DMAQG Piecetime News - January 2014

The Des Moines Area Quilt Guild has accomplished a great deal in the past 30 years. Quilts, place mats, clothing protectors, and pillowcases have provided much comfort for others over the years. We have made and donated items to our charity auction to aide in the fight against breast cancer and heart disease. We provide education to children and adults, and best of all we have the finest Quilt Show in America! I am confident that in 2014 we will "Continue our Legacy" of service to our community and the people of Iowa.

2014 President's Challenge

Color it yellow, red, blue, or green

These are the wondrous colors I want to be seen.

Choose one color or choose them all

Go ahead and have a ball.

36 inches by 36 inches is the size

Do it in three layers to win the prize.

Plant, animal, a building to view

What you include is up to you.

Pieced, painted or appliqué

You can do it any old way.

So let your imagination go unbound

Whatever you desire, how does that sound?

I'm looking forward to December six

For on that day we make our eight picks.

So I close now so you can go buy

Some great fabric that is candy to the eye.

I also challenge each of you to help increase membership to the DMAQG. Grab a friend and invite them to join you in attending one of our monthly meetings. Lets fill up the church!

Mildred Agena

President

What Would You Hang

on a Wooden Peg?

I would like to thank everyone who entered a quilt in the 2013 President's Challenge. They were all wonderful and I wish all eleven could be entered in the ultimate challenge at AQS, Grand Rapids.

After some careful deliberation, our membership selected the following eight quilts.

2013 President's Challenge Winners

Jude D'Iapico - "Ye Old Pump"

Peggy Kirk - "Ski Poles"

Janet Pittman - "English Country Garden"

Lynn Randall - "Peg 'o My Heart"

Barbara Riggs - "A Hearth Story"

Katherine Roccasecca - "Ready to Ride"

Pat Weber - "A Place to Plant and Grow"

Deanna Wilson - "Musical Theme"

Congratulations to all!

Please stay tuned to the website as the pictures will be posted soon.

Peggy Kirk

2013 President

Directors at Large News

We all enjoy that cup of coffee or lemonade and perhaps a cookie or two after our Guild meetings. This is a time to visit with old friends or make new ones.

We are needing volunteers to help make this happen!

In February, we need volunteers to provide treats for the afternoon and evening meetings. In March, we need volunteers to provide treats for the afternoon meeting. In July and September we need volunteers to provide treats for the evening meetings.

We encourage small groups to volunteer. Individuals are also welcome to volunteer. We can match you up with other indivdiuals who are willing to provide treats.

Please contact a Director at Large at our January Guild meetings or complete the sign-up sheet that will be passed around at the meetings.

Thank you for your generosity and support!

Coleen Hayes, Doris Coady, Myra Waggenspack, & Suzanne Lemon

Directors at Large

DMAQG Spring Retreat

"The Quilting Games"

April 10-13, 2014

Please join us for the first Quilting Games Retreat. That's right there will be games, games and more games and the prizes will be strips for more quilting.

Part of our games will include a White Elephant Steal. This exciting game encourages you to exchange your 'treasure' for a new treasure.

We will be able to welcome only 32 guests this year and the retreat will be held at Wesley Woods Camp outside of Indianola, in the main lodge West Dining Room.

Registration forms will be available at the January Guild meetings and then posted online. The fee is still an economical $140 for members and $165 for nonmembers.

For more information please contact Terry at 515-287-6734 or terryannholt@yahoo.com.

See you at the games!

PS: If you have donations for door prizes for the retreat please contact one of the committee members or call Terry Holt at 287-6734 for pick-up. Thank you.

Terry Holt

Retreat Chair

A Big Thank You

Thank you and roses to all who generously gave of their time, talent, and money to help us pull off the fall retreat. A special thanks goes to the Blue Ribbon Women who are members of the Itchn' to Stitch small group. I couldn't pull it off without their faithful support. You make me look good, sisters!

A very special, special, thank you to Vicky Konrady of the Quilt Block who gave a demonstration at the fall retreat everyone is still talking about. Vicky is soooo professional and competent. We just loved having her come and share her ideas.

Two other ladies, among so many who help us out, that we would like to give a special bouquet to are Nan of Nan's Nummies and Margaret Simmons. They both are great supporters of our countryside get-away retreats.

Terri Holt

Retreat Chair

Wanted: 2015 Retreat Committee

The Blue Ribbon Retreat Women will be retiring after the fall 2014 Retreat. Please think about being part of a committee that will head-up our retreat events. When a group takes on the task everyone does a part and no one does it all.

Shared responsibilities build lifelong friendships. We would love to mentor new committee members in the fall so that by the time spring rolls around you would be old hands at the retreat process.

There is an up-to-date notebook of information on the "how-to's", ready-made computer generated forms, and lots of support from us. I hope you will consider this opportunity. Please feel free to talk to one of the present committee members about the commitment and their experiences.

Terri Holt

Retreat Chair

2014 Quilt Show News

This year our quilt show theme is "A Symphony of Quilts." Think about "Whatever Makes Your Heart Sing"' For instance, our theme for the raffle quilt is "Climbing Jacob's Ladder." Several of you picked up packets at our December Tea. Please get those back to Martha Henrichs by the end of January. You cannot bring them to the church so please call Martha 515-277-2357 to make arrangements for pickup.

