Call to Order
Our March meeting was called to order on time by our President, Stephanie Schroer. Our Icebreaker quiz this month was "How many sewing machines do you have?" and our members answered 1-14 machines. 4 machines seems to be the most common number, if you need help convincing a significant other that you need another!Membership Report
Martha Wolf (Membership) and Chris Simon (Treasurer) again oversaw collection of dues for our new year. If you haven't updated your membership this year, it is now expired. Expired members will not be included in our directory that has been developed by popular request. Our directory includes contact information, including name, email, and Instagram "handle" so we can stay in contact through the whole month (you can opt out of publication in the directory). As a reminder, 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).
We have 3 new members this month and had 3 visitors. We had at least 35 in attendance!
Committee Reports
Secretary - Rachel Reid posted minutes from February 2015 to the website.Treasurer - Chris Simon presented our current treasury report. National dues were paid in January. Community service - Dusty Allendorf reminded us she is accepting orphan fat quarters for our charity quilts - this is a great opportunity for your
Business
We now have a set-up and tear-down sign-up for individual meetings! It's a great way to contribute to the guild and socialize without 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 was held in Pasadena, CA February 18-21, Melissa and Christina went and have posted photos on Flickr here. You can also follow QuiltCon on Instagram via #quiltcon2016.
Remember the @ModaLissa challenge due in April. Your completed project will be "Ooh'ed and Aah'ed" over by all your guild mates and your finishes will make you eligible to win prizes! Find more information here.
Riley Blake fabric arrived for the Riley Blake Fabric Challenge Spring 2016. 11 of us were able to sign up online. Follow the link for more information and challenge guidelines. If you missed the signup, you can still participate! Just purchase some of the Sashing Stash Collection and make something quilted!
Catherine Dutton ran our FQ Lottery of modern, high quality quilting cotton. The theme for this month was Neutral Low-Volume. Gayle, Lynn, Jeanette, and Susan each won a bundle of 13-14 FQ's. April's theme is Modern Dots, Stripes, and Chevrons.
Our quilting bee's collected blocks. Ellyn's queen bee was Sarah with #spellitwithmoda blocks and Allyson's group made her self-designed paper-pieced circle block.
Program
Ellyn gave us a peek at a future programs. In April Lee Monroe of May Chappell 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 Melissa Eubanks of My Fabric Relish presented her program "Own It" and treated us to a trunk show. She encouraged us to make our crafting our own. We can personalize our projects in several ways. You can make changes to the pattern - change the fabric, play with the borders or get rid of them altogether! Play with the blocks - change the number, type, or sizes. Add your own element with your own dyed or screen printed fabrics. Design your own fabric via Spoonflower or using recycled/reused fabrics. Design your own quilt - graph paper is cheap and plentiful or go high tech with EQ7 or Adobe products. Finally, share your work! Use social media to your advantage or enter a quilt show. Thanks to Melissa for her wonderful inspiration!!
End of Meeting Fun
We swapped our Modern Coasters - introducing participants, drawing names for the swap, and telling a little about what made our coasters modern. We also had show & tell for our WIP's and completions of the month! 3 birthday certificates were handed out. Door prizes were drawn. Join us for our next meeting!