What’s a Show & Tell Extravaganza? It’s a recreation of the live Show & Tell we all remember but in a Zoom world.

Remember how you would pack up that recently completed quilt to take with you to that evening’s monthly Guild meeting? The only requirement was to sign up for show & tell when you arrived and line up along the room perimeter when it was time. You would have the attention of the room while standing in front of your quilt and tell us about your inspiration and the challenges you felt making the quilt. There were often 15, even 20 or more, people participating in Show & Tell every meeting. We all miss that. Some of us miss participating and we all miss seeing the beautiful work of our fellow guild members.

Here’s how we recreate that same enthusiasm on Zoom. The day of the Guild meeting, hang up that quilt you recently finished. (In our estimation "recently" at least means since the last time you participated in a live Show & Tell!) Hang it up on a wall, clip it to a bookcase, pin it to the closed curtains on that picture window - any way to make it your backdrop in your Zoom camera.

When it’s time for Show & Tell during the meeting, we’ll ask everyone who has a quilt to show to “Raise your Hand”. You’ll find that option under the Reactions button on your Zoom screen. This brings you to the top of the list seen by Carole so she can find you easily. Kind of like lining up around the perimeter of the room in the live days.  

When it’s your turn, we’ll spotlight you on Zoom. The only thing technical thing you need to know is the best way to show us your quilt is having the quilt and the camera stationery. When its your turn, all you need to do is stand up in front of your hung quilt and tell us your name, your inspiration and any other details important to you. 

If your camera is stationary, you could also have the quilt ready to hold in front of your camera. This is a little harder for large quilts but we’ll tell you which way to move to get us the best view. 

If your quilt is hung, you could move your camera in front of it but this is the hardest way to do a Zoom Show & Tell. And if you’re holding your camera and your quilt, well, you’ll need to be a contortionist for this to work! Either way, don’t worry about it going perfectly. It never went perfectly in the live meetings either. You will bring smiles to all in the “room” and we’ll be able to see your smile too.

What about everyone watching? The good wishes in the chat are OK but the person showing their quilt can’t hear the chats and they can’t easily see your smile. Hearing and seeing you are a big part of what we’ve all missed about Show & Tell in a Zoom world, so let that quilter know how much you like their work by speaking out after they've shared their story. Yes, that might get noisy but if it gets to be too much, well, Carole has a way to mute everyone! Don’t worry, sometimes the live meetings got a little noisy too. 

I’m as excited about this Extravaganza as I’ve been about any paid lecture. I hope you’ll join us and show us your beautiful quilt. 

This month we will also decide the winner of the 2021 Panel Challenge. We'll be voting by Zoom Poll and awarding 1st, 2nd & 3rd place ribbons. Some of the Challenge quilts will be available for viewing at the Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum event on July 10, 2021.  

Return to Normal?

So many people have asked when we will return to “normal”, having guild meetings and presentations in person. Given so many inquiries, I thought it would be good to update everyone on where we are.  Below are some of the common questions:

Question: Churches are back to having services, so why aren’t we meeting in person?

Currently, the church is at a maximum capacity of 50 for Plymouth Hall (the room where we meet). Church leadership will be meeting in August to determine if they can raise the maximum capacity to 75. While this is good news, please understand that ACQ leadership has determined we will continue meeting via Zoom until the room is at full capacity because we do not want to be gate-keepers and turn members away when we reach capacity or if they don’t pre-register.

Even though our programs will be via Zoom, we will be looking for opportunities to meet in person. We have an in-person event scheduled for July 10^th at the Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum. We will also continue our monthly drive-through events, and will be expanding them to include tables and refreshments. And, this is your guild – so if you have ideas on how to get together in small groups, we need you to help make those ideas happen.

Question: Will virtual sewing opportunities continue, like Charity Sew Days and Friday Night Sewcials?

Plans include continuing the online sewing opportunities for the future, as they have been well received and a great way for guild members to get to know each other. Additionally, meeting from “home” allows members to have all of their tools, fabric, and snacks at their fingertips without having to pack cars and bring everything to a central location.

