The purpose of the Quilters Guild of Plano is to unite individuals who have a passion for quilts and the art of quilting.

A new calendar year is beginning but we are entering our 2nd quarter with the board members and getting to know everyone a little bit better. So the board and some members offering their time to help now have QGP name tags to identify us at the meetings. If you have a name tag, please wear it so we can get to know you better.

Thinking I could share some things you probably don’t know about the board members as the months go along. We have 14 board members: Raj, Liz and myself are native Texans. From New York are Chris, Laurie, and Linda; Barbara and Val are from Illinois, Lorrie from Oklahoma, Kris from Wisconsin, Ginny from Minnesota, Donna from West Virginia, Beth from Michigan and Debbie was born in Germany!

We plan to change around the room set up when we are back in the Fellowship Hall–-so come prepared for a fresh start!! We plan to have those collecting funds to be together in the alcove with the best lighting: Membership, Guild Products, Programs, and Quilt Show selling raffle tickets and collecting mini-quilts. Community Service will stay close to the doors so carrying heavy loads in and out is the most convenient. Guild Activities will be as you enter, along with Education so that you are not missing visiting all of the parts that make up the guild.

We would love for you to donate 15 minutes of your time to help greet members at the front door and also to help set up tables for these areas. It’s a fun way to meet and make friends. Let me know if you are willing to help. Those helping greet can just rotate their time so the doors are covered and no one is missing the social time.

Record Your Volunteer Hours!

By Tisha Harms

We want to know what you are up to. Record your volunteer hours and receive a volunteer bar for 30 hours of service! For volunteering at Quilt Plano 2024, you will receive a charm for your bar!

To record your hours just email volunteer_hours@qgplano.org. If you do not have access to a computer, you can call Tisha Harms at 214.316.5066.

Record your hours at your convenience – daily, weekly, monthly or once a year noting the following categories: Community Service, Show, Education or Guild Work.

Programs and Workshops

By Beth Swiatek and Linda Sullivan

Hope your Holidays were Blessed and Happy! Did anyone use Donna and Tisha’s Free Standing Lace ideas from the December Program to create some beautiful conversation starting gifts? Their display was truly inspirational.

Now on to 2024! January’s Program finds us being motivated by Connie Keller to not be afraid to experiment and enjoy in our own little quilty worlds. Becky Goldsmith joins us in February to educate us on thread. Thread weight DOES matter on different fabrics, battings, and projects—but lots of sewers don’t realize what those numbers mean!

Workshops for this year: April 12, 13 and June 14, 15

PLEASE NOTE: We are trying to be fiscally responsible with Guild funds. Due to low interest, we have canceled the February workshops. Nationally known speakers are a big investment, so workshop sign ups really help cover those costs. Our next workshops are on April 12 and 13 with up and coming nationally known quilter Audrey Esarey. She creates gorgeously interesting quilts. These classes on her techniques for curved and paper piecing are a bargain. Sign up now and reserve your spot!

Getting online Paypal Workshop Registration and a printable Registration sheet on the website is still in the works. Meanwhile, try the snazzy Newsletter link below to connect to a printable Registration sheet. Print it and then snail mail it in or turn it in at a Guild meeting.

Workshop Registration Form

If the link does not give you a dialog box to select your printer when you try to print it, check your download folder as it may have downloaded a copy of the form that you can print.

See you at the January Guild meeting!

Quilters Guild of Plano Social Media

By Bonnie Landon

Did you know that our guild has both a public and private Facebook page? The public Facebook page is open to all who wish to like or follow our page and is full of information about upcoming events and programs, the annual Quilt Show, helpful quilting tips and tutorials and just plain fun posts. You can like or follow our public page by going to: QGoP Public Facebook Page

We also have a private, members-only Facebook group page. It is open to QGP members in good standing. You will need to answer three quick questions and agree to the group rules when you request membership in the group. An admin will review your request and will either approve or deny your request. Be sure to answer questions 1 and 2 and agree to the group rules. Omitting one of these steps is what usually causes a request to be denied. In the event your request is denied, the admin will try to provide you with a reason for the denial.

