March 2025
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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!)
Come Dine With Us! Would you like an opportunity to get to know our guest speaker a little better? If so, join Nancy, Enid, and Pat Bishop for dinner before the March meeting. We will meet at Mickey Finn’s Brewery in Libertyville at 4:30 p.m. Sign up to join us at dinner. You’ll receive an email with all the details a couple of days before the meeting.
Notes from Annette Kennedy: As promised, Annette has generously put together a detailed list of information to answer our questions from the February meeting about her techniques, supplies, books, etc.
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
Location: Faith Lutheran Church, 680 Deerpath, Lake Forest
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!
Sign up for the workshop and join us for a fun day of creating art together.
Nancy Zamor and Enid Mattimiro, Co-Program Chairs
Message from the President
January and February proved to be good months for zoom meetings, especially during the extreme cold in February! It is great to have the option of having meetings and enjoying speakers and workshops via zoom when it is much cozier to stay in our warm homes.
Looking ahead, April is our Annual Meeting! It is an important time for our guild as we will elect a new officer for Advanced Programming and approve our budget for the upcoming fiscal year. Our guild does a good job of providing information to all of the members about the fiscal health of the guild, I hope that many of you will attend this important meeting. This year we will also be asking for your feedback – What have you especially liked during this past year? What suggestions do you have for the guild moving forward?
The April meeting will start at 6:00 pm beginning with a potluck dinner. We’re asking members to bring a salad to share with everyone. The board will provide desserts and beverages. After eating we’ll proceed with the business meeting and Show and Tell.
Sharon Pierluissi
Quilt Show Corner: Raffle Quilt, Raffle Tickets, and Travel
The raffle quilt is finished! The big reveal to our membership will be very soon. It was designed and created by a talented team of VQ members. Christine Tindell, Marti Austin, Nancy Zamor, Celia Stratman, and Kearstie Grenier are the masterminds behind the design and construction of this year’s quilt. Donna Derstadt (with an assist from Erica Jarrett) quilted it, and Judy Hillebrand did the binding. We know many of you sewed the paper-pieced stars which add sparkle to the night sky background. Thank you!
Raffle Tickets
VQ Guild members will take the raffle quilt to various events to sell raffle tickets. As in previous years, we will sell tickets using an online raffle system (Raffle Creator). We also have cash and check options for raffle sales. For all sales, the raffle ticket numbers are generated by Raffle Creator and sent directly via email.
Susan Surdyk is in charge of raffle tickets and can answer any questions. Please note: our raffle tickets may only be sold in the state of Illinois.
Members are expected to promote the sale of at least $25 worth of tickets. You don’t have to buy them yourself; you can encourage friends and family to buy tickets.
There are three ways to buy raffle tickets:
Direct your friends and family to our website (villagequilters.org) where they can follow the link to buy tickets with a credit card. Raffle numbers will be sent directly to the buyer by email.
On your phone, visit our website to find the Raffle Creator link or use the camera on your phone to focus on the QR code on our postcards to go directly to our Raffle Creator page. There you can buy tickets with the payment accounts you have on your phone – credit card, PayPal, etc.
Fill out a paper receipt and pay with cash. Each person only needs to fill out one paper receipt regardless of how many tickets are purchased. Susan will see that these ticket sales get entered into Raffle Creator, and the buyer will get their raffle numbers via email.
Raffle Quilt Travel
Nancy Giebel is scheduling quilt travel to events where we can sell raffle tickets. She has been very busy setting up dates for us! It works best to have at least two people take the quilt somewhere, so find a buddy for an outing to attend an event to take the quilt “on the road.”
Try to volunteer at least once to go with another member to an event to sell raffle tickets. Some of the events include selling at farmers’ markets, at area quilt shops, or at other guilds during their meetings. Nancy will be posting the quilt travel schedule and sign-up sheet soon.
Quilt Show Corner: It’s Time to Submit Your Quilts!
Registration is open now!
Due Date for submitting your quilts: July 16, 2025
Due Date for Quilts of Valor that will not be hung: August 16, 2025
Coming soon to the website:
Detailed instructions for submitting your quilt entries.
A printable checklist to collect all the required info about your quilt before you start filling out the entry form.
Instructions to help you upload your quilt photos.
Enid Mattimiro and Kearstie Grenier – Cataloging Committee
Quilt Show Corner: Boutique
We are looking for hand-made products big and small, from bookmarks to baby quilts and everything in between to sell in the Boutique at the Quilt Show! You can choose to make and donate items, or you can become a Member Vendor to sell items with a percentage of your proceeds going to the guild.
In the coming months we will share more information on specific items we could use for the Boutique. Also, a sign-up sheet to get an idea of what you want to make to donate will be available. We look forward to working with you.
Your Boutique Committee: Sari Hurtig, Rose Gray, and Robyn McGarrigle
Erica Jarrett
Members Meeting Members - New Feature!
