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May 20, 2025

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2025, challenges, guild business, improv, Library, meeting recaps, Meeting Reminder, MQG, Programs, quilt showcase, QuiltCon, show and tell, workshop

May 2025 Meeting Recap

34 members and 1 guest were at our meeting on Saturday May 17th at the First Lutheran Church in Montclair. Thanks for coming everyone!

Guild Business

Board Elections – The election will take place at the June meeting, which will start at 10 am. The new board will transition prior to the July meeting.
The nominees are:
- President (2-yr term): Ann Marston
- Vice President: Emily Clifford
- Secretary: Kathy Morganroth
- Programs Co-chairs: Holly Finneran & Samantha Linehan
2026 Quilt Showcase Committee – The committee will meet soon. Emily Clifford is the showcase chair. Please contact her if you’d like to join in the fun of making this happen.
We added the QuiltCon 2025 Catalog to our library of quilting books, magazines and rulers. See Caroline at a meeting to borrow.

PLEASE NOTE: Our June meeting will start at 10 am.

MQG Business

QuiltCon 2026 February 19-22 Raleigh, NC.

Challenges and Hotels

2026 Windham Artisan Cotton Fabric Challenge

For this challenge, members must use at least 3 of the 6 challenge fabrics chosen by the QuiltCon 2026 featured speaker, Hillary Goodwin.

American Patchwork & Quilting Diamonds Quilting Challenge

Eligible quilts will have the diamond (rhombus) shape as a primary element of the quilt design. You’ll find lots of examples of this and additional details on the challenge page.

Raleigh Hotel Blocks for 2026

We’ve secured blocks in six hotels for you to choose from. Check out the details on the website.

Community Outreach Challenge QuiltCon 2026

The theme is Medallion quilts, a fun way to work as a group and experiment with different repeating shapes and secondary patterns.
Size constraints of a maximum of 65”x85” and a minimum of 60”x80” must be adhered to.
More info on the MQG’s website.
We want your ideas! Put your thinking cap on and submit a design to the Board for our guild to create using one of these palettes.
Bear in mind that entire color palette must be used, with no additional colors allowed, and broad participation by as many NJMQG members as possible is an essential feature of this challenge.

Call For Entry

MQG is curating a fresh exhibit in partnership with The Dairy Barn Arts Center! This juried exhibit will display the wide variety of talent and innovation happening in modern quilting today.

Submissions will be open April 21, 2025 – June 16, 2025 at 11:59 p.m. Eastern.
There is no submission fee.

Submitted quilts may be in any modern style and may or may not have been exhibited at QuiltCon in the past.
The entries will be juried by MQG staff.
Any MQG member may submit up to 2 quilts to the call.
A limit of 1 quilt per maker will be chosen with a final exhibit of approximately 20 quilts.
Quilts must have been completed within the last 3 years (2023, 2024, 2025).
Quilts must be available to ship to arrive in Athens, Ohio by September 5, 2025.
There is no minimum size for quilt submissions, but the maximum size will be 90″ on any side.

**The June meeting will start at 10 am.**

Programs

Ongoing

Mystery Quilt – Step 4 was emailed May 15th. The reveal will be in October.
Bee Block Party – current blocks will be swapped at the June meeting.
Mini-Quilt “Initial” Challenge – open to all members. Finished quilts are due at the June 21st meeting which starts at 10 am. (Remember to keep it secret until then – no posting on social media!)
- The basic parameters are:
  - Make a mini-quilt, Min 12″ Max 24″ per side. (Does not have to be square.)
  - Choose a main color based on the initial of your first name.
  - Choose an inspiration block based on the initial of your last name.
  - Bring your finished mini to the June meeting (wrapped, to maintain anonymity) where we’ll display them all and vote for Viewers Choice. The winner will receive a prize!
Charity projects will continue to be collected by Kelly for donating to CASA.
Montclair Art Museum field trip to see an exhibit of Montclair collage artist Nanette Carter was planned post-meeting, but we found out at the last minute that the museum was closed to prepare for a gala that evening. (What nerve! Did they check with us? Did they invite us? Hmpf.) We hope to reschedule another day to see it before it closes on July 6.

Upcoming

Felting Workshop with Josie Dakers-Brathwaite on Saturday July 19th at First Lutheran Church of Montclair, 10a-2p. Stay tuned for class registration info.

Reminder: June meeting starts at 10 am

Improv Inspiration

The trunk show by member Carolyn McKibben was a real treat! Carolyn’s work will be displayed in a solo show titled Nature’s Tapestry at the Reeves-Reed Arboretum in Summit June 7 – October. Go see it!

