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. 

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?

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