October 2020 Newsletter

GUILD MEETING PROTOCOL

Because we are a small group, First Presbyterian Church has agreed to allow us to resume our monthly Quilt Guild meetings. We will begin meeting again on August 3rd. We will be adhering to the following guidelines.

• Please don’t arrive before 6:30 p.m. We’ll be sanitizing the chairs and the bathroom.
• Please wear your mask as you enter and exit and if you are talking to someone closer than 6 feet from you. It is not necessary to keep your mask on once you’re in your seat — unless you want to. Masks are required, no exceptions.
• The doors will be propped open as you enter so that you don’t have to touch them.
• Please don’t move the chairs in the Fellowship Hall. They are already set up to social distance at 6 feet apart.
• You are welcome to bring your own snack and drink for your own use. Please don’t bring snacks to share until further notice.
• We will keep attendance, but you will not be signing in. In an effort to touch as little as possible, a picture will be taken of the room. This will also be used for contact tracing if needed.
• Hand sanitizer will be available for your use, should you forget to bring your own.
• At the conclusion of the meeting, we ask that you not congregate in the Fellowship Hall as we will once again need to sanitize the chairs and the bathroom.
• There will be no door prizes or birthday fat quarters for the next few meetings. We will catch up on those later.

We know that some of you are not quite ready to get back out into the world. We understand and look forward to the time that everyone feels comfortable coming to the meetings again.

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NEXT MEETING OCT. 5, 2020

BIRTHDAYS

• Cathy Mullin … October 27

PRESIDENT’S CORNER

Labor Day is traditionally the kick off date for all things fall. We think football instead of baseball, rain and snow instead of hot and humid. Anyway, quilters are starting or finishing up quilts, table runners, placemats and other goodies for Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. Most years I am gearing up for a final push to finish items for craft fairs. No craft fairs for me in 2020. Are you working on holiday items? What are you working on? I try to sew at least 10 minutes each day, but some days I work on a puzzle more than usual and read. I have read more books this year than the last five years combined! I love the app through the library!

I have finished several quilting projects this year, but have lots more to start or complete (and I bought two kits this summer – what was I thinking???) Bring your new creations to the next meeting for show and tell. It’s always an inspiration to see what everyone has completed. Hope to see you October 5.

Shirley Lewis

REMINDER

Don’t forget to do your President’s block! Please bring your block (all the information is in the newsletter) to the October meeting. If you won’t be at the October meeting, please mail it to me or drop it off at my house. If you don’t have any 30’s fabric, but would like to make a block, please let me know. See Page 4 of the newsletter for pattern.

Michelle Rodriguez

BLOCK OF THE MONTH

This month is cutting only. If you’ve been coming to meetings, then you’ll get your stripe fabric swaps back from me next month. If you’re working at home, just put aside your stripes. This month we’re cutting the Dark and your Background (light) fabric.

From the Background/light fabric, cut five,  5 inch strips. From those strips, cut a total of 84,  5 inch by 2.5 inch strips. If you can’t quite get 84 from your strips, then cut the last ones from the rest of your fabric.

Repeat for your dark fabric.

You should have:

• 84 2.5 by 5 inch rectangles in Background/Light
• 84 2.5 by 5 inch rectangles in Dark

Elisabeth McMahon

OCTOBER PROGRAM

The October program will be a schoolhouse program. Usually when we do a schoolhouse, there are 3 or 4 people that do demos. Because we are doing this differently this year, I will be doing a modified schoolhouse with 3 demos. We hope that you can come to our October meeting. It was great to see 12 people at our September meeting.

Michelle Rodriguez

RALLY DAY GOODY BAG FABRIC

You may remember that the Guild had approved our Rally Day Goody Bag items prior to COVID-19. The fat quarters and the Christmas panels have already been cut and were ready for Rally Day. Since Rally Day was cancelled and TAQG is disbanding, those fat quarters and Christmas panels are available. If you are interested in these, please let Michelle know. We also have yardage available of the Christmas print – pictures are included in the newsletter. We are asking that you make a donation to the Grand Prairie Food and Clothing Co-Op (since we did not have our annual birthday party/auction this year – and we normally donate a few hundred dollars from our auction). Fat quarters and panels are $.50 cents each and yardage is $2 per yard. 

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MINUTES

• The September quilt guild meeting was called to order by President Shirley Lewis at 7:00 p.m. There were 12 members present.
• Shirley started off the meeting with her quotes of the month – there were two of them. Minutes from the August meeting were approved as printed in the newsletter.
• The treasurer’s report was approved as printed in the newsletter and will be filed for audit. There was a deposit for the grant money from TAQG in the amount of $227.30 that will be added to the balance.
• Birthdays for September are Holli, Lillie, Margaret and Evelyn.
• Remembrances – Nichole’s cousin passed away. Janice O. is now a great-grandmother
• Announcements: TAQG awarded us a grant. Katrina filled out the paperwork and in the grant request stated that we would use the money for Quilts of Valor supplies. We received $227.30 Publicity – we are on the GP community calendar.
• Membership – there were 12 members present tonight.
• Paco reminded everyone of the deadline of the 10th for the newsletter.
• Elisabeth discussed the next “Block of the Month.” It will be a short mystery quilt that you can participate in, whether or not you come to the meetings. The first requirement was to gather 42 5-inch striped squares. If you came to the September meeting, and brought the squares with you, Elisabeth took them and will mix them up and bring you back 42 5 inch squares at the October meeting. The next step is to cut 84 light and 84 dark rectangles – 2 1/2 x 5.
• Since we are unable to have workshops because the church is not fully open, Nichole is thinking ahead to next year. She will have some great ideas to talk about for 2021. She did show an apron that she had made recently as a possibility.
• The Stitch-a-Bit Stitch Group has not yet resumed meetings and won’t until the church is fully re-opened.
• Door Prizes — door prizes will be taking a break for a while.
• Show and Tell – Nichole, Barbara B., Shirley L., and Elisabeth all had items to show. For the program, Michelle gave a brief overview about Hawaiian quilting and had some examples to show. Meeting was adjourned before 8 p.m.

Michelle Rodriguez, for Sue Heard, Secretary

PRESIDENT’S QUILT

It’s time once again to recognize our president. Shirley is finishing up her 2nd year as president and will rotate off the end of this year. To thank her for her service, we will be making quilt blocks. She has asked for our Guild’s block, the Prairie Queen as her block this year. She would like it to be done in 30’s prints and if you use a background color to use off-white. The block pattern is included in this newsletter (below) and is 12 1/2 “ unfinished. Examples of 30’s prints are also included in this newsletter (right). Please bring your blocks to me by the October meeting. If it’s easier for you to mail them to me, you may do that as well. Be sure that you pin a slip of paper with your name to your block. The blocks will be presented to Shirley at the December meeting.

Michelle Rodriguez

TREASURER’S REPORT

Beginning balance … $1430.03
TAQG Grant … 227.30
Final balance … $1657.33

Ann Stevenson