Lorain County Piecemakers Quilt Guild
Volume 23 Issue 6 – February 9, 2023

President: Chris Yoo
Treasurer: Sue Schillig
Secretary: Bridget Coyle
Vice President: Margaret Miller
Community Service: Maria Lucki
Hospitality: Maryann Doucette & Jean Tobia
Membership: Marilyn Novak & Karen Neuschaffer
Quilts of Valor: Kaye Koler
Sunshine Committee: Val Watring
Challenge Committee: Kelly Grace, Susan Thornton, Helen Smelser
Communication Committee: Kelly Grace
Bits & Pieces Editor: Kelly Grace
Articles due by Saturday before meeting, Newsletter sent out Sunday before meeting.

Meetings:  2nd Thursday of month
Time:        7:00 PM
Location:  New Russia Township Lodge,
46300 Butternut Ridge Rd, Oberlin, 44074
Additional Info: Please remember that there is always a sew day the day of our meeting – starting around 10!

Website: https://loraincountypiecemakers.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/groups/LorainCtyPiecemakers
Guild email: loraincountypiecemakers@gmail.com

Meeting Minutes:
Bridget Coyle

Welcome: At 7:00pm Chris welcomed members, guests and visitors.

Program: Deb DeChant of Artfully Quilted Designs shared her original applique designs and techniques with the guild. She got her start in this creative process by taking a class in laser design and cutting. She was hooked from the first class. She started off by creating her own designs for herself and as gifts for others. Her shop is online only and can be found at www.artfullyquilted.com.

President’s Report: Chris announced that we are kicking off the 2023 LCP Quilt Show Year! She set up a large display board that outlined all the tasks involved with pulling off such a massive undertaking and remember everyone that she needs volunteers. A list of areas needed was announced tonight and a call out for volunteers as the clock is ticking and there is much to be done.

Chris also reported that we need items for the Raffle Baskets (new or like new) and for the Country Store (used or homemade donations).

Chris stated we need an impressive DOOR PRIZE. If anyone knows a quilt shop owner who may donate a sewing machine, quilt kit or two, etc. Please put in a good word.

Approval of Minutes: The minutes of the January meeting were distributed by Kelly Grace. Are there any comments or corrections necessary? Hearing no changes necessary, the minutes are approved as distributed.

Treasurer’s Report: Sue Schillig – The treasurer’s report is always available for review by contacting Sue Schillig and ready for audit.

COMMITTEE REPORTS by Committee chairs:
Membership (Karen Neuschaefer)
Community Service (Maria Lucki)
Quilts of Valor (Kaye Koler)
Challenges (Kelly Grace)
Communications (Kelly Grace)
Sunshine (Val Watring)
Programs (Margaret Miller)

The membership heard reports from all Committees that were present. For up-to-date information from the Committees, please review the individual Committee Reports noted in this newsletter.

Unfinished Business: We need to audit the guild books and create a budget. Neither has been done to date and I am going on the record here to indicate that this needs to be scheduled sooner rather than later. I will work with Sue to outline a budget for each program area so we are all set as we enter this Quilt Show Year.

New Business: Original Sewing and Quilt Expo: Thursday, April 13th through Saturday, April 15th at the John S. Knight Center in Akron, Ohio. I will be volunteering to set up the show on Wednesday the 12th and our guild will have a booth for our raffle quilt. So once again I will need a few volunteers to help me at the booth. If you attend to help at the booth, you get in for free.

I can have 18 total booth sitters over the course of 3 days so that no more than 6 people a day. I have a sign-up sheet up front tonight and I’ll have it there for the next two months.

Announcements: Sue Schillig suggested an applique group by held on Thursday sewing days. The name of the group will be The Applique with Sue Group.

Show-n-Tell: Our guild never fails at producing and sharing some wonderful projects and creations. From small to large the variety was wonderful.

Sunshine Committee
Val Watring

Committee Report: Meeting minutes:  A-ok, nothing new.

Newsletter Update: The Lorain County Piecemakers have received a heartfelt card from the Majewski Family expressing appreciation for roses, food, and gifts for River’s Memorial Fund, love and prayers.

I will set the card at the entry table for all to read.

Our member, Melanie Rose Majewski-Kaliszewski, passed away January 2nd.  Our treasurer, Sue Shillig will continue to collect donations for Melanie’s daughter, River’s Memorial Fund at our meeting.

