April 2016 Member Meeting details

Membership:  The Ventura Modern Quilt Guild calendar year starts in January, but you may join at any meeting during the year.  Dues are $50/year, and are prorated for new members.

Challenges:  Based on the Skill Builder presentation by Kyle Crowner and Judy Chaffee in March on the aesthetics of Josef Albers, make a 12 ½” block using values of ONE color (color chips distributed at the meeting) or your own selection of one color, from light value to dark value of the same color.  You may donate your block to the guild to be used in donation quilts later in the year.

Opportunity Quilt:  A dedicated group met on Saturday, March 19^th, and spent the morning arranging the “Modern Sawtooth” blocks that were made and donated to the guild for this quilt.  The blocks were transferred to a mobile design wall and taken home by Sarah Wilkerson.  She entered the design into her CAD program and developed the measurements for the sashing between all the blocks.  Thank you, Sarah, for taking on this project for us!

Do you have a name for our opportunity quilt?  There will be a sign-up sheet for suggestions of names, and we will vote on a name at the May meeting.

Another group met on Saturday, April 2^nd, at Superbuzzy for a day of piecing.  Progress is being made, thanks to Sarah’s wonderful CAD printout!  Now we are looking for a quilter who will have time to quilt this lovely sawtooth treasure for us, hopefully in time to have on display during the Central Coast Shop Hop on June 3, 4, and 5.   I think we have someone to put the binding on.

Philanthropy:  It was great to hear from representatives from CARL (Canine Adoption and Rescue League) and Surf Cats at the March meeting when VMQG donated dog beds and cat beds.  At the April meeting there will be a clipboard for members to write down the names of other organizations that may benefit from receiving modern quilts.  It is helpful if you will also list the name of the contact person at that organization.

“Many hands make light work” has been a saying for generations.  VMQG needs some members to step forward to work on the Philanthropy Committee.  Maybe one person would like to contact organizations to see how many quilts they could use and what size they need, another couple of members could choose modern patterns and prepare kits for members to take home from the meetings, and another person might enjoy scheduling “sewing-in” events where members gather to work together on donation quilts. There will be sign-up sheets at the meeting!  Please share your skills with the group.

Round Robin exchange:  Participants have had their first “go” at creating a row to compliment the original row received in March. Please remember to keep your progress a secret and pass the bag/box of rows and accompanying fabric to the next person in line. If you have forgotten the order, check with Gladys at the beginning of the meeting and she will set you up.

Library: Judy Hunt, Library Chair, has organized the growing selection of books and magazines available to check out for a month. If you have an item at home, please return it at the meeting so that it’s available for the next reader.

Snacks: Thanks to everyone who signed up for snacks!

Southern California Council of Quilt Guilds – commonly called SCCQG – will be meeting on April 9^th at the Carson Community Center in Carson (in Orange Country) for their annual “Meet the Teachers” presentations.  VMQG is a member of SCCQG, and we hope to have a couple of representatives who will attend to learn about speakers from Southern California who would be appropriate for a modern quilt guild.  If you are interested in attending and/or carpooling, please contact Patrice at president@venturamodernquiltguild.com.

Step up: 

1. We need a Quilt Host for the Opportunity Quilt.  This person will keep the quilt and arrange for it to be shown at various guilds and public places where opportunity tickets may be sold.
2. Opportunity Ticket organize – a person who will have the tickets printed and keep track of who has checked out tickets.  The recommendation last year was that the tickets come already numbered.