June 2008 Newsletter

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NEXT MEETING: JUNE 2, 2008

DOOR PRIZES: If your last name begins with F, G or H please bring a door prize to the June meeting and give it to Elisabeth McMahon. This is a voluntary effort, but most of us like to receive a door prize and we hope everyone will participate. Please bring only quilting related items such as: Quilting Notions, fat quarters, triangle paper, magnetic pin holders, scissors, Pigma pens, etc.

PRESIDENT’S CORNER We will be using one of my favorite venues for the June meeting — several members will be demonstrating different tips and techniques.  Being able to share our quilting knowledge and skills is what our Guild is all about.  It does not matter whether you are a novice quilter or an expert quilter, we can all learn from each other.  I have never made a crazy quilt, but I have wanted to try by using old silk ties, beads, lace and silk ribbon, so I will be working this month on getting started and then sharing what I learn at the June meeting.  See everyone there!

Debi Cypert

SPOTLIGHT ON…: Since we have several new faces in the group, we’ve been doing a spotlight on feature in the newsletter to help everyone get better acquainted. We started with the officers, and soon will run out of “spotlights”. Please take a few minutes and send me a little bio about yourself. Just a couple of paragraphs — how long you’ve been in the Quilter’s Guild of Grand Prairie, how long you’ve been sewing/quilting and which quilt shop is your favorite. Any other information you want to send in about yourself or your fabric stash is welcome. If you don’t want to write anything about yourself, Paco has volunteered to interview you for up to 10 minutes. He would then write your bio. You may email your information to michelle@paco.org or you may give it to me at the May 5 meeting. If you want Paco to interview you, please let me know.

GET WITH THE PROGRAM! For June’s program, we are going to do a schoolhouse program. The officers will set up a station, the remaining guild members will divide up and rotate between stations. The time spent at each station will not be long, so we are not going to be doing a very difficult lesson at each station.

• Shirley Lewis: Prairie Points
• Michelle Rodriguez: Bias Binding
• Debi Cypert: How to make a crazy quilt block
• Cathy Mullin: How to make an Hourglass block using a half-square triangle
• Susan Hamilton: How to make four fan blocks using a single doily
• Sharon Milewski: easy Attic Windows

Susan Hamilton

UPCOMING PROGRAMS At our July 7 meeting we will mark our Guild’s 15th birthday.  We had our first Guild meeting on July 5, 1993.  To celebrate, we voted at the May meeting to have our annual birthday dinner catered by Eddlemon’s.  This will include dinner and paper goods.  We are asking the members to bring dessert and drinks.  So that we do not overestimate (or underestimate) the food that we need, please be sure we know that you plan to attend.  We will need to place the order with Eddlemon’s no later than Friday, June 27.

TREASURER’S REPORT
Beginning balance: 1416.43
Check to Sandy Shown for supplies: [27.91]
Deposit (dues): 25.00
Ending balance: 1413.52

PROFILE This year to help everyone get a little bit better acquainted with the members of the guild, we’ll spotlight a different member each month.

Spotlight on Sandy Shown
Membership

Sandy Shown is in charge of taking attendance and record keeping. Sandy is a third and fourth generation Native Texan. She joined the Guild in June of 2007, when she was brought in by Susan Hamilton.
She finds curves the most difficult to piece.

“I have learned the value of paying someone with a longarm quilter to do the work instead of rolling it through my machine, or trying to make time to quit it by hand when a meander is all I need,” she says.

Her favorite colors are blues, yellows and reds . Her least favorite colors are Chocolate brown and, depending on the combination, some greens.

“I really liked the Round Robin quilt project we did last year,” she says.  “It was fun and it  made me try new things with color and piecing.”

She has bags with fabric selections stashed in groups for future projects, as well as boxes of FQ’s and yardage to play with.

“So much fabric so little time.”

SAWTOOTH STAR:

For a 12 1/2″ finished star, cut the following:

Star Fabric:

1. Center square – 6 1/2″ square
2. Flying Geese small squares – size needed to make 6″ x 3″ finished geese.

➢ We will be making 4 Flying Geese blocks, so one large background fabric combined with 4 smaller star fabric squares should fit the star perfectly.
Background Fabric:

1. Flying Geese large square – size needed to make 6″ x 3″ finished geese.
2. Four corner squares – 3 1/2″ square each.

We will be setting this pattern as shown in the illustration.

