Dear Guild Members and Fans –

We hope everyone will join us at our next meeting in the usual place – Trinity United Methodist Church at 1600 5th Avenue in Phenix City – park on the downhill side by our sign.

We had a great meeting last month (which I missed) including an unusual variety of ice creams at the Noon Social!  We had a record number of visitors and new members which is fabulous!   We hope to attract more interested quilters by word-of-mouth or social media.  Please check us out on Facebook  at galaquiltguild; or on the web at www.galaquiltguild.com.  Cathy Poyner has been great about posting all of our news and pictures in both locations!

Our next meeting is the 3rd Saturday of the month, as usual, which is August 20th.  The workshop begins promptly at 10 AM so please come early to set up your sewing spot.  I am there by 9AM and always appreciate help setting up all the stuff we put out for meetings.  Sunny Pedigo is teaching the workshop on making a Jean Circle project – you can do a table runner on up to quilt size.  Bring your sewing machine and basic sewing supplies along with a marking pen, scissors, and glue stick.  Bring denim (not too heavy or light, not stretchy) as yardage or old blue jeans.  You will be cutting circles that are 7 inches in diameter. Having at least 10 would be a good number to start with. Sunny and Linda Jones are bringing lots of cut circles so if you don’t have any denim you can get some at the workshop to get started.  Each denim circle will have a 5″ fabric square attached to it – you can bring a charm pack or cut your own 5″ squares.  We have scraps of fabric too if you need some just to learn the technique.  Sunny will show us how to cut and join the circles, so you get the technique and can continue to any size you like.

At Noon I am having a meeting for all officers and anyone on the Quilt Teacher Committee, the By-Laws Committee, and the Nominating Committee so we can get a progress report from you.  We also need whoever will be working on the Guild’s participation in the Fall Festival at Fort Mitchell.  If you have any interest in getting involved in any Guild position please join us to see all the backstage action and fun!

After lunch on your own (feel free to brown bag it or go to any local restaurant) we will have our regular meeting at 1:00.  We will discuss ongoing business and projects, and for our program I will show a portion of a DVD on quilt history.  As usual we will have prizes, the Block of the Month, and Show and Tell so please bring anything quilt/sewing related to show – could be something you made or bought or found in the attic!

We plan to have a sales table at the Fall Festival at Fort Mitchell to sell items we make for the Guild Treasury.  This event will be on October 29th and is always a lot of fun.  Members asked what sold well from our table at Pioneer Day –  by number or dollar value best sellers included the rag wreaths, Christmas Tree wall-hangings, a variety of table toppers and small mats, bowl buddies, mini-prayer quilts, BooBoo bags, towels, trivets, mug organizers, coasters, jar openers, bookmarks, pin cushions, scissor cozies, selvage bags and thread catchers, and others.  We will sell even more if we can get your help to make table signs for each item!  So please be thinking of something you can donate.  Fall and winter holiday themed items may sell especially well.  The profits from these sales really help us pay for some top-notch teachers in the future.

Speaking of teachers, there are a few slots left for the November fabric dying workshop.  The fee for Guild members is $35 and for non-members is $75.  The fee includes your kit which contains 32 fat eights of fabric to dye and supplies.  You may need to bring some basic items from home.  We need your fees paid by September to secure your spot.  

We are continuing to work on our donation quilts through this year so please show us what you’re working on.  We ask every meeting for help on completing these quilts including having some of you do machine quilting (these are small and could be done on a domestic machine with simple lines), make backs and bindings, and sew on bindings.  We have batting in a giant roll to use unless you donate your own.

Please review the attachments which include Juanita’s Calendar of upcoming events, and Frances’ detailed minutes from our July meeting.

Hope your summer is going very well so far and see you in a few weeks!

Linda Walker

President

Newsletter

Hi Guild and Guild Fans!

Hope everyone had a festive holiday weekend.  We can always admire our red, white, and blue fabrics and dream of patriotic projects to sew!

Our next meeting day is Saturday July 15th at Trinity United Methodist Church in Phenix City, AL. It is located at 1600 5th Ave, but park on the downhill side which is 4th Ave – you’ll see our Guild signs.

(If anyone does not wish to receive this email, please let me know and I will delete you from the list – I do not have an “unsubscribe” link.)