The guild’s president, Sharon Pierluissi, was looking for help creating a newsletter column to introduce members, and I volunteered. As I will be reaching out to members over the coming months, I will start by introducing myself. I have been a member of Village Quilters since attending my first quilt show in 1991, back in the St. James Church in Lake Forest. I have held all sorts of positions for the guild, and have seen our membership grow significantly from those early days. My quilting skills have grown as well, and I now am enjoying working with clients to create special quilts as there truly are only so many quilts I need. Working with others also lets me be creative which is my favorite part of quilt design.
I learned to sew on my mom’s sewing machine when I was young. She bought a Bernina sewing machine in 1976, and I took the sewing class with her and have sewn on a Bernina ever since! In fact, I inherited her original 1976 Bernina many years ago, and upgraded to a newer Bernina about 10 years ago. I love working with color and design, but confess I am not much for “directions” – if there’s any easier way to do something, I will do it, directions be damned! I am lucky enough to have a dedicated space in our home for my quilt work, which my mother always had as well. I have to be ruthless in organizing my sewing space as it is not particularly large. Thus I cull fabrics, books and patterns and try to finish projects as there is only so much shelf space! Fortunately, the guest room where my sewing space is tucked has a wonderful two-sided shelf so the other side is filled with quilts!
Please be willing to chat with me if I reach out. I have no agenda, and hope to meet many of you, learn about your quilting journey, and see your work space. I am hoping to provide a photo of you for our members to get to know you better. This will be an evolving process – it is about all of us so your ideas are welcome!
Erica Jarrett
Erica’s guest room sewing space
Spring Quilt Retreat
Our retreat will be held April 4 – 6, 2025. If you were one of the lucky ones up early enough to sign up for a spot, Congratulations! If you missed the sign up and would like your name added to the wait list, send an email to Marti Austin right away. Those whose names are on the wait list will be contacted when an opening occurs. This last retreat, everyone on the wait list was able to attend. Predictions can’t be made about what will happen in April, but if your name isn’t on the list, you’ve got no chance!
If you want a hotel room for the retreat, please send your room request to Marti before March 12. You’ll need to specify single or double room, roommate’s name if any, dates that you would like the room, and any special requests.
We always have some great snacks at our retreats! As promised, here is the recipe for the delicious cookies by Mary Phemister that were very popular at our last retreat!
See What We Did? - Members at Work!
Check out the beautiful creations in progress from our Zoom workshops in January with Audrey Esarey of Cotton and Bourbon and in February with Krista Moser! Workshops are a great way to interact with other members and learn new skills!
Sunshine Stitchers Invitation
On the third Thursday of the month, members of Village Quilters meet at the State Bank of the Lakes, 50 Commerce Drive, Grayslake for an informal sew in. We meet from 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. We bring a sack lunch, sit, chat, sew by hand or by machine. There is plenty of room, an ironing board available to use, and lots of tables to baste a quilt on. All are welcome!
Treasurer’s Report
Bank Balance as of December 31, 2024: $35,349.48
Income: $365.00
Expenses: $105.79
Ending Bank Balance as of January 31, 2025: $35,608.69
January income included $330 in workshop fees, $60 in retreat income and -$25 in membership fees (one new membership less a refund for a duplicate payment). The $105.79 expenses above represent those that have cleared the bank as of January month end ($93.36 for holiday party expenses and $12.43 for transaction processing fees). However, there are $5,539.50 in checks outstanding which have not yet cleared the bank ($4,139.50 to CLC for show venue deposit and $1,400 for the January speaker). Therefore, the adjusted bank balance after accounting for uncleared checks is $30,069.19.
Additional Treasurer Notes: At the January Board meeting, I requested that the Board review and document the policies and procedures regarding general reimbursement of funds as well as the refund practices related to workshops and retreats. The Board formalized the following refund policy, which has been in practice for some time: no refunds will be made to workshop or retreat participants, unless the event is canceled.
Although many members know that workshops are non-refundable, some do not, and new members would not know this, nor would non-members who might register for the workshop. This language will be added to our website, which makes the policy more visible.
Additionally, the Treasury policies and procedures related to funds disbursement to members and vendors will be posted on the website in the Treasury section. If you have used old copies of the Request for Payment form, please go to website, revisit the policy, and use the revised form when you request a payment from the Treasury crew.
Respectfully submitted, Melanie Houser, Treasurer
Membership Report
We had 44 members in the Zoom meeting for February. Please welcome new members Eimile McGarrigle, Marisa McGarrigle and Monica Morris.
We have a total of 107 members! Please greet our new members and don’t forget your name badges when we return to in-person 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 March Birthday to the following members:
Bobbie Etchell - 3/3
Madge Pierce - 3/20
Katherine Culbertson – 3/24
Jocelyn Galloway - 3/29
Salt Creek Quilters Guild Show
Salt Creek Quilters Guild is having “A Kaleidoscope of Quilts” quilt show on Saturday April 5th from 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. and Sunday April 6th from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. Beautiful quilts will be on display. The location is Highlands Middle School, 1850 Plainfield Road, La Grange, IL.
A live quilt auction will be held on Sunday April 6th from 1-3 p.m. The show includes special exhibits, vendor mall, and raffle baskets! All are invited! The website is: www.saltcreekqg.org.