Letter from the President

By Linda Neal

It’s hard to believe, but the last time we had a QGP guild meeting together was March 12, 2020.  It seems like FOREVER since we have all been together.  It has been a long time coming, and lots of planning to make it happen.  But, I am happy to announce our first in person meeting of 2021.

We will be meeting in person and on Zoom for our Quilt show roll out July 8th meeting at The Best Little Retreat Center in Texas.  Hunter’s Glen Baptist church, where we met pre-Covid, is still not allowing outside groups to meet at their facility.  The July guild meeting will consist of our general business meeting, a demonstration, information on quilt show volunteer positions, as well as stations to visit to sign up for quilt show volunteer positions.  The new slate of officers will be announced and introduced.   Plus, we’ll have lots of time to socialize and visit with fellow guild members.  It will be a very busy and fun evening–a throwback to pre-Covid days! 

For those members who cannot attend the ”‘live” meeting, we will also have the meeting “live” on Zoom.  It’s going to be a bit challenging this first time running a meeting live and on Zoom.  But, we will do our best.  Zoom attendees will be able to participate in the meetings and sign up for volunteer positions too.  

Masks will not be required.  But, if you feel more comfortable wearing a mask, that’s fine too.

Until then, finish your quilts for the quilt show and fill out an entry form.  Look at the guild website for quilt show information and open volunteer positions. Sign up online or at the guild meeting. Descriptions of the volunteer positions are on the website.   We need YOU to volunteer to make Quilt Plano 2021 a success!

****** ANNOUNCEMENT *****

In order to keep our membership fees and workshop fees low, the board has approved pass on the 4% credit card transaction charge to the buyer. For Example, a Membership renewal payment of $30 will include $1.20 for a total of $31.20 credit card charge. No fees will be incurred for check and cash payments.

Nominating Committee Report

The nominating committee comprised of Jeanne Fletcher, Lynn Wagner, Dianne Cronenberg, Sara Lindsay and Jeanne Vogel has filled the positions for this coming year.

Current nominees are:

• President: Donna Petrick
• Secretary:  Sue Rentz
• VP Community Service:  Linda Neal
• VP of Guild Activities:  Michael Davison
• VP of Education:  Cindy Skarin
• VP of Finance:  Michelle Cotton
• VP of Media:  Diane Poor
• VP of Programs:  Tisha Harms
• Quilt Show Chair:  Joan Hammett
• VP of Membership:  Mary Alice Cafferel

These positions are all being posted in this edition of the newsletter as required by our Policy and Procedures. These nominees are submitted for your review for the officer slate for 2021-2022. Voting will be at the August meeting.

Please consider volunteering for these open chair positions listed in the table below.

All job descriptions are listed in the website under: Guild Documents/Board/By Laws 2012 and under Guild Documents/Board/Guild Positions and Duties.

Please step forward and volunteer!

Programs

By Jeanne Smith

In-Person Guild Meeting – Thursday, July 8, 2021 **ALSO via ZOOM**

     @ Best Little Retreat Center in Texas

          7989 Beltline Road Ste #168

            Dallas Texas 75248       

Quilt Show Roll Out and Skill Builder Demos

*See more information on the guild meeting under Quilt Plano 2021 in this newsletter.

Join Michael Davison as he presents a great Zoom workshop:

      Fusible Collage with Michael – A Value-able Workshop

ZOOM VERSION

DATE: Saturday, July 17, 2021

TIME: 10am – 3pm

LOCATION: Virtual Workshop will be Live on ZOOM

Workshop Fee: $55

Optional Fabric Kit: $20 (for Subject – background not included)

Register online at michaelquilts.com/workshops

What makes a successful pictorial collage quilt? Some may say color. Some may say subject matter. But it is really all about VALUE (the perceived lightness or darkness of fabric). In this workshop, you will learn to separate fabrics into Michael’s value scale, then fuse it and use it as your palette of “paints” to create an 18” x 18” still life collage quilt, suitable as a small wall hanging or table topper. (We will be making the coffee cup!) 

Techniques of cutting fabric shapes will be explored and practiced. You will learn how to deal with layered fused fabrics. You will gain an understanding of value placement and creative ways to create shape and form with many pieces of fabric. We will discuss ways to finish your project quilt (background, quilting, binding/facing, etc.) BONUS: You will also learn how to transform your own photos into a pattern for your future pictorial collage projects. 