Melanie’s mom is Cheryl Majewski, a long time Lorain County Piecemaker. We have a card to sign for Cheryl at the meeting on February 9th and we will have a blue bag at the meeting to collect fat quarters of fabric.  Cheryl has listed red (or anything) as a favorite fabric color; while Melanie’s favorite color is blue.

https://www.dickenfuneralhome.com/obituary/melanie-majewski-kaliszewski

Fondly, Val Watring

By-Laws Section 8:  The Sunshine Committee shall notify members in case of illness or bereavement.  Cards will be sent; unless it is determined a blue basket is needed.

Blue Baskets:  When members lose a spouse or child, we support them by giving them fat quarters of fabric in their favorite colors.  The Sunshine Committee will supply the bag and card to be signed by the membership.

Treasury Report
Sue Schillig

Treasurers Report and Financial Statements of the guild are on file for audit and will be made available for review upon request.

We have a CD coming due this month which I will shortly attend to. Hall rental deposit for 2024 has been paid. NEORQC dues will go to them this week.   I’ll have a final report for the Quilt raffle this month at the Guild meeting.

Sue Schillig, treasurer

STRAY THREADS…

Sue Schillig

It never fails.  When I’ve turned in my third and final UFO challenge list, as soon as February rolls around, I’ve thought up  some more things for the list.  Every. Single. Year. But I’ve decided that the UFO challenge cannot completely dictate what quilts I accomplish in any given year.  I mean, some of those quilts are on the list for a reason. And the reason is usually that I don’t want to finish them just now.  So I’ve spent the month of January flittering around pecking at projects like my hens peck at their scratch grains, picking out one to work on a bit and yet another to see if I can even figure out where I was going with it.  I also use January to piece up some things in preparation for some serious quilting in the winter.   Some groundhog claims that we’ve only got another 6 weeks of winter, so I guess I’d better get busy.  Hope this finds you busily working on whatever catches your fancy.

Piecefully,
Sue Schillig

Membership

Membership currently has 88 members.  Please welcome new members: Erin Myers, Donna Clapper, Kathy Maclean and Donna Mireles. Their information will be in the updated roster.  If your information is incorrect, please see Karen Neuschaefer for updates.

Karen and Marilyn

Quilts of Valor
Kaye Koler

A great big thank you to Sue Schillig for initiating the QUILTS OF VALOR block drive!  We need a lot of blocks to turn into quilts to fulfill a group presentation in the fall of this year.
And…. Teri Walter & I presented 6 quilts last Sunday at St Peter’s in Amherst.

We’d like to thank one and all who helped in making that possible!

We will update very soon with a date for QoV sew day!
Thank you,

The quilts of Valor committee

Community Service

Maria Lucki

No Report

LORAIN COUNTY SAFE HARBOR/GENESIS HOUSE: Provides temporary safe shelter, food, and support services to victims of domestic violence and their children.  Serves roughly 25,000 annually.

BLESSING HOUSE:  Founded in 2005 to house children, birth to age 12, when their parents are addressing their own crises.

February Birthdays

Julie Bragg – February 1
Cheryl Majewski – February 3
Dee Martin – February 7
Karen Schrader – February 8
Kathy Spencer – February 18
Marilyn Novak – February 24
Boni Grove – February 27
Karen Neuschaefer – February 27
Sally Gezzer – February

Programs/Workshops

February:  Janine Dreckman, Sewing Educator,  Janine operates her own business, The Stitch Goes On, in North Ridgeville where she teaches sewing, serging, embroidery by machine, and quilting by machine.  She has worked at Pins and Needles in North Olmsted.  She will be speaking about her sewing experiences and bring some of her creations to share.  She will also be letting us know about upcoming classes at her studio.

March:  Lyn Fowl, owner of Farmhouse Quilting Co. in Elyria, is coming in to share her quilting and handiworks.   She will be bringing items for a trunk show and also items to sell.  Lyn does have an Etsy shop and is in the process (perhaps it is already up and running) of setting up her own website/shop separate from Etsy.

April is still open—many of the people I have touched base with are involved in the Original Quilting and Sewing Expo.   I do have a plan B, but I am waiting to hear back from one more person.  I will keep you posted.

