March 2024 Guild Meeting Recap

Hello quilty friends and happy spring! We had an absolutely fabulous meeting at our new space. Thank you to the 38 members and 3 guests we had join us! We want to give a special shout out to those who introduced themselves: Blake (new to quilting but prolific!), Janet (From Colonia), Arlene (a traditional friend), Paula (quilting since 1987), Cecelia (quilting for 30 years), Sue (makes clothing and quilts) and Bonnie (who works with clay). So nice meeting you all and hope to see you again!

We started our meeting off with a little Quitcon recap. We are always so proud to be a guild that has many members who have quilts hanging in the show. Betsy V, had 3 hanging, with 1 winning first prize, for her Windham Fabric challenge quilt, Overprint. Lenny (3), Miguel (2), Melanie, Liz (2), and Juandamarie also had quilts hanging in the show. Congratulations to all! Aleeda metioned this year had the biggest attendance on record for Quiltcon, with 15,000 people attending! Amazing! While some of us were away at Quiltcon, others of us at home took part in an open sew. Quilting friends and sewing, what can be better?

The latest issue of Quiltfolk Magazine was all about NJ. We have a copy of it in our library if you’d like to check it out. Congrats to Krishma, Juandamarie and Aleeda!

Kelly shared with us a charity block we can work on for 2024. Use your stash, those precuts you no longer like or get some fabric from the charity bin and get to sewing! Using 5″ squares, make a 9 block (3×3) and add a 3″ strip to two sides of the block. The finished block should be 16.25″ square. Bring your finished blocks to the April meeting, and there might just be a prize for the person who brings the most in…

Lucky Raffle winners Rebecca, Carolyn, and Tracy

Just some reminders. Caroline Hayes is our librarian and our library cart is always accessible during our in person meetings to borrow books, magazines, patterns and templates. The free table is also always out for our meetings. REMINDER, if you bring something that doesn’t get taken, please bring it back home with you or it will be thrown away!

Besides all the snacks (our “tea party” themed meeting is always one of my faves) Show and Tell is our favorite part of getting together. It’s been a long time and you all did not disappoint!

Casey- Alison Glass Trinket Quilt along- foundation pieced
Blake- offcuts from snowballs
“Disappearing Couch”
“Home Love Fabric Color” wall hanging
Merry Ugly Sweater Star
Based on a painting- Memory of Lambertville
Pretty Little Circles- a study
Holly- first time paper piecing
Karen Fricke- Quilt Arts magazine article
Rachel- Libs Elliott class- will be a cushion cover
coasters with scraps
Jacquie Gering class panel turned Open Wide pouch
Arlene- Ordination Stole
WIP
MJ- baby quilt for neighbor
Ann M- swap received from MQG swap
start of raw edge reverse applique
Betsy V- one of the MANY fanny packs made
based on Carmen Herrara painting
AND handmade shoes!!
Paula F- Bonnie Hunter scrap buster
Rochelle-
Wonky weaves
Robin- handpieced

Remember all those things you brought in to donate to Kelly’s request for the members of the Lakota Tribe? Well, we received the nicest thank you!

After the break we had a skills lab where some of our members showed us some tips and tricks. Thanks to Carol P/quilt sandwich, Margy/flanged binding, Betsy V/hanging sleeve, and Karen F/quilt labels. I sadly did not get any pictures…

Some upcoming things to keep in mind. If you are a new member and need a nametag (or are an old member and want to have a new one) we are doing another nametag swap. The MQG is doing a sew along that starts on April 18. Check it out here. Our next meeting is 1 week later than normal, on April 27 (which just so happens to be my birthday, gifts not necessary, but will be accepted ;P) Betsy will hold a workshop after our meeting to make the Frost Fanny Pack, which you must be signed up for (and paid) to participate in. Sign up here! And as always, the board is planning ahead, so keep and eye out for more great opportunities to participate in!

Spring is springing! Happy sewing!

-A

February 2024 Guild Meeting Recap

Hello again, so soon! On February 15 we had our monthly meeting over Zoom. We had 27 members joining us. We welcomed new members Charlotte, Blake and Janet. Hope to see you all again soon, and get to know you better at our in person meetings!

We let everyone know that the welcome email went out with the updated password for the members only section of our website, a calendar of events, with some changes of our April class and guild meeting. If you haven’t received any of the emails or need any information, don’t hesitate to reach out to a board member.

Our next meeting will be in person on March 16 at 11:00 at the First Lutheran Church in Montclair. We will start off with some guild business as usual and we will have a skills lab where some members will be sharing some skills with us. There will be plenty of time for open sew and/or hanging out too. Hope to see you there!

After Annette gave us a quick recap of the treasurer’s report, we had another great lecture this month. We welcomed Kirsten Fisher, who is the co-president of the Brooklyn guild. She told us all about her fabric bowl and how they are made. She shared so many examples, it was fascinating! We had to cancel the scheduled class with her, but are hoping we can host her to teach us how to make them someday.

We put out some feelers about a possible field trip. Tuesday March 26, we are thinking of doing a field trip of sorts to Philly to check out a cool exhibit, have a yummy lunch, and hit up our friend’s fabric shop. Anyone interested, send an email to programs!

Well, that’s all for now. Spring is in the air and it is invigorating! Hope to see you all at our March meeting! Bring a snack or drink to share, a project to work on, your good old fabulous self! See you soon!

-A

December 2023 Holiday Party Recap

Hello! Happy New Year! (can I still say that this far into the month) Apologies for the constant late recaps and updates, but you know…life happens… In December we held our annual holiday party, which never disappoints! We had a lovely meetup with 31 members, 3 guests, and 4 little friends joining us.

First raffle winner
Debby C- Bernie the cat
Sam- got Debbie’s mini in a swap
Amazing Hanukkah sign for friend (each one of those is a Bitzie Box pouch to hold goodies)
Jo Ann- Christmas Crazy
Carol M-
Karen J- pillow for son made with fabric from free table “Blessings”
Pat B- Hat made from wool left on free table
Annette- stack and whack for Project Linus
Karen F second raffle winner
Working with velvet, florals and pleating
Zeffi- first quilt
Elinore, another lucky winner
Pat won too!

Miguel H- having fun with pintucks, 80’s graphics, maximal/minimal and EPP

A fun game of BINGO!!

Annette won the first round!
Karen got a little too confident and faked us out keeping us on our toes…

And I didn’t even get a picture of the winner… but we played a fun game of LRC, too! It is always fun to listen in on that!

We would like to thank the members who helped organize the party, as well as, the members who came out to have some fun with us. We hope you are staying warm and working on lots of projects! Don’t forget to label and take pictures or save them up to be shared at our in person meetings!

Happy sewing!

-A