Program cancellation!!!!!!!

Note - tonight's meeting has been cancelled due to the weather advisory.  The program has been postponed until Monday, January 25, when we will combine our year end UFO's Program with our normally scheduled SEW-IN at the Lodge at Beechwood Church.  The lodge will open at 6:00 PM that evening.  Hope to see you then!

Meanwhile....... stay in, stay warm, stay safe.....and keep quilting!

Barb Schippa
BRQG Secretary

Ann Loveless, 2 time ArtPrize Winning Quilter is coming!

Ann Loveless Is Coming in April...........

At the Dec. 28 meeting, members of the Big Red Quilters Guild will have their first opportunity to sign up for our April workshop with Ann Loveless. Ann is the two-time winner of Art Prize with her wonderful landscape quilts. We are so excited to bring her to our guild.

Ann will be lecturing to our guild the evening of April 25, 2016. During that day she will be teaching a class on Impressionistic Art Quilts. We will work from a photograph (hers or ours) and make a 14”X18” quilt by cutting and layering fabrics under polyester tulle. Cost for members is $50.00 and for nonmembers $60.00. There is a limit of 24 participants. Members will have first priority until after our February 22, 2016 meeting. A waiting list of nonmembers will be kept. Payment is due by Feb.22 by members and upon acceptance into the class by non-members and members registering after Feb.22.

Snowbirds, and other members unable to attend the Dec. 28th meeting, may register by sending the form below and payment to Kathy Mueller, 1732 Red Stem Drive, Holland, MI 49424.

Name_________________________________________________________

Tel.________________________ 

E-mail__________________________________

Member________ Non-member_______ Paid____________________

Upcoming Meetings

February 22 2016 – Techniques Carnival Skilled members of our own guild will be teaching a variety of quilting skills. Each presenter will be at a small table and members will circulate to learn each skill.

April 25, 2016 – Ann Loveless class and lecture!!!!!!! Sign up begins this month

June 27, 2016 – The Big Reveal of the Red and White Quilt Challenge Keep working on those quilts!!!.

Please mark these dates on your calendar and remember to bring a friend.

Join us for our YEAR END Celebration

....Monday, December 28th, Big Red Quilters Guild meeting at Beechwood Reformed Church.

NOTE CHANGES IN START TIME:

    6:30 - 7:00 PM Social time

    7:00 PM Program begins

Membership renewal was due in October, if you haven't done so already.

The hubbub of Christmas will be over and we’ll still have 3 days left till New Year’s Eve. So let’s get together for a relaxing evening of friendship and fun. No need to dress up, unless you must wear that silly holiday sweater one more time. So come in your sweats or jeans or even in your warm jammies, if you want. We’ll be our own entertainment for this evening, so we hope everyone comes prepared to participate. If you don’t participate, then you are in charge of applause.

In the spirit of New Year’s resolutions, we ask each quilter to bring one or two UFO quilts that they commit to getting finished this year. You know you all have at least one. It’s that quilt that gave you trouble, the one that frustrated you, the one that was set aside when a cuter quilt came along, the one that you didn’t have enough fabric to finish. Your project must be more than just a collection of fabric. There must be evidence of both cutting and sewing. You should include the fabrics you have set aside for the project but do not have to add enough material to finish if your planning has not gotten that far.

It’s time to get that UFO out from under the bed or in the bottom of the closet. Bring it to the meeting and tell us about it. Don’t be embarrassed, every quilter has made a disaster; at least you recognize yours. We’ll be laughing with you, not at you. You’ll have a chance to decide to finish your quilt or… hear the drum beat here…trade it for another member’s UFO quilt.

If you trade away your quilt, there are no strings attached. The new owner may slash and dice, dye or bleach, print over, rip and resew. She can add or remove fabric and finish her new quilt any way she wishes. We will take “before” pictures of each quilt with its new and old owners. We’ll use those pictures on the night we reveal the new and improved project.

The due date is up in the air. It will be after the June meeting which is set aside for the reveal of the “Red and White Challenge.” We plan for a speaker in either August or October. The “Return of the UFO’s” will take place on the alternate night.

If there are any members who want to participate in the UFO project but cannot make the Dec. meeting you may send a project along with a friend. Or you can contact me (Kathy Mueller 399-4685). If you send a project, you must be willing to accept a trade we choose for you.

Quilting with a warm fire and friends

You can’t beat the warmth of a roaring fire and a group of happy quilter friends on the Monday night before Thanksgiving to soothe the hectic nerves.  An enthusiastic group needing a break from holiday preparation turned out last night for our bi-monthly Sew-In at the Lodge at Beechwood. Moments of serious concentration mixed with hearty bouts of laughter made for a fun night. And such awesome projects in the works!! If you couldn’t make it last night, be sure to mark your calendars for our next Sew-In January 25, 2016.

