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!

Wannetta- scraps into pillows and tote
Debby- Applique learned from JoAnn for 5 yr old grandchild

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

April 2024 Guild Meeting Recap

Hello friends! Hope you are all well and able to get some in some quilty time in. Spring is springing, and aside from allergies, I’m grateful to see all the flowers and green, so much green!! We had a lovely April meeting with 25 members joining us. A special welcome to our new members Molly and Sue and our 2 guests Jane and Mary. And congrats to Jeanine welcoming in another grandbaby!

We had a little bit of business to take care of. Annette recap the treasurer’s report for us, and as always if you have any questions you can always reach out. We had a name tag swap, with 22 members taking part. I did not manage to get any pictures of those…As a reminder, we have our free table, anything you bring that doesn’t get taken, please bring it home with you. Since Kelly couldn’t make it to the meeting, we are extending the charity block deadline to our May meeting. The person who makes the most blocks will get a little prize, so get to sewing! This charity block is a quick and easy one.

We pulled our first raffle ticket and congrats to Betsy F for being our first winner of the day.

Also coming up in May, we will be announcing the candidates for the board elections. June is when we will hold our elections, and Rachel has so kindly offered to lead that for us. This will be our first in person election since 2019. The positions we have open are, VP, treasurer, programs and secretary. If you would like to run for a board position, or help out in some other way, we would love to hear from you!

MJ, was our second raffle winner (and again, I missed the photo)

We had some overviews and updates on the Philly field trip, Mid Mod (some pics below) and talked about some upcoming programming. Mark your calendar for some upcoming dates. After our May and June meetings we will have open sew time (Saturdays May 18th and June 15th). Saturday July 13th, there will be a Shibori dying workshop held at Margy’s house in Clifton. Our July and August meetings will be held over Zoom on Thursdays the 18th and 15th, respectively.

On to Show and Tell!

Annette- Libs Elliott Bloem panel

Our most prolific quilter…

Betsy F- Kirsten Fisher bowl
Grandson’s golden bday- Starry night Bloem
Ann- Mid Mod rope bowl class
Alison Glass raw edge reverse applique
Sue- “Karman Line” where our atmosphere ends and space starts
Rebecca- David Owen Hastings quilt as you go coasters
copycat pattern oven mitts
puff quilt class with Gotham
Quilt as you go panels

And congrats to Kathy for winning our last raffle!

After our meeting, we had a great class with Betsy V making the Frost Fanny Pack by Petite Stitchery. Once again I was lax in taking pictures, but I was able to finish mine a few days later… I hope to see more finished ones at our next meeting!

Our next meeting is on Saturday May 18th at 11:00. We will be meeting at our new space at the First Lutheran Church of Montclair, at 153 Park St. Don’t forget to bring any show and tell, charity blocks
and/or any project you’d like to work on during the open sew. See you then! Happy sewing!

-A

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