Our October in-person meeting was held on Saturday October 19, at the First Lutheran Church in Montclair.

2025 Budget Passed

Our treasurer Annette presented the 2025 Budget.

• Dues will remain the same as 2024, at $70 per year and $35 for new members joining after June 30th.
• The Board proposed the 2025 budget be the same as 2024.
• 2025 Budget was passed with show of hands vote, and will be posted on the website in the members-only section.

Bylaws Revisions Passed

In the annual review of the Guild’s Bylaws, the Board proposed a few changes and the revised Bylaws were passed by a show of hands vote. The updated Bylaws will be posted on the website in the members-only section.

Charity Quilts – help needed with labeling

• Labels were available and distributed at the October meeting.
• If you need a label or can help sew labels on the quilts before they are donated, please contact Ann or Kelly.
• Kelly will be collecting finished charity quilts at the November 16th meeting.

QuiltCon 2025

• Hurry! Submissions are open until October 31.
• Volunteer sign-up is open.

Community Outreach Quilt

MidMod 2025 April 4-6 2025

Holiday Party

• Our annual Holiday Party will be on Saturday December 7th, 11a-3p.
• Emily has volunteered to help and we still need a few more volunteers to plan, organize, and execute including menu, activity, setup, cleanup, etc.
  Please contact Ann.

Programs

Bee Block-Party

Bee Block members got a chance to meet up and exchange ideas and information at the meeting.

• All completed blocks should be 12″ x 12″ finished (12.5″ x 12.5″ unfinished).
• Completed blocks due at the in-person meeting Saturday November 16, 2024.

Upcoming

Pleating Workshop Saturday November 16th after the General meeting. $35 for members. There are a few spots left! Sign up here.

Learn techniques to add dimension and texture to your quilts. Miguel will walk you through pintucking, creating improv blocks, and how to quilt and texturize in the final stage. You’ll aim to complete a 16”x16” mini quilt. (See Miguel’s award-winning quilt below in the Warwick Valley winners slideshow below!)

Show & Tell

Thanks to everyone who shared their beautiful work – Karen (#1,2), Carolyn (3), Ceil (4,5,6), Cory (7), Arlene (8), Tanya (9), Pat & Ginny (10), Caroline (11), Emily (12), Susan (13), and Margy, who shared her Alsace-Lorraine quilt experience (14) oh-la-la!

Apologies to our guest, Carol who came all the way from Staten Island and shared her gorgeous quilt coat at our Show & Tell. I was so enthralled I forgot to take a picture!!

Warwick Valley Quilters Show

Congrats to Sue, Miguel, Caroline, Mary, Carol, and Debbie (sorry to anyone I missed!) for their winning quilts in the Stars of the Valley show in Warwick on Oct 19 & 20.

Other Good Stuff Happening

• Montclair Fiber Arts Club – register through Lifelong Montclair to join this group with your needlework at Edgemont Park House 290 Valley Road every other Wednesday 10a-12p.

• Hunterdon Art Museum – 7 Lower Center Street Clinton, NJ 08809, Unblocked: Improvisation and Identity in Contemporary Quilts, now through January 12th, 2025.
  
  Featuring Elizabeth Brandt, Zak Foster, Coulter Fussell, Chawne Kimber, Basil Kincaid, Kwesi O. Kwarteng, Krystle Lemonias, Sarah Nishiura, our own Melanie Tuazon, and Sherri Lynn Wood.

Unblocked brings together a diverse group of artists whose quilts tell stories, express identity, celebrate community, further social justice, and engage in formal design and color investigations. Comfortable with improvisation, these artists use materials that are readily available—often discarded or donated clothing and domestic textiles—and work intuitively, without a structured plan.

Next meetings

Saturday November 16 – in person 11a-1p at the First Lutheran Church of Montclair.

• Bee Block-Party blocks due!
• New name tag if you’re working on a swap with someone.
• Show & Tell!
• Pleating Workshop 1p-4p after the meeting.

Saturday December 7 – in-person Holiday Party

xo,
Kathy

Happy Autumn!

Our first in-person meeting since June was held on Saturday September 21, at the First Lutheran Church in Montclair with 38 members and 2 guests in attendance. Welcome back everyone!