MINUTES

• The  May 5, 2008 meeting of the Grand Prairie Quilt Guild was called to order by President Debi Cypert at 7:05 p.m.  The minutes were approved as printed in the newsletter.  The treasurer gave the current bank balance as $1,416.43.  There were 18 members and one guest present.  The guest was Susan’s friend, Sherry Sherry.
• Block of the month/Row Quilt:  all who had completed the houses and trees row brought their completed rows to show.  The 3rd row will be shown on July 7.  It is the Santa Row.
• Birthdays were Sandy, Sue and Joyce.
• Workshops:  Jelly Braids will be May 17.
• Newsletter:  Failed to put in about the Arlington Quilt Show which is May 9 and 10.  General announcement about Dallas Threads — see Dallasthreads.com — they will sell wholesale — minimum four cones of 6000 yds for $7.20 per cone.
• Remembrances:  Susan Cantrell married David Hamilton on April 28 and will now be known as Susan Hamilton.
• Susan introduced her friend, Sherry Sherry, who works with the Look Good, Feel Better organization through the American Cancer Society.  This is a national public service program to help women cope with appearance-related side effects of cancer treatment.  More info is at lookgoodfeelbetter.org.  She asked us to consider making turbans and hats as a service project for the program.
• Audit committee:  Michelle, Cathy and Grace audited the 2007 treasurer’s books and found everything to be in order.  The current balance tonight is $1,416.43.
• Upcoming programs:  June 2 will be schoolhouse demos.  July 7 will be our 15th birthday celebration.  Discussion was had about having Eddlemon’s cater.  The price will be approximately $9.25, including tax, per person.  It was moved, seconded and approved to have Eddlemon’s cater the July 7 dinner with the Guild paying for it.  Members will bring drinks and dessert.  We will need a head count by June 27.
• Door prizes were won by Susan, Marty, Grace, Sue, and our guest, Sherry.
• The program was the Ugly Fabric exchange.  Everyone was to bring ugly fabric cut into strips or charm squares for “shopping.”  This is in anticipation of our style show in November.
• There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned.

­Michelle Rodriguez

JELLY BRAIDS WORKSHOP: We had a great time at the Jelly Braids workshop May 17.  Thanks, Michelle, for leading the workshop.  We were a little confused when we first started the “braids”, but we got the hang of it and everyone seemed pleased with their fabric choices.  We did not get the top finished, but we will all work on the project at home and bring it to the next meeting so you will all know what you missed!  As always, the food was deeelicious and the conversation was fun.

UPCOMING WORKSHOPS July 26 will be UFO day and September 27 will be a mystery quilt workshop.  Stay tuned.

Shirley Lewis

ROW QUILT:How wonderful it was to see the House and Tree Rows for those participating in the Christmas Row Quilt.  If you didn’t bring your row to the May meeting, there’s time for you to catch up.  Bring it along with your third row — the Santa Row— to the July 7th meeting. It was inspiring to see the different things people are doing with this pattern — adding rows of angels and snowmen.  If you have any questions, be sure to let Grace know.

UPDATES We should be getting an updated membership list soon, but in the meantime, here’s a list of additions/changes. New members or returning members since the directory was issued: Elisabeth McMahon, Lillie Martinez, Juanita Green, Lisa Boyce

Name changes: Susan Cantrell got married on April 28 and is now Susan Hamilton

LOOK GOOD, FEEL BETTER At the May 5 meeting, Sherry Sherry talked to us about the Look Good, Feel Better program associated with the American Cancer Society.  She talked about the great need for hats for chemo patients and showed some samples she brought with her.  There are many free patterns available online. You can find some of them on the internet at these links:

• www.cedarhillquiltersguild.org/SpecialProjects/CancerPatientHats.htm
• www.sewing.org/enthusiast/html/ec_turban.html
• www.brimmingwithlove.org

The last one is the home page — click on the patterns at the top and it will take you to a number of free patterns.

FROM JANE COFFEY: If you took a Dresden Plate package from Jane to help complete Cheryl Rogers’ quilt, please get with Jane at the June meeting.  She needs to make sure that the packages have not been forgotten since there are several still out.  Thanks!