Meeting Recap (February 9, 2019)

Thank you to everyone who came out to Saturday's meeting! It was great to see everyone again after the long wait since December, and we hope everyone had fun!

• Gayle, our Treasurer, gave us the updated financial info. Don't forget your 2019 dues of $40 are due immediately to remain a member in good standing. You can pay via our Paypal link or mail a check to Gayle (see our member roster for her contact info).
• Krista, our Secretary, announced our membership numbers and passed out our MQG and STLMQG membership cards and pins.
• Marie, our VP, announced several pieces of quilting news and happenings (more about these will be sent via email).
• Jessica, our President, covered several items:
• Our second quilt show has been scheduled for July 20-21, 2019! It will be held at the Kirkwood Community Center. More info on the blog Quilt Show page!
• This month's Hand-Sew Happy Hour will take place on February 12 at the Brentwood Bread Co. More info here.
• We're welcoming two speakers to the guild for lectures and workshops this year, Heather Jones in June and Giuseppe Ribaudo (aka @giucy_giuce) in September. Lots more info will be coming soon!
• Our March meeting will include a mini workshop for members hosted by Perennial, a local community workshop and store whose motto is "Creative Reuse for All!" All members in attendance will get to make a woven necklace and a pocket sewing kit. It should be lots of fun. The week before the meeting, we'll be sending out a registration form for all those who plan to attend so we can get a sense of numbers and make sure we have plenty of kits. ---(NOTE: While we love having visitors at our meetings, events such as this are one of the perks of STLMQG membership. Visitors at the March meeting will have to pay $10 to participate in the workshop and may not be allowed to participate if we do not have enough kits to supply all members in attendance.)---

• We had a lot of announcements from several of our committees, and you can find all of the details in their respective blog posts: No Excuses Challenge, Project Linus Charity Project, Quilt Show, Rainbow BOM, and Block Lotto.
• For this month's activity, we enjoyed a fun game of sewing bingo. We hope everyone had fun testing their sewing vocabulary, and congrats to those who won thread and chocolate!
• The break was followed by a brief discussion of QuiltCon, which is coming up next week in Nashville! We surveyed who was going and answered questions members had about what to expect. We hope everyone who's going has a great time!
• We finally got to have our Show and Tell of members' finished quilts from last year's Rainbow BOM, and boy were they great! Check out these beauties from Barb Phelps and Marilynn Maurer, and then skip over to our IG page for lots more. We also raffled three gift cards to Fabric Bubb for those who finished. Thank you to everyone who played along!

• We wrapped up the meeting with another great Show and Tell, including these beauties by Patti Baymiller and Lilo Whitener-Fey. Keep an eye on our Instagram page to see lots more pics of the meeting, show and tell, and our members' projects throughout the month.

See you in March!

No Excuses Challenge

Our Member Swap and Challenge Committee announced this year's guild challenge at our February meeting. Appropriately named the "No Excuses Challenge," it's so easy, you won't have any excuse for not joining in the fun. Here are the details:

All members in attendance at the meeting received a Denyse Schmidt Modern Solids mini charm pack from Free Spirit. The remaining charm packs will be available at the March meeting for those who missed out.

Image courtesy of Denyse Schmidt

To participate in the challenge:

1. You must use at least one square from the mini charm pack.
2. You can make any quilted item that you want -- a quilt, bag, pillow, bib, potholder -- you get the picture.
3. Projects are due at the May 11th meeting.
4. Three $20 gift card prizes will be randomly selected from the entrants. Two of the prizes will go to quilt entries (any size), and the third prize will be awarded for other items.
5. There will be a category for the challenge at this year's guild quilt show, and participants are encouraged to submit their projects for display.

 Happy sewing!

--2019 Member Swap and Challenge Committee: Marianne Belcke (Chair), Kerry Caverly, Terry Darling, Heather Dye, Marie Hill, Mary Nygard, and Krista Robbins

Charity Project 2019: Project Linus

Every year, the STLMQG sponsors a sewing project for charity. This year, Project Linus has been designated as the recipient of quilts made by members of the guild.

All quilts will be donated locally. Project Linus donates quilts to organizations in the St. Louis area and St. Charles counties, some of which include the American Red Cross, Cardinal Glennon and St. Louis Children’s hospitals, Shriner’s Hospital, St. Louis Crisis Nursery, pediatric emergency rooms, and Women’s Safe House.

Quilts are donated to children from birth to 18 years of age.

