Esther Emerson conducted the meeting. Our co-president, Brenda Daniels is on her mission.

The announcements are: The Oregon and Idaho Trail Center in Montpelier is holding a quilt show from May 25 to October 15. Entry is free. 

The Brigham museum is looking for arts quilts.

For show and tell, Audrey showed placemats she’s making for Christmas gifts; Jolynn John made a bag for the farmers market and eyeglass cases; Mary Ellen finished her last quilt for her young nieces—where the children get to pick out the fabrics.

Jean made a casserole carrier and gifted it to Danese. She is also working on Quilts of Valor to give to retired veterans. Nyla showed a friendship quilt that she made with left over scrapes from the quilt club. Rosie, Sharon, Christine, and Jill also shared projects (I’m sorry if I missed anyone). Cindy is using her stash and finishing UFOs. She made an applique quilt and she learned how to make collage quilt—this is a technique where she glues fabric to a piece of paper and then quilts everything down, without sewing the pieces together. She loves it!

Sharon asked what kind of iron she should buy—Cindy asked if it’s for regular ironing or only for quilting. She recommended the Black and Decker all-purpose iron for everyday ironing or the Panasonic Cordless iron costing about $80 if you only need the iron for quilting.

Esther said, “Quilting is a form of art and expression—ladies, we need to label our quilts, like an artist labels a painting.”

She also suggested that we make a quilt diary.

Esther taught a class on sewing machine maintenance. 

Machine maintenance is like taking a car to a machinic. We need to do slight maintenance between services—for natural wear and tear.

Basic maintenance from a dealer is important every year to 1 ½ years. If you are using the machine frequently.

There are things you can do to keep your machine working well, between services. The goal is to clean out the lint that accumulates. Old thread, flannel or Minky fabric create more lint.

A good goal is to clean out your machine after every three bobbins, or when you change your needle.

Change your needle every time you start a new project.

Tool kit:

Brushes like a soft makeup brush that you haven’t used for makeup.

A stiff brush like a tiny bottle brush

A stiff brush like a small basting brush for cooking

A screwdriver—a short screwdriver with a short base. Esther recommends that you have three, so you won’t lose them all. She bought hers for 80 cents online.

Machine oil with a telescoping oil bottle—machines need oil, especially if they are mostly metal. Look in your machine’s manual for instructions on oiling. Don’t take your machine apart. Only do what you are comfortable with. Do not use canned air, which is for computers—but you can use your vacuum cleaner.