Link to Slides
The meeting was called to order at 10:08 with a variety of room issues including a janky microphone and a broken projector screen. We persevered through.
Octavia Pitts (President) started through the initial slides and reviewed the financial slide that is usually covered by our treasurer, Susan Muszynski, who was off trying to find someone to fix the microphone.
OP covered the financials; the Board feels that we are still in good shape though running at a deficit, meaning we are spending more than we are bringing in. It would help greatly if we could fill the workshops. We still have some space in the July workshop, please sign up.
OP – The attendance at our last meeting was a very healthy 93. Today’s attendance was 85 with one guest who has since joined, and four attending on zoom.
OP went over the various ways that members can be in contact with the guild through social media. Please see the slide for the social media names and tags.
Jenn Deck (Vice President) went over the various events happening in the community and they are listed on the slide. Please note that the Craft Alliance has since closed their registration.
JD also went over the various activities that the guild has planned; all of which can be seen on the website’s calendar (home page – very bottom, or the events page). Even more conveniently, they are all listed on the ever so useful smartphone app. You can also register for events on your phone app – soooo convenient. Link to Events Page
JD – We need a host for the Hand Sew Happy Hour on July 18. There was a signup sheet at the meeting, if interested email Jenn at vicepresident@stlmqg.org.
JD – We will not be having a July guild meeting because we are hosting a trunk show and workshops on July 28 – 30 with Tia Curtis! The July 29th workshop, Free Motion Quilting is now full and there is a waiting list. However, there is plenty of room in the July 30th workshop, All Star Improv and lots of space in the Friday night trunk show. The trunk show is free for members and $5 for guests (bring guests!) and the workshops are $50 for members and $75 for guests. The events are now open to guest registration. Link to Events Page
JD – There is a quilt show in Belleville on June 10 and 11. Hopefully, some members were able to attend.
Carol Taylor brought us a postcard advertising an event titled Shipshewana Quiltworx Academy on September 18 through 22, 2023. Here is a link with all the details. - Shipshewana Event
OP – Knotandthread is hosting a sew along starting on June 9th for the #patchworkDufflesSewAlong. I couldn't find a link to the sew-along but here is the website, https://knotandthreaddesign.com/.
She reminded us that St. Louis County Library members have access to Creativebug through their library membership. There are a lot of resources available in Creativebug. [Link to CB library access]
There will be a survey after the Tia Curtis workshop to help us in planning future events. Please watch for that in late July/early August.
Here is a link to all of the events on our website - Events. You will need to log-in for member-only events.
Just a reminder that all quilting work is welcome in the monthly show-n-share. The modern aesthetic as defined by the MQG is our priority, and encourage regular engagement with this style.
OP presented her regular “Is it Modern?” spot; she contrasted two different quilts featuring houses. Check out the pictures in the slides and decide what you think.
OP – Committee Reports
Swap & Challenge Committee - The Log Cabin Quilt challenge is due in October. The committee asked us to clarify that the prizes aren’t cash, but gift cards.
Quiltcon Challenge Committee - The committee is busy working on a design for the current gauntlet laid down by MQG. More info on that to come.
Charity Committee - It’s time to start turning in your charity quilts. Tonya Cass will be available at guild meetings and SewMe Retreat to take your quilts.
SewMeSTL Committee - Kristina Olson brought us up to date on the committee’s plans. There will be fun tutorials available such as free motion quilting, digital labels, and perfecting your piecing. Raffle items for the daily raffle are being accepted now; please only quality items that you, yourself would be happy to win, with a preference for modern items. Registration will start on July 15th, a Saturday at 5:00 pm. We do think that Saturday will fill up so don’t wait to register. The attendance fees will be changing slightly this year; $40 per day on Friday and Saturday and $30 on Sunday. Sunday’s hours are shorter, thus the smaller fee. Volunteers will be needed for valet duties and the registration table; watch for the sign up notification August 1.
Quilt Show Committee – Stephanie Sachtleben caught us up on the Quilt Show committee planning. First off, they are moving up the quilt show to March 2024. This will put us on a similar schedule as the Bits & Pieces guild. The two guilds will trade off each year in hosting a show. They have booked Greensfelder Complex in Queeny Park, like Bits & Pieces does. This will give us a lot more room and flexibility in setting up the exhibits. We will be needing more quilts to show though, so hang on to your quilts; especially the challenge ones. The venue switch will also allow us to bring in more vendors. Details on submitting quilts will be coming later, but please remember that first and foremost, they must fit the modern aesthetic. One question that was asked at the meeting was the price to submit a quilt and it is free for members. Right now we do not know what the limit per member will be. Last year each member was allowed to submit nine quilts. Stephanie reminded us that the quilts don’t necessarily need to be bed sized; they will also be looking for mini-quilts, hangings, bags, etc. Keep an eye out for more details. An expanded quilt show is very exciting.