Coming up is our New Year’s Celebration December 28, 2015.  Program Committee Chair Kathy Mueller has a fun evening planned involving those pesky UFO’s we (likely) have tucked away in our closets.  Can you say quilting resolution??  Have more than one UFO?  Kathy’s concocting ways to get those done too. Be sure to join us for a fun night, after the Christmas rush.

November sew-in reminder!

This is such a busy time of the year! Perhaps you are frantically preparing for guests that will arrive for Thanksgiving. There is all that meal planning, cleaning, and then all that cooking to do. But your mind tends to wander to your sewing machine, to the quilt you'd love to spend just a short time on, just to take your mind off all the holiday fuss.

Is this describes you even the slightest, come join us this coming Monday, November 23 from 6:00 - 9:00 PM at the lodge at Beechwood Church for our sew-in.  Bring your sewing machine, your hand work, or what ever quilty project makes you happy. Enjoy some free time away from the holiday fuss quilting with other guild members.

Hope you can join us. If not, please enjoy a wonderful Thanksgiving, however and wherever you spend it!

Nancy Crow 2016 workshop - SETS AND VARIABLES III, USING A LINEAR MOTIF

Open yourself to the world of art quilting and inspiration by award winning quilt artist Nancy Crow.  West Michigan & Muskegon Museum of Art is honored to have Nancy return to Muskegon again in 2016.  Registration is now open for her SETS AND VARIABLES III, USING A LINEAR MOTIF workshop. Nancy's workshops are deeply embedded in classical art/design concepts. Figure/ground composition will be emphasized.  To get the most out of the workshop come prepared with all recommended supplies and fabrics (see her link below) 

 

Dates - August 22-26, 2016 (5 days)

Level - Advanced

Prerequisite - Free-hand cutting skills/very good machine-sewing skills

Description - complete supply list, fabric requirements and class description available on Nancy's website http://www.nancycrow.com/artworkshops.html 

Class fee - $675 ($500 is non-refundable) required at registration 

Class hours - 9:00 am-noon and 2:00-5:00 pm Monday thru Friday

Classroom hours - 7:30 am to 10:00 pm daily to complete your assignments

Location - Century Club Ballroom

(downtown Muskegon  http://www.centuryclubballroom.com/)

To secure your space and register contact Catherine Mott ​at 231.720.2587. (Note: Catherine will be out of the office from Nov 2-9, 2015) 

Barb Schippa

Welcome Quilt Artist Sue Holdaway-Heyes

Janet Steinke opened the meeting at 7:05 with the following business:

·        Membership renewal - 60+ people came tonight, including several new members and guests. This is renewal month (October to October), be sure to turn in your form and $30 annual dues.  Congratulations on our first year, which officially began with the startup team in May 2014!! The guild DOES NOT work or exist without hard working Board members, members, and volunteers. 

·        Upcoming Programs & Events –

o   November 23, 2015 – sew in at the adjacent Beechwood lodge

o   December 28, 2015 – New Year’s Celebration, a time to haul out the UFO’s more on this to come!

o   April 25, 2015 – ArtPrize 2x winner Ann Loveless program.  12+ hands would be interested in a half day workshop, roughly $55/pp to be held Monday afternoon.  If we don’t have enough sign up the workshop would be cancelled and money refunded.

o   June 27, 2016 - “Red & White” challenge quilts due – We have 2 size and 2 style categories:

Small – anything below a total of 216” total (outside dimension)

Large – anything above 216” total (outside dimension)

The two style categories remain the same – Traditional and Art/Modern

This means you can enter 4 quilts, a small and large Traditional style, and a small and large Art/Modern.

Entry forms will be made available later, and turned in at our April 2016 meeting.  For now…….get quilting!

·        Guild Fundraisers

Our garage sale earned $476, and since Beechwood Church has been so generous with their facility the board suggested we donate 50% to their food pantry. Membership voted YES to support the donation.

·        Financial update – Treasurer Vicky Gray

The board has acted very cautiously using the guilds funds, in good faith putting their membership dues up front last summer as seed money to get the guild off the ground.  Keep in mind, high quality speakers are expensive, and we built this past year from nothing. Fundraising to date include member dues, guests, garage sale, member pins, and IQF bus trip.  Financial summary (thru 10.19.15):

          Income -                                                                                       $3695.67

          Expenses -                                                                                    $2946.22

          Total net income for fiscal year ending 9.30.15 -                 $  749.45

          *A complete detailed summary of income and expenses can be seen or requested at any time by contacting your Board Treasurer Vicky Gary.

