Embroidery and Stumpwork with Raven Fagelson - October Meeting
Raised embroidery, charity quilt updates, elections, show and tell, and Q3 challenge entries
It’s been quite warm even though it’s already October. You might not want to use a quilt every night, but it is the season for making them. We’ve been quite busy working on our own projects and being invited to participate in others. If you were at the meeting or checked out the slides you will see that we’ve had multiple offers for different projects in and out of state.
One of those projects is “America’s Tapestry” - a multipanel embroidery project featuring contributions to the American Revolution. The local leader of the Pennsylvania Panel was also our presenter for October. Raven Fagelson is a certified embroidery instructor, artist, and embroidery guild member. She gave a presentation about stumpwork and raised or embossed embroidery for our October program.
Raised embroidery pieces by Raven and literature regarding its construction
Our members have been busy working on multiple charity quilts and had plenty to show at our show and tell.
Elections are happening in January. If you are interested in holding an office for 2026 please check your email for details about how to get on the ballot.
Show and Tell
Charity Quilt Progress Updates
Fabric Games - August Member Meeting
FQ bingo, Jelly Roll Strip poker, mini challenges? Our meetings aren’t a long time but they are a good time!
The clacking rotation of the bingo ball tumbler was reminiscent of an industrial sewing machine.
Q-U-I-L-T
Our president, Nicole, planned a quilty carnival for us this meeting. We played several rounds of Bingo where people won fat quarter packs.
We played poker with fabric strips and Superman playing cards. When it was all over the challenge was to create a project with whatever 2.5” strips we ended up with. (Only one supplementary fabric is allowed.) Some people strategized with their poker choices to collect matching and coordinating strips. Others just tried to get a decent number to create an item. After multiple laughter-filled rounds, we had the chance to inspect the box of lefter fabric strips to round out our winnings. It was a different and delightful style of meeting. Our finished projects are due at the December sew day.
This year’s charity quilt isn’t singular. Since our guild annually has many suggestions for donating a singular quilt, we’ve decided to break into teams and create multiple donation quilts this year. August was the second round sign up for anyone who didn’t get a team in July. Teams perused the huge donation of fabrics to develop their plans.
Show and Tell
July Meeting with Special Guest Kena Dorsey
Welcome to another membership year!
Karen, MQG Area 3 rep:
Karen shared some upcoming changes to MQG summer programs. There won 't be a charity challenge, but there is a sewalong, a fundraising auction for the MQG and changes to the QuiltCon Community Quilt guidelines. Registration for QuiltCon is right around the corner.
President:
Last year's community charity quilt was handed over to the winner of our vote, Hello Neighbor. Our "35 Sisters" bridge quilt is also currently hanging at the Heinz History Center through April 2026. We are taking a break and focusing on local organizations because of the number of contenders when we voted for where to place "High Anxiety". Groups, or pods, will assemble quilts from the donated fabric available and choose the recipient groups. September's sew day will be an opportunity for groups to work together and quilts will need to be completed by the December sew day.
Treasurer:
The final finance report was given for the previous membership year. A modest $7 profit was forecasted last summer, but unexpected expenses from a moldy storage tote required replacing some of our supplies. We also extended an extra deposit for the 2027 Crestfield retreat to ensure it stayed in May. Even with a discounted Zoom package and some donations, we fell short. These expenses will be assessed for the budget for the new membership year and presented in August.
Membership:
We welcome several new members and thank all of the membership for their prompt renewals. The Zeffy renewal system was a welcome shortcut this year and Membership & Social Media really worked hard to make it a smooth option for renewals. We are now at 75 members, a new record!
Programming:
The Eq8 workshop is July 14 - thanks, Kim! We also have Quilt Buddy meetups planned for August. A successful field trip to DC was enjoyed and another field trip to Sue Spargo's studio is in the works. Please RSVP asap. An 8-week quilt swap is also on the calendar for Dec-Jan 2026.
Challenges:
Q2 Challenge was FPP, and was supported by Becky's FPP talk at the May Meeting.
Q3 Challenge is Nostalgia, based on a fond memory that never fails to make you smile.
July Programming:
In collaboration with member TaMara Howard and her Folk Quilts Studio, we are proud to have brought Pittsburgh native, Kena Tangi Dorsey, to the Pittsburgh MQG. We encouraged members of the public to also join us for this presentation. Ms. Dorsey shared a rich slideshow of her beginnings in Pittsburgh, and her work in theater that eventually led her to quilting. Her quilts are inspired by the Harlem Renaissance and weaves traditional symbols and imagery with bold colors and prints. She entertained us with stories of a quilt she made for a friend, also a Pittsbugh native. Can you guess their identity? Ms. Dorsey brought along an assortment of African fabrics that viewers could purchase. Her enthusiasm and expression for her work moved many of us and we are grateful to TaMara and KTD for being able to fit us into her schedule.
Show and Tell