Because of the change in date, the due date for quilts will now be January 2024.
Social Committee – Jenn Deck reminded us about the Chihuly exhibit at the Botanical Garden on July 22nd. The plan is for the group to meet inside the gates by 10:30 am. Contact Em Komiskey at em_komiskey@yahoo.com for any questions.
Jenn also reminded us that the after-meeting lunch is at McAlister’s for June. In August, we'll meet at Raising Cane's in Maplewood. You can get an address from the event on the website.
Member Announcements -
Melissa Eagan announced that she’s hosting a sew-along, Weather the Storm QAL. The link for that is QAL Link and it starts 6/12/23.
Dottie Vaughn announced that she is a representative of the Gammill Longarm company so if you have questions about those machines, come to her.
Susan Muszynski announced that the UFO challenge will be ending at the end of this month. So far we have had 87 UFOs completed and she is confident that we will make 100 by June 30th. The prizes are some beautiful fabric bundles from Paintbrush Studio and there is a mystery prize for the member who has completed the most UFOs.
Susan also announced a new Mini-Quilt Challenge inspired by Chihuly Glass. The challenge will run from July 1st to September 30th. Quilts are to be a mini-quilt (no larger than 18” x 18”) inspired by Chihuly glass and be in the modern aesthetic. A picture of the completed quilt is to be accompanied with a picture of the Chihuly Glass that inspired the quilt and with a short artist’s statement. By short, we mean that the sentence, “I liked the color”, would be perfectly fine. The winner will be announced at the October meeting. Use #stlmqg2023CC on Instagram or email the photo to stlmqg@gmail.com. If you can’t go to the guild event at the garden just google Chihuly and you will see many examples of the art. Keep it modern.
Members were reminded to vote on the bylaw amendments and to buy raffle tickets while we took our break.
This month’s program was titled My Modern Quilt Journey: We All Start Somewhere…
Janice Samson from the programming committee led the program introducing the members and their quilts.
These quilts are pictured on the website, please use this link. [link to slide show]
The following members talked about their first quilts; Melissa Eagan, Susan Muszynski, Abbie Stolzer, Patti Baymiller, Marie Hill, Annamaria Lu and Octavia Pitts.
We encourage everyone to show their first quilt on Instagram (use #stlmqg) or the Facebook group.
After the really interesting program, we announced the winner for the Round Robin - Sybil Fisher! The winners of the fabric raffle generously sponsored by Cotton Cuts were Mary Beth Oberlin and Susan Hoernshemeyer! Thank you everyone; we raised $185.
We ended the meeting with our usual Show and Share, please use this link to see the quilts that were shown. If your quilt isn’t in the gallery, please email a photo to me at secretary@stlmqg.org, a couple of the picture files were corrupted.
We had a few questions and comments at the end of the meeting.
Tess McMahon mentioned that our quilt show allowed us to use other people’s patterns but we did need to acknowledge the pattern creator.
Kathy Bridges asked about the artist statements for the Log Cabin Challenge. The requirements for the challenge are listed on the Challenge page on the website. Link to Challenge Rules. Marie Hill from the Challenge committee mentioned that the committee was looking for the inspiration behind your quilt.
Dottie Vaughn suggested that since we have so many new members, perhaps we should start introducing ourselves on social media and the website.
Tonya Cass asked when there would be rubrics or guidelines on submitting quilts for the quilt show. The guidelines for submission will be posted on the website and the categories should be similar to last year. Stay tuned.
Another member asked why batik fabrics were not considered modern. Here is a link to an article that Octavia found, hopefully this will help with some of the questions. https://carolelylesshaw.com/modern-batiks-for-modern-quilters/
Ballot Results for the Bylaw Amendments – this was not announced at the meeting because we didn’t do the count until after the meeting. The amendments passed with the following counts.
80 total ballots turned in.
67 ballots in favor of all measures.
2 ballots opposed all measures.
4 opposed Article 6, Sec. 1 – Dues
2 opposed Article 9, Sec. 1 – Candidates
4 opposed Article 9, Sec. 2 – Candidates
6 opposed Article 9, Sec. 3 – Election
The bylaw amendments can be found in the slides.
The new bylaws are now on the website (Main page, there’s a link under the Officer name list). I will adjust the end dates of members that joined after the first of the year, this week. An email will be sent to those members, once adjusted.
Respectfully submitted,
Gail Luther
Secretary, 2023
