February 2024
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February Program – Krista Moser of “The Quilted Life”
Tuesday, February 20, 2024 – 7 pm via Zoom
Krista Moser will give her lecture, “Diamonds are a Quilter’s Best Friend.” She will discuss her quilting journey, starting as a young girl and eventually designing quilts and patterns. Krista is the designer of the 60 Degree Diamond Rulers for Creative Grids and has published dozens of patterns using the rulers, with more in development. She loves symmetry and clean lines with bold colors and shapes that tessellate in all directions.
The Zoom link will be emailed to everyone on the weekend before the meeting, and can also be found on the Members Only page.
February Workshop – Free “Nifty Sixty” Sew-in – In Person
Wednesday, February 21, 2024, 9:00 am – 3:00 pm – In Person
Faith Lutheran Church, 680 W. Deerpath Rd., Lake Forest, IL
The February Workshop following Krista Moser's Zoom lecture will be a fun one... 60 degrees of fun. Plus it will be FREE to VQ Members.
While Krista's lecture will primarily focus on working with 60 degree rulers, for the Sew-in you are more than welcome to bring the pattern, the fabric and the tools of your choice and join other quilters for a day of fun and camaraderie.
Contact Cheryl Mercy by phone, email or text to reserve your spot before the slots are all filled!
March Program – Diane Harris of “Stash Bandit”
Tuesday, March 19, 2024 – 7 pm via Zoom
Join us as Diane Harris presents her lecture, “Make Extraordinary Scrap Quilts”. She answers the question of how to make a successful scrap quilt. We will learn her best tips and secrets during this trunk show of over 50 scrap quilts made over 30 years.
March Workshop – Diane Harris – Ahead of the Curve: Improvising a Round
Wednesday, March 20, 2024, 9am – 3pm – via Zoom
Join us as Diane Harris teaches how to cut and sew curves while paying attention to the value and scale of your fabrics so that your results are smashing. She’ll cover many ideas for adding machine quilting details and hand-stitched embellishments. We’ll end the day with Diane showing how to finish with a facing instead of a binding.
Happy Stitching, Cheryl Mercy and Kathy Sorkin
Christine’s Chatter
As I write this, the 9–10-day cold snap has ended but now we are expecting ice overnight. I’m grateful that quilting is more predictable than the weather!
I’m sure you are as disappointed as I am that our Brown Bag Hustle was postponed due to the below zero temps. I even had my car packed! After long contemplation, I decided that everyone’s health and safety were more important than getting together. We are looking at a re-schedule date for our June meeting. Details will be shared as we approach the date.
Unfortunately, this means we won’t meet in person until our annual meeting in April. Cheryl and Kathy have exciting Zoom speakers lined up for February and March and we will also have a free workshop using the speaker’s tools and patterns in February. I hope to see some of you then!
Our annual meeting in April celebrates the good accomplishments of exiting board members and welcomes our new board members. Are you interesting in becoming more involved in the guild? Now is the time to inquire about positions on our board. I have served on the board for several years in different positions. It has been wonderful to get to know these ladies and I look forward to serving in a different area in the future.
The re-organization of my sewing space is nearly complete and it is so much more convenient to have easy access to all of my fabric!
Did you tackle some UFOs during the subzero days? There’s nothing I love more than sewing and listening to a book or podcast.
Keep warm and keep sewing, Christine
Wanted: Members Eager To Be More Involved and Have More Fun!
Please consider volunteering your time as an officer for the 2024-2026 Village Quilters Board. We are looking for eager individuals who want to be more involved in continuing the effort to keep our guild vibrant, active and welcoming. We have many vacancies. If you have been an officer before, you are eligible to become the President. If you are not a past officer, you could serve as the Secretary, Chair of Advanced Programs, Assistant Treasurer, or Vice-President of Membership. For more information about the responsibilities of these positions, ask Marti Austin or go to the members-only page on our website. Scroll down and on the left side of the page click on by-laws.
Think about the officers that you see in our meetings. The gals that stand up in front of you are happy and excited about the guild. You could be having this much fun! When you get a call from the nominating committee, please consider saying yes! Better yet, call and volunteer!
Marti Austin, Member at Large
Look at all of the smiling faces at one of our past retreats!
Spring Retreat 2024
The Village Quilters Spring Retreat has been scheduled for April 12-14 at the Hilton Garden Inn, Mettawa. The sign up for this retreat will begin at 8 a.m. on Friday, March 1 and can be found on the Members Only page on our website. The cost is $65.00 which is due when register. Sign up for the retreat the same way you sign up for membership or a workshop.
We have places for 32 members. If the retreat is full when you attempt to register, you can be placed on a wait list. Contact Marti Austin to be placed on the wait list and you will be listed in the order Marti receives requests. In the past members who are on the wait list have been offered a place at the retreat.
If you want to rent a room for the retreat, please email Marti Austin with your request. Indicate the kind of room - single King or single Queen, or Double Queen. If you are sharing a room, please name your roommate. The cost of the room at is $134.00 + taxes and fees and does not include breakfast. Room requests should be made on later than Friday, March 22.
