September 2018

What an amazing meeting we had last month – I feel like I keep saying this over and over… this group has so much to offer each other and Barb Jolley has done an amazing job of bringing in such wonderful speakers! Hopefully every one has managed to stay dry over the last few days…(we had water in the basement… thank goodness my stash is safe!) and I look forward to seeing everyone at the meeting on September 18th! - Kate

Programs 

Dear Members,

September will be a terrific piece of the “puzzle”. WHAT PUZZLE you ask? That puzzle you have every time you look at your stash of fabric and say to yourself “What can I do with that?” We will be enjoying the insight of a quilter who has dipped her hands into so many different boxes of quilting possibilities. She spans the realm of traditional to very cool art and many different boxes in the chain. As we are looking for ways to use scraps, strips and even those jelly rolls and smaller pieces we haven’t committed to other stuff, Mickey will help us push some of them into her “abacus block”. The abacus thingy is that old Chinese frame with bars of beads that the ancients used for keeping “scores” of various kinds. 

I was privileged to see Mickey many years ago and am delighted to see her again. Each of you will find something you like or can use; a mix, a color combination or a thought process. This will be a good time and the workshop will be a blast. 

It has been a most enjoyable time sharing these special days with those of you who have attended our workshops. I can only tell you that if you have not tried one of these, you have really come up short on the fun scale. We must fill this workshop with 10 attendees and as I write this plea – we have 2 already signed up. The ruler is not expensive and if you don’t already have one we have a few to share and Mickey will have some to sell. The pattern costs $6.50 and is a download. You will need a code to get a $1 class discount so the pattern is only $5.50. Let me know if you can’t get it online and I’ll get one for you. 

PLEASE sign up to come to this workshop – you will not regret this choice.

Speaker: Mickey Depre, "Quilts – Young and Old, Timid and Bold"

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Tuesday, September 18, 2018

“My work mixes traditional quilting techniques with bold, innovative machine appliqué and thread work. Fabric choices include my own hand dyed cotton with commercial cottons for a special spark of color and depth. Pieces are heavily machine quilted. The images are meant to spark thought and a smile, as humor is a great gift to share.

"With the release of my new book Pieced Hexies… Well, I feel I have come full circle. So while you may know me initially as an Art Quilter… I am also a Traditional Quilter.

“There is more than enough fabric in the studio to be both an Art Quilter and a Traditional Quilter!”

 

Abacus Block Quilt

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Wednesday, September 19, 2018

Take your 2.5” strips to a new level with this class! A fun one-block quilt made entirely out of 2.5" strips! Or you can go scrappy if you wish! 

80 strips (2 jelly roll strip sets, or straight from your stash) will be enough for 100 blocks for a 60”x 60” quilt.  

-Set ONE of 40 strips is prints, colors, a fabric line, a mix of your own, medium to dark tones.

 -Set TWO of 40 strips is neutrals, backgrounds, lights, whites, creams, taupes, pastels; a good      mix makes for an interesting quilt.

Strips of fabric 2.5" wide are sewn, cut, and sewn again to make this fun block. And let me show you how the Easy Angle Ruler will become a tool you can’t live without to in making accurate half square triangles.

Now gather up your strips because we have some Abacus blocks to make!

Village Quilters Retreat

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October 26-28

We quilt because we like to be creative, to show our love, to give of ourselves, to learn from others and teach others what we know. We like to share time and friendship with others. We like to learn new things and challenge ourselves.  

We can do all these things at the Quilt Retreat planned for October 26-28, 2018. The retreat will be held at the Hilton Garden Inn Lake Forest/Mettawa.

Registration: $75 for the weekend
Hotel Room Option: $95 plus taxes per night
What to bring: Sewing machine, basic sewing supplies, and projects that you wish to work on

We need twenty paid participants by Friday, October 12. The Retreat 2018 page under Programs has full details and links to register.

News from the President

Quilting friends,

I can’t speak about the July workshop with Phyllis Faye because I missed it. Too bad for me. I can, however, write about the August workshop with Patty Hellenbrand.

I thoroughly enjoyed Patty’s presentation on Tuesday evening, and I was completely impressed by the blocks she created with her half square triangles, but I was not overly excited about the picture of the quilt that was on our website advertising the workshop. It looked like a quilt that I would never make. I signed up to support our guild, but knew that I would probably not complete the project. 

Wrong again. The workshop was terrific. Patty has very clever and productive ways to create the blocks. I believe that everyone who attended the workshop either completed a table runner, a bed runner or a quilt. If one’s project was not completed, then very close to completion. She told us to set the half square triangle seam and then forget about ironing until the entire project was put together. It worked!