We did have an “in-person” opportunity to make kits for Charity quilts. The team was able to create 40+ kits for members to pick up and put together. It went so well, that we are looking to expand this to a quarterly basis and make kits for both Charity quilts and CPNLS. We will have limited capacity, and will provide more information for those who are interested in volunteering to help. 

Question: What does 2022 look like?

While we can’t predict the future, we do know that the quilt industry is moving to a hybrid structure. Many teachers and lecturers do not want to travel and prefer to do their presentations and workshops on a virtual platform. As such, 2022 will be hybrid, with presenters and workshops being online. We are looking at options to “live-stream” the meeting and presentation so we can have both in-person and online options; however, that is still in the works. There will still be several guild meetings throughout the year that do not have a structured lecture where we will be meeting in person. So we will have a little bit for everyone.

Jen Dietz

Very sorry about not recording the meeting!  I have attached the handouts from Kate Colleran's and Lynn Roginski's demos. 

Demo Night - Labels V2 Bullet Notes.pdf

Kate's link for making a sleeve: Sleeve tips. There is also a lot of other info on Kate's website under tutorials which could help you a lot creating that quilt show masterpiece.

Mid-year Check In

It is difficult to believe that half of 2021 is already over!  The good thing is that things are slowly getting back to “normal” as we are able to resume some of the things that we had to let go over the past year during the pandemic.  That being said, all the time at home has afforded a lot of us time to work on quilting projects.  So far this year, our charitable quilt tally is rising and we have completed numerous infant loss blankets for CPNLS.  We have had three drive through events where our members (and some friends) have shared fabric, dropped off and picked up projects for charity quilts, and purchased panels for our challenge.  We have also continued our mission of fellowship through zoom sew-cials and bees, as well as charity quilt sew days.  So, while we have missed out on our “usual” get togethers, we have done a great job of pivoting and keeping the guild going.

As we look towards the next half of the year, we have some exciting opportunities to get together in person as well as resume our virtual events.  We are also kicking off our quilt show preparation early, by providing some tutorials at the June meeting that will help you plan for your quilt entry.  Our hope is that the quilt show in 2022 will be a CELEBRATION of quilting and the quilt community.  In July, we will have both a virtual and in-person component of our meeting where we will have lots of opportunities for fun and fellowship!  We will also have more workshops and presenters in the following months to learn new skills (I’m especially excited about fabric dyeing) and meet new people in the quilting community.

And, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the board, committee chairs and volunteers that make this guild happen!  We are a non-profit that is solely run by volunteers, and I think that our team has done an amazing job of not only surviving but thriving over the past year and certainly the past 6 months.  If you have a desire to see this guild keep growing and offering opportunities, I urge you to consider volunteering.  It doesn’t have to be for a board or committee person – we are always in need for helpers with smaller, one-time events.  It takes a village – and many hands make the work lighter.

Jen Dietz

June 2021 - Sawtooth Star

Each month of this year I will be introducing a new block as well as the history behind the block. You may take this as an opportunity to build your own skills. Additionally, I encourage you to post your block creations either on our ACQ Community Facebook page or on Instagram using #ACQPresidentBlock2021. Each block you post will be entered into a monthly drawing for a fat quarter bundle. If you aren’t on social media – no problem, just send me an email with your photo (pond.jennifer@comcast.net). We will draw the winner at the next guild meeting, and you don’t need to be present to win (although we hope you will because we have a great line-up this year!). The winner of May’s block will be announced at the June meeting, and the June block at the July meeting.

We have the opportunity to provide quilts for women veterans who are getting back on their feet, and I would like to provide this month’s block as a challenge to start thinking about helping out in this manner. As such, this month we are seeing stars – Sawtooth Stars to be exact.

The Sawtooth Star block has had many different names throughout history. Before quilt patterns were commonly published, women created patterns on their own or borrowed them from friends. This block became standardly known as the Sawtooth Star in 1884 when a pattern was published by Farm & Fireside magazine.

