Thursday, December 10, 2009

Charity Quilt Sew Days

Starting in January from 11 AM to 4 PM on the 2nd Thursday of the month (before the Quilt meeting) there will be a sew-in at Ann Seymoure's home. Bring your maching, quilting tools, etc. and you'll cut and sew tops. Please call Ann if you plan to attend at 598-1016

Friday, November 27, 2009

Meeting Minutes

November 12, 2009

Meeting was called to order at 6:30 by the President.

We had 5 guests. Total number of members 89
Martha reported we made $100 less this year on our auction than we did last year.
Our guests this month were Debbiee Pyeatt, Jill McCoy, Susan Reed, Becky Sharp , and Gail Piper.

The Senior Center informed us that beginning in January they will start charging $30.00 per hour for any group using their facilities. We will have a ½ hour before meetings and ½ after meetings to set up and clean up for our meetings. Barb announced that we give the Senior Center a $500 donation each year. A motion was made by Mary Rutner to go ahead and stay at the Senior Center and pay the $30 per hour. The motion was 2nd by Mary Hattick. Motion was voted and approved.

Jean Woofter and Debbie Korrell volunteered to be our quilt keepers.

We are still looking for someone to volunteer for hospitality. Anyone who is interested please call Jean Woofter at 596-7814.

Laural Hoppes announced that she has the new membership forms for next year. Please fill out the forms completely. They are also available on the internet.

PROGRAMS: Jo Ann Anderson announced programs for 2010 are complete. There were a lot of suggestions brought up on ways to afford more programs. In 2011 we will probably go with one main speaker. Someone suggested to use Jackie Robinson (or some other nationally known speaker) and we could make that our challenge quilt also.

TREASURERS REPORT: There is $13,252.17 in our operating account. Our raffle account has a balance of $3992.85 We still have a lot of tickets that haven’t been picked up to sell for our raffle quilt. We have sold $450.00. We will do the drawing next month.

BLOCK OF THE QUARTER: Wendy Riggs explained how the block of the quarter works. We will do the drawing next month.

CHALLENGE QUILTS: Laural Hoppes explained that your mystery quilts must be done by next month. If you have your name on the quilt please cover it up. We will hang the quilts on quilt hangers. There will be four winners picked. The categories will be; President’s Choice, Past President’s Choice, Peoples Choice, and Ruth’s Choice from Ruth's Quilt Shop.

CHARITY QUILTS: Ann Seymour announced we will do charity quilts in March beginning at 5:00 pm. If you like to make quilt tops but not quilt them, bring them in March and we will finish them at the meeting that night.

CHRISTMAS PARTY: Please bring the following items to the Christmas Party in December; a pencil, paper scissors, fabric scissors, needle (with an eye large enough to hold 2 strands of floss), a few straight pins, thimble (if you use one) and a small bottle of glue -Elmer's is fine. Lyn announced that our charity this year is going to be Express Inn. Please bring new socks and underwear for men, women, and children to donate.

MONTHLY RAFFLE: Jean Woofter announced we had a nice gift basket for our raffle this month. Our raffle was won by Cheryl Ross.

SECRET PALS: Mary reminded everyone to pick up your gifts from your Secret Pal.

RAFFLE QUILT: Our raffle quilt is at Nuts & Bolts in Woodland Park. We will draw for the winner in December at the meeting.

OLD BUSINESS: None reported

NEW BUSINESS: Barb announced tonight is elections: Jeanie Brooks made a motion to vote for all candidates at once. Mary Roth 2nd the motion.
The motion was voted on and passed. Board Members are as follows : President; Barb Czarniecki, Vice President; Laural Hoppes, 2nd Vice President; Jo Ann Anderson, Secretary; Debbie Korrell, Treasurer; Cindy Pring.

Cheryl announced that High Country Quilts is sponsoring a Quilt Cruise during spring break to the West Caribbean. Info is on the back table.

SHOW & TELL : Joan McCloy, Martha Johnson, Kathy Barrett, Ann Anderson, and Mary Hattick

DOOR PRIZES: Door Prizes were won this monthy by Cheryl Griffin, Mona Wood, Wendy Riggs, Jo Ann Anderson, Laural Hoppes, Jeanie Brooks, Danielle Keenan, Cheri Shields, and Barb Rhoads. If you’re a winner this month please don’t forget to bring door prizes to the next meeting.

