Please remember to mark your calendars for date changes for the 2010-2011 year!

Our September meeting is September 11 (second Saturday) due to the Labor Day holiday, our December meeting is December 11 (second Saturday) due to the church needing the hall on the first Saturday and our January meeting is January 8 (second Saturday) due to the New Year’s Holiday. The remaining meetings are held on the first Saturday of each month.

Quilt Show Update!
 Nancy Robertson and Sue Hart, Quilt Show Co-Chairs

OK ladies, when you get this newsletter there will be less than a month left until the show [remember back when it was over a year away!]  We hope you're all finishing up those quilts - but please don't sweat on them!  Remember to put a label and hanging sleeve and label on any quilts you’re entering in the show.

Everything is under control so far thanks to our energetic committee.  But the next part is up to you.  At the September meeting we will need to fill ALL the slots for help at the show, and we hope you will all sign up for at least one, hopefully more, areas to help in.  In addition, we'd like to have people sitting at the various exits doing handwork [or even machine work!] as part demo, part security. So before or after your shift consider showing our guests how it's done.  We will also be asking for people willing to do real demonstrations or talks in the little room across from the vendor room.  If you're interested in sharing your passion for a special process, fabric, method, pattern, etc. and can talk about it or demonstrate it for 20-30 minutes, let us know!  We hope some of the vendors will also do this.

We will be announcing some revised rules and  procedures for turning in and picking up your quilts.  Everyone's cooperation with this will make for a smooth running operation. We will also be handing out bags at the September meeting that will be used for submitting your quilts for the show.

For our show we have 74 wall quilts, 51 lap quilts, 61 bed quilts, 3 misc. quilted items, challenge quilts, a special traveling patriotic quilt exhibit (60 small quilts), charity quilts and an antique bed turning quilts display so we’ll especially need lots of help with quilt hangings on Friday, Sept. 17^th and take downs at the end of the show on Sunday. We’ll also need help setting up and breaking down the Silent Auction, door prize table, raffle quilt, admissions table, etc. Remember, many hands make light work!

Silent Auction: Please remember we need items for the Silent Auction. Items can be a wall hanging, table runner, tote bag, or any other quilted item you can think of. We’ll also be auctioning off a basket of pink and white quilt blocks. Please make pink and white blocks in a pattern of your choice that finish at 6", 9" or 12". All proceeds from the auction go to breast cancer research. If you have any questions about the Silent Auction please see Joy Lavery at the September meeting or email her at lavery125@aol.com or call her at 781-878-8890.

Boutique: Please work on small items to sell at the Boutique. The sale price of one item goes to the guild along with 15% of the sale of the rest of your items. You get the rest of the proceeds on your items unless you decide to donate it to the guild. Please contact Susan Riley (781-749-6436 or blackeyedsewsan@yahoo.com) or Wendy Morgan (781-659-1360 or WM594885@gmail.com) if you have any questions.

It's going to be a wonderful show, so please help to spread the word!  Print out and hang posters everywhere, email or mail postcards to your friends, and tell everyone you know to come. The more the merrier!  And don't forget to show everyone the photo of the raffle quilt - how could they resist coming to see it in person!  See you in September!  Please contact Sue Hart (svhart@comcast.com or 781-871-2467) or Nancy Robertson (nancyrobertson101@gmail.com or 781-545-8295) if you have any questions about the show.

Thanks to all of you who have already volunteered to help with this immense undertaking. We know it will be a great show!

PLEASE SELL RAFFLE TICKETS!!!

Anne Marie Stanton, Raffle Ticket Sales Chair

It is the responsibility of every guild member to sell at least two or more books of tickets for our beautiful, fantastic, wonderful New York Blues Raffle quilt! Raffle ticket sales are a big part of our fund raising efforts. Tickets are $1.00 each or a book of 6 for $5.00. If you have not sold tickets yet or you need more ticket books, they can be picked up at the September guild meeting from Anne Marie Stanton or by phone at 781-826-5933 or email at Amish123@aol.com. Please remember to bring money and ticket stubs to the September meeting for all the tickets you have sold. We’ll also need volunteers to sit at the raffle table during the quilt show.

Dressmaker's Form Needed 

 Do you have a dressmaker’s form we can borrow for the quilt show? We have one already, but need a second one so we can showcase the crazy quilt jacket and quilted robe that have been submitted for the show. If you have a dressmaker’s form we can borrow, please contact Nancy Robertson (nancyrobertson101@gmail.com or 781-545-8295). Thanks.

