President's Message September 2011

Good day to all of the River City Quilters!

So sorry I couldn't make the August meeting. There were family commitments and a bit of vacationing. Of course, I thought about all of you while visiting a few quilt shops in Arlington, TX, Colorado Springs and Ft. Collins, CO. The spectacular selection of batiks in Colorado Springs was overwhelming. I convinced my husband to stop at the Moab, UT quilt shop. I found some interesting local themed fabric there. Needless to say, I came home with enough fabric for about 5 quilts. Ridiculous, isn't it?

Besides shopping for fabric, we did a lot of hiking. We visited several national parks: Rocky Mountain, Arches, Canyon Lands, and Mesa Verde! If any of you are traveling folks, the best deal we came across was a lifetime pass for ALL of the National Parks for $10! My husband qualified for the senior discount. It is so worth it.

I heard through the grapevine that Michael Young's presentation was excellent. If we have enough interested people, we're going to ask him to do a workshop for one of our Saturday Sew Ins next year.

Okay folks, I'm slowly knocking out those items on my UFO list. I sent Suzanne Elliot a list of 5, YES FIVE quilts that are finished! Let's try and beat last year's numbers. Remember, I won last year and I'm sewing my fingers to the bone trying again in 2011!

Thanks to Beth for taking care of the business at the meeting. And many thanks to the Nominating Committee for their hard work in finding a slate of officers for 2012. As much as I have thoroughly enjoyed being your guild president, family commitments and health issues will preclude me from continuing next year. Of course, I am more than willing to serve in a support position. Being president isn't a hard job! It is time-consuming but with the great support I have received from the membership, it was easy to accomplish what we set out to do: have fun, learn new skills, and meet friends! Please consider serving if you are asked and if you aren't asked, consider volunteering. The current board has already made some plans for 2012 so all you have to do is step up!

I am looking forward to the September and Sherry Herringshaw's presentation. She has great ideas and techniques for small quilts which will fit in fine with our AAQI involvement. It's amazing how easy it is to finish these small art quilts. And they go to such a great cause.

All I can say is, "WOW," when I read about Candy Bergeron and the Christmas committee's accomplishments on the Christmas Lotto Quilts. Incredible that we had such a great response and returns. If you weren't able to make a block (they are sold out), you still have time to earn chances by sewing with the committee. These quilts are going to be highly sought after at the drawing! So many thanks to all for a job well done!

Well, I must go sew. Those UFOs are calling my name.

Best regards, Jo Paula


 
Stuff to bring:

• non-perishable food for local food cupboards
• donations to the auction
• quilting supplies for Joplin and/or Alabama
• Show and Tell items
• Finished Pet quilts
• Finished Christmas Lotto Blocks
• Fat Quarter Lotto - Kaffe Fassett
• Items for the birthday table
• Fiber name tag

President's Message August 2011

Hello Fellow Quilters,

Just a brief message to wish you a happy summer. I don't know about you but this wonderful rainy weather has encouraged me to pull out my UFO basket. I finished 2 more projects. Now, not to set to bar too high, I just want to remind you that I won the UFO Challenge last year and I'm feverishly working to win it again! I have to keep reminding myself NOT to work on some of the new projects that I started from fabrics I purchased on our road trip to Knoxville. Well, that's another story. We visited 15 quilt shops and bought a little here and there, but the best shop, by far, was Tennessee Quilts in Jonesborough. It was easy to see why it was selected as one of the Top Ten shops in Quilt Sampler Magazine in 2011. If you've never been, believe me it's worth the trip. In fact, we almost went 3 hours out of our way on the return trip home, just to go back, but we decided to go through Marietta, GA and visited a few shops there. Needless to say, I won't be going to Houston this Fall.

I wish I could say that I got a lot accomplished on this trip. I had such good intentions, really I did. I brought a few UFOs but the shops in the area were too much fun to visit. It was great seeing our quilts hang in the Ultimate Guild Challenge. We got some great ideas for the next one! Unfortunately, the show is moving to Grand Rapids, Michigan, but eventually, it will return to Nashville in the future.

Sorry I won't be able to be at the August meeting. I was so looking forward to hearing Michael Young talk about the Stack and Whack technique. I've had some fabric which is on my UFO list which I purchased for that technique, but haven't felt comfortable jumping in without seeing The Pro work his magic! Oh well, next time.

Anyway, I'm off to Colorado for my sister in law's 70th birthday celebration so I'll see you around the bend in September. Until then, keep on sewing!

Best regards,
Jo Paula

The Bring List:

• Stack and Whack Quilts for Show and Tell
• We want to see your finds and hear your stories if you've been traveling to quilt shows in Sisters or Knoxville, or anywhere else
• Childrens fabrics and brights to donate to Wasted Women for cherity quilts
• Finished Pet Quilts
• Donations for the Auction - please measure and label your fabrics
• Fat Quarters for Lotto - Clouds or rain, in either silver, blue-gray or white
• Fiber Name Tag
• Items for the Birthday Table
• Completed Christmas Lotto Blocks earn 3 chances to win

President's Message July 2011

Happy Summer Fellow Quilters!

I hope this wonderful Louisiana weather is inspiring you to stay inside and SEW! I’ve been so productive, I amaze myself! Seems like this heat is good for something.

River City has another action-packed meeting on Thursday, July 7th and sure hope you can join us for a Christmas in July party. We’ll be collecting the birdhouse blocks AND we’ll be offering for your viewing and sewing pleasure, the CHRISTMAS lotto blocks! Special thanks to Candy and the rest of the gang for working on this. It’s sure to be a crowd pleaser!

We plan to have a Red, White, and Green meeting, so please bring your past Christmas Lotto Block quilts to display for the viewing pleasure of our members. I think it will be inspirational! And since it is a mini Christmas Party, we’d like for everyone to bring a little bit of party finger food. It’s pot luck, so we’ll see what turns up. The guild will provide the soft drinks, ice and FUN!

There were several River City guild members who went to Paula Toups’ chenille rug class. What a fun time was had by all. It’s gratifying to start a project and finish it in the same day. The rugs were so diverse and I hope that those who attended will bring their rugs for Show and Tell.

Marie Montalbano wants to me to remind quilters that St. Margaret’s is available for the Tuesday sew days. Suzi will post the upcoming dates. It’s a great way to get projects done and visit with others at the same time. If you can’t seem to get that quilt finished because of laundry, telephones, computers, bring it to St. Margaret’s. It’s stress free sewing and it doesn’t cost a thing!

Hope to see you at Christmas in July, but until then, keep those machines humming!

Best regards,
Jo Paula

Bring:
 Cash to invest in some Christmas Lotto Blocks.
 Finger food for the Party. Sweet or savory, we eats what we gets.
 Tweet-Tweet -- "Bird House" lotto blocks are due
 Payment for Labor Day Weekend Retreat
 Items to donate to the auction
 Completed pet quilts for YELP!
 Fat Quarter Lotto -- Red or White or Green Christmas prints

Norma's Quilt

Alice Fredlund and Jo Doherty brought Norma Payne's quilt to her today. They said that as soon as they gave it to her, she wrapped it around herself and didn't let go of it the whole time they were there. She was really touched and loves her quilt. They all had a good cry when Alice read the notes to her.

Give her a call sometime or drop by for a short visit!