2012 Holiday Party

Nimble Thimbles Holiday Party on Tuesday, December 11th.......

Please plan on arriving at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church between 6:00pm and 6:15 pm. This will allow us time to check in and to hang our crayon challenge or mystery quilt items. Dinner will be served promptly at 6:30.

Also, if you wish to donate white goods (paper towels, toilet paper), crayons and coloring books, or canned tuna, vegetables or fruit, bring your donations that evening!

From years past this promises to be a wonderful evening.....see you there!

Nimble Thimbles Holiday Party Tueday December 11, 2012

Just a reminder there is no meeting the first Tuesday in November

Mark your calendar that Nimble Thimbles will not be meeting on Tuesday, November 6th as this is election night. Our next meeting will be on Tuesday, November 13, 2012.

October Charity Sew Night

Please join us for charity sew night on Tuesday, October 30, 2012. When there are 5 Tuesday's in a month plan on a charity sew night. Bring your sewing machine and sewing kit as we will mostly be putting together quilt tops vs cutting out fabric. As always extra irons and ironing boards are appreciated. This is the last charity sew night for the year so please join in the fun and help fulfill our commitment to our charity work.

It's that time....SMALL QUILT AUCTION!!!!!!!

Mark your calendar for Tuesday, October 16, 2012 for our annual small quilt auction. This is a yearly fund raising event for Nimble Thimbles. Members are asked to make and donate small quilt items for the auction. Items can be quilts, tablerunners, purses, craft items,etc...get the idea???  Then round up your friends,neighbors, coworkers and family with checkbook in hand to bid on the wonderful items...it can get intense so be ready for a fun filled and fast paced evening! Good luck on your bidding!

Wonderful recipe for Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes.

Thanks to Lee Anna and Melanie for sharing this wonderful pumpkin cake recipe, which was a "hit" at our last meeting.                                                      


Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting



24 ServingsPrep: 25 min. Bake: 20 min. + cooling

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup butter, softened

• 2-1/2 cups sugar

• 3 eggs

• 1 can (15 ounces) solid-pack pumpkin

• 2-1/3 cups all-purpose flour

• 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 3/4 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

• 1 cup buttermilk

• FROSTING:

• 1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened

• 1/2 cup butter, softened

• 4 cups confectioners' sugar

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Directions

• In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add

• eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add pumpkin.

• Combine the flour, pie spice, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, baking, soda and ginger; add to the creamed mixture alternately with

• buttermilk, beating well after each addition.

•

• Fill paper-lined muffin cups three-fourths full. Bake at 350° for

• 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out

• clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks

• to cool completely.

•

• For frosting, in a large bowl, beat cream cheese and butter until

• fluffy. Add the confectioners’ sugar, vanilla and cinnamon; beat

• until smooth. Frost cupcakes. Refrigerate leftovers. Yield: 2

• dozen.

Fabulous showing of bags at Bag University on 9/18/2012

Bags...bags...and more bags! Thanks to everyone who brought their bags to show and made it such a successful evening. We were treated to a wonderful array of styles and colors. Here are a few pictures...enjoy!

                                                                         

Tonight is Bag University!

                                                                      

Please join in the fun tonight and bring samples of bags that you have created to share with the group. And if you have any tips and tricks that you used in creating your bags please enlighten us tonight during show and tell...always eager to learn!!! Several members will have stations available to have up close and personal demonstrations of techniques. See ya later!!!!!

October Program Changes

Please note the changes on the calendar for the month of October.

1. The annual small quilt auction will now be held on October 16, 2012 which is the second meeting in October.
2.  The game of Quilt "O" is now planned for October 2,2012, the first meeting of the month.

Crazy Quilt Trunk Show coming September 4, 2012

 Get ready for a wonderful showing of crazy quilts as our own Darlene Reid presents her lecture "Crazy Quilts".  Darlene always makes her presentation very informative and enjoyable because her true passion is crazy quilts...you will be in awe of her collection!

