While we miss not being able to meet in person, we did the next best thing and held our April meeting via Zoom following our ‘virtual’ retreat earlier in the month. It was fun, and so great to see everyone’s faces, even if only on a screen. We had 45 people in attendance!
A Game of Quilts!
Originally planned as the Quilt Olympics, with a little flexibility and creativity we pulled off a stay-at-home version: the Quilt Home-lympics. Members put on their thinking caps, self-scored, and laughed together. There were three rounds of trivia-style guessing, and then an inventive quilt-related scavenger hunt. First off was “Name the Fabric Designer” given a photo of a fabric print — extra points for knowing the print name or fabric line! Second was “Name the Quilt Block”, again given only a photo of each block. It was fun (and funny!) to hear the creative block names people came up with. The final guessing round was “Name the Designer” from their photo.
We then moved on to a Scavenger Hunt with only 10-20 seconds to grab each item from your sewing room or nook. Items requested were:
- Quilting book or pattern
- Yardage or fabric pull for a project planned but not yet used
- Something to be mended
- An item or fabric that was acquired through swapping or was gifted to you
- The oldest tool in your quilting supplies
- A UFO
- Your favorite cutting tool
- An item you use for quilting that originated in the kitchen or bathroom section of the store
Welcome to our new Chicago MQG board members:
We gave a warm thank you to the amazing, outgoing board members for their hard work and leadership over the last year, and welcomed our new group of board volunteers. The following members will serve the 2020/21 term:
- President: Jenni Grover (replaces Laura McDowell Hopper)
- Vice President: Julia Bryant (replaces Jenni Grover)
- Secretary: Ellen Pomes (replaces Jen Beatty)
- Treasurer: Natalie Holz (replaces Deb Pentek)
- Programming Chair: Bill Keller (replaces Laura Hartrich)
- Special Events Chair: Emily Bruzzini (replaces Emily Lang)
- Retreats Chair: Katie Cooper
- Social Media and Communications Chair: Amy Struckmeyer (replaces Jennifer Lowe)
- Membership Chair: Rebecca Cynamon-Murphy
Upcoming meetings:
We’ll continue to monitor the rules (and evaluate the safety) for group gatherings during the strange times of this global pandemic. We’ll keep you updated about future meetings and events via email and social media, so please watch for our communication. We truly hope the day we’ll be able to safely meet in-person again will come soon!
Our May meeting will be via Zoom. Please look for a meeting link in the member newsletter (the Full Bobbin) coming to your email inbox later this week.
May 17, 2:00-5:00pm
Hand Sewing Tips: Needles and Thimbles, with Sarah Evans
Learn everything you need to know about hand sewing needles and thimbles. Even if you have been sewing for years, we bet Sarah will teach you a thing or two. This lecture will be in the style of previous informative lectures like our popular solids program and our machine needles and thread program.
Update on retreats:
Although our in-person Spring retreat was cancelled, we held a fun ‘virtual’ retreat via Zoom on Saturday, April 4. Our Fall retreat is currently scheduled for November 20-23 at the Siena Center in Racine, WI. More info to come!
A quilting bee idea:
Bill Keller, our new programming chair, wants to know if you’d like to be part of a Quilting Bee. If so, he’ll organize small groups or “bees” based on similar interests and difficulty levels. Each member of the bee will have a turn to present a block or quilt idea as well as their fabric choices or preferences, and others in the group will create and contribute blocks to complete the quilt. Build community and build a quilt! Look for more info (including how to sign up) in our member newsletter, the Full Bobbin!
Community announcements:
Not surprisingly, sew-ins at members’ private homes are on hold for now, but we would love to see what you are working on!
Use and follow our guild hashtags on your social media posts!
#chicagomqg
#chicagomqglecture
#chicagomqgshowandtell
All meetings are 2-5 pm on the third Sunday of the month, unless otherwise noted.
This month’s meeting is on May 17, via Zoom. (Look for a link in our member newsletter, the Full Bobbin.)
A list of our meetings can be found here.
Not a member, but would like to be? Click the button below to join our Guild!
We hope to see you there!