AAQG Meeting Nov 8, 2011
Posted in Business on November 15th, 2011Meeting was called to order by President Tamara Watts-McPhail. There were 54 members present. Members Anita Allwood and Marilyn Cory have offered their services as Program Co-Chair Elect. A motion was made and seconded to elect Anita and Marilyn to the board. Motion carried.
There will be a Dutch auction during the December pot luck meeting. Members are encouraged to bring items to sell. Perhaps you could clean out your sewing room of fabric you have forgotten its use, or a yummy plate of goodies, or something else you create. During the meeting, there will be bidding done, with the highest bidder taking home their prize. We request that food for the potluck be brought by the following breakdown: A-F Drinks, G-L Soups, M-Q Salads/Vegetables/fruit, and R-Z Desserts.
Tamara announced her President’s Challenge to be due in February, 2012. “Looking to the West” is the theme of the challenge. There are only 2 rules: It needs to be an original design and use embellishments on the project. There are no size restrictions.
Vice President Jenna Ingle is starting to collect donation quilts. She will be giving some to Children and Families of Iowa, but would also like to hear from the members about where they want the quilts to go. There are kits from Jenna’s stash that members can “check out” and complete for the Quilt Show’s Eastern Star Store. She also encourages you to bring in kits for others to complete if you have them. Jenna received information about a woman that has a wool stash of 40 lbs that she is ready to part with. Contact Jenna if you are interested.
Retreat Chair Connie Lovelady has opened the registration for the April 19 – 22, 2012 retreat. Spots for the retreat are reserved on a first come, first paid basis. The prices for the retreat are 3 days/2 nights private room $150, semi private $130 and 3-4 to a room $115. The prices for the retreat for 4 days / 3 nights private room are $195, semi private $180 and 3-4 to a room $155. All meals are included in the price. Connie has a form that needs to be completed. By Connie’s timing, the time from Ankeny to the retreat is 1 hour and 30 minutes. There are several quilt shops in the area and she is working with the shops to set up a shop hop. The earliest check in time is 10:00 a.m. on Thursday. The retreat theme is “Tool Time”. Several demonstrations will be done during retreat. Join in the fun!
Quilt Show Chair Janeen Pearson is gearing up for this Friday’s Sew Night. Since it will be 11-11-11, they will sponsor the sewing from 11:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. The Quilting Connection from Ames will be the sponsor for the event. Remember you need to bring power strip and cords for your electrical use. Members can come and go during the day as it suits your schedule.
Program Chair Janet Neuschwanger reminds us to be creative for the December Dutch auction. In February Shelly Burge will be presenting a workshop on String Piecing. The workshop is on Saturday and only costs $25. Be sure to see Janet to sign up for this.
Our speaker for this evening is Darlene Zimmerman, presenting from “Ho Hum to WOW”. Darlene is from Belle Plain, MN and is the author of 7 books. Darlene loves the whole process of quilt making. She shared with us some ideas on how to bring our projects back to life. What a difference color can make! Darlene had several quilts in different colors that emphasized the color impact. (Pineapple quilt done in blues, reds and 30s fabrics) Some other suggestions Darlene offered were to using sashing to set off blocks, sashing can become invisible if made from the same color as the background fabric and try setting your blocks on point for some additional interest. Borders, curved and notched, are another way to change up the quilts you make.
Darlene ended her talk by sharing a poem written by Bonnie Hunter. I think we can all relate to it.
How Many Quilts?
by Bonnie Hunter
May 9, 2004:
After having been asked how many quilts I’ve made, who I’m making this one
for, or that one for or why, and how many quilts do I think I need….
I came to the following conclusion:
I am a creator, an artist, just as much as a painter is…
Does anyone ask a painter who he is painting for or why he is painting yet
another landscape? how many pictures/portraits he has painted? How many
canvases or paintings he needs?
NO!
Does a painter stop wanting to paint because he has reached some number that
symbolizes the end of his need to paint? “okay, that’s #100, I’m done now…”
I create because I am driven to create. My medium just happens to be fabric
and thread, instead of oil or acrylics on canvas..but I create for the same
reason..to express myself, to share myself, to experiment…
Even if the quilt doesn’t have a purpose, a recipient, a reason.
Quilting is my voice.
I Quilt, Therefore I Am!
Director at Large Sharon McCarthy drew Kathy Evers’ name for the fat quarter lottery. Door prizes were donated by Darlene Zimmerman. The books and patterns went to: Karen Hugen, Sharon McCarthy, Deb Pierschbacher, Kelly Snyder, Linda Northwick and Lois Harmon. Show and tell and refreshments finished out the meeting.
Respectfully submitted,
Kathy Evers
