Newsletters

January 2022 Newsletter

Posted on January 1, 2022 by Media

Here goes:

I wish for the guild—

A membership ready to come back and participate in all the facets of the guild
The ability for meetings to be in person and zoom to retain all the possible membership
A membership that will find a “new” normal and will rebuild their community

I wish for the members---

Finding joy again in participating in a guild
An open mind to find a “new” normal so that we can become our quilting community again.
The ability to stay well and deal with the Covid 19 virus and all it’s mutations
The willingness to step up and volunteer again. We have isolated too long

I hope all of you have had a wonderful holiday season. Let’s look forward to a better new year. May your year be filled with wonder and joy. Happy New Year!

Join Jenni Smith via Zoom from the United Kingdom for a presentation about the making her book Quilting with Liberty Fabrics.

Jenni is the first person to have produced a quilting book in collaboration with Liberty London – the iconic British Brand renowned for their beautiful fabrics including Tana Lawn.

She is offering your Guild the unique experience of a lecture about the making of this book – which was newly released in 2021 and is now selling worldwide. It comes with a cloth bound spine and beautiful slipcase and is a little bit special – here is why…

Liberty as a company is 145 years old and Jenni is an Art Historian by trade so each quilt in the book represents a decade in the history of one of the world’smost famous fabric manufacturers.

The lecture is a visual feast from Victorian England to the current day, celebrating art and craftsmanship via Arthur Liberty, William Morris and pioneering members of the Liberty Design Studio.

Jenni Smith is a UK-based pattern designer and author of the book Quilting with Liberty Fabrics. Her online video tutorials are loved by makers worldwide. She is very passionate about getting people started on their dressmaking and quilting journeys with her fun, energetic and down-to-earth approach to teaching.

Julie Silber: Lecture – Show Me – Antique Quilt Trunk Show

Julie Silber is one of the world’s most respected quilt experts. She has been selling antique quilts to museums, businesses, and individuals since 1968. Julie was the curator of the world renowned Esprit Quilt Collection in San Francisco and is the co-author of the critically acclaimed books, Hearts and Hands and Amish: The Art of the Quilt. She has curated two of the most respected quilt exhibitions of modern times — those at The Oakland Museum and the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco.

Julie Silber Quilts provides an exceptional range of quilt related services to museums, collectors, dealers, individuals, and quilt guilds. We specialize in buying, selling and appraising antique quilts made between 1780 and 1950. We also offer antique quilt “exhibition packages” for museums and quilt events. Our exhibitions have enjoyed both critical and popular acclaim, nationally and internationally. Julie is a well known, acknowledged expert in the field of appraising antique and vintage quilts.

As a long time collector and dealer, as well as the caretaker of several other quilt collections, Julie has had access to some of the greatest antique quilts ever made.

Her lecture will feature extraordinary historic quilts, some of them never published or exhibited before. Examples include true Baltimore Album Quilts, other Pre-Civil War quilts, museum quality Amish quilts, Depression-era examples, quilts with tens of thousands of tiny pieces, and unique pictorial and other one-of-a-kind quilts.

Quilt Show

By Carolyn Cosgriff

Quilt Plano 2022 will be August 12th and 13th. Mark your calendars!

The Event Center contract is signed, the logo complete, and the judges selected. The book marks and raffle bags publicity materials are in process. Some minis have already been submitted!

There are still a few committee roles to be filled. Contact me at Cosgriff.ce@Gmail.com if you’d like to get involved. It’s a great way to get to know people. Show committee meetings will be via Zoom, starting Monday January 17th at 7 pm.

Community Service

By Linda Neal

The next Community Service sit and sew/ Community Service drop off day at Plano Sewing Center will be January 11 from 10AM to 2PM. We will be piecing “Sherry’s Cats.” Join us for a fun day of sewing! Bring a sack lunch, sewing machine, and basic sewing supplies. I will also be there to accept anything you want to drop off for Community service. We have pillowcase kits ready to be sewn.

The Storage unit that holds the Community Service fabric is working out really well. It is convenient and temperature controlled. If you are working on a community service project and need fabric or batting, please let me know and I can meet you there.