Morning Workshop starts promptly at 10:00 (Eastern time), come in and set up your sewing machine and supplies any time before that.  Doors officially open at 9:30 but I am usually there by 9am and always appreciate help setting up signs, power cords, display wall, etc.  This month it will be part 2 of “One Block Wonder Quilts”.  Last month we stacked up 6 identical repeats of a fabric and cut strips into 60 degree triangles.  This month we will sew them into half-hexagons and plan a beautiful kaleidoscopic lay out.  This is being taught by Lee Ann Scogin.

At noon we will have an Ice Cream Social.  The guild will buy ice cream and sherbet.  Please everyone bring some sort of topping to share with a serving utensil.  Ideas include fruit, sauces, nuts, sprinkles, crumbled cookies, chocolate shavings, etc.  

Our meeting starts at 1:00 pm.  We will have a demonstration of rulers for our program.  As usual we’ll discuss business and upcoming events, give out some prizes, explain the new Block of the Month, and have a Show and Tell so please bring something to show.  It could be something you made recently or in the past, or something your grandmother made!

For those who want to participate in the Brown Bag Challenge –  please put 3 fat quarters in a brown paper lunch bag, along with your name written on a piece of paper inside the bag, not outside – and staple it shut.  Then we each draw a bag out of the pile and make something for that person with their fat quarters (with whatever we want to add). We will have it ready to present back to them at our December meeting.  It will be fun to see what people come up with!

We have CANCELLED our trip to the quilt shop in Childersburg scheduled for July 9 since the inventory there is getting quite low.  We will plan a future trip to a quilt shop or two- probably in the Macon or Atlanta area.

Please review the schedule attached written by VP Juanita Christian, and the minutes from our June meeting written by Secretary Frances Thomason for all the juicy details about what’s going on at guild!

Linda Walker 

GALA President

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Here are the pictures from the May meeting, which were not posted.

Workshop: One Block Wonder Part 1

Show & Tell

Program: Disappearing 4 & 9 patch blocks

Barn Blocks & Block of the Month

Dear Guild Members and GALA Interested –

Greetings to all!  Our next meeting will be Saturday June 18th.  As usual we are meeting on the 3rd Saturday of the month at Trinity United Methodist Church in Phenix City.  

The church address is 1600 5th Ave, but remember we park on the downhill side.  We are having more and more members attend so we are asking those that are able to – please park a little further away after first dropping off all your stuff at the church. Then park at the big lot where 4th Avenue ends in a “T” intersection with 16th Street.  The Pawn Shop owners have kindly agreed to let us park there.  We like to keep parking available for newcomers and latecomers and those who can’t walk a long distance.

The morning workshop starts at 10:00 AM but doors are open at 9:30 for you to set up.  I am usually there by 9:00 – feel free to come early and help set out the signs, power cords, supplies, irons, etc.  The afternoon meeting starts at 1:00.  Lunch is brown bag or out to a restaurant or take-out, etc.

The workshop this month is by Lee Ann Scogin on the One Block Wonder quilt, from a book of the same name.  The supplies for you to bring are:

FABRIC: enough to have 6 repeats of a design (usually a repeat is 18-24 inches) – a large print or design will work best for this

TOOLS: 60 degree ruler (triangle) and 24″ straight edge; cutting mat at least 12 x 24″; rotary cutter with new blade; sewing machine and usual sewing supplies; straight pins

FABRIC PREP: fold in half matching selvages and press, cut into 2 pieces along fold (you will have 2 pieces approximately 22″ x 4 yards)

The afternoon program is about Disappearing 4 and 9 patches.

In July we will have a morning workshop on Paper Piecing and an Ice Cream Social at lunch (guild provides the ice cream – everyone please bring various toppings).  The program will be a demonstration of several different rulers.

Also on Saturday June 11th, a group is going to do barn quilt painting at Fort Mitchell.  Juanita Christian has already contacted those who signed up with details.

I have just arranged a Sewing Day at the Church for Tuesday June 21st from 10 am to 3 pm.  This will be to work on our Jelly Roll quilts we are making for the shelter in Columbus and Crisis Center in PC.  We have an ongoing project to sew tops, sew backings, do the quilting, make and sew on binding.  Bring whatever you are working on or just bring your machine and sewing supplies and we can assign tasks.  I am thinking that some of these would be manageable to do “Stitch in the Ditch” or other simple quilting on your domestic machine.  We have plenty of fabric to make backings and bindings but feel free to bring your large pieces.  We also have an ongoing project to make one yard bags for charity as well and we will re-instruct how to do those.  We have plenty of fabric for those as well but you can also bring your own.  We are collecting small personal items to go in the bags (such as you get at hotels) so donations are welcome.  Please consider a trip to the dollar store for toothbrushes and paste, shaving supplies, soaps, shampoos and other items.  I have just learned that there is a national shortage of tampons!! so feminine hygiene products of any kind would be welcome as well, I’m sure.  Please bring your lunch and snacks or drinks to share.  I’m sure some will be interested in taking orders for a lunch purchase at one of the fast food or barbecue places nearby.  I hope to do a sewing day every month or so.  