Membership
Are you a new member? We are planning a New Member Get-Together on March 12 from 5-7 pm. We are so excited that we have had several quilters join our guild in the last year. As a new member you may have some questions about the guild and may not know all that Village Quilters has been involved in. We also want to share with you what our plans are for the future. We are still feeling the effects of COVID as we will most likely still have some meetings via Zoom. We would like to make sure that we can explain this and answer any questions. We will be sending out an invitation soon to all the newer members with more details about the event and we hope you will be able to join us. It will be a fun and relaxed atmosphere, there may even be wine for those who would like to partake.
Remember that now through April 30th, 2024, dues are $25 for the remaining 2023-2024 fiscal year. Invite a friend to join our fun. We love new members!
The VQ Membership Directory was updated and posted online in January. The directory is updated on the VQ website in January, April, and October. New members’ information and changes in current members’ information will appear in those months.
If you have any questions, please contact Andrea Krier or Sharon Pierluissi.
Happy February Birthday to the following members!
Kathy Avellone – 2/5
Kathy Heusinkveld – 2/3
Eleanor McMurrin – 2/23
Cheryl Mercy – 2/25
Carole Quille – 2/18
Dorothy Roderick – 2/16
Financial Snapshot of the 2023 Quilt Show
I have good news to share regarding the 2023 quilt show, Quilts from the Village XVIII. We made a net profit of over $11,000! Here is a summary of the financial highlights of the show (rounded to the nearest dollar). This is not a complete accounting – only a summary of key areas.
Admissions $5,854.00 net income
Appraisals $ 125.00 net income
Boutique $6,486.00 gross income
$3,244.00 minus fees and member/vendor payouts
$3,242.00 net income
Raffle Quilt $5,597.00 net income
Silent Auction $4,844.00 net income
Vendors $2,291.00 net income
Expenses $14,700.00 includes venue rental, equipment movers, cataloging costs, signs, etc.
A huge thank you goes to Assistant Treasurer Melanie Houser who was the treasurer for the show! She has created a comprehensive report of all the monies earned and spent. Melanie did a fantastic job of accounting for income and expenses as well as how the actual numbers compare to our budget projections.
Thank you to all the guild members who helped make this show a success! It really does take a village!
Kathy Avellone
Message from the Ways & Means Committee
OH HECK! The weather didn’t cooperate for the Brown Bag Hustle in January, but everyone was in “hustle mode” with cars packed and stashed downsized. Sorry for the disappointment, but remember that spring is coming and we’re looking for a re-schedule date! Remember:
Don’t stash it again!
Just put it in a bin!
It would be a sin!
If back it came again…less thin!
Thank You for All Your Efforts,
Donna Fitzgerald &BBH Committee
Treasurer’s Report
Bank Balance Guild Account as of December 1, 2023: $32,930.62
Income: $60.00
Expenses: $106.00
Ending Balance as of December 29,2023: $32,884.62
Income was Membership and a guest fee. Expenses were the sale of left over Boutique items which were transferred to Boutique account
Bank Balance Boutique Account as of December 1, 2023: $5,697.52
Income: $106.00 Transfer from Guild (check was deposited in wrong account)
Expenses: $321.30 Member Vendor payouts and state taxes
Ending Balance as of December 29, 2023: $5,482.22
Grand Total of both accounts: $38,366.84
Respectfully submitted, Madge Pierce, Treasurer
All are invited…
On the third Thursday of each month, members of Village Quilters meet in the community room of the State Bank of the Lakes, 50 Commerce Drive, Grayslake. This group is called Sunshine Stitchers. Everyone is invited to attend this activity. The bank allows us to use the room from 10 am to 3 pm, however most of us show up closer to 11:30. Some bring hand stitching to do, some cut out fabric, some lay out their quilts and some bring their machines. Some do little work and just talk! This group of women is very friendly and they will welcome you. If you are a new member, this would be a perfect way to get to know others. If you want a guarantee that others will be there, call or text Kathy Huesinkveld or Marti Austin.
Quilting for $$$
Recently I was asked about quilters in our guild who may be interested in making quilts on commission. I immediately thought of two people, but I think that there may be more of you out there who are interested in quilting for others. There comes a time in our quilting life when we have made quilts for all our friends and family and they can’t take anymore. We want to continue to quilt, but we don’t know who should get what we have made. Quilting on commission maybe be a good idea. Please email me your name or talk to me at our guild meetings if you’d like more information!
Marti Austin
Holiday Party Thank You!
Thank you to all who attended, and hopefully enjoyed, our holiday party in December.
We wish to extend a special thank you to the following members who helped us coordinate the many fine details:
Carrol Stovold for her generous offer to transport our donated food pantry items for those in need during the holidays.
Christine Tindell for coming early to let us in to set up and jumping right in to help out, along with being our movie trivia answer guru.
Sharon Pierluissi and Andrea Krier, our membership greeters, for assisting us with check in and collection of monies still owed.
Last but not least, the Village Quilters Board members for bringing all the yummy desserts and everyone who stayed and made quick work of cleaning off the tables at the end.
Your holiday hosts, Bobbie & Cindy