A link to a 12 inch version of the block may be found here: https://www.seasonedhomemaker.com/how-to-make-a-perfect-sawtooth-star-quilt-block/

Don’t love flying geese? Try the no-point star found here:

https://cluckclucksew.com/2017/12/no-point-stars-a-free-printable-pattern-in-5-sizes.html

Many members have wondered what to do with their challenge blocks once finished. This month I am giving you the option to make your blocks in reds, whites and blues, and donate them to the guild to help create quilts for these worthy veterans!

DELIGHT IN THE PROCESS

Last year, Stitchin' in Aurora Bee began a service project to provide quilts for Clermont Commons, a transitional housing complex for female veterans. As a small bee (7 members), they find that they need help to fulfill this mission. The guidelines are simple - patriotic themed with traditional (or non-traditional colors), any size, design or pattern of your choosing.

Ideally, this is an ongoing project and quilts will be donated whenever there are a few ready to deliver. The turnover at Clermont Commons varies significantly, so the need is difficult to determine. The houses are happy to accept whatever we can donate.

For more information, please contact Jan Wolfgram 720.550.7690.

Thank you for considering supporting this partnership between Charity Quilts and the Stitchin' in Aurora Bee.

More quilts were donated to the VOA Family Motel at the end of May.  As you can see in the photos several were placed on chairs in the lobby. I love the variety of styles, colors and sizes of these quilts.  The Family Motel helps individuals and families in emergency situations.

The next ACQ Drive Thru at the church is Saturday June 19^th. I look forward to seeing you to receive and hand out tops and quilts.

The next Charity Zoom Sew is Sunday June 27^th 11:30 am to 4:00 pm. You are invited to join us to sew, share stories and ask questions. 

Charity Quilts is reaching out for a few more opportunities for our quilts to find love and appreciation.  

Sheila Clark 

Charitable Quilts Committee

sheila-clark@comcast.net

New Bee Born from Free Motion Quilting Club  

We are a product of the FMQ Club that initiated from the March 2021 Guild lecture by  Leah Day. We have a mutual interest learning and improving our free motion quilting  skills and know the best way to do this is practice, practice, practice. Our expertise is  varied and all benefit from the encouragement and support of each other. We believe that a Bee is meant to provide fellowship and learning opportunities. We are a new Bee  finding our groove as we grow. Our meetings may include a presentation by a member  on a particular topic and always includes time to share projects and ask for design  assistance. We’ll meet the fourth Tuesday of the month. Contact: Lynn Roginski

Safe Spaces and Empowering Others

Did you know that the world accounting system values “women’s work” at zero productivity?  In fact, worldwide, women earn 63% less than men, yet they spend three times as many hours on unpaid labor.  This includes raising children, and our common love of fiber arts.  This is not meant to be a political statement, but more to raise awareness about the safe space that our quilt guild provides to empower and build up each other.

Last weekend, I had the pleasure to join the Portland Modern Quilt Guild’s virtual quilting retreat.  It was an amazing opportunity to share time and space with other ladies across the country who share the common love of quilting.  There were ladies of all shapes, sizes and shades – yet quilting and creativity became our bond.  We sat and chatted about all kinds of things from social justice to volcanos, all while working independently on our quilt projects.  And I realized that even with all our differences, it was a place of empowerment and a safe space to share.

One of the three tenets of ACQ is fellowship and friendship through quilting.  My hope for our guild is that we can continue to foster important conversations through creating a psychologically safe space to share and to encourage others to join us.  Whether it be in person through our drive-thrus and future events, or through our virtual time in charity sews, Friday Night Sewcials, or workshops I hope that we can strive to be inclusive and invite others to do the same.

Jen Dietz

A total of 38 quilts were donated to the VOA Family Motel in early April.  As you can see in the photo several were placed on chairs in the lobby. I love the variety of styles, colors and sizes of these quilts.  The Family Motel helps individuals and families in emergency situations.

I look forward to seeing you on our next Charity Zoom sew scheduled for Sunday May 23^th 11:30 am to 4:00 pm. 

Sheila Clark