We plan to sell items at next year’s Quilt Show during Pioneer Day at Fort Mitchell next April again since it was a huge fundraiser for the guild.  Please consider making items throughout the year to sell there.  Sometimes I see a pattern for a sewing or quilting project that I just want to try, and can easily donate the finished product to this cause.  The best selling items were wreaths, bookmarks, boo boo bags, tiny prayer quilts, jar openers, pin cushion/thread catchers, selvage bags, bookmarks and more.  Large quilts did not sell.  Next year we will have increased sales by spreading out and hanging more items and adding explanatory signs to the item display.  

On  a Saturday in July (I think the 9th but we’ll confirm during the June meeting)  we are going to sign up for a road trip to Childersburg AL (about 2 hours) to a quilt shop called J.Light.  The owner is closing it on August 31st, so everything is 45% off, minimum of 1 yard cuts, cash or check only.  I have looked at other activities in the area and we could go to an antique mall in town, or perhaps ask for a tour of the Butler Harris Rainwater House Museum.  There is also a very scenic grist mill nearby (no longer in use) and the cave tour at DeSoto Caverns!

Please review the attached minutes provided by Frances Thomason from our May meeting.

Linda Walker, GALA President

lindawalker511@gmail.com

cell (ok to text) 706-662-5319

Guild members has a private tour at the Columbia Museum with Curator of History, Rebecca Bush. We saw quilts from the collection of Paul M Goggans on exhibit, and a red and white quilt from the museum’s collection. We also learned about storage and saw a partial unboxing of a magnificent Baltimore Album Quilt.

Guild members enjoy lunch after a private tour of the quilts at the museum

Dear Guild members and visitors:

Hope this month of May finds you all well and happily quilting away!

Please be aware we have a guild activity BEFORE our scheduled meeting this month.

On Wednesday May 11th, we will meet at the Columbus Museum at 10:45 outside.  At 11:00, our VP Juanita Christian has arranged for us to have a private tour of the current quilt exhibit with Curator Rebecca Bush, who just spoke to us at our April meeting. The tour will last about an hour and then those who want to continue to lunch will go to a nearby/downtown restaurant to be announced and finalized that day.  Please RSVP to Juanita so she can have a head count – her email is jmchristian303@gmail.com, and her cell is 918-207-8555.

Please open all 3 attachments to this email.  One is a calendar of upcoming events that Juanita has written,  the second is the instructions for our morning workshop for our meeting on May 21 – a Zig Zag table runner taught by Cathy Poyner (this is also available on our web page galaquiltguild.com – go to April 16 and scroll all the way to the bottom to find it), and the third attachment is minutes from our April 16th meeting.

For our May meeting:

Please bring your sewing machine and basic sewing supplies and materials for the table runner – charm squares, backing and batting.

Please bring your blocks if you are participating in the Signature Block Exchange.

Please bring 30 squares measuring 2 1/2″ from 3 different patriotic fabrics to share in our exchange.  Or bring more if you can – people are making some wonderful and creative projects from these seasonal square exchanges.

Bring your brown bag lunch if you stay through lunch AND if you are a member of any committee as we will have a Committee/Officer Meeting at noon in the middle room for about a half hour.

We will be following up on a lot of business – we will be planning quilt teachers for this year and next with our Teacher Committee.

We will be voting on the destination of our one-yard bags and jelly-roll quilts (and the quilts need continued production, backing, batting, binding…)

And, we will enjoy a program by Pam Brandt on the history of Barn Quilts.  Alabama has a trail on the web www.alabamabarnquilttrail.org you should check out if you travel anywhere in Alabama.

Hope to see you all later this month!  Please don’t forget to pay your dues to Treasurer Kathryn Shepard if you haven’t already done so.

