February 2025
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February Program: Annette Kennedy – From Photo to Quilt, and Enhancement for Visual Depth and Details
Tuesday, February 18, 2025: 7 p.m. via Zoom
Since 2003 Annette has been creating pictorial art quilts that incorporate hand dyed, painted, commercial fabrics, and paint and thread, based on photographs she has taken. Her work focuses mainly on nature, including landscapes and flora, but also includes some architectural pieces. Her goal is to express her personal experience with a place or subject in a way that gives beauty, peacefulness and a sense of awe to those who view it.
Annette has won many local and national awards, including the Best Wall Quilt Purchase Award at the American Quilter’s Society’s national show in Paducah, KY in 2009 with her quilt Mountain Chapel. That quilt is now part of the permanent collection of the National Quilt Museum in Paducah. It was also featured on the cover of the Summer 2022 issue of Art Quilting Studio!
February Workshop: Krista Moser Workshop – Fall Foliage
Saturday, February 22, 2025: 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. via Zoom
Krista Moser is BAAACK! After our delightful Zoom lecture with Krista back in February 2024, we’re bringing her back for a whole day Zoom workshop on a Saturday in February 2025! Krista is the creative force and inspiration behind Krista Moser, The Quilted Life and we already know just how creative and inspirational she can be! She designed the 60-degree diamond rulers for Creative Grids and has published dozens of patterns using the rulers. She loves symmetry, clean lines and bold colors! Don’t miss it!
We have selected the Fall Foliage pattern for our workshop. You can make either a lap size quilt (57” x 60”) or a table runner.
Be sure to check out the Krista Moser Registration page to sign up for the workshop and get information on ordering the pattern, fabric kit (not required) and Mini Diamond Ruler (required).
March Program: Pat Bishop – Quilt Like an Artist
Tuesday, March 18, 2025: 7 p.m. – In Person
Pat Bishop makes art because she loves to create! Her art is based on a memory of things that mean a lot to her; she feels that with her art she is saving memories.
Pat Bishop is an internationally recognized fiber artist, whose work has been juried into numerous exhibitions, including the International Quilt Festival in Houston (“Nest” and “Globe Thistle”). Her works have appeared on the cover of Quilting Arts Magazine (Winter, 2024) and reflect her deep respect for the natural world. She has been featured in articles about her own impressionistic style.
In our guild presentation, Pat will share some tips and her experiences as an artist and share some quilts she has made as a reflection of her artistic endeavors. She will also tell us a bit about her background and a unique Wisconsin/Illinois group of which she is a part, called Women Who Run With Scissors.
Please join us on March 18th when she comes to our regular guild meeting to meet this creative, artistic speaker! (Don’t you want to learn about making art that saves your memories?? Yes, you do!)
March Workshop: Abstraction Distraction 2.0 With or Without a Pattern – Pat Bishop Workshop
Wednesday, March 19, 2025: 9 am to 3:30 pm - In Person
Pat has created a special class for us merging her Abstraction Distraction workshop with her Easy Collage with a Pattern workshop. Check out the photos on Pat’s website to get inspiration for creating your own abstract art quilt using your own photo or one of Pat’s existing patterns.
In this class you will learn what abstract is and how to think abstractly. Expand your creativity with no quilting rules or rulers. This is not a class for perfectionists, come with an open mind and a sense of adventure.
Pat will share design elements and what makes a successful composition. She will make it fun and successful, and you will be FEARLESS!
Go to the Pat Bishop Registration page to sign up for the workshop and join us for a fun day of creating art together.
Nancy Zamor and Enid Mattimiro, Co-Program Chairs
Quilt Show Corner: The Basics!
Quilts from the Village XIX will be held October 24 & 25, 2025 at the College of Lake County (CLC) Grayslake Campus.
Our quilt show serves 3 main purposes:
A fund raiser for the guild
A way for guild members to share their work with friends, family, and the public
A way of promoting and supporting the art of quilting with the public
Every VQ guild member is expected to participate in the show in several ways. You will be receiving many details over the coming months regarding participation expectations and opportunities. For now we will start with the first basic category – Submit your quilts!
You are not required to enter a quilt in the show, but we hope you will! Whether you are a beginning quilter or an award winning professional, we want you to have a quilt in the show. Celebrate your work with us.
Quilts may be personal, made as the result of a VQ workshop, made for the Art Quilt Challenge, or made for the Quilts of Valor Program.
You may enter as many quilts as you wish. If it turns out that there more quilts than space allows, you will be asked to prioritize which quilts you want to be hung in the show.
Quilts must be made by you. If you use the services of a long-armer, give credit to that person on your quilt label.
You may not enter a quilt which has hung in our show before.
Attach a permanent, personal label to the back of your quilt.
Attach a hanging sleeve to the back of your quilt. Check the Members Show Info page for a tutorial for making the sleeve. Sleeves must be stitched or basted on (no pins!).
All quilts must be registered online. Registration will begin March 1. A picture of your quilt is required to complete registration. You will learn more about how to do this from Enid Mattimiro and Kearstie. Grenier.
Quilt Entry Deadlines:
July 16, 2025 for all quilts which will be hung
August 16, 2025 for Quilts of Valor that will not be hung
Quilt Show Corner: Art Quilt Challenge Theme – 3-D Quilts!
