Prickly Fingers Quilters Guild Newsletter – April 2014 Next meeting April 9 at 9:30 Anderson County Library Membership Dues of $20 were due in March Programs – Barbara Scott and Karen Augsburger Marietta Louk of Marietta's Quilt and Sew of Simpsonville will be demonstrating ways to use charm squares and precuts, featuring the Twister tool. We have a workshop scheduled for April 24th (10AM - 2PM at the library), and have 15 students registered. The class fee of $35 will need be received at the April meeting to secure attendance at the workshop. The class project is an American Flag quilt, utilizing the Twister tool. Marietta will be bringing red/white/blue fabrics on the 9th which can be purchased to allow participants to create their fabric layout prior to the workshop. A supply list will be distributed when payment is received. In May, Dixie Haywood, nationally recognized author and quilter from Pendleton, will be presenting "A Few of My Favorite Quilts". She will also be discussing her new book which she co-authored with Jane Hall, “Fresh Pineapple Possibilities”. She will be making books available to guild members for a reduced price of $24. We would like to get an idea of how many she might need and will be circulating a sign-up sheet for them at the April meeting. We are looking forward to her visit and sharing the story of her quilting life. We have contacted several local and national lecturers and program presenters and will be fine-tuning their scheduling for future months. The “Little Bit of History" quilt challenge will be part of our summer social in August. We are reviewing the survey of interests that was distributed this month and are attempting to provide programming which will meet the desires of the majority of our members. Those who participated in this year's "Block of the Month" project will be completing it mid-summer. Many members have expressed interest in continuing this type of project through the coming year. Copies of the survey will be available at the April meeting if you have not yet completed one. National Quilt Day – Barb Scott & Karen Augsburger THANKS to all who participated and attended this year's National Quilting Day event at the library. We had good interest from the public and several of the ladies expressed interest in joining our guild. Participating in the demos were Diane Schonauer, Connie Bennett, Sharon Hastings, Lynn Brill, Dorothy Zak, Karen Augsburger and Barb Scott. An article with photos was forwarded to NQA and they will be including this guild event in their quarterly magazine. Several of our members attended the “sew in” and worked on both philanthropy and Quilt of Valor projects. A good time was had by all! Membership – Barbara James April birthdays –Robin Kaja (5th), Georgia Schick (8th), Dorothy Zak (17th), Tommy Forrest (17th), Helen Holiday (23rd), Wendy Wolff (25th), Norma Kosanke (25th), Barbara Baker (26th), Lois McCoy (28th), Debbie Petsch (29th) – HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Y’ALL! We have some new members. WELCOME!  Jeannie Brake, 111 Biltmore Circle, Easley, 859-5714, [email protected]  Cece Lewis, 128 Bean Mill Way, Anderson, 224-6440, [email protected]  A. Rebecca West, 155 Life Style Lane, Anderson, 226-2896, [email protected]  B. J. Wilson, 171 Yates Road, Liberty, 979-0359 (cell), [email protected] Changes in member email addresses:  Anne Medlin, [email protected]  Ann Williams, [email protected]  Laura Shiffler, [email protected] Barbara will distribute a new roster in April after all dues have been paid. Philanthropy – Stamie Cline. The philanthropy group will NOT meet in April. We are working on getting red, white , and blue block kits together so that we can get a quilt top ready for Q.O.V. There are stocking kits available to sew also. If you need a label, they are now ready. Please e-mail me at [email protected] with “Labels Needed” in the subject line. Please let me know the number needed and if Linus or plain. I have sewn the Linus label onto the muslin with a regular label and they count as one Linus label. I will bring them to our April meeting. Thank you so much for all the wonderful quilts turned in at our March meeting from Lou Russell, Donna Pike (2), Connie Bennett (3), Elizabeth Thackery, Barb Scott, and Anne Martinage. They will make someone warm and loved for sure! If your name was not listed and you donated a quilt, it was not written in the little philanthropy notebook. Please do sign the book as it is our only way to keep track. Thanks to everyone for such a great job! Quilt Show – Bonnie Davenport and Debbie Petsch Robin Kaja and Wendy Wolff have volunteered to chair the opportunity quilt