We celebrated two months of birthdays - July and August - with fat quarter lollipop gifts and a birthday song.
Vice-President Cindy updated the group about our current charity projects.
- Some members have made heart blocks for Quilts for Pulse to send to the Orlando MQG to make quilts for first responders and those affected by the Orlando shooting in June. Blocks are due this week. Quilts are due September 15th. Loree is collecting the blocks. Our guild has blocks to send and several quilts in the works.
- The opportunity to make a charity quilt for entry at QuiltCon East is underway. Wendi and Cindy purchased fabrics in the chosen colors a couple of months ago. A design has yet to be chosen; it must incorporate elements of scale - tiny, small, medium, large, larger, etc. After a brief discussion, Marcia said she'd be able to quilt it. This project is now our Q3 charity project instead of our Q4 project simply because of logistics. It takes longer to plan and craft a quilt. Please let Cindy know how you can help.
- Drawstring bags for our local Ronald McDonald House is an ongoing project and can be turned in anytime. We moved this to our Q4 charity project. All bags made and given by November meeting will be donated during the first part of December. Guests at RMHC use these bags for everything from toys to toiletries, especially the families going back and forth to visit patients in Sacred Heart Children's Hospital. Some members asked if the fabric choices must be limited children's prints. No, they'll be used by parents and children alike, so there is no specific theme or fabric requirement. Please use your stash. You can find Jeni Baker's Lined Drawstring Bag tutorial here.
- Although none of the principals were present, we believe Kira is quilting the Fisher House quilt - from Instagram pictures - and should be ready for the August presentation. This is the third year we've made and donated a quilt to their silent auction.
Sherri announced that Country Patchers was having a class on August 21 with Mary Molinari teaching the "Daybreak" pattern. See Sherri for details.
MQG is hosting a virtual Sew Day on August 21 using the new "Stories" platform on Instagram. Members were encouraged to get together to sew and to post videos on Instagram stories.
Pam, who attended this year's QuiltCon in Pasadena, advised even if you were unsuccessful in registering for QuiltCon East for a specific class or event, there is always the opportunity to purchase tickets at the door from other attendees whose plans changed. She said there is a big board with classes and phone numbers and it's first come/first served, and you work out payment details with that person.
Laraine previewed our November designer fabric swap. We will be swapping F8 cuts of Alison Glass quilting cottons, including her modern batiks (Handcrafted, Handcrafted II, and Indigo)! Low volume and text prints are NOT included becuase we recently hosted a low volume swap and a text-y fabric swap. ECMQG'rs may swap up to three yards of fabric in one yard increments. Fabrics must be cut into fat eighths. Rules and instructions for cutting and simplified instructions can be found here.
Nine scrappy umbrella blocks were received for July's block lottery, with Natalie being the winner! August did not have blocks because we were unable to meet.
Our first guest presenter was Loree who chose a very modern Orla Kiely inspired leaf. It uses drunkard's path units and squares in a palette of yellow and gray solids along with Kona Snow. Because this is a statement block, and the design of the quilt features alternate grid work, minimalism, and negative space, next month's winner(s) will only receive eight blocks. This is a big change. Depending on the number of blocks submitted, there MAY BE MULTIPLE winners! Download your templates and tutorial PDF here. Be sure to print at 100%.
There are several online solid color clubs. If you are looking to build your solid stash, this is a great way to access a large variety of typically fat quarter sized solids. Cost and quantity vary by club.
Natalie announced that we are seeking members to serve on the board for 2017. All board positions are open. Natalie will serve as Past President. Cindy and Wendi have both served two years in their current positions (the maximum as per the bylaws), and Laraine has only agreed to serve as our interim treasurer through the end of the year. The responsibilities of each board member can be found on the blog under the "About Us" tab.
Laraine gave the Treasurer's report. We are currently doing an internal audit as per the bylaws and we should have the results in a few weeks. We need a member who is not on the board who has financial experience to review the results. Linda said she would be willing.
A discussion was held about purchasing accounting software for the guild where the accounting/bookkeeping is stored in the Cloud and available to each member of the board. Since we came under the auspices of the Modern Quilt Guild, we are a 501(c)3 organization, which has certain financial and record-keeping requirements. Our financial records are in disarray and many of the records which did exist are missing. The board urges all past board and committee members to check their notebooks, totebags, folders, etc., for records belonging to the guild. Cindy is auditing the records we do have to reconstruct what is available. Some members questioned the board's actions in this regard. Natalie explained that the board took action in March and has been working since then to reconstruct our records.
The board has discussed purchasing Directors and Officers liability insurance to protect the guild. Members felt that with the size of our guild and the funds we have, D&O insurance was not necessary.
We have learned that the Treasurer position requires diligent record keeping in order for our guild to properly report income, expenses, and donations. There is a need for basic money handling procedures and oversight, which were put into effect in March. Several members requested a monthly Treasurer's report. The board agreed that this is a priority. Carol moved that we purchase financial accounting software before the end of the month. The motion was seconded and approved unanimously.
August door prizes - Ticket(s) were placed in the bag of your choice for a chance to win a specific book or item. We had several lucky winners!
Swap and Challenge Captain Laraine announced our annual Anniversary Scrap Swap! This year is our 5th anniversary.
Several members participated in Show and Tell.
Respectfully submitted,
Wendi, with additional note taking courtesy of Bobbi
ECMQG Secretary 2016
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