We encourage you to join the members-only group so we can keep our members “in the loop” when we have updates and information we need to share with the membership. It’s a fun group where you can ask or answer quilting questions, comment on posts, or just check out all that’s going on in our Guild. You can request membership in the group by going to: QGoP Members Only Facebook Page

And if you’re on Instagram, we also have a presence there. Follow us on Instagram by going to: QGoP Instagram

Our Social Media Team looks forward to having you join us on Facebook and Instagram! And if you’re already following us . . . Thanks!

Guild Activities

By Chris Fredericks

Happy New Year everyone! Wasn’t the December Holiday Meeting a wonderful event! It was a fun evening filled with so many activities. Fat Quarter Lotto was a huge success with 6 bundles going out to guild members.

For me, January typically brings about a time to organize/reorganize my quilting space -- cleaning, going through my fabrics, looking at my unfinished projects, figuring out what I want to accomplish in the coming year. I’m so excited that this year there is something new on the agenda for when the New Year starts. January brings about the start of the Riley Blake Block challenge. We currently have 25 guild members enrolled in this activity and we’re all looking forward to the first block being released on January 9th. There is still time to join in on the fun! Email activities@qgplano.org if you would like to join the party!

Get your brain cells working as we’ll be having another quilting quiz at the January guild meeting. The November trivia game we held was fun and something similar is in the works for January. It’s another opportunity for us to engage, laugh and test our quilting knowledge.

Enjoy quilting!

Quilt Plano 2024

By Laurie Lumston

January marks the official kick-off for QP24! Several of you have asked about the overall timeline, so here’s a preview:

January: Monthly QP24 Planning Meetings begin.
March: Registration opens!
March – April: Get those quilts done and buy raffle tickets!
May: The May Guild meeting is our Show Kick-Off and Volunteer Sign-Up (and time to get those quilts finished!)
June: Times running out! Registration closes at the end of the June Guild meeting.
August 9-10: Showtime!! It’s also our Introduction to Judging Seminar (see more about this in this newsletter)
September: Wrap-Up and Debrief
October – November: Build out the QP25 Planning Committee
December: Get ready to do it all over again!

Raffle tickets are on sale now! We like the beautiful aqueous front because it shows off the bright beautiful colors in the raffle quilt, but it can be a bit tricky to write on – so either use a Sharpie marker or just flip it over and write your name and phone # on the back beneath the perforation. The winning ticket wins whether your info is on the front or the back!

Bookmarks are here, too! They look amazing and they need to get spread all across North Texas! The front shows off our raffle quilt and the back includes the Programs line-up for the year. And a quick snap of the QR code will link you to the Guild’s website! Please grab a BIG handful from the Programs table at the next Guild meeting and have fun distributing!! We have some that flip up and down to view the back and some that flip right and left. You pick what you like best. The Programs team has worked hard to present a fabulous line-up for 2024, so keep a few bookmarks handy so you don’t miss anything!

Visit the Quilt Plano 2024 website for more details. And a big thank you to Kris for getting it updated! As we get closer to the show dates, we’ll enable more of the hyperlinks on the site. In the meantime, if you have any questions about the show, please reach out to Laurie Lumston or Carol Truscott – or any of the fabulous QP24 Team members who you met at the December Guild meeting!

Introduction to Judging Seminar - August 9-10, 2024

Do you enter quilt shows and want to understand what makes a winning quilt? Are you interested in learning to judge quilts and wearables? Do you know someone at another guild who coordinates their quilt show’s judging process?

The Quilter’s Guild of Plano is proud to once again sponsor a 2-Day Quilt Judging Seminar on August 9-10, 2024, at the same time as the Quilt Plano Show. We offered this seminar last year at the same time as Quilt Plano 2023 and it was a huge success!

