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NJMQG Secretary

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July 27, 2022

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2022, challenges, charity, guild business, meeting recaps, MQG, Uncategorized

July 2022 Guild Meeting Recap

Hello quilty friends! We had another successful meeting this month. We had 36 people joining us over Zoom.

This month was our board transition month. Lenny provided us with her last treasurer’s report. Next time we will be hearing from Annette. Sam also lead us through her last slide show presentation of some future programs things, as well as, WIP’s and show and tell. Well, let’s say it’s their last for now…and a warm thanks for your service!

At our in person meeting in June, we had given everyone an NJMQG anniversary pin to celebrate our 10 year! For all the members who were not at the meeting, we mailed you one and you should have received it (fingers crossed). If you are interested in more, we have some for sale. Just $5. Reach out to VP Ann if you are interested.

With more in person things on the horizon, we are reaching out to anyone who needs/wants a name tag. We are pairing up members in August, and are planning on swapping at the in-person October meeting. Please reach out to a board member if you are interested in getting on that list and didn’t get that email.

We are very happy to announce our newest challenge. This one will be fun, and it is going to culminate in a show at Peter’s Valley! Get your ideas in motion…but wait, there are some rules… We are asking members to make a square mini quilt (18-24″ SQUARE). To keep it somewhat “cohesive”, we want a palette of WHITE/CREAM and incorporating 1 button down shirt. And that’s it! Whatever a button down shirt translates to you with white or cream and a square. The google form to sign up was emailed, but if you need it sent again, reach out to a board member. Sign up deadline is August 1. The mini’s need to be handed over by September 27, so they can be hung in time for the opening reception. The show will run for October and November. You are welcome to make more than one AND you have the option to put the quilt up for sale (the gallery is able to help with pricing, too!) If you have any questions, reach out to any board member or Christa. OH! Keep the scraps from your shirt, too. We’ve got another thing up our sleeves (come on, I had to) for those. Stay tuned!

We had requested ideas for the MQG Community Quilt. The theme was Color Shift. The board received a few ideas, and chose a block from a super inspired, Aubrey. We have two color schemes to choose from. We will be sending something out to place your votes, and then will be starting to plan more of the details. Anyone interested in helping in any stage to get it done, let us know. Margy has offered to be the lead for it, but we need as many hands on deck to get kits together, then putting the blocks together, quilting, binding…after all, it is called a community quilt!

Our charity lead, Elinore, has donated 16 more quilts and whole bunch of pillow cases to families through American Friends Service Commitee, Immigrants Rights Program. They were excited to pick out their quilts to help them feel more welcome in their new homes. And we are so happy to have been able to donate to them!

Warwick Valley Quilter’s Guild is once again having their show this October. Submissions are open! Email WarwickValleyQuiltGuild at gmail dot com or member Penny M for more info.

Programs updates! Next month, we will be welcoming Tighe Flanagan for a trunk show during our regular meeting time, August 18 7:15 on Zoom. Then on Saturday August 20 Tighe will be teaching his Ottoman rings pattern over zoom from 10-3. Sign up here

For September we are going to have an open sew on Saturday September 10. On Thursday, September 15, we will have our meeting over Zoom. Saturday September 17 we are holding a workshop with Jacquie Gering.

In October, we are having our class with Mel Beach that was postponed from earlier in the year, as well as, an in person meeting on Saturday October 22. Lots to look forward to and plenty more we are working on through the end of the year and even 2023!

WIPS and Show and Tell

Congrats to this month’s winner… Betsy F!

I hope you are staying healthy and feeling inspired to make some quilts!

Peace
-A

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NJMQG Secretary

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July 7, 2022

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Uncategorized

June 2022 Guild Meeting (in person!!) Recap

Hello friends and happy July! Sorry for the delayed recap, but boy was it ever a fun meeting?! Our first in person meetup of 2022, and it was simply magical to see (and hug) so many old friends, meeting some people face to face for the first time, and meeting new friends, too!

When everyone signed in, we were given a pin to celebrate the beginning of our 10 year anniversary celebration! (Don’t worry if you didn’t get one, we will be sending them out) And if you did get one and want more, we have some for sale, too.

We started a new list for anyone who would like to do a name tag swap (if you are interested you can send an email to any board member and we can set you up with a partner).

