May 2022
/Program: Deb Lindahl: One Hundred Dresses, One Hundred Memories
Tuesday, May 17, 2022, at 7:00 PM – In Person
Come join us in person to see Deb Lindahl, a former Village Quilters of Lake Bluff/Lake Forest member, present her talk “One Hundred Dresses, One Hundred Memories”.
Inspired by her favorite childhood book, THE HUNDRED DRESSES by Eleanor Estes, Deb Lindahl created 100 quilt squares made of family clothing and fabric scraps and sewed these pieces into the shape of dresses. Each dress represents a story about family history – joys and struggles along the way. These 100 stories were written as essays and assembled into a book as a way to preserve family history in a creative, relatable way. In this interactive presentation, you’ll hear a sampling of these stories and learn how you can creatively tell your family’s history as well.
Linda Spring and Enid Mattimiro, Programs
Upcoming Programs: Mark Your Calendar!
May 2022: Program - One Hundred Dresses, One Hundred Memories
Deb Lindahl – In Person
June 2022: Program - Modern Mariner’s Compass – Strip Pieced
Workshop - Strip Pieced Mariner’s Compass Basics
Robin Ruth Designs - Virtual
July 2022: Program - Be the Best Quilter You Can Be
Karen Brown, Just Get It Done Quilts - Virtual
July 2022: Workshop - Quilting with Rulers
Debra Wesenberg, DK Studio – In Person
August 2022: Program - Brown Bag Hustle
August 2022: Workshop - Sewing with Kids
Session 1: 4-7 years (Tooth Fairy Pillow)
Session 2: 8 years and above (Overnight Bag)
Enid Mattimiro – In Person
September 2022: Program - Lessons I’ve Learned from My Quilts
Workshop - Simply Amazing Baravelle Spirals with Painless Piecing
RaNae Merrill – In Person
October 2022: Program - Everything but the Cotton
Workshop - Sewing with Silk
Julia McLeod Quilts – Virtual
November 2022: Program - Quilt Remix
Workshop - Half Square Triangles Master Class
Heather Kojan – Virtual
December 2022: Program - Holiday Party
January 2023: Program - Brown Bag Hustle
Workshop - EQ8 and Block Base + (Two sessions)
Kearstie Grenier – Virtual
February 2023: Program - Reverse Appliqué: Revealing Beauty
Workshop - Reverse Appliqué is FUN
Margaret Willingham, Eye of the Beholder – Virtual
March 2023: Program - The Language of Flowers
Catherine Redford – Virtual
Christine’s Chatter
We had such a great time at our annual meeting! The best part of the event was that we met in person. There was a lot of business to take care of and we were able to accomplish everything by 9:00 pm. The 2021-2022 board members provided a delightful Ice Cream Social for all attendees.
We thanked those who have served on the board for the past few years and then installed the new officers for the 2022-2023 board. We also approved the budget for the upcoming year and had an extensive review of our upcoming speakers and workshops. We are always open and ready to hear about new techniques for our craft.
Thank you for your generosity in submitting so many wonderful quilts in response to the Iron Quilter Challenge. The quilts were all donated to the Staben House and Eddie Washington Center for transitional housing for the homeless. It is always interesting to see what creative magic is made with the “bag of fabric” and this year was no exception! I think we donated almost 30 quilts to this worthy cause.
I am looking forward to meeting once again in person for the May lecture, “100 Dresses”. Everyone is also invited to bring one show and tell item. We had a brief show and tell at our April meeting which was wonderful because we have missed it so much for the past two years.
By the time we meet, we may not be wearing jackets or sweaters as warmer temps are ushered in!
See you at our May meeting, Christine
Iron Quilter Challenge Winners
Pictured are the two winning quilts with their makers Christine Tindell (pictured with the Eddie Washington Center representative C.J. Lewis), Enid Mattimiro, and Kearstie Grenier. Congratulations to them!
2023 Raffle Quilt – Open House Coming Up!
Thank you for your generous contribution of fabric, and to all who volunteered to make Courthouse Steps blocks!
We hope many of you will be willing to help with the applique. We’re trying something new so more members can participate. We will prepare the applique shapes at an “Applique Open House” on Friday May 6th. We will use methods similar to Appliquick, Beth Ferrier and Harriet Hargrave. If you have experience with these methods, great. If you don’t but are willing to help, Kate and I will work with you to show you how. We will only be preparing the shapes, not asking you to stitch.
The Open House is Friday, May 6th 10 am to 5 pm. You can come for an hour or stay all day – your choice on what time you come and how long you stay. All we ask is that you RSVP so we can have a station set up for you. Please refer to the members only page on our website for our contact information, and we will give you all of the details regarding the Open House location.
There will be snacks!
Donna Derstadt and Kate Klein, Co-chairs
Quilt Retreat
The next Village Quilters retreat will be September 16th through the 18th of 2022. It will be held once again at the Hilton Garden Inn in Mettawa.
Our last retreat that was scheduled had to be cancelled due to covid. All of the funds that the quilters paid to register for that retreat have been held in the guild account, so all of those quilters have been offered a spot in this upcoming retreat.
