Hello quilting friends! We had our monthly meeting on March 17. We had 38 people joining us and a very special guest speaker.

We started out with a little guild business. The election of board members in coming up in June. As a reminder, the president and treasurer are 2 year commitments and the others are 1 year. The president and treasurer trade off in election years-president in odd years and even for treasurer. This June our treasurer and programs positions will be open. Programs works well being co-chairs. If you are interested or have any questions, please reach out to anyone on the board.

We moved right into our guest speaker, Audrey Esarey of Cotton & Bourbon. “Finding my voice in quilting” was the theme of her lecture and it was fascinating to see the evolution and trajectory of her work over time. She got started quilting after being invited to a class by her, then, future mother-in-law. Inspired by Caryl Bryer Fallert Gentry, Jonathan Lawes, and Nancy Crow, Audrey works with a lot of hand died fabric and curves, but is always interested in challenging herself (and the limits of EQ8). It was lovely having Audrey share with us. We are hosting a workshop with Audrey on April, there are still some spots open. You can sign up here. Come play with foundation and curved paper piecing in the Ultraviolet Radial workshop.

We had an update on our charity quilting. Ellaree made a list of Kennel quilts we know were made. If you made and sent on your own, let Ellaree or a board member know so we can update the tally!

We have started to bring some of our quilts and pillowcases to an amazing place for donations.
The American Friends Service Committee, is a Nobel Peace Prize winning program that has been working with refugees for over 100 years. They are a leader on immigration issues in NJ since the 1980’s, supporting through community organizing, education, advocacy and providing legal representation in immigration cases. The Immigration Rights Program has 2 offices in Newark and 1 in Red Bank. Elinore delivered some quilts that went to displaced families, many with small children, who are dealing with immigration and asylum issues. They are extremely appreciative by the generosity of our members. These quilts will be well loved. Please email Rachel (president at njmqg dot com) or text Elinore (info found in members only section of website) if/when you have quilts or pillowcases to donate. A drop off or pick up can be coordinated.

Next we talked about all things WIP! Anyone who sent in a WIP was entered to win a prize…

This month’s winner of the fabulous Tula Pink Butterfly 2 quilt pattern is… Jackie! Congrats! Can’t wait to see when you finish it 😉

We then moved right along to our Show and Tell

After show and tell we talked quickly about the survey that was going out about getting your opinions on starting up some meetings in person. If you did not get that email, please reach out to anyone on the board and we can forward the link.
Also our MQG Community Outreach group quilt did not sell at Quiltcon, so the board has voted on, and agreed to donating it to AFSC. We’ve had a request from a few more people hoping to see it in person before that happens, so let us know about how you feel in the survey!

If you are interested in sharing a little more about yourself with the guild, please reach out the Aubrey (secretary at njmqg dot com) You can answer some getting to know you questions and be featured on our Instagram page!

Hoping you are all staying healthy and enjoying the spring weather! Warmer days are *hopefully* here to stay for a while!

Until next time, keep on quilting!

Peace,
-A