A non-participant supervised the passing out of the bags to be sure the participants didn't get their own bag back.

Each participant had to make a quilt out of the fabrics in the bag but was free to add additional fabric. However, some of each fabric in the bag had to be used. Each person also had to make a 2nd quilt out of the same fabrics she gave away! No one could show their fabric to anyone else or discuss their project with anyone except non-participants!

In this instance, Edi selected the bag of fabric that Anne had prepared. It turned out to be a color scheme she rarely works with -- muted colors. (It was interesting to learn how each quilt maker felt challenged by her mystery colors! I'll show more of the whole Brown Bag Mystery Project in another post.)