Applique Club Update Summer 2013
Come join the Appliqué Club, next guild year, to make a pretty Spring quilt. The chosen pattern is Songs of Spring by Lori Smith. The pattern features leafy branches with birds, flowersand an urn in twelve block designs. The blocks finish six inches square and are set together into a 25” X 31” quilt. Don’t let the small size frighten you away. The pattern comes with full size appliqué patterns, easy-to-follow instructions and hand appliqué directions.
Beginners are welcome to join in on this project. The monthly meetings will teach basic hand appliqué instructions and provide guidance from more experienced Club members. Over the summer, you will need to purchase the pattern and select a background fabric. The pattern is currently available online from the designer at www.frommyhearttoyourhands.com at a cost of $9.00; or from Primitive Gatherings online, http://www.primitivegatherings.us at the same cost. Some of you may choose to do this is hand dyed wools, rather than quilters cottons.
I hope that you will consider joining our group, as we complete a project together.
Keep Stitching…Pam
Community Education Summer 2013 Update
Char Ison and Barb Grajek have been doing an amazing job at New Hope Residential Home in Mt. Pleasant teaching the girls how to stitch. Lots of progress and good reports coming from that project. If you are interested in volunteering please contact Char.
Discovery Museum – If you get an opportunity to visit the Museum this summer be sure to check out all the amazing quilts that are hanging all over the museum. They love each and everyone one of them. Thanks to all who volunteered for the Alpha and Numbers project.
Libraries – If you are doing some summer cleaning and would like to donate quilt books and/or magazines check to see if the library would like them. Budgets are tight so purchasing magazines and books is getting harder and harder. It’s also a great place for new quilters to check out books before they actually buy their own.
Kids in the Summer – Do you have a neighbor/grandchildren/relative that are out of school for the summer? How about teaching them to make a quilt. Lots of quick quilts located on the internet or check your local quilt shop for upcoming workshops. My six year old grandson, Gunner, is spending time with us this summer and he “helped” me stitch new toss bags for the corn hole game – one set John Deere and the other Farmall! He loved the sound of the machine.
Upcoming Community Education Projects – so far none have been planned for 2013-2014. If you have an idea for a fun project contact one of the MMQG board presidents for details on how to submit your request. We have over $1,000.00 to spend on Community/Education projects so get your thinking caps on and lets get going.
Enjoy your summer – Cathy McCune
Presidents Letter Summer 2013
It is hard to believe that it is June already. Mary and I can’t believe how fast the time goes. We are continuing to learn, more than we want some days! It has been a great year and we are looking forward to next year.
We would like to say thank you to all the member of MMQG for all your help and input. Also, we would like to welcome Rose Pavlik the newest Member at Large and Pat Methner as our new Programs person. We would like to thank Lisa Matthews for choosing to be mentored by Nancy Lucas. We look forward to working together. We still need someone to mentor with Carrie Dunn to learn the committee position for the MMQG Newsletter/Website.
June is the annual potluck and time for all of us to bring our favorite dish to share with all of MMQG members. Please remember to bring a place setting.
For the months of July and August there will not be any meetings. Also something new this summer – Rose Pavlik arranged to have “open sewing” from 5:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. which is the fourth Tuesday for those months. We hope you will attend, if you are interested, and you will have fun and good fellowship.
Enjoy the summer and we will see you in the fall.
Kathy Challenger and Mary Olivieri
Comfort Quilts Summer Update
ONE HUNDRED SIXTY-SIX quilts have been delivered thanks to our guild members! Numbers were determined at the different times of the year when I had enough to make a delivery.
These are the recipients:
Commission on Aging-32,
Harrison Baby Pantry-15,
Clare Hospital-15,
Mt. Pleasant Hospital-15,
Women’s Aid Service-11,
Central Michigan Pregnancy Service-26,
New Hope-15,
Gratiot County Child Advocacy-25
Isabella County Child Advocacy-12.