Linda Walker

President

Dear Guild Members and Interested Others,

We hope to see you all at Pioneer Day this Saturday, April 9, from 9-3 at the Historic Fort Mitchell Site where the Guild is having a quilt display.  Some of you have volunteered to stay with the quilts, and some are working the sales table.  I hope you all get to the other activities and sites – I plan to be there early and all day and do it all!

I remind everyone to renew or start your membership with us.  I am happy to send the newsletter to anyone who is interested, member or not.  And if you are on the email list and no longer wish to be , please let me know and I will remove you – no hard feelings.  I am attaching a membership form so you can do it by mail or bring the form to the next meeting.  The benefits of membership include getting a GALA pin, being included in prize drawings every meeting, and getting a discount on Guild special workshop fees and supply fees.  During our last several meetings we have had a record number of new and returning visitors, and new members!  

Our next Guild meeting is on Saturday April 16th.  The morning workshop will be a sit and sew working on current Guild Projects. (Doors open at 9:30 and I’m there by 9:00 if you want to come early and help set up!)  We have more jelly roll quilt “kits” to be sewn, and turned in quilt tops that need to be pressed, and measured for batting, and have backings cut from fabric we have.  Also we have plenty of fabric to make more one-yard bags.  Those of you who learned how at our last meeting can teach anyone new this time.  We realize attendance may be low since Easter is the next day so we didn’t plan anything more extensive.

In the afternoon we will have Rebecca Bush from the Columbus Museum talk to us about the Museum’s quilt collection.

We will have a meeting at Noon of anyone who holds a Board or Committee position.  This will be held in the middle room, so please bring your bag lunch and a notepad.  We hope to do this more regularly if the world stays calmed down.  We plan to break at 12:40 so we are available to get the afternoon started.  We would appreciate a volunteer to be available to greet any newcomers arriving during that time as our Sunshine/Hospitality people will be at this noon meeting. 

Please remember to move some of your cars if the church lot gets full around lunch time to leave spaces for newcomers and those who need to park close to the door.  You can park in the lot at the intersection of 4th Ave and 16th Street which belongs to Uptown Jewelry and Pawn.  We have their permission.

We thank Toni Shah of the Citizen paper for her excellent write up of our placemat presentation, and for getting us into the paper’s ongoing calendar of events.

Juanita is collecting patterns for sewing machine covers, sewing aprons, and sewing machine “pockets” for underneath your machine.  She would like to use them for morning workshops.  She also wants to do a future workshop making mug rugs.  Patterns can be actual paper patterns she can copy, or website sources.

Those of you participating in signature blocks – please bring them to the April meeting.  Also those of us doing the Row By Row need to bring our quilts to the meeting.  If you cannot come, please contact the person you pass along to, and receive from, to arrange to get the quilts moved along.

When the meeting starts on the 16th, we would like to start with an “Icebreaker” and have everyone present a quick favorite tip on organization in your sewing area, so be thinking of something you can share (or show – if you have a prop).  Speaking of tips – I would like to restart “Tool of the Month” if we have a volunteer to take that on.  That person would present a tool to show everyone and briefly explain every month.  It can be a tool someone in the guild owns, or it can purchased and reimbursed by our treasurer (limit $15 please) and then given away as a prize in a drawing.  Let me know if you can coordinate this.

We need to start a Teacher Search Committee to arrange for an outside teacher to do an all-day workshop in later 2022, and plan also for 2023.  The guild should decide on a budget.  We have over $4000 in the treasury! We pay for the teacher’s travel and lodging and food, and teaching fee.  There are usually fees for kits and/or tools.  We charge guild members a reasonable fee to attend, and if there is room for outside attendees we charge more to them.  We need to determine a workshop location and are always open to your suggestions on inexpensive sites we can use that are conducive to such an event.  A hall with an elevated stage and adequate power supply would be ideal.

Carla has provided a brochure on a great site for a possible Guild Retreat.  We need to discuss this as a Guild and see what the interest is, then establish an organizing Committee to plan it for this year or next.

The VPs are planning an Ice Cream Social for our July meeting since we had such a great Tea last month.  We will get a calendar going of upcoming events since it seems like the world is more predictable now, and we hope that continues.

Please review the attached minutes from our last meeting as there are a lot of important items there. 

Hope to see all of you very soon!

Linda Walker, GALA President

Here are some pictures of all the beautiful quilts on display at the 2022 quilt exhibit.

Come to Pioneer Day and enjoy the quilt exhibit as well as other activities in Fort Mitchell on April 9th from 9am to 3pm.

Look for our billboards!