PROGRAM: Our program this month is Granma’s Button Box by Jill Gerski. Jill is a Buttonologist. She is a member of the National Button Society and other button groups. She collects & educates others about button history, identification, care & preservation through her lecture series and educational displays. She had combined her tow loves, quilter and crafter and has become an author. We learned a lot of interesting facts about buttons. It was a great program

Meeting was adjourned at 8:45p.m.
Respectfully submitted by Debbie Korrell

Christmas Party-What to Bring

Ready for the holiday party? Giving, crafting, fun and eating will definitely be part of the evening. Please remember to support the EXPRESS INN. Bring new underwear and socks for the residents there so their holiday will be brighter. Residents range in age from 0 to 80, male and female, single, marrieds and even families. A box will be by the door as you enter our meeting so just drop your donations when you arrive.

To join in the fun during the meeting you will be to bring a few things to work with:
+ pencil
+scissors to cut paper
+scissors to cut felt
+glue (any small bottle of Elmer's will do)
+Needle to handle two strands of floss
+thimble, if you use one
+a few pins

Any questions please do not hesitate to call Lyn Seaver, 266-6782

President's Notes

Greetings quilting friends!
Wow! The year sure has flown by! Our slate of Officer's was presented and voted on at the November meeting. I will continue as President in 2010, Laural Hoppes will continue as 1st Vice-President/Membership, Debbie Korrel will continue as Secretary, and Cindy Pring will be our new Treasurer. Thank you Martha for doing a great job as our Treasurer for the past few years. Thank you s also go out to Jean Woofter who was our nominating chairman. There are still slots to fill for the coming year, so please consider helping out your guild. If you have any ideas or programs you would like to see, please contact one of us and let us know. This is your guild.
I hope all of you at our November meeting enjoyed our speaker, Jill Gorski. I learned a lot about buttons, their history and their value I should really look through my button jar more carefully! If you missed her talk, she was featured in the last American Quilter magazine. As you all know, Prop. 2C did not pass, so we will have to start paying to use the Senior Center. We had a motion and voted to continue meeting at the Senior Center for the time being, at a cost of $60.00 per night. John, who has always been so helpful to us setting up and taking down tables and chairs for our meetings, will lose his position in December. This means we will all have to step up and help with the table and chairs so just a few are not taxed to do this. If we all help, it will go much smoother. Please take a moment at the next meeting to thank John for all he has done for us.
The December meeting will be our annual Christmas Party. Lyn and her crew have lots of fun planned for us, so I hope you will be able to attend. Please check out Lyn's article so you know what to bring with you. It's also time to renew our memberships in the guild, so please stop by and see Laural at the meeting. We will also be unveiling our mystery quilts- I can hardly wait! Merry Christmas to all of you!!
Happy Quilting,

Barb

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Pictures of Show and Tell and Program


The program presenter in November was Jill Gorski and her jillions of buttons. She told us about the buttons, what makes some special and she showed us lots of different buttons. She also showed us examples of how to use buttons on projects to make them special.

Click on the picture to see a slide show of the pictures of the presentation and click here to look at a slide show of the show and tell from the November meeting.

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Board Minutes Nobember 2009

Nov. 5, 2009

Attendees: Mary H. , Jo Ann , Bonnie, Laural, Martha, Barb. Debbie was absent due to illness

Raffle quilt- it is at Nuts and Bolts in Woodland Park until December

Mary- Purchased a digital camera for the guild to be used at the meetings.

Martha- auction income was $2763.00, $103.00 less than last year

Laural- presented an new idea for next year's auction, a silent auction table. We have 3 memberships submitted for 2010. The ballots are done for the Mystery Challenge quilts, and she has prizes for the participants.

JoAnn- the programs are set for 2010. She is currently looking for speakers for 2011. She is also looking for members to put on the guild workshop in 2010.

Because the tax issue wasn't passed in Colorado Springs, we will ask guild members to form a committee for a place for the guild to meet since the Senior Center will probably close at some point.

