Quilters Guild of Plano, Inc.
Our next meeting
May Meeting has been cancelled due to Covid 19. Stay home and keep on sewing!
Self-Isolation Exclusive!
In this edition, we included pictures of what some of our board members are working on or completed while staying at home!
Programs
By Jeanne Smith
May
What an unprecedented time we are experiencing – each of us, all of us. Due to CoVid-19 we are sheltering in place. We must stay safe for our families, ourselves, our friends.
Notice: Dawn Heese has been cancelled for the June Guild Program and both Workshops. Fees will be refunded this month.
Quilt Plano 2020
By Donna Petrick
By the time we are reading this newsletter, the decision will have been made and announced. Quilt Plano 2020 is not going to happen. The health risk is just too great. At this time, we do not know when group gatherings can safely happen. Most of our members are in the age group most vulnerable to the virus. We cannot take a chance of causing harm to them or to the visitors who might come to the show.
By canceling now, we will not have the major expenses of the show. Some money has been spent. While not recoverable, it does not put us at risk financially. We are trying to move our current deposit of $8k with the Plano Event Center to 2021. Other contracts can be canceled with no penalties. Guild expenses will not be as great as we have to cancel speakers this year. And we carry a large bank account to cover emergencies such as this.
We still can and must sell tickets for our raffle quilts. While we cannot sell tickets online, as raffle quilts fall under the gambling laws, we can let it be known that members have tickets available. With so many guilds not able to hold meetings and with TAQG canceling Rally Day, we are losing chances to sell tickets. It’s going to be up to the membership to sell to friends and relatives. Please make an extra effort to get tickets and sell them before August 6th.
It breaks my heart to make this decision, but it is best for the membership.
Joan Hammett and I will co-chair Quilt Plano 2021. The guild will come back with renewed vigor and be ready to make great plans for 2021. With so many of us home quilting now, there should be an abundance of quilts for that show.
Stay home. Stay healthy. Enjoy the time you have to create beautiful new quilts.
Raffle Quilt News
By Donna Petrick
As I stated in my show report, by not having the quilt show this year, we lose a great deal of sales on our raffle quilt. This is our only opportunity to raise money for the guild this year. We need for all members to redouble their efforts to sell or buy raffle tickets. Please see if you can spare the time and/or money to bring these quilts up to their prospective earnings.
Once the quilt stores reopen for walk-in customers, please see if you can take the quilts to a store and sell tickets for a day.
Joan Hammett and I both have tickets. We can meet you someplace or you can come by our houses to pick up tickets, leave money and stubs or pick up the quilts to take to quilt stores.
We cannot sell tickets through the internet due to raffle quilts falling under the gambling laws. However, you can mention on social media that you have tickets for sale. We can then make arrangements to deliver the stubs and collect the money.
Thank you for your help. These are tough days for the guild. We don’t want to put a burden on anyone. But we do need to rescue what we can for the year.
Community Service
By Dolores Williams and Valerie Salter
Community service was ‘closed’ for the month of April. A lot of our guild members were asking if there was a way to help our community. Many wanted to help with the mask and gown shortage. We thought of putting patterns on the website but then realized that our quilters would be at risk trying to get the masks and gowns distributed.
While we were discussing solutions, we were contacted by Ayda Sow from the One Thread Nonprofit Organization. One Thread (onethreadofficial.wixsite.com/website/) works with the Frisco ISD students to do community projects. They asked our guild for fabric help with their Mask Making Campaign. They wanted neutral fabrics. We were able to give them several bolts of fabric plus some flat folds. Their goal for the month was to make 300 masks. Ayda said they get about 100 masks with 8 yards of fabric. We gave them enough fabric to make at least 400-500 masks. I also told them that we would give them more if they need it. The picture shows me with Ayda and her stash of fabric. I am so glad we were able to help.
Their website has a video on making a mask that will hold a filter. It is a pretty good video.
Keep safe and do lots of sewing.
Texas Association of Quilt Guilds
By Jeanne Fletcher
TAQG Rally Day has been canceled.
Letter from the President
By Linda Neal
It is with a heavy heart that the QGP board voted to cancel our August 2020 quilt show due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The board also voted to cancel guild meetings for May, June, and July, along with all guild activities. The safety and well-being of our members is the board’s first priority. We join the long list of cancellations in our country: schools, graduation, prom, all professional sports, church activities, movies, and eating out. Almost everything that is fun! Only essential stores/services remain open. I was ecstatic to hear that quilt shops have been deemed “essential” businesses since they sell fabric for making masks. Like all quilters, I have always believed that quilt stores are essential. Now it’s been confirmed by our local government- so it MUST be true!
Our quilt show revenue is how we pay for speakers and guild expenses. Previous QGP boards have been very careful to set aside money for emergencies in case the show had to be canceled for bad weather. While this is not bad weather–it does constitute an emergency. Deciding now to cancel the quilt show was difficult. But it had to be done. To continue to spend more money in preparation for a quilt show that is not going to happen would be irresponsible. How will the pandemic be in August? Hard to say. But, I think we can all agree that attendance would be dismal. We would not have enough volunteers, and the vendors would lose money. The guild will lose some money that we have already spent, but the majority (deposits for example) will be forwarded to Quilt Plano 2021. Please read Donna Petrick’s newsletter article this month for more information.
The only other source of revenue we will have for this year will be the 2020 raffle quilt. The canceling of TAQG Rally Day and other guild meetings we would sell tickets at is also going to decrease the money we could have made. Therefore we really need members to step up and help us sell tickets. The quilt will still be drawn for at the same date and time. Please contact Donna Petrick if you need more tickets to sell. Or if businesses start opening and you could take the quilt and sell tickets.
