We're looking forward to our first meeting at Our Father Lutheran Church on July 13, 2023. Please return completed tops and quilts at that time. We will have items to keep you busy sewing, quilting, and binding until our next meeting.

On July 27th, the 4th Thursday of this month, we will be at Columbine Library from 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM MDT. The library is located at 7706 W Bowles Ave., Littleton CO 80123. Please come and join us as it's a lovely time to connect and share stories, as well as work on Charity and CPNLS quilts together. Our last ACQ Charity Quilt / CPNLS "Blanket Bee" in June at Koelbel Library was a lot of fun...at least until the hail came in! 

Cathy Zirkelbach and I will be delivering quilts to Children's Hospital before the end of the month. Let's help fill her car with quilts!

submitted by Sheila Clark

CALLING ALL QUILTERS and BAG LADIES for our Fall Auction!

ACQ is once again planning a Fall Auction to raise funds for our charity projects. After viewing the incredible quilts at the recent Festival of Quilts, word is spreading that ACQ has great talents in our guild and we are hoping that it will carry over to the Fall Auction. We need your help to make the auction a BIG success! The dates for this year's auction are Thursday, October 12th - Sunday, October 22nd 2023. The auction will be held online through Auctria...the same as last year. This is our main fund-raiser for ACQ We need to start planning NOW!

HOW CAN YOU HELP?

We need items for the auction. These can be wall-hangings, lap quilts, table toppers, runners, placemats, totes, zippered bags, etc...just to name a few. The guild is looking for hand-crafted items. Holiday items are always a hit with bidders! If you are planning to donate items, you can either sign up at the July meeting or contact Barb Pond at vicepresident@acqcolorado.org. 

You can submit your project forms on the ACQ website starting August 1st. Once you have completed the submission form, you may drop off items to Barb Pond or bring them to our August and September guild meetings. I want to give you plenty of time to get something made by September!

We will also need people to help with marketing the auction, including descriptions that entice people to buy the items (sales pitch), people who have photography skills to make photos for the website, and people willing to distribute the goods to the winners after the auction ends. Contact Barb Pond if you are able to help out. This is a short time commitment. 

Help support one of our guild's primary purposes....Charity Quilts includingCPNLS....by helping with the fund raiser. This is the only event wesponsor as a guild to raise funds for batting, thread, backing fabric, plusfabric and lace for the CPNLS blankets. Please consider a contribution tohelp the cause. Contact Barb Pond at vicepresident@acqcolorado.org, or text / call Barb at (303) 910-2572. 

submitted by Barb Pond

What a Quilt Show! I hope that you were able to attend the Festival of Quilts held earlier this month. An INCREDIBLE event with so many BEAUTIFUL quilts! We had 100+ quilts and a great turnout of over 400 attendees! Make sure to look on the website to see the amazing quilts which were honored with ribbons. Special THANKS to Nancy, Jan, and everyone on the Quilt Committee who made the show a success!

Our New Home!  As you've seen and heard, we are moving to a NEW meeting location THIS MONTH! We will now hold our in-person meetings at Our Father Lutheran Church on Holly Street in Centennial. The team took time last week to review the location and work on the logistics for the upcoming meeting. We hope that you will join us for the Guild Meeting on July 13th, 6:30 p.m., at our NEW location.  Our Father Lutheran Church 6335 S. Holly Street Centennial (between Arapahoe and Orchard Roads)

New Events! Do you have an event or an idea for a new event? Would you like to participate or help lead an event? Give me a call! We are looking for volunteers to help with events. We want to create events that our members are excited to attend. We need your help to find new events and volunteers. The team is working diligently on upcoming events for the remainder of the year. Please contact me if you have an idea. I love hearing from our members!

I hope everyone is staying cool and enjoying summer. Don't forget to be thinking, planning, or making items for our FALL AUCTION. It will be here before you know it! Have a Safe and Wonderful 4th of July! I look forward to visiting with you soon!

submitted by Diane Sheriff

We have resources available to help ACQ members publicize the 2023 Festival of Quilts to your social media accounts, such as Facebook, Instagram, and Next Door.  See the Publicity Packet for suggested blurb and graphics sized for the different platforms and fliers to hang!  Lets get the word out!

Click here for FOQ Publicity Packet page.

Have you ever wondered what it would be like if we didn't have a change of seasons? Imagine just having the hot summer sun year round, or waking up to a blanket of snow each day. Think about how nice it is to welcome in Spring, when nature bursts into bloom with new growth and a change in surroundings. If we see change as a naturally occurring event - much like the seasons - than we can embrace change as a gift and an invitation to improve and enhance our lives.

Change is inevitable. We've all heard it and are probably tired of hearing it. But sometimes change is good! ACQ has partnered with First Plymouth Congregational Church for many, many years. We've held guild meetings, presentations, auctions, special events, and quilt shows. It seems odd to think of a time when we wouldn't be meeting at this church sharing stories and smiles. But, the time has come to find a new home and make new memories!

With the major increase of costs at First Plymouth, Barb Pond, Louise Helton, Jan Wolfgram, Carolyn Morris, Amanda Bauer, and Linda Mazunik have been busy working to find us a new home. Many hours were spent reviewing requirements and visiting locations.

We are happy to announce that our NEW VENUE will be:

Our Father Lutheran Church 6335 S. Holly St. Centennial, CO 80121

This church provides many of our necessary requirements as well as availability for pop-ups and other events. The team is busy working on the plan to move to the new location beginning in July. We will continue to meet at First Plymouth until then, as well as for our Quilt Show in June. And the Good News, we will be returning to all IN-PERSON meetings with live-streaming available at the new venue!

