November Meeting
878-4141
Visitors
Welcome
Notice: Meetings will be
cancelled if Fairborn City Schools are not
in session.
Shop ‘Till You Drop at the In-House Shop
Hop
Our November program is a Vendor’s Fair with most of our local quilt shops coming directly to
us. It’s a shop hop at our regular meeting place. Our vendors include Bernina on
Each
shop will offer a discount or other special for the evening just for our guild.
This is a great opportunity to look
for supplies for your next project, Christmas gifts or supplies for Christmas
gifts. Fabrics and quilt books make great gift ideas for your quilting family
or friends.
You
can check out what’s new. It is also a great opportunity to show our support
for the local shops and for members new to the area to learn about the location
and products carried by each shop.
So,
remember to bring some extra spending money, your supply list and Christmas
lists.
Susan
Hill
Vice
President
426-4740
A Note from the President
Little did I know that my daughter’s government
assignment would come in handy today. The printer was
queued up with legal cases and is pretty interesting reading. While reading
through the legal decisions of the Supreme Court, I came upon some quotes by
former Presidents of our country and one does an excellent job of describing
what I intend by this letter.
On
Please
take the next few minutes to at least hear me out.
I
am not anyone with power. I get one vote just like everyone else. When I
decided that for whatever reason that I would swat at a hornet’s nest, I knew
my IQ had dropped to zero. Yep, I’ve turned into a starving pit bull with a
bone, and boy is the hole that dog is digging deep. I might not be able to
climb out. Even I know that there is a screw loose!
It
has been my goal all along to ask for a vote of the guild and to let us decide
as a whole. I’m not, nor have I ever wanted to be a dictator, a queen bee, or a
general pain in the rump. The guild operates as a small Democracy with lots of
checks and balances. The thoughts I have on this subject are just that, my
thoughts. It has taken months just to work up the courage to stand up in the
boat. I never said I was Dale Carnegie, but I did say that I would only play
the game by the rules, as I understand them to be.
I’ve
not been underhanded. I’ve driven all who would speak to me about the subject
to distraction. I’ve worked very hard at hearing both sides (and I have heard
BOTH sides.) You’ve all been very gracious in talking with me whatever your
opinion on the subject. Thank You. Many of you have expressed concern over the
effects of this discussion and had hoped that I would consider other methods.
Thank you again for caring.
In
case the guild grapevine hasn’t already brought you up to speed:
I
wanted to discuss something that occurred at our last retreat, and the one
prior, at our October meeting. Since Martha’s (Miller) family was present,
their grief was still pretty evident and I didn’t want to embarrass them, I
chose to postpone discussing the topic. It was in my printed agenda. There is
never going to be a good time when I can bring this up. Putting off the subject
will not help us (me) to resolve the issue. I may not be happy with the final
decision, but whatever the outcome, I will let it drop and not mention it
again. It will have been a group decision.
I
was told I was making a mountain out of a molehill. Could be.
However, the molehill has been known to break a few ankles in its day. Talking about saving seats in a wholesale fashion and barging in
before the appointed hour isn’t. Nor will discussing how our actions
affect the guild.
I
now consider myself an old-timer, a long-standing, relatively proactive member
of this guild. My problem stems from last year’s retreat, but really is one
that I feel is of a much bigger origin. I could not believe that what I saw was
happening in such a terrific group as ours. I didn’t think it was possible to
feel like I was back in the high school lunchroom at the age of 45.
As
a collective whole, our group has been thinking only about their smaller
subgroups and themselves, to the exclusion of anyone else. When I, plus a few
others, walked into the room at
Many
of you, in fact probably most of us, see retreat as your time to do what you
want, with whomever you wish to do it with. Partly, this is true. However,
retreat is supposed to be a friendly gathering for everyone. Our newer members
were confused and some who were not so new were disappointed by the “only my
group” counts attitude. Personally, I would rather never have another retreat
than to see a continuance of what has occurred the last two years, especially
last year. I don’t want to believe that anyone wished to exclude or to hurt
someone else, but it did. Paying for your place at retreat doesn’t entitle you
to save another, just your own. Working on the retreat committee doesn’t make
it okay for you to do it either. As a committee member, you have the same
privileges as the rest except you come one night earlier and work a heck of a
lot harder. For all this work the rest of us are very grateful.