Thank you all so much for helping to make quilts both at home and at my four bees, Also, thank you for the fabric and batting donations. I want to especially thank Judy Hunt, who made from her own fabrics and batting, 46 quilts!!!
Please reserve these dates for next year’s comfort quilting bees: Oct 12, Nov 16, Feb 1, and Mar 29. Thank you, thank you! You are all such generous and talented people. Sincerely, Linda Craig
May 2013 Guild Meeting and Mini Quilt Auction!
Our May Guild Meeting was our annual MMQG Mini Quilt Auction, this year we had a completely Silent Auction where guild members brought their own items in to be a part of the silent auction to raise money for the MMQG speaker fund. This year the silent auction brought in $732.00 and we want to thank all the members and guests who participated in our auction!
2014 Made In Michigan Quilt Show
March 22 and 23, 2014 at the Commission on Aging. If you would like to participate on the Committee for the Quilt Show, please contact Carol Hackett.
Pam Koppelberger and Roberta Richardson introduced up to the design for the 2014 Made In Michigan Raffle Quilt, they put together a design that would include nine-patch blocks made by guild members. Pam and Roberta provided the background fabric and the members were given guidelines to make the blocks which will be due back at the June meeting. They are planning to the quilt assembled and quilted by August and we can start selling tickets for our upcoming quilt show next year.
Below are a few blocks assembled for the Raffle Quilt.
2014 Raffle Quilt Blocks
Raffle Quilt Design
2014 Raffle Quilt Blocks
Applique club for this guild season met for the last time! Looks like they had a lot of fun with this years design.
Applique Club
Applique Club
Blotto Blocks for May were brought in and the colors are gorgeous! There is no Blotto Block for June so that members can concentrate on making the raffle quilt blocks.
May Blotto Blocks!
Linda brought some of the quilts from her last Comfort Quilts Quilting Bee, Linda’s Parts Department, she had great participation at this quilting bee and has scheduled 4 more quilting bees for our next season. Save the dates:
Oct 12, 2013, Nov 16, 2013, Feb 1, 2014 and Mar 29, 2014.
Comfort Quilts
Comfort Quilts
Remember that our June meeting (June 25, 2013) is a potluck, bring your own dish to pass as well as plate and utensils. This is a big show and tell, so bring your beautiful items to show! The members came together and asked if members could bring a small offering for New Hope girls to buy fabric and supplies to learn to sew next June meeting. This offering is optional, and we are hoping to raise $250.00.
Quilt Raffle blocks are due at the June meeting too!
Summer Open Sewing Drop Ins!
4th Tuesday of July and August at the Commission on Aging from 5:30 – 9:00 pm. Bring your machine and projects and snack. This is optional for those who would like to get together during the summer months when we don’t have guild meetings.
Mini Quilt Auction May 28th at 7pm!
Mini Quilt Auction May 28th 2013.
Our Mini Quilt Auction will be held May 28th, 2013 at the Commission on Aging building in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan at 7pm.
Our auction features items made by our guild members and raises money for our upcoming speakers. This year’s Mini Quilt Auction will be entirely a silent auction and is open to the public.
If you a member and are bringing an item to be auctioned please be at the meeting by 6pm, so we can get your item ready to bid. We are asking members to bring suggested beginning bid prices
with your items.
April 2013 Guild Meeting Recap
For our April 2013 Guild meeting we had presentations from Lesli Petterson & Linda McGibbon who have two very different styles for their quilting. One is a paper piecer and one is a hand appliquer! They brought many of their award winning quilts to show off to us and WOW were they beautiful.
Other news from the night:
Elections for Treasurer, Newsletter and Member at Large will be held at the May Meeting.
Pat Methner has stepped up and decided to do our programs for us! If you have any ideas for future programs, please let her know, or leave your suggestions in our suggestion basket.
Commission on Aging has granted MMQG access to the building for July 23rd and August 27th to have a sew-in, in place of the summer meetings that we do not hold. This will be from 5:30 to 9:00 pm in the same room that we hold our guild meetings. You can bring your machine, or bring a quilt to have help assembling or laying out!