Elections will be done in November. Laural will make a poster of those who are running for Board positions. Mary will send out an email or postcard to inform members that elections will be held at the November meeting. We will also need a motion at the November meeting to give the Senior center our annual donation of $500.00

Meeting adjourned at 6:45 pm.

Respectfully submitted by Barb Czarniecki

Thursday, November 5, 2009

Election Notification

We will have elections for the 2010 Board at the November meeting.

The nominees are:
President—Barb Czarniecki
First VP (Membership)--Laural Hoppes
Second VP (Programs-- Jo Ann Anderson
Secretary--Debbie Korrell
Treasurer—Cindy Pring

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Opportunities--Please Volunteer

Board Members:
President: Runs the meetings, organizes the various committees, prepares and submits a newsletter article, including the agenda for the meetings. Appoints all committee chairpersons, monitor and assist all committees, keep records of office and transfer to successor, perform other duties as may be required by the Executive Board.

1st Vice President (Membership): Presides at meetings in absence of President, fill the office of President in the event of a vacancy, collect membership dues, maintain a membership roster , furnish the roster to members twice yearly, conduct sales of CSQG membership pins, keep records of Office and transfer to successor, perform such other duties as may be required by the Executive Board. Computer skills are necessary to print out rosters, name tags, etc.

2nd Vice President (Programs): Plan, organize and present a monthly program reflecting the interests of the membership, consult with the new 2nd Vice President two months into the year following current tenure. Keep records of Office and transfer to successor. Perform such other duties as may be required by the Executive Board.

Secretary: Record the proceedings of all general membership and Executive Board meetings, publish a summary of all general and Board meetings in newsletter. Keep records of office and transfer same to successor , maintain correspondence on behalf of the Presi-dent. Perform such other duties as may be required by the Executive Board.

Treasurer: Receives and deposits all monies received by the guild; disburse the funds as authorized by the officers of the guild; reconcile bank accounts on a monthly basis; develop an annual budget with cooperation from the officers and committee chairs; prepare all nec-essary reports relating to the raffle incomes and file quarterly reports with the Secretary of State.

Committees:
Block of the Quarter: Directions for Block of the Quarter are given four times during the year. Members make the blocks and bring to the meetings and someone will received all that have been made during this quarter. Directions are available at meetings and on our web site. Chairperson picks the block, writes directions and helps with the drawing for the blocks.

Challenge Quilts: Picks a quilt for the members to work on throughout the year. Round robin styles need to be organized with members sharing blocks. Mystery Quilt styles will need directions written for the newsletter. At least one challenge quilt is offered each year.

Charity Quilts: Quilts are made by the guild members and donated to Safe Passage.. Size guidelines would be Crib—36‖ X 45‖ and Lap—45‖ to 60‖, but any size quilt is gladly accepted. Chairperson is responsible for cutting kits, collecting quilts and delivering to our charities.

Charity Quilts—cut kits: Members of this committee will help the chairperson cut kits. Time involved will vary by members of this committee.

Christmas Party: This meeting is held the second Thursday of December. Chairperson can decide what activities will be held dur-ing his meeting. Chairperson also organizes food for the meeting. The Holiday party takes at least 10 hours with the craft prep, food buying and prep.

Door Prizes: Quilt-related door prizes are gratefully accepted and add a special excitement to our meetings. If you win a door prize, please donate one at the next meeting.

Strip Club: There is a strip exchange each month. Strips will be 2 ½‖. Each participate brings 6 strips cut from ½ yard of fabric. Each month will have a different color/theme of fabric. Chairperson de-cides the color/themes and organizing strips to return to members next month.

Historian: Duties shall include maintenance of copies of all newslet-ters and minutes of meetings, library materials, records, and any other material of present or future historical interest to CSQG. An inven-tory of CSQG property will be maintained. The Chairperson will keep records of activities and transfer to successor.

Hospitality: Duties include coordination of refreshments for meet-ings, setting up meeting rooms prior to meeting, cleaning of room after meetings, maintenance and organization of door prizes, greeting of members and guests, and maintenance of any food service equip-ment belonging to CSQG.. It takes an hour each Month :writing the newsletter article prep before the meeting and then attendance at every meeting to bring paper goods.

