Bloomington Quilters Guild
at a glance: May 2024

Follow the links to get more details about what’s going on and to explore the website.

OUR Next MEETING is ON Tuesday, May 7, 2024.

Time: 6:00 PM Social Hour
6:30 pm Meeting start

PROGRAM: Kelly Young Lecture/Trunk Show
SHOW and TELL
Location: BETH SHALOM 3750 E 3rd St, Bloomington, IN 47401


May 7, 2024 GUILD Meeting

In May, come to a Lecture/Trunk show with Kelly Young, author, quilt teacher, and designer from west Tennessee! You will see the nifty, beautiful quilts from her first two books, as well as a few others. Her lecture has great ideas for making your scraps work with “structured improvisation” and she promises the mood will be light and fun! For more information, go to www.myquiltinfatuation.com. Also you may be interested in Kelly’s biography.

Workshop - May 8 2024
Kelly Young - “CHURN, CHURn, churn”

Class will begin by learning how to piece your own scraps using the three methods for improv piecing outlined in Kelly’s book Scrappy Improv Quilting. These methods allow you to use plenty of larger pieces (even though all of the pieces in the finished quit appear tiny!). Then, you’ll incorporate those happy, scrappy blocks into a fun quilt pattern called Churn, Churn, Churn. By using your own treasured scraps, you’ll create a mini quilt uniquely yours, and you’re sure to love it! This fun method is versatile, and with step-by-step patterns to follow, it is doable for every single quilter at all skill levels. Each class participant will also receive Take Flight and Sweet Bee, two free digital bonus patterns!

Click or information and link to registration.

Please register by April 24 if possible to ensure that all participants have the required book.

June Meeting

At our June meeting we'll celebrate our Volunteer of the Year and the Raffle Quilt winner. We'll have lots of social time as members vote for their favorite Challenge Sampler Quilt. Bring your favorite dessert or snack for a Snack Bar Pitch-in.

Road Construction by Beth Shalom

Be aware of major construction at the intersection of 3rd Street and Smith Rd that will continue through August. Road work will impact access to Beth Shalom's parking lot, with Smith Rd closed, sometimes from the north and sometimes from the south. Traffic will also get backed up more than usual. Alternative parking can always be found at University Baptist Church, just west of Beth Shalom, and a short walk across the footbridge that separates the two properties.

Proposed change to BQG Bylaws – Vote on May 7.

At the April 2nd Guild meeting, two changes to the Bylaws were proposed and some discussion ensued. One of these changes will be presented for a vote by the membership at our May 7th meeting. In order to vote, we need a quorum of at least 50 members. So please plan to attend this meeting to vote, and to enjoy the program and fellowship!

The first of these changes, Article II Section 1d currently states, “The nominating committee shall include the Vice President and Program Chair-Elect.” A vote will be taken on this proposal: “Nominations shall be the responsibility of the full board, acting as a committee of the whole. The Vice President will coordinate the process.”

Regarding the second proposed change, Article III Membership and Dues, the Board proposed that membership dues will be waived for elected officers and chairpersons for the duration of their service on the Board, in acknowledgement of their service. The Board has decided to table this proposal for further consideration, in part because there is confusion and issues of inequity in the Bylaws regarding who is considered Board members, Standing Committee Chairs, etc.

Slate of officers for 2024-25

The Guild still needs to fill several positions. If this is a season in your life when you can volunteer, we hope you will. The Board operates in a spirit of community and generosity and, frankly, we have fun together.

Positions still to fill:

Program Chair Elect - Recruits and facilitates speakers/programs for 8 monthly meetings, drawing on plentiful resources recommended by Guild members. New ideas and methods are encouraged; the pattern of speakers and workshops can be changed. It’s not necessary to be an expert quilter yourself. Past Program Chairs have enjoyed spending time with speakers from across the country and attending their workshops. Responsibilities could be shared, splitting the responsibilities according to strengths and preferences.

Outreach & Publicity – This position was invented this year by Monica, to promote the Guild to new audiences and potential members. Continue her initiatives (Arts Fair on the Square, Fourth Street Festival, marketing materials) and come up with your own ideas! Many members are willing to volunteer for shifts, we just need a chairperson!

GUILD CHALLENGE QUILT

Each year, members are invited to participate in a BQG Quilt Challenge. Every year a new theme is presented for the challenge. Karen Levay issued this year’s quilt challenge at the October 2023 meeting: Sampler. Guild members will vote at the June 2024 meeting.

Time to start finishing up your project!!!

For more information and guidelines and to see challenges from previous years see the Challenge Quilt web page.


Community Quilts

The Indiana Heritage Quilt Show was another year of eye popping beauty.  Wonderlab requested some of our own member’s quilts that were donated to our cause, and these were exhibited alongside the larger activity section of the lab. 
 
Our latest donations included six quilts to Cedarhurst Senior Living. https://www.cedarhurstliving.com.