There were a few quilts out for display. First we had last years Quiltcon community outreach quilt. Since it didn’t sell at Quiltcon we were going to add it to the donation pile, but it was decided to gift it to a member who needed some extra love and comfort. What better way than a quilt made with love by the guild?

The Warwick Valley guild brought the quilt they have up for raffle with tickets to purchase. (If your interested in more info, check it out here)

Our Connected Project Quilt we did with Berene Campbell, aka Happy Sew Lucky, was also out on view. What a gorgeous quilt! (I’m embarrassed to say my block is still sitting in a UFO pile)

We also had a free table that was chock full of goodies for people sift through and our library out for the perusing.

Our first prize winner of the day was lucky ticket holder, Tari!

In celebration of our 10 years, we had a delicious cake!

The Persimmon pouch swap was a success!

Since it was a party we had some games to play! There were three simultaneous rousing games of ‘Left, Right, Center’ where, Sarah, Claire, and Tari went home with some nice stacks of fat quarters!! Some more lucky ticket holders got some prizes (congrats Pam and Julia) and a we played a Quilty Friend edition of Bingo (congrats to Rochelle) So much fun!!

And one of our favorite parts of guild meetings, showing off our work!

First we started with some WIP’s. This year, programs is encouraging us to get some things done and y’all have been busy! For some incentive we enter everyone who works on, and shows, a WIP into a drawing. Congrats to June’s winner, Karen!

Rebecca’s garden theme Maria Shell kitchen sink

Show and Tell

Debbie made a purse for son’s wedding using sleeves from dress

Rochelle’s Dear Jane quilt as you go ALL by hand- started 2007, finished 2020

Rochelle’s Thoroughly Modern Dear Jane done by machine, 263 blocks. Mark Lipinski fabric

Caroline with one of Mom’s (Dawn) Antique quilts

JoAnn teaching at Gettysburg- own design hexi

JoAnn teaching at Gettysburg-pixelated heart

We had our vote for our new board members last month. We are mostly staying the same, but saying good bye and BIG heartfelt thanks to Lenny and Sam, and welcome Betsy to programs and (welcome back) Annette to treasurer! We hope to continue to bring the guild fun meetings, great workshops and so much more!

We are working behind the scenes on the next Community Outreach quilt (more info here) and a fabulous opportunity with Peter’s Valley. You will be hearing more about all of that at our next guild meeting, Thursday July 21 at 7:15 over Zoom! Until then, stay cool, keep sewing and as always any comments or questions can be sent to any board member at anytime! And if you haven’t checked it out yet, the MQG has updated their website. You might recognize some familiar faces on the front page…

Stay well – Peace – Ciao for niaow

-A

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NJMQG Secretary

Posted on

May 23, 2022

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2022, meeting recaps, Uncategorized

May 2022 Guild Meeting

Hello quilty friends! We had our May meeting over Zoom and 36 people joined.

First things first, we had a bit of guild business to attend to. We have board elections coming up in June. There are two spots opening up and we had two people step up to run for the positions. Thank you to Annette A (for treasurer) and Betsy F (for programs position). If anyone else is interested in helping out the board, we are always looking for people to help. Reach out to any of the current board members and let us know.

Keep an eye out for an update on the Ukraine benefit destash!

The MQG Quiltcon Community Outreach quilt info was sent out, and boy does it look like a fun one! (you can check out the info here) I was inspired to start playing around with some ideas already. For this year’s Community Outreach Challenge, the MQG is asking members to make quilts that show a color shift, or gradient, in the piecing.

From the MQG:
There are two gradients for your group to choose from for the 2023 QuiltCon Community Outreach Challenge. We’ve shown many color stops along the way from one end to the other. Choose your starting point and be sure to use a total of at least three color stops on your gradient. You do not have to use all of the color stops shown, nor are you required to use solids for this project. Get creative with your use of solids and prints. Make it scrappy, or reuse bits from older projects. We can’t wait to see what you come up with.

Option 1: Cool colors from Dark Teal to Lime Green

Option 2: Warm Colors from Eggplant Purple to Pink

This year, we are pleased to announce that guilds will have the opportunity to sell their Community Outreach quilts during QuiltCon to raise funds for the benefit of two charitable programs supported by the Brown Sugar Stitchers Guild of Atlanta: The Carrie Steele Pitts’ Home and the children’s sickle cell disease program at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta.