July Birthday Party: Organizers of the birthday party plan games/activities, (and food )for the birthday. The meeting is cut short and the rest of the evening is devoted to the party. Money is available to purchase items needed.

Monthly Raffle: A member will donate a small wall quilt, gift bas-ket or other item to raffle at each meeting. Funds from the monthly raffle help to pay operating cost. Chairperson will have members volunteer to make the raffle items and help with drawing of names during the meetings.

Newsletter: Duties include preparation of and mailing Newsletters, publication of meeting summaries and reports submitted and mainte-nance of all records associated with the Newsletter. The Chairperson will keep records of activities and transfer to successor.

Nomination Committee: Call members to receive a list of candi-dates for offices. Provide list of candidates for each office at Novem-ber meeting. Count ballots and present result at December Meeting.

Put’n Take: Remove all Put’n Take items at end of meeting.

October Auction: Items are donated for the auction by members and include many wonderful quilt tops, wall hangings, cross-stitch items, yards of materials, clothing, books, patterns, etc. This is our annual auction in October. The chairperson receives the donated items, and helps with the action.

Raffle Quilt Tickets: Print tickets for members to sell. Sell raffle tickets at meetings and other events. Collect money from members that have sold tickets. Proceeds go to the guild.

Raffle Quilt Custodian: Hold the Raffle Quilt when it is not being displayed. Should help with delivery of quilt to various locations for display to sell tickets.

Raffle Quilt for 2011: Making of a minimum of a queen size quilt for the guild. Money is available for materials.

Secret Pals: Every six months members fill out a form about them-selves (birthday, favorite colors, patterns and quilting techniques, etc.) and names are secretly drawn for a ―pal‖ to get to know. With the information provided on the form, members have a chance to surprise their pal with little gifts and cards. Chairperson coordinates secret pals, and ―revealing‖ of pals every six months.

Webmaster: Maintains and makes changes to the guild’s web page.

Monday, October 19, 2009

Bookstore & Holiday Boutique Sale

Jo Cervone, from the Old Colorado City Historical Society has sent us information about a boutique they are sponsoring on November 10th. If you are interested in selling some of your items, you can download the registration form here.

Friday, October 9, 2009

Hostess help needed for December

Cannot wait to celebrate the holidays during our meeting on Dec. 10. I have a few people signed up to help with food and fun (Vicki, Megan, Jalinda and Cheri) but would love more to help plan and entertain that night. Please call me, Lyn Seaver, 266-6782 or see me during the November meeting to volunteer.

Thursday, October 1, 2009

Registration Form

If you would like to register early (these are not due till December) the registration form can be found online. Click here to download the pdf, then print it and bring it to the next meeting with your payment. Please fill out the entire form, so we can have a comprehensive list of our members.

Members' Sites

If you are a guild member, and would like to have a link to your blog or website on this site, send an email by clicking the link, or to cospringsqg@gmail.com. I'll put links up on one of the side bars so we can all see what is going on.

Saturday, September 26, 2009

Auction Form


If you plan to donate items for the guild auction, please download and print this form before you arrive. Print as many as you need. You can also click on the image above and you will see a larger image, you can then print that image if you like.

You will notice that this year we are including a reserve amount for the item you donate. If you want a minimum bid for your donation, the bidding will start there and if that amount is not met, your item will not be sold it will be returned to you.

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Newsletter October

You can download the newsletter from our shared site here. If you need the password, send me an email and I'll send it to you.

Friday, September 4, 2009

Quilters Above the Clouds Quilt Show

3rd Annual Quilt Show
Saturday Spet 12, 2009
10am to 6pm
Woodland Park, C
Ute Pass Cultural Center and Public Library
210 and 218 E. Midland
Featuring
Quilts, Quilting Demonstrations, Historical Displays
For further information call 719-687-0453 or visit
Nuts 'n' Bolts Needleworks
200 S. Chestnut St
Woodland Park, CO

Saturday, August 29, 2009

Ooops, sorry

What a goof I am. I missed putting these directions in the newsletter. Click on the picture above to get a larger picture.

