November 2024 Meeting
November’s meeting was chockful of information, colorful Show & Tell and sharing our favorite notions!
The last few months were pretty packed, as referenced in an earlier post. We planned a visit to the Heinz History Center to see the Louise Silk exhibit, assembled our annual community charity quilt for the MQG, and set up an Ink Dyeing workshop with WorkshopPgh. The dyeing workshop was sadly postponed, so there may be an opportunity to join when it is rescheduled. We’ll keep you posted.
The announcements for the next few months are fairly heavy, but that’s just because we want to make sure everyone is on the same page! First off, elections! PLEASE consider running for office. All positions are eligible, and president/programs/social media definitely need candidates. No prior experience is needed, and the current officers are are happy to answer any/all questions you may have. The duties for the 2025 officers begins in February, but the current officers are on hand for training and help for any road bumps as you get the feel for the job. PLEASE send nominations for yourself or someone you think would be a great fit to Vivian at vivianbenton@gmail.com by November 30, 2024.
December is next! We have our annual sew day on December 7 from 9am-8pm at Holy Spirit Church. We will be hosting a scissor sharpening vendor, exchanging gifts (optional) and enjoying a potluck while we sew. You can sign up to let the vendor know what tools you are bringing HERE. (Members only, please.) The potluck signup will be through SignUpGenius HERE. Instead of a single item, you can make one of the following to swap: mug rug, needlebook, pincushion, zip pouch, thread catcher, set of (4) coasters. We will provide a brown bag to place your item(s) in. No need to wrap! We’re also sharing the pricing details for the June 2025 retreat in December.
That brings us to January 5, 2025. This is our General meeting, with elections and the Q4 UFO Challenge deadline. If you have any outstanding completed UFOs, please make sure they are submitted by this meeting for credit. We ask that you only bring 4 per person to Show & Tell that day as we believe we will have many to get through. January is also when we will open up the Quilted Coat Workshop up to the general public. More info can be found HERE on that workshop, and we want as many members as possible to be able to take part. Registration will open in January for two events with Tara Faughnan, who is the keynote speaker at QuiltCon this year! We are partnering with Quilt Company East to co-sponsor these events.
90-minute Zoom lecture, Value Creates the Design, 4/21/25 @ 7 PM - Cost $6
6-hour Zoom workshop, Give and Take Quilt, 5/3/2025 - Cost $70
April 2024 Recap - Color Exploration!
April showers bring May flowers, and at our guild meeting April brought a wild array of color ready to be explored. We discussed how to use color, in April and beyond, and challenged ourselves to explore and use color for our Q3 quarterly challenge!
President: reminder that we will not have a meeting in May, since we have the Retreat!
Our Show and Tell is always a great opportunity for members to share what they are working on and have finished! We had multiple beautiful quilts this month, including a comet quilt just in time for the eclipse, and multiple temperature quilts!
Our theme for the April meeting was Color Exploration, and we spent time talking about the color wheel, color theory, and how to easily pull multiple combinations of colors that complement each other for quilts, using existing and shopping for new fabric that complements the projects we have in mind. We did a hands-on exercise in putting together color pallets that complemented or made some fabric we brought in pop.
Overall, it was great to see all the colorful quilts and spend time talking about our approach to color. Our third quarter challenge is about using color pallets, and I can’t wait to see all the colorful quilts our members put together!
February 2024 Recap - All About Scraps!
February is usually a drab, post-holidays blues month, but it took a whole new hue at our latest meeting! It was nice to see the display of colors, as our members showed their latest projects, and brought in their scrappiest quilts!
President: Shared the details of the Retreat (May 3-5th, at the Crestfield Conference Center in Slippery Rock, PA; prices range from $140 for day-retreat with food and no accommodations, to $275 for a single room with accommodations and food included); Registration and Payment are due on Mar. 3rd - register now via the Jan 29th e-mail link, or by clicking “Members Only Content” on the top of this page and “Event Registration”
We also voted for the destination of our community quilt (“Sweater Weather”), which is going to the Children’s Home of Pittsburgh, a local non-profit that works to “promote the health and well-being of infants and children”
Social Media: We will continue to win tickets for the year-end drawing, with two changes: (1) no more paper tickets; tickets will be tallied digitally and (2) a new prize of $200 that can be used towards the retreat or a gift certificate
Program: Asked our members for facilitators for upcoming programs, including: June Round Robin - Surface design (twilling stitch, big stitch, embellishing, couching, fabric painting), Quilted clothing, Pixel quilting, and Quilt design apps
Our February program was All About Scraps, and Mary facilitated discussion on how to store and use scraps! There was a lot of discussion in the room, from how much fabric to save, to how to use it, to differences between traditional and modern scrappy quilting. Thank you so much Mary!
We also asked our members to bring their scrappiest quilts, and look at all the beauties they brought to share:
Quarterly Challenges:
Our 1st Quarterly Challenge is Temperature Quilts, and the last day to bring yours in is on the April meeting
Our 2nd Quarterly Challenge is Scrap Quilts, and we want to see them from May to July. We are looking for a quilted item from the leftover “Scraps” from past quilt projects, utilizing modern characteristics. Your quilt can have a maximum of one new / non-scrap fabric.
As I look ahead to the coming months, I do so with gratitude for the inspiration that our guild brings into our lives. Until the March 3rd meeting, Happy Quilting!