If you have ever wanted to take a break from pieced projects to “paint” with fabric, this is the workshop to test it out! Bring your own stash or purchase a workshop kit from Michael.

What you will need:

• Video Camera and Microphone (Internet connection for ZOOM)
• At least 7 different fabrics for the main subject. About 8” x 8” of each.
• More than 7 fabrics is highly recommended! The more fabrics you choose, the less you will need of each fabric. Scraps are GREAT!
• You will need a wide range of lights, mediums, and darks. Really look for the lightest lights and darkest darks to add to your mediums if possible.
• You may choose all monochromatic (same color family), or they can be of many colors.
• Precuts would be great! You could complete the main subject with a jelly roll or a charm pack. Layer cake and fat-eighths would be good too, but you will not need that much fabric.
• A 22” x 22” square of quilting cotton that is white or light. It can be also be basic muslin. This will provide the “canvas” for fused fabrics to be adhered to.
• A 20 x 20” square of background fabric of your choosing. The background should provide contrast. So if your subject fabrics are very busy, you’ll get best results from a contrasting solid or subdued background. If your subject fabrics are more tone-on-tone and almost read as solid, then perhaps a more active background could work.
• Pencil
• Sharpie
• Double-Sided fusing to adhere to your fabrics. (Steam-a-Seam 2 in the regular version recommended.)
• Iron and pressing surface
• Scissors for cutting small shapes.
• Masking or Painter’s tape
• Tweezers

More Details and Registration Here: michaelquilts.com/workshops

Quilt Plano  —  October 8 & 9, 2021

By Donna Petrick

I had my newsletter article all mapped out in my mind and then we had a major water problem at our house and I lost all my mapping.  LOL.  Never mind—I’ll regroup.

The best thing is announcing that we will have a live, in person meeting on July 8th.  Yippee.  I’m so ready to see you all in person again.  I hope that you will make the trip to Best Little Retreat Center in Texas.  We will have time to visit with each other……..but our main purpose is to “Roll Out the Show”. It’s time to sign up to volunteer to run our quilt show.  The vendors are ready, the patrons are ready and now I hope the volunteers are ready.  Without you we can’t do this. 

We will have our business meeting, followed by one demonstration that will also be done at the quilt show.  Zoom members will be able to see it too.  I’ll talk a short while explaining the job openings.  Then we will be able to sign up for various jobs.  Several of us will have computers on site to help you.  Committee chairs will be on hand to explain the jobs if you have questions.  Zoom members can chat with Diane Poor or Ashley Stovall to get signed up also.

Bring your checkbook, cash or a credit card because we have things to sell.  You can order your show shirt, buy your lunch tickets for Friday and Saturday of the quilt show, buy your show pin or past show pins and buy your raffle tickets.

Our posters and bookmarks are ready to be delivered out to the quilt shops and other places to start advertising our show.  If you are making a trip to some shops, please check with Rose-Clair Fletcher to see if she needs help delivering to that shop.  Local shops are already getting their copies.  It’s the shops a distance from Plano where we need help.  

Remember that all show volunteer hours add towards the four hours needed to get into the show.  So making a mini, delivering posters, taking the raffle quilt to events all count towards those hours.  Quilt registration forms are online on our website.  Be sure to enter your quilts in the show.

So now back to moving stuff.  By the time you read this, I should have new floors in all three bedrooms and will have culled out some of our “treasurers”.  See you on the 8th!

Community Service

By Dolores Williams and Valerie Salter

I was so happy to have our Sit and Sew in person!  We only had a few sewers but we made up for it with fun.

Sit and Sew is where members of the guild meet at Plano Sewing Center on the second Tuesday of the month.  The Community Service team makes up Quilt Kits for the Sew day and members sew quilt tops.  We try to have different patterns every month, so it does not get boring.  We meet at 10:00 am and stay until 1 or 2 pm.  Most of the tops can be made in one day.  Some people bring their tops home to finish or grab another kit to do at home.

Sit and Sew is a great way to contribute to the guild while having fun.  We bring our lunches and one person brings dessert (loved by the quilters and staff at Plano Sewing Center).

Please try to join us at Sit and Sew – 2nd Tues of every month.

Our next general meeting will be in person, but Community Service will not be available for take in / give out.  Most of us in the group are committee chairs for the quilt show and will be busy getting volunteers.  We will do a take-in / give-out at the next sit and sew from 10 am til 11:30. 

