Bainbridge Island Modern Quilt Guild                                              January 8, 2017 Meeting Minutes
Welcome to a new year of modern quilting!

2017 Member Introductions :  
  • Everyone shared their quilting interests and role in the guild;
  • 23 members and guests attended;
  • Welcome new members!  Thank you for joining us Callie, Jo, Nancy and Elizabeth.
 Guest Speaker: Susan Skalak of Esther’s  
  • Susan learned about BIMQG and the modern quilting movement at our Quilt Festival.
  • Susan aims to fill niche of modern fashion and quilting fabrics from small companies that is not already filled by other local shops.  New product lines will include Dear Stella, Anna Griffin, Carolyn Friedlander, a line of Japanese Fabrics, organic fabrics, natural dyes and natural fabrics for dying.  
  • Esters has a new area for classes and purchased six Baby Lock machines through Quality Sewing and Vac.  There is also a Juki table top machine with sewing templates and a felting machine.  Machines will be available for classes or sewers may rent time.   Jenn Rhodes will teach an improvisational quilting class.
  • Esther's is offering 10% off our purchases on guild meeting days.
  • Esther's will have second Friday sew-ins for $10.00 (BYOB).  On Wednesday Januaryn18th, there will be an Alabama Chanin group.   
  • On June 29th 2017, a cruise group of forty quilters from Australia, led by Michelle Marvig plus speaker, Jason Yenter from In The Beginning, will be at Esther's.  We will be invited to meet them during lunch.  
  • An alterations business will take up part of current store's floor space. (A wall will be built.)
Retreat:  
  • Next weekend at Harmony Hill Retreat Center, Union Wa.  Saturday, January 14, 9:00 am through Sunday January 15, 4:00 pm.    Includes Saturday lunch and dinner, and Sunday breakfast and lunch.
  • http://www.harmonyhill.org/about-us/getting-here/
  • Fifteen people are signed up and two more people are interested.   Kerry will find out this week if more people can attend and contact those who are interested.  
Meeting minutes:  
  • Correction to December meeting minutes:  Only part of the dues go to the national MQG, not 100%.  The guild's dues vary with the size of the guild.
  • Minutes will come out within the week after the meeting
Brief Topics:
  • REMINDER:  Dues are due.  $35   If you have not paid, contact Kerry at to renew ASAP.
  • Raffle blocks to Susan
  • Membership information & Communication:  Deb would like to send out a member roster.  If you don't want your email and phone information shared with guild members, let Deb know. 
  • Start curating ideas for next year’s raffle quilt…Pinterest option?  We used Facebook last year to share ideas for the raffle quilt.  Pinterest may be a better way to organize photos of suggestions  If you have a suggestion that is a magazine picture, bring it to a meeting and someone will scan and post it.
  • Ontario, CA exhibit:  The show at the Ontario Museum of History and Art ends 1/27/17.  Erika will let participants know their share of the return postage costs when she finds out.  
 In-Depth Topics:
  • The BIMQG Mission and 2017 
  • “The Bainbridge Island Modern Quilt Guild is a non-profit group organized and operated exclusively for charitable and educational purposes.
  • The Guild will
        ●    Develop and encourage the art of modern quilting, 
        ●    Work with other guilds and groups with a similar purpose, 
        ●    Encourage new quilters and other fiber artists interested in nontraditional fiber projects, 
        ●    Offer educational opportunities through classes, workshops and sharing of information, 
        ●    Support and provide opportunity for “charity” or other works that provide back to the community through the use of modern quilting skills.”
Deb’s goal is to foster inspiring each other and having fun.  Sew, learn, enjoy.
 Challenge!  
  • Red, White and Blue Challenge Details:
    • Red, white and blue.  
    • Modern.  Consider modern design, construction methods and/or fabrics.
    • size approx 24" X 24" or less.  
    • Should be quilted in some way.  
    • Due at the May meeting.
  • When/Where
    • Challenge quilts will display during 4th of July celebration on Bainbridge Island, probably at Esther’s.  
    • And, hang with American Heros quilts at BIMQG Festival in September.
  • This is the first of two BIMQG challenges this year.  The second has not yet been determined.  
  • Erika will find out what time slots are available at BPA (Bainbridge Performing Arts) so we can begin planning for another show there. (Subject of the next BPA show to be determined later.) 
Erika won the door prize! ( Prize donated by Kathy Dwyer)
  Show and Tell
  • Deb:  an antique 1930's grandmother's flower garden quilt, a hexagon Christmas pillow she made, and “The Quilter's Planner”.
  • Erika: "101 Books To Read Before You Grow Up", which was written by her daughter in law and whose first edition sold out quickly.
  • Linda: improvisational quilt top 
  • Elizabeth: Gwen Marston's latest book
  • Kerry: two quilts she began working on in 1993.  One, with modern-looking fabrics, was from a mystery class and the other is made from card-trick blocks made by a round-robin group, which Kerry arranged in a modern lay-out.
  • Marla:  improvisational quilt made with hand-dyed fabric in hourglass blocks in golds, red-oranges and blues
  • Kathy Mack:  Small quilt of 50 improvisational rectangular blocks in reds and pinks.  This quilt will go to Quiltcon  and hung in Pipa's in Port Townsend as part of the Surface Design Group's show last summer.  Represents Kathy's life at 50.
  • Kathy Mack sold a quilt at Northwinds Gallery in Port Townsend and encouraged members to look at this gallery's web page, which posts calls for art periodically.  http://northwindarts.org/news/call-for-artists/
  • Kathy Dwyer:  Mahjong table top quilt she machine quilted in circular spiral using a walking foot as described here:   http://www.thequiltingedge.com/2013/02/theres-more-than-one-way-to-quilt-spiral.html Kathy also showed a Christmas Elf top.
  • Callie: four small quilts, including one from fabric she hand dyed, a flag quilt, and a star quilt
Congratulations to BIMQG quilters accepted in QuiltCon! (Are there any others?)
  • Marla Varner:  Two quilts
  • Kathy Greer: Two quilts
  • Kathy Mack:  One quilt


FYI Events: MQG Resources to Inspire:
  • Modern Quilt Guild website: modernquiltguild.com   Chock full of info…tutorials, monthly BOM, a monthly email newsletter letting you know what’s going on (our Marla’s picture was in December’s newsletter!)

Next Meeting and sew-in: February 12, 2017  (Note change of location and time)  
Treasurer's Report      November 30, 2016

Balance 10/31/16                                                    $12,601.25

INCOME
Deposits for 2017 dues                                            $    455.00
Deposits for retreat                                                  $    410.00
TOTAL INCOME                                                      $    865.00


EXPENSES
Misc. administrative expenses                                 $     45.62
Payment to Harmony Hill for retreat                          $ 3,010.00
TOTAL EXPENSES                                                  $ 3,055.62

Balance 11/30/16                                                      $10,410.63
___________________________________________
Treasurer's Report     December 31, 2016

Balance 11/30/16                                                    $10,410.63

INCOME
Deposits for 2017 dues & retreat                             $    715.00
TOTAL INCOME                                                      $    715.00

EXPENSES
Payment to Harmony Hill for retreat                        $    640.00
TOTAL EXPENSES                                                 $    640.00

Balance 12/31/16                                                   $10,485.63