Members, join your fellow quilters for the annual holiday party. Food and fun will be had by all!

More details to follow.

Speaker Linda Honsberger will present a lecture, "If Our Grandmothers Could Talk" at our June 21st meeting.

This lecture and trunk show depicts the history of quilts, shown from her collection beginning with pre-civil war quilts (circa 1840) through the present day.

Quilting has been a part of Linda Honsberger’s heritage for over 30 years, as she was initially taught by her husband’s grandmother. She then took a four week class in beginning quilting to make sure she had all the basics. Much to her instructor’s dismay, she was more interested in finishing a Log Cabin quilt for her son’s bed than making the assigned pillows. A passion was born that proved to be the beginning of a wonderful and challenging career.

Linda is an American Quilter’s Society Certified Quilt Appraiser. She became certified by AQS in 2001 and since has appraised well over 1000 quilts at such venues as the AQS Show in Paducah, two Antiques Road Shows, various guilds and organizations throughout Wisconsin and surrounding states, as well as for many individuals. She is a past President of PAAQT, Professional Association of Appraisers – Quilted Textiles. and was asked to join the AQS Appraiser Certification Committee which instructs and certifies candidates that are interested in becoming certified quilt appraisers.

She has been a commission quilt maker and restoration expert for over 25 years. Her hand quilting work was sought after and has provided the opportunity to work for such notable professionals as Georgia Bonesteel, Bob and Judie Rothermel, and Ann Fahl. Her work can be seen in “Georgia’s Bright Ideas for Lap Quilting” and Judie’s “Aunt Grace’s Scrapbag”.

She teaches and lectures throughout Wisconsin, including an after school outreach program for kids at San Juan Diego School, classes for the Racine Elementary Schools, the University of Wisconsin Parkside’s outreach program and Wustum Museum of Art also in Racine.

Visit her website at http://www.lindahonsberger.com/

Join us for the May workshop, "Bargello With A Twist", presented by Maggie Ball. 

The Bargello 16-piece block, as featured in Maggie Ball's book Bargello Quilts with a Twist, provides enormous potential for creating original designs. If you've felt intimidated by the Bargello technique of sewing numerous strips together, never fear. To make this easily constructed strip-pieced block, you only need to sew four strips at a time. You will be amazed and delighted by the many possibilities for designing your own unique quilts and students are encouraged to explore a variety of options.

Download the supply list.

More information is available on her website at  http://www.dragonflyquilts.com/classes-detail.php?ID=2.

Our speaker on May 17th will be Maggie Ball.

Maggie began quilting in 1986 and enjoys creating her own designs from elements of traditional patterns. Her award-winning quilts have been exhibited nationally and overseas. Teaching quilting is a natural extension of her passion and she finds it rewarding. Her teaching experience is extensive in the USA, and beyond to the UK and Mongolia, as well as quilting with over 800 children in local schools. She offers a variety of lectures and workshops for quilt guilds, conventions, retreats and stores.

As a volunteer in Mongolia in 2004, Maggie taught quilting to low-income and unemployed women. In 2006 she helped organize the First International Quilt Show there in collaboration with quilters from the UK and Japan. Her association with Mongolian quilters continues and she successfully headed a capital campaign raising $80,000 to purchase a permanent facility for the Mongolian Quilting Center in Ulaanbaatar, where she visited and taught in 2009.

Maggie is the author of four books published by Krause Publications. Creative Quilting with Kids and Patchwork and Quilting with Kids aim to encourage adults to pass on the quilting tradition to the next generation. Traditional Quilts with a Twist contains new patterns derived from the traditional Bear's Paw, Trip Around the World, and Ohio Star. Her most recent book, Bargello Quilts with a Twist, features quilts made from her original, easy to construct, 16-piece Bargello block.

Find more information about Maggie Ball and her quilts at www.dragonflyquilts.com.

Note the date change and the early start time!

(The date was moved one week earlier so members who will be going to AQS Quilt Week in Paducah will be able to attend the VQ Annual Meeting.)

Due to the expected length of the program, there will be NO SHOW AND TELL at this meeting.

Iron Quilter Information

IRON QUILTER quilts are made from the "mystery" fabric that members received at the December and January monthly meetings.  Those quilts, along with any other donated quilts, will be presented to representatives of STABEN HOUSE and EDDIE WASHINGTON HOME during this, our April Meeting.  Every Iron Quilter quilt donated will be entered into the IRON QUILTER CHALLENGE.

Members attending the April meeting will vote for their favorite Quilt. The winning quilter(s) will be the recipient of the first ever
Iron Quilter Quilt trophy!