The 2025 Art Quilt Challenge features 3-D quilts. All quilts must be 12” x 12” finished (please note that this size is a correction to what we published last month). They must be three layers, quilted and bound. They must have a 3-dimensional aspect, in addition to the quilting, which rises off of the quilt. We encourage quilters to incorporate nature subjects, embellishments and hand embroidery, but these are not required. For example, you might use trapunto, or small stuffed animals. You might incorporate leaves and twigs or you might use 3-dimensional pinwheels. Quilts can be traditional or modern.
Linda Spring and Sarah Solotoroff, Co-chairs
Quilt Show Corner: Silent Auction
The Silent Auction is one of the top three income producers for our Quilt Show, generating well over $4,000 in profit for the guild in past shows!
This success is a direct result of the beautiful items you have contributed. This year we are hoping that every guild member will participate, contributing a piece that shows off your quilting talent. Items that are particularly appealing are seasonal wall hangings and table toppers, more elaborate wall hangings, wool applique, small wholecloth pieces and full-size quilts. Whatever you love to do, someone else will love too!
Once your show entries are complete, please set aside some time to create something special for Silent Auction. Our goal is 100 items, so you can see we need each member’s help. We are asking for new items, made by guild members. We would like to have the items by our September meeting.
Each contribution should be accompanied by a simple form, so we know how best to display it, and because bidders want to know who created it. If you’d like us to highlight something special about the item, please use the back of the form. Forms will be available at our meetings and on the Members Show Info page.
Thank you in advance for your support!
Erica Jarrett and Donna Derstadt, Co-chairs
Message from the President
Have you been impressed with the quilts shared at our Show and Tell sessions and that are hung in our quilt shows? We have amazing talented quilters in our guild. Have you ever wondered what another person’s quilt journey has been like? Were they always a modern quilter? I wonder if they ever struggled with picking out fabrics for their quilt? How do they get so many quilts made? What is their quilting space like?
We are going to explore ways we can get to know our members a little better. Erica Jarrett has agreed to help us on this journey by interviewing members and featuring them in our newsletters! If you are approached by Erica please respond with “Yes, I would love to share my quilting story!”
We are also exploring ways to get our love of quilting out to the public. Maybe we can hang some quilts in local art schools or libraries or out in a park for a day. We would be promoting Village Quilters as well as the art of quilting. If someone is interested in working on these ideas please let me know!
Sharon Pierluissi
January Retreat Highlight: Shout out to these ladies who sewed all weekend during the retreat in January on their vintage machines! There’s nothing like the hum of a Featherweight! How awesome that these machines are still being used decades later.
Spring Quilt Retreat
Hurray! Hurray! Our upcoming retreat is a great activity to celebrate spring! Our retreat will be held Friday, April 4 though Sunday April 6 at the Hilton Garden Inn in Mettawa.
Sign up for our Spring Retreat will open on Saturday, March 1, at 8:00 a.m. Set your alarm so you don’t miss out on all the fun! The price is $64.00 to be paid on the website when you sign up.
Questions? Contact Marti Austin
Thank you to everyone who contributed quilted hearts for the Fill a Heart 4 Kids Valentines Day care packages! This Lake Forest-based organization supports foster and homeless kids during their most vulnerable times, and our quilted hearts will be used to provide a homemade touch to their care packages! Some of our guild members quickly made a total of 110 hearts after Jocelyn Galloway brought the opportunity to our attention, and we shared them at the January retreat.
Sunshine Stitchers Invitation
Everyone is invited to an open sew with the Sunshine Stitchers group on the third Thursday of the month at State Bank of the Lakes, 50 Commerce Drive in Grayslake. The time of this get together has changed to 10:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.
We meet in the community room. Enter the bank through the front door, look to the right and you’ll see the elevator. Take the elevator to the lower level and you are there!
There are large tables so if you want to lay out or pin your quilt, there is plenty of room. Electricity is available, so bring along your machine if you’d like. Many bring hand stitching.
Also bring along a sack lunch if you want to spend the day. The only rule to follow is that we must take out what we bring in.
If you would like to attend, but want to be sure someone else will be there, contact Kathy Heuskinveld or Marti Austin. Most months there are people in attendance. Attending this event is a good way to meet new people, get work done, and laugh.
Treasurer’s Report
Bank Balance as of December 1, 2024: $36,844.29
Income: $710.00
Expenses: $2,204.81
Ending Bank Balance as of December 31, 2024: $35,349.48
December income was primarily from workshop fees. Expenses were $1,800 for the January 2025 retreat rental, $315 for reimbursement to October retreat attendees, $64.67 for raffle quilt fabric, and $25.14 for electronic transaction processing fees.
Respectfully submitted, Melanie Houser, Treasurer
Membership Report
We had 49 members in the Zoom meeting for January. Please welcome returning member Joan Lagedrost to the guild.
Please greet our new members and don’t forget your name badges when we return to in-person meeting in March!
Lorraine Potts and Robyn McGarrigle are your membership co-chairs. If you have a question, please feel free to reach out to us!
Happy February Birthday to the following members:
3rd - Kathy Heusinkveld
5th - Kathy Avellone
16th - Dorothy Roderick
18th - Carole Quille
23rd - Eleanor McMurrin
25th - Cheryl Mercy
26th - Mary Swanson