Newsletter Available

Here is a link to download the newsletter. Use the password that was sent to you.

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Show n Tell 8-13-09

Click on the picture above will take you to the flickr set from Show and Tell on August 13.

Saturday, August 15, 2009

Hospitality

Thank you to all the faithful members who continue to bring refreshments to the meetings. If you have not signed up this year yet please do next meeting. Just bring two dozen of something to eat and a two liter or gallon of something to drink. For example, last month we had fruit, brownies, chips and cheese and crackers. We aren't picky and whatever shows up is eaten!

September hostesses: Jean Rebello, Dolly Copeland, Laural Hoppes, Carol Green, Kim Pope and Gloria Lesher.

Lyn Seaver

Quilting tip


For an inexpensive way to "see" multiple blocks, use 2-12 inch mirror tiles. Use a piece of heavy duty tape to make a hinge. When you make a block, put the mirrors on two sides to see what four blocks together will look like, or add one more mirror and put them around three sides of your block to see what an entire quilt might look like.

You can also use the mirrors to reflect sketches you've made to see what a repeated design will look like.

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Saturday, July 11, 2009

Show n Tell Pictures 7-9-09


Pictures have been added to the flickr account. Click on the picture above to see the pictures larger size. When you click, your browser will move to the flickr page. There you will see thumbnails of the pictures. Click on each of the thumbnails to see a larger picture.

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Job Descriptions

Please think about volunteering for one of the jobs listed below.

Board Members

President: Runs the meetings, organizes the various committees, prepares and submits a newsletter article, including the agenda for the meetings. Appoints all committee chairpersons, monitor and assist all committees, keep records of office and transfer to successor, perform other duties as may be required by the Executive Board.

1st Vice President (Membership): Presides at meetings in absence of President, fill the office of President in the event of a vacancy, collect membership dues, maintain a membership roster, furnish the roster to members twice yearly, conduct sales of CSQG membership pins, keep records of Office and transfer to successor, perform such other duties as may be required by the Executive Board. Computer skills are necessary to print out rosters, name tags, etc.

2nd Vice President (Programs): Plan, organize and present a monthly program reflecting the interests of the membership, consult with the new 2nd Vice President two months into the year following current tenure. Keep records of Office and transfer to successor. Perform such other duties as may be required by the Executive Board.

Secretary: Record the proceedings of all general membership and Executive Board meetings, publish a summary of all general and Board meetings in newsletter. Keep records of office and transfer same to successor, maintain correspondence on behalf of the President. Perform such other duties as may be required by the Executive Board.

Treasurer: Receives and deposits all monies received by the guild; disburse the funds as authorized by the officers of the guild; reconcile bank accounts on a monthly basis; develop an annual budget with cooperation from the officers and committee chairs; prepare necessary reports relating to the raffle incomes and file quarterly reports with the Secretary of State.

Committees

Block of the Quarter: Directions for Block of the Quarter are given four times during the year. Members make the blocks and bring to the meetings and someone will received all that have been made during this quarter. Directions are available at meetings and on our web site. Chairperson picks the block, writes directions and helps with the drawing for the blocks.

Challenge Quilts: Picks a quilt for the members to work on throughout the year. Round robin styles need to be organized with members sharing blocks. Mystery Quilt styles will need directions written for the newsletter. At least one challenge quilt is offered each year.

Charity Quilts: Quilts are made by the guild members and donated to Safe Passage. Size guidelines would be Crib—36” X 45” and Lap—45” to 60”, but any size quilt is gladly accepted. Chairperson is responsible for cutting kits, collecting quilts and delivering to our charities.

Charity Quilts—kits: Members of this committee will help the chairperson cut kits. Time involved will vary by members of this committee.

Christmas Party: This meeting is held the second Thursday of December. Chairperson can decide what activities will be held during his meeting. Chairperson also organizes food for the meeting. The Holiday party takes at least 10 hours with the craft prep, food buying and prep.

Door Prizes: Quilt-related door prizes are gratefully accepted and add a special excitement to our meetings. If you win a door prize, please donate one at the next meeting.