Our guild has an abundance of talented and generous members, willing to share their tips, tricks, and expertise. For this last program of the season, join us for a round robin in which we will circulate among tables where several members will be teaching their special quilting techniques. Come learn something new and be inspired! The leaders and their sessions will be:

Donna Derstadt - “Quilt on a Chair”

If you were at Quilts From The Village XIII (Quilt Show 2013) you probably remember seeing Donnna’s beautiful covered folding chairs. These were designed by Dianne Springer, and are featured in her book "Scrap-O-Lator Quilts & more". There are several different designs, from scrappy and fun to more sophisticated and formal.  Donna has even done an appliqued version as a special housewarming gift. Donna will demonstrate how to disassemble the chair, prepare the pieced covers, add a little ruffle if desired, and then reassemble.  It's straightforward and fairly easy to do -- but the reassembly is tricky.  She will share her tips and tricks, including how to replace the hardware to make reassembly much easier.

Claire Machinist - “Applying Borders Without Math”

Claire will show her method of measuring border lengths to fit a quilt. No tape measure needed. No math involved. She has had good success using it; and will share her method with us!

Kathy Heusinkveld, Lorraine Potts and Linda Warren - “Lucy Boston Quilt”

Lucy Boston was a quilter in England in the mid 1900s. Kathy Heusinkveld, Lorraine Potts and Linda Warren have been working on their versions of the Lucy Boston Quilt and will be teaching the various aspects of the block. English Paper Piecing, fussy cutting as well as an eye for color and design are the topics for the lesson. It is a project to do by hand anywhere you have a few minutes to spare. Warning: may become addicting!

Maggie Schmude - “Quilting with Templates on a Domestic Machine”

Long arm quilters have long been able to use templates to create great designs on their quilts.  Now, those of us without a long arm can do the same thing, with a specially designed quarter-inch foot made for our machines.  This presentation will discuss the various templates available and how to get the right foot for your machine.  Quilting with several different templates will be demonstrated.  A handout listing sources for feet, templates and teaching videos will be available for guild members interested in further exploring this technique.

This selection of demonstrations promises to be a special experience, you don’t want to miss this one!

Come and learn David Taylor’s special techniques as you make this beautiful, nature-inspired quilt.

David Taylor on the inspiration for “New Hampshire Beauty”: “I was asked by IQA to create a small wall quilt (18 inches square) for the annual "Celebrity Quilter Silent Auction" (their words, not mine). I adapted the pattern from a photo I took of a leaf on one of my annual autumn trips to New Hampshire. Above is the finished quilt titled "New Hampshire Beauty." I used the same techniques I teach in my five-day workshops. The pattern has 53 applique pieces in the leaf alone and the background is a hand-painted fabric I purchased from Patricia Bravo of Art Gallery Quilts.”

Download the supply list here. (pdf file)

David Taylor will present a program titled, “Artistry through Applique”. Join us and learn David’’s process for creating stunning appliqué art quilts that look like paintings using only fabric and thread. From pattern drawing to binding, every step is included. His technique requires only a love of fabric and quilting, and a willingness to spend months on the same project. The lecture is funny and informative. So get your seat today!

David was born in Peterborough, New Hampshire and currently lives in Steamboat Springs, Colorado.

His obsession with fabric began at an early age, salvaging tiny scraps from his mother's sewing area trash bin. This began his love and appreciation for fabric and texture.

David's first quilt design was in 1999, collaborating on a fundraiser project for Strings Music Festival in Steamboat with friend and fellow quilter Madeleine Vail of Clark, CO. Madeleine encouraged him to keep after it.

Following a visit to Houston in 2002 for the International Quilt Festival, his obsession with fabric turned into an obsession for quilting as art. In 2008, he became an ambassador for HandiQuilter and their Sweet Sixteen sit-down quilting machine. He has exhibited his art quilts internationally and teaches at numerous venues throughout the year.

David Taylor is a two-time recipient of the Fairfield Master Award for Contemporary Quilting from the International Quilt Association (2006, 2014), the Brother Wall Machine Workmanship Award from the American Quilters Society (Paducah Quilt Week, 2008), and a two-time Best of Show winner at the IQA's Spring Festival in Chicago (2007, 2008), among many others. See more at www.davidtaylorquilts.com

Brown Bag Hustle is Village Quilters' own auction of items (fabric, books, partially-finished quilts, craft supplies, etc.) donated by members. We encourage you to clean out your stash and bring it that night. No donation has ever been refused! For more info contact Donna Fitzgerald.