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Health & Fitness

The Great American Quilt - Packing it up

As a volunteer with the Algonquin Quilt Guild, I raised my hand to be on the committee to pick and work on the raffle quilt that will benefit the Guild.    I wrote about the choices in my last post on color and pattern selection.  Now we are preparing to put the packets together for the guild members for January’s meeting to take home and construct.

It was so exciting to see the fabric that we chose at the last committee meeting already to go into the packets.  We chose the Minick and Simpson Mid Winter Reds and French General’s Josephine lines to create the block, to be the back ground, borders, binding and backing.  Sue Stanek graciously washed the fabric, cut the fabric for all the packets, created the templates, and wrote all the directions.  Sue will be sharing all of her techniques at our January meeting in the  prepping, cutting and construction of our blocks.  The use of sand paper to help draw on the back of the fabric when using templates is a new one to me but absolutely makes sense.

It will take 60, yep 60, blocks to create “The Great American Quilt”.  The block is shown in the pictures as blue and white.  While it doesn't look like much at the moment, obviously it isn't red and white, it will when the blocks are assembled.

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There will also be a border that is also in the photos.  The fabric will be cut six inches wide to follow the print and sewn to the assembled blocks.  I believe we are also sewing a smaller border around first.

Many of the members are already excited to buy raffle tickets when it is completed.  Those tickets will be made available to the general public as well.

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A red and white quilt is classic Americana.  The fabrics that have been chosen are very trendy and highly sought after by quilters.  The quality of quilt fabric is substantially different than any other.  It cuts beautifully, sews divinely, presses out easily and shows like no other.

Our committee met at the Eastside Algonquin Library using their meeting rooms in their lower level.  The Guild holds Saturday Sewing Sessions at the eastside library.  Carol Pilz happened to be one of the quilters that brought her quilting to work on.  Oh My God it’s gorgeous.  Her attention to detail, color design, and sewing make this an exceptional piece of artwork.  All those little squares are an inch in width.

Keep following us as we set our course to finishing “The Great American Quilt”.  Our philanthropic work is dedicated to the neo-natal unit at Advocate Sherman Hospital. The guild meets every fourth Thursday at the Algonquin Congregational Church at 7pm.   Please join us.  January is membership renewal, seriously, it’s only $20 to join.

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