  “Hand” Quilts 

There is group from the guild who has made small "hand" quilts which will be used as decorations in the hallway at our show to go along with our “With These Hands” theme. If you have the time and would like to also create a small (no bigger than a record album cover, or about 12” - 15" square) quilt with a “hand” theme we would love to have them. These small hand quilts will not count as part of your quilt show submissions. These will be hung in the hall as decoration. If you have them done by the September meeting, please bring them to the meeting. If not, please deliver them with your quilts on September 17 for the show.

Challenge Quilts:

Please remember to bring your challenge quilt "Water, Water Everywhere but Not a Drop to Drink!"  to the September 11^th meeting for judging by your fellow guild members. We have 5 prize ribbons to give to the winners. All the challenge quilts will then be displayed at our quilt show for others to enjoy. If you have any questions about the challenge please call Mary Ann Karpinski at 508-747-0629 or send her an email at maktjk9@aol.com.

History of Herring Run Quilter’s Guild Quilt Shows

Submitted by Tracey Mackenzie, Guild Historian

As we get ready for our guild’s 11^th quilt show, let’s look back at the past 10 shows. The first quilt show was held on September 22, 1990 for one day at the Congregation Church Parish Hall in Hanover, we had 47 quilts, 18 challenge quilts and Genevieve Grundy of Duxbury was our featured quilter with 17 quilts. Joyce Archer was our first viewer’s choice winner. We had two quilt vendors (Quilter’s Delight and Tumbleweeds). Our membership was 41 quilters and Jewel Box was or raffle quilt.

You Could Be A Winner!!!

Anyone who has taken two of three classes (Michelle Kincaide, Sarah Ann Smith or Joan Shay) is eligible to be in a drawing to win a free class of their choice in 2010/2011.

Upcoming Meeting Information:

Debra Hayes, Susan Bernard, Clare Corbett, Elaine Cristoferi and Joyce Wentland, Program Co-Chairs

Welcome back! Your program committee has planned an exciting year for you.

September 11, 2010 – REMEMBER!! Our September meeting is the SECOND Saturday in September due to the Labor Day weekend. At the September meeting we will reveal our challenge quilts so those present can vote on their favorite. We’ll also be working on LOTS of last minute organizational issues for the Quilt Show.

October 2, 2010 – Joan Shay will do a trunk show and a class featuring her 3D “Tropical Fish”. Check her out on You-Tube. She has several different videos that are really interesting and informative. Important Information for October Meeting: Joan Shay has decided to discount the Fish Kit to $25 (originally $35), payable to Joan on the day of the class.  The cost of the workshop is $35 payable to HRQG either at the September Meeting or by sending a check to Debra Hayes at 94 Tower Road, Hingham, MA  02043.  Joan is able to accommodate 20 people, however, if we do not have 15 people sign up the workshop will be cancelled. Joan's workshop not only teaches the techniques to complete the Fish Kit but any of her other patterns/kits. 

November 6, 2010 – Concessa Shearer will do a trunk show and afternoon class. Concessa’s afternoon class will be the quilt “Winners Bouquet” by Atkinson Designs. Prices for the class, pattern and templates will be discussed at the September meeting.

December 11, 2010 – Our December meeting is the SECOND Saturday in December due to the church needing the hall on the first Saturday. Our own Kathy Rich will be giving a trunk show of her wonderful quilts. It will also be our annual holiday brunch.

January 8, 2011 - We're meeting on the SECOND Saturday due to the New Year's Day holiday being on the first Saturday.  We'll have a fun filled, hands-on meeting with different in-house workshops. We're seeign your input on what you would like your committee to offer. Have you taken a neat class over the summer? Would you love to recreate a quilt that another member showed? Please see one of the Program Co-Chairs if you have any ideas. 

February 5, 2011 – Charity Quilting Day!!! Plan on spending the day with us making charity quilts.

Mark your calendars for the remaining meetings on March 5, 2011, April 2, 2011, May 7, 2011 and June 4, 2011.  Meeting information will be published as soon as things are confirmed. 

Charity Quilts:

Charlene Shultz and Sharon Ducey, Charity Quilt Co-Chairs from 2009-2010 year

Vivian Cardinal and Joanne Joyce, Charity Quilt Co-Chairs for 2010-2011 year

During the 2009-2010 year the guild produced 82 charity quilts. They went to D.O.V.E. (Domestic Violence Ended) in Quincy, the Dianne DeVanna Center (for the prevention of child abuse and neglect) in Braintree, and Camp Sunshine (support children with life threatening illnesses and their families in New England) in Sebago Lake, Maine. Thank you to everyone that helped making all these comforting quilts.

