Thank you to Carmen for taking the time to review and recommend changes/additions to the HQG by-laws. The changes are available at this link. The changes you can see in the document show up as either red or blue. After a discussion of the proposed changes between Martha and Carmen, they then presented and reviewed them with the executive board. Now it is your turn to review. Please review the changes that were discussed at the May meeting. These will be voted on at the June meeting. You are welcome to send your thoughts and questions before the meeting as well to Martha.
At our May 3rd, 2023 general meeting, Vice-President Carmen Arnone used a fish puzzle she had assembled as an analogy for guild membership. Just as all puzzle pieces fit together to complete the whole puzzle, each guild member matters in the successful operation of the guild. No piece is more or less important than any other and each member can determine where they fit in to help make the guild a success. Missing pieces result in an incomplete puzzle. All members matter and when they identify where they fit, the whole guild benefits.
In order to “find their fit”, members at each table had an opportunity to review a chart listing a thumbnail sketch of the various duties of programs. If a particular description drew their attention they were asked to jot down their name so they could fit together with other like minded members to generate ideas along with the Program Chair for the benefit of the whole guild. For those not at the meeting, please contact Carmen for a volunteer spot.
Two groups of members displayed their round robin quilts as part of creative quilt works. Each member of the group had to use the fabric given and complete one border for the quilt.
Another creative quilt works project shown were patriotic themed articles. The winners each received a ribbon.
During show and tell, members showed many quilts. To see those quilts, go to the gallery portion of the website (click here).
Beth Helfter of EvaPaige Quilt Designs (http://www.evapaigequilts.com) provided a trunk show entitled “Consistency in Chaos” at our April general meeting. She discussed what elements she looks for when pulling fabric for your scrappy quilts to ensure a consistent look. She touched on her accordion half square triangle method. To learn more about this method, she provided a link to a YouTube video that demonstrates her accordion sewn scrappy half square triangle technique. The Clearly Perfect Slotted Trimmer that she uses in the video is available through our ruler library.
Also at the meeting, Gretchen discussed the upcoming quilt show. Look on our quilt show page to see opportunities about how you can help make it a success.
Hammersmith Quilters Guild Celebrates National Quilting Day 2023
The Hammersmith Quilters Guild held a one day Sit and Sew to celebrate the 2023 National Quilting Day on March 18. One of our members invited Guild members to her office to use the conference room for the event. Ten people attended. Everyone worked on their own project — wall hangings, Dresden quilt, charity quilt, longarming, strip quilts and more. We had lunch, door prizes, favors for attending, and each person received a plant to take home. D
Children presenting the Thank YouChildren reading the presentationChildren holding the quiltMargie and NancyMargie and Senior Center DirectorThe Thank you
Guild members Margie Berkowitch and Nancy Sandreuter represented us at the Veterans Early Learning School on Mar 2, 2023. The children presented the Hammersmith Quilters Guild and the Saugus Senior Center with a collage of hearts thanking them for the quilt that the Guild made for the school. The quilt was a fabric art piece that replicated the paper hearts that the school made for the Senior Center in 2022. Margie saw the paper hearts as an act of kindness. She saw the hearts as a quilt as well. The quilt will be displayed at the school. The heart collage is being displayed at the Senior Center.
The children were all smiles during the presentation. Because we do not have permission from the parents to post pictures of the children on our website, their faces are pixelated.
On March 1st, 2023, our Guild held of a yard sale of the Dottie Macomber’s quilting treasures. Her husband donated her stash to the guild when Dottie died. Dottie was a longtime member of the guild and held various offices while a member.
About 50 members of the guild participated in the yard sale.
The Ride of a Women charity sent two videos to thank the supportive members of our guild for their contributions to the charity. The guild received a special shout out in the first video. They said “Thank you Hammersmith Quilters Guild.” The money raised from our guild and matching donations will be used to buy goats and put solar panels on homes.
On January 5, 2023, Ann Lauer spoke to our guild about Ride 4 a Woman, a charity she supports. She came across this organization on a gorilla safari in Uganda in 2001. When she saw the condition of the tools used by the quilters, she knew she could do something about it. The picture on the left above shows the condition of the cutting mats the women were using. The picture on the right shows the cutting mats she was able to provide to the charity.
Ms. Lauer showed a film done about their work. The URL is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xURsGyHL320. To learn more, go to her web site at https://grizzlygulchgallery.com/. Click on the African Quilters tab. There is also a gofundme link on that site where Ms. Lauer collects donations to support them. All proceeds go to the charity with Ms. Lauer absorbing all the administrative costs. She donated her speaker’s fee to the charity and Nancy Sandreuter’s company matched the fee to double the impact.
