September 2022

Brown Bag Hustle was a Bustling Success!

People could barely wait to get in the door! Hardly anyone left without a purchase! We had over 80 people attend and not enough chairs to accommodate all. Why was it so successful this year? We allowed guests free of charge and more than 25 guests attending had to have help loading their purchases in their cars!

We were the fortunate recipients of the late Cathy Tucker’s never-ending stash for which we gratefully thank Bert Tucker. VQ’s Ways & Means BBH 2022 Committee members Erica Jarrett, Donna Derstadt, Jo Bailey, Yolanda Sherrod, Laura Partridge, Madge Pierce, Laurie Waldron,  Robyn McGarridge, Celia Stratman and Chris Tindell are my heroes! It was their commitment, strength, endurance and passion that spun the event to fruition. It was an honor to work with them.

The evening reached the summit with the tremendous outpouring of donations from our members. I cannot wait to see Show & Tell at our meetings this year. The absolute top of the evening came from guests Monica Gallagher and Maggie Alvarado from St. Alexius Medical Center in Hoffman Estates who volunteered to take the leftovers - another prayer answered!

In the end, we reached our goal and doubled the income from our last Brown Bag. We raised $2,318.00!

Our next Brown Bag Hustle will be in January 2023. You may want to rest up for it!

Thank you again for your participation.
Donna Fitzgerald, Ways & Means Chairman

Program: Lessons I’ve Learned from My Quilts!

Tuesday, September 20, 2022 at 7:00 pm – In Person

Our guest speaker this month is RaNae Merrill, ranaemerrillquilts.com author of Simply Amazing Spiral Quilts, Magnificent Spiral Mandala Quilts, Sideways Spiral Quilts and Free-Motion Mastery in a Month.

Each quilt is a journey, and RaNae will share hers as she talks about her quilts and the life lessons they have taught her. Part trunk show, part quilting lesson and part inspiration, this lecture will leave you wanting to try something new — whether it's a quilting technique or an adventure.

Upcoming Workshops:

September: Simply Amazing Baravelle Spirals with Painless Paper Piecing
Wednesday, September 21, 2022 at 9:00am – In Person

Baravelle Spiral

Baravelle spirals have huge "Wow!" factor, yet they are surprisingly easy to design and sew! Using the techniques in RaNae Merrill's best-selling book Simply Amazing Spiral Quilts, learn to draw a Baravelle spiral block, then explore lots of ways to color them to create spirals, lightning bolts, pineapples and more. Along the way you'll learn RaNae's "painless paper piecing" techniques. Use your spiral block in a quilt or other project, or a pattern is provided for finishing blocks into potholders.

October: Starting with Silk
Wednesday, October 19, 2022 at 9:00 am via Zoom

Spend a day learning how to work with silk with international award-winning quilt maker Julia McLeod, juliamcleodquilts.com. Many of us have silk treasures from trips abroad, neckties or prom dresses that are too special to cut up so we leave them tucked away in a drawer or box. It’s time to get them out and make something beautiful!

This workshop has three elements: You’ll begin by determining the fiber content of your fabrics by using the burn test. We will then cover two very different ways to work with silk: First, a very free, improvisational piecing technique Julia calls ‘Pieces, Pairs and Panels’ and second, a foundation piecing method that gives stability and ultra-precise results, even with the lightest weight silks.

Working with your stash, you’ll construct elements in these two techniques that can be combined into a small, pillow-sized finished piece.

Christine’s Chatter

Our Brown Bag Hustle was a rousing success thanks to all of your contributions and the hard work of the committee. I believe it was one of our most successful sales in recent memory. We haven’t been able to do this for nearly three years and it was evident that you all had accumulated a sizable amount to give away. It was good to have over 20 guests and we welcomed a couple of new members. I can’t wait to see what all of you create from your finds. There were several members of a guild from Rolling Meadows that were able to take much of what was left over and donate it to a Veteran’s auxiliary program in their area.

September will bring us another in-person meeting. We will have a live speaker, our librarians will have the library open, and we will have a Show and Tell time! Please limit your “shows” to one item each as we are anticipating good participation.

Also at our September meeting, Illinois Quilters Inc. will have their raffle quilt on display, with raffle tickets for sale! I know we will all want to support them. Please take a look at their fabulous quilt “A New Leaf for Old Ties” on their website: illinoisquilters.com

I am still in need of some volunteers for our December Social. It would be awesome to have the traditional catered meal. Please contact me if you are interested in serving.

