Submitted by Teresa A., Secretary
The Bloomington-Normal Modern Quilt Guilt met on Tuesday, January 23, 2018 at Christ Lutheran Church. Thirty-four (34) members were in attendance, and we welcomed two new members, Cathie H. and Sandy S. We also had five (5) guests. Our social refreshments were provided by Julie D. and Teresa A. who provided us with lots of delicious snacks. President Kathy C. thanked the members who provided this month’s treats. Guests were also introduced.
Kathy C announced the dates for our Fall Retreat – October 5 – 8th at the same place as last year in Sherman, IL. You will be able to start signing up for the retreat at our March meeting.
Nancy P. announced the date for our workshop this spring – April 21st. We will be making two projects this year. Nancy P. will be showing us how to make a quilted notebook cover and Donna L. will teaching us how to make a project bag using vinyl. Sign up for the workshop date will be next month’s meeting.
We had several members from Illinois Valley Quilters of the Ottawa guild visit this month. They displayed a beautiful quilt they are raffling off. Several members bought raffle tickets to possibly win the quilt.
Mark your calendars, Viv B. shared there will be a bus trip to the International Quilt Festival on April 12, 2018 organized by the GEMS of the Prairie Guild. The cost is $48. The bus will be stopping at the Schnucks in North Normal. For more information please email Viv B.
Thank you to everyone who participated in our Sew Day on Saturday, January 20th. We will be having another Saturday Sew Day on February 24th from 9:00 – 3:00 at the church.
Cindy R. shared we have six (6) finished baby quilts! Also there are still some of the Heartbeat quilts that have not been returned and need to be turned in as soon as possible.
Sue K. shared samples of this month Block Lotto block. It is a large 18 inch block. See the Block Lotto link for the directions and requirements. 
Kris Z volunteered at our November meeting to sew the top for our Las Vegas quilt for the victims and first responders to The Route 91 Harvest Festival shooting last month.
She shared the beautiful quilt during our Show and Tell and Betty W. did a beautiful job quilting it for the guild. Thanks ladies!
We saw some beautiful quilts, pillows and bags shared tonight for Show and Tell. Be sure and check out the pictures!
After break, we had our Fabric Raffle winner announced. Congratulations to Beth F. who won some beautiful fabric!
Next we shared the Survey Question results. This month’s 
survey question was: “What design element(s) have you used?
The choices were: Negative Space, Asymmetry,Improv, Alternate Grid, Minimalism, Modern Traditionalism, Scale-enlarged/reduced, all of the above or none of the above). The most used modern design element is Asymmetry with 18 tallies.
The Survey Door Prize Winner was Julie Derden! Congratulations Julie!
Kathy C. presented our Kona Color of the Year Mini Quilt Challenge!
The Kona color of the year for 2018 is Tiger Lily. A short presentation 
was given by Kathy to review seven (7) of the modern quilt elements (negative space, asymmetry, improv, alternate grid, minimalism, modern traditionalism, scale-enlarged/reduced). A minimum of one of these should be used in the mini quilt challenge. These mini quilts will be displayed at Kelly’s Bakery in downtown Bloomington for the month of June.
After the presentation, w
e dispersed into groups of 5 – 8 people to discuss any challenges participants might encounter and also how the guild could help with those challenges. Designing, having 
the time to do the mini quilt and doing a facing were some of most common challenges mentioned during the group break-out session. The board will look over those challenges and the others and find ways to offer support/help for the participants.
After the meeting ended, people could sign up for the challenge and receive a fat-eighth of the Kona color fabric.
If you were unable to attend the meeting and would like to participate, please let one of the board members know and we’ll get you signed up. You will also be able to sign up at the next meeting. The deadline for the mini quilt is our May 22nd meeting. Mini Quilt Guide Handout
Remember that the guild now has ten (10) books which can be checked out by members. This is an awesome resource and all it requires is a $5 deposit at the time of checking out the book and it will be refunded if the book is brought back the following meeting. If not returned the month after borrowing, the deposit will be retained in the library account. See Carol B., who is the guild librarian if you would like to check out a book.
Our next meeting will be February 27th at the church. See you then!
Bloomington/Normal Modern Quilt Guild 