Sunday sew in at the Chandler Police Station is on August 19,2012

OOPS.....sorry for getting the word out late, but hopefully you have already marked the date in your calendar. Tomorrow August 19th  is Sunday sew in at the Chandler Police station. This is an open sew day where you can work on any of your own projects and do it in the company of  new and old friends! What sounds better then that!!!!  Come join us.

Message from Lee Anna .....

Nimble Thimbles Fall Quilt Camp November 2 – 4, 2012




If you’d like to spend a weekend working on your projects, sleeping, eating, walking, talking and laughing, laughing, oh and quilting, then join us at Emmanuel Pines in Prescott. We start at 2:00pm on Thursday, (I’ll know for sure by the beginning of September) and we have the space until 2:00pm on Sunday. Our camp is very easy, the only times to remember is when camp starts, when it finishes and when it’s time to eat!



The only requirement is that everyone (your sister, Mom, Aunt, friend) MUST belong to AQG. This is for insurance purposes. There are NO exceptions.



Costs: Friday - Sunday = $84.00, Thursday to Sunday = $98.00.

The $10 deposit is Non-Refundable, and no refunds are given less than 30 days prior to camp.



For those that have not enjoyed camp before - here are some things to plan for:

- Emmanuel Pines starts cooking for us at Friday dinner.

- Some of us do a potluck for Thursday dinner; go into Prescott.

- Same for Friday breakfast/lunch

- We have a quilting gift exchange - $20 limit. If you bring a gift, you'll get a gift. Please wrap your gift. We usually do the exchange on Saturday after lunch. Participate only if you want to.

- We have a small quilt auction on Saturday night. Money goes to the camp fund. Again, participate only if you want to.

- We hand out Door Prizes on Friday night so you can shop the local stores on Saturday!

- Bring munchies to share... bring drinks and ice (we have space on the deck for coolers), coffee, tea and hot chocolate is provided by Emmanuel Pines. (Bring a coffee cup, they only provide those little tiny Styrofoam cups).



Here is a link to the Emmanuel Pines website, check out the sewing/sleeping spaces and directions to camp.



http://www.emmanuelpines.com/

We sleep in the Oak Lodge and sew in the Cedar Chapel.



Questions? Or to sign up for camp; please see me at one of the meetings or you can email me. If you can’t find me – then feel free to give your money to Kathy O’Brien (our Treasurer).



Cheers!

Lee Anna

Camp Queen

Charity Sew Night is Tuesday July 31,2012

July is a month with five Tuesdays and that means we can meet for a great evening of good times and contribute to our charity work. This is a casual night with opportunities to cut fabric, organize kits, sew on bindings and labels or bring your sewing machine and make a quilt top. Please join in the fun this coming Tuesday!!!!

Crayon Challenge...what's this you ask???

A new challenge has been presented by Karen and Suzie in time for the Holiday party. If you wish to join in the fun the challenge is to make a project with the main color being the color of the crayon that you draw blindly from a bag. There are apparently no other rules other then incorporating the color that belongs to you...so be creative and let your imagination take over. Our quilts will be the backdrop to our Holiday party and hung around the room.

When is the Holiday party? Mark your calendars for the second Tuesday in December, which is December 11,2012. So start planning and get started on your crayon challenge!!!!!

Sunday sew in at the Chandler Police Station is Sunday July 15th

Why not spend the day with friends doing what you like to do best...talk and sew! Join us for a day of sewing and staying cool at the Chandler Police Station anytime from 9am to 4pm. The address is 250 E. Chicago, Chandler, Az.  If you haven't joined in the fun before come check it out. Bring your own project and equipment and just see what you can get done....hope to see you there!

July 3, 2012 is PUP ( Poor unfinished project) Night!

Time to finish up you poor unfinished project and bring it to our meeting on July 3, 2012.

 For those not familiar with this yearly event and wish to participate next year you need to pick out 3 unfinished projects of your choice and bring to the meeting and the fun begins. At the meeting the group will decide which of the 3 projects will be chosen for you to finish over the next year. The projects can be anything from a project not started to a project that you have put away for years and just hadn't finished. You will have until next July to complete the project and share it with the group. The voting makes for a fun evening....so pick your projects with a passion to complete them!!!!