·        Election of Officers – Janet thanked all previous years’ board members for their hard work, and really creating a guild out of nothing, recognizing those stepping down Marie Yutendale (VP), Barb Walsh (Programs), Char Litwinski (Membership) and Janet Steinke (President).  She asked new board nominees to come up front, asked if there were any new nominees, and a member asked that the nominations be closed, and it went for a vote. Your 2015-2016 BRQG Board: 

o   President – Pat Navis

o   Vice President – Barb Bredemeier

o   Treasurer – Vicky Gray

o   Secretary/Blog – Barb Schippa

o   Membership – Sally Leep

o   Programs – Kathy Mueller

·        At this time the program was turned over to new President Pat Navis.

·        October 26 Program Welcome – Quilt artist Sue Holdaway-Heyes presented over 140 photos of her step by step process, various technique of fusible, painting, drawing and thread work as well as sources of inspiration. She followed with a trunk show of 12 of her stunning art quilts. Members were treated to up-close and personal looks at her work for further inspiration. Sue has won many awards including the American Quilt Society Show, the Ella Sharpe Museum, and the Ann Arbor Art Center.  Her work has been published many times, and is represented in many public and private collections including a doll in the White House Collection.

·        Other future programs:

·        November 23, 2015 – Sew in night, Beechwood Lodge

·        December 28, 2015 – New Year’s celebration

·        January 25, 2016 – Sew in night, Beechwood Lodge

·        February 22, 2016 – Schoolhouse night, volunteer teachers share their talents and expertise in a round robin evening event.  We are looking for 2-4 more teachers……come forward and share your knowledge!

·        March 28, 2016 – Sew in night, Beechwood Lodge

·        April 25, 2016 – Ann Loveless, 2013 & 2015 Art prize winner and quilt artist

·        May 23, 2016 – Sew in night, Beechwood Lodge

·        June 27, 2016 – Red & White Challenge Quilts – Show & Event

·        July 25, 2016 – Sew in night, Beechwood Lodge

·        August 22, 2016 – (Tentative) Garage Sale and ice cream social

·        Door Prizes – This month sponsored by Pressing Matters & Sue Holdaway-Heys, congratulations to winners Judy Zivick, Char Litwinski, Sheryl Lunn, Debra Long, Myrna Duthler, and Becky Baumgartner.  Board members work hard soliciting donations from west Michigan quilt shops. If you have something you’d like to offer please see your Board.

·        Pat adjourned the evening at 9:00 PM

Barb Schippa

October program - Susan Holdaway-Heys

Join us Monday October 26, 2015 at 7;00 PM.  Big Red Quilters Guild is pleased to present works by award winning studio quilt artist Susan Holdaway-Heys.  Susan's work has been shown in AQS, IQA and Visions: The art of the Quilt and Visions: Quilt Expression and many other prestigious shows. Her work explores mood and atmosphere through the use of space, light, color and movement. Susan's art quilts can be found in many public and private collections including a doll in the White House collection, and numerous publications.  Her work can be seen at Button-Petter Gallery in Saugatuck, Michigan or Studio Art Quilt Associates (SAQA.com) professional gallery.

Please join us for an inspirational evening. Members are free, non-members are $5.00. We hope to see you!

A HUGE success!

Our first ever, hopefully often, but not necessarily annual BIG RED QUILTERS GUILD Garage Sale was a HUGE success!  The line formed outside at 5:30 waiting for the doors to open promptly at 6:00 PM.  Thanks to the many folks that stopped by and made purchases.  Remaining books will be sold at reduced prices at Monday, October 26 Guild meeting. 

Thank you to the many members that donated items to be sold, Marie Yutendale for her enthusiastic leadership, and her volunteers that worked endless hours to organize, communicate, set up and market, check out, and tear down. A guild is only as strong as its volunteers.  Great job!!

Barbara Schippa
BRQG Secretary

HUGE Quilters Garage Sale!!!!!

Huge quilters garage sale!!!!! Quilting books, quilting patterns and fabrics plus other related items for sale. Many wonderful treasures await you. 

Grab your quilting friends and stop in Monday, September 28, 2015 6:00-9:00 PM at The Lodge at Beechwood Church, 895 Ottawa Beach Road, Holland 49424. Sponsored by Big Red Quilter's Guild. 

NO EARLY SALES

Hands All Around Bee from Downers Grove presents "challenge ideas" trunk show

7:00 PM Monday, August 24, 2015

Janet Steinke opened the meeting at 7:00 promptly with the following business:

Budget: Without your dues, and money in the bank, we would not be able to book the great speakers we’ve been able to, like Sue Nickels. Our prudent budgeting (thank you Vicky!) allowed us to book several great quilt artists Sue Holdaway-Heyes and Ann Loveless in the upcoming months.

Membership renewal is next month. Be sure to turn in your form and $30 annual dues at our next meeting. 

