Guild History - February 2026 Meeting
The history of quilting, modern quilting, the national Modern Quilt Guild, and Pittsburgh Modern Quilt Guild.
New year, new room arrangement.
This was our first meeting trying out new layouts for the space. We moved to the other side of the room and angled the tables so more people could see and be closer to the speaker. We liked being among the members while speaking. We still have some adjustments to make so we’ll keep trying different options until we find the one that works best.
Our first test of the new meeting layout.
For our icebreaker we all got up and moved. We lined up and took a step for each machine we owned, moving forward for variations and backwards for motionless statuses like unthreaded sergers and long-arm quilt racks.
Our machines took us all around the room.
Guild Business
We had 6 new members join our guild, and 5 February membership anniversaries. With the cold weather, there were 19 of us at the meeting in person, but 16 people joined us on zoom.
Our ticket structure is updated with broader opportunities to earn tickets. Check the members only page to see the new ticket list. Since we want to give out many tickets, we also had a surprise ticket opportunity! We gave out tickets to everyone who had on a name tag, with a bonus if it was one you sewed yourself.
Get ready for more surprises at the next meeting. If you want to make your own name badge holder, here is a tutorial from the Coastal Quilters Guild’s April 2023 presentation.
Don’t forget that our Q1 Challenge is the Mulligan! No limits! So finish off those old challenges you never submitted. Try your hand at that challenge you skipped the first time. Go back through the challenge archives and find something you wished you were here for. It’s all fair game if you didn’t already submit it to a show and tell.
Upcoming Meetings and Topics
March: Sew Day
including a call for Scout Project Sewing (see Jan post)
April: All About Charity Quilts
in preparation for the MQG’s release in May
Q2 Challenge: Patriotic - your interpretation
May: No meeting, but Jeni’s is May 4th!
June: Seams Hard To Me
the dreaded y-seam, curved seams, and mitered seams
QuiltCon is this month. Everyone going can meet up there. Check the quiltcon app once it’s available.
The retreat is in May! Get registered now if you want to attend. Payments are due by March 7th. Please make sure you fill out the registration form as well. It’s on the retreat page right before the zeffy payment link.
If you’re submitting an 8” quilt for the Three Rivers show, the labeled quilt is due by the April meeting. Contact Connie at pittsburghmqg@gmail.com if you want instructions. Don’t forget to label your quilt!
Sandy shared the flier for Bayfront Quilt Fest. It’s in Erie in May. Details in events.
Show and Tell
Programming Presentation - Quilting and Guild History
Cheralee presented our program on quilting, modern quilting, and guild history. We got a high-level overview of several thousand years of layers of fabric, sewn together. Quilting has been found all over the world in different formats to suit the needs of the creators.
Our guild started in 2012/2013 just a few short years after the national guild. We met in various spaces around Pittsburgh. The guild started small, as most do. Early meetings had short programs, immediately leading into hands on practice with machines that members brought to every meeting.
The definition of modern quilting has evolved over the years, just as the concept of modern must, by its nature.
PGHMQG has evolved with it, and members can view the slides in the members only area.
Rose discussed the guild retreat and Bernadette explained sew days. Both are great ways our guild gets together to sew and share.
We also included a review of the website. If you don’t routinely check it, remember we post the blog posts that recap our meetings. They are under the Blog menu item and fulfill the same role as a newsletter at other guilds.
We post meeting slides and handouts in the members area. You gain access to this with membership. The password is emailed. Your membership also includes membership in the national guild, and permission to join the private Facebook group. This means you also get early access to register for QuiltCon.
In the members only section you’ll also find links to our bylaws, upcoming events, and the member biographies. Submit your bio for tickets! The archives are linked there as well. If you want to review show and tell photos from previous years, you’ll find them there.
We also post events and announcements in the Facebook group and instagram, as a secondary reminder source.
The main page of the website has a calendar with upcoming events, meetings, leadership meetings, sew days, quilt shows, and QuiltCon. Further descriptions of events and workshops, including sign up information, are under the activities menu.
What’s a Mulligan?
We've received several questions about our new challenge and we wanted to break it down for you.
1) Try any previous challenge with a new, fresh idea, even if you previously completed it. (No limits!)
2) Complete a previous challenge's UFO (never completed or shown at Show & Tell). (No limits!)
We want to recognize any/all efforts so we've set up a sliding scale for the tickets.
Finish an FPP block and decide it's not your thing? Still get a ticket for the block!
Have some Weaving blocks but never assembled them?
Still get 5 tickets for a completed top!
Got your Whole Cloth quilt done, but didn't bind it in time? Still get 10 tickets for finally finishing that UFO!
It's important to get things off your plate. Acknowledging the work we put into stretching our skills and comfort zone is also great for growth as makers. Your fellow guildies can't wait to see what you bring to the next meeting!
**a mulligan is a do-over, famous in golf and Magic the Gathering
January Annual Meeting
Annual meeting: officer elections, ticket drawing, retreat sign up, special Girl Scout Silver Award presentation.
Community Presentation
Cadet Scout Lillie with her service project reusable sanitary napkins and supplies for volunteer sewists.
Our meeting opened with a presentation from Lillie. Lillie is a Girl Scout Cadet. She is working on her Silver Award. Her project is engaging the community about period poverty, where some people are disproportionately affected by the circumstances of menstruation.
Our meeting opened with a presentation from Lillie. Lillie is a Girl Scout Cadet. She is working on her Silver Award. Her project is engaging the community about period poverty, where some people are disproportionately affected by the circumstances of menstruation.
Period Action Day was October 11, 2025. More than 2 million people in Pennsylvania menstruate. One in seven are below the poverty line.
There are 21 states with tax exemptions for menstrual products. They are not covered by Medicare or Medicaid because they are deemed non-essential.
Lillie’s call to action is to create reusable sanitary napkins from the Days for Girls pattern. She is providing materials. The products will be distributed in conjunction with West View Urban Farm.
General Quilting Business
There will be a Southwestern shop hop this year. Local southwest PA shops will be participating. Look for future announcements with details.
Brandywine Valley Quilt Guild has an open submission for their 2026 quilt show. America the Beautiful is their challenge theme. Enter here by April 1st for America the Beautiful and April 15th for their judged show.
Show and Tell
Q4 Challenge
Leadership Elections
Running for the following positions
President - Connie Davies-McFadden
Programs - Cheralee Stover
Treasurer - Christi Welter
Membership - Bernadette Kovac
Social Media - Jennifer Mack
There were no further nominees.
Final Results
38 yes no dissent.
Financials
We added several new members as well as had generous donations to offset the expected shortfall in the 2025/2026 budget. We also had our Jeni’s fundraiser in December.
While we show a surplus now, we expect to pay the MQG at the new rate for 71 members. The remaining funds will go towards meeting space, nominal banking fees to update our address and checks, as well as programming for June. If possible, speakers are planned in April. Our website renews in June, too.
We hope to do another Jeni’s fundraiser and 1-2 small workshops this spring, too.
Quarter 1 Challenge 2026 - Mulligan
Here’s your chance to earn credit for any UFOs you have from previous challenges! If you missed the deadlines, we want to encourage your past efforts. If you don’t have any UFOs, you’re welcome to try out any previous challenge that strikes your fancy. It’s all about getting things done and trying new things in 2026. (This doesn’t apply to completed projects that you brought in for Show & Tell after the initial deadline.)
Tickets:Block -1, Top -5, Completed Project-10 No Limit!
Ticket Drawing
The winner of our ticket drawing was Bernadette. Congratulations!