We will also have a display of charity quilts at our quilt show so if you worked on a charity quilt over the summer, please bring it to the September meeting so we can add it to our charity quilt display.

Sunshine Information:

Do you know of someone in the guild that has had a personal loss or is seriously ill? Please pass this information on to Laurel DeCastro at jiggysmom769@gmail.com or by phone at 781-837-0067 so we can send cards, flowers or donations from the guild. Please make sure you give her the full name, address and information on where to send a donation if one is requested.

Guild Getaway Update - March 25-27th, 2011

Join us for a weekend of quilting, shopping and fun in Portsmouth, NH!! Portsmouth is an ideal setting with shops within walking distance and several quilt shops within driving distance.  We will be offering classes, demos and a Friday night meet and greet dinner.  Details will follow. If you would like to join us we need your deposit to save your place. Send $50.00 to Denise Fitzgerald at 39 Dana Drive, Hanover, MA 02339.  Please make your check payable to “Herring Run Quilters’ Guild”.

Help Save the Environment!!

Please remember we’re “going green”. To help protect the environment, honor the requests of the Church, and cut down on our monthly bills, we will offer an alternative to the paper and Styrofoam cup!!  Check out our new HRQG coffee cup, commemorating this year’s quilt show.  These mugs will be available to Guild members at our meetings for $5.00 each.  Pop it in your Guild bag for use at each month’s meeting!!

Block of the Month:

Mary Nagle, Charity Quilt Chair

Mary Nagle has volunteered again to challenge us with her wonderful blocks of the month. Thank you Mary! Remember if you miss getting a copy of any of the blocks of the month they are available on our webpage.

Congratulations!!

Penny Myles and Nancy Roberston will have quilts on display at the Whistler House Museum in Lowell from August 4 to September 4 as part of the “Fine Art to Fiber: Reinterpreting the Masters” exhibit. Please stop by the Museum if you are in the area. Their quilts will also be displayed at our quilt show so if you miss seeing them at the museum you’ll get to enjoy them at our show.

Also, another local group, Coastal Quilt Artists, to which three of our members belong, Anne Marcin, Penny Myles and Janet Duncan Dignan, recently received good news.  Their group quilt "Back Bay, Boston" has been juried into the Houston show.  The group had an exhibition last month at the North River Arts Society in Marshfield Hills, and this quilt was one of their pieces on display.  Hope you were fortunate to have seen it.  Now it's off to Houston! 

What's Up At The New England Quilt Museum?
Christine Moriarty, HRQG Rep to the Museum

CURRENT EXHIBIT: Contemporary Broderie Perse: An Elegant Revival, July 15 - October 17, 2010

Combining collage, fine appliqué, and fine quilting, broderie perse, also known as cut-out chintz appliqué, presents a high point in the art of quilting and deserves the admiration and attention of all who appreciate fine needlework.  The technique emerged in the late eighteenth century when chintz fabrics were very expensive and only the very wealthy could afford whole cloth bed coverings made from large pieces of chintz.  By cutting motifs out of a small amount of fabric, the quilter could rearrange them onto a large field of inexpensive plain cotton to imitate the designs on larger fabrics.  Plain cream or white fields filled by fine quilting surround the trees, floral sprays, wreaths, urns, birds, and baskets appliquéd with tiny whip, buttonhole, or reverse buttonhole stitches. 

Remember: The museum is now offering free admission for all New England Quilt Museum Auxiliary and supporting quilting guild members, (that means all of us!), on the 4th Sunday of each month from 12 to 4pm. For more information on other exhibits at the New England Quilt Museum visit: http://www.nequiltmuseum.org/

Upcoming Quilt Shows in the Area:

October 2 & 3: Belnap Mill Quilters Guild, Laconia, NH, Belnapmillquilters@yahoo.com, Saturday  10  to  5, Sunday 10  to  5, Admission  $5, free parking, wheelchair accessible
 
October 8 & 10: Monadnock Quilters Guild, South Meadow School, Route 202, Peterborough, NH, www.monadnockquiltersguild.org, Saturday 10  to  5, Sunday 10 to  4, Admission $5 - Men free

UFO’s, WIP’s, PIG’s, ETC.