Ten quilts were donated to Cribs for Kids . More information can be found under IU Health ‘Community Health.’ Bloom Magazine has a great article on this endeavor.
 
Thank you for all of your beautiful contributions to our community.  Know that each delivery is greeted with the warmest welcome. See the Community Quilts page for more detailed information about where our quilts have gone. Since July 2023, the guild has donated 389 quilts!

Raffle Quilt

Now is the time to start turning in the money and tickets you have sold for the beautiful raffle quilt! Who knows who will win this one! The drawing is in June so just one more meetings to sell and turn in raffle tickets. If you have tickets to turn in and will be unable to attend the May and June meetings, please mail the ticket stubs and the check to

Bloomington Quilters Guild
PO Box 5802
Bloomington, IN 47407

HOLD the DATES FOR Fall 2024 and Winter 2025 retreats

For the 2024 fall retreat, we will be returning to the Waycross Convention venue on October 31-November 3, 2024. Watch for registration opening this summer! The Waycross retreat is all inclusive: sewing room, meals and rooms. Day sewers are welcome paying only for the meals while they are there!

The 2025 winter retreat will be held at McCormick’s Creek January 30, 31, February 1, and 2. We will use the same format as this past retreat. Pay one price for access to the sewing room for the entire weekend. You are resposible for meals and lodging. Day Sewers are welcome!!!

Quilts from the Heartland

Every three years, the Bloomington Quilters Guild holds a quilt show called Quilts from the Heartland. The next guild show will be October 4 and 5 at the Monroe County Convention Center. We will be setting up for the show on October 3rd.

Quilts from the Heartland is an opportunity to showcase quilts made by our talented members. We would love to have each guild member submit at least one quilt. All quilt styles are welcome whether your choice is a traditional, modern, appliqué or art quilt! The only requirement for submitting your quilt is guild membership. The show is not juried or judged! There is an award for best hand quilting and another for viewer’s choice. So either finish up or start your entry today! You may enter any quilt…although we ask that you not reenter a quilt shown previously at the Guild show. You may of course enter quilts shown at other shows such as IHQS.

We would like to add to the show revenue by selling ads in the program. We need volunteers to help sell ads to local businesses. The businesses that advertised in the last program reported that several customers said they saw the ads in the program.

Please contact co-chairs Karen Levay and Sandy Bonsib to volunteer by sending email to quiltshow@bloomingtonquiltersguild.org.

Treasure Shop 2024 — A part of the Quilts from the Heartland Guild show

The money made by the Treasure Shop is a major support for the activities of our quilt guild.  Please take the time to look through your stash and weed out fabrics and items that you no longer want or use.  We are accepting all quilting related items:  fabrics, notions, tools, books, art quilt type embellishments, patterns, rulers, kits, etc. You do not need to measure fabrics. We do ask you to remove all straight pins. You can bring your donations to the BQG monthly meetings, arrange to drop them off, or arrange for a pickup if you have a large amount to donate. please email treasure@bloomingtonquiltersguild.org  or call Ginny Kopper or Becky Green. Their numbers are in the directory emailed to members earlier this winter. 

Your generosity is appreciated!,

Quilts from the Heartland: THE CHALLenge

Lisa Stantz from the Unraveled Quilt Store has issued the show challenge for this year’s quilt show. Make a wallhanging that reflects your vision of the eclipse using the challenge fabric. You may purchase this fabric from Unraveled for $7 a yard. We sold over 20 yards of fabric at IHQS and so we are looking forward to a good selection of entries!

UNRAVELED
381 N. Fletcher Avenue
Spencer, Ind. 47460

Phone: 812-821-0309

Email: unraveledquilts@gmail.com

Sunshine

Amber Brooks-Wolfe has been doing an outstanding job as the sunshine person. In addition to bringing the birthday fat quarters each month, she also sends cards if she knows about an illness or death. If you know a member of the guild who has been hospitalized, had surgery or is recovering from a major illness or you know a member of the guild who has died, lost a spouse or other close family member, please let Amber know at sunshine@bloomingtonquiltguild.org.

Are you interested in responding to requests?

The Guild regularly receives requests from people who want an old quilt refurbished, or blocks put together, or machine/hand quilting of a keepsake, etc. Sometimes they are prepared to pay for these services, sometimes they are hoping for mostly a favor. If you are interested in considering these tasks to earn some cash or help preserve someone's memories, let Legene know what you'd be willing to do so she can make a referral. Email Legene at president@bloomingtonquiltersguild.org.
REMINDERS:

• Don’t forget your name tag at the next in-person meeting!
• Bring used rotary blades to any in-person meeting for recycling.
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MORE INFO

~Contact us for a Membership Directory. A 2023-2024 directory was e-mailed in January. If you would like a printed copy see Legene White at the meeting.
~See our list of Board Members.
~See a list of upcoming quilt shows and shop hops. Let us know of other future events by sending mail to webmanager@bloomingtonquiltersguild.org.