May:  The Lorain County Spinners and Weavers are coming to demonstrate spinning and weaving.   (You would be amazed at all the different ways they can spin fiber and all the different types of looms that can be used).   Their members make blankets, clothes, rugs, yarn for knitting and crocheting.   I am sure it will be a very interesting evening.

June:  JUDY RIGGLE ANNUAL COMMUNITY SEW DAY during the day.
Evening Program by Felice Dahlhausen of Felice Quilt Designs.

July:  ANNUAL CHRISTMAS IN JULY during the day.
SUMMER POTLUCK  in the evening.

Margaret

Challenges
Kelly Grace

UFO Challenge

We have 16 brave ladies ready to finish some UFO’s this year! Some of you have some large lists, myself included! Please remember $5 is required to participate, it goes toward the prizes at the December meeting. You can turn this in at the next meeting. If you cannot come to a meeting to show off your finish, please send me an email (or text) or post it in our Facebook group and let me know it’s a UFO so I can mark it down as complete. Good luck this year!

Fat Quarter Exchange
Signups for the 2023 Fat Quarter Exchange will start in February, you choose what color/theme you’d like to receive and you either choose fabric from your stash or go shopping for everyone on the list. Fat quarters are turned in at the August meeting, lists are send out to everyone by the May meeting.

Monthly Challenge
January’s Challenge – due at the February meeting are blocks using Red/White/Blue or Red/Cream/Blue. They need to be 12.5″ unfinished or 8.5″ unfinished.

If you have a suggestion for a monthly challenge, let me know!

Block Exchange 2022
Lots of finished tops and completed quilts were shown at the December meeting and while everyone had the same blocks, they all looked so different! If anyone is interested this year, I’m thinking the fabric below would be a great option! It’s one of this year’s Hoffman Challenge Fabrics. Looks like we can pre-order it now, so if you sign up, please let me know how many yards so I can pre-order our fabric.

President’s Challenge
Make something using the Ohio Star block which is featured as our guild logo. There will be a special exhibit at the Quilt Show for the President’s Challenge.

Build a Bear Quilt Challenge
I was looking at some leftover scraps while trying to decide what quilt to make next, and it occurred to me that the ones I was looking at could be made into a little quilt for a teddy bear, so I just bought this cute little bear who will be the prize.

I propose that we make little quilts for this cute little critter and at the Christmas meeting we vote for our favorite homemade scrap quilt and award the little bear to its maker. If you want, we could include them in our quilt show with a sign explaining the challenge. I could take the little bear in to include in eh show, heck, how tough would it be to finish a quilt for a 7-inch bear in time for our fall show?

Your Pal, Susan the Bear Chump

Do you have an idea for a challenge? Please drop a note in the suggestion box or send an email to the guild email (address above).

Notes from the President
Chris Yoo

Tick, Tock, Tick, Tock!  Every year about this time I start to wonder about the magic of time and how it flies.  Probably five years ago I made a conscious decision to stop wearing a watch.  I was a serious clock watcher and rarely took off my watch.  I think it was a nervous habit, always checking for it.  Finally broke that habit.  Well, I digress as we were talking about time flying (smile).  I would not mind time whizzing by if there wasn’t so much that needs done.  Even in this creative world, we still need to get things done “timely.”  First up on my list is the Guild Raffle Quilt.  Julie Bragg finished piecing the squares, and I finished putting it all together and adding the borders, and this week at guild, I’ll be turning it over to MaryAnn Doucette for quilting.  Almost ready to check that puppy off the list.  I’ll have the top at guild on Thursday for Show-n-Tell before turning over to MaryAnn.

Next comes the April Quilting Expo in Akron.  I still have slots available on Thursday, and Saturday.  Remember if you sign up to sit with me for an hour or two you get into the show free.  In preparation for the show, I’ve ordered the raffle tickets AND the show postcards so we can advertise our quilt show at that event.  Very exciting!

I have also started checking off a few boxes for the Quilt Show, such as signing on some vendors, getting donations for our baskets, as well as talking with a few shops about a possible door prize.  We will talk more about the quilt show every month going forward.  If you have questions about the show, please ASK.  I realize we have new members and this will be your first show.  If something we are talking about is not clear, please ask.

Well, time to put this message to rest and get back to creating!  So many fun and exciting things happening this year!  Please sign up to volunteer and take part in everything the guild is doing this year, including some of Kelly’s fun challenges.  Happy February!

Your Pres, Chris Yoo