Call them whatever you want….UFO’s (unfinished objects), WIP’s (works in progress), PIG’s (projects in grocery sacks), PIP’s (projects in progress), WISP’s (works in slow progress), WIVSP’s (works in very slow progress). Admit it! We all have quilt projects lingering in our sewing rooms waiting to be finished. You know those projects that have been simmering, waiting for that right moment to get them back to the top of the pile. Are you looking for someone to give you that nudge you need to get them completed? After the rush of the quilt show, Mary Ann Karpinski would like to get together with other’s that have trouble finishing some of those quilts and discuss a way to encourage each other to get them done. If you have ideas, please contact Mary Ann at maktjk9@aol.com or 508-747-0629 or see her at one of the guild meetings.  

Helpful Hints:

Submitted by Guild Member Christine Moriarty

Fancy Filler--Keep a bag taped to your cutting table for fabric scraps. Next time you need cushioning or filler for a gift bag or mailing, stuff with these colorful pieces.  Another green solution!
 
Old pillow cases can be used for storing small quilts.  By sewing together two old sheets, you can have a really big case for storing large quilts. 

Quilt Ideas

Once you’ve finished all your quilts for the quilt show are you looking for a way to use up your stash or looking for a new project? Check out these ideas. Notice all of these are FREE!!!!!

• This blog site submitted by Debra Hayes has great scrappy ideas: http://stashmanicure.blogspot.com/
• There are lots of “free” scrappy quilts on this site: www.quiltville.com
• And even more “free” scrappy quilts on this site: http://www.scrapquilts.com/
• Here’s some “free” quilt patterns from Hoffman: http://www.hoffmanfabrics.com/content/content-folder.asp?FolderID=7
• This site has a large collection of “free” quilt blocks: www.quilterscache.com

Congratulations to a Former Guild Teacher

Submitted by Guild Member Cynthia Spratt

Ann Lainhart of The Quilted Gallery has just been notified that she has been awarded Best Hand Workmanship Prize in the Hoffman Challenge, 2010. Ann is not a HRQG member, but has lectured/work-shopped with the guild (Fussy Cut), was a vendor at our last show and on board for the 2010 show.  She is a prolific quilter. Ann abandoned her life long career as a genealogist to pursue her passion for quilting full time.  Congratulations Ann!

Looks like Vermont was the place to go on a road trip this summer. Enjoy these two stories submitted by guild members.

Quilting in Vermont

Submitted by Guild Member Janice Smith

Recently a group of us (Donna Gardner, Edith Neil, Liz McGuire, Fiona Wysocki, Deb St. Cyr and I) traveled to Vergennes, Vermont for a quilt weekend at the Strong House Inn http://quiltinginvermont.stronghouseinn.com/.

The gracious innkeepers, Mary and Hugh Bargiel, have created a haven for quilters and other crafters. The spacious well lit sewing room has both cutting and ironing stations, and the room overlooks the Inn’s gardens and the mountains beyond. We chose a no teacher weekend, but there are also packages which feature classes with some well known teachers. Of course, we visited Knits and Bolts, a lovely quilt shop in nearby New Haven, VT. Vergennes is located just a few miles from the Shelburne Museum which is said to have one of the finest collections of 18th and 19th century American quilts. On our drive home, we also stopped at another quilt shop, Yankee Pride in Essex Junction, VT., which featured a wonderful collection of batiks and reproduction fabrics. There’s also a great deli right across the street where you should definitely stop for lunch.

I will bring some brochures for Quilting in Vermont to our September meeting. The weekend was so relaxing and fun that we have already booked a return trip for the fall.

My Trip to Vermont

Submitted by Guild Member Nancy McLain

My husband and I visited the Shelburne Museum in Vermont in July, and along with the many exhibits they had two quilt shows going on. The first group of quilts had been travelling around for about 4 yrs. and this was the last showing before the quilts were returned to their owners (makers). It was coordinated by Ami Simms. All the entries (about 40 wall hangings) were made by people whose lives had been very much affected by loved ones with Alzheimer’s disease.  The quilts spoke for themselves; emotionally touching, reaching out, and telling you of the pain, frustration and loss and love in their lives. It was almost like reading a book they were so true and passionate. 

The second exhibit was Crazy Quilts. They were in wonderful condition and there were quite a few. Many of them had their history and that of the quilt maker attached. They were all beautifully done, stitched and embroidered, and preserved. It is hard to describe, wonderful to see, and to feel part of that ongoing art. 

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Stay cool and enjoy the rest of your summer.

We hope to see ALL of you on September 11^th!!