June 2019

Speaker: Bill Kerr, What Makes a Quilt Modern

Tuesday, June 18, 2019, at 7:00 PM

Join us at the guild meeting for What Makes a Quilt Modern with Bill Kerr of Modern Quilt Company. Using examples from the book "Quilts Made Modern" as well as other quilts, he will teach us what it is that makes a quilt “modern”. Discover ways you might include modern techniques and design approaches in your next project.

Bill Kerr co-founded Modern Quilt Studio in 1999 with his wife, Weeks Ringle. Bill and Weeks have written many books, including the first book on modern quilting, The Modern Quilt Workshop. In 2011 they launched Modern Quilts Illustrated, the first magazine exclusively dedicated to modern quilting. Their work has appeared in the international press and their quilts have been exhibited throughout the world. They have taught modern quilting throughout the US, Canada, Australia, Japan and France.

Bill and Weeks design several fabric lines a year for Benartex Fabrics. In addition to his work at Modern Quilt Studio, Bill is also a professor and past chairman of the Art Department at Dominican University in River Forest, IL.

Workshop: Bill Kerr, Working with Large Scale Prints

Wednesday, June 19, 2019, at 9:00 AM

Find ways to work those big prints into your next project in Bill’s workshop. As of May 24th, we have just three seats left in this workshop and they are open to non-members as well. You can see the description and what is needed on the Working with Large Scale Prints page. You can register and pay online.

Update from Program Chairs

We had a delightful presentation this month from Mary Hertel, aka “Marney”, and a lot of fun at the workshop. The next several months promise to be equally informative and entertaining.

In June, join us for Bill Kerr’s presentation on what makes a quilt modern. There will be an associated workshop on Wednesday, June 19th, “Working with Large Scale Prints”. This workshop is nearly full, so if you or a friend are interested, register now!

The July meeting will bring the very talented and entertaining Jane Sassaman. Her presentation, “Under the Influence”, promises to be quite enjoyable. She will also give a workshop, “Moths and Moons”, which still has about a dozen openings. As of June 1st, those open seats will be offered to non-members, so if you know of anyone who would enjoy the meeting and/or workshop, please let them know. The visitor fee for the meeting is just $10 payable at the door, and the workshop can be registered and paid for online on our website.

To find out more about Jane Sassaman and view her work, check out janesassaman.com.

Hope to see you at a workshop this year!

Kathy Avellone and Kearstie Grenier, Program co-chairs

News from the President

Friends,

We had a great start for our new year. Those at our May meeting enjoyed Mary Hertel’s presentation, and her workshop was very informative. In the past, I have paper pieced two quilts and several table runners. I wish that I had known then what I know now.

I will be contacting our new and not so new members to invite them to a Meet and Greet event at my house in June. The intent of this get-together is to inform new members about the guild and answer any questions that they may have.

I have been gathering information about our standing quilting bees. We offer several opportunities to get together and sew. Check out the article about the bees in this newsletter. You may want to join one or more of them.

I continue to be busy getting ready for the quilt show. I have two pieces ready to submit for our show. One of my submissions will be for the landscape piece I made when I took Denise Havlan's Tiny Vision workshop. Is anyone from that workshop entering her project? It would be interesting if we all entered what we have done.

I'm not sure if it's because I am lucky to be the president of this group, but I am getting excited about the quilt show. I hope that you look at the quilt show as an opportunity to share your talents with others. I liken a quilt show to an art show. I am always amazed at the talent that quilters display through their quilts. I'm always inspired, challenged, and motivated when I see what others have done.

I hope that you see the quilt show as an opportunity to spend time with your friends who enjoy what you enjoy. I hope that you see it as a celebration of what you and others have accomplished. A quilt show is a lot of work, but I believe that when I work alongside friends, the task seems less like work and more like fun. I hope that you agree.

Marti Austin, President

Bee Information from Marti Austin, President

There are a number of bees in our guild who would welcome new participants. I am hosting a welcome meeting on June 4, 2019 with new members and not so new members who may want to establish or attend a bee. You are welcome to attend. Just let me know that you are interested marti.austin@yahoo.com.