In June, we took in 20 completed quilts, 12 pillowcases, 1 cuddle and 10 tops.  That was a fairly good haul considering bad weather was predicted.

Quilts of Valor

By Carolyn Cosgriff

Several Quilts of Valor were quilted this month (thanks to Linda Neal and LuGay Chiang) and are being or are ready to be bound.   More tops are waiting to be quilted.  Tops and blocks are always welcome as we aim to keep the pipeline full!  

A presentation ceremony is in planning.

Plano Quilt Guild Retreat 2021

By Carol Long

We are going to have a full house at Retreat this year, with 90 ladies and gentleman signed up.  The Retreat is at the Hilton Garden Inn in Denison, Texas.  The address is 5015 South US 75 and the phone number is (903) 463-3331.  The Retreat starts on August 19th through August 22nd.  We are going to have the scissor man there on Friday, so make sure you bring your scissors, rotary blades or other items that need to be sharpened.  We are also going to have the massage ladies again, on Thursday and Friday.

As in years past, we are going to ask for donations for Denison Helping Hands and I will be sending out a list of items that they are in need of.  I hope to have a prize to raffle off for those of you who bring items to donate, we can put your name in the drawing for a prize.  There will be a bones table and a Trash to Treasure sale, as we have done in the past. 

If you have any questions, please feel free to give me a call or text at (469) 853-0549 or email me at csmwlong@gmail.com.

News from the Zoom Bees

Hoop It Up Bee – Donna Petrick

The machine embroidery group meets the third Thursday each month on Zoom.  We talk about problems or successes we might have had in using our machines as well as having show and tell.  We are open to all levels of users.  If you have an interest in machine embroidery, please join us. 

Email me petrickdl@outlook.com so I can send you the Zoom invitation.

Free Motion Quilting Bee (we actually sew during the meeting!) – Monica Hendewerk

Our meetings have been a huge success.  It turns out that Zoom blocks out background noise, so we can sew and chat at the same time!  Monica or one of the other members provide some designs to practice on a small sandwich which you can choose to use or not.  The designs are sent out in advance and include step by step instructions, with both beginner and intermediate designs.  A number of us generally “doodle” on paper first, and then sew.  Some people do the designs that have been sent out, others do their own thing.  We have beginner beginners all the way to advanced members of the group.  We also share our samples and ask/answer questions.  Meetings are on the second Monday of the month, from 1 – 3 (or longer sometimes!).  Please contact Monica so that she can send you the Zoom link if you are interested.  mhendewerk@gmail.com  (713) 569-8798

Featherweight Fellowship Groups – Jeanne Vogel

We have a collection of Singer Featherweight sewing machines with happy owners as we sit and sew. We share tips for caring for the machine, our best notions, and have several members experienced with problem-solving both machine and quilting problems. If you work, join us on a Saturday!  When we share a lot of tips and tricks we follow the meeting with an email to those attending.  Those who have not previously notified me, please email pickincotton26@verizon.net to get the invitation to join the Zoom meeting

• Chicks with Feathers—3rd Saturdays @ 1-3pm — (Formerly meeting at Sunrise of Plano)                                                                                                                                                                                         
• Featherweight Friends—4th Fridays @ 1-3pm — (Formerly meeting at Best Little Retreat Center in Texas) 

Pieceful Organization – Sarah Krauss & Jeanne Vogel 

If you are feeling “abode overload” you will fit right it. Relieve clutter, stress, struggle and overwhelm. We are Zooming on the 3rd and the 4th Wednesday’s from 1:30-3:30 pm using the inspiration from a workshop we attended.  Organization will change your clutter and chaos to start the day fresh with your stuff organized.  Less chaos leads to more productive quilt making.

Join us to organize your mess and give tips and sometimes we offer trade our stuff!   pickincotton26@verizon.net for an invitation

Hand Applique Small group – Linda Neal

We meet the first Monday of each month at 10:00 on Zoom. Our next meeting is July 5th.  We work on our individual projects and  offer encouragement and lots of hints and tricks.   If you are interested in joining our hand applique Zoom group, please email Linda Neal (lindanealmck@hotmail.com)

English Paper Piecing Small Group – Linda Neal

We meet on the 3th Tuesday at 10:00 on Zoom.  July 20th is our next meeting.  Whether you are new to English Paper Piecing or a pro, we would love to have you join our group.   Our group is informal and fun!!  For a link,  please email Linda Neal (lindanealmck@hotmail.com)

Guild Activities

By Leigh Knox and Michael Davison

Happy July and summer in Texas. I know a lot of you are busy with getting your quilts ready for the Plano Quilt Show so no new activities.

