Category: Uncategorized

Welcome to a new year with Alamance Piecemakers! New Board members starting their terms this month are President, Deborah F (standing), Nancy E (right) as Vice President, and Judy B (absent today) as Secretary. Susan H (left) is returning as Treasurer.

Introducing… Committee Chairs

You may know these ladies well, since they are continuing in their jobs. They summarized their roles at today’s meeting (which gave me a good opportunity to take their pictures!) Please note that most of them serve as part of a team of volunteers, which may include YOU!

Each committee chair is identified in the caption of the photo.

Taking Care of Business

Deborah F, our President for 2024, began her comments by sharing her goal of “Inclusion.” If you know Deborah, you know that she wants to know about it if you have a concern or unmet need. She then opened the business meeting by suggesting a few changes and making a few requests of our members. Requests include – letting her know if you are holding any inventory belonging to the guild, and who has keys to Elmira and the storage cabinets there. She also suggested (and members approved her idea) that Guild members provide “In Case of Emergency” information. It will be protected by a signature-seal and lock, but available “just in case” it is needed.

Member-approved operational changes for the coming year include:

• Meeting time moves back to 9 AM, with Fellowship from 8:30 to 9 AM.
• Make permanent the addition of June & July meetings to our annual schedule.
• Add to our monthly newsletter links (and passwords) to our electronic files online (like the private Facebook Group, and our Google Drive archive).
• Use of the microphone (which helps make sure we don’t miss anything!)

Program Topic: ”Quilting On the Cheap” and introducing the Cheap Challenge

You may have heard the adage, “Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without” – which Connie credited to http://www.seasonedhomemaker.com. In her presentation today, Connie contrasted that mindset from “the old days” with her definition of “Quilting on the cheap.”

Quilting “On the Cheap” = A thoughtful use of materials, time, and energy to produce quilts that you love at a price you love.

Attached here are a couple of resources from today’s presentation by Connie G, who happens to be our guild’s Programs Chair. She set a Challenge for all of us, to be completed by the May meeting, to make a quilt for ZERO dollars (or as cheap as you can), with the help of shared resources from your quilting friends, of course.

• Follow Ups Email – Contains links to John Flynn’s method of diagonally piecing a 42-inch wide cut of fabric to make your backing “wide enough.” See worksheet. This document also includes links to online sites offering Free Patterns. (Thanks, Sheila!)
• Options for the Cheap Challenge (Click here to see Connie’s handout on the various ways to participate.)
• Connie’s notes and suggestions were extensive! (If she shares her notes, I’ll archive and link it here.) She started by sharing a photo of her own fabric stash – Very Impressive! From talking about Fabrics, she moved to Patterns, then Batting, Thread, Backing, Classes, Sewing Machines, Quilting options, and even covered Irons!

Break Time

Our celebration of “Birthdays of the Month” today included cake pops! Taking a “potty break” at our monthly meetings includes the opportunity to share delicious snacks, pick up fabric from the Free Material Table, buy raffle tickets for the monthly drawing of (donated) prizes, sign up for events, suggest an Outreach Opportunity for the year, turn in charity quilts or items for raffle baskets, network about current projects or anything else. Please note that Maria asked for FOUR members each month to sign up to bring snacks. (See Maria if you didn’t get a chance to sign up today.)

Show and Tell

Members get to share their completed quilts at most every meeting. Today we met a new-ish member, Kathy L, and heard about her recent quilting cruise! Another quilt (of many shared today) was made by Joanna I for her grand-niece, using fabric that she had picked up from the Free Material Table at a guild meeting! Lovely!

Janis H shared some interesting projects she had made and recently re-discovered during her unpacking into a newly-renovated house. Also, as you can see on the far wall, we had a chance to view “up close” all the wonderful details included in the 2023 BOM series Connie called “Christmas Village Play Time.” These quilts had been showed in December, but today we got to really appreciate the creativity of these quilters who brought theirs back to be hung: (from left to right) – Connie G, Maria W, Ginny C, Susan H, and Carolyn F. Thanks for sharing!

Quilt Show Update

• Quilt Entries – Connie reported that she has received entry forms for 100 quilts to be in the March show! That is GREAT news! 
• Volunteers – That’s YOU! Next month, look for the volunteer sign up sheets (coordinated by Phyllis). 
• Aprons – Thanks to Gail vH, who has embroidered our new “Art Feeds the Soul” LOGO on each and every red apron!
• Publicity – Pick up a flyer or two to advertise for the upcoming Quilt Show – March 6-9. See Tanya if you need more flyers, or Joanna if you need more business cards.
• The “Artsy Challenge” for the 2025 Quilt Show was kicked off at the Artsy Group’s meeting this month. Each participant drew random criteria from brown paper bags to specify items in 7 different categories! It’s called the “Recipe Challenge” and it’s not too late to be included. Categories include color, block, quilting style, fabric type, and Connie’s favorite: the ZINGER. If interested, see Stephanie S for your “ingredients.” Plan to have your challenge project ready to share at the Artsy meeting this coming September. 

Programs Preview

Here are teasers about upcoming programs for 2024:

• February Artsy Topic is quilt labels. Note that date may be shifted from 1st Tuesday because of a conflict with a Quilt Show Planning Meeting. Connie will let us know.
• February 21 – Program Speaker is Lynn Christianson of Emerald Falls Quilts, who will enlighten us about the process of making a Laura Heine collage quilt.
• March 8 (Friday night of the quilt show at 6 PM) – Hollis Chatelain will speak on “The Emotion of Color.” Free to guild members. At Elon Community Church.
• March 20 – Program Speaker is Charles Cameron, a maker of modern quilts, will present on the topic of “An Engineer’s Guide to Color.” A workshop will be offered the same afternoon on his quilt pattern “Crooked Crosses and Bent Boxes.”
• April 17 – Program Speaker is Lisa Alley. Her topic is “Reclaiming Your Sewing Room.”
• May 15 – Program is our Mini-Show of “Cheap Challenge” Quilts, including sharing what we have learned!
• September 18 – Program topic is “Machine Embroidery and how it relates to quilt making.”

Other Announcements

• Karen G inquired to find out who had made a large wreath for the Merry Market. Her contacts at the local VFW would like one similar in size that is made with patriotic fabrics. (I think it was Lisa R.)
• Lisa R notified us to expect a sale of items that will be a fundraiser for our beloved member who recently passed. (Joint effort with the evening guild.)
• We heard from Linda A about a project her granddaughter is continuing – sewing Christmas stockings for those in need. She would like donations of Christmas fabric for next summer’s effort. Last year, she had completed 160 stockings, stuffed them with small gifts, and distributed them to great causes. Awesome!
• Finally, the winner of the monthly raffle drawing of the Accuquilt cutting system was Linda A. It was her lucky day!

Happy Sewing! – TG