We are excited to start getting ideas from the guild. We also need someone to be the point person for this committee. Please start thinking about it and reach out if you are inspired or are interested in helping!

There are some fabulous things happening that we are sharing that may be of interest…

Needles & Bolts, A modern quilt shop & haberdashery

Soft opening Memorial Day Weekend, Grand Opening Weekend of June 10-12
Needlesandbolts.com, IG – @needlesandbolts

York Quilters Guild – Quilt Show “Celebration of Quilts”

June 10 9am-7pm, June 11 9am-4pm
York College, York, PA
Judged show, registration is open – celebrationofquilts.com
Same time & location as the Garden Club Flower show

Brandywine Quilters – Methods & Madness Quilt Show

Neumann University Mirenda Center – Aston, PA
July 22 & 23 10am-5pm, July 24 10am-3pm

Warwick Valley Quilters Guild – Stars of the Valley show

NJMQG members are highly encouraged to enter quilts. Forms will be available June 1. Registration starts June 15. Any questions, reach out to Penny (info found in members only section)

We had, self-proclaimed bling/sequin lover, Mel Beach join our meeting. She talked to us about how she uses Fun & Games in Quilting. Like one of her teachers said, “If you had fun, you won” – Mr Aurora.
It really was facinating seeing how she incorporates using dice, cards, word/grid/target games, scratch board and even Lego for literal and abstract interpretation and inspiration. Mel challenges herself to a lot of 100 day projects to keep the creativity flowing and to help get ideas to used for larger projects. If you have a chance you should check out her blog, Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest for more. And we rescheduled our class with Mel for October, so you want to keep an eye out for that! More about the class from her website…

Modern Free Motion Fillers & Fun!

Do you love the look of modern quilts but unsure how best to quilt all that negative space? In this workshop, I’ll share my favorite mark-free, modern quilting motifs involving C-curves, loop de loops, zig zags, and door beads. We’ll explore how simple changes to each of the designs will yield all new filler designs! This is a low-stress and super fun workshop that is perfect for quilters who are new to free-motion quilting, as well as those looking to add new modern designs to their quilting repertoire. You’ll leave with new design ideas, tips and tricks for free motion quilting success, and the confidence to add beautiful, modern quilted texture to your modern quilt tops!

After the lecture we had a programs update…

We got a lovely thank you note from all the fabulous Kennel Quilts you generously made and donated.

Elinore also let us know that we donated another 19 quilts and 8 pillowcases at the end of April! Great work everyone!

This month we only had a few WIP’s submitted. Julia has been working on her blocks from our workshop with Cotton and Bourbon, and Pam C made a beautiful birch tree wall hanging and a very cool quilt for her nephew who graduated from high school. Funny enough, Pam won last month’s prize and this month Julia won!

Our Show and Tell this month was also small. Is everyone saving up to show at next month’s in person meeting?

Runner for friend’s daughter’s wedding gift to match plates on registry

Jackie shared a great quilt she had been working on since Mid Atlantic Mod, but were asked not to share.

A quick reminder that Julia B is inviting people to visit her while she’s recuperating from her accidents. She’s offered up use of her extra sewing machines and hot tub! There was talk of donuts, too? 😛
You can find her info in the members only section.

Our June meeting will be in person and we are excited to be seeing people in person and to celebrate a very special anniversary for our guild. We’ve come a long way since we used to cram ourselves into Rock Paper Scissors, but we are so glad to be here and able to celebrate with you! If you signed up for the Persimmon pouch swap, I hope you are working on it to be ready to swap! (If you can’t make it to the meeting, you can mail it, or try to figure out a way to get it to your partner)

In an effort to be have a little face to face, we have picked some dates that we would like to meet in person. We are mixing it up in hopes to have as many people join us, so we are sticking with our zoom meeting for the third Thursday of the month and in person on Saturdays. Of course we will keep in mind the recommendations of what is going on at the time and realize everyone has a different comfort level, but we are hoping to continue to be able to see each other more in the “real” world. We have some more great lectures planned for some of the zoom meetings.

Hope to see you at our IN PERSON anniversary meeting on June 25 at the Community Church of Cedar Grove, starting at noon. More details to come soon, but be prepared to come with a cup/mug, a fat quarter to play a game with, your pouch swap (if you signed up), and any show and tell you’d like to share with us! As always we hope you are getting your craft on and staying well!

Peace

-A