During this seminar you will learn through a combination of discussion, lecture, PowerPoint presentations, and hands-on mock judging from qualified instructors certified by the National Association of Certified Quilt Judges (NACQJ).

The 2-Day Seminar covers all aspects of quilt judging, including the job of judging, evaluating design and workmanship, categories and awards, judging systems, setting up the judging floor, and judging versus jurying. Discussion includes certification requirements for the National Association of Certified Quilt Judges (NACQJ), the only national certifying organization for quilt judges.

Participants receive handouts including resource recommendations, art and design terms with definitions, a glossary, and sample contracts and invoices among others. This seminar does not certify students nor is it a prerequisite for certification.

Stay tuned! More information and online registration will be available in the coming weeks.

Community Service

By Val Schlake and Debbie Blair

Hope everyone had a wonderful Holiday season and New Year’s celebration.

We thank you again for your generosity and sharing of your talents to create so many items to share with our community. In December we delivered 38 quilts, 29 cuddles, 36 pillowcases, and 29 dog beds!!

Sharing and Caring (formerly Birthday Quilt) begins the new year in January. We have a fabulous prize for it so get busy on your quilt. It just has to be made from your stash and completely finished. The 2023 winner of the filled sewing basket was Mary Frances O’Neill. Thank you to all that made a quilt to share. So share your stash and make a complete quilt to show you care!

PISD program collection continues with the new year. These are baby items for student parents in high school. They get to shop for items in a store in December and May each school year. Baby clothes, diapers, bibs, baby quilts, etc. are collected now until April.

We invite everyone to come to our Community Service Sewing Day the second Tuesday of every month at Plano Sewing Center from 10 am to 2 pm. Just bring your sewing machine and basic sewing supplies and we will provide the rest. You can also drop off items you’ve made or pick up items to make on your own there during that time.

We look forward to another great year of Community Service with your help!

Valerie Schlake (804-651-9026) and Debbie Blair (469-226-9376)

Plano Community Home was the recipient of these quilts and pillowcases that we had the pleasure to deliver before the holidays.

Education

By Liz Beaty and Lorrie Gray

Welcome to 2024! After a holiday break, Liz and Lorrie are gearing up to bring you lots of great educational moments during social time before the guild meetings.

First up, you don’t want to miss guild member Julie Cohagan as she demonstrates the Disappearing Nine Patch block in January. If you’ve never witnessed the design versatility of this simple technique, prepare to be amazed. There are so many possible variations depending on how you place your fabrics and rotate the blocks. Trying to find new ones can become addicting, in a good way!

If you have a suggestion for a future demo or would like to volunteer to do a demo, please either talk to Liz or Lorrie at a guild meeting or fill out this simple Google form to give your ideas: Education Demo Ideas

Membership has acquired a few door prizes that are likely to have limited appeal to our members. For these door prizes, we are going to hold a limited raffle for these items as part of our door prizes. We hope that in this way folks who are really interested in these items have a better chance of winning them. In January, we will be raffling off a fabric Easter Egg kit. If you are interested in this item, please pick up a special ticket when you check in. Future prizes in this category include patterns for large, complex applique quilts and samplers. Not for the faint of heart, but if you love hand applique, these may be a gold mine for you.

A friendly reminder to contact membership@qgplano or aggarwal.rajni0@gmail.com if you are having trouble logging into your account. And, also, please contact us if you are not getting this newsletter in your email, and are relying on someone to forward it to you. We apologize for the trouble some of you are having--and we will do our best to help you solve it.

And a friendly reminder that the logout button is located under Membership/Member Account--go there and scroll down and you should see it.

Pieceful Organization - Sarah Krauss, Jeanne Vogel, Monica Hendewerk

Every Wednesday from 1:30-3:30 pm -- Join us any week you can!

Need a friend to relieve clutter, stress, struggles and feelings of being overwhelmed? We are Zooming using the inspiration from a workshop we attended. Organization will change your clutter and chaos to start the day fresh with your stuff organized. Less chaos leads to more productive quilt making! Please contact mhendewerk@gmail.com for the zoom link.

