Submitted by Paula M., Secretary
The February meeting was called to order by President Lisa B. at 6:00 PM. The meeting was held via Zoom with 56 of 96 members present. We also had 1 guest.
The BNMQG board appointed Betty W. as our first Executive Director after the membership approved the changes to the by-laws at their February board meeting. Congratulations to Betty!
There are a few changes in upcoming meeting dates: March will be as planned on the 22nd. It will be in person or it can be observed via Zoom. April’s meeting will be May 3. May’s will be pushed back a week to the 31st. Please take note of those changes. They have already been updated on the BNMQG calendar.
February’s presenter was Betty W., one of our members, on Modern Quilting for the domestic, midarm or longarm machines. Betty offered many examples of ideas to use on your modern quilts, including ghost blocks, line quilting, following shapes in the fabric pattern, as well as dividing up negative space into smaller areas that are filled with different motifs. She shared many quilt pictures with closeups of her quilting and discussed how she chose some of the elements.
Betty has agreed to do a Tech Tuesday on March 15th at both 11 am and 6 pm – sign up here for either (or both) sessions. She is happy to discuss your Kona Mini Challenge quilts for ideas on how to quilt them or any other modern quilt that you are looking for inspiration.
Noemi reported we gained a new member and are now at 96 members.
Pat S. from Community Outreach wants to get youth groups involved. At our April meeting, a portion of the time will be a Heartbeat Quilt Design night. Blocks will be available for members to “kit up” and then take home to assemble, quilt and bind. If you only like to do one step of the process, that is great!
Cogs is the name of this month’s block lotto. It is to medium to light blue with dark or medium gray. Squares are to be 20 1/2” and contain solids or low volume. When using the link on the block lotto page, you will be re-directed to The Modern Quilt Guild’s website and will use your personal login and password to access the tutorial.
We need to create a nominations committee for this next year starting in September. The positions that are needing to be filled are vice president and secretary, although all positions may be challenged. We need 3 nomination committee members who are not seeking an office. Please contact Lisa or Nancy.
We saw a short video from the originator of the Yazzii bags. Drawings were conducted and Laurie S. and Lisa B. each won a bag.
There is a new coupon code posted on the Member’s only page for Yazzii that is good all year, but prices are going up April 1st, so shop now for the most savings.
Paula M. gave a short explanation of the upcoming retreat which will be held Sept 9-12, this fall, at the Holiday Inn across from the airport. This is a bigger venue, so we should be able to have several more attendees than last year. More details will follow, but please mark your calendars. It has been added to the BNMQG google calendar, so if you subscribe to the calendar, it will already show up on your calendar.
Be working on your Kona challenges. They will be displayed at our April meeting (May 3). They are to be 20”x20” with the Kona Cosmos on the front somewhere. Use at least one of the Modern Quilt Elements of: negative space, asymmetry, improv, alternate grid, minimalism, modern traditionalism, and scale-enlarged or reduced. Enhance the quilt top with modern quilting – maybe use one of the options that Betty discussed. It’s to be finished with a binding or facing.
Sign up on the Kona Challenge Sign Up Genius, so we know how many labels to bring to the next meeting. Sign up is just $2 to cover the cost of the labels. Get that creativity flowing!
We are finalizing a group tour of the Ken Burns Collection, Uncovered exhibit at the Riverfront Museum in Peoria hopefully for April 9. Sign up will be done through PayPal.
Modern mystery challenge raffle for February was won by Barb S. There were 51 eligible for this month. It’s not too late to join us in this fun, creative challenge. Mystery Mondays happen on the first Monday of the month, so for March it is on March 7th – zooms at 11am and 7pm. You can join the fun here.
VP Nancy, gave a short presentation on our March speaker, Cristina de Miranda. Guest tickets are available, so grab a friend!
Our March meeting will be in person and via zoom – our speaker is joining us via zoom.
MQG – There were 15 members that were in attendance in Phoenix for Quilt Con. Members are standing next to Kathy C.’s Temperature Quilt.
Kathy C. had 5 of her quilts selected to hang at the show. She took 2nd place on her COVID quilt, “Alone, but Not Alone,” in the Improvisation category. Congratulations to Kathy!
She was also part of a sewing bee that took 3rd place in the Group or Bee Quilts Category.
Quilt Con for 2023 will be in Atlanta, GA and for 2024 will be in Raleigh, NC.
National Quilting Day is March 19th this year. We would also like everyone that can, hang a quilt outside of their home. We will be having a sew day at the church from 9-3. Please sign up on this Sign Up Genius, so we can get tables arranged prior to your arrival. Watch your emails for a surprise event during the sew day!
BNMQG is hosting another Destash Sale at our April meeting happening on May 3rd! As you do some spring cleaning, if you find extra sewing supplies, including books, patterns, notions, kits or fabric and are willing to donate to the guild, please sign up here. No magazines please. Proceeds from the sale go towards our speakers and other guild activities.
Please price donated items before arrival. Shopping time will start at 5pm, but you can start dropping off your donations at 4:30pm. Any items not sold are the responsibility of the person donating the item and should be taken home in the event they do not sell.
We had Show and Tell. Pictures are available on the BNMQG Facebook page.
Bloomington/Normal Modern Quilt Guild 