September Meeting Minutes

We had a great time at the meeting, though attendees were much more unruly than usual and Gerre had to put on her teacher voice to keep the meeting moving. ;-)

Gerre, Amy and Mary did a great job moving us through a long agenda that started with Introductions and Question of the Day.

1. QotD: Do you prewash or not and why?
21 people prewash
17 people do not prewash

Some people said they do it sometimes, or if they feel like it or if the fabric has been sitting around awhile. There was a lot of good discussion around this topic. Almost everyone prewashes flannel at least once. People don't like the feel of unwashed (prewashers) or washed (not prewashers) fabric. Some people don't like to iron after prewashing, but then there were those who prewash, but don't iron after. One person doesn't prewash because she doesn't like the frayed edges. Old fabric, fabric stored in the garage and Kona solids were the main reasons for prewashing. Some people don't plan ahead to sew, so they can't possibly prewash. Some prewash, because it is part of the process or like to handle the fabric as much as possible. Christina, our resident comedienne doesn't prewash because she doesn't actually sew, she only buys fabric. Amy was with her and got big laughs. One prewasher zigzags the edges of her yardage to keep it from fraying.

Two products mentioned were Synthrapol and Retayne, both available from Dharma (no affilliation).

2. Dues are $25 at this time of year. See Nancy (to pay) and Annemarie (for introductions, information and orientation) about membership.

3. Merit Hexies - there are two exclooooosives this month for the Hexie Swap and the Triangle Challenge. Gerre also gave out, one time only, bonus hexies.

4. Ongoing projects

• Charity: Peggy and Michelle: had some patterns available for making charity quilts, which will be posted here soon. We have given away at least 120 quilts to various charities.
• Pet Beds: Angela was available to collect pet beds
• Library: Lee Ann had the library available

5. Fabric Donations, etc - Annemarie evaluates all donations in consultation with the Board, then coordinates with the person offering.

6. Retreat - Starts on Sept 29. There is one commuter spot left, 4 massage spots. People who have not provided emergency contacts should get in touch with the committee.

7. Photography - WANTED: extra photographer needed for guild meetings and the Retreat.

8. Meet Your Neighbor - Nicki interviewed Lee Ann, who was born and raised in Willows, Calif, which is the county seat of Glenn County. She still has cousins there and is heading up tonight for a visit. Lee Ann works in the biotech community in drug research and development and is currently looking for a new opportunity. Her favorite job, however, was when she worked in Yosemite for 3 months. She lives with her DH of 28 years and has no kids or pets. She started sewing in 4H with garments and started making quilts in high school. Her first quilt was made out of sewing fabrics from garments. She bought her first machine from the Quilting Bee when it was on Castro Street in Mountain View. She really started to quilt a lot when she joined the guild. Lee Ann had done a lot of other crafts including embroidery and stained glass. Other activities she enjoys when she is not quilting are swimming, yoga and Pilates.

Quick Qs:

• Solids or Prints
• Improv or Blocks
• Triangles or Curves
• Machine quilting or hand quilting
• Walking foot or free motion quilting

Thanks, Lee Ann and Nicki!

11. Anna was the winner of the giveaway

12. Scrap Attack Strips - Challenge #3- strips including curved strips

Helen showed some slides with ideas on what type of quilts to make. Use your scraps! There is no minimum or maximum size. The quilt or item is due at the November meeting.

13. Joelle got her Color My quilt pieces and they are fabulous.

14. Jaye gave a trunk show. She has made over 130 quilts and showed us a fraction of them including ALL of her Fabric of the Year quilts. Jaye likes to work in a series and she showed us several quilts that were variations on a them. Check out her blog, especially the quilt gallery.

14. Hexie Swap - the people who participated in the Hexie swap got their gifts today. Cheryl did a great job organizing.

Thanks, everyone! See you next time.

Calendar: 

• 9/23: Karen Foster Workshop
• 9/23: Bay Area Sewists Meeting at Canada College. Sandra Betzina will be speaking
• 9/24: Quilting in the Garden, 9-4, Alden Lane, Livermore 
• 9/29-10/1: Guild Retreat!
• 9/29: MassDrop quilting community meeting at Hello Stitch in Berkeley
• 10/7: Sew Day at Grace Lutheran
• 10/12-15: PIQF
• 10/21: October Meeting