Meeting Minutes - September 2016

MEETING MINUTES

Wednesday, September 7, 2016

Maitland, FL

President Alissa called the meeting to order and welcomed guests and new members; 56 members and 12  guests were present. Guests and new members introduced themselves. Stan was the guild’s 100^th member to join this year, and he was presented with a special gift bag.

EDUCATION

Education Coordinator Ede introduced Mary-Jeanine, an educator from the Sewing Studio, who showed quilts which are samples for free classes she is offering to the guild at a date in the future, Color Slab and Faux Log Cabin.

 Color Slab

Faux Log Cabin

Ede said the materials list and prep work for the Christa Watson class on September 24^th has been posted online. She said three from the wait list are now on the list to attend, so she encourages anyone interested in classes that have filled to sign up on the wait list in case of cancellations. Ede also reported that Amanda Jean Nyberg will teach a class on September 30, 2017.

TREASURER’S REPORT

Marge, the guild’s former treasurer filling in for Joan, gave the regular report and separately reported that the guild has received a total of $5,995 in donations for the Quilts for Pulse project, including a significant donation from Trinity Lutheran Church which will allow the guild to complete the 140 unfinished quilts we have left by purchasing batting and backing and paying related expenses.

MANCUSO SHOW

The guild has accepted the invitation of the Mancuso Show to have a display at the World Quilt Florida show in Orlando again in January. Tanyia volunteered to be in charge of gathering quilts from members. They should be modern quilts, and those wishing to show a quilt should contact Tanyia by email. There is no size requirement but all quilts need to have a hanging sleeve.

FESTIVAL OF TREES QUILT

Tanyia collected the improv tree quilt blocks made by members for the quilt for this year’s Festival of Trees at the Orlando Museum of Art Nov. 12-20.  Nancy S. has agreed to quilt it.

RAFFLE BASKET

 Leslie R, who won the Raffle Basket last month, returned it filled with items displayed by Alissa, including several books, fat quarters, and a number of items of special thread. The basket was won by Kathy.

UFO LOG

Our UFO log was explained to new members. Members are asked to list their UFOs and let Kelly E. know when they are completed. Prizes are given at our December holiday party, one entry in a drawing per UFO finished; one prize to the member who completed the most UFOs, another to a random drawing winner.

GUILD LIBRARY           

Yanick brings books to meetings which members have asked to check out. The book list is available at the website. Books may be checked out for a month at meetings and must be returned at the following month’s meeting. Yanick was given approval to order new books which have been requested or recommended.

QUILTS FOR PULSE  PROJECT

Alissa brought 3 ring binders full of notes and letters that arrived with donated quilts, blocks and tops. She read one aloud from a teacher who works with women in a prison in California whose students were touched by the project and proud of their accomplishment in making the quilt. She invited members to read the notes, too. 

She anticipated receiving 100 quilts in answer to her online request for quilts for those impacted by the Pulse shootings on June 12th, but the response has been immense, and she thinks we will have over 1,000 quilts to donate, including almost 800 finished quilts as well as many unquilted tops and over 6,000 blocks received, which the guild has assembled, or will yet assemble, into finished quilts. There are 140 left to finish by the middle of October to be distributed by the end of the October, which is Pride Month. Those blocks and tops received by the August 15^th deadline will be finished; those that arrived later will be set aside to finish later and give to organizations we have overlooked and learn about later or to other projects.

Alejandrina, Sarah and Yanick  investigated how to best distribute the quilts to the intended recipients, and they have located a number of organizations which will get them to right people, not just victims and victims’ loved ones but law enforcement, medical and other agencies whose personnel were impacted by the event.  It was noted that there are serious privacy issues making it difficult to track where the quilts go or to distribute them ourselves, but these organizations, including The Center, know who should receive them.

Alissa showed three special quilts of those received: one on which the name of each victim who died that morning was embroidered; one which one person made and a many people signed in support; and one that has the Orlando skyline with 49 hearts in various colors overhead, which she thinks would be appropriate to go to the Mayor’s office; Debbe King has a friend in City administration and will follow up on that possibility.

Marge reported that at last Saturday’s Sew Day at the Dr. Phillips Public Library, members and guests sewed OMQG labels on quilts while Paula K., a photographer-member, and several helpers, photographed about 90 of the quilts; about 60 had been photographed earlier as well. Marge says we’ll need another Sew Day to do the same.

Beth asked if guild members have made finished quilts for this project, and a number of members have; most have posted pictures on Instagram at #Quilts for Pulse and shown them in Show and Tell starting in July.

Alissa reported that we havev received quilts, tops and blocks from 22 countries and 49 states, all but Wyoming. She has received 1,100 packages, and her mailman will be given one of the quilts. She has also thanked her recycling guys. She said the amount of love in this world is huge, she appreciates everyone’s work, and she applauds the quilting community for all it has given to Quilts for Pulse. She also reported that a Starbucks gift card and money donated for this purpose will be used to bring coffee and snacks to the next meeting.

Marge added that there are many more quilt kits to be finished, in addition to those already out with members, and advised longarmers and domestic quilters that they just need to be quilted, not quilted elaborately. Someone asked about the possibility of making a book of the pictures being taken of each quilt, but lack of permissions from everyone donating is a serious problem. Ashley suggested that the pictures could be given to the Orange County Regional History Center, which is collecting the thousands of items in the memorials at the Dr. Phillips Performing Arts Center after the Pulse shootings. It was also noted that we will not have a way of knowing which quilt went to which recipient.

