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

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 April’s block will be announced at the May meeting, and the May block at the June meeting.

This month’s block is the Friendship Star.  Here is a little history about the block: The quilts the homesteaders brought with them were a comfort to the women who traded their home, family and friends in the East, for the uncertainty of traveling to a new home. A quilt that held special value to the pioneer women was the Friendship Quilt.

Often it was done is secret, and then given to the woman as a going away gift. It usually was a group effort, with each block being sewn by a friend or relative with their name
embroidered in the center.

Putting a Friendship quilt on the bed, gave a woman a sense of connection with her former way of life. It kept alive the memory of family and friends, providing comfort and company during the difficult days of homesteading.
One woman homesteader said, “When I get lonely, I read the names on my quilt.” It was like getting a hug from home.

A link to the block in 5 different sizes is here: Friendship Star Quilt Block Instructions in 5 sizes

We are the "Night time Needlers” bee and have been meeting every other Thursday for 32 years. The number of members has varied but we now have 7 members. We live in Highlands Ranch, Centennial, Aurora & Greenwood Village.  We bring our own projects to each meeting.  Every year we have Sew Days where we meet for 2-3 days of all day sewing.  As the saying goes, "A good time was had by all”.

ACQ Members: Help spread the word about our Spring Silent Auction. Let your quilt-loving friends know about this opportunity to buy handcrafted quilts to support our guild and our charitable quilt efforts. Since it’s an online auction, you can let friends nearby and far away know about it. We’ll also begin posting images of the quilts for sale soon. 

Use the copy and images below to tell others about our upcoming auction. 

WHERE TO SHARE:
Facebook: Remember to share posts from our public page—anything posted inside ACQ Community cannot be shared.

Here's the event listing that can be shared—more posts coming.
https://www.facebook.com/events/892545451539009

Instagram: Comment, like and tag people on any of our auction posts. Please repost any auction post. Use #acqQuiltAuction #quiltguild and tag @arapahoecountyquilters when you create your own post.

NextDoor: Tell your neighbors about our event by posting in your local NextDoor. Use any of the images below or on our social media. 

Pinterest: Share from the ACQ Spring 2021 Quilt Auction board.

Details:
Arapahoe County Quilters • Spring Silent Auction

Buy a quilt at our premier silent auction and support our charitable quilt efforts.

Bid online for handcrafted quilts perfect for baby showers, wedding gifts, Mother’s Day, graduation gifts or just because. These heirloom quilts are made by ACQ members with artisanal skills knowing that they will bring delight to their new owners. Your purchase will support our guild as we make quilts for local charities all year long. 

• Bidding will open Friday, April 23, 2021 at 12:00 noon Mountain time. 
• Bidding closes on Sunday, April 25, 2021 at 5:00 pm Mountain time.

Preview the auction. Register to bid:
https://charityauction.bid/ACQSpring2021Auction

Images:

Good for Facebook and NextDoor posts:

Square, good for Instagram posts.

Tall, good for FB and IG story posts:

Video:

Find it on YouTube!

Thanks for helping to spread the word!

ARE YOU AN INFLUENCER?

Word of mouth has always been one of the most effective ways of marketing. Just think, are you more likely to join something because you see an advertisement or because your friend told you it was amazing? Just by sharing your experiences, you are being an influencer! And as an influencer in your community, we challenge you to spread the word about the wonderful things that ACQ is doing, not only through our programs and fellowship but also in the community through charitable quilts.

One of the benefits of having to be virtual this past year, is that the geographic boundaries have been pushed. As a result, we have members from across the country that are benefitting from our guild. How do you think that they learned about us…you guessed it, through word of mouth.

This month I am challenging you to be an influencer and let others know about our guild. Whether it be sharing with your quilty friends about the upcoming programs, or letting that pesky family member who is always begging for a quilt know about the upcoming auction where they can purchase one of their own. The best way to share the wonderful things that ACQ is doing is through its membership – and people like you.

Look for more details on pictures and posts you can share on your social media (Facebook and Instagram) as well as information about our upcoming programs and auction in format that is super easy to cut and paste into an email or message to your friends. Let’s all share our excitement about ACQ! Are you in? Are you an influencer?

April’s featured Bee is the S.W.A.T. Bee

At one point there was a definition of S.W.A.T., but now there are different ideas of what it stands for.  It might be Southwest Area Threads, but our members are no longer just in the southwest part of Denver.  It might be Sharing Wisdom And Threads.  At this point, we no longer care exactly what it stands for, we just enjoy getting together monthly.  Our meeting dates are selected as a group (no fixed day) each year.  We are definitely more process than product in our orientation, with no set style.  Meetings are spent sharing ideas, books, & magazines, discussing recent classes attended, and showing projects in various stages of completion (including admiring fabric).   Our interests cover many styles:  piecing, appliqué, traditional, modern, fabric dyeing, etc.  In the past, we’ve held retreats in a member’s homes once or twice a year, sometimes for a day, sometimes for a weekend, where we can set up our machines & work on a project for a longer period of time.  We have gone out to tea or lunch once a year for one of our meetings.  Pre-pandemic, we were meeting at Southglenn Library one evening a month, typically on a Thursday.  For now, we’re meeting on Zoom on the first Sat. of the month from 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.  We are open to new members & anyone that’s interested in checking us out should contact me at rjyoon@msn.com.

President’s Block: Bear Claw

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 March’s block will be announced at the April meeting, and the April block at the May meeting.

This month’s block is Bear Paw. Possibly one of the most recognizable blocks – the Bear Paw Quilt Block may have been responsible for saving lives. One of the most popular theories about the origin of the Bear Paw quilt pattern is that the quilt block was used to guide escaped slaves to food and water in the days of the underground railroad. The block pattern would be a sign that slaves were on the right track to life-saving resources and shelter on their trek to freedom. Although this theory is unproven, there are many stories about how quilts played a role in the underground railroad.

The Bear Paw is one of those patterns that has many different names depending on the region of the country. In mountain areas, it is known as the Bear Claw or Bear Paw. In Long Island it is known as Ducks Foot in Mud. In Philadelphia it may be called the Hand of Friendship. Almost as plentiful as the names are the ways in which this block can be constructed. Scrappy or plain, it is a fun block to make.

One site that has many options is https://suzyquilts.com/bear-paw-quilt-pattern/.

     

Before our Drive-Thru events we get ready by putting together kits to sew and preparing backs for quilts to quilt. We also have quilts to bind. Once again our Drive Thru was successful receiving over 30 quilts ready to donate. 

These pictures are before and after the drive through.

Our next Drive-Thru is May 1st.  If you have any questions or are looking to donate something specific, please contact me.