November 2024 Meeting

The last few months were pretty packed, as referenced in an earlier post. We planned a visit to the Heinz History Center to see the Louise Silk exhibit, assembled our annual community charity quilt for the MQG, and set up an Ink Dyeing workshop with WorkshopPgh. The dyeing workshop was sadly postponed, so there may be an opportunity to join when it is rescheduled. We’ll keep you posted.

The announcements for the next few months are fairly heavy, but that’s just because we want to make sure everyone is on the same page! First off, elections! PLEASE consider running for office. All positions are eligible, and president/programs/social media definitely need candidates. No prior experience is needed, and the current officers are are happy to answer any/all questions you may have. The duties for the 2025 officers begins in February, but the current officers are on hand for training and help for any road bumps as you get the feel for the job. PLEASE send nominations for yourself or someone you think would be a great fit to Vivian at vivianbenton@gmail.com by November 30, 2024.

December is next! We have our annual sew day on December 7 from 9am-8pm at Holy Spirit Church. We will be hosting a scissor sharpening vendor, exchanging gifts (optional) and enjoying a potluck while we sew. You can sign up to let the vendor know what tools you are bringing HERE. (Members only, please.) The potluck signup will be through SignUpGenius HERE. Instead of a single item, you can make one of the following to swap: mug rug, needlebook, pincushion, zip pouch, thread catcher, set of (4) coasters. We will provide a brown bag to place your item(s) in. No need to wrap! We’re also sharing the pricing details for the June 2025 retreat in December.

That brings us to January 5, 2025. This is our General meeting, with elections and the Q4 UFO Challenge deadline. If you have any outstanding completed UFOs, please make sure they are submitted by this meeting for credit. We ask that you only bring 4 per person to Show & Tell that day as we believe we will have many to get through. January is also when we will open up the Quilted Coat Workshop up to the general public. More info can be found HERE on that workshop, and we want as many members as possible to be able to take part. Registration will open in January for two events with Tara Faughnan, who is the keynote speaker at QuiltCon this year!  We are partnering with Quilt Company East to co-sponsor these events.

• 90-minute Zoom lecture, Value Creates the Design, 4/21/25 @ 7 PM - Cost $6 

• 6-hour Zoom workshop, Give and Take Quilt, 5/3/2025  - Cost $70

November 2023 Recap - Temperature Quilts

The November meeting was low-key, with just a few leaders and a smaller attendance than what we normally see. That didn’t prevent us from covering a wide variety of topics or taking care of some administrative work! This month we voted on accepting an updated version of the by-laws. Key changes included upgrading the social media position to be on par with the other leadership as far as title and candidate eligibility. Social media has come a long way since the guild began and the part it plays deserved a more thoughtful definition. We also updated our definition of modern quilting to align with the new Modern Quilt Guild website. Leadership terms were clearly spelled out as one year long, and references to a specific month for the General Meeting were removed to reflect that the calendar for the guild has shifted since Covid. The new , and approved, by-laws will be found under the tab in the Members-Only portion of the website. The vote to make the changes was unanimous.

President: Mary wasn’t able to join us, but Erin reviewed the need for new candidates for the upcoming election. Judy Irving is our election official and as of Sunday, nobody had submitted their names. ALL positions are open, as the current leadership will be leaving or vacating their current position. PLEASE consider running for office. The guild cannot function without volunteers and the changes you saw this year were done with an eye to making the roles run more smoothly. Our motto in leadership was that the decisions we made weren’t for today, but were intended for tomorrow. Ask any officer if you have any questions and remember to speak to Judy by the end of the day Friday, November 24, 2023. A ballot will be prepared and shared at the December meeting. Voting will be at the January 2024 meeting (which WILL be in-person.) Our community charity quilt for QuiltCon has been submitted, too!

We added a social time at the beginning of the meeting. What did you think?

Social Media: A progress report on the tasks outlined in the June meeting was given. Over 1, 000 show and tell photos have been added to the archives for member viewing. The Facebook page and members-only group are now linked for cross-posting. The Instagram account cannot directly link to the Facebook account at this time because of limitations in creating profiles in Facebook. Video tutorials were made for the future social media officers to use the new website as well as written instructions. The Flickr photos are 90% moved over and a little clean up needs to happen before that account can be deleted. An emphasis on simplicity and streamlining the job of social media was made, plus a description of the duties required versus personal choice was explained. The Monday Member Roundup feature, for instance, is a personal choice to create. Future officers should feel that they can continue or discard these optional activities as they see fit while fulfilling the duties of the role.

Membership: Two new biographies were added to the website in the members-only area. Thank you, Gerry and Merrilee! We currently have 58 members and 33 attended the October meeting on weaving. Make sure to pick up your MQG membership pin from Gail if you didn’t get it in July. Also, please confirm that you are receiving the weekly emails from the MQG. Your PghMQG membership includes membership to the MQG.

Programs: The meeting topic was Temperature Quilts, quilts that use weather data to determine something about the pattern, usually fabric color. Erin covered how to create a color range for the temps, where to find historic temperature date and how you could add details like precipitation to your design. Anne W brought a temperature quilt that she had previously made as an example. Temperature Quilts are the focus of the Q1 2024 quarterly challenge, due in April 2024. We have a great resource from a guild in Erie, PA that has an algorithm that will take the guesswork out of choosing colors. The email to receive this customized info can be found in the slides rather than here as it was shared with us with special permission. Erin also has many links to accompany this program, also found in the slides. Just a reminder, the Q4 2023 challenge is to include weaving in a project. Due January 2024!

Special MQG Report: Karen Womack, PghMQG member, was elected our regional rep to the MQG board. She shared that the MQG is looking to diversify the programs it offers to include more individual members. We saw the International Scrap Sorting Day and an upcoming Quilt Back Challenge was discussed. Another line item was that QuiltCon is the main source of funds for the MQG. They are looking to apply for grants, so requests for demographic information may be coming in the future to help determine which grants will work best for us all.

Don’t forget:

• December will be our holiday sew day & luncheon. Come sew with us December 2, 2023, from 9am-8pm. We are exchanging thread catchers! Links to ideas are on the meeting slides in the archives.

• Pam Bice has reserved an AirBnB for QuiltCon and is looking for roommates. Please email or text/call her for more information. She can be found in the roster in the members-only area of the site.

• All 2024 dates have been added to the website calendar, including meetings, sew days, etc.