Bigfork Piecemakers' 40th Annual Quilt Show  
(Friday-Saturday, June 23rd & 24th)
10:00am-5:00pm (Fri) & 10:00am-4:00pm (Sat)
It's the Bigfork Piecemakers' 40th Annual Quilt Show! The show is at Bigfork Elementary (600 Commerce in Bigfork, MT). Vendors, boutique market, raffle, and more!

QUILT-AS-YOU-GO PLACEMATS  
Saturday, June 17th
 10:00am-3:00pm
Join Susan as she leads this fun class and make four placemats for summer! 

BLOCK OF THE MONTH: NAUTICAL DREAMS
Wednesday, June 21st
 10:00am-2:00pm

$30-includes materials, pattern, and class
Sandy Taylor will be guiding us on the 2nd Wednesday of each month to create Nautical Dreams. Nautical Dreams is a combination of two mariner's compasses and flying geese. It is surrounded by eight 10" stars and more flying geese. It is a paper pieced design and requires some knowledge of this technique. The pattern includes all the paper patterns needed to make the quilt. The quilt was made with Island Batik fabrics.

DISAPPEARING 9-PATCH QUILT  
Thursday, June 29th
 10:00am-4:00pm
Sherry Christopherson is teaching this fun class! Come learn how to create a simple but STUNNING disappearing 9-patch quilt. This quilt is crib/throw size and is perfect for all your summer travels and adventures! 

SIMPLE TANK TOP CLASS  
Thursday, August 3rd
 10:00am-4:00pm

$15- plus supplies
Mark your calendars! On Thursday, August 3rd, we will be learning how to do a simple tank top from Judy Smith! You can use your own cotton fabric or purchase some in the shop! Bring a lunch (or go out when we have a break) and be ready to have some fun!  More information will be shared as we get closer to the date!

Well the calendar is filling up fast for the summer. Seems one day it is empty and the next full.
Scheduling is a bit of an issue this time of year as everyone has lots of places to go and things to do. If
you come in and we are short staffed, please be patient.

June will be especially busy with 2 quilt shows. Mission Mountain Quilt Guild show is in Ronan on the 10th and
11th along with the Chain Saw Carving event. This is always a good show with over 120 quilts on display. If you
don’t want to hassle with the construction, remember Back Road is a more scenic and less bumpy way to
get to Ronan coming from the north.

The second quilt show is in Bigfork on the 23rd and 24th in the elementary school (600 Commerce in Bigfork). This is also a great show with multiple vendors and great quilts. Hopefully the same corn dog truck will be there this year. I think I had 3 or 4 over the course of the weekend and they are Poppy and Murphy’s favorites!

    I’m getting anxious to get the boat ready to put in so that evening cocktail rides can happen. That is the
best way to end a warm or hot summer day. It will be awhile before swimming is included in the trip but
just cruising is fine with me. I also love mornings that are warm enough to spend time with my coffee and
a book on the deck before I head to work. I have really made it a priority lately to be sure that I am
taking time for myself and time with Pat-time that isn’t centered around the shop. Guess old age is catching
up with me.

On Monday, Pat and I took a long drive starting at the KOA campground on Irving Flat and wandered
through the rolling hill to Big Arm. It is absolutely amazing the vastness of the countryside back there.
Heard lots of Meadowlarks and saw a few Bluebirds. Saw a herd of the largest black angus bulls I think I
have ever seen. They were massive. Driving through there in the comfort of my car I wondered how in
the world the pioneers had the fortitude to trudge day after day across the county not knowing what lay
ahead of them. Our forefathers and mothers were pretty amazing people. I wish I had more of the
history of my families migration from Iowa, New York and Michigan to Montana in the early 1900s. For
some of them they were the 1 st generation to be born in the USA.

I recently acquired from a cousin a family quilt that had been handed down to her from our great-grandmother. All the blocks are embroidered , by hand of course, with the names of those who worked
on the blocks. There is a block done by my mother when she was a teenager, blocks by my grandmother
and great grandmother and several great great aunts. Some people would hide this away in a chest,
where I’m sure it has been for years, but I have it on my guest bed and love the questions that arise
when people look at it. Someday it will be worn out or stained but it was made to be enjoyed and used.
As we work on the quilts and projects we need to think about the history that they are beginning for the
receiptiant, whether family or friends. They are a story that is told and shared. Be sure and label your
quilts so that story is not lost!

"The meaning of life is to find your gift. The Purpose of life is to give it away." -Pablo Picasso