June 2013 Merrimack Valley Quilting Guild Celebrating 33 years of encouraging the art of quilting in the Merrimack Valley. MVQ was established in 1980. P RESIDENT S M ESSAGE MVQ Newsletter June 2013 EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE 2012-13 President: Bev Valle Vice President Lin caiado Secretary: Barbara Black Treasurer AP: Jody Pellecchia In the next few weeks the Merrimack Valley Quilt Guild will be finishing up another fantastic year. The programs and workshops have been varied, educational and wonderful. We organized and presented many events, among them the UFO Auction, the Remember When quilt show, held several open sews in different communities, offered two quilt retreats to Kennebunk, Maine, held a mystery bus trip, and have worked all year to make quilts for two charities, Project Linus and the Hospice House in Haverhill. These comfort quilts will be donated to both groups at the June 20th meeting. (This is a reminder for me to finish up my Linus quilt and bring it to the meeting.) I have enjoyed my year as President, getting to know more of the members along the way. A want to thank all the members on the board and committees who have worked very hard during the year to make the guild the best it can be. There are some open seats on committees for next year, still remaining to be filled. If you are interested in working on a committee, call a friend to work with you, and please contact me. The list will be written elsewhere in the newsletter. New committee members are invited to the last Board meeting of the year, on June 5th, 7:00 PM at the Plaistow Library. There will be a pot luck dinner before the meeting. Until we meet again, happy quilting everyone! Treasurer AR: Janet Gillis Bev Valle To reach any committee, please address correspondence to MVQ Guild PO Box 566 Haverhill. MA 01831 Newsletter items must be in to me by the 1st of each month: Pat.lucey@verizon.net June 20 Tea with Marie! Wear your fancy hat and enjoy an evening tea with Marie Bostwick, author of the popular Cobbled Court Quilters series. Prizes for most beautiful and most outrageous Hat!
Congratulations to Mary Ginn for her fabulous Kaffe Fasset applique quilt. Her quilt will be on display at the NE Quilt Museum in their Best of NE Guilds exhibit in conjunction with the Lowell Quilt Festival in August. Kennebunk Retreats: Kathy Pearce has planned two retreats at the Franciscan Guest House in Maine The next one is in November. Payment in full must be paid in September. Details are online. Barbara Ward will fill in for Kathy as she will be on vacation. Looking for a place to recycle old textiles, fabric, curtains, clothing etc.? Newburyport Transfer station accepts them at no cost just tell the person at the booth and they will direct you. More info? Google City of Newburyport recycling Doris Bennett is our Sunshine Lady until June E_Mail her or call her if you know of someone who needs cheering up! 978-655-3565 dorisben@comcast.net Mystery Quilt: Part 5 and the last Part 6 of this year's Mystery Quilt has been published on our website -- under Projects. A few paper copies will be available at the front table for those without computer/printer access. We hope you enjoyed participating this year, and we'd love to see your results at Show and Tell in September. Cathy, Carol, and Jan
The Silent Auction at the quilt show generated $500 for Coastal Connections in Amesbury. Three members of the guild have children who attend this program. Bev received a lovely thank you note from Deb Plumer. "Dear Bev and the Merrimack Valley Quilt Guild: On behalf of all the staff and individuals at Coastal Connections, we want to thank you for your generous and gracious donation to our agency. We were all very touched by your thoughtfulness. We are in the process of developing a horticulture program and your donation will enhance our resources as we pursue purchasing a small greenhouse and the related supplies. We truly are moved by your comment that this was a "family affair." With Pat Lucey, Cindy Bradley and yourself so active in the Guild and so supportive of our mission, we definitely feel the warmth of togetherness. Again, thank you so much for your gracious donation. With gratitude, Deb Plumer, Co-Executive Director, Coastal Connections." Open Committee Seats needed to be filled by June meeting Quilt Show 2014-2 members to co-chair Monthly Vendors 1 Making Raffle Quilt 2014-15 At least 2 members Storybook Quilts - 2 members UFO Auction - At least 2 members September 19 October 17 December 5 Program 2013-2014 Adele Scott My favorite Products, Tips and Techniques Jerry McKee Boutique Quality Sweatshirt Jackets Follow that Star-Holiday Potluck & Gift Exchange Lecture and Demo Sat, 10/19 Quilted sweatshirt & fitting in- Workshop: structions Star light Bazaar Reserve a table 10% of proceeds goes to President s Charity. January 16 Susan Richard s My Crazy Journey Workshop: Sat 1/18 More crazy quilting with Susan February 20, 2014 UFO Auction March 20, 2014 Pam Weeks; Civil War Soldiers Quilts Workshop: Sat 3/22 Quilts for Civil War Soldiers and how to make them. April 17, 2014 Michele Kinkaid Art Quilts Workshop; Sat April 19 Poppies, an Art Quilt- May 15, 2014 June 20, 2014 Cathy Miller, the Singer Quilter One Stitch at a Time Sally Palmer Field, New England Quilter by Judy Buswick Workshop: Hand Mola reverse applique from the Kuna Tribe in Panama