I
really don’t care who you sit with, what room you sit in or why you choose to
sit with or without anyone else or what you and your friends choose to discuss.
I like sitting with certain people also and I’ve even saved them a seat, just
not by walking in early and putting down placeholders at every available seat
in a room. Nor, have I worked on a committee just to have the opportunity. In
my humble opinion, none of us owns a table or a room, we merely prefer that
things remain the way we like them.
I
can see this collective group slowly unraveling at the seams and I am
frightened. I can think of a couple of alternatives to the immediate problem at
hand, but not the bigger picture which is the “I’m the only one who counts,”
issue. It is prevalent through out our guild activities big and small. We have
many small stitching groups that only those involved know about. What a shame.
The “My idea is better than your idea.” “I’m not going to help if so-and-so is
there.” “I’m not going to participate because things aren’t set up just the way
I would like them to be.” I hope you can understand what I want to say.
This
is a large group with many varied and viable ideas and methods. It is a fact we
need to remember. We have to work together in a fashion that gets the job done
quickly and efficiently. We are such a large group that there are bound to be
ruffled feathers occasionally. Hopefully we can compromise and see the entire
picture, which is the health and well being of the entire guild and the events
it operates. Running roughshod over the retreat committee and barging in ahead
of time is in poor taste. Working on the committee to accomplish preseating is not cool. Arriving way too early to grab your
preferred seating and to preseat only your buddies
and not include anyone new (unless it suits your own purposes) or not so new
whom frankly you would rather not be with, defeats the mission statement of our
guild to join hands in friendship and to further the art of quilting through
education and communication.
This
viewpoint is not popular, but I won’t apologize. The Retreat Committee grew
dramatically last night. Good! Hopefully, it was for the right reasons, not
just to use as a back-door. The women, who do this job, work very hard to make
it pleasant and enjoyable for us. Let’s remember to wait our turn which begins
at
So,
I would like to vote on a policy change. Do we want to figure out a way to make
seating equitable for everyone OR do we want to leave things as they have been
in the past? Do you have a possible solution to share? Please attend as your
vote counts, but only if you come and cast your ballot.
To
do this, I must give everyone the opportunity to read about it and give you a
month’s notice. If you have ideas please attend the board meeting November 6th at
To
sum up, I will use the words of President Lincoln from March of 1865,
“With
malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God
gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to
bind up the nation’s wounds,…to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and
lasting peace among ourselves (and with all nations).”
I’ve
said my piece and set the table for your comments and solutions. I don’t feel
all that much relief for talking about this, but hope that by clearing the air
we can become a more friendly and cohesive guild. It has been my pleasure to
serve you.
Sincerely,
Lynn
Hunger
President,
937.969.8700
Welcome New Members
Ginny
Bignell
866-7006
Louisa
Jones
279-1486
Betty
Wilder
439-1895
Please
make the following change to your roster:
Sandy Gebele: sandy236(at)sbcglobal.net
Membership 2007
The 2007 membership dues must be paid by the end of January to remain
active on the mailing list. The fee is $20.00.
Dues can be mailed to:
Linda Netzel
If you want to receive your card by mail, please include a
self-addressed, stamped envelope. Please mark your check with “Dues for 2007.”
Sunshine News
If you hear of a member who could use our support, please call Lee
Peterson at 439-7298.
No news is good news! If you hear of a
member who could use our support, please give Lee a call.
2008 Raffle Quilt
Pat Emanuel is chairperson for our 2008 raffle quilt.
If you would like to help with this project, please give her a call at
879-1339.
November Stitch-In
3rd Tuesday
Evening stitch-in held on the third
Tuesday of the month at
The 3rd Tuesday evening stitch-in will be held November 21st at Jan Delehanty’s home. The address is 109507 Wellbaum, Brookeville. Her telephone number is 884-7466.
Please call Jan for directions and
to let her know you’ll be coming. Enjoy an evening with friends and get some of
your quilting and piecing done!
