March 2013 Meeting Notes

(blog entry edited 23 March)
The meeting was jam packed.
Photos from the meeting, Madrona Road Bag Challenge, and Show and Tell can be seen here and  here. Thanks Jen J for taking photos!

Charity
Kits were available for the new blocks. There are two: scrappy Trip Around the World and postage stamp. April 20 is the Charity Sew Day. 10-5 will be charity sewing and after 5 people can work on their own projects. It will be held at the Los Altos Public Library.

April Meeting
The April Meeting will be held at the Main library. Look for a more detailed blog post with the exact address, times, etc. The April meeting will include a destash party. You should bring new or gently used stuff you no longer want. People should bring fabric, notions, patterns, magazines, scraps (organized in ziplocs only).

People who did not bring anything will organize all of the bags of stuff. The members who brough stuff will line up at the starting line. The starting judge will yell "Ready Set Go!" and there will be a big scramble to get to the stuff first. Members should not to bring stuff they would throw out (no stains, stuff beyond repair). Upholstery fabric is ok.

Klippies
The group is doing Klippies in a new way. There are teams. There were a lot of opportunities to collect Klippies at this meeting and there will be going forward. It is not too late to create a team.

Modern Quilt Guild Membership
The MQG has opened up memberships to local groups/chapters. The Board is going to review  the materials sent out and do a cost benefit analysis on what the MQG is offering for the fee.  The Board will, then, prepare a presentation for the June or July meeting so the group can vote. Ruth didn't want to start a discussion before all of the information was in and the Board had a chance to review it. She didn't bring a link to the presentation, but will provide a link to the original presentation for those who request it. The only detail Ruth provided was that the cost would be a significant part of our budget for the year. We have to pay attention to this issue and work together as a group to make the right decision.

Retreat
The retreat is coming up. There are double rooms and commuter tickets available. Cheryl has done a great job organizing the Retreat. For updated info, see here.

Activities
Swap: Joy-Lily organized a fabric swap and people exchanged bags of fabric.

Color Group: Ruth had asked people to bring colors to the meeting. Ruth organized it so that everyone, even those who didn't bring anything, could participate. There are about six groups who chose different colors, though that wasn't organized, so there may be some overlap. Next month we need to bring fabric scraps in the colors we chose. Then the groups will decide what project to make next. The project/activity has the potential to go all year. Sounds interesting.

Madrona Road Challenge: The group did the Madrona Road challenge. Your editor was mightily impressed with the bags that people created for this challenge. Really great work. Ruth did a great zipper tutorial at one of the recent meetings and people really used that new skill  to enhance their bags.

BOM: The Block of the month is still going strong. Joy-Lily demonstrated this month's block, the Snail Trail. Joy-Lily doesn't do matching of points, so she showed a method of putting on a larger piece and then trimming to the correct size and shape. This should really help beginners learn a new method.

SCVQA: Kelly has done an awesome job of organizing the exhibit of Modern quilts within the SCVQA show. She talked about helping out with hanging, entry and being available to talk about modern quilts with visitors to the show.

Sleeve demo: Jaye did the sleeve demo for a double-sided sleeve using the method from Robbi Joy Eklow's book Free Expression. It was a non-sewing demo, but she had step by step examples for each step of the process. She was pretty clear and there were a few questions during the rest of the afternoon.

San Mateo County Fair
It is coming up June 8-16, 2013. The postmark entry deadline is May 8 (though you can include a $100 late fee and enter up until May 15, which is the absolute drop dead date). Entry fee is $2 per entry. You can enter online; no photos required. There is a big reward for entering even if you don't get a prize: free entry passes and a parking pass. That is at least $35 for entering. Rhonda will coordinate entries. The A-B-C Challenge people need to get their quilts finished in time to enter.

If you are not local, look into entering in your local county fair. You do great work and people want to see stuff like you make. Trust me.