Clamshell Quilters' Feb. 13 meeting is our traditional community service workshop from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Faith Baptist Church in Newcastle. Come for the whole day or just a few hours. There will be no evening meeting. While you may wish to bring a charitable project of your own to work on, as a group we will concentrate on placemats during this workshop.

Here's what you need to bring: a sewing machine in good working order (with a walking foot for top quilting, if you have one); a variety of thread colors; fabric and batting; sewing supplies, and an extension cord if you have one. Be sure to bring a bag lunch and beverage if you plan to stay all day.

Some supplies of fabric and batting will be available to supplement what you bring, and donations are always welcome. We will have placemat patterns to show you including a very quick and easy pattern for large print fabric which does not require binding. So, if you bought large print fabric and never knew how to use it, now may be the time. Do you have orphan quilt blocks? We'll show you how to incorporate them into placemats.

As a group we continue to provide walker bags for local nursing homes, comfort quilts to the Fresenius Medical Center in Damariscotta for resident dialysis patients as well as to others in need, and cheerful pillowcases for children who are ill. We are always interested in learning new skills to apply to new projects. Clamshell Quilters is a local chapter of the statewide, non-profit Pine Tree Quilters Guild, Inc. Guests and new members are always welcome.