committee. Thanks, ladies! Bylaw Change A change in the Bylaws was discussed at our last meeting. It is proposed that we change the timing of the election process for officers to allow the VP-Programs ample time to plan and arrange a nice program for the March meeting. It is also proposed that the Nominating Committee be composed of a Past President as chair and two members at large rather than a current officer who is occupied with other duties for the guild. I’ve attached the Bylaw page with the current article 4.6 and the proposed article highlighted. A vote to adopt the change will be taken at the April meeting. Ongoing  Sewing groups. All are welcome. Bring your own projects and enjoy getting to know other members. o Pendleton library, Mondays and Thursdays at 10:00 o Roberts Presbyterian Church, Hwy 187, Thursdays at 10:00, bring a bag lunch o Library Applique group, third Thursday at 10:00  Heritage Quilt Trail – Painting blocks on Fridays from 9:30 to 12:00 at the old arts center in the Carnegie building on Main Street. Your help is needed. Announcements Marianne and Mary Fons are coming to Columbia for a South Carolina Quilts of Valor Fundraising Event on Saturday, September 20. The event will take place at the SC National Guard Armory. A limited number of tickets are available for $60 per person plus $10 for an optional boxed lunch. To purchase tickets, please send a check made payable to: Custom Creative Quilting 525 Richland Avenue St. Matthews, SC 29135. Please include your name, address, phone number and email address. For additional info, contact anne.mixon!qovf.org Lynn Brill Newsletter Editor PRICKLY FINGERS QUILTERS GUILD BYLAWS ARTICLE I: Name 1.1 The name of this organization shall be Prickly Fingers Quilters Guild, as established in March 1990, and hereinafter referred to as the Guild. ARTICLE II: Purpose 2.1 The Guild is a not-for-profit group organized for the purpose of: a. Developing interest in and appreciation for the art of quilting, b. Encouraging philanthropic quilting for the benefit of the community, c. Providing educational opportunities through programs, workshops, and outreach. 2.2 The fiscal year of the Guild shall be March 1 through February 28 (or February 29). ARTICLE III: Membership 3.1 The Guild shall be open to anyone with an interest in quilts upon completion of a membership application and payment of applicable dues as determined by the Board of Directors and voted upon by the members. 3.2 Dues are payable each year at the March meeting and must be paid by May 31 in order to retain the benefits of membership. 3.3 Should the date of a new membership be September 1 or after, payment of a previously determined prorated amount will grant membership for the remainder of the year. 3.4 Any change in the dues structure shall be recommended by the Board of Directors at the February meeting and voted upon by the members. 3.5 Members in good standing are entitled to attend all meetings, receive the monthly newsletter, and vote upon all Guild matters. ARTICLE IV: Officers 4.1 The officers of the Guild shall be: President, Vice-President, Secretary, and Treasurer. 4.2 These officers shall be elected to serve for a term of one year and may serve a maximum of 2 consecutive years in the same office. 4.3 A nominating committee, composed of a Past President serving as Chairperson, 1 additional Board member and 1 Guild member, shall be formed 3 months prior to an election to prepare a slate of officers to be presented to the members at the January meeting. The slate shall be printed in the February newsletter and voted upon at the February meeting. The officers shall assume their duties at the March meeting. Proposed change: A nominating committee composed of a Past President serving as Chairperson and two guild members shall be formed in November to prepare a slate of officers to be presented to the members at the December meeting. The slate shall be printed in the January newsletter and voted upon at the January meeting. The officers shall assume their duties at the March meeting. Prickly Fingers Meeting Agenda – April 9, 2014  Please turn off cell phones  Officers: o President – Lynn Brill   Introduction of guests and new members o Programs & Workshops – Barb Scott and Karen Augsburger o Secretary – Lou Russell – approval of minutes o Treasurer – Whitney Rearick - checkbook activity and balance Committees: o Care & Concern/NQA – Lynda Hempel o Philanthropy – Stamie Cline o Block Exchange – Karen Augsburger o Publicity – Diane Schonauer o Retreat/Library – Dee Ross o Quilt Show update – Bonnie Davenport & Debbie Petsch o Membership count and birthdays – Barbara James o Newsletter – Lynn Brill o Door Prize – Linda Reeves (please buy your tickets when signing in)  Old Business – Bylaw change  New Business – any?  