Follow Carolyn on Instagram @quiltergardener

In the beginning…
Carolyn has learned from and been inspired by books by Irene Roderick, Sherri Lynn Wood, Victoria Findlay Wolfe among others.
Quiltcon 2023
“Ms Anglerfish”
Lego Candyland Quiltcon 2023
“Dead Fishes” Quiltcon 2023
Sometimes the back is equally interesting!
“Pollinate This”
“Mojo” at Reeves-Reed until May 23rd.
See this at Reeves-Reed in June
Zephie’s quilt “Rainbow Gelato” which was diplayed at Quiltcon 2025 in the Youth category! You go girl!

Repeat after me: the June meeting starts at 10 am.

Show & Tell

From the Kawandi Workshop with Ellaree Pray – (1) Debbie, (2) Caroline, (3) Sue, (4) Jo Ann. Great work everyone!

Thanks everyone for showing your wonderful work! Jo Ann (1), Sue (2), Ann (3), Betsy V. (4, 5).

Next Meetings

Saturday June 21, 2025 In-person 10a-1p

New meeting time: 10 AM!
Board election
Initial Challenge mini-quilts due & vote for Viewers Choice!

Thursday July 17, 2025 Zoom meeting 7-9p

Thursday August 21, 2025 Zoom meeting 7-9p

See you in June at 10 am!

Have a great Memorial Day weekend!

xo,
Kathy

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NJMQG Secretary

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August 16, 2024

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2024, meeting recaps, Uncategorized

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NJMQG August 2024 Meeting

Greetings everyone!

Our August meeting was held on Zoom 8/15 at 7 pm, with 31 members in attendance.

QuiltCon Registration blues news…

As anyone who tried to register for QuiltCon knows, the system crashed and the MQG has been manually going through all the records to resolve a multitude of issues.

Week of August 19th – Everyone who has registered will receive an updated registration confirmation email. Please see QuiltCon 2025 Registration Update: Next Steps for details on balances due, refunds, and a special cancellation policy through August 22.

Week of August 26th – Registration will reopen for MQG members only – the exact date and time that registration will reopen will be announced in an email to all members at least five days before!

Watch your inbox for that email from MQG!

2025 QuiltCon Community Outreach Quilt

The theme for 2025 is “Lines and Bars”.

A big thank you to all who submitted designs!
The quilt chosen for this year’s entry was designed by our very own Betsy Vinegrad (and is on the cover of the 2024 QuiltCon magazine!), recolored in the 2025 Outreach palette.

Sept – volunteers needed to cut fabric on 9/17 at 11am.
Quilt kits will be distributed at the meeting 9/21.

Oct – Sew blocks, and turn in at meeting 10/19.
Oct-Nov – volunteers needed to assemble quilt top and back.
Nov-Dec – volunteer needed – quilter.
Dec-Jan – volunteer(s) needed to apply binding, sleeve and label.

Many hands make short work of 48 blocks! A volunteer sign-up form will be sent the week of Aug 26. Paula Fleischer is leading the process; contact her with any questions.

Autumn 2025 NJMQG Quilt Showcase

We’re looking for volunteers to form a committee to steer this idea into reality. Ann has a template for the steps based on last year’s showcase, so you’re not starting from scratch. A sign-up form will be sent out soon.

Fundraising

Now that we’ve been approved for a gaming license a world of possibilities opens up for fundraising in conjunction with the Showcase. Thanks for all the great ideas at this month’s meeting! It’s exciting to hear your enthusiasm!

Among the ideas floated:

Make 2 of the Outreach quilts and raffle one.
Distribute raffle ticket books to every member with a requirement to sell all their tickets.
Mini quilts silent auction/raffle.

Programs

Next meeting

In-person Saturday September 21st, 11a-1p at the First Lutheran Church of Montclair.

Sign up for Bee Blocks
Hand in finished Charity Quilts to Kelly
Pockets-to-Go swap
New name tag if you’re working on a swap with someone.
Show & Tell! is back

After the meeting: Free-Motion-Quilting workshop with Jackie Laba and Samantha Linehan.
Sign up here. Cost is $25.

Upcoming

October

Saturday 10/19 – in person meeting
After Meeting: Pleating with Miguel Huidor

November

Saturday 11/16 – in person meeting

December

Saturday 12/7 – Holiday Party

Other Stuff

Book Signing

Jo Ann Lepore will be at Quilts in the Mills Friday Sep 27th (and possibly 28th) to sign advance copies of her forthcoming book Picture Patchwork, published by Fox Chapel Publishers. The show, sponsored by Courthouse Quilters Guild, runs Sep 27-29. Jo Ann’s book is expected to be available from booksellers by early November.

