Call to Order
Our February meeting was called to order on time by our President, Stephanie Schroer.Membership Renewal & Directory
Martha Wolf (Membership) and Chris Simon (Treasurer) again oversaw collection of dues for our new year! Annual dues are $50 and not only give you the benefit of membership in our local guild, but also the benefits of membership in The Modern Quilt Guild. If you forgot this month, please bring your dues to the next meeting - pay with cash (correct change) or check (made out to the McKinney Modern Quilt Guild).
As requested, Martha is also developing a directory of guild members with contact information, including name, email, and Instagram "handle". Members are given a choice whether to opt out of publication in the directory.
We have 4 new members this month and had 9 visitors. We had at least 50 in attendance!
We have 4 new members this month and had 9 visitors. We had at least 50 in attendance!
Committee Reports
Secretary - The minutes from January 2015 are posted to the website.Treasurer - Chris presented our current treasury report. National dues were paid in January. Community service - Dusty Allendorf is our community service committee chair, she presented the idea of sew days on Fridays and Sundays. We are also accepting orphan fat quarters for our charity quilts.
Business
We now have a set-up and tear-down sign-up for individual meetings! It's a great way to contribute and socialize with much responsibility. See the sign-up form to volunteer. If there's another way you'd like to be involved, there's space for you to enter your ideas as well!QuiltCon West will be held in Pasadena, CA February 18-21 and we have a few members going! They promise us some photos at our next meeting. You can also follow QuiltCon on Instagram as it happens. #quiltcon2016 is already a hashtag in use as people prepare!
Remember the @ModaLissa challenge due in April! Find more information here.
Catherine Dutton ran our FQ Lottery of modern, high quality quilting cotton. The theme for this month was Red, Pink & White. Paula Ramsey, Sharon Aguilar, Brittany, and Dusty Allendorf each won a bundle of 13-14 FQ's. March's theme is Low Volume Neutrals - think fabrics that read cream, white, off-white, very light grey. Avoid colorful low volume please.
Our quilting bee's collected blocks. Ellyn's group took this month off and Allyson's group made a large star block for Catherine Dutton with Moda grunge and low volumes.
We have a new swap! Due in March we will host a McKMQG swap of 4 modern coasters. Use modern fabrics to make 4 approximately 4" X 4" coasters. Bring yours to the March meeting, we will draw 4 different names, and you will leave with 4 coasters. Think Modern!
Program
Ellyn gave us a peek at a future programs. Our program this year focuses on the talent that all our guild members have. Melissa Eubanks of My Fabric Relish will present in March. In April Lee Monroe of May Chappell (Lee Monroe) will be presenting again - she was a hit last year! Lori Hartman of Lori Hartman Designs will discuss low volume fabrics in May.Our own Martha Cavazos Fipps is a self-professed swap addict. She shared some of her wisdom with us tonight about how Sewists Want Awesome Parcels (not Packages). There are several reasons people participates in swaps - loving the instagram (IG) community, making things for others to have a great purpose, getting something handmade, becoming a better sewist, and friendships that are created through the process. She reviewed lots of vocabulary surrounding swaps. Several popular swaps are the Schnitzel & Boo Mini Quilt Swap, Rainbow Mini Quilt Swap, Cotton & Steel Mini Quilt, etc. You find swaps on IG via posts from people you follow, seeing screenshots about swaps, and following @openquiltswaps or the #swapaddict hashtag. Martha passed along strategies for swap success: Make IG account public or make a public account for your swaps & share yourself online by posting often so your partner can get an idea of who you are and what you like. Consider that all skills and abilities may be a part of your swaps. Be mindful of the requirements and the theme of the swap when participating. Before you decide to participate, consider the costs involved - not only fabric & notions for the swap, but also postage, extras, and time. You will need time to make the item, shop for extras, participate on IG in the swap, and thank your partner publicly!
Thanks to Martha for her wonderful presentation about the ins and outs of Instagram swaps!
Show & Tell
UFO Challenge Reveals - In October 2015 we had a program by Martha Wolf called "Get it Done" and guild members wrote down 3 projects that we wanted to complete. This month was the reveal! Every finish received a numbered gold star. We held "Show & Tell" at the same time - showing recent projects/completions/swap items. The oldest UFO completed was 13 years old, completed by Catherine. Mary's EPP quilt won the "most complex" and Sharon won the "Best in Show" award for the UFO projects. 9 birthday certificates were handed out. Door prizes & UFO prizes were drawn. Lisa won the charity drawing.