Community Service/Guild Activity Panel Challenge

Community Service and Guild Activities are joining together for a Panel Challenge. At the December meeting I gave out preprinted panels and asked members to add to the panels to make a usable size top for community service. The tops are due by the May meeting, but may be turned in at any time. Please pin a piece of paper with your name, contact information, and size top to your entry. All entries received by the May meeting will be entered into a drawing. I have a few panels left that I will give out until they are gone at the Tuesday sit and sew at Plano Sewing Center or at the January guild meeting. You may also use a panel of your own, if you would donate the top to Community Service. The idea of the challenge is to come up with a creative way to use a pre-printed panel and inspire others. We all have lots of panels in out stashes and we don’t know what to do with them! You may choose to quilt your top, but it is not required. It would be helpful if you would include strips of matching binding. Please let me know if you have any questions -- lindanealmck@hotmail.com

Quilts of Valor

By Carolyn Cosgriff

2021 Wrap Up: Our Guild’s formal association with the Quilts of Valor began with a March, 2021 program by Suzanne DiCarlo, now the Texas Coordinator for the Foundation. Since March, Guild members have contributed 32 tops and quilts. While some quilters have worked on multiple projects, a huge thank you goes out to all the many people who have supported the cause. Further, many kudos for the wonderful composition and quality of workmanship that has been submitted. It’s a joy to present your quilts.

We have awarded 26 quilts, 20 we made plus six from Suzanne’s collection. The quilts have been awarded in 5 ceremonies, ranging from large groups to a single gentleman. Plus, we sent six to San Antonio, to a group that has a huge backlog due to the heavy military presence in the area. Two quilts were sent to the center supporting the healing of abused service women.

There are two quilts in members’ hands for quilting and four in inventory. At this moment (it can change quickly), there are seven requests on our list. One of the many blessings of having a few extra quilts, is that we can give the service members an opportunity to choose their quilt. Some are immediately drawn to one; others ponder over the decision.

Here’s a picture of the December award ceremony that was held at the Dallas VFW Hall.

Worker Bees - Sharon McGinnis

Join us on January 18 at 6:30 pm. Come enjoy being with other quilters from the comfort of your home. We will share tips and tricks, answer questions about your project, have show and tell, and encourage each other. Contact Sharon McGinnis at sharon.mcginnis@verison.net for Zoom login information.

Sew Happy Quilt Group - Aurora Chancy

We meet at Sam Johnson Senior Center corner of 75 and 16th first Thursdays 9:00 to 2:00. We are a sit-n-sew, so bring your favorite project and enjoy the fellowship! Contact Aurora Chancy achancy@msn.com

Featherweight Fellowship Groups - Jeanne Vogel

Singer Featherweight sewing machines make 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 Zooming 1-3pm — (Formerly at Sunrise of Plano)
Fourth Friday Featherweight Friends—4th Fridays @ 1-3pm on Zoom or in person meeting at Best Little Retreat Center in Texas all day.

Pieceful Organization - Sarah Krauss & Jeanne Vogel (Now we will meet twice a month!)

If you are feeling “abode overload," we will: relieve clutter, stress, struggle and feelings of being overwhelmed. 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. Please contact pickincotton26@verizon.net for an 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 1:00 – 3:00 (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

Hand Applique Small group - Linda Neal

We meet the first Monday of each month at 10:00 on Zoom. Our next meetings are January 3rd and February 7th. We work on our individual projects and offer encouragement with lots of hints and tricks. If you are interested in joining our hand applique Zoom group, please email Linda Neal (lindanealmck@hotmail.com) for the link.

English Paper Piecing Small Group - Linda Neal

We meet on the third Tuesday at 10:00 on Zoom. January 18th and February 15 are our next meetings. 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) for the link.

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.

We currently have 268 members. Only 71 have put their profile info into the new database. Please go to the website, click on Membership, then Member Account and sign in. Can’t remember your user name or password? Send an e-mail to webmaster@qgplano.org.

It is your profile that includes your address, birthday (month and day only–do not include the year!), phone number etc. As well as a little bit about yourself if you wish. Please add a recent photo as well. I’m having one taken today to add to the website.

December 2021 Newsletter

Posted on November 28, 2021December 2, 2021 by Media

Wow—this was a fast month. I just turned around from the quilt show and it’s time for Thanksgiving. I hope all of you are enjoying the season and getting ready for all the holidays.