Congrats Jo Ann!

Stars of the Valley Quilt Show

Sponsored by Warwick Valley Quilters, the show runs Oct 19-20. Quilt registrations are due by Sep 7.

Your quilt does not have to be finished to register, you just need to provide a picture of it for identification purposes. You’ll find the registration form on their website.

Bonus: our own Melanie Tuazon will be giving a lecture on Saturday Oct 19 at 1pm, “Planned and Unplanned: Design and Improv in Piecing”.

That’s all for now! See you in September!
Happy sewing!

xo, Kathy

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NJMQG Secretary

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July 6, 2024

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2024, announcements, Bees, challenges, charity, guild business, Library, meeting recaps, MQG, Programs, QuiltCon, show and tell, Uncategorized

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NJMQG June 2024 Guild Meeting

Hello all and happy Summer! Hope you are all staying cool and getting some sewing time in! We had yet another lovely meeting last month. We had 30 members joining us, including a newer member meeting with us in person for the first time. We also welcomed two guests, Joanna and Annette! Hope you join us again soon!

We want to give a special shout out thanks to Aleeda for donating a Keurig machine to the guild. As always we had our free table with a machine Karen brought, that I hope went home with someone. We received the latest copy of Quiltfolk magazine, which can be found in our library. Don’t forget, our library is chock full of books, magazines, patterns, and templates. You just need to check them out with Caroline and you could be on your way to learning something new!

Kelly is working with us on all things charity and we had made about 10 quilt tops that were available to be put together. A few members stayed after to cut batting and backing.

Programs was up next. We are hosting a shibori workshop on July 13, with Miriam Jacobs in Margy’s driveway in Clifton. Paula is coordinating our Community Outreach quilt for this year. The theme is lines and bars. If this strikes any inspiration in you, send in a design idea!! In September we are doing a blind swap for the Pockets to go organizer. If you haven’t bought the pattern, we have a few available for purchase.

The MQG started a quilt label week. The week of June 17, they encouraged everyone to take the time to do that important finishing step of labeling a quilt. If you have taken part, you can tag the MQG and use #labelmyquilts. The MQG Make-a-difference challenge was put out and you can find out more about it here. This year the theme is pollinators. Quiltcon is February 20-23, 2025 in Phoenix, AZ. Registration starts July 31. Set your schedule up now so you’re ready to go! Next years key note is Tara Faughnan. Submissions for the show are from September 1-October 31.

Programs is starting a new set of bee blocks! Keep your eye out for sign ups. It’s a lot of fun and a great way to get blocks for a quilt top. And Mary let us know that the Warwick Valley Guild show is a go in October. Submissions are due by Sept 7, and the quilts need to be dropped off in person on October 7. You can find out more and print the forms from their website!

Congrats to Debby for winning the first raffle prize! and Caroline the 2nd!

Rachel helped run our elections for this year. Ann Marston is continuing her term as president and Annette is staying on as treasurer. We elected all of our newest board members unopposed and unanimously. Let’s give a warm welcome to our new VP, Samantha. Holly is joining Margy in running programs, and Kathy is taking over the role of secretary. (I will miss being a part of the board, but I’m sure I’ll be back) Can’t wait to see what the new board has in store for us.

As tradition goes, the guild works together to make a quilt for the last outgoing president. Big thanks to Lenny who designed the quilt, the members who made blocks and to Krishma for quilting it. What a beautiful collaboration for a beautiful human who led our guild through those weird pandemic years.

Show and Tell Time!

Sam- Sally Tomato Ferris bag printed cork

“Let the Wild Rumpus Start” wall hanging

Debby- Applique learned from JoAnn for 5 yr old grandchild

Annette- from Sunday Quilts for Project Linus

Betsy V- 24″ clam from Latifah Saafir- sew along

Our next two meetings will be over Zoom. Thursday July 18 and August 15 at 7:00. Keep an eye out for the links and as always, don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions, concerns, ideas…

Well folks, that’s all for now. I’m signing off from the secretary duties. It’ll be nice to just be a regular member for a while. Like I said, I’m sure I’ll be back in some capacity, but I’m looking forward to getting back to my sewing machine! Enjoy the rest of the summer! Stay cool! Happy quilting!

-A