Link to slide pdf
Meeting was brought to order at 10:06 am by our president, Octavia Pitts.
Octavia (President) opened the meeting with our usual Zoom instructions and welcoming remarks.
Susan Muszynski (Treasurer) presented the monthly financial report. We currently have $22,076.61 in the checking account. Some upcoming expenses include the speaker for the July workshop approximately $5,100, the speaker in January, 2024 for $400 and another estimated $5000 for the speaker in April, 2024. Susan outlined the loss ($2,050) we incurred for the April workshop due to speaker and venue cost. The board is looking for ways to keep the costs for future workshops as low as possible.
Susan reported that attendance at the March meeting was 104. At this time, this day’s attendance wasn’t known but it was later reported that we had 88 members attend with an additional guest who ended up joining and 4 members attending via zoom. Current membership was reported at 195 (as of this writing, the membership is now 196).
Jenn Deck (Vice President) reported on various community events coming up. All of these are listed in the slides; the link is at the beginning of the post.
She also reviewed upcoming guild activities. All of these can be found on our website or phone app event calendar with more details.
· May 16: Hand Sew Happy Hour, Brentwood Bread Co 6-9PM, Host – Laura Patterson
· May 17: Hand-Stitchers
· May 20: Sew-In at Jackman’s Fabrics
· No Virtual Sew in May
· Jun 7: Hand-Stitchers
Jenn also discussed an upcoming trunk show and workshops with Tia Curtis on July 28 – 30. The workshops are Free Motion Quilting on the Domestic Machine and All Start Improv. More details can be found on the event portion of the website. Registration will open for members on May 25th.
Jenn also mentioned that the library has a couple of new books. One of them is the catalog of the most recent QuiltCon exhibit. Be sure to check out the library.
Octavia went over the recent announcement from MQG (Modern Quilt Guild, our national organization) on their updated definition of modern. The changes are minor and include maximinism and items on Art quilts. Click here to see the article from MQG.
Octavia reminded everyone about the Welcome table, if you are new to the guild, please stop at the welcome table, the committee members can give you all sorts of info. She mentioned that while the Spring Walk was basically rained out there were a few stalwart people that managed to participate. She also talked about the recent workshop with Rebecca Bryan and the success it was. There are pictures of the trunk show and classes.
Another website that Octavia brought our attention to is Feel Good Fabrics A resource for destashing your fabric and a place to shop for more fabric!
Octavia went over briefly the suggested bylaw amendments. You can find the proposed bylaw changes in the slides PDF listed at the beginning of the blog. Please review before voting in June. Briefly, the board would like to move to a rolling membership date and eliminate the prorated memberships in the middle of the year. Membership would be a year’s term ending exactly a year after joining. Members that joined prior to the beginning of 2023 would retain their Dec. 31st end date.
The other proposed change is a modification to the election schedule of new board members. This would move the election and start of new board out of the busy holiday season.
The June meeting will have a vote on the bylaw changes, the third pass of our Round Robin, opportunities to register for the July workshop and the end of the UFO challenge.
Committee Announcements –
Laura Patterson of the SewMe Committee requests donations from the members for the raffle at SewMe. Please only donate items that you would be happy to receive in a raffle.
Tonya Cass of the Charity Committee described some changes to the throw pattern to enable ease and safety of the users. She also reminded everyone that she has labels that are to be used on the throws. Charity will have a table at the Sew-In event at Jackman’s if anyone has any questions.
Robyn Passig of the Quilt Show Committee brought us up to date on what the committee has been looking at. They are diligently researching larger venues for the 2024 show and are getting excited about the choices. She asked everyone to get their quilts ready and reminded us that they don’t necessarily need to be bed sized, smaller quilts are welcome. They do need to be modern though. Definitely save your challenge quilts because there will be a section for those.
Octavia described the program for the June meeting. Following is the request from the programming committee.
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Sign up for the June Program: My Modern Quilt Journey - We All Start Somewhere
We all start somewhere with our modern quilt journey. In June, the Programming Committee is encouraging STLMQG members to look back at the first modern quilt they completed. We need volunteers to bring their first modern quilt to show to the guild.
When they show their quilt, members will be asked to answer one of three questions:
- What do you like about your first modern quilt?
- What did you learn?
- What would you change about your quilt?
There will be a supportive emcee to chat with you and a team to help hold your quilt. Plus sharing your first modern quilt gives you a chance to look back at how far you’ve come and inspire other members.
Did you give your first modern quilt as a gift? Don’t worry! You can still sign up as long as you have a photo of your quilt (high-quality photo please). We will put the photo up on the screen for all to see.
We are looking for 5 more folks!
Please sign up to share your quilt by emailing the Programming Committee – programming@stlmqg.org – by May 31st!
Can’t make it to the June meeting? Share your first modern quilt on Facebook or Instagram (don’t forget to use the hashtag #stlmqg)
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A reminder for the Sew-In event at Jackman’s on May 20th. There are a few openings left for tables; many openings if you just want a chair to do hand-sewing. There is no charge for members. They are looking for volunteers to bring ironing boards, irons, cutting mats and rotary cutters. Register for a spot on the event page of the website, email the social committee at social@stlmqg.org if you can help with the requested items.
Em Komiskey of the Social Committee described an outing to the Botanical Gardens on July 22, 10:30 am. Em is trying to get a big enough group to order discounted tickets. Please email Em at em_komiskey@yahoo.com to be included in this group. St Louis city and county residents are eligible for discounted tickets but you have to be there by a certain time (we think it’s 10:00 but are not sure). Members of the garden at certain levels can bring guests free of charge. If you would like to volunteer your guest slots please contact Em.
Sarah Linker reminded us that the after meeting lunch gathering is to be at Fuzzy’s Taco Shop in Webster Groves. For the June meeting, they are planning on meeting at Pizza World which is just down the road from the community center.
Tess McMahon reported that the City Sewing Room would be having a large sale on Saturday, May 20th from 10 to 4 and Sunday, the 21st from 12 to 4.
Em Komiskey came back and told us about a place to get quilt themed t-shirts, Maker Valley.
Jenn Deck mention that the board is looking for hosts for Hand Sew Happy Hour and Virtual Sew. There was a sheet for signing up at the meeting. If you are interested please email Jenn at vicepresident@stlmqg.org.
Amy Suiter announced that everyone was to change tables to the one that had their zipcode. We represent many zipcodes so the tables were arranged by area; west-ish, south-ish, so on.
There were a flurry of activities to be done at break time, least of all, turning in magnets for the magnet swap. See pictures of the magnet at the beginning of the post.
After the break, member Leila Gardunia presented a program on Three Strategies to Help You Choose Fabric for Scrap Quilts. Be sure to check the slides in the PDF linked at the beginning of the post. She also presented a trunk show to illustrate the different strategies. After the presentation, everyone participated in a activity using scraps brought from home. Meeting Photos.
The Swap committee then presided over the swapping of magnets.
Tess McMahon was the winner of this month’s Round Robin and was presented with a $25 gift card to Heyde Sewing. Don’t forget to email a picture of each of your rounds to either president@stlmqg.org or stlmqg@gmail.com.
Another sew along was mentioned that members might be interested in. Kitty Wilkin (@exhaustedoctopus) is hosting a Summer Lovin Seaglass. Check here for details.
This month’s winners of the lovely fabric bundle, Curio by Melody Miller is Gina Shelley and Jenn Deck. Congratulations! Thank you Cotton Cuts for your generous donation.
Check out the pictures of this month’s Show and Share.
Meeting was adjourned.