Historian: Duties shall include maintenance of copies of all newsletters and minutes of meetings,
library materials, records, and any other material of present or future historical interest to CSQG. An inventory of CSQG property will be maintained. The Chairperson will keep records of activities and transfer to successor.

Hospitality: Duties include coordination of refreshments for meetings, setting up meeting rooms prior to meeting, cleaning of room after meetings, maintenance and organization of door prizes, greeting of members and guests, and maintenance of any food service equipment belonging to CSQG.. It takes an hour each Month :writing the newsletter article prep the meeting and then attendance at every meeting to bring paper goods.

July Birthday Party: Organizers of the birthday party plan games/activities, (and food )for the birthday. The meeting is cut short and the rest of the evening is devoted to the party. Money is available to purchase items needed.

Monthly Raffle: A member will donate a small wall quilt, gift basket or other item to raffle at each meeting. Funds from the monthly raffle help to pay operating cost. Chairperson will have members volunteer to make the raffle items and help with drawing of names during the meetings.

Newsletter: Duties include preparation of and mailing Newsletters, publication of meeting summaries and reports submitted and maintenance of all records associated with the Newsletter. The Chairperson will keep records of activities and transfer to successor.

Nomination Committee: Call members to receive a list of candidates for offices. Provide list of candidates for each office at November meeting. Count ballots and present result at December Meeting.

Put’n Take: Remove all Put’n Take items at end of meeting.

October Auction: Items are donated for the auction by members and include many wonderful quilt tops, wall hangings, cross-stitch items, yards of materials, clothing, books, patterns, etc. This is our annual auction in October. The chairperson receives the donated items, and helps with the action.

Raffle Quilt Tickets: Print tickets for members to sell. Sell raffle tickets at meetings and other events. Collect money from members that have sold tickets. Proceeds go to the guild.

Raffle Quilt Custodian: Hold the Raffle Quilt when it is not being displayed. Should help with delivery of quilt to various locations for display to sell tickets.

Raffle Quilt for 2011: Making of a minimum of a queen size quilt for the guild. Money is available for materials.

Secret Pals: Every six months members fill out a form about themselves (birthday, favorite colors, patterns and quilting techniques, etc.) and names are secretly drawn for a “pal” to get to know. With the information provided on the form, members have a chance to surprise their pal with little gifts and cards. Chairperson coordinates secret pals, and “revealing” of pals every six months.

Strip Club: There is a strip exchange each month. Strips will be 2 ½”. Each participate brings 6 strips cut from ½ yard of fabric. Each month will have a different color/theme of fabric. Chairperson decides the color/themes and organizing strips to return to members next month.

Webmaster: Maintains and makes changes to the guild’s web page.

Friday, July 3, 2009

24th Annual Exhibition of Quilts and Fine Woodworking

The 24th Annual Exhibition of Quilts and Woodworking is now accepting entries until September 4, 2009, by postmark. All residents of Colorado are eligible to enter. This is a unique and beautiful Exhibition in the beautiful Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum. It is sponsored by the Colorado Quilting Council. Because of the Colorado Springs budget cuts, CQC is paying for a major part of the Exhibition. $1,500.00 will be awarded in prize money along with very special medallions made by Stephanie Haitz. The judge will be Gail Garber of New Mexico, an internationally known quilter, lecturer and author. Each entered quilt will be judged and the judging form will be given to the quilter. Judging on September 20, 2009, will be open for observation. The Opening Reception will be September 25, 2009, 4:30 PM.

Please consider entering your quilt in this wonderful Exhibition. If you have questions, please contact the co-chairs. Pat Webb, 598-0560 and Bobbie Montero, 598-2308.

Click here to download the form

Board Meeting Minutes 2 July 2009

Colorado Springs Quilt Guild
Board Meeting
July 2, 2009

Attendees: Barb Czarniecki, Debbie Korrell, Jean Woofter, Laural Hoppes, Mary Hattick
Absent: Martha Johnson, JoAnn Anderson

Barb called the meeting to order at 6:00 PM

Jean Woofter: Tanya Santini will run the raffle quilt for August.
65 tickets were sold at Bancroft Park for the raffle quilt.

