July 2025 Meeting with Special Guest Kena Dorsey
Welcome to another membership year!
Karen, MQG Area 3 rep:
Karen shared some upcoming changes to MQG summer programs. There won 't be a charity challenge, but there is a sewalong, a fundraising auction for the MQG and changes to the QuiltCon Community Quilt guidelines. Registration for QuiltCon is right around the corner.
President:
Last year's community charity quilt was handed over to the winner of our vote, Hello Neighbor. Our "35 Sisters" bridge quilt is also currently hanging at the Heinz History Center through April 2026. We are taking a break and focusing on local organizations because of the number of contenders when we voted for where to place "High Anxiety". Groups, or pods, will assemble quilts from the donated fabric available and choose the recipient groups. September's sew day will be an opportunity for groups to work together and quilts will need to be completed by the December sew day.
Treasurer:
The final finance report was given for the previous membership year. A modest $7 profit was forecasted last summer, but unexpected expenses from a moldy storage tote required replacing some of our supplies. We also extended an extra deposit for the 2027 Crestfield retreat to ensure it stayed in May. Even with a discounted Zoom package and some donations, we fell short. These expenses will be assessed for the budget for the new membership year and presented in August.
Membership:
We welcome several new members and thank all of the membership for their prompt renewals. The Zeffy renewal system was a welcome shortcut this year and Membership & Social Media really worked hard to make it a smooth option for renewals. We are now at 75 members, a new record!
Programming:
The Eq8 workshop is July 14 - thanks, Kim! We also have Quilt Buddy meetups planned for August. A successful field trip to DC was enjoyed and another field trip to Sue Spargo's studio is in the works. Please RSVP asap. An 8-week quilt swap is also on the calendar for Dec-Jan 2026.
Challenges:
Q2 Challenge was FPP, and was supported by Becky's FPP talk at the May Meeting.
Q3 Challenge is Nostalgia, based on a fond memory that never fails to make you smile.
July Programming:
In collaboration with member TaMara Howard and her Folk Quilts Studio, we are proud to have brought Pittsburgh native, Kena Tangi Dorsey, to the Pittsburgh MQG. We encouraged members of the public to also join us for this presentation. Ms. Dorsey shared a rich slideshow of her beginnings in Pittsburgh, and her work in theater that eventually led her to quilting. Her quilts are inspired by the Harlem Renaissance and weaves traditional symbols and imagery with bold colors and prints. She entertained us with stories of a quilt she made for a friend, also a Pittsbugh native. Can you guess their identity? Ms. Dorsey brought along an assortment of African fabrics that viewers could purchase. Her enthusiasm and expression for her work moved many of us and we are grateful to TaMara and KTD for being able to fit us into her schedule.
Show and Tell
May 2025 - Quilt Show Prep
There are many factors to consider when entering a quilt for a show. Our own member Vivian Benton walked us through the considerations for putting a quilt in a show, with many tips for how to win awards.
Vivian describes what judges look for in a well-made quilt.
Vivian walked us through piecing, pressing, quilting, binding, labels, and judging standards. Our goal this year is for more members to enter quilts in shows, and this presentation gave us all the encouragement to enter our quilts into upcoming shows.
Vivan brought many examples and one lucky member won a quilt!
Show and Tell
April 2025 - FPP and Lettering
Our April meeting had more than 30 people in attendance. We’ve been gaining new members each month. We’re almost at 70 members!
Q1 Challenge - Alternate Grids
The first quarter challenge for Alternate Grids was due. We saw some great entries with a variety of alternate layouts.
There are many potential Sewcial events in the works. Contact Rose at the programs email if you’re interested in any of these activities: Quilt Book and Notion Lending Library; Quilt Buddies member partnerships; a trip to the Sue Spargo workshop in Ohio; overnight trip to Washington, DC to see the quilt exhibition at the Renwick gallery. Check the meeting slides for more details.
Kona Color of the Year Cards
Service Project
We will be doing a service project at the retreat. If you want to contribute to the project outside of the retreat, you can donate materials or finished pillowcases.
We will be using the Burrito Pillowcase Pattern to sew standard size pillowcases to be donated to patients at Children’s Hospital.
Video Tutorial and Printable Pattern:
https://hellosewing.com/how-to-make-a-pillowcase-burrito/
Participation is voluntary*
Contribute by donating fabric and/or by sewing a pillowcase
Fabric requirements
27” X WOF
11” X WOF
2” X WOF
Show and Tell
FPP and Lettering with Becky
Custom Pattern Design
Becky walks us through a hands-on demonstration of turning letters into FPP patterns.
April programming was all about foundation paper piecing design with our own member Becky. She’s been doing FPP for a year, and designed her first pattern after she decided to alter a commercial FPP pattern she was sewing. She stepped us through the basics of how to sew an FPP block. Teen she walked us through how to use software to design a block based off a picture. We finished up with members taking a stab at designing FPP letter blocks in the software.
The presentation was informative and you can check out the details in the slides - available in the members only section.
2025 Q2 Challenge- Foundation Paper Piecing
Create a quilted item using Foundation Paper Piecing. This can be a bag, quilt, or other item. Completed (quilted and bound) quilts due at the July 13th Meeting.