Pat also handed out flyers about the Springs Retreat in October.. click this link to view the flyer.. Springs Retreat October 2013.
Blotto Blocks are under our Blotto Block page for download, and here are some pictures of the sample blocks.
Finally we had member show and tell!
April 2013 Program Notes
April 2013 Program Instructions:
Wool Applique class is $30.00 per class and $12.00 for the kit.
Mariners Compass class is $30.00 per class and $6.00 for the pattern.
If you would like to take both classes there is a $10.00 discount.
If you are interested in signing up for the classes, please contact Shirley Fernbach to sign up and pay for these programs, e-mail: sfernbach@charter.net. Class sign up sheets are available on the website, Class Sign Up Sheet.
President’s Letter Spring 2013
Happy Spring!
Kathy and I are ready for warmer weather with many more sunny days than we have had. Yes we know – April Showers bring May flowers. We are ready for the sun! We continue to enjoy the shared responsibilities, as there is a great deal to manage in the Chair position for MMQG.
We are making progress toward our Guild goals. It is a slow process and each day we are closer to where we believe you, our Guild members, want us to be. We have learned so much and continue to learn more at each meeting. Everything seems to be coming together.
Please know your suggestions and comments are extremely helpful to our Board. It helps us know we are going in the right direction as an organization. As always, the MMQG belongs to you, the members, and we can and will not assume we know what you want.
At our most recent meeting we asked you the think about a few questions. Please give us an answer to the following questions:
1. Why do you attend the Guild meetings?
2. What are you hoping to learn from our meetings?
3. What does belonging to the Mid-Michigan Quilter Guild mean to you?
By answering the questions we can schedule better, efficient, and productive meetings. It is a win/win/win for everyone. You will be proud to “be a member” of the Guild, learn what you want, share what you know, and together we can help our community know we are here. Remember you can email any one of the Board Members, email via website, write a note on a card and put it in the suggestions basket or give one of us a call. We are willing to listen.
We greatly appreciate your patience and cooperation with us.
Mary and Kathy
Applique Club April 2013 Update
Everyone start thinking of ideas for next year applique club. Bring your suggestions to the April or May meeting to discuss with other members. Everyone try and finish up your quilts by the June meeting. It would be a great Show and Tell to show off the Applique Club’s work. – Cindy Darson
Many of you have completed the monthly bird selections, along with additional bird blocks. This appliqué project has been challenging and some of you may have only completed a few blocks. No matter how many birds you have appliquéd, the guild year is drawing to a close and it’s time to think about a project for next year.
A pattern with larger motifs, that lends itself more to beginners, may be in order to bring in new members to the Appliqué Club, as well as, keep the interest of new appliquers. I would like to suggest a couple of quilt patterns for the 2013 club project.
First, My Whimsical Quilt Garden, by Piece ‘O Cake designs, has twenty, ten inch blocks from which to choose. The pattern book is $17.95 and currently available. This pattern could be worked in cottons or wool. Other suggestions include Songs of Spring, by Primitive Gatherings, which has twelve blocks for cotton appliqué that include leaf wreaths with flowers and birds. They also have an American spirit inspired pattern, American Folk Art, consisting of nine blocks. Although made for wool appliqué, the pattern should be adaptable for cotton, needle-turn appliqué. Either pattern is available for $9.00. Finally, a 12-month pattern, A Tisket A Tasket, by Bunnyhill designs, has twelve basket designs. This pattern has more intricate motifs with some embroidery. All of these patterns can be viewed on-line at each company’s respective website.
If anyone else has a suggestion for a pattern for next year’s Appliqué Club project, bring it to the April meeting. Everyone will have a chance to look over the designs, and we will vote on the design at the May meeting.
We will look at our last bird block construction, the goldfinch, during the April meeting. Bring your other completed bluejay block, from March, along with the bird block of your choice for April, to show & tell.
Keep Stitching…Pam