Mary Hattick: the guild has a new email address: cospringsqg@gmail.com. Barb made a motion and Debbie seconded that the board will pay for photo hosting on flickr.com. The free hosting allows 200 pictures per year and we have exceeded that limit. The cost for unlimited uploads and photos is $24.95/year. The new web presence for the guild will be a blog. The address is http://csqg.blogspot.com. The site will be updated as information is available. Mary Hattick will have slips with the blog address available for attendees at the July meeting, and will make a presentation at the August meeting introducing the blog to the guild.

Laural Hoppes: Clean-up after guild meetings has been left to a few officers. If all members will pick up their own chair, and a few stay to help put away tables and food it will be much more effective and efficient.

Laural: at the June meeting (David Taylor’s presentation) we had many guests. A number of them were 2nd time guests and did not sign in, so did not pay the $5 fee requested from 2nd time guests. We are suggesting that ALL guests now pay a fee to attend meetings. This will be brought to the guild members vote at the August meeting.

Laural: the by-laws state that if a new member wants to join the guild during June (or later) they should only pay half the dues, but returning members have to pay the yearly cost of dues, no matter when they join. The board thought we should make all purchased membership dues (new or returning member) half cost after June.

Jean Woofter: wants to be sure to get pictures of the items for the monthly raffle with the person who donated, as well as of the person who won the item to make a scrapbook. We will focus on getting this started in January 2010.

We still need people to work on the auction.

Jean Woofter volunteered to call members to solicit nominations for next year’s board.

The Board Meeting adjourned at 7:00 PM

Friday, June 12, 2009

Free Quilt Patterns for Charity Quilts

The Colorado Springs Quilt Guild is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization who's mission is to preserve the art of quilting in the local community. Our own Charity Quilt program provides quilts made by our membership to Safe Passage.

Looking for some inspiration or your next charity quilt project? You'll find it right here...It is our hope that as our organization grows, so will our community outreach

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Tips for Quilters

The "Scant" Quarter Inch Seam Allowance

When machine piecing a quilt block it is important to use a seam allowance slightly less than 1/4 inch. This is because a slight amount of fabric is taken up in the fold when the seam is pressed to one side. One sixteenth of an inch won't cause too much distortion when there's only one seam in a block, but if there are four seams, the completed block will be off by 1/4 inch! It is especially important to use the scant 1/4 inch seam allowance when using rotary cut strips and pieces. The rotary cutter is very accurate and doesn't leave a bit more fabric as cutting fabric with scissors does.

Cut the tangle when prewashing fabrics

If you prewash your fabrics by machine, you have probably suffered through the tangle of excess threads that sometimes pull away from the cut edges. Try this trick to help cut down on this problem--open the cut of fabric out flat and clip a small (1/2") triangle from each corner. Wash as usual, and prepare to be pleasantly surprised at the lack of tangled threads.

Trimming and squareing up your Quilt

After quilting, the sides of your quilt may be slightly different in length. You can equalize the difference by measuring through the middle of the quilt both horizontally and vertically, and using these measurements (plus seam allowances) when figuring the binding length on each side.

You may wish to trim the quilt until the sides are equal, but if the amount you’re trimming is significant, keep in mind that you may alter the proportion and balance of the borders. You may also alter the difference between the quilting motifs and the quilt edge from one border to the next.

To begin squaring up your quilt, it’s best to lay your project on a rotary-cutting mat on a flat surface. Position a large acrylic square ruler in one corner of the quilt, aligning adjacent edges of the ruler with adjacent edges of the quilt top. Place a long acrylic ruler above the square ruler, aligning the long edge with the quilt top edge. Using a rotary cutter, cut away the batting and backing that extend beyond the quilt top edge. Reposition the rulers and cutting mat as needed to trim around the entire quilt. If you do not wish to rotary-cut the excess batting and backing, mark the cutting line along the ruler edge, and then use scissors to trim on the line.


To restore old blocks/quilts, try the following recipe:

1 Gallon Water
1 Quart Buttermilk
1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice

Soak quilt in mixture then wash in mild detergent. Your colors will return to their original brilliance.