Charity Sew Night...Tuesday, May 29, 2012

This Tuesday (May 29th) we are having a charity sew in at the church. (Same time and place as usual meetings). We will be making bags for CPS. We have a plethora of fabric and lots already cut out so bring your machine and join us. If you want to cut out kits bring a rotary cutter and mat. Berta and Judy L. are bringing treats and drinks. J




We have a representative from CPS coming to our next regular meeting June 5th. She will tell us how our quilts and bags are used and we will be giving her more to take back with her. Bring any finished charity quilts to the meeting so we have lots to give her!

It's time for Membership Renewals for 2012-2013

Membership renewals for 2012-2113 are due by June 1, 2012 in order to avoid late fees. Find the forms at any Nimble Thimbles meeting or online at http://www.azquiltersguild.org/.  Fees are $20 for Nimble Thimbles and $25 for AQG if postmarked by June 1,2012. AQG late fee is $30 if post marked after June 1,2012. Dues are not prorated. If you are a new member then your AQG fee is $30, but Nimble Thimbles dues remain at $20.
If you fill out the membership form and give a check to the treasurer at our regular scheduled meeting on Tuesday May 15,2012 it will be mailed in with all others collected at that time.

Let's make it another great year at Nimble Thimbles!!!!!

The last clue of the Mystery Quilt has been revealed!

Hope you have enjoyed each step of the mystery quilt. The last clue is available to be picked up at a scheduled meeting. Here is a picture of the completed quilt top. Thanks to Kathy for organizing this mystery quilt project...it's been fun!

                                                                             

Tumbleweed Park on April 7, 2012 and the quilts made by Nimble Thimbles for the Child Abuse Prevention and Awareness Coalition

Quilt made last year for the 64 children who lost their lives to abuse in 2010. 

This year's quilt with 70 pinwheels to remember those children who lost their lives to abuse in 2011.

Thanks to everyone who participated in the making of these beautiful quilts for such a needed cause of Child Abuse Prevention and Awareness....BE A HERO TO A CHILD.

Mark your calendar for a fun evening on May 1, 2012 for the Treasure Auction.

I know I’m inspired to think about starting my spring cleaning, especially in my sewing room.
And doesn’t that work out just right with the annual Nimble Thimbles Treasure Auction.
This has been known in the past as the Chinese Auction, whatever name we call it, it’s our annual fundraiser for the guild. It is also lots of fun!!
Tuesday, May 1 is the date for 2012. We are now excepting all donations for the auction. Items do not have to be sewing or quilt related or a new item, but should be in good useable condition.
Lynn  and Joanne  will be collecting these items at our next three meetings. Please be generous this fundraiser helps pay for many of our projects and programs.

You can also bundle your items in a basket or bag to help us out. Small items work best grouped with bigger items. Any questions or if you want to help contact Lynn or Joanne.

Piecing Life Together presentation by Barbara Polston on Tuesday, April 3, 2012

"Piecing Life Together" Barbara Polston shares quilts that inspire her syndicated column of the same name.

AQG President Lynn Kough and President Elect Patricia Benner to visit Nimble Thimbles on Tuesday, April 3,2012

Please mark your calendars and plan on attending the quild meeting on April 3, 2012 to hear AQG  President Lynn Kough and President Elect Patricia Benner update us on the the status of AQG and the direction that AQG is headed under the new board members. This will be conducted during regular business and then to follow will be a presentation by Barbara Polston " Piecing Life Together".

Stage 3 of Mystery Quilt Coming Together

For those members participating in the mystery quilt here is how it is coming together. We are now adding a border and there are 2 methods to choose from: paper piecing or a 4 patch. The instructions will be available at the meetings and if you are planning on doing the paper piecing as shown, then you can pick up a template at a meeting.

This is the paper piecing border choice which is more time consuming but well worth the effort! Challenge yourself...remember we might want to hang them together at the AQG show next year .