May 16th 2013 General Meeting Notes Meeting started at 7:02 PM. Susan Richards introduce speaker Lisa McCarthy who is a certified Judy Niemeyer quilt teacher. She did a great job. After the program, Susan gave out next years schedule plus a survey. Mary Jo Ray, Shirley Reed and Kim Wallett won membership raffle. Joanne Burns won the table raffle. JoAnne Turner and Joanne Burns from the Quilt Show Committee read the list of winners from the Quilt Show. They are as follows: BEST IN SHOW: Lisa Mcarthy ART QUILTS First Place: Mattie Burke Second Place: Beth Wood Third Place: Pat Lucey APPLIQUE First Place: Mary Ginn Second Place: Mary Ginn Third Place: Ruth Martineau WALLHANGINGS First Place: Jeannie Robertson Second Place: Pat Lucey Third Place: Marianne Karp Mary Lou Kilcoyne made $1500 selling raffle quilt tickets for the Quilt Show. She did a great job. The Show took in $8763.28. Thank you to all the committees and volunteers who helped at the quilt show. Everything turned out well. Next Board meeting is May 29th at 7:00 o'clock at the Plaistow Library. It will be on the guilds finances. All are welcome. June 5th will be the last board meeting for the fiscal year at 7:00o'clock at the Plaistow Library. It will be a pot luck. Barbara Bell asked that at the next white elephant for the quilt shop people don't donate things that are not related with quilting. (plastic fabric, etc.) The Silent Auction donated $500 to the Coastal Connection. If buying things for the club in Massachusetts or Maine you must get a tax exempt number from Bev Valle. We are a non-profit organization. Next years nominations for the board are: President= Bev Valle Vice President= Lin Caiado Secretary= Jan Taylor Treasurer= Jody Pellecchia and Janet Gillis Elections will be at the June meeting. There are a number of open committees for next year. If you are interested in any of them please get in touch with Bev Valle. From now on the club will have to take home the speaker system. We can't store it at the church hall any more. Barbara Black Secretary MEDIUM QUILTS First Place: Lisa McCarthy Second Place: Lisa McCarthy Third Place: Marianne Nowacki LARGE QUILTS First Place: Stella Blunt Second Place: Joanne Burns Third Place: Janet Lee Santeusanio PIECING First Place: Lisa McCarthy Second Place: Lisa McCarthy Third Place: Ruth Martineau HAND QUILTING First Place: Pat Lucey Second Place: Mary Ginn BEST USE OF COLORS: First Place: Maddie Burke JUDGES CHOICE: Janis Jones HONORABLE MENTION: Sue Harnden Linda Lydecker Susan Molin
De-bunking a Myth: Did slaves make quilts, and are there existing quilts that provide provenance on this? We do know that slaves made quilts. Surviving examples made prior to Emancipation are mostly those made for owners, rather than for the slaves themselves. Despite the abundance of cotton in the South, fabric was scarce even before the Civil War began. The South had very few mills, and they were small, mostly making rough cloth. Most finer fabric came from the North or from Europe. For their own use, many quilts made by slaves would have been "utility" quilts. (This may have depended largely on regional differences, as well.) These had rougher fabric, simpler construction, and ties or long stitches of thick threads, rather than fine quilt stitching. Woven blankets were more prevalent than quilts. Slaves were typically issued one blanket each two years. Washed with lye, both types of bed covers disintegrated over time. There are no existing quilts known that have documentation of being used to signal or communicate escape information. Giles Wright, a now deceased university history professor who wrote a book about the Underground Railroad was the first to publicly discount the slave quilt code theory. No extant quilts, quilt blocks, nor written or oral testimony have been found to support such a theory. This includes documentary evidence, such as slave memoirs, Works Progress Administration oral history interviews of escaped slaves, and abolitionist accounts of the Underground Railroad. The conclusion of many professional historians and quilt historians is that the secret quilt code is utterly without basis in history. Conclusion: reputable historians of both the Underground Railroad and of quilts agree there is insufficient evidence to support the premise that a quilt code was used to communicate this way. Newsletters are available by snail mail to only those without computer access- Send $10 to Pat Lucey, [not MVQ] and at least 10 address labels during the summer. You will get your September newsletter. This covers stamps, paper and toner for the year. 19 Willow Rd, Boxford, MA 01921 F avorite Charity? Our VP will be having a lottery in September to choose the charity for the year. Each of us has a chance to include our favorite in the drawing.