It’s hard to predict when it will be safe for all of us to meet together as a guild. Truthfully most of our members are considered high risk. And while I think quilting is my life, it’s not exactly true. It’s a hobby (for some a profession). Even when government officials start lifting restrictions on groups meeting, I am sure many of our members (and board members) still won’t feel safe attending a meeting for quite some time. The board will continue to meet virtually monthly and evaluate when we feel it is safe for most people to attend.
So for now, just try to enjoy the little things in life. Enjoy and organize your stash–you’ve spent YEARS acquiring it. Enjoy the time you have to complete UFOs. Start a new project that is out of your comfort zone. Phone a friend. Keep up with your pals in your small group. Try using Zoom to have a small group meeting. Adopt a new dog/cat (we just adopted ANOTHER Great Pyrenees rescue–lol that’s a whole new story). Post pictures of your quilts on Facebook. Quilt a quilt on your domestic/longarm machine. Learn to English Paper Piece. This list could go on and on. Until next month’s newsletter-
Stay well and Happy Stitching!
Guild Activities
By Leigh Knox
Helloooooooo out there in newsletter land! I really hope we all get to have a social time/meeting soon. I need quilty friend time. I am one of those that has had to go into the office everyday, and while I love my husband and I enjoy my co-workers, my quilty friends and retreats are what keeps me sane.
So for activities I wanted to let you guys know that GE Designs is hosting another one day quilt-along on Sunday, May 3. If you miss it, you can watch it on Facebook or YouTube later.
This time she is collecting a small donation and she tells you about that in the information.
Here is the link:
Did any of you participate in GE Designs Elvira in March? I decided to at the very last minute and I was determined to just use only my stash. Once it was completed I had to rename mine. I affectionately call her Elvira’s homely cousin (chuckle chuckle). Maybe just maybe I’ll get brave enough to show her sometime at a meeting.
If you see any other quilt-alongs or fun activities on Facebook, please share.
Ok, that is it for me!
Sew on!
Membership
By Sue Rentz and Connie Elliott
Our New Member Retreat, originally scheduled for May 30th, has been postponed until late summer or early fall. We will notify those who have already signed up for the retreat of the new date.
May Birthdays
- Joan Caldwell — 5/2
- Barbara Graves — 5/6
- Sue Rentz — 5/7
- Diana Hafele — 5/8
- Jeanne Fletcher — 5/8
- Tami Marlar — 5/8
- Trudy Gomez — 5/9
- Becky Woods — 5/12
- Tracy Spruell — 5/16
- Laurie Tanas — 5/17
- Elizabeth “Libby” Triolet — 5/18
- Valerie Pearson — 5/19
- Debbie Smith — 5/23
- Lori Hutyra — 5/24
- Deborah Cooley — 5/25
- Emily Hall — 5/25
- Ceidys Butterworth — 5/26
- Nancy Worst — 5/26
- Fonda Brinlee — 5/28
- Joanne Clements — 5/28
- Roxanne Doelling — 5/28
- Joan Hammett — 5/30
- Margaret Lakie — 5/30
Stocking and Pet Beds Report
By Martha O’Grady
Stocking
I know that almost everyone is making masks. If you were worried that this important work might rob time from stockings, don’t because we have met our goal for stockings for our October deadline. Good work, guys!
So, what needs to happen now is that any unfinished stockings need to come back. As you do your “shelter-in-place spring cleaning” look for kits that you may have taken in the past and put them in your “take to guild” basket. I assume you do the same as me. I keep a laundry basket that I put anything I find that I want to take to the guild. In it, I also keep a gift bag for any Chatskis for door prizes. The rest of my life is not very well organized, but that basket is!
In terms of what do I need? I could always use fabric that would make cute stockings. I have plenty of cuff fabric. And I especially need ribbon in red, baby blue, royal blue, navy blue.
Shelter Pet Beds
I must confess that I have not done much with pet beds. I have been leaving the house as little as possible since the shelter-in-place order. As a result, I have been letting the ones that I make pile up. In the stocking fabric, I sometimes find some that would not be good for stockings, and I make bed bags out of these.
I was reading an article that said that shelters are really hurting for volunteers while people are staying home. Also, adoptions are down. Folks are simply not prioritizing the needs of animals over their own in this pandemic.
Tech Corner
By Caroline Gagnon-Hartman
21st Century Radio
The 21st century certainly makes staying at home easier! This month, we’re exploring podcasts. Podcasts are convenient radio shows that you can listen to whenever it’s convenient for you! Here are a few podcasts about quilting:
American Patchwork & Quilting Podcast – “A podcast aimed at making your quilting life more fun and creative, while connecting with quilters just like you.”
Hip to Be a Square Quilting Podcast – “A podcast for quilters and crafters, nerds and geeks.”
Modern Sewciety – “Each episode features someone doing amazing things in the sewing world and you get to hear their story and learn about their passions.”
Craft Industry Alliance – “A recommendation show for creatives.”
Just Wanna Quilt Podcast – “Stories about quilting and explain copyright through the stories, the culture, and the quilting.”
Quilt & Tell – “Tune in every other Wednesday for in-depth discussions about behind-the-scenes topics, the quilting lifestyle, and the conversations that take place between quilters—our craft is part of our identity!”
To search for a podcast topic of your choice, simply enter a keyword in Google’s Podcasts search bar.
Month Meeting Photos
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General Meeting Minutes
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