And speaking of the Quilt Show.....Have you entered your quilt? We need your entry! Our Quilt Show is for everyone; even those who think their quilts aren't "show quality". Have you shown a quilt in Show-and-Tell? Why not enter it? There are categories available which aren't judged. All quilts are wanted as we want to showcase the talents of ALL our members. We hope to see YOUR quilt in our show!!

submitted by Diane Sheriff

JULY              MARGARET WILLINGHAM

Guild Meeting IN PERSON at Our Father Lutheran Church with a workshop on July 15th from 10-4 at Wooden Spools.

AUGUST SHERI NOEL

Guild Meeting IN PERSON at Our Father Lutheran Church.

SEPTEMBER DANA JONES

Guild Meeting IN PERSON at Our Father Lutheran Church. Two 1/2-day VIRTUAL workshops on September 16th.

OCTOBER "A LOOK AT OUR CHARITIES"

Guild Meeting will focus on the different charities that we work with in a HYBRID meeting. A 1/2-day VIRTUAL workshop on "Making Mittens" with Sheri Noel on October 21st. 

NOVEMBER CARL HENTSCH

Guild Meeting will be HYBRID with Carl talking about how Amish Quilting has influenced the modern quilt movement.

It's been a few years since we've had our Quilt Show, and the 2023 Festival of Quilts is only two months away. I'm sure that many of our past attendees are unaware that we're now able to showcase our talents since Covid is behind us. It's time to start "spreading the word" and preparing ourselves for another great festival!

Have you registered your quilts? The early registration date is coming up shortly, and we want to make sure that there are PLENTY of lovely works to share with the attendees. Right now we have room for 100 more quilts, so register TODAY at www.acqcolorado.org!

Don't have a quilt for the show? You can still help support YOUR guild by volunteering, participating in the boutique, and inviting all of your friends to visit the show on Friday, June 9th and Saturday, June 10th. Entry is just $10.00 a person, and if you have a quilt in the show, your entry fee is waived!

Keep your eyes peeled for additional information in the next month on how you can share the Festival of Quilts with your friends, family, and community through your social media and word of mouth!

submitted by Jen Dietz , Past President

Read the full newsletter online. Sign in to the website to access the March newsletter here.  Look for the new Quilt Spot feature!

March is National Quilt Month. Every third Saturday of March is known as National Quilting Day...a day in which to celebrate the rich tradition of quilt-making. This day is for local quilters to show what they've made and to share their love of the craft. In 1989, the Kentucky Heritage Quilt Society organized a “Quilters’ Day Out” on the third Saturday of March to celebrate the rich tradition of quilt-making in Kentucky. In 1991, National Quilting Association officers were so enthused with the concept and success of “Quilters’ Day Out” that they voted to take it to a national level.

The first National Quilting Day was observed in 1992 and since then it has grown into a global celebration for all quiltmakers and quilt lovers. Helen Storbeck, one of the founders of National Quilting Day, wrote in The Quilting Quarterly, “Groups of quilters were encouraged to hold special events, publishers and shop owners were invited to sponsor promotions especially for quilters and it quickly became a grassroots endeavor with quilters in every part of the country participating.

In the first year of National Quilting Day, quilters in other countries asked to participate. They were welcomed with open arms. As our feelings of a community network has evolved to include a world community, it is only appropriate that quilters and quilt lovers everywhere united to give recognition to the special art form.”

Here are some ways to spend National Quilting Day:

• HANG YOUR QUILTS OUTDOORS ON NATIONAL QUILTING DAY
• MAKE IT A SERVICE DAY  Work on a quilt for your favorite cause.
• SHARE YOUR QUILTING SKILLS  Offer to teach a simple quilt project to a school, 4-H, scout, or other youth group, or spend the day passing along your love of quilting to your children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, or neighbors.
• SAVE QUILT STORIES  Organize a quilt history day or a quilt documentation project.

Many on-line quilt stores will offer free patterns, or bargains, during National Quilt Month and/or National Quilting Day. Watch our ACQ Community page for free offers during this month. 

submitted by Diane Sheriff 

I was inspired by Carolyn Morris and the Panel Quilt that she made for Children's Hospital. As many panels have been donated to ACQ, I have made several kits with fabrics for borders added, for you to put a small quilt together. You can use your own stash (or crumbs) to make the quilt worthy of someone needing quilt hugs! These are a quick project for those who would like to help out. Also, our contact from At Home Hospice has asked for Fidget Quilts. This might be a fun way to use scraps and other objects around the house. If you have items to donate or an interest in participating, please contact me at sheila-clark@comcast.net. I have included some helpful information below regarding Fidget Quilts.

WHAT IS A "FIDGET QUILT"?

Fidget quilts are used for Alzheimer, dementia patients who need something to do with their hands, especially those that are staying in an unfamiliar hospital or care home. The idea is give the fingers and hands something to do, and it can help those with dementia feel calm while keeping them occupied. The usual size is 18 x 20 inches. They can feature zippers, ties, ribbon, strings, buttons, snaps, closures, buckles, lace, velcro, elastic, beads, rick-rack and different textures - like minky, stretchy, pom-poms, pockets, braids.....you name it. Anything that can keep the fingers busy and can be washed will work....think of a child's busy book! Items must be able to withstand hot water as they'll be washed frequently. Since these interactive textiles are meant to stimulate memory, it is important that fidget quilts trigger the senses by using different textures and embellishments as much as possible. 

submitted by Sheila Clark