Free Motion Quilting Bee (we actually sew during the meeting!) – Monica Hendewerk

Join in! It’s fun and productive. Zoom blocks out background noise, so we can sew and chat at the same time! Monica or one of the other members provide some designs to practice on a small sandwich which you can choose to use or not. A number of us “doodle” on paper first, and then sew. Do the designs that we send or do your own thing. We have beginner beginners all the way to advanced members of the group. We share our samples, ask/answer questions, and chat. It’s a great way to make friends.

Meetings are on the second Monday of the month, from 1:00 – 3:00 (or longer sometimes!). Please contact Monica so that she can send you the Zoom link if you are interested. mhendewerk@gmail.com (713) 569-8798

Hoop It Up Bee – Donna Petrick

The machine embroidery group meets the third Thursday each month on Zoom. We talk about problems or successes we might have had in using our machines as well as having show and tell. We are open to all levels of users. If you have an interest in machine embroidery, please join us. Email me petrickdl@outlook.com so I can send you the Zoom invitation.

Chicks with Feathers — 3rd Saturday from 1-3pm (Not meeting in Nov. & Dec.) -- Jeanne Vogel

Sit & sew with your Singer Featherweight sewing machines. Tips, tricks and advice to make straight stitch sewing simple and precise. Those who have not previously notified me, please email at pickincotton26@verizon.net to get the invitation to join the Zoom meeting.

Fourth Friday Featherweight Friends- Jeanne Vogel: pickincotton26@verizon.net

Meeting at the Best Little Retreat Center in Texas from 9am-9pm. (Not meeting in Nov. & Dec.)
Singer Featherweight sewing machines where we share tips for caring for the machine, our best notions, and have several members experienced with problem-solving both machine and quilting problems.
Make your reservation by calling 469-708-2378 or email: info@blrcit.com49-708-237
Either bring your lunch or a group we go out to eat together.

Quilters Guild of Plano, Inc.

Letter from the President

Record Your Volunteer Hours!

Programs and Workshops

Workshops for this year: April 12, 13 and June 14, 15

January Guild Meeting - Thursday, January 11, 2024

Speaker: Connie Keller – Longarms and Legacy

February Guild Meeting - Thursday, February 8, 2024

Speaker: Becky Goldsmith – The Secret Lives of Thread and Needle

March Guild Meeting - Thursday, March 14, 2024

Speaker: Carol Sunderland – Fifteen Elements

April Guild Meeting - Thursday, April 11, 2024

Speaker: Audrey Esarey – Finding My Voice in Modern Quilting

Workshop: Friday, April 12, 2024, 10:00am - 5:00pm (1-hour lunch)

Audrey Esarey – Watercolor Quilt Workshop -- Fabric Gradation and Stress Free Curved Piecing

Workshop: Saturday, April 13, 2024, 10:00am - 5:00pm (1-hour lunch)

Audrey Esarey – Ultraviolet Radial Workshop -- Paper Piecing on an Arc, Curved Piecing, Precision Piecing

Quilters Guild of Plano Social Media

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Guild Activities

Quilt Plano 2024

Introduction to Judging Seminar - August 9-10, 2024

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Community Service

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Education

Quilts of Valor (www.QOVF.org)

Sunshine & Shadows

Membership

Happy January Birthdays

News from the Zoom Bees

Bag Making Zoom Group - Donna Petrick

Pieceful Organization - Sarah Krauss, Jeanne Vogel, Monica Hendewerk

Free Motion Quilting Bee (we actually sew during the meeting!) – Monica Hendewerk

Hoop It Up Bee – Donna Petrick

Chicks with Feathers — 3rd Saturday from 1-3pm (Not meeting in Nov. & Dec.) -- Jeanne Vogel

From the Bee Keeper -- In Person Meetings

Fourth Friday Featherweight Friends- Jeanne Vogel: pickincotton26@verizon.net

Monthly Meeting Photos

General Meeting Minutes

Board Meeting Minutes