QuiltCon 2025

• Registration woes have been sorted out.
• October 31st deadline for quilt entries. Get those quilts finished!
• Volunteer sign-ups opened September 19th.

QuiltCon Community Outreach Quilt

MidMod 2025 April 4-6 2025

• As a sponsoring guild, 10 spots are reserved for our members to access early registration. NJMQG will hold a lottery to award those 10 spots, and an email with a link to the sign up form was sent to members on September 23rd. Winners pay NJMQG $35 to get their early access code.

• Due to rising costs of the hotel space and, well, everything, we do have a price increase for MOD 2025. The early bird registration fee is $315 and the general registration (for those that do not receive early bird pricing) is $365. General registration spots sell out quickly!

Holiday Party – seeking volunteers

• Our annual Holiday Party will be on Saturday December 7th, 11a-3p.
• We need a few volunteers to help plan, organize, and execute including menu, activity, setup, cleanup, etc. Please contact Ann.

Programs

Pockets-to-Go Swap

• Over a dozen pockets-to-go bags were joyfully exchanged! Nice work everyone!

Bee Block Party

When you sign up for the bee, you will choose a type of block you want to make as well as a color scheme you would like for your quilt. You will be split into groups, then you will make the same 12 inch quilt block for each member of your bee, in their preferred colorway with fabrics from your stash. Your completed blocks will be distributed to all the members of your bee and everyone should have enough to create their own quilt top.

• All completed blocks should be 12″ x 12″ finished (12.5″ x 12.5″ unfinished).
• Saturday September 28th Sign ups end.
• Sunday September 29th Group assignments go out.
• Saturday November 16, 2024 Completed blocks due at the in-person meeting.

Next meetings

Saturday October 19 – In-person 11a-1p at the First Lutheran Church of Montclair.

• Outreach Quilt blocks due
• New name tag if you’re working on a swap with someone.
• Show & Tell!

Saturday November 16 – in person meeting

Saturday December 7 – in-person Holiday Party

Other Good Stuff Happening

• Montclair Fiber Arts Club – register through Lifelong Montclair to join this group with your needlework at Edgemont Park House 290 Valley Road every other Wednesday 10a-12p.

• Hunterdon Art Museum – 7 Lower Center Street Clinton, NJ 08809, Unblocked: Improvisation and Identity in Contemporary Quilts, now through January 12th, 2025.
  
  Featuring Elizabeth Brandt, Zak Foster, Coulter Fussell, Chawne Kimber, Basil Kincaid, Kwesi O. Kwarteng, Krystle Lemonias, Sarah Nishiura, our own Melanie Tuazon, and Sherri Lynn Wood.

Unblocked brings together a diverse group of artists whose quilts tell stories, express identity, celebrate community, further social justice, and engage in formal design and color investigations. Comfortable with improvisation, these artists use materials that are readily available—often discarded or donated clothing and domestic textiles—and work intuitively, without a structured plan.

• Quilts in the Mill – Prallsville Mills – 33 Risler Street (Route 29), Stockton, NJ 08559, Confetti of Color sponsored by Courthouse Quilters Guild, Friday-Sun September 27-29th 2024.
  
  On Fri and Sat, our own Jo Ann Lepore will be signing her newly published book, Picture Patchwork.

• Clifton Quilters Guild – October 17 bus trip to Poconos.

• Stars of the Valley Quilt Show – Sanfordville Elementary School 144 Sanfordville Road, Warwick, New York, Saturday-Sunday, October 19 & 20, sponsored by Warwick Valley Quilters.
  
  At 1p Saturday, Melanie Tuazon will be giving a lecture Planned and Unplanned: Design and Improv in Piecing

Show & Tell

Post-meeting FMQ Workshop

• Jackie and Samantha led this terrific informative class on free-motion quilting, with a ton packed into a few hours. Good job everyone! Practice, practice, practice!

Next meeting

In-person Saturday October 19, 11a-1p at the First Lutheran Church of Montclair.

• Outreach Quilt blocks due
• New name tag if you’re working on a swap with someone.
• Show & Tell!

Happy sewing!

xo,
Kathy