More meeting news and notes re dues

Hi everyone -

I hope you've come through Sandy safely. I've been very lucky so far but my heart goes out to those who were less fortunate.

November meeting: Thurs, 11/15/12. I believe this is the meeting when Linda Lum DeBono will be presenting. If I'm wrong about the meeting, someone please let us all know! Check out her web site: http://www.lindalumdebono.com/

December meeting: Changed from Thurs, 12/20/12 to Thurs, 12/13/12.


I'm having so much fun working on the block from the Scrap Bag Exchange! The block should be 10 1/2" when done, and is due at the December meeting. The storm has given me some unexpected quality quilting time!

I agree totally with Rayna that the October meeting was very exciting, with lots of terrific program ideas and plans discussed! For example, Beth spoke briefly about one possibility for a guild/small group challenge: the 1,000,000 Pillows Challenge project (see allpeoplequilt.com).

Finally, Since the group voted for membership dues, we now have an "official" membership list which so far lists only those who were at the October meeting and have either paid or committed to pay the dues.


If you were not at the meeting and wish to become a member, you can either email me (peggy.kelleher@gmail.com) with your name, phone # and email address or just sign up at any meeting. I will be sending out an updated list to all members after each meeting.

The dues will be used for various things: batting and backing for quilts made by the group or small groups, programs, membership cards, etc. At this point, dues can only be paid either in cash (preferred) or by check made out to "Cash". Rayna will be handling the money and I will maintain the list. If paying the dues is a hardship for you, please just tell Rayna and they will be waived. Of course, this will be totally confidential.

Stay safe - and see you all next month!

Peggy

October meeting was lively!

Lots of discussion about business items, projects in the works, and show and tell from antique to modern!  

Dues, a necessary evil if we are to function as a group, will be $25 for a year. We started officially meeting in June, so it seems sensible to have dues be renewable in June.  Once you have paid (and gotten the first four months for free - LOL) you will be official and Peggy

will inscribe you in the list on her computer. She has kindly volunteered to keep the membership list - thanks, Peggy!! We also decided that new people can come to two meetings without paying but then have to join if they want to come again and be part of our NNJMQ.

So - bring checks or cash to the November meeting and you'll be official till June 2013. 

Other things:

• We need batting for the quilts we are making (Lonely Crayons) and other group activities. Fairfield was having a sale on their roll batting 100% cotton - 90" x 20 yds that retails for around $250. I was able to get it wholesale and on sale for the guild's use for $99.95 plus around $9 shipping. Yay!  It is now standing in my front hall. I'll bring it to the next meeting so we can cut what we need and then if anybody wants to volunteer to be Royal Keeper of the Batting, that would be great.

• Kelli is spearheading the QuiltCon charity quilt project, so if you want to make blocks and work on the quilt, let her know.

1. Small, informal "bees" are a great way to get acquainted. If you want to make a quilt with negative space or a quilt in purple, orange, and green; or exchange wonky blocks and make quilts with them (or anything else that sounds like fun) and a few people want to do the same thing - get together to make your quilts en groupe and then bring them to show and tell!  We'd love to see them.

• Melanie volunteered to profile different members on this blog so that we can all find out something about everybody. Great! Looking forward to it.

•  Please sign up as an author on the blog and share with us between meetings.  Let me know and I'll send you an invitation.

• On another subject -- we are a "Modern Quilt Guild" chapter and it would be nice to focus more on the modern sensibility.  More about this, next month.  In the meantime, you'll get a great feel of what Modern is about if you subscribe to updates on the National MQG blog - http://themodernquiltguild.com. Lots of info and great ideas, plus visuals.

Finally -- Show & Tell

Dawn brought in this wonderful old top to show us.  We decided that the postage-stamp Trip Around the World, probably from the 1940's, was too cool  to languish without somebody having it to love, so we decided to rescue it and finish it.  It's old but has a very graphic sensibility, despite its lack of - uh - negative space.

Here are a few more...

Next two meeting dates

Thursday, November 15

Thursday, December 13 (the 2nd Thurs)

Cheers,

Rayna

Weeks Ringle in New Jersey!

This is SOOO exciting!

In case you haven't yet heard, Weeks Ringle will be at Pennington Quilt Works on Nov. 15th, 16th and 17th. There will be a trunk show and 2 one-day workshops. Unfortunately, the trunk show on the 15th conflicts with our next guild meeting, but I am signed up for both of the workshops and I can't wait!

If you aren't familiar with Weeks, she and her husband (Bill Kerr) are two very talented modern quilt designers. You have probably seen some of their very inspiring books, including The Modern Quilt Workshop, Quilts Made Modern, and Transparency Quilts. I recently read a description of their work that I think is apt - they create "heirloom quality modern quilts". Their work is just beautiful.

They are a hot commodity these days and, looking at the teaching schedule posted on their web site (www.funquilts.com), it seems the next workshop scheduled for  anywhere on the east coast isn't until May of 2014 (in VA). If you get the chance to go see her in Pennington, I think it's going to be worth your while!

Here's the quilt shop's web site: www.penningtonquilts.com. FYI, without traffic Pennington is not too far from Princeton and is a little over an hour's drive from Montclair.

Hope you can work it out!

Peggy

MEETING Thursday, OCT 18!!

Just a quick reminder about Thursday night's meeting.  Bring your brown bag of scraps and something to share.

We have the Lonely Crayon quilt tops and are moving right along with them!  Kelli will talk about the QuiltCon charity quilts and we'll be talking about some business items.

PLUS - I have a giveaway for everybody!!

See you Thursday, Oct 18 (tomorrow) at 7 at Rock Paper Scissors!

QUILTCON-Community Service Opportunity

Several meetings ago, we discussed an opportunity to participate in a community service project in conjunction with QUILTCON, the inaugural quilt show presented by the Modern Quilt Guild.

from the Quiltcon specifications: As a way of giving something back to QuiltCon’s host city of Austin, Texas, we’re going to use the blocks that aren’t selected for the raffle quilt to make quilts for each of the 46 beds at the Austin Children’s Shelter. This will be MQG’s first large-scale charity project and we look forward to both using the many beautiful blocks we received for the challenge and getting as many guilds as possible involved in the process!  The quilts will be due to be delivered by, February 1, 2013.

So, I have registered our chapter as interested in completing a block, and we should expect our bundle of seven (7) blocks in the coming weeks.

I have the following members as interested as follows:

Jessica Fabula

Cortney Flores

Peggy Kelleher

Amy Kiger-Williams

Debbie Krajkowski

Amy Rehbein
Melanie Tuazon

Once the blocks come in, we will meet to review them and to begin our creative process. 

If you are interested in adding your name to the list, please email me at k puryear AT gmail DOT com (remove the spaces). ~ksp