June 2017

June Speaker: Linda Halpin, Quilting with Laura Ingalls Wilder
Tuesday, June 20, 2017, 7:00pm - 9:00pm

February 7 marked the 150th anniversary of Laura Ingalls Wilder's birth, and for Little House on the Prairie fans, this is a year marked with celebrations. On July 12-14, Laurapalooza , the conference for all things Little House related, will be held in Springfield, Missouri. Join us for our celebratory June program, Quilting with Laura Ingalls Wilder: The Story of Quilting in the Years of Laura’s Youth, presented by Linda Halpin.

Linda Halpin has long been fascinated by Laura Ingalls Wilder. She has written seven quilt books, one which is a collection of patterns inspired by Laura’s adventures. She also has been commissioned to make several quilts with a Laura Ingalls Wilder theme. Linda’s trunk and slide show will illustrate quilts as Laura would have known them, tracing the history of quilt making during Laura’s life. This presentation will include Civil War era quilts as well as reproductions quilts and contemporary quilts from Linda’s collection.

Linda is certified by the Embroiderer’s Guild of America as an Instructor in Quilt making, and has been teaching quilt making for over forty years. She is the author of seven quilt making books, has served as chairman for several national associations, curated numerous quilt exhibits and has judged at regional exhibits. If you would like to learn more about Linda, check out her website at www.lindahalpin.com.

Workshop: Spot on Quilt, Linda Halpin
June 21, 2017, 9:00am - 4:00pm

Curves, ever so enticing, can be tricky to piece. Welcome to “Spot On”, the class where curves are created in a whole new way. There is not a single curved pieced seam in this quilt. Try Linda’s revolutionary way to create curves that can be done in half the time of traditional piecing and is much more accurate.

In this workshop, Linda will help you will fine tune your piecing skills as well as your fabric selection skills. This workshop is good for all levels of experience, and you will use up some of your SCRAPS! The workshop begins at 9:00, but show up a little bit early to set up so that you are ready to begin at 9:00. There will be a thirty minute lunch break; bring a sack lunch. There is a $5.00 handout fee, which you will pay to the instructor on the day of the workshop.

The class sample is a 32” X 48” wall hanging. The instruction packet will have information for multiple size options so you can make the quilt as big as you want.

President's Letter

The official start of summer is yet to come, but for many of us Memorial Day kicks off our summer activities. Gardens draw our attention, and dinner preparation has moved outside to the grill. Some of us are spending time keeping up with our Cubs, either at home or at Wrigley Field.

Meanwhile, our Quilt Show committee is busy preparing for another exciting and beautiful show. Our raffle quilt is getting a lot of attention. It will be displayed at several new venues this summer. Thank you to those who have volunteered to sell tickets.

We need a few people to volunteer to organize our Holiday Party in December and Spring Pot Luck. In the past, these events have been planned by one of our quilting bees. However, it only takes a few people to divide up the tasks. Please see me for details.

Our workshop programs need more attendees. Please go to our web site to review the exciting line up of teachers that are coming to our guild. If you are not familiar with their work, there is a link to their web sites. We have the luxury of taking classes from these very talented teachers without travelling to Paducah or Houston. If you have any questions, please contact Marti Austin.

Happy Quilting,
Barbara

Treasurer's Report

Balance on 5/1/17: $27,004.26
Income (3/28/17 – 5/22/17): $ 2581.93
Expenses (3/28/17 – 5/22/17): $ 694.67
Balance as of 5/25/17: $28,891.52

Income for this period included membership renewals, member raffle ticket purchases, traveling raffle ticket sales, member workshop fees, quilt show vendors, May meeting guests.

Expenses for this period included Domain name/squarespace renewals, Jerry Hug - May presenter, PO Box fee

The May workshop brought in $500.
Costs were $457.50 plus expenses

Submitted by Judi Young, treasurer

Notes from Jerry Hug

Our May speaker, Jerry Hug, showed us two types of battery operated LED lights:

* Neewer - CN-160 LED VIDEO LIGHT, $28.95 from Amazon

* Limelite Mosaic Solo On-Camera LED Light Video Lighting, about $50 from Amazon 

During the workshop he also showed us a smartphone mount which allowed us to attach the phone to a tripod or compatible device, the GripTight ONE Mount made by Joby  that folds flat. The same company makes a series of small, flexible tripods. Another smartphone mount that may work with larger phones is the Glif from Studio Neat.

(Editor's note: the original publication of this newsletter included a link to Jerry's class notes. He asked us not to share these publicly so we have removed the link.)

Great Workshops Coming Up!

We have a wonderful lineup of programs set up for the year ahead, but most of the workshops have many spaces still available. These workshops are led by expert instructors and are a real deal at $50, especially as they are presented locally. Enjoy a day of quilting with friends and learn new techniques.