TREASURE AUCTION

I know I’m inspired to think about starting my spring cleaning, especially in my sewing room.  And doesn’t that work out just right with the annual Nimble Thimbles Treasure Auction.  This has been known in the past as the Chinese Auction, whatever name we call it, it’s our annual fundraiser for the guild.  It is also lots of fun!!

Tuesday, May 1 is the date for 2012.  We are now excepting all donations for the auction.  Items do not have to be sewing or quilt related or a new item, but should be in good useable condition. Lynn Miller and Joanne Reiter will be collecting these items at our next three meetings.

You can also bundle your items in a basket or bag to help us out.  Small items work best grouped with bigger items. Any questions or if you want to help contact Lynn or Joanne.

Sneak peek at the Opportunity Quilt for spring camp....

Tickets for the Opportunity quilt will go on sale at the first meeting in March. $1 each or 6 for $5. Who will be the lucky person to win such a beautiful quilt??? Thanks to Martha for all her hard work and choice of beautiful colors in batiks.

This is what making a quilt top in a day looks like.....

Gudrun busy at the ironing station...

Denise doing her part in making the rows even! 

Lynette and Sharon sewing the rows together with great speed! 

Joanne and Kathy thankful their rows are finished!

Ruth pressing those seams with perfection!

Thanks to Ruth, Denise, Gudrun, Kathy, Joanne, Sharon, Lynette and Kim for donating their Wednesday for putting together the quilt for Arizona Child Abuse Prevention and Awareness Coalition. This quilt is in memory of the 70 children that lost their lives from abuse last year...the white pinwheels represent each one of those lives lost and will be displayed at the upcoming Family Day at Tumbleweed Park on April 7,2012.

Should I Have My Quilt Appraised

We had a wonderful program by Karen Housner last night.  Did you know that quilts loaned for display at a public forum should have a current appraisal?  If you are looking for an appraisal for a newly made  or old quilt, whether it is for insurance, replacement value or fair market prices contact Karen at gotquilts@cox.net.
Karen is also featured in the February 2012 issue of Phoenix Home and Garden Magazine, check it out.

Save the date of February 15th and join us in making the quilt for The Child Abuse Prevention and Awareness organization.

Giving last year's quilt to Kepra.

Everyone hard at work for a wonderful cause.

This year's quilt is already cut out and ready to be sewn together. We will be meeting at Holy Trinity Luthern Church in Classroom A (come to our regular meeting room and classroom A is right beside the kitchen). We have the room from 9-4pm and I think we can finish the quilt top on this day. Bring your regular sewing supplies , your machine and brown bag lunch, to keep your energy level up!! I'll be bringing a case of water for everyone and snacks are always welcome to share. Here is a picture of last year's quilt  and I think this year's quilt will be just as beautiful.

Help a young man earn his Eagle Scout

A call has been made to help a young man earn his Eagle Scout award. His project is to collect 300 pillowcases to donate to the ConKerr Cancer Center for Children. He will be at our meeting on February 21 to talk with us and Nimble Thimbles would greatly appreciate collecting pillowcases for him at that meeting. Here is a link for pillowcase instructions for those those that haven't made them before :http://www.conkerrcancer.org/pillowdirections.html

Enjoy this repeat performance of Show and Tell....

These quilts were part of the special Valentine projects that were shared

Barb putting her 1 inch strips to good use.

Welcome to a visitor whom Lynnette befriended at the airport in Bismark...she knew she was a quilter by the handbag she was carrying. Thanks Sheila for your show and tell.

Hard to see but there are silver bells on the ends of this very long tablerunner...added a nice touch and entertains her cats as well.

Love the ribbons in the borders.

An 1896 Crazy quilt gifted to Darlene for her Trunk Show...hard to appreciated from the picture what a wonderful quilt this is.

Dinosaur quilt made by a group that meets on Wednesdays and donated to the organization that allows them to meet weekly. That's Darlene behind the quilt.

A strip quilt made by Laura and going in the mail today to a friend .

Tablerunners made by Berta.

Beautiful design on the back of Cher's jacket.