President's Message
Hello, Quilters,
Hope you're having a wonderful summer, enjoying some bright sunny days in the great outdoors and some hot, humid days indoors with your sewing machine. We should have an impressive Show and Tell at our next meeting, Sept. 10. As usual, we plan to start the year with bagels provided by the guild, but it would be nice if some of you would bring fruit, snacks, or desserts.
If you haven't renewed your membership for the upcoming program year, please do so now. There's a membership application form on our website under "Membership" for your convenience. Our guild's 35th year will be stunning! Check out the speakers and workshops already booked:
Sept. 2016 Katie Pasquini Masopust: Lecture on Painting with cloth. Workshop will be Artful Log Cabins, sample Bromeliad.
October 2016 Dr. Carolyn Mazloomi: Lecture on History of African Quilts. Her book is "And Still We Rise: Race, Culture, Visual Communications". No workshop.
Nov. 2016 Paula Nadelstern. Kaleidoscope piecing, workshop: Sunstar.
January 2017 Sue Reich: Trunk show of WW II quilts. No workshop.
April 2017 Erin Underwood: Trunk show and selling wares from her quilt shop called Blue Hen Quilt Shop in Delaware. Workshop TBD.
May 2017 Beth Helfter: Eva-Paige Patterns Lecture "Give a scrap slap". Workshop TBD.
June 2017 Michelle Hiatt: Trunk show. Workshop "Diamonds in the sky"
As usual, December we will have a holiday party and fund-raiser; February will be Members Teaching Members; March will be Charity Day.
And, last but certainly not least, may we remind you that Empire is planning a QUILT SHOW in the spring, dates to be announced as soon as FIT commits. Meanwhile, keep working on a show quilt and on an entry for the Presidents' Challenge.
We have one bit of sad news as well. The City Quilter, New York City's largest and oldest quilt store will be closing at the end of October. This will definitely be a blow for the quilting community, but Cathy and Dale want to do something different. They have been good friends and supporters of Empire since they started. Allowing our guild to use their store after-hours for charity sewing nights is one of the favors they've done for us, and those evenings have been extremely beneficial to our guild, and to the recipients of our donations. Please try to stop into the store to wish them well and say goodbye to the employees too.
Keep on quilting!
Kitty and Lee
Workshops
No October Workshop
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Guild Business Meeting: 1:00 p.m.SaturdayOctober 8, 2016Location: Church of the Holy Apostles Please join us! Meetings are free for new members.
Guest Fee $10
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Meeting events and activities:
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Check in with us via social networking. We want to hear from you!
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/empirequilters
Instagram: https://instagram.com/empirequilters
Twitter: https://twitter.com/empirequilters
New to our guild? The guest fee is now $10! Please join us!
NEWSFLASH: City Quilter's targeted closing date is October 15th. If you are interested in purchasing any of the store fixtures, please contact Cathy or Dale at the store. There is also a fair amount of fabric left - if you need to stock up, stop by the store between now and October 15th
2017 Empire Quilters Show Corner
We are hoping to present the judging categories and sizes shortly, giving you plenty of time to work on your wonderful projects. We are so thrilled to see the first 'adoption' quilts coming in, and some will be on display monthly. See the April newsletter for more info on the adoption quilts, or see Betsy or me at the May meeting. We'll share pictures of these mini quilts on our Facebook page and website. We are trying to bring some technology to the show,(particularly in submissions and ticket sales) and hope that the guild at large (and not just the show teams) will benefit. As these new features are confirmed, we'll report and demo them to guild members; don't worry, we will assist anyone who needs and asks for it! If you have ideas about the show, don't keep them to yourselves. Please send them to eqgshow@gmail.com
Going forward, we will introduce the show teams and the area they are managing. Our hope is that it might trigger ideas, convince you to volunteer for one of the teams, and help you meet one another.
Thanks!
Betsy Vinegrad & Aleeda Crawley,
2017 Showgirls
EMPIRE QUILTERS FALL 2016
ROUND ROBIN INFO
Each Round Robin will be limited to three people per and only three exchanges which will take place at our regular guild meetings. Think small creations...not large quilts!
We will provide envelopes, a selection of fabric and set up all the particulars. The only instruction is to 'Think Outside the Box'! What a great opportunity to create something unique, to think 'outside the box' and to try something just a bit outside your comfort level.
So how does this work? First, you need to sign up at the September Meeting. (Or, if you can't make the meeting, let us know at info@empirequilters.net and put Round Robin in the subject line.)
Next step is the Round Robin groups (3 folks each) will be assigned and each person will be given an envelope with a selection of fabrics. Each person will create the center with the fabric in the envelope plus two additional pieces if desired. Please include a few scraps of any fabric you add along with any leftover scraps of the original fabrics in the envelope.
At the October 8, 2016 meeting, the Round Robins will make their first exchange. Folks will then add to the center using their own fabric plus any of the leftover fabric from the envelope. Again, please include a few scraps of any fabric you add along with any leftover scraps of the original fabrics in the envelope.
At the November 12, 2016 meeting, the Round Robins will make the second exchange and again add to the piece using their own fabric plus any leftover pieces in the envelope. Once again, please include scraps of fabric you added along with any leftover original fabrics in the envelope.
The final exchange will take place at the December 10, 2016 meeting where everyone will get back their original envelope and the ' big reveals' will take place! Lots of fun and excitement. Also, all the leftover fabric in the envelope can be used to finish the piece if desired.
So what do you say? Are you in? Come join the fun and 'think outside the box'!
PLEASE EMAIL info@empirequilters.net SUBJECT : ROUND ROBIN if you want to join in before the October meeting.
THE SWAP RETURNS - HERE IS WHAT TO DO TO GET 42 DIFFERENT FABRICS EACH MONTH.
- Choose either a color or a design from the monthly list and find 6 fabrics of that color or design.
- Cut a 6 inch wide strip across each of the fabrics. Then cut each strip into 7 squares.
- Sort the 42 total squares into 7 sets containing one square of each fabric.
- Put a set of fabrics in each of 6 letter sized envelopes and seal. (Hold the 7th set at home.)
- PRINT your first and last name on each envelope and either the color or the design you chose.
- Put a rubber band around your set of envelopes.
- At the beginning of meeting, register with the swap domo and pass in your envelopes.
- At the end of the meeting, pick up your swapped envelopes. You will be returned envelopes from 6 different people. The envelopes contain 36 different fabrics, plus the 6 you left at home makes 42 different fabrics total.
WHY DO YOU EVEN CONSIDER CHARM PACKS WHEN THERE IS A SWAP AVAILABLE AT YOUR MEETING?
2016 - 2017 List
Oct Oranges African Prints
Nov Browns Winter Holidays
Dec Metallic Pokka Dots
Jan Tans Hearts
Feb Reds Japanese Prints
Mar Purple Paisley
Apr Aqua/Turk/Teal Flowers
May Yellows Black & White
Jun Blues Nautical
Reminder to all guild members that it's time to start thinking about your charity sewing for the year. Members are encouraged to mkae one charity quilt per year and/or participate in other Empire-sponsored charity sewing events. Start thinking about it now, and get your year off to a great start!
Click here to read more Notices, such as information about upcoming trips, and where to see guild members exhibiting quilts locally. Have something you'd like to add? Send it to us!