The 2012-13 slate of officers was presented at the May 3rd meeting and will be voted on at the June 7th meeting. There are a few positions that still need to be filled.

• Special Projects 1 Raffle Quilts
• Special Projects 2 (2013-14 year) Raffle Quilts
• Special Projects 2 (2013-14 year) Saturday Workshops
• Fat Chance Evening
• Secret Sister Afternoon
• Secret Sister Evening
• Historian – filled by Donna Langford (thanks!)
• Photographer

If you would like to volunteer or nominate someone (with her permission), please contact Colleen Magee or Georgy Homuth.

As stated at the meeting if no one volunteers, the activity will be discontinued. Click HERE for the slate of Board and Committee positions to be voted on at our next meeting on June 7th.

Happy May Day!

Thursday, May 3rd – Neo-natal Sew-in, 9:00 am to 9:00 pm. Click HERE for details.

Saturday, May 5th – Maggie Ball workshop. Template-Free Kaleidoscopes. Contact Silvia Vaughn to sign up. Click HERE for the supply list.

There will be no SPAM workshops at the Cherry Valley Library this month due to construction at the library.

Thursday. May 3rd,  9 a.m. – 9 p.m.

Please join in on the fun May 3rd as we make dozens of sweet baby quilts for the Neo-Natal Units at Rockford Memorial and Swedish American Hospitals.

Meet fellow Guild members, relax and sew for a few hours, and enjoy a delicious Spring lunch while letting your creative juices flow!

Please bring your sewing machine and all your favorite tools. If you decide not to bring a machine, please bring needle and thread and such for some hand sewing of bindings and labels. Fabric, batting and patterns will be provided!

Mark your calendar so you can join in on a day of fun!!!

The newsletter has been posted. Click HERE to open it. If you’re having trouble opening it from the email, go to the website and click on the Newsletter tab and then click on April/May, 2012.

There is no April meeting due to Easter activities at the Church.

The Annual Neo-Natal Sew-in is on May 3rd. Details coming soon.

We also have a special treat in May. Maggie Ball will be teaching a workshop on Saturday, May 5, 2012, Template-Free Kaleidoscopes. Contact Silvia Vaughn to sign up. Click HERE for the supply list.

Pam Collings is collecting the blocks for outgoing President, Georgy Homuth, which are due by the June meeting. Make your favorite block in a color combination containing blues and various shades of beige, tan and brown and measuring 8 inches finished (8 1/2 inches raw edged).

If you’re going to Paducah, make sure to visit the Quilt Museum to see Karen Grover’s quilt. She won first prize in the “New Quilts From Old Favorites” contest! Click HERE to see Karen’s beautiful quilt.

Cherry Valley Library

PLEASE JOIN US:

1. Work on any quilting project or work on your mystery quilt
2. SURFACE DESIGN SATURDAY: THE EVOLUTION OF AN ART QUILT – INCORPORATING SURFACE DESIGN WORK:

You don’t have to have a background in art quilts to join us – but if you do, bring your ideas!!

We will explore the following concepts: design, composition, layout, and color – as well as different techniques for creating a surface design using Tsukeniko Inks, pencils, markers and pens.

Some of the books that may be helpful are:

a. Art Quilt Workbook by Jane Davila and Elin Waterston
b. Surface Design Essentials by Jane Davila
c. Fabric Painting by Cindy Walter
d. Art Quilts at Play by Jane Davila and Elin Waterston

If you have these books or others, bring on the 17th – if not, look at the books others bring to see what might interest you.

Click HERE for suggested list of supplies to bring.

Contact Elizabeth Franck with questions.

As you may know, there is a sew in for “Quilts For Kids”, an orginization providing comfort quilts for children fighting cancer. As a survivor myself, and in honor of all our sisters fighting the good fight, I have volunteered to longarm all tops that are made or donated for this project. If you have any quilt tops, baby size to throw size, that you would like to donate, batting and backing will be provided and I will be happy to quilt them at no cost. Thanks so much, you can drop off a top at Quilter’s Haven, or call me at 815-282-0547.
Thanks so much and God Bless,
Elizabeth Williams

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See the post dated Feb. 20th for details about “Quilts for Kids” and the sewin at Quilter’s Haven on March 9-10.

Judy Coates-Perez is an international award winning textile artist, well known for her highly detailed, colorfully painted whole cloth quilts.  She believes that the various places she has lived have in many ways taken up residence in her and manifest in the diversity of her work. (website)

Program: Thursday, March 1st Afternoon: ”It’s all in the process:  Making an award winning art quilt and everything that can go wrong along the way”

Program: Thursday, March 1st Evening: “Inspiration:  Where does it come from?”

Workshop: Friday, March 2nd, 9:30 am–4:00 pm: “ Heavy Metal Play Day”. Spend a day working with craft metal and discover a variety of ways you can add flash to your mixed media projects. Learn embossing techniques working with an assortment of tools to add dimension and texture. Explore methods for joining metal to other media and adding color with alcohol inks and markers. Class fee:  $35 member, $45 non-member. Class kit:  $15. No other supplies needed.

It’s that time of year again when we need to start making blocks for presentation to Georgy when her term of office ends in July. Having asked for input, here are her exact words:

“I think I would like the members to choose their favorite or signature block and blues and beige/tan/brown are good color combinations for me.”

I believe that this is one of the best (and certainly the most tangible) ways in which we can thank our outgoing president for her service to the guild throughout the preceding year.

So ladies, if you care to participate, please make your favorite block in a color combination containing blues and various shades of beige, tan and brown and  measuring 8 inches finished (8 ½ inches raw edged) and sign your block before handing it to me by the June meeting at the latest.

Thanks very much in advance – Pam Collings

PS: If you think about it, making two is almost as quick and easy as making one, so you could donate the additional one to the Comfort Quilts project!

Quilters Haven Quilt Shop is partnering with the Quilts for Kids Illinois Chapter to help get more quilts to children suffering from cancer and other life-threatening illnesses. Store co-owner, Stephanie Gauerke, said that local hospitals do not treat children with cancer so by working with the Illinois Chapter she knows the quilts will go to children battling cancer being treated at Children’s Memorial Hospital oncology unit.

The shop will be sponsoring a two day sit and sew event March 9-10 to create quilts. More information can be found by calling the shop at (815) 227-1659 or on their website at www.quilterhaven.com.

Click HERE for more information about Quilts for Kids Illinois Chapter.