PLEASE NOTE:
Tickets
sold for the raffle quilt at the September meeting display the wrong
dates. They are still good. The Mary elp of
Christians’ tickets should read November 4-5, 200j6, instead of November 5-6.
2007 Bus Trip to Chicago Quilt Show
Plan a fun getaway weekend to the Chicago International
Quilt Festival on
Please
contact Ann Clutter to request
more details about the trip at 937-433-4354 or email: clutter.10(at)osu.edu
Fons & Porter Fund Raiser
We are continuing with the Fons &
Porter’s Love of Quilting magazine
fund raiser through the January meeting. This would be a great birthday or
Christmas gift and it is something that will be enjoyed all year.
The magazine
subscription is $20 for 6 issues. The guild collects the $20 and keeps $5 of
this for the treasury, then sends Fons and Porter the remaining $15. You can
enjoy a good magazine and help the guild earn some money. Checks are made
payable to the Miami Valley Quilters’ Guild. They will also offer renewals for
this if you are already receiving this great magazine.
The magazine has
projects that range from beginners to advanced. Any
questions, contact Connie Combs
at 429-3281 or Sandy Hartz at 429-9031.
Art Quilt Features Entries from Guild
Members
The Quilters of Miami Valley Art Quilt
Network is having an exhibit in the
Miami
Valley Quilt Guild members include: Kate
Burch, Fran LaSalle, Molinda Lauxmiller,
Ron Lundquist and Susan Schaller. Others include:
Carroll Schleppie, Ronnie Doyal,
Winifred Fiedler, Peri Switzer and Ann Hulder. The exhibit will feature 53 quilts and admission is
free. Meet the artists night is Tuesday, December 5, from
Pointers & Tips for Quilting
Machine
Quilting:
Support the bulk of your quilt with an extra card table while machine quilting.
No-Tangle
Binding: To
keep quilt binding from tangling, roll it up and put a shoestring or heavy cord
through the center. Tie a knot in the cord and put it around your neck. Binding
will feed nicely off the roll as you attach it to your quilt.
Tie
a Quilt: A
quick way to finish a quilt is to tie it from the back side. Use embroidery
floss that matches the front. After tying, bury the threads in the batting for
a cleaner look.
Lint
Brushes:
Small paintbrushes come in handy to clean lint from the bobbin case area of
your sewing machine.
Pressing Fat Quarters Easily:
Fat
Quarter Storage Tip: Use a CD shelf. Tuck fat quarters and fabric rolls into the
compartments of a CD shelf. You can display your beautiful fabrics up on the
wall.
Reduce
or Enlarge a Pattern: Say you want a 12" block and the current size block is 6".
You would divide 12 by 6. That would equal: 2. Then you multiply 2 by 100 and
you get 200. So your answer would look like this:
12 /6 = 2 x 100 = 200%
If you have a 12" block and you’re wanting
a 3" one, you would divide 3 by 12 and you would get .25. Now multiply .25
x 100 and here's your calculated answer:
3/12 = .25 x 100 = 25%
Color
Intensity: If you are unsure of the relationship
between the fabrics you have chosen, photocopy them. You will easily be able to
determine the intensity of each fabric when it is in gray scale.
Block of the
Month Harvest Basket BLOCK SIZE: 12" square MATERIALS
Yardage is estimated for 44" fabric.
CUTTING
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Quilting stories,
ideas, news?
Send to:
Chris Garcher
MVQG Newsletter Editor
937-233-4641
E-mail: DJGarcher(at)compuserve.com
Advertisers
For fees and
contracts, please contact:
Staci Hogan
937-432-1449
SHogan9211(at)aol.com
Classified Ads
We accept classified ads for $5.00 per
issue. Items must be of interest to quilters and collectors, and may be
submitted by anyone, including nonmembers.
Reminder
All articles are subject to editing and approval by the editor.
Materials received after the published deadline date will be considered for
publication only if space and time permit.
Need to reach us?
Please send all guild correspondence to our
post office box address.
That way our officers will receive it. Our address is:
Quilters’
Quotes is a copyrighted publication of the