March 2023

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March Program: Catherine Redford – The Language of Flowers

Tuesday, March 21, 2023 at 7:00 pm via Zoom

Catherine Redford discovered quilting in 1998 and became a full-time traveling quilt teacher in 2013. She has appeared on multiple episodes of Quilting Arts TV, contributes to several magazines, is the author of two Modern Machine Quilting QATV workshop DVDs, and two books, Modern Machine Quilting and Butterfly Stitches.

Join us for an inspiring, informative and entertaining evening as Catherine Redford presents her program, The Language of Flowers. It includes a wide variety of quilts featuring flowers, many of which are beaded and embellished. Learn the meanings our ancestors ascribed to different blooms and consider why the giving and receiving of quilts is so special to many of us. Visit her website at catherineredford.com

No workshop is scheduled for March.

 

Upcoming Programs 2023-24

We have an exciting year planned for 2023-24. In May, enjoy MJ Kinman as she discusses piecing gems with a workshop titled “Dames and Diamonds”.

June brings Nancy Roelfsema, who will teach us how to make a Bargello Quilt.

Deanne Eisenman of Snuggles Quilts will be with us in July with an informative lecture and workshop on wool applique. This will be our final workshop before the quilt show.

Explore more about the teachers on our website. We also encourage you to visit the instructor’s websites to see their beautiful work.

Happy Stitching!

Cheryl Mercy and Kathy Sorkin

 

Quilts for Ukraine – Service Project

Thank you for all your generous donations to the Ukraine blanket drive. I’m sure we overwhelmed them. I got many comments on how beautiful the handmade quilts were.

UMANA (Ukrainian Medical Association of North America) is now ready for quilts in the spring. We will be supporting the two orphanages that the UMANA supports. They would like quilts for twin sized beds and baby cribs. Anything you can do would be appreciated. I’ll be collecting them at the April meeting.  

Liz Greenhill, Service Chair

 

Workshop Wrap-Ups

EQ8 Demystified continued…

For the second workshop session of Designing Quilts with BB+ & EQ8:

  • We started off with a show and tell session on the designs created in EQ8 and blocks sewn based on those designs.

  • Kearstie covered creating custom layouts and adding borders, applique motifs and quilting designs to our projects in EQ8.

  • Last, but not least, we took a walk through the different features and functionalities of Blockbase+ (BB+).

We all had so much fun in the workshop sessions, Kearstie put together a one-hour EQ8 User Group session in February covering:

  • Scanning and importing fabric images into EQ8.

  • Scanning/importing a panel and designing a quilt around that panel.

COMING SOON: Kearstie will be opening the EQ8 User Group to all the members of Village Quilters. Stay tuned for more details at the March Meeting and in the April Newsletter.

 

Reverse Applique Really Is FUN!

While the weather outside was blustery (snow in Colorado and rain/ice in Illinois) we were all snug in our sewing rooms making beautiful Woodland Ferns.

  • Margaret spent the morning demonstrating her method of doing machine reverse applique and talking us through our practice pieces learning how to do corners, zig zags, squiggles, curves and circles.

  • After lunch, we were ready to take on the class project - Woodland Fern. I can’t wait to see everyone’s completed projects in the quilt show, since everyone was incorporating their own personal styles into their blocks.

  • Margaret ended the day with a demo of her Criss-Cross Corner block (so cool) and a demonstration and Q&A session on her hand reverse applique techniques.

 

Christine’s Chatter

What beautiful artistry was demonstrated at our February meeting with Margaret Brewster Willingham! I had a sneak peek of her patterns because Barb Jolley started one of her table runners before her lecture. The technique is very interesting and a different way of looking at applique. It’s interesting to see the “image” as the neutral fabric and the “background” as the patterned fabric. I hope to see some of the creations from her workshop at our show.

March will be a virtual meeting with speaker Catherine Redford. She has been with us in the past and she is an absolute delight.

Starting in April, our meetings will be in person! I hope COVID is a barely visible speck in our rearview mirrors as we move forward as a guild. April brings the annual business meeting with election of new officers and thanks to those leaving the Board. We will have a potluck with a salad buffet provided by members and desserts and beverages provided by the Board. Please sign up under the programs tab on our home page!

So much is happening in the guild! I look forward to seeing many of you at the retreat on March 24th. We are also preparing for our Quilt Show this fall in a new venue at College of Lake County. Our service committee is collecting quilts for Ukraine at our April meeting. Cheryl Mercy is planning an evening of stripping soon!

Board members, please mark your calendars for our meeting on April 11 at my house. I am trying to stay focused on quilts for our show, but so many pretty things keep distracting me. See you in cyberspace on March 21st!

Hoping for spring,

Christine

 

Quilt Show News!

Raffle Quilt

Our raffle quilt, Moonlit Poppies, was recently appraised by Suzanne K. Swenson, who is an American Quilter’s Society Certified Appraiser of Quilted Textiles. Suzanne valued the quilt at $8,000! This is an insurance replacement value. In case you are unaware of how this works, an insurance appraisal is an amount which reflects the replacement cost of a quilt and not a retail value. Still, $8,000 is an impressive valuation!

Thank you again to Kate Klein, Donna Derstadt, and the additional guild members who worked on Moonlit Poppies for the hours and effort you put into designing and creating such a stunningly beautiful quilt for the 2023 VQ quilt show!