1. Sunshine Quilters: This group meets every third Thursday in the basement of the State Bank of the Lakes, 50 Commerce Drive, in Grayslake. This bee is open to those who wish to meet from 9:30 am to 3:30 pm although most show up around 1:00 pm, but not always. You may bring hand work or your machine. The contact person for this bee is Kathy Heusinkveld, Kmheusi@aol.com, 847-951-9915 or 847-543-9915.

2. Gurnee Community Church, 4555 Old Grand Ave, in Gurnee. A group meets every Friday 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm. Contact person is Mary Dietz, dmdietz41@sbcglobal.net, 847-533-2337 or 847-223-2337. You will need to contact Mary to get the code to enter the building.

3. SteepleStitchers has been meeting for 25 years. Erika Eddy wrote…We would currently welcome new quilter friends on Thursday evenings from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm, for hand work ( no machines), at Faith Lutheran Church on Deerpath Road and Route 41 in Lake Forest (680 Deerpath Road). Before you join us for the first time, please contact Erika Eddy, cell 847-471-5358 or (better) eeddy1120@gmail.com so that we may meet you at the church. Or contact Feather Schroeder, notheather@sbcglobal.net, 847-548-6811. We need a special code to get into the church. Looking forward to having you join us.

4. First Presbyterian Church, 219 West Maple Ave, in Libertyville. This group meets on the second, fourth, and fifth Wednesdays of each month. They meet from 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm. Contact person for this group is Dorothy Roderick, dorothyroderick@aol.com or 847-362-5293.

5. A bee with a modern bent meets on the second Thursday of each month at 6:30 pm in the basement of the State Bank of the Lakes, 50 Commerce Drive in Grayslake. This group is not a VQ group but Christine Tindell and Celia Stratman attend this group and would like to see others from Village Quilters join. Contact Christine, christinetindell@gmail.com or 847-687-0727.

Quilt Retreat news – October 2019

Our next quilt retreat will be October 18 – 20, 2019. This could be a good time to get together after the quilt show. We can relax and just have fun sewing. The retreat will be held at the Hilton Garden Inn in Mettawa. You can sew until your heart’s content! The retreat starts at 8:00 am on the 18th and ends at 5:00 pm on the 20th. We have a wonderful space for our sewing. It is a ballroom with large windows letting in great daylight. We have space for 32 quilters, each with their own 6 foot table to use. The cost for the retreat is $55.00 for all three days.

There are also rooms available for those who would like to stay at the hotel. The cost for the room is $95.00 plus tax per night and this includes a breakfast each morning. You can get a room for three nights if you want to go on the 17th or for two nights on the 18th and 19th. If you want to stay at the hotel contact Sharon Pierluissi with your room request. You can share a room or stay on your own.

You can register by credit card online or you can pay by check. If you want to pay by check, please give the check to Sharon Pierluissi.

We need to have 25 people registered by September 30, 2019. Please contact Sharon Pierluissi with any questions.

Quilt Show – news from the Quilt Show chairs

Things are moving along toward our show in October, Quilts from the Village XVI. Items for the Boutique and the Silent Auction are being turned in and many more are being made. If you need ideas, a binder has been created with ideas and instructions or look on Pinterest. If you haven’t already picked up your ticket packet, it is $25 for five sets of six tickets. Sell all you can or keep them for yourself. You can always get more.

Quilts are due July 16, 2019, and registration is open now. It is an easy process to do. Your Quilt of Valor registration is also on our website, due by the same date, unless you don’t care if it is hung. The floors will be marked on October 2, setup is October 3, and the show is October 4 (9:00 am – 5:00 pm) and October 5 (9:00 am – 4:00 pm).

There are many jobs that can be done to help with these steps which require any level of physical labor. So you can sit, stand, climb a ladder, construct the stands, mark the floors for the layout, hand out supplies, move equipment, white glove, sell raffle tickets, collect entrance fees, work the Boutique or Silent Auction. The volunteer signup will soon be on the website.