Jeanne Elliott QuiltsEtc@aol.com Beginning Tole Painting Beginning quilting Professional quilting of your quilts! Quilting by Catherine Hand Guided Long Arm Machine Quilting Custom quilting Edge to Edge Binding Basting (for hand quilting) Catherine Harnisch Catherine-quilts@comcast.net Methuen, MA 978-682-1843
New England Quilt Museum 18 Shattuck Street Lowell, MA 01857 Phone: 978-452-4207 www.nequiltmuseum.org Ladies, Brown Bag Lunch 1st Thursdays 12:30 pm-1:30 pm Book Club 3rd Thursdays 12:30 pm- 1:30 pm Rosemary Diana Dow, LMT, NCTMB Nationally Certified Licensed in MA & NH MASSAGE THERAPIST Stone Therapy Massage Specialty Deep Tissue and Stress Reduction 617-823-2795 DDow613@aol.com Andover Hair & Skin Care Salon & Spa 93 Main Street, Andover, MA 01810 Hours by appointment INCLUDES Sunday and Monday Gift Certificates Available Introductory Offer - $65.00 Ask about the Signature Franciscan Stone Massage
Dear Friends in Quilting, My name is Sue Crate from the Northern Lights Quilt Guild, Lebanon, NH. Please embrace our summer project Scoops of Love, sewing small, simple ice cream themed comfort quilts for children entering the 1 st /2 nd grades in Moore, Oklahoma. I have a teacher friend there, whose facebook post below regarding Fiona, her daughter a kindergartner, inspired this effort. The two schools destroyed by the tornado had 4 classrooms p/grade of 22 students each. A New England effort could provide quilts for 1 st and 2 nd graders at these schools. Please consider sharing this info with your email networks and guilds. How about an ice cream social sew together?! I ve attached a flyer with the general info please contact me for further info at 802-299- 1586 if need be. Thank you for your consideration! Sue Crate Fiona is starting to show signs of what she went through last week. She is very clingy to me. She s quieter than usual. She s complaining of stomach pains and she won t leave my side. She is wining that she wants to cuddle with me. She wouldn t go to her church class today but instead had to sit with me for a while. She had the chance to go sleep over the other night at her bff s house but when she got there she couldn t do it, she had to come home. Today she just started crying that she missed her teacher and wants to see her. Later on she s asking me how long it takes to fix buildings 100 min or 100 years. I think I m going to have to take her by her school (it s in the process of being fixed) tomorrow just so she can see. Even though she didn t see the tornado, she had to walk through the carnage to get to the car and come home. I m really becoming concerned for her. Comfort Quilts c/o Sheila Cockerill 6009 SE 86st St. Oklahoma City, OK 73135 SHIP BY 8/7/13 Basic concept: Size in the 36 to 48 max square or rectangle. Simple comfort quilts of bright and fun colors. Must include EITHER: a) A couple of ice cream themed pieced or appliqued blocks OR b) An ice cream themed fabric
Calling all Guild members who have Quilt related businesses! The newsletter will publish your ad free of charge in each newsletter- Send copy to Pat.lucey@verizon.net Keep knitting and crocheting while sitting on the beach- Pat Lucey will deliver the hats, etc to the Giving Tree in the Fall. The babies will be all set for the cold weather!
Next Meeting June 20 Tea with Marie Bostwick Holy Angels Hall 7:00 Check List: Name Tag Show and Tell $ for raffle Refreshments [if it is your turn!] $ for membership Refreshments: Ice tea, lemonade and sweets will be provided by the guild. Membership forms will be available online or at the June meeting. Dues are $35 per year [seniors $30] which include $10 in raffle tickets. Dues are due by September 30th. The raffle quilt will not be at the Boxford Apple Festival this year. The cost of a non- profit table is now $100 which does not make it worthwhile for what we generate in ticket sales. This is sad as MVQ has been a presence at this event for close to 25 years. We may not have a Quilt Show this year if no one steps up to chair the show. This also is a sad decision but it indicates a lack of member involvement in an activity that has been a major part of our guild. It also achieved our goal of promoting quilting in the Merrimack Valley.