If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a "housands times”…  our workshops are worthwhile, entertaining and educational. Barb and Edie have only two more workshops to offer us. Don’t be the one who says, “Rats, I should have gone.” 

There are still openings for quilt show jobs. Please, please, think about volunteering with a friend to help us all with a successful show. Madge and Christine will explain all that you need to know. You will not have to re-invent the wheel and there will be someone who can give you guidance. You know from past shows, we get lots of volunteers to get the jobs done. Right know we need leaders to step up.

Treasurer’s Report

Balance on 7/27/18: $32,358.58
Income: $1092.75
Expenses: $1363.08
Balance as of 8/28/18: $32,088.25

Respectfully submitted, Laura Partridge, Treasurer

Quilt Show Help Wanted

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The dates for the next quilt show are October 4 & 5, 2019. Taping the floor on October 2 and set up on October 3. We are still looking for people to chair Inventory/equipment and Boutique. If there is some portion of the boutique that you would like to do but not the whole process, please let us know. It can be broken down into smaller jobs. 

The Board is looking into replacing a portion of the hanging system that we now use. If you are interested in seeing what we are looking at, you may see it, in use, at the Northern Lake County Quilt Show, September 29 - 30 at the Lake Villa Township Center, 37850 N. Rt 59.

Madge Pierce and Christine Tindell, Quilt Show Chairwomen

2018 – 2019 Service Project

This year we will make fun quilts for the children who arrive at the Staben Center (a facility in Waukegan for homeless women and their children.) The Staben Center has requested quilts that can be given to any child, regardless of age or gender, so that they always have an appropriate quilt to give to the next arrival.

Since the quilts will be smaller than service quilts we’ve made in recent years, they can be completed by an individual or in collaboration with a friend or small group. Any pattern can be used – perhaps consider the piecing options presented at recent guild meetings and workshops. 

We have received a generous contribution of colorful fabrics that will be available at the meeting for the express purpose of using in a service quilt. Please stop by the table to see if there is something you would like to get you started. Otherwise, you are welcome to use just your own fabrics. 

Here are some general guidelines:

  •     Youth appropriate
  •     Minimum size of 36” x 40”
  •     Maximum size of 60” x 85”

We look forward to everyone’s participation in the guild’s commitment to providing service to the community. We plan to present the quilts to the Staben House in April. 

A.K. & P.S.

Membership

To register online or pay your dues with your credit card, follow the Join Us link under the Members tab. Click on the green "Join or Renew Online" button and you'll be taken to a page where you can complete the membership form online or download a pdf of the form to mail. Scroll down the page to pay your dues online or for instructions to pay by check.

If you have any questions, please contact Membership (Celia Stratman and Kimberly Jurco.)

Happy Birthday!

It looks like the beginning of the fall season is also birthday celebration time for many of our members!

Happy September Birthday to:

Mary Dietz: 9/26
Ann Hamlin: 9/24
Monica Larson: 9/12
Tera McBlaine: 9/17
Lorraine Potts:  9/15
Maggie Schmude: 9/18
Feather Schroeder: 9/12
Nancy Smith: 9/5
Linda Spring: 9/17
Laurie Waldron: 9/24
Alice Wynn: 9/16

Thanks!  Celia

Upcoming Quilt Shows

Need some inspiration? Check out these (sort of) local shows!

Madison Quilt Expo
Thursday, Friday and Saturday, September 6, 7, 8
Alliant Energy Center Exhibition Hall
1919 Alliant Energy Center Way
Madison, WI
www.wiquiltexpo.com

Countryside Flowershop and Nursery
19th Annual Quilt Show
Saturday and Sunday, September 15, 16
5301 East Terra Cotta (Rte. 176)
Crystal Lake, Illinois

MQX Quilt Festival
Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, September 19-22
Crown Plaza Center
3000 South Dirksen Parkway
Springfield, Illinois
www.mqxshow.com

Northern Lake County Quilters Guild
Saturday and Sunday, September 29, 30
Lake Villa Township Center
37850 N. Il Rte. 59
Lake Villa, Illinois
www.nlcqg.org

Prairie Star Quilt Show
Friday and Saturday, October 12, 13
Dupage County Fairgrounds
2015 W. Manchester Rd.
Wheaton, Illinois
www.psqg.org

Needles and Threads Quilt Show
Saturday and Sunday, October 20, 21
Washington Park Fieldhouse
5531 S. Martin Luther King Drive
Chicago, Illinois
www.ntqgchicago.net