The Agave Quilters got off to a fantastic start in 2015 with a wonderful Trunk Show in January by Barbara Polston of Phoenix. Barbara introduced Agave members to her newest book, Quilting with Doilies: Inspirations, Techniques, and Projects published by Schiffer, and now available on Amazon. Included in the January trunk show were all the fabulous quilts from the book and many more. Along with the Trunk Show, members were able to sign-up for all the classes offered through Agave this spring by Education Director Marti French and Assistant Laura Alexander. These classes are filling up very fast, so please come to the February 4 meeting to see what is open, and bring your checkbook because it is the only form of payment accepted at this time.

The Agave Quilters usually meet in the Oakwood Ballroom of the Oakwood Country Club at 1:00 p.m. on the first Wednesday of every month, except during the summer. This month, Agave will host Darlene Reid of Chandler at the February 4 meeting with a Trunk Show of crazy quilts. Darlene calls the crazy quilt the gypsy of the quilting world because of the wonderful eclectic mix of fabric and design that is the hallmark of this type of quilting. Darlene has won many awards and honors for her crazy quilts, which actually originated during the Victorian period in England. She also has an up-coming workshop with Agave as the special guest teacher for March. Please stop by the Education table to see her sample and sign-up for the workshop.

One very special feature of the February meeting is voting on the President’s Challenge for the 2015 Quilt Show. Members who took on the Challenge were asked to make a small wall hanging no larger than 24 inches by 24 inches, using the specific theme of holidays and celebrations and turn in their project at the January meeting. The entire membership will be voting on the small quilts and selecting three winning designs (first, second and third place) at the February meeting. All of the winners receive a substantial cash award to further their quilting, and all of the challenge quilts are available for auction or raffling at the March Show.

Also, please come to the meeting to sign-up to volunteer at the Agave Quilt Show to be held on March 28 at the Oakwood Ballroom. Our show will again be super fantastic with more than 100 quilts, totes, bags and purses, and our Boutique is already well stocked with wonderful handmade items. Please save March 28 for visiting our free show!