Enjoy your summer and stay cool.

Membership

By  Sue Rentz & Karen Edmondson

How does the guild get all those lovely door prizes we give away each month?  A volunteer on the membership committee requests and collects them from local quilt shops in our area.

Here how I do it:

First call up the local quilt store to ask if they would be interested in donating door prizes.  Most of the stores are familiar with our guild and have always been kind and generous.  Set a date with them 2-3 days later to go by and pick them up. Some actually are willing to mail them (super sweet).  Then, on that date, take an afternoon or a day to go by and visit the stores. We also have guild members willing to help and swing by local quilt stores near their home. 

Pro-tip: leave your credit card at home!  Lastly pick out the gifts to give out and deliver them to the membership table before each meeting.

 If this is something you’d be willing to do, let us know—Membership@qgplano.org!

One new member joined the guild during the month of June—Betty Rivero.

 The following door prizes were awarded at the June meeting using the “Wheel of Fortune”:

•          Quilt Country gift card – Sue Rostosky
•          Stitch House gift card – Diane Morris
•          Sew Let’s Quilt It gift card – Sara Lindsay
•          Not Your Mama’s gift card – Laurie Tanas
•          Stitched with Love gift card – Sara Krauss
•          Best Little Retreat Center in Texas (one-day retreat for two) – Sue Rentz

• Margaret Schafer — 7/3
• Aggie Meszaros — 7/4
• Cindy Parker — 7/4
• Diana Florence — 7/6
• Cassie Conway — 7/7
• Sheila Connolly — 7/7
• Valerie Murray — 7/7
• Nan Jordan — 7/8
• Carol Long — 7/9
• Sherry Worley — 7/11
• Sharon Wilhelm — 7/13
• Joan Nodwell — 7/14
• Gail Gable — 7/15
• Harriet Wetherell — 7/15
• Judy Kriehn — 7/22
• Leanne Wise — 7/23
• Mary Binder — 7/23
• Brenda Ruth — 7/24
• Marcia Lawson — 7/25
• Bri Loftis — 7/26
• Michelle Cotton — 7/26
• Debra Douglas — 7/31

Stockings and Pet Beds

By  Martha O’Grady

I was in Hobby Lobby looking for fabric for another project. They were having a sale on patriotic. I grabbed a bunch of ribbon perfect for our stockings!

I received an email newsletter from Soldiers Angels, asking for stockings for a Christmas in July program. I am sending 200 stockings, leaving about 300. This means that we will need to redouble our efforts to reach our annual goal of 1000.

The newsletter also stated that because Girl Scouts were unable to sell their cookies, they had given a bunch to Soldiers Angels. They just need help with postage. If you would like to help with that, go to the website:

https://soldiersangels.cmail19.com/t/ViewEmail/j/B42FD26CC4BA13822540EF23F30FEDED/3F651957CF3D2630FE6194DE962A274B

I also took 6 beds to the shelter in Murphy.

Here is a quick story about my early quilting. I went to one of those home selling parties. The host told all of us to bring our most worn out potholder. I had been in the habit of stacking and quilting old towels and washcloths into potholders, and I still do this today.  I took one of those. We went around the group showing our potholders, and I showed mine. Of course I thought that I had won handily. Then a lady held up a much worn out mess and said, “Well, someone left this at my house.” It was mine! I won first and second place! When I told Don this, he said in an exasperated voice, “Go get you some potholders.” Ah my inner hoarder.

I would like to mention a couple of small groups that I am now leader of.

A group that was a fledgling just as the shut down began; Far East Connection is for anyone in East Plano or East of Plano. We meet Thursdays at my house 6:30, except for QGP night. We are a sit n sew.

Sew Happy Quilters meets the Sam Johnson Senior Center at 16th and 75, behind the strip mall and restaurants on 15th. We are a sit-n-sew, and we are registered as one of the “classes” in the Plano Parks and Recreation catalogue. We meet monthly 9:00 AM until 4:00 PM ish. Come when you can; leave when you must. Some of us eat lunch together. 

Month Meeting Photos

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General Meeting Minutes

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