Alejandrina said some members are making quilts to go directly to people they know who were impacted by the event, and she asked that they email her, Yanick or Sarah to arrange that or to let the guild know about all quilts that have been, or will be, given directly to a recipient.

The guild’s informal deadline is October 15^th to complete everything that was received by August 15^th so each quilt can be photographed and distributed by the end of October. Some that came late may be kept to finish later, and some may be sent to Vancouver to be given to its project for Rainbow Refugees. Blue heart quilts were gathered in Dallas after its shooting of police, and they are sending 9 quilts to us. Jodi reported that we also received a bag of quilt tops that are not as appropriate for the Pulse project as they are for The House Next Door, the donors had said they could be used for other charitable projects, and they need to be finished for The House Next Door by the November meeting.

Beth reported that Tanyia has been appointed Disaster Relief Coordinator for the guild to report to members any events that the guild should know about and to handle our response to local and other disasters in the future.

OTHER CHARITY PROJECTS

Charity Coordinator Sharleen reported that our The House Next Door project (making quilts 48” x 60” up to twin sizes for the counseling service for child victims of sexual abuse) has a goal of 70 due by the November meeting when someone will be here to receipt the quilts. She has received 66 to date. (She reported later today that she now has 69).

Sharleen had posted a request on the guild Facebook page for pillowcases made for flooding victims in Louisiana. They are being accepted by a quilt shop owner who will donate a new pillow with each pillowcase. Sharleen will send the more than 50 pillowcases received today, and anyone wishing to send them individually can send mail them to this address:

Mes Amis Quilt Shop

6505 Spanish Fort Blvd 

New Orleans, LA 70124

LUNCH

The group meeting for lunch after the guild meeting was going to Brio in Winter Park Village.

QUILTCON CHARITY QUILT

The fabric for our guild’s QuiltCon 2017 charity quilt, designed by Alissa on the theme of Scale, has been cut and put into 85 small bags for members to take and return as finished blocks at the next meeting. Nancy S. has volunteered to quilt it. It will be entered in a special exhibit of QuiltCon charity quilts at QuiltCon 2017 in Savannah, in February, and returned to the guild afterwards for donation to a local nonprofit.

NAME TAG CHALLENGE

Noting the high number of new members, Alissa asked that members make a name tag and wear it to meetings s we get better acquainted.

NEW MEMBER GIFTS

Marge announced that she has the guild pins and OMQG gifts for new members and asked that those who joined in the last several months or today ask for their pin and new member gift after the meeting.

BLOCK OF THE MONTH

This month’s Blocks of the Month were made from Alexis’s pattern and were won by Michelle L. Kate T. presented next month’s Block of the Month, which she designed herself. She will post instructions on the blog and asked members to let her know if there are problems so she can post corrections if needed. [Please see the blog for the picture - the one taken at the meeting won't load.]

RETREAT REPORT

Alissa explained that our retreat, which was to be November 3-6, at the KenilworthLodge in Sebring, is in doubt, because the Lodge has been condemned by the Fire Department. She talked to the manager about the chance of repairs in time for the retreat, but he has not returned calls since, as promised. She has called other retreat sites but not found another available on those dates; the earliest possible is January, one in April, others with openings in May. So the retreat may not be rescheduled until May, but that decision is pending. The idea of having a spring and fall retreat has been discussed, and it might be something we do next year; it may also be that we can find space for a Sunday-Wednesday retreat sooner, and that is under consideration as well.

SHOW AND TELL

 Someone representing the Orlando City Communications Center, which handled overflow calls the night of the Pulse shootings, presented the guild with two Pulse quilts, and three members of the Sarasota Guild brought five Pulse quilts today (included below).

 Diana's snap roll of fabric faux paper towels

Sarasota Guild's 5 Pulse quilts:

An ice-painted fabric quilt from the Sarasota Guild

GIFT TO THE GUILD

Mary W, who used to live in Indiana, was given a fat quarter bundle of a new fabric line, Paper Obsessed designed by Heather Givans of Crimson Tate, a shop in Indianapolis, to be given to a random winner in the guild and a mini quilt pattern for each member in attendance. Mary Sm was the winner of the fat quarter bundle.

The meeting was adjourned at 11:40.

UPCOMING EVENTS

·      September 12 – Sew Day at Maitland Public Library may be cancelled due to remodeling there; if Sew Day is still on, an email will notify members

·      September 15 – deadline for Pulse project finished quilts

·      September 17 – Sew Day at Dr. Phillips Public Library

·      September 24 – Christa Watson class, “ModernQuilting in Style,” Bernina Sewing Center, Lake Mary

·      October 3 – OMQG Board Meeting, 5:30 pm, place TBD

·      October 5 – OMQG Guild Meeting – Sewing Studio 10 am

·      October10 – Sew Day at Maitland Public Library 10-4

·      October 15 – deadline for finishing OMQG Pulse quilts

·      November 2 – OMQG Guild Meeting – Sewing Studio 10 am

·      November 19 – Sew Day at Dr. Phillips Public Library 10-4

·      November 30 – deadline for quilt entry for QuiltCon 2017

·      January 7, 2017 – Frank’s class on dying fabric

·      January 19-21 – Mancuso’s World Quilt Florida inOrlando

·      February 23-17, 2017 - QuiltCon East 2017, in Savannah, GA

·      March 17-19, 2017 – Jacquie Gering trunk show and 2 days of classes

·      May 6, 2017 – Shannon Brinkley’s class

·      September 30, 2017 – Amanda Jean Nyberg’s class