There will be a workshop, probably in September, for those who would like to help with setting up the new stands. This is a much easier process than in the past.

We now have 13 vendors signed up.

If you are interested in helping with anything, please let us know. We can always use more helpers.

Keep creating!

Madge Pierce and Christine Tindell, Quilt Show co-chairs

Quilt Show – Boutique

The quilt show is getting closer and it's time to start making your items for the boutique! Make extra money for yourself or donate your items. Aprons would be wonderful to make, or holiday items, or anything else you can think of. The guild receives 15% of your sale and you get the balance. You can call Carol Swartz, Sue Ann Kuby, or Kathy Avellone with any questions.

Quilt Show – Quilts of Valor

As of this newsletter, I have received nomination forms for 11 veterans to be awarded a Quilt of Valor (QOV) at the quilt show in October. As we have a commitment from members of the guild for 15 quilts for the show, I will continue to accept nominations, but will process them on a "first come, first served" basis, based on the number of actual QOVs entered in the show.

As a reminder, the Quilts of Valor must be no smaller than 55" x 65" and no larger than 72" x 90". A good rule of thumb would be a quilt measuring 60" x 80". Each quilt must have a label that says "This Quilt of Valor is awarded to (a blank line for the name of the Recipient)". It must also include the name of the Piecer and the Quilter...but do NOT include more than the FIRST NAMES and your STATE of residence. Do NOT include any advertising, political, or religious message on the label.

If you have any questions about any QOV requirements (DOs and DON'Ts), please feel free to contact me or the Quilts of Valor website.

Again, thank you for your enthusiasm in this service project and for your participation.

Cheryl Mercy

Quilt Show – Raffle Tickets

Sue Ann Kuby and Kathy Avellone will have your raffle tickets available at the Tuesday membership meetings. Please remember that each member is required to purchase 30 raffle tickets for $25.

You are encouraged to resell them at $1 per ticket or six tickets for $5. Your ticket packet will also include 10 bookmarks to give to friends and family. You may pay for your tickets with a personal check made out to Village Quilters or, of course, cash. We do not have any credit or debit card options. If you need more than 30 tickets we will happily supply as many as you desire.

Thank you to those members who have already picked up their tickets!

Quilt Show – Transporting the quilt stands

We will need volunteers to transport the quilt stands from their storage area in Lake Forest (thank you Nancy Smith!) to the show venue on October 3 and back for storage after the show on October 5. There are many older members who don’t have the strength for this. If you are someone who could help with this task, please consider it. Spouses are gladly accepted too! You will be able to pick up your show quilt before you leave, and your contribution will be an important part of the whole show. If you have questions, please contact Kimberly Jurco at kjurco@gmail.com.

Treasurer’s Report

Balance as of 4/27/2019: $22,082.78
Income: $2,059.77
Expenses: $1,009.17
Ending Balance as of 5/23/2019: $23,133.38

Income this month consisted of Quilt Show vendor fees, membership fees, raffle ticket sales and program fees. Expenses were for P.O. Box, VQ website and the May speaker.

Respectfully submitted,

Mary Ellin Innes, Treasurer

Membership

WELCOME to our new members in the past month: Jocelyn Galloway from Lake Forest and Debra Dodd from Wadsworth!

We also welcomed four guests to our May meeting: Martha Bucher, Candy Gerber, Jin Sandford, and Judy Bacon.

Happy June Birthday to:

Lindsey Alexander - 6/16
Amy Dryfoos – 6/23
Jolie Fiore - 6/30
Mary Gustafson – 6/19
Kate Klein - 6/6
Andrea Krier - 6/11
Sue Minster - 6/28
Susan Surdyk - 6/5
Linda Warren - 6/7
Judi Young - 6/1

Most of our members have renewed for the 2019-2020 year - we're hoping to still hear from some of you! If you have any questions, please let us know!

Kimberly Jurco and Celia Stratman, Membership co-chairs