April Newsletter

    April 2020 Newsletter

 Happy Easter to all our TCQ Guild members!

This has certainly been a month we will all remember. I hope everyone is doing as well as possible with social isolation and adjusting to our new “normal” as we continue through April. And who knows what May will bring? As each new day comes, I am looking for something to be especially thankful for. And today, I am so thankful for the beautiful sunshine and the promise that Spring will bloom in our yards and gardens as we see April unfold. 

I want to thank all of you who have worked on plans and programs for the guild that have had to be postponed due to COVID-19. I know what a disappointment it is to work so hard on a project only to have it canceled or postponed. And we have no idea how long we will have to wait before we can look at rescheduling anything. I am enjoying the posts so many of you are sharing on our TCQ Facebook page. Keep those coming. Your beautiful quilts brighten our days.

  I love some of the positive thoughts that are being shared on social media and would like to pass this one on to you: Becoming minimalist:  Five years ago my son, Mike, and his girlfriend, Laura, sold practically everything they owned. Mike was living on a 45-foot sailboat in Norfolk, VA. They stored everything they still owned on the boat and sailed off to Vieques, PR. During the five, years they lived in Vieques, we visited them several times a year and were so impressed with how happy they were and how well they were living with very few possessions. I have been thinking of them a lot during the past month.  I sincerely hope that when the dust settles from all the chaos we are experiencing right now, we will be able to realize how little we need, how very much we actually have, and the true value of human connection. 

Stay strong! Stay safe! And blessings to you all!

--Marilyn

  With the need for surgical masks for everyone, here is a very good tutorial on You Tube for you to try.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zm_NmpdgWWA

 It takes 35 blocks to make a 60 by 84 quilt top.  It would be help if you made similar or the same block out of similar or the same fabric in multiples of 17 or 18. But, any number would work.   

    Fabric for sashing, borders, backing and binding. 

           We are finding that we can deviate from the common, 35 blocks in 5 columns wide by 7 rows high pattern, if we have some matching / similar colored fabric for borders or fillers like sashing.  Please, no need to go out and purchase new fabric!  Check your stash and look for some basic red, white, cream, or blue fabric that could be used.  

     Volunteer to do some of the quilting. 

           As of now, Susan Bateman continues to be the most generous long arm quilter in the world and has agreed to accept HOPS quilts up until September. However, she is a quilter herself and as such, could use the time spent on these volunteer quilts to work on her own projects. 

If you would like to volunteer, you can: 

               1.  Volunteer to do some quilting on your own machine. 

               2.  Continuing with the most generous quilter in the world, Susan has said that if someone was familiar with long arm quilting using pat-o-graphs, then she would agree to have them   use her machine to do the quilting on   these quilts.  This scenario, of course, is contingent on the Coronavirus "stay at home mandate" being lifted before September.  

3.  Volunteer to sew blocks together.  We have been able to put together packets of blocks that go together to make a top. If you'd like to put one of these kits together let me know.  I don't have any right now but can keep you in mind when we do.  

If interested: call, text or email Frank expressmet@aol.com to coordinate our efforts. 

 From the quilt show committee:

It was so disappointing that we had to make the decision to postpone the quilt show. Dog-gone virus! Once the stay at home order is lifted and we can gather again, we will meet as a quilt show committee to discuss rescheduling ideas. As far as the Quilt of Valor challenge, It was mentioned at the February meeting that we were working with the Wayne County Fair helping them implement a new program, Honoring Our Patriots' Service (HOPS). This is still going to happen. The fair premium books are printed with the new program. The fair board will be giving us a large wedge in the Grange Rotunda to display our Quilts of Valor and the quilts and afghans entered through the HOPS program and there will be a presentation ceremony in the late afternoon of the last day of the fair. It is going to be a great, and rewarding program.

Please continue to sell raffle tickets. We will still have the drawing on April 18th. 

Please mail your ticket stubs to Tonya Wellert, 9261 Martin Road, West Salem, Ohio 44287

  Send a check to Judy Mallonn, 4374 Deer Creek, Wooster 44691

They will get together to balance tickets and money.

 We need you! Volunteers needed to help Vicky Hartzler with the Workshop Committee. She would like help scheduling one more workshop. Committee volunteers attend a couple workshops during the year to help with class set up and clean up. Contact Vicky at 330-465-4209 or vginhartz@sssnet.com.

The Workshop Committee is still looking for a teacher for a landscape quilting class. If you know someone who is qualified, please contact Vicky Hartzler.