Quilt Donation Guidelines:

• Quilts must be new, handmade, and washable. 
• Fabric should be cotton or cotton/poly blend. Knit fabric is not acceptable.
• Cotton or acrylic batting is acceptable.
• While we encourage members to make a quilt, Project Linus also accepts tied comforters, fleece blankets, and crocheted or knitted afghans.
• Per our local Project Linus chapter's request, quilts must be no smaller than 36” x 36” and no larger than 40” x 60”.
• Very important! Quilts must be free of smoky smells, chemicals, and pet hair and should not have any embellishments such as buttons, beads, or sequins.
• Although not required for donation, if possible, please include an STLMQG Cares label on the lower right corner of the quilt back. Labels will be available at all guild meetings.
• Due dates: the Charity Committee will accept quilt donations at the May and November meetings.

Quilting Giveaway:
This year, members can enter their finished Project Linus quilt tops for a chance to win free long-arm quilting services for the quilt top! The Charity Committee will announce one winner at each meeting between March and September.

To enter:

1. You must be a current, dues-paying member of the St. Louis Modern Quilt Guild.
2. Finish a Project Linus quilt top. Quilt tops must meet the Project Linus parameters laid out by the Charity Committee above.
3. Post your quilt top on Instagram by midnight the night before each meeting. Use the hashtags #stlmqgcares AND #stlmqggiveaway in your post. We encourage you to also use #stlmqg and #ProjectLinus. If you do not use Instagram, you may email your entry to tracecreekquilting@gmail.com.
4. Members may post more than one quilt top, but each quilt may only be entered once per drawing. On Instagram, members may post entries individually or share multiple quilt tops in one post using the “swipe” function.
5. Posts are only considered for the upcoming meeting’s drawing; once a winner is announced, the slate is wiped clean for the next meeting’s drawing. Members are welcome to re-post quilts for the next drawing.
6. The winning member does not have to be present to win. Winners will be connected via email to the longarmer who has donated services for that particular month.

Binding Services
Winners of the quilting giveaway also qualify for free binding services! Arrangement details will be included in an email to the winner.

Need Inspiration?
Visit the national and local websites for patterns and more information about Project Linus. 

New! COME AND “KIT” IT FOR PROJECT LINUS

So you want to do your part to make quilts for Project Linus but just can’t seem to find the time in your demanding schedule? We’ve got you covered with Come and “Kit” It For Project Linus!

(Updated July 2019) The Charity Committee created 59 kits for members who wish to make quilts for Project Linus. The kits include the following:

• Fabric for a quilt top, backing, and binding;
• Pattern/instructions for Rail Fence (40” x 40”) OR 9-Patch (36” x 36”) quilt top; and
• STLMQG Cares label;
• Batting will be provided by the member.

Here’s how you can be a part of Come and “Kit” It For Project Linus:

Make a Fabric Donation
Updated April 2019: Members responded so very generously to our request for fabric (230 yards!), that no further donations are necessary. Thank you!

We need fabric to create the kits. We would be grateful for all of the yardage you are willing to donate with a minimum of a ¾ yard cut. Please remember that fabrics should be cotton or cotton/poly blend. Fabric donations will be accepted at the meetings in April and May. If you have fabric to donate and can’t make arrangements for someone to drop it off at a guild meeting, please contact any member of the Charity Committee, and we’ll settle on an arrangement to obtain your donation.

Come and “Kit” It
(Updated July 2019) All kits were disseminated to interested members at our July guild meeting. Thank you to everyone who took one. Finished quilts are due at the November guild meeting.

As an added bonus, completed quilt tops qualify for the monthly quilting giveaway. It’s that easy! 

--2019 Charity Committee: Gina Shelley (Chair), Erin Chan, Nancy Dlugosz, Emily DuBois, Patti Hawkins, Ann Philiph, Amy Suiter, and Lilo Whitener-Fey

Meeting #90 (February 9, 2019)

Hello modern quilters! Let's hope the weather cooperates so we can finally have our first meeting of the year. We can't wait to see everyone again and get started on another great year. We hope you can join us!

Date: February 9, 2019
Time: 10 am-12:30 pm
Location: The Heights
8001 Dale Ave., St. Louis, MO 63117
*Childcare available, please see info here* 

   =================================================================

Agenda:

-Welcome & Guild Business
     :: Membership Information
     :: Financial Information
     :: Quilting News / Around Town
     :: Reminders
- Announce speakers and March meeting activity 
- Announce Charity Project (Gina Shelley)
- Activity: Sewing Bingo and Valentine's Celebration

---Break--- 

- Brief QuiltCon discussion
- Reminder: Block Lotto #1 due in March
- Rainbow BOM finished items show and tell and prize raffle 
- Announce next Rainbow BOM skill and raffle book for finished January blocks 
- Announce Mini Charms Challenge (Marianne Belcke) 
- Announce Quilt Show information (Robyn Passig)
- Show & Tell
- Door prizes
- Mix & Mingle

-------------------------- Reminder ------------------------------

:: We're still accepting dues for 2019, which we are holding steady at $40 for this year. Dues can be paid by cash, check, or credit card. You can pay at the meeting or online through our Paypal link.