The terrible storms that struck Ottawa and other areas of Central Illinois were on our minds during our meeting, especially because member and speaker Vickie Alsene’s home is in Ottawa. Our thoughts continue to be with those affected by the tornadoes.

On a more positive note, there was plenty of Modern Quilting action going on! Ann G announced that 33 members and one guest were at the meeting.  Before the meeting began, the slide show had pictures of all of the charity quilts submitted by MQG member guilds that were on display at QuiltCon 2017. Having only returned the day before, President Kathy Cook was excited to share those quilts.  Our quilt will be returned to us and later we will decide as a guild which charity will get our quilt. Watch for more info about that.

Show and Tell:

Other announcements:

Unveiled at QuiltCon 2017 was the new TV series, Fresh Quilting. Thirteen episodes are available for you to view FREE on the MQG web page; login and go to Resources.  An additional  login (MQG) and password (QuiltCon2017) are needed to view the videos. Each has three parts and covers a variety of topics for modern quilters! Check it out!

Donna Lee announced that our guild received 10 free tickets to the International Quilt Festival in Chicago, on April 6, 7 and 8.  A drawing was held for members interested in attending.

A De-Stash Fundraiser will be held at the April meeting – please bring fabric, notions, patterns, books that you no longer need to the March meeting!  Chair Lori LeVar and committee members Sue Kaiser, Viv Browning and Kris Zimmerman will price it all and set it up to sell.  Funds raised go to support BNMQG programs and projects. Clean out that pile of fabrics waiting for a project… then come ready in April to take something new home!

The Sew-Together Bag workshop was Saturday, March 4 at the church. Lori LeVar taught us the tricks in putting together this cute organizer bag.   Several attendees completed the bag in class, several others just had a step or two left to do.  Fun was had by all.

Another bag workshop taught by Donna Lee is planned for June 10. Watch for more information on sign ups.

Member Viv Browning announced that Gems in Peoria is once again planning a bus trip to the International Quilt Festival in Chicago on April 6.  The cost is $47 and includes your show ticket. The bus leaves from East Peoria and will make stops in Bloomington, Pontiac and Dwight.  Contact Viv for more info.

Christa Watson, a well-known modern quilter and book author (she did one with Angela Walters) will speak and present classes at Gems of the Prairie Quilters in Peoria on April 5 through 8.  Her lecture is titled “What’s Modern Quilting All About Anyway?” and is $10 to non-Gems members.  Her classes are full day, six hour classes:  Thursday’s is Modern Logs (improvisationally pieced versions of the classic block), Friday’s is Structured Improv- Facets; and Saturday’s is Modern Machine Quilting and will use domestic machines. For more info go to www.gemsoftheprairie.com and look under special events, or contact Ann Unes.  For non-members, classes are $55 per day, plus book or pattern.

The Sinnissippi Quilt Guild of Rockford, IL is looking for Modern Quilts for their May 6-7 quilt show. The entry fee is $10 for the first quilt, $5 each additional for a maximum of 3 entries.  The deadline is April 6^th to submit entries.

Kathy announced that the last of the free books just became available from the publisher, so we can expect our free books to be mailed soon. BNMQG will have a library!

Block Lotto:

Seventeen colorful “L”  blocks were entered in this month’s drawing, which was won by Deanna Creelman.

Ann G presented next month’s block, which is a very striking stripe block. It uses a white or light gray background, and 2-4 inset stripes (all in one color family)  Click here for directions.

Queen of Hearts Contest:

What a fun contest – lots of colorful hearts were turned in for BNMQG’s HeartBeat service project. Lisa Baerman was crowned Queen of Hearts with her entry, LeeAnne Fritz made 29 heart blocks to be crowned Queen of Many Hearts, and Nancy Powell was crowned Queen of Our Hearts for her most creative heart block. Be sure to look at the pictures!

Member Survey/Door Prize:

The question posed this month was “how comfortable are you with zippers?”  A few members are not at all comfortable with zippers, and a few are extremely confident.  Most were in the middle!  The door prize was won by Cheryl Adam.

Fabric Raffle:

This month’s beautiful solid color group was won by Pat Messinger.  Be sure to enter next time for your chance to take home some beautiful modern fabric.

Program:

Vickie Alsene’s Surface Design Workshop introduced us to Shiva Paint Sticks and Inktense Pencils as a way to add color to fabrics.  She then let everyone give them a try!  Vickie kindly provided fabric, stencils, the paint sticks and pencils and lots of know-how.  Thanks for sharing your expertise with us, Vickie!

Our next meeting is March 28.  Looking forward to seeing you there!