November 2021 Newsletter

Didn’t we have a wonderful quilt show? It was great to see so many of you in person to visit and catch up on each other’s lives. Thank you to all of you who volunteered to work the quilt show. You did a marvelous job. There were lots of compliments from the vendors and visitors about how friendly and helpful you were. Also, It’s such a great way to meet the new members from the past two years as well as any new members we gained at the show. Don’t know that I’ve seen so many smiling faces in a long time.

The attendance at the quilt show was down from 2019 by about 700 over the two days. However, I was not that disappointed. Coming off the past year and half, being on the weekend of the Texas/OU ballgame, the state fair and kids and grandkids playing ball, I think we did well. I was waiting to see how the turnout would be to see if you are ready to be together again. And you are. I got that loud and clear from a number of you at the quilt show.

I want to acknowledge the show committee – they did a great job of getting their activities done and collectively producing a quilt show. I am so proud of them coming together to do whatever needed to be done. They are the reason for the terrific show. Thank them whenever you get the chance, please. And for the next show, decide you want to be part of it also. We have some changes on the committee, starting with show chair. We are in need of someone coming forward to be the show chair for 2022. Having experience of working on the show committee a couple of times will be a big help in that job. If you are interested, please contact me.

So now it’s time to start thinking about the new year for the guild. We know we already have great programs planned. We will start meeting in person in January 2022. It’s time to pull our community of quilters back together. Let me know if there is something that you would like to see happen with the guild. And then volunteer to be part of making it happen.

Happy Stitching

Zoom Guild Meeting – Thursday, November 11, 2021

Kathy Doughty: Lecture & Slide Presentation – Organic Design

Join Kathy Doughty via Zoom from Australia for a slide show conversation about the making of an appliqué artist. Kathy started as a self-taught quilter frustrated by appliqué failures and became a competent enthusiast. She has gathered lots of methods for making appliqué easy and she happily will share the secrets to taking control of our creative process with appliqué and an open mind to possibilities.

Woo Hoo!! What a show! I’m so proud of the show committee and all the volunteers that showed up to pull this show together. I think they all did a wonderful job. Don’t know when I’ve seen so many happy faces. Everyone seemed to really enjoy being out, talking with friends and buying goodies. (The vendors were very happy too.) Please let the show committee group know how much you enjoyed their efforts this past year, as they tried to figure out if we could do this with the threat of more pandemic scares.

We do have the numbers of people attending the show and it was down from 2019 as I explained in my president’s letter. But I think it was a good number considering the past year or two.

Financials are not yet ready, but should be coming soon. We will be reporting the full year financials soon and the show will look really good on income and light on expenses, because it is. Some of the money from the vendors, sponsors, raffles tickets, etc came in during the fiscal 2021 year. But a lot of the expenses will be in the fiscal 2022 year. We will give an overall picture of the quilt show when all the numbers of crunched. I’m keeping my fingers crossed for a good report.

Our only down side is that we are now looking for a new show chair(s) for 2022. Joan Hammett has stepped down and we need to fill her spot quickly. Since we are going back to having our show in August, we have a shorter turnaround time. However, this is a very strong show committee and they can practically run it by themselves. So I have no doubt that all will work out. If you are interested in being on the committee or being show chair, please contact me. I’ve asked Rose Davis and Linda Neal to help in the selection of the next show chair.

Now that our quilt show is over, it’s time to get back to Community Service. We will be having our 2nd Tuesday Community Service day at Plano Sewing Center starting at 10:00. You can come and sew with us on pre-cut kits or you may drop off/pick up items you have done at home. This is a great way for new members to meet other members. We will also be meeting in December on the 14th.

The community service “stash” is in the process of being moved to our new storage facility in Plano at Alma and Park. We hope this move will make the guild’s fabric more accessible to the membership and for our sew days. We have been getting lots of fabric donations. A big thank you to Sew Let’s Quilt It for the many bolts of backing fabric they have donated.

We have 2 tubs of quilts tops that are in need of quilting. Most of them are long-arm size. We are in the process of piecing the backs and they will soon be ready to go. If you would help with quilting, please send an email to: lindanealmck@hotmail.com and I will arrange a drop off/pick up for you. I have been quilting quite a few, but I can only quilt one at a time!

Michael Davison, VP of Guild Activities, and I are working on a surprise challenge. Stay tuned for more information…… Until then, Happy Sewing!

Friday, November 5th is the Quilts of Valor Sew Day at the Best Little Retreat Center. There are tops to finish up, plus a creative challenge, if that is what interests you. No need to bring anything more than a sewing machine. Or, bring your own project to work on. Just sign up at the Retreat Center website.

Those who have taken star blocks to piece, we’d love to have those turned into the Retreat Center by November 4 so we can sew rows together.

If you have questions, email cosgriff.ce@gmail.com.

SHARE YOUR TALENT!

2022 is coming fast and I’m sure it will be a great year for the Plano Quilt Guild. Among the other exciting things planned there will be a “Share your Talents” opportunity at many of the guild meetings. We need volunteers who are willing to demonstrate a skill with guild members. We will be sharing our skills at a table before the meetings. You can work alone or with a friend. Please volunteer to share your favorite tip or trick!