Election of Officers – this is our last official meeting of the year….Congratulations on our first year!! The guild DOES NOT work or exist without hard working Board members/volunteers.  Newly appointed officers will start in October.  Three board members are needed to rotate in/out each year to maintain continuity (so the entire board is not new). Thank you to Marie Yutendale, Char Litwinski and Barb Walsh for all their work this inaugural year. Possible positions are:

·        President (key) – Janet Steinke would like another member to step up

·        Vice President – nominated Barb Bredemeier/Betsy Muir as co-chairs

·        Treasurer – Vicky Gray volunteered for an additional year

·        Secretary/Blog – Barb Schippa volunteered for an additional year

·        Membership – nominated Sally Leep

·        Programs (Key, 3 people needed to search presenters, hospitality, set up) – nominated Kathy Mueller, and support team members

We are looking for 2-4 more volunteer teachers for our February 22, 2016 SCHOOL HOUSE PROGRAM.  Do you have a technique or skill (or know someone) you can share with other guild members?  Guild members will tour each of the teachers for mini sessions learning different techniques. 

Guild Fundraiser - Donations are still being taken for our quilty garage sale/guild fundraiser, September 28, the 4^th Monday, in lieu of our sew in date.  All proceeds go to BRQG.  Items not sold will be donated to Gilda’s House. If you have donations or would like to volunteer, please see VP Marie Yutendale.  Be sure to grab your quilting BFF’s and stop by. Items will be organized and priced as follows: Books - $3, Patterns - $2, Fabrics – $1 a yard

Freedom Village Scholarship $5 raffle tickets will be available at their bazaar, Sept 10-11.

 “Red & White” Guild challenge – We have 2 size and 2 style categories:

·        Small – anything below a total of 216” total (outside dimension)

·        Large – anything above 216” total (outside dimension)

·        The two style categories remain the same – Traditional and Art/Modern

·        This means you can enter 4 quilts, a small and large Traditional style, and a small and large Art/Modern.

·        Your entries need to be complete by our June 2016 meeting.  Entry forms will be made available later, and turned in at our April 2016 meeting.  For now…….get quilting!

 BRQG Member Pins – are available to guild members for $12, with $2 going to the guild.  Please see the member table when you check in at the next meeting for a form.  Several pins were delayed, but will be available next general meeting (so very sorry!)

October 26 Program – Quilt artist Sue Holdaway-Heyes will present a power point presentation sharing her step by step process and sources of inspiration, followed by a trunk show of her beautiful art quilts. Sue has won many awards including the American Quilt Society Show, the Ella Sharpe Museum, and the Ann Arbor Art Center.  Her work has been published many times, and is represented in many public and private collections including a doll in the White House Collection. Clear your calendars, you don’t want to miss this!

Other future programs:

·        September 28, 2015 – Guild Garage sale, Beechwood Lodge

·        November 23, 2015 – Sew in night, Beechwood Lodge

·        December 28, 2015 – Game night and social time

·        January 25, 2016 – Sew in night, Beechwood Lodge

·        February 22, 2016 – Schoolhouse night, volunteer teachers share their talents and expertise in a round robin evening event.  We are looking for 2-4 more teachers……come forward and share your knowledge!

·        March 28, 2016 – Sew in night, Beechwood Lodge

·        April 25, 2016 – Ann Loveless, 2013 Art prize winner and quilt artist

·        May 23, 2016 – Sew in night, Beechwood Lodge

·        June 27, 2016 – Red & White Challenge Quilts – Show & Event

·        July 25, 2016 – Sew in night, Beechwood Lodge

·        August 22, 2016 – (Tentative) Garage Sale and ice cream social

Door Prizes – This month sponsored by FIELDS FABRICS, congratulations to winners Linda Carlson and Cynthia Lindsley!!  Board members work hard soliciting donations from west Michigan quilt shops. If you have something you’d like to offer please see your Board.

 Welcome The Bee from Downers Grove! – A warm and hearty welcome was given to “Hands All Around Bee”  from Downers Grove, five ladies that have quilted together FOREVER (est. 1983) including our very own Program Chair Barb Walsh, forming years of wonderful quilts and an unending bond of friendship.  They number 15 current members that meet monthly at rotating homes. Some have moved away, and some have passed away. They’ve shared personal joys and sorrow, pride, creative genius, and ‘silly flubs’ along their journey together. The group presented a trunk show and shared how they organized group challenges over the years.  They inspired us with challenge ideas including Ugly fabric, Over-Dye, 9-patch and Applique, Clue Word, Mug/Cup, and Cruise Mystery to name a few of over 16 challenges.  They supported and helped each other along the way, creating far more than quilts…..a strong and lasting bond of friendship.  Bee inspired!