Our raffle quilt is nearing completion, which means our next quilt show will be a mere 13 months from now. Are you planning your red and white quilt and something for the silent auction or the boutique? Our quilt show is always a great time of gathering and marveling at our members’ work.

We are in the midst of some home updates and hope to have them finished by the holidays.

Have a Happy Fall Y’all!

Christine Tindell, President

Quilt Show 2023 News

Planning for the Village Quilters of Lake Bluff/Lake Forest 2023 Quilt Show is underway. Many thanks to the following members for volunteering to take on show committee tasks: Donna Derstadt, Jocelyn Galloway, Kearstie Grenier, Judy Hillebrand, Barb Jolley, Kate Klein, Andrea Krier, Enid Mattimiro, Cheryl Mercy, Sue Minster, Madge Pierce, Peggy Schemenauer, Feather Schroeder, Celia Stratman, Carrol Stovold, Susan Surdyk, and Nancy Zamor. Thanks also go to President Christine Tindell and web master Margaret Martin.

There are still three committees that need coverage. Volunteers are needed to procure vendors for the 2023 quilt show, we need members to “take the raffle quilt on the road,” and we need someone(s) to handle the non-digital aspects of publicity.

VENDORS: The job entails contacting quilting businesses and/or artists who would be willing to buy a booth to sell their wares at our show. You would manage the contracts with the vendors and act as their liaison with the guild during the show. There is a binder explaining how all this is done. I would really like to get the number of vendors up from our last show now that businesses are open after the Covid shut down years.

QUILT TRAVEL: This position involves taking the raffle quilt to other guild meetings, farmers’ markets, local quilt shows, etc.- anywhere we would be welcome to display the raffle quilt and sell raffle tickets. This really requires a team of helpers, but one person could take on scheduling all the events.

PUBLICITY: This is a key element of holding a successful show. Jocelyn has agreed to take on the digital aspects of promoting our show, but there are other things we can and should do to get the word out.

If you have any interest in volunteering for one of the open positions or want more information about what these posts entail, please contact me! I am happy to tell you about the committees and their duties. Putting the show together is a very collaborative process. Partner with a friend (or two) to chair a show committee and be part of the fun!

Please join all the other wonderful member volunteers in making the 2023 show a success!

Kathy Avellone
2023 VQ Quilt Show Chair

Workshop Invitation from Illinois Quilters

Leaf sampler by Jane Sassaman.

Illinois Quilters would like to invite your guild members to join us for a workshop by Jane Sassaman on Saturday, 10/6/2022, at Lutheran Church of the Ascension, 460 Sunset Ridge Road in Northfield. The workshop, called “Leaf Sampler”, is about guiding you to select stitches to affect the emotion and atmosphere of your work. Jane will lead us in making a simple sampler using repeated leaf applique and changing the finishing embroidery stitches of each leaf using your machine stitches. (Level is beginning to intermediate for this workshop).

The non-member fee for this workshop is $75. A registration form can be found on the IQI website at: illinoisquilters.com.

Mary Meyers, Illinois Quilters Publicity

Treasurer’s Report

Balance as of 6/30/2022: $29,808.82
Income: $801.33
Expenses: $910.91
Ending Balance as of 7/31/2022: $29,699.24

The guild generated income from membership dues, workshop fees and a bank bonus. The guild incurred expenses in programs, rent, State of Illinois corporation renewal, and purchase of a second Square device.

Important announcement!

Village Quilters has a new mailing address!  If you need to contact us, or share our mailing address with someone, please use this address:

Village Quilters of Lake Bluff/Lake Forest
276 E. Deerpath Ste. 452
Lake Forest, IL 60045

Respectfully submitted, Donna Derstadt, Treasurer

Membership Report

We had over 80 people attend the Brown Bag Hustle, and that included 25 guests! It was a hopping good time! Invite a friend to join our fun. We love new members!

Welcome New Member Susan Minorini!

If you have any questions about VQ Membership, please contact Andrea Krier or Sharon Pierluissi.

Happy September Birthday to the following members!

Patricia Buino- 9/8
Mary Ann Clemens – 9/8
Mary Dietz – 9/26
Ann Hamlin – 9/24
Linda Krismer – 9/28
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