Contact Cindy Skarin at 515-971-8624 or clsnia@hotmail.com.

Sew Happy Quilt Group – Martha O’Grady

The Sew Happy group meets in person on the 1st Thursday of each month from 9am-4pm at the Sam Johnson Recreation Center, 401 West 16th Street, Plano, TX. Bring your supplies and work on your own projects. Contact Martha O’Grady for info: martha_r_ogrady@yahoo.com or 214-232-6962

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 @ 1-3pm — (Formerly meeting at Sunrise of Plano)
Fourth Friday Featherweight Friends—4th Fridays @ 1-3pm — (Formerly meeting at Best Little Retreat Center in Texas) — Will start to meet all day at the Retreat Center and/or Zoom from 1-3pm

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 – 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

Hand Applique Small group – Linda Neal

We meet the first Monday of each month at 10:00 on Zoom. Our next meeting is October 4th. 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. October 19th 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) 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.

I’m excited to announce that some super fun activities are being planned for 2022 – some of which will be in conjunction with utilizing some Community Services resources. However, with the holidays approaching and gift-giving season upon us, it’s probably best not to launch new projects that might hinder your current ones. SO maybe use this time to enjoy your holiday projects and gear up for guild activity projects at the start of the year!

Some of you worked on the Mystery Blocks that Leigh Knox guided us through. We would love to see those if you would like to send pics to michael@michaelquilts.com.

New Members – don’t forget to take a look at details regarding the New Member Retreat in the Membership section below. I’ll be there, as will many of the VP’s to welcome you with a day of sewing and getting-to-know-you socializing.

The membership table was quite busy during the show. We received 36 new memberships and 30 renewals for the 2021-2022 year. Membership is currently at 262 members, and there are still 47 members whose expiration date was Sept. 30, 2021 who have not yet renewed. Please take the time to send in your registration soon, so you will not miss any of the activities for the upcoming year.

Membership cards through 10-25-21 have been sent to the e-mail address we have for each member. If you have not received yours, and it is not in your junk mail folder, please notify me at membership@qgplano.org.

New members, and those returning after an absence, include:

Jaqueline Bailey, Cynthia Balzer, Stephanie Beaty, Laurie Bechtel, Mary Betzen, Brenda Blair, Cathay Carey, Carlene Chambers, Judy Cleghorn, Julie Cohagan, Marietta Cowan, Jodie Craig, Suzan Crocker, Lisa Donlan, Jamie Engle, Clarissa Fielder, Cynthia Fisher, Kelly Geissler, Nancy Gerler, Malia Graham, Susan Gullord, Martha Harrington, Mary Heaston, Donna Kaminsky, Krystal Kendall, Charlotte Key, Wanda Langforg, Ada Loetzerich, Fran O’Brien, Barbara Pepin, Nancy Prochaska, Susan Robinson, Joyce Rutherford, Dana Ryan, Tanya Stone, Linda Ullom, and Dawn Wester.

Welcome to the Quilters Guild of Plano. I hope you make many new friends and learn even more about quilting through our activities, speakers, workshops and small groups. The most important part is to have fun, whatever you are doing and with whomever you do it.

Since we haven’t been together in so long, you haven’t had a chance to see that some of the members proudly wear a name tag that includes a long column of year bars and some charms and pins. Here’s an explanation to help you get started on your column.

When you do thirty hours of work for the guild you are to receive a year bar. These are free to the member. They hang from a black enamel sewing machine pin, which you purchase for $5. Then if you work at the quilt show at least 4 hours you receive the show charm for that year. (Quilt show work includes making mini quilts, delivery of various tickets and door prizes and selling raffle tickets)

We also award PVSA (Presidential Volunteer Service Awards) pins for total number of hours worked for the guild during the calendar year. These awards were started by President Reagan to honor the American public for all the volunteer work done all over the US. We joined the program at least 11 years ago. For these pins, you work 150 to 249 hours for bronze pin, 250 to 499 hours for silver, 500+ hours for gold pin. When you accumulate over 4000 hours you receive a lifetime pin. Julie Schaefer has graciously kept the count of hours submitted and ordered the pins. It’s been difficult to keep up with our hours the last few years for a couple of reasons. We lost our web page ability for people to enter their own hours and everyone had to track their hours themselves and report to Julie once a year. Then of course, came the pandemic and everyone forgot to count all the hours they were putting in making community service quilts, pillowcases, etc.

Beginning with the January meeting, we will have the 2020 and 2021 bars and charms available to you. Julie Schaefer will be recording your hours and Tisha Harms will have the bars and charms. Hopefully at some point in the near future, we will again have the ability to record our hours on the web site.

We are a non-profit organization and as such depend on the volunteer time of all our members. We need to record them to maintain our status as a non-profit. Please take the time to record your hours and report them at least once a year.

Quilters Guild of Plano, Inc.

Letter from the President

Programs

November

December

Quilt Plano

Community Service

Quilts of Valor

Education