In the December 5, 2024, edition of the Saugus Advocate, there was a shout out to our guild for the annual charity quilt and pillowcase donations. If you want to read it online, here is the link. The shout out is near the middle of the page.
Our December meeting had the traditional pot luck meal. Members bring dishes and everyone gets to sample all the delicious goodies. The dessert table is a favorite.
After our meal, President Nancy Sandreuter thanked the membership for their various contributions for the night and for the success of our annual quilt and pillowcase charity drive.
Nancy had a random member draw the winning ticket for the Christmas quilt. One of our members, Helen H. won it
Joyce Rodenhiser gave a champagne (actually sparkling water) toast to the guild and its leadership. She then proceeded to lead us all in a story about Mr and Mrs Wright. The members exchanged gifts by passing them right when they heard Wright or right; left when they heard left; and across when they heard across. The person who had the gift at the end of the story, kept it.
Show and tell followed with members showing off some of their latest creations. Some are pictured in the 2024-2025 quilt gallery web page.
The 2025 Quilt Show raffle quilt was revealed to the members. The pattern is Hestia by Rose of Threadbare Creations. Hestia is an Olympian goddess. Learn more about her by clicking here.
The Hammersmith Quilters Guild completed a successful year of sewing for others. Over the year 107 quilts, 106 snowman pillowcases and 103 novelty pillowcases were made! Many children will be very happy. We purchased goods for 100 children that we stuffed into the snowman pillowcases along with a quilt. These gifts are split between the Department of Children and Families and the Home for Little Wanderers. The extra items allowed us to extend to other charities as well. The extra quilts were be donated to the MassGeneral-Brigham’s pediatric cancer center, and pillowcases were be donated to Allison’s closet, a nonprofit started by Paula Fallon’s daughter, Michelle who live in AZ, and a friend of Ellen O’Sullivan who gives quilts and pillowcases to children of the Massachusetts National Guard who are being deployed. The deployed parent is given a star and when they Facetime they bond over the gifts they receive at the deployment ceremony.
The Guild is proud of its members who take to heart the mission of the guild. Here is our mission statement from our bylaws. “The mission of The Hammersmith Quilters Guild is to promote the appreciation, enjoyment, and knowledge of quilting as an art form and a craft to its membership and to the general public. The Guild encourages quilting for the benefit of charitable causes and provides opportunities to broaden quilting skills through educational programs, meetings, and workshops. The Guild hopes to foster camaraderie and inspiration among quilters throughout the greater North Shore of Massachusetts and offers support to the New England Quilt Museum in Lowell, Massachusetts.”
For our January 2025 challenge, we are doing a Fibonacci Quilt. The pattern is based on the Fibonacci Sequence. Click here for the directions.
The new Guild year started with welcoming all renewing members back for the first meeting of the year.
After a short business meeting, the nurses from the the Quilting Clinic gave their presentation on fixing boo-boos on quilts so we finish them. They also shared a couple of new techniques that intrigued our membership. One technique was quilt facing which is an alternative to binding. The other technique was using Inktense to color and shade fabric.
On a quilting Facebook group recently, a person asked for ideas for improving their guild. Boy, did they get a long list of things that can be done. Carol H. compiled that list into a PDF that we are sharing with our members. Click here to see it.
We are asking our members to tell us what they would like to see us do to improve our guild. The executive board will bring the ideas to the membership for discussion at one of our general meetings. E-mail your suggestions to [email protected].
The Museum has experienced an unexpected mechanical failure that requires a temporary closure beginning July 14, 2024. They hope to reopen within a few days, but cannot confirm at this time. The Curator’s Talk scheduled for July 20 has been moved to August 10.
Please look for a reopening announcement at neqm.org sometime next week.
Two of our members, Cindy and Jean, suggested that Pat Sloan’s Oh My Stars quilt is a good pattern for a donation quilt. The free pattern is at her website — I love to Quilt. The direct link to the pattern is here.
Pat Sloan has also done several videos on making this quilt. Here are some links to tutorials with tips on making this quilt.
Oh My stars Quilt tutorial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXDVkCBIn-s&list=PLBcQXd6R0_G9CkdukWAxhf0dgod9zDgll
Oh My Stars – Make stars this week & How to do start & Stop sewing tutorial: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=pat+sloan+oh+my+stars+
Several members exhibited their quilts at the 2024 New England Quilt Expo in April in Manchester, New Hampshire. One Member, Diane Paxton, won third place in Viewer’s Choice. Of the over 230 quilts exhibited, viewers selected her quilt as one of the best. Unfortunately, I did not get a picture of every quilt done by our members but here is the sampling.
