Quilter's Tea - To Raise $ for Donation Quilts

Odessa Quilt Club's "Quilter's Tea"

Each year we need to raise money to buy batting for our donation quilts. Last time, our Quilter's Tea raised enough for an enormous roll of the important stuff (or stuffing).

We held it in our meeting room last time and it was so popular, we were bursting at the seams. So, this year, we opted to rent the local meeting venue, Any Occasion, on Odessa's main street across from our lovely quilt shop.

Here you can see the lovely main, big, room. We set up about 12 tables and marked them alphabetically from A to L. Each of us brought a UFO or a book, or fabric, or a pattern, or notion to donate, with a cup for each item. Each item was marked numerically as it came in with a number on the item and one on the cup.

We started at about 9:30 AM and quit about 3 PM. There were over 200 items raffled off during the day with drawings each hour or so.

Here you can see some of the items on Table D: some fabric, a pattern and a notion or two.  Each visitor bought tickets (25 cents each or 5 for a dollar). I bought more than $15 worth of tickets, not that I needed a lot of new stuff (new to me) but because I wanted to make that contribution to our guild.

After we  bought our tickets, we put our names and phone numbers on them and walked around to look at the offerings. Here are some nice books and patterns.

When we found something we liked, we put one of our tickets in the cup corresponding to the item. Sometimes, if we REALLY liked something and wanted it, we stuffed the cup with our tickets.

See that lovely block roller in the center of the picture? I won that. Our guild president made it to carry applique' blocks in while working on them. It holds quite a few blocks, keeping them clean and wrinkle-free, while you work on them. I REALLY wanted that and I was lucky enough to win it.

Table-by-table, quilt guild officers, drew names from the cups, almost hourly. Throughout the day,  lots of quilters moseyed through, looking for that special something they could not do without. The place had a busy buzz going all through the activity.

Any Occasion venue has a nice setup with a table and bar for drinks and such. We set it up with coffee and hot water (for tea, cider, cocoa) and bottled water, too. Guild members baked cookies to serve. All the food and drinks were free.

Some of us ordered in lunch and some went out for lunch. There were comfortable chairs and tables and lots of chatting going on. It was very pleasant.

 There was something for everyone. 

It took a little contemplation to see the possibilities......

.....and there were a lot of possibilities.....see that little old sewing basket on the right? I won that! So, now I have a block carrier and a sewing basket to carry around. I'm set!

......how many of these projects can one finish in a year?

A great time was had by all, I think.

Next month:  Quilt 'Til You Wilt!

Sugar Free Oatmeal Raisin Bars

Baking up a Storm....or....

Baking IN a Storm......

"The weather outside is frightful....but the fire is so delightful....so if you've no place to go....let it snow, let it snow, let it snow....."   Hear the whole song as only Eydie and Steve can sing it.

Snow event after snow event have rolled through these past few days.

Baking helps keep things warm, don't you think? We had to bake a lot of cookies for the upcoming "Quilter's Tea" our guild is having on Monday, the 10th, here in Odessa. My DH is the baker in the house and he nicely made up a batch of sugar free bars for the benefit of those with no tolerance for sugar.

Don't they look yummy? They do taste really good.

Here's the recipe -

Sugar Free Oatmeal Bars

Cream together:

1/2 c. plus 6 T Butter, softened

1/2 c. Splenda Brown Sugar

1/4 c. Truvia Baking Blend (white sugar substitute)

Beat in:

2 Eggs

1 t. Vanilla

Combine in a small bowl:

1 1/2 c. All Purpose Flour

1 t. Baking Soda

1 1/2 t. Cinnamon

1/2 t. Salt

Add to wet mixture, gradually, mixing slowly.

Fold in:

3 c. Rolled Oats

1 c. Raisins

Press dough into a greased 9" x 13" pan. Bake in a 350 degree F. oven for 30 to 35 minutes until golden brown. Let cool completely before cutting into squares.

If you'd like to make cookies, instead, drop by teaspoonfuls onto a greased cookie sheet and bake 8 to 10 minutes. Let cool about 1 minute before removing from sheet. Makes 4 dozen.