Board members had a good time meeting some of our new members from the past two years at our new member sew day at the retreat center. I’m looking forward to the next one to meet some of the new members who joined at the quilt show. Welcome to all of you. Since we will start meeting in person again in December, we will get a chance to meet all of you and put names and faces together.

Speaking of that, please go into your profile on the website and update all your information and post a new picture. We have a membership of over 260 right now, but until you complete your profile and click on the share button, we won’t see you.

I know that December is usually a month without high attendance. I’m hoping that you will be excited enough to come back to guild that you will attend. It’s a chance to see everyone again and to find out more about the fun panel challenge that Linda and Michael are planning. I have several panels at home that I’ve been planning to work on so I’m going to work on them along with this challenge.

We are also testing the ability to do both live meeting and Zoom. We have a number of members who won’t drive at night any longer and members who don’t live in the area. If we can manage to still Zoom with them, they can stay connected to the guild.

Unfortunately, this year we will not do refreshments at the December meeting as we have in the past. Covid has changed our lives. Perhaps next year, we can figure out what to do and how to do it safely.

Happy Thanksgiving. Until we meet again, stay safe and enjoy the holidays with those near and dear to you.

Join Jenni Smith via Zoom from the United Kingdom for a presentation about the making of her book Quilting with Liberty Fabrics.

Jenni is the first person to have produced a quilting book in collaboration with Liberty London – the iconic British Brand renowned for their beautiful fabrics including Tana Lawn.

She is offering your Guild the unique experience of a lecture about the making of this book – which is newly released in 2021 and now selling worldwide. It comes with a cloth bound spine and beautiful slipcase and is a little bit special –- here is why…

Liberty as a company is 145 years old and Jenni is an Art Historian by trade so each quilt in the book represents a decade in the history of one of the world’s most famous fabric manufacturers.

The lecture is a visual feast from Victorian England to the current day, celebrating art and craftsmanship via Arthur Liberty, William Morris and pioneering members of the Liberty Design Studio.

It seems like the Show was just weeks ago. It was, and it’s time to start again! It is going to be a short year as we return to August 12-13, 2022. We’ll start in full force in January. Committee work is already started; the artwork, judging, and raffle are all in progress.

We are thrilled with the number and experience of those serving on the Show Committee this year. There are a couple of “Entry Level” positions available, perfect if you’ve never worked the Show before. It’s a great way to meet new friends.

Minis (no side measures more than 24”) are already being collected. The Auction is a fundraiser that helps fund our guild activities--creativity and attention to detail will increase the desirability of your work.

Pick a Panel Challenge

The December in person guild meeting will be the kick off for the “Pick a Panel” challenge. This is a joint challenge with Michael Davison, VP of Guild Activities. I know the thought of starting anything around the holidays is challenging, but this is the best time since we will be meeting in person. Community Service has a tub full of wonderful panels. The challenge is to pick a panel and to make a top for community service by adding other blocks/strips of fabric to make it a “usable size.” I will be bringing pre-cut fabrics along with the panels or you can use your own scraps. You may also use a panel of your own for the challenge and then donate the top to Community Service. Panel quilts are really popular and there are many patterns/samples showing quilt tops made with panels.

The challenge will end at the May guild meeting since that meeting will be in person. (Quilt show roll out meeting.) Entries can be turned in to Michael Davison, VP of Guild activities, or Linda Neal, VP of Community Service, anytime before the May meeting. Please use a safety pin with a piece of paper with your name and the size of the top. If possible, include fabric for binding. Each top completed will be entered into a drawing for a prize at the May meeting. You do not have to quilt the tops, but it is fine if you do. You do not need to be present at the May meeting to win. Each guild member may enter up to 2 times. Please contact Linda Neal or Michael Davison if you have any questions.

Community Service

We had a great turn out at the November 9th Community Service sit/sew/drop-off day. We had many completed quilts turned as well as stockings, tops, etc. We will be having another Community Service sit/sew/drop-off day on December 14th from 10AM-2PM at the Plano Sewing Center. We will have quilts that need binding and quilts for long armers to quilt ready to be given out. I have been quilting as many as I can, but I could use some help!!! As always we will be there to accept anything you need to turn in to Community Service. Thank you to all of the members who have contributed their time to community service.