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.
President Nancy Sandreuter opened the meeting by welcoming the 42 members and two guests present. The officers and committee chairs provided reports. The Vice President announced the nomination slate for the May Business meeting election of officers. They are Kirsten Swenson, Vice President; Sheila Darcy, Treasurer; and Rosalene Graham, Membership Chair. She invited further nominations for these positions.
The donation quilts were displayed for the members. Some of those are pictured below.
Margareta Blyumkina, a guild member, presented a trunk show of her quilting journey. She started as a dressmaker in her native country, Russia. She gradually moved to quilt making. Her current quilts are all made from scraps that are put on our guild’s free table for the taking. She uses the scraps both in the front and the back of her quilts. She does not uses a scissors for cutting the fabric. She also uses chalk, soap, or pencil to mark her fabric. She uses a quilt as you go technique for quilting her quilts. The picture gallery below shows some of the quilts and clothing she has made using scraps.
There was show and tell after Margarita’s presentation. I have not received any pictures of the Show and Tell.
The block of the month for the May 2024 general meeting is any block that you like or enjoy making. This could be a disappearing nine patch, snowball, etc. Some suggestions can be found at Addicted to Scraps Index from Quiltmaker..
The only parameters are that the background fabric should be white or white somewhere and the block should be 12 1/2 inches so that it will finish at 12 inches in the quilt.
The winner of the blocks could make a great sampler for donation to the Guild to help us reach our goal of 100 quilts before November.
The creative quilt works for the April General meeting is a tulip table topper OR your interpretation of a tulip table topper. Click here for directions.
The Guild’s general meeting was held on March 6, 2024. President Nancy Sandreuter kicked off the meeting with officer reports and raffles. There was 42 members and one guest present.
Our speaker for the meeting was Penny Young, a Melrose, MA fiber artist. She spoke about her art journey from youth to present day. She started by showing us a fabric remnant from a garment she made as a pre-teenager and continues through her latest art pieces where she fashions art quilts.
Penny Young, a Melrose, MA fiber artist, taught a two hour workshop for Guild members on March 6, 2024. She taught members how to color fabric using various techniques. Then they were taught to pick the best portions of their fabric for embellishment. The most frequent comment after the workshop was “it was so much fun”!
The instructions for the March 2024 Block of the Month are here. Cutting and sewing instructions are included. Make one or more and bring them to the March meeting for a chance to win all submitted and have an instant quilt.
Come join other Guild members in an Art Quilt Workshop.
On March 6th we are offering an Art Quilt workshop at 3:30 in the “Boutique Room” at the Saugus Senior Center. For the great cost of $22.50 you will have two hours with a wonderful Melrose artisan, Penny Young, and come away with a lovely wall hanging in your colors with beading, stamping and embroidery which she will teach us.
To learn more about Penny Young, here is a link to an interview with her. https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=4669711236434639
Contact Joyce Rodenhiser at [email protected] or 781-233-9484 for details and to reserve your space.
Join the fun and do some paper piecing. Creative quiltworks for February is the Heart Glow Mug Rug by Klee 2 Strings. Free directions are at https://media.rainpos.com/4959/heart_glow_mat.pdf. The finished size is 7 in by 9 in. Looking forward to seeing your interpretation of this design at the February meeting.
Lesley Hansard from the New American Association in Massachusetts (NAAM) explained the work of the organization. Her focus in on recent Afghani women. Hansard’s work involves helping the women with microbusiness startup skills. She helps them recognize their own creative potential and encourages them to develop marketable products that promote financial independence. A case manager told about her work with interpretation and helping the women with navigating the world outside their housing. Two of the Afghani women demonstrated their embroidery skills. Guild members were able to view samples of their work and ask questions about the program.
A special thank you goes to Guild members who donated crafting materials to NAAM. Hansard went home with two sewing machines, and a car full of supplies.
The meeting ended with a short show and tell. Here are the three quilts shown.