Announcements – o  Diane Schonauer on Heritage quilt trail, QSC, Fons & Porter event, AQS orders Show & Share - Barbara James – explain ribbons and signup sheets - SAY YOUR NAME Program – Marietta Louk of Marietta’s Quilt Shop in Simpsonville PRICKLY FINGERS QUILTERS GUILD MEETING - March 12, 2014 The meeting was called to order by Lynn Brill, President, at 9:35 a.m. Prior to the business meeting Suzanne DiCarlo, District I Quilters of South Carolina (QSC) representative and SC Upstate Coordinator for Quilts of Valor (QOV), and guild member Tommy Forrest made a special presentation. Edward C. Evans of Abbeville, a Viet Nam era serviceman, received a Quilt of Valor in honor of his service and sacrifice to our country. Thank you, Ed Evans! OFFICERS’ REPORTS President: Lynn Brill Lynn welcomed the following guests to our meeting: Janice Bean, Katherine Brown, Gwen Hinerman, Evelyn Kelly and B.J. Wilson. Vice-Presidents & Programs: Karen Augsburger and Barbara Scott Lynn introduced Karen and Barbara as our new Vice-Presidents and Program Chairs and thanked Ellie Schultz and Kathy Sowder for serving last year. Barb announced that Marietta of Marietta’s Quilt & Sew and will present the April program which will include six demos, information about quilting tools and a discussion of a possible future workshop. Dixie Haywood will present a foundation piecing program at our May meeting. Between Labor Day and Christmas a craft sale/auction program is proposed to raise money for guild educational programs. Barb distributed detailed surveys to determine members’ interest in various topics. Please return surveys to Barb; this will help plan our monthly programs. Our “A Bit of History” quilt challenge, scheduled for February and cancelled due to snow, will be rescheduled during our summer social meeting. Secretary: Lou Russell – January minutes, as published in the newsletter, were accepted. The Prickly Fingers February meeting was cancelled due to snow. Treasurer: Whitney Rearick – Lynn introduced Whitney as our new Treasurer and thanked Sandi Fowler for her work during the past years. Whitney reported that we have a balance of over $3,400. Whitney is currently preparing an expense budget for the current year. COMMITTEE REPORTS Care and Concern: Lynda Hempel Lynda sent member birthday cards this month. Welcome back Mary Ouellette! We continue to remember Mary’s husband and Karen Augsburger’s father and Karen’s husband in our thoughts and prayers. Philanthropy: Stamie Cline Stamie reported that 59 quilts, 1 bib, 24 pillowcases and 86 Christmas stockings were distributed to Anderson County charities during 2013. A notebook was displayed detailing the county distribution of philanthropy projects. Stamie reminded those showing philanthropy quilts to sign the book. Pillowcase kits are available on the back table; kits will also be available Saturday at the National Quilting Day program. Thank you, Stamie, for the wonderful job you do! Stamie introduced CeCe Lewis, guild member and Project Linus Chapter Coordinator for Anderson County. CeCe thanked Prickly Fingers guild members for their partnership and donations and displayed storyboards. During the past two years over 3,400 blankets and quilts have been distributed to children. CeCe reported that she is currently writing a grant proposal and working with homeschoolers, senior citizens and disabled adults to make Linus fleece blankets. The Philanthropy group will meet Tuesday, March 18, at Donna Pike’s house. The group meets the third Tuesday of each month; all are welcome. Please contact Stamie if you would like to attend. Block Exchange: Karen Augsburger In Karen’s absence, Barb Scott displayed the “Alpine Star” block for February and “Jacob’s Ladder” for this month. Instructions were included in the February and March newsletters. If you have any questions about the blocks, please see Barb. Publicity: Diane Schonauer Lynn Brill thanked Diane for the informative article about National Quilting Day at the Main Anderson County Library, which appeared in the “Independent Mail.” Newsletter: Lynn Brill Please submit your information to Lynn by the 30th of the month. Lake Junaluska Retreat and Library: Dee Ross The Prickly Fingers/Electric City Quilt Guilds’ retreat will be held November 5-8 (Nov. 4 if you want to use Duck Bucks and go up a day early) at Lake Junaluska. This is a fun time to set your own schedule and work on your own projects … sew, eat, sleep, shop and laugh! $35 deposit is due by March 31; checks should be made payable to Dee Ross. Cost is approximately $200 plus deposit. Cancellations for a full refund must be made one month prior to the retreat. Please view the great selection of library quilting books online at www.andersonscquilters.com. Please let Dee know the books you wish to borrow, and she will bring the books to the next meeting. Quilt Show: Bonnie Davenport and Debbie Petsch Bonnie reported that committee chairs met and received their folders; a few chair slots are still available. Guild members will be contacted to serve on committees … please volunteer to help! A creative person is needed to coordinate the opportunity quilt for raffle. Ticket money comes back to our guild. Please contact Bonnie or Debbie if you are this person! Membership: Barbara James Barbara James is our new Membership Chair; thank you Barb Scott for serving in this capacity last year. Barbara announced that 45 members were present, plus five guests and four new members. New members are Jeannie Brake, Cecilia (CeCe) Lewis, Rebecca West and B.J. Wilson. If you have any questions about your dues status or new membership card, please contact Barbara. Door Prize: Linda Reeves Linda Locke was the door prize winner. OLD BUSINESS National Quilting Day – Barbara Scott Barb thanked members who donated patriotic fat quarters, which will be used for National Quilting Day on Saturday, March 15, at the Main Anderson County Library. Eight demos will be held between 9:30 to 11:30 am, followed by a guild sew-in with the focus on QOV. Various projects and kits will be available for philanthropy. Lynn Brill thanked Barb for her time and efforts in organizing Prickly Fingers’ National Quilting Day. NEW BUSINESS Lynn Brill proposed changes to the Prickly Fingers Quilt Guild Bylaws regarding officer election timing and nominating committee membership. Now new officers are voted upon at the February meeting. It is proposed that the new slate of officers be presented at the December meeting, printed in the January newsletter and voted upon at the January meeting. Officers assume their duties at the March meeting. This would allow new officers additional time before assuming duties, which would be especially beneficial to Program Chairs. Currently the nominating committee consists of a Past President, one additional Board member and one guild member. In the proposed change the nominating committee would be formed in November and consist of a Past President, serving as Chairperson, and two guild members. Lynn will publish the proposed Bylaws changes in the April newsletter, and the changes will be voted upon at the April meeting. ANNOUNCEMENTS Diane Schonauer reported that 237 are registered for The Quilters of South Carolina (QSC) meeting to be held in Anderson March 22 at the Hilton Garden Inn. Registration is now closed. The hosting guild usually provides a door prize for the meeting. A proposal was made that Prickly Fingers Guild provide a door prize in the amount of $15-$20 and approved by members in attendance. Viking Sew ‘N Quilt Open House, Greenville, Friday, March 21, 1-9 pm. Foothills Piecemakers Quilt Show, Greenville, March 28-29. SC QOV Fundraising Event featuring Marianne and Mary Fons, Columbia, September 20. The Hospice of the Upstate Newsletter recently featured the Hollyhocks quilt block, which is displayed at their facility. This block is part of the Upstate Heritage Quilt Trail (UHQT) and was painted by the Anderson Production Team. Show and Share: Barbara James Please state your name, sign the book(s) (philanthropy or show) and pick up a ribbon to add to your name tag. Those showing philanthropy quilts were as follows: Connie Bennett, Robin Kaja, Debbie Mayer, Donna Pike, Lou Russell, Barbara Scott, and Elizabeth Thackery. Others showing quilts were Connie Bennett, Lynn Brill, Tommy Forrest, Sharon Hastings, Sue Hunston, Barbara James, Robin Kaja, Gayle Schmidt, Barbara Scott, Debby Stone, Elizabeth Thackery, Sue Twilley, Teri Walker, and Dorothy Zak. PROGRAM Suzanne DiCarlo presented an inspirational Quilts of Valor program, detailing QOV history, quilt requirements, presentations and quilt needs for South Carolina veterans. Respectfully submitted, Lou Russell SHOOFLY 12.5” block Color 1 needs: one 4-1/2" x 18" strip one 4-7/8" x 9-3/4" strip Color 2 needs: one 4-7/8" x 9-3/4" strip one 4-1/2" square CONSTRUCTION First, stack the two 4-7/8" x 9-3/4" strips right sides together, then cut into two 4- 7/8" squares of each... Next, stack and cut the 4-7/8" squares on the diagonal, being careful not to stretch fabric! Then cut the Color 1 4-1/2" x 18" strip into four 4-1/2 " squares... Lay out your unit’s .Sew three horizontal rows, pressing seams open for less bulk. Join the rows.