Submitted by Ann U., Secretary

Please pardon the delay in posting – delay is due to Webmaster, my apologies.

President Noemi B called the meeting to order at 6:01 pm, and welcomed everyone to the beginning of the guild’s 14th year. She then called Program Chair Nancy P up to introduce our speaker.

Program: Julius Rempe-Night of @JuliusHandmade began sewing in 2009 by making a dog collar, learning with online videos. He began making more and more things and began a business. This became a full time business when he was between jobs. In 2018, he began making quilt blocks and and quilts, and soon fell in love with foundation paper piecing. He liked that there was no precision cutting, that he could get very precise points and use up tiny scraps to create fine details. Julius then began designing his own blocks and sold them. He also tried longarming for others, but didn’t like being responsible for other people’s quilts. He then began custom quilting, but decided that also was not for him. Making custom FPP blocks was not cost effective. He took a break from quilting and after not sewing for 2 years, designed a lion FPP quilt and posted it online. People loved the pattern. He was asked to do a gallery show, and designed and made 30 quilts in 5 months for it, releasing the patterns for sale as he designed them. He now travels, teaches and designs and is also an ambassador for Benartex, designing patterns based on using their fabric lines.
Julius recommends starching the fabric when doing FPP, and presses seams open when joining sections. Julius shared many quilts to illustrate his quilting journey. He will share his love of foundation paper piecing in a Design Your Own FPP class on Friday Sept 25, and in his Scrappy Star workshop on Saturday, Sept 26. Break- Noemi reminded everyone that Julius’ patterns are for sale, to visit the library, participate in the survey and grab snacks during the break.

The business meeting began by introducing the 26-27 Hospitality Committee, Donna P, Sandy F, Cheryl Anne S and Laura S, then thanking Jean B, Tiffany B, Ann K and Ann U for tonight’s treats. Ann K found the recipe for Monster Munch Chex Mix on the Holly’s Cheat Day website.

Committee Updates:

Programs: Nancy P has planned a Make-Take It night for the October meeting. She will teach us the Japanese art of Kinusaiga. Check the newsletter for more info- Nancy will include a link to a video for us to watch ahead of time. Please bring a craft knife, small fabric scissors and a variety of fabric scraps about 3 inches square. She noted Amazon has a special on craft knives and blades.

In our November Zoom-only meeting, many-time QuiltCon Exhibitor Julie Ruben will present “Confessions of a Thread-Centric Quilter.” The topic of our January meeting will be announced later.

Community Outreach: Tonya K is the new chair of this committee. Noemi reported for her that 34 HeartBeat quilts were delivered to Carle BroMenn NICU on Sept 5th. The Festival of Trees ornaments have mostly been turned in and she requested the rest be returned at the retreat or October meeting. This is a community event to benefit The Baby Fold, to be held Nov 20-21.

The Giving Bees are creating quilts for community charities. There are three Bees and we are still able to form another if there is interest.

The QuiltCon Community Outreach quilt has been submitted to QuiltCon.

Sew Days: Last year’s chair Marilyn B has become our membership chair, so a new Sew Day Chairperson is needed. Please note that the Sew Day in September was canceled due to having the workshop on Sept 26th, and October’s is canceled because of the retreat. November 14th is Zoom only sew day, as is December 12th.

Sip’n Sew: These casual Zoom-only get-togethers are scheduled on the third Tuesdays from 6-9 pm. Log into the Zoom that is sent out by the BNMQG VP, and chat while you work on your own projects. There is a new policy that if no one has joined by 7 pm, the host will log off. Hopefully there will be more participation during the winter months when we are all spending more time inside at home.

Exhibits: Nancy P reported that our Nocturne Mini Quilts are still traveling with the Original Sewing and Quilt Expo. They will be in Nashville-Lebanon, TN on Oct 1-3; Cincinatti-Sharonville, OH on Oct 15-17 and in Detroit-Novi, MI Nov 5-7, 2026.

Membership: Marilyn B, our new Membership Chair, said we currently have 103 members. The meeting count in person was 41 and we have 9 attending via Zoom. She welcomed new and returning members and four guests- Josh and Amelia, Karen and Lou and her young son.

Library: New chair Nicole and her committee Laurel B and Kristi G will present a book of the month. This month’s is Inspiring Improv by Nicolas Ball. There are 5 new books with one already checked out.

Webmaster: Lisa B has arranged for the Merch store to open. An email was sent on Sept 16 from the presidentofbnmqg@gmail.com. Orders can be placed through Oct 1st.

Treasurer: The Treasurer’s Report is posted on the Members Only section of the website. Erin also reports that we have an advertiser in our newsletter- Karen Goloff, longarmer. Thank you for supporting BNMQG, Karen! Contact Erin H for advertising info.

Fall Retreat: Noemi B, Nancy P, Lisa B and Ann U are retreat co-chairs for this year’ retreat, Oct 9-12 at the Holiday Inn near the airport. It costs $175 for Friday – Monday sewing space and 3 dinners. There are still 7 seats available, so you can still sign up – the link to Sign Up Genius is on the Members Only page of the Website. The menu has been finalized- Friday is Olive Garden, Saturday is Jason’s Deli Potato Bar and Soups, and Sunday night is Bandana’s brisket and turkey. Attendees are encouraged to bring containers from home to save dinner leftovers for the next day’s lunch. After retreaters have taken what they want, the leftovers will be taken to the firehouse. Contact retreat chairs with any questions.

QuiltCon: The next QuiltCon is in Atlanta on Feb 25-28, 2027. Registration is open on the MQG website. This year a 4-day ticket for members is $50, unless $50 or more is spent on classes and workshops.

Quilt Submission are open though Oct 31, including all challenges. Our community outreach quilt has been submitted. The theme was half-square triangles. Other challenges are the American Patchwork and Quilting Pick a Color Scrappy Challenge and Windham Fabrics Handloom Challenge. More info is on the MQG Website. Noemi said she is driving a big Suburban with only 1 other person and has space for other passengers.

Member Survey: This month’s survey asked “Which Fiber Artists do you follow on Facebook, Instagram or YouTube?” Answers were: Krista Moser (6), Libs Elliott (5), Rebecca Bryan (5), Lo&BeHold Stitchery (5), Bonnie Hunter (4), Tara Faughnan (4), Julius Handmade (3), BadAss Quilter (2) and Stephanie Sliwinski, Radhika, Jittery Wings, Pam Dorra, She Sews Seams each are followed as well. One response with 3 answers was that some members followed “100 of
them”!

Winner of the survey prize was Lori LeVar.

50/50 Drawing: This drawing was created to help offset the increase of dues by the Modern Quilt Guild that was NOT passed on to members for this year. This month, Sheila R won $31, and the guild made $31.

Show and Tell: Laurel B, Melissa K, Julie C, The BeeMod Bee, Sandy F, Gary R, Judy M and Sheila R all shared their work. Donna P showed her witches Hat from Sew A Story.

The meeting was adjourned at 7:55 pm.