We held our June meeting on Sunday, June 12th. June meetings are always full of information and sew and tell because we are catching up on two months of activities and projects. A lot was covered, so if you missed the meeting a brief overview is below!
Membership
Half off for the rest of the year!
Beginning in July dues are only $25 for the rest of the calendar year. If you have put off joining or were on the fence, now’s a great time to get in on the fun for a reduced rate. Our membership registration link and information on how to submit your dues payment can be found here.
Equity Membership
If you or someone you know would love to be involved in the guild but have been unable to make the commitment to the dues payment, please contact us at the sdmqgboard gmail. We are starting an equity membership program. We do not want the dues payment to be a barrier to joining the guild and participating fully. More information will also be provided in the July newsletter.
Activities
2nd Quarter Challenge: Bag Swap
We had a great turnout for the Bag Swap. All of the bags made and exchanged were lovely and it was so much fun to see everyone’s work.
3rd Quarter Challenge: Summer!
Our current challenge is to make something inspired by summer. You can make anything you would like from a mini quilt to a bag. Show off your creation and inspiration at the September meeting.
Retreat
We held our summer retreat at the Vina de Lestonnac Retreat Center at the beginning of June. It was a FABULOUS time. Many members showed off their projects during sew and tell. If retreat intrigues you but you haven’t been before, plan ahead for next year! Our weekend is (in general) the first weekend of June. Many thanks to members, Jill and Sue for all of their hard work in planning this year’s retreat!
Rummage Sale in July!
Our annual rummage sale will take place after the July meeting on July 10th. We invite members to bring anything quilting or sewing related to sell. These are member to member transactions. So prepare for the sale like you would for hosting your own garage sale: price and organize your own items and be able to make change. There’s always LOADS of great treasures at the rummage sale so bring your dollars!
Save the Day – Laura Hartrich August 13th at 11 on Zoom
We will be hosting a Zoom lecture by Laura Hartrich on quilt labels and documenting your quilt’s journey. This lecture will be free to all members and $10 to guests. We will send a registration email as we get closer to the date.
Monthly Member Spotlight
Jenny Day shared with us her amazing sampler quilts and her all time favorite quilt pattern the Sparkling Cider Quilt from All Washed Up Quits. (This pattern does not seem to be readily available, so do some google searching for a copy from an independent seller!)
Janine is taking names of interested members to start scheduling presentations for next year. Whether you are a new quilter or an experienced quilter, we all have our story to tell and we want to get to know YOU better! All presentation styles can be accommodated, from free form with show and tell to a powerpoint presentation with pictures and anywhere in between. Please email Janine at the sdmqgboard gmail to sign up!
Charity
Cat Beds!
Hadley walked us through a super simple way to turn fabric scraps and trash into cat beds to be used at local area cat rescues. Keep your trash out of the landfills AND help out a little kitty, what’s more to love? All you need is a half yard-ish of fabric, leftover batting and your sewing trash. Use what you have – stuff you aren’t in love with, decor weight, or your non-quilt shop cotton. We recommend sewing up a pillow shell and then adding your scraps until it’s time to sew up and turn in! We will also have some charity fabric available to anyone who wants to use it.
Want to join in the fun? Follow these easy steps:
- Layer batting to the wrong side of your half yard-ish of fabric (remember this doesn’t have to be an exact size).
- Fold right sides together and sew all around leaving a few inches open at the end for turning and stuffing
- Turn
- Stuff
- When full but not over stuffed, fold over the seam and sew closed. It doesn’t have to be fancy. The kitties won’t care.
- Turn into Hadley for distribution!
Ronald McDonald Charity Drive Wrap-up
We were able to donate 45 quilts to the Ronald McDonald House as part of the first trimester’s charity drive. We are still taking quilts for this effort, so you can turn them into Kristyn at any time.
Current Charity Drive
For our second trimester of 2022 (May – August), we are supporting the Just in Time for Foster Youth’s My First Home Program assisting young adults who are aging out of the foster care system and establishing their first apartments. We are asking for throw quilts and bed quilts to donate to the program. Kristyn also showed off the finished group quilts from last year.
Kristyn designed and put together a new group quilt for this effort and block kits for these easy disappearing nine-patch blocks are currently available, due back in August. If you’re interested in sewing up a block kit or two, they can be picked up at the July meeting or other arrangements can be made by emailing the sdmqgcharity gmail account.
3rd Trimester Charity Drive Update
For the last trimester of 2022 (September – December), we will be supporting a San Diego-based chemo center at the Moore’s Cancer Center. More details will be provided as we get closer to September, but we will be asking for lap and throw-sized quilts for easy use during chemo treatment.
Year-long Special Project: Women’s Resource Center
Our special year-long quilt drive to support the Women’s Resource Center’s emergency shelter is doing great! More than 10 quilts have already been turned in with many more near finish. One of the guild groups was able to share their finished quilt at the meeting, too.
Secretary, Jen C. also organized a group quilt project to support the Women’s Resource Center. This is a perfect opportunity for anyone who doesn’t have the bandwidth for a larger project or just wants another opportunity to contribute. We are making a rail fence quilt and are asking for scrap blocks 11” or larger made of strips. Each block should be one of the WRC colors (i.e. it should read as one color). All block kits have been handed out but please feel free to use your own scraps! Blocks are due back by the August meeting. Here is an example of four scrap blocks:
WRC quilts were also the theme at this year’s retreat. Look at all of these fabulous projects!
As a reminder, The Women’s Resource Center helps to serve women and children who have been victims of domestic abuse and/or sexual assault. Our goal is to provide quilts for all of the 33+ beds in the shelter. We are asking for twin sized or large throw quilts in the color scheme below so that they will coordinate at the facility. Details of the project have been emailed out to members and can be read in this blog post.
QuiltCon Community Outreach Challenge Project: Color Shift
Several members met after the meeting to brainstorm ideas of our contribution to the 2023 Quiltcon Community Outreach Challenge. You can read more about this year’s theme of “Color Shift” and see the available color palettes here. The meeting was very productive and we left with a firm idea. More details will be forthcoming but as usual we will be asking for as many people to contribute toward this quilt as possible. We fully embrace the collaborative nature of this project and welcome (and value!) your involvement.
Keep tagging your charity makes (in-progress or finished objects) with #sdmqgcharity on Instagram so everyone can see your contribution!
Sew and Tell
June’s Sew and Tell was FULL of projects and inspiration. As usual, most of the shared projects were posted on instagram and some highlights are featured here:
Amanda W. showed off her Women’s Resource Center project that she worked on and completed entirely at this year’s retreat. Her quilt won best in show for the charity category!
Carol R. shared her beautiful gradient paper birds. Such a scrappy masterpiece!
And Kristyn shared her completed Women’s Resource Center quilt top made with contributions from her quilting bee.
Coming Guild Events
Finally, here are some dates and events to remember:
Next Meeting and Rummage Sale: Sunday, July 10th at 12:00 pm at Quilt in a Day.
We will continue to offer a Zoom viewing option for the foreseeable future as an option for those who can’t make it to our in-person meetings. Watch for each meeting’s Zoom link in our monthly newsletter emails.
Next Sew-In: Sunday, July 24th at 11:00 am at Quilt in a Day.
Laura Hartrich Zoom Lecture: August 13th at 11:00 AM on Zoom
Written By: Jen Collins
Posted By: Kristyn Jansen