At present all of the openings have been filled! If you want to attend the retreat, you are encouraged to email Sharon Pierluissi. Your name will be put on a wait list. In the past, members who have been on the wait list have been able to attend due to others needing to cancel.
Jane Sassaman Summer Workshop Opportunity
The North Suburban Needle Arts Guild is presenting a workshop June 7-10 with quilt artist and designer Jane Sassaman called “Totem of Life”. There are spaces available that need to be filled!
Jane, a local artist, has provided workshops and programs for our guild in the past, and many of you are familiar with her talent and dedication! If you are interested, please visit the North Suburban Needle Arts site for all the details!
Historical News!
In early October 1982, a letter was sent by “Village Quilters” inviting “interested quilters to join others in the area to share in the art of quilt making.” Meetings were to be held on the 3rd Monday of the month at the Lake Bluff Library. The letter contains a list of monthly programs for October through May. What does this mean for today’s members? It means 2022 marks the ruby anniversary (40 years) of our beloved guild and we feel a need to celebrate!
As guild historian, I’m looking for help in putting the history of the guild together in a special way. There are many tasks I cannot do alone. Your help is needed to identify pictures and events from the archives, collect members’ stories and/or anecdotes, and contribute missing pieces of information.
We are aiming for a year-long celebration, starting with the December social and culminating in the October 2023 Quilt Show. Further planning and tasks will begin in July. For those who have already volunteered, my heartfelt thanks go out to you! You’ll be hearing from me in June as to the when and where of our first meeting. If you haven’t volunteered yet, it won’t be too late until everything is done. We’d love to have you join us. The more memories we capture, the richer the history. We’re counting on your support.
Kearstie Grenier, Guild Historian
EQ8 & Blockbase+: What are they?
At the April meeting, it was announced that I would be presenting a workshop on EQ8 and Blockbase+. Several people approached me after the meeting to ask about what the programs are and what they do.
Both of these are computer programs that can aid quilters in designing quilts and are available for Mac or Windows. Blockbase+ is based on quilt historian Barbara Brackman’s excellent Encyclopedia of Pieced Quilt Patterns, which contains over 4000 blocks. The software allows you to print templates, rotary cutting charts, or foundation patterns for any of the blocks in the book at any size. It shows you the blocks set in 7 sample layouts that are built in, but only one at a time. If you love traditional patterns, this may be the only software you would ever need.
EQ8 is also design software that comes with a library of traditional and modern blocks that can be printed at any size in the same formats as Blockbase+. It is more powerful than Blockbase+; it allows you to: draw your own blocks, both pieced and applique; put multiple blocks into many set layouts or your own custom layout; design borders for your layout; color your quilts using a set palette of colors, or fabrics, or your own scanned fabrics for a custom palette. This program is used by many professional designers. In my workshop, I will endeavor to give beginners enough knowledge to get started but will also give tips and tricks for those who would like something more in depth.
These are not inexpensive programs, though, so if you are interested in them, I’d watch for sales. If you have an older version of EQ, it may be worth the upgrade price, particularly if it’s on sale, as the change from EQ7 to EQ8 is a major one, making the program far easier to use. I’m linking to a couple of YouTube videos that demonstrate the programs and what they do.
Hope to see you in January!
Kearstie Grenier
Treasurer’s Report
Balance as of 2/28/2022: $28,339.34
Income: $23.97
Expenses: 0
Ending Ledger Balance as of 3/31/22: $28,363.31
The guild generated income from membership fees. The guild incurred no expenses in March.
The 2022/23 Guild Budget was approved at the April Membership meeting and will be posted on the website shortly. Work on the Quilt Show Budget will begin in May.
Respectfully submitted, Donna Derstadt, Treasurer
Membership
Spring is here, and it’s time to renew your Village Quilters Membership.
The new membership year begins on May 1, 2022. The membership fee is $50.00 ($25.00 for active military or spouse), but you save $5.00 if you renew by May 31! All renewals require 2 steps:
Completing a registration form
Submitting your payment
To register online and pay your dues with your credit card, click on any green “Join or Renew” button throughout the website or the orange banner at the top of any page. You’ll be taken to a page where you can complete the membership form online or indicate that all of the information is the same as last year.
Then click the “Pay Online” button and select your one-year membership to be placed in your shopping cart. You will see that the one-year membership is “on sale” for $45.00!
To pay by check, you can download the membership form as a pdf from the Join Us page, print and complete the form, and mail it with your check to the address shown on the form.
If you have any questions, please contact Andrea Krier or Sharon Pierluissi.
New Member: We are excited to have Peggy Williams rejoin our guild as our newest member. So glad you are back with us, Peggy!
Happy May Birthday to the following members!
Marti Austin 5/13
Kate Brennan 5/18
Donna Derstadt 5/10
Tory DiGregoria 5/3
Donna Lechowicz 5/22
Claire Machinist 5/19
Isabel Olsen 5/1
Sharon Pokropinski 5/3
Celia Stratman 5/19
Membership Co-Chairs Andrea Krier and Sharon Pierluissi