Suzanne will be offering her appraisal services at our quilt show in October. Judy Hillebrand will be sharing more information about how to get your quilt appraised by Suzanne.

It’s March - What should you be doing this month to support the guild and the 2023 show? Keep sewing!

Ruby Anniversary Celebration

Consider making a red and white quilt. It’s Village Quilter’s Ruby (40th) Anniversary, and to celebrate we are going to hang a collection of red and white quilts. These quilts may be new, old, large, or small. They may be made by you – or not! To have your quilt included in the collection, it just needs to be red and white. Your quilt must be registered and photographed by the July 15th submission deadline for all quilts being hung for the show.

Art Quilt Challenge

Get your creative juices flowing by making something for the Art Quilt Challenge. This year the theme is “Denim & Lace”. Did you know that denim probably originated centuries ago in the southern French city of Nîmes? A woven fabric made of a mix of wool and silk was made for the Cévennes shepherds who needed strong, durable clothing. Around the same time a woven cotton and wool fabric called jeans was being made in Genoa, Italy for the Genoese Navy. By the time Levi Strauss imported the fabric of Nîmes (de Nîmes) for American western wear the threads were all cotton with the one white thread and one blue thread pattern we recognize today.

Contact Carrol Stovold or visit the Art Quilt Challenge page on our site for more information.

Veteran VQ members know how all of this works, but if you are a new member and have questions about the show, please don’t hesitate to ask! My email and phone number are on the member roster. I’d love to hear from you!

Kathy Avellone, Quilt Show Chair

Quilt Show Quilt Submission Announcement

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so please note our hexie photos!

Mark these dates on your calendars!

More detailed instructions on submitting your quilt entries will be provided during the March meeting and in the April newsletter.

Enid Mattimiro and Kearstie Grenier – Cataloging Committee

Quilt Show Boutique Invitation

All members are welcome and encouraged to be a member vendor in the Boutique. This means that you may make and sell your items in the Boutique. You will donate 15% of your sales to the guild. If you are interested or have questions, please contact me or Barb Jolley.

We hope that everyone is thinking of items to make, whether you are a member vendor or simply donating items. We suggest that all holidays be included, not just fall and December items. We will be having at least one workshop, where we will get together to sew and share ideas for donations. The previous show’s Boutique was very successful and our goal is to do even better this year!

Madge Pierce and Barb Jolley – Boutique Chairs

 

Member to Member Sale – At the Spring Quilt Retreat, March 24-26

A few retreats ago, we hosted a quilt shop from Indiana. Our members enjoyed shopping at that retreat, so we are going to try something new to us, which is Member to Member Sale

There will be a sale of kits, fat quarter bundles, jelly rolls, charm packs, layer cakes and notions at the March Retreat.  The merchandise that will be on sale will be from our stashes and will be made up of purchases that were “too cute”, “I LOVE this”, “I HAVE to have this”, and/or “Oh my, I’ve never seen this before”.

Any Village Quilter member who is not attending the retreat and members who are attending the retreat are encouraged to bring their like new items, labeled with the member’s name and the asking price.

This merchandise will be “like new”, meaning the condition it was in when we put this merchandise on our shelves, in our boxes, or wherever we store the “to be started projects” before they are forgotten or passed over!

The cost of each item will be established by the seller. There will be no uniform pricing. For example, Patty the Piecer might sell her charm pack for $3 and Sally the Stitcher might sell hers for $5!

All members are welcome to come to the quilt retreat on Saturday, March 25, at the Hilton Garden Inn in Mettawa from 1 pm to 3 pm to check out what others could not live without.

Bring cash or checks as you will be giving the money directly to the person selling the goods.  

This activity will last for two hours. When we all get together to sew, we want to sew and not take time to staff a table. 

What: Member to Member Sale
Where: Hilton Garden Inn Lake Forest, 26225 Riverwoods, Rd., Lake Forest, Ill
Date:  Saturday, March 25, 2023
Time:  1 pm to 3 pm

Bring: What you would like to sell and cash or check. If your item does not sell, you will take it home!

Email or call Marti Austin with any questions. 

 

Treasurer’s Report

Balance as of 12/31/2022: $24,371.35
Income: $3,405.15
Expenses: $420.10
Ending Balance as of 1/31/2023: $27,356.40

The guild generated income from retreat deposits, the Brown Bag Hustle, holiday dinner, workshop and membership fees, and incurred expenses in holiday dinner charges and rent.

Final net proceeds from the Brown Bag Hustle were $1,337.75. Congratulations to Donna Fitzgerald and her team!

Respectfully submitted, Donna, Treasurer

 

Membership Report

Greetings from the Membership Committee!

We had a wonderful turnout for the New Members get together, great wines and wonderful information/conversations was shared. We are very thankful for Kearstie Grenier for designing the new members nametags (pictured here). When you see a member with this nametag, please include them in conversations and make them feel welcome! Speaking of nametags, starting in April we will be meeting in person and we want to remind everyone to wear their nametag!

Next month we will be sharing detailed information regarding membership renewal.

Happy March Birthday to the following members!

Bobbi Etchell – 3/3
Jocelyn Galloway – 3/29
Madge Pierce – 3/20

Andrea Krier and Sharon Pierluissi – Membership Chairs