Please take a moment to look through the offerings and if you are at all interested, consider signing up for a workshop. Information about the workshops and pictures of sample projects are available at villagequilters.org/workshops and you can register online. A list of this year’s offerings:

June: Spot on Quilt, Linda Halpin
July: Fusing and Fabric Painting to Create Realistic Fabric Art, Lenore Crawford
August: Hexagons!, Dawn Cook Ronningen
October: Tiny Visions, Denise Halvan
March: Double Pointed Dresdens; Design Your Own (or not), Susan Cleveland

Service Update

You might ask, "So, what happens to the Quilts of Valor that we make?" This month, we are providing some photos of the awarding of a Quilt of Valor made by guild member Sylvia Bath.  A non-profit organization called “A Soldiers Journey Home” built a home for an Army veteran in Spring Grove, IL from May 11-20.  When Tony received the keys to his new home on Saturday May 20, he was awarded a Quilt of Valor created by Sylvia.  I love the photo of the hug after Sylvia wrapped Tony in the quilt she made for him.  When visitors were allowed in the house, after Tony and his family saw their new home, his Quilt of Valor was prominently displayed on the back of the sofa.  Eighteen other veterans who volunteered for the build also were awarded Quilts of Valor.  More photos can be seen on the Land of Lincoln Quilts of Valor blog —check out the post for May 21.

We are still accepting nominations for veterans to receive quilts at the quilt show.  We have received six names to date; we will take up to 20 nominations. You can find the nomination form on our web site.

Service Committee,
Deb Sherrock and Cheryl Mercy

Quilt Show Updates

Boutique

First of all, we would like to say a big THANK YOU to all the members who have contributed items to the boutique and/or who came to the workshop and gave of their time. We are growing an inventory that is varied and interesting. We passed a sheet around at the last meeting and have the promise of much more. Thank you in advance.

We will be sending the sheet around at the next few meetings to remind everyone of what they signed up for and in case some members missed the sheet.

At this time, we have only seven members who have signed up to vend their items at the show. It would be nice to have a few more. If you are at all interested, please, consider this way to help the guild and make a bit for yourself in the process. We will be having a meeting with the vendors sometime in the summer.

We will be accepting donated items at each meeting until the show and if you cannot make it to a meeting, call one of us to arrange for a pick up.

 Linda Warren and Mary Dietz

Silent Auction

Quilters! Summertime is here! Please take a little while from gardening and outdoor fun to make an item for the Silent Auction. We have already received some lovely items, but we could use more. It would be great if each guild member would contribute at least one small item. This is an important fund raiser. So—enjoy the summer, but don't forget your guild needs your Silent Auction item.  

Quilt Appraisals at Quilts from the Village XV

I am pleased to announce that Sandy Schweitzer, AQS Certied Quilt Appraiser, will once again be at our quilt show conducting quilt appraisals. You can sign up at our regular meetings beginning in June and up to the days of the show. Look for me at a table by the entrance to sign up. Appraisals take approximately thirty minutes and each appraisal is $50.00; Sandy donates $5.00 from each appraisal back to our guild. Most of us in the guild have been creating quilts for many years.

Are you aware of the value of your quilts? Many quilters are pleasantly surprised when they get their rst quilt appraisal—the replacement value can be thousands of dollars. According to Sandy, “Without a written appraisal your insurance replacement value, should one of your quilts be lost or damaged, will be equal to the cost of a purchased quilt or ‘blanket’ from a retail chain.” Our quilts are worth much more than the cost of a store-bought “blanket.”

Quilts are appraised for one of three reasons: Insurance (replacement value); fair market (comparable sales value); and donation (comparable sales value).

Please call or email me to sign up for a quilt appraisal  or see me at a Village Quilters meeting. You can also contact me if you have any questions.

Judy Hillebrand

To Remember This Month!

Raffle Tickets

If you haven’t yet picked up your raffle tickets, bring your $25 this month. Dee and Kathy will be at the meeting with your packet ready to go. If you have sold all your tickets already and need more, additional tickets can be purchased in groups of 6 for $5 at the meeting as well.

Birthday Blocks

Don’t forget to bring your birthday block for Linda Warren, our sole participating June birthday girl.

If you have fallen a bit behind, June and July (which has no birthday blocks due) would be a good time to get caught up! You may mail any overdue blocks to the member, who is no doubt waiting for the block.

Register Your Quilts Now!

All quilts to be hung in the show must be registered by midnight July 31st! Quilts of Valor that are not hung have a deadline of September 8th.

Right now, we have only 27 quilts registered. We expect 250. Please register your quilt as soon as possible. Registration is online and the link can be found at the top of the Members Show Info page. 

Membership

Welcome new member Diane Hines, from Grayslake.

Carol and Patricia

Did you remember to pay your dues? Dues may be paid by mail, in person at a meeting, or online. You must be a registered and paid member to enter your quilt in the show. For more information, see our Join Us page on the website under the Members menu.

Happy Birthday!

Birthdays in June        
Judi Young, 6/1
Kate Klein, 6/6
Linda Warren, 6/7
Andrea Krier, 6/11
Priscilla Maves, 6/15
Mary Gustafson, 6/19
Amy Dryfoos, 6/23
Sue Minster, 6/28
Jolie Fiore, 6/30

Birthdays in July        
Peggy Schemenauer, 7/9
Carol Swartz, 7/10
Deb Sherrock, 7/16
Sylvia Bath, 7/28

School is out and it feels like summer! Enjoy!