February Meeting Minutes

Thanks to Rhonda for taking notes and to Catherine for acting as backup.

Gerre - News from our President
President Gerre started off the meeting with a question to the audience:
What is your favorite time to sew?
Answers were varied, informative, and entertaining as always.

Next, Gerre gave a special "thank you" to all the members who did voluteer work for the quild last year, and to those who have accepted volunteer positions for this year.  Each volunteer received a custom vinyl pouch, made by Gerre, and a beautiful Volunteer Merit Hexie to put in it.  Thanks, Gerre!  Tip:  When sewing with vinyl, do not prewash the vinyl. Use parchment paper when pressing to avoid mishaps.

Gerre asked for volunteers who would like to do a "trunk show" of their quilts at a meeting later in the year.  If you would like to do this, see Gerre.  We would love to see your work, past and present.

We will also be doing segments call "Meet your Neighbors" where guest members will be interviewed so we can learn more about our fellow quilters.  If there is someone in the guild that you would like to know more about, submit their name to Gerre, and submit questions as well.

The March meeting of our guild will be held on Saturday March 18, from 1pm to 5pm, at Grace Lutheran Church in Palo Alto.  3149 Waverly Street, Palo Alto CA 94306

Next we heard from all the various coordinators regarding guild activities.

Karen - Color My Quilt group activity
Last month, Karen gave out an inspiration photo for her color pallete and people brought back "chunks" in that pallette.  (A "chunk" is like a block, but can be more random and any size).
During the break, Karen laid out all the chunks she received and the outcome was a very impressive assortment of different shapes and sizes in her pallette.  Karen has a lot to work with.
Next up:  Cheryl gave out an inspiration photo and fabric swatches for her pallette.  
More info:  http://bamodernquiltguild.ning.com/forum/topics/color-my-world-new-group-activity


Cheryl - Swap Coordinator
Cheryl is planning to have three swaps this year, including the ever-popular Holiday Swap at the end of the year.

Our first swap is a UFO swap.  Bring in an UnFinished Object that you do not intend to finish. Wrap it up in a pretty, enticing way so that someone will adopt it. The adopter will take it home and make it their own.  (You will not be getting it back!).  If you leave a UFO, take a UFO to finish.  Bring in your UFO at the March meeting.  Bring back a finished project at the May meeting.  For full details, see the Forum discussion.

More info on the forum

Peggy and Michelle B - Charity Coordinators
Charity Sew Day was held on Saturday Feb 4 at Grace Lutheran Church.
There were more than 20 sewists in attendance and they made 31 quilt tops!  Many of the quilts were finished, too.

The next charity project will benefit veterans at the Palo Alto Veteran's hospital.  Veterans are very much on our minds with Memorial Day, Independence Day, and Veterans Day coming up.  Ideas for veteran projects:  things that are bright and cozy, bags to hang on walkers, wheelchair quilts, throws or twin sized quilts. 

Be sure to stop by the Charity table at every meeting to pick up projects to work on.  You can work on any aspect of a quilt -- blocks, quilting, binding, or all three.  See the charity committee for more details.

Angela - Cat Bed Coordinator
Angela is looking for volunteers to drop off finished cat beds at a shelter or rescue group.  You will receive a special Cat Bed Merit Hexie when you complete this activity! Angela demonstrated that a cat bed should be filled no more than two thirds full.  And she went over the do's (small scraps of fabric, thread, batting) and dont's (paper, trash, clothing, long strips) of stuffing cat beds.  "When in doubt, leave it out!"

Bonnie - Retreat Committee Chair
There will be a retreat this year, probably near the end of September.  Stay tuned!

Claire - Challenge Coordinator
Claire did an interesting and informative talk on our theme for the year, "Scrap Attack".  She announced our first challenge:  Create a quilt, 18 x 24 or larger using scraps or fabric from your stash.  Your design should use colors and pattern that please you, and use primarily rectangles and squares.  The challenge quilt is due at the April meeting.  Claire recommends a book called "Patchwork City" by Elizabeth Hartman for ideas and inspiration.  After her presentation, we sorted scraps by hue and had an opportunity to grab scraps to take home and use in the challenge.  Thanks, Claire!


Quilty Happenings

Victoria Findlay Wolfe has put out a call for quilts of a political nature.  See more information on threadsofresistance.blogspot.com

QuiltCon East in Savannah Georgia is happening, Feb 23-26, 2017.  See www.quiltconeast.com or follow along at #quiltcon2017 or #quiltconeast on IG.

San Francisco Quilters Guild, quilt show, March 24-25, 2017.  See http://www.sfquiltersguild.org

Santa Clara Valley Quilters Association, quilt show, April 1-2, 2017.  See  http://scvqaquiltshow.org/

Black Squirrel - A new fabric and yarn shop in Berkeley.  See http://www.blacksquirrelfabric.com/

MQG - Registration is now open for Modern Quilt Masters for MQG members. Members check your email for the registration link and the discount code.

San Mateo County Fair - Quilt competition rules are now available. Remember that if you enter something into the show (and pay a minimal entry fee), you get free tickets to the fair and free parking!  It's a great deal, and so much fun to see your quilt hanging in a real show for the public.  Fair Dates:  Saturday June 10 through Sunday June 18, 2017. Let's fill that hall with great stuff!


Of course, we ended the meeting with Show and Tell and sewcializing.  You had to be there!  See you next time!