Barb Eckoff will again have a display of Treasured Quilts. Her theme this year is "string quilts." These do not need to be old or antique quilts. I have started making a string quilt and it is so much fun. No matching anywhere! Of course, antique ones are needed.

The show committee has been formed and some committee members have already started their work. The entire committee will start working together in February.

Many of your questions have been addressed along with other aspects of the show. We are very excited about our upcoming show, and we both feel a strong need for our DMAQG show to maintain its own identity, even within the larger AQS show. We will be communicating the latest show information at Guild meetings and in future newsletter articles.

Kathie Anderson and Deanna Wilson

2014 Quilt Show Co-Chairs

Community Giving Report

Welcome to a new year for Community Giving and the DMAQG. Our focus this year is the YMCA Supportive Housing Campus, located on SW 9th in Des Moines. This facility provides 140 efficiency units for both men and women. The campus provides many supportive services to these men and women such as case management, peer support groups, employment guidance, job training and referral to other services. The goal of the campus is to help these previously homeless individuals move on to a better life on their own.

Each unit has a small kitchenette, closet, private restroom, dresser, and a twin bed. Basic bedding of sheets, pillowcases, and a cotton spread are provided. Our project for the year is to donate twin-sized quilts to the residents of the YMCA Supportive Housing Campus. Residents will be able to take their quilt with them when they move on to the next chapter of their life.

This project will provide lots of opportunities for those who love piecing, those who love to quilt, and those who love sewing on bindings. Of course, you are welcome to do it all! So check your stash, or check in with us at our table at the monthly Guild meetings for fabric, pieced tops, or quilting and binding "kits." We will have a limited supply at the January meetings, but will build our "stash" in the months to come.

Thank you all for your commitment to Community Giving.

Phyllis Blood and Sandy Lanning

Community Giving Co-Chairs

Education Outreach

2013 Creative Vision Report

Creative Vision Quilt Group is one of the projects of the Education Outreach Committee. This quilting project in the inner city was started 24 years ago and has been going strong since. The support of the Guild and

individual Guild members have enabled this program to grow and flourish.

The teachers and students had another great year at Creative Visions, with 26 students resulting in 451 student contacts. This Wednesday afternoon group has from 10-18 students each week. One of the students, Fatuma, did not miss one of the 40 classes held this year!

The women finished 89 quilts at Creative Visions in 2013 and 10 large batts were used to make the quilts. The Guild helps fund this program as part of the education outreach. The fabric for this program, as well as for the Kids' Classes in the summer and the State Fair Sew-In, comes from the generous donations of Guild members who leave fabric at Creekside or deliver it to the Donation Fabric Closet at Sharon Meisenheimer's home. Many more batts are purchased for those two additional programs.

In addition, six new school model sewing machines were purchased in 2013 with money given as a memorial to Jill Reber's mother, Fran Wiseman. Having machines that are reliable is incredibly helpful as we work with children and adults who do not have the experience necessary to trouble shoot if they are having machine difficulties.

We are indebted to the Guild for making it possible to do this project at Creative Vision and reach out to these women, most of whom are immigrants. Since most of the women have large families, and have networks of friends and family, we know these quilts are put to a good use. We think the opportunity for immigrant women to have a place to practice a little English, and be with American women who welcome them is invaluable to help them feel a little integrated into American society. This is an opportunity to be with caring English speakers who accept them - just the way they are.

None of this would be possible without the help of our Guild. Thank you, thank you, thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

Sharon Meisenheimer, Jill Reber, & Kathy Safris

Education Outreach Committee Co-Chairs

January: Dawn Cavanaugh

dawncavanaugh.com

Since 1994, Dawn Cavanaugh's custom freehand quilting has been winning awards for clients of her business, Rockin' Bobbin Quilting, Inc. Her work has appeared in publications such as Century of Quilts, Quilter's Newsletter Magazine, American Patchwork & Quilting, Leisure Arts, House of White Birches, and Fons and Porter's Love of Quilting publications and TV shows. Dawn also designs patterns, most recently contributing to 505 Quilt Blocks by Meredith Publishing.

She has taught at Machine Quilter's Showcase for ten years, plus Longarm University, MQ Innovations, Quilting the Quilt, Quilting on the Waterfront, Canadian Machine Quilters' Expo, the Australian Machine Quilters Showcase, and several regional guilds. Judging machine-quilted projects in quilt shows has also kept her busy. In addition, Dawn is the National Director of Education for APQS, Carroll, Iowa.

Programs

Tuesday, January 28, 2014

West Des Moines United Methodist Church

8th & Grand, West Des Moines

1:00 p.m.: Judging for Yourself

7:00 p.m.: Quilting Makes the Quilt

Workshops

Wednesday, January 29, 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

QUILTING FEATHERS WHEN YOU ARE A CHICKEN (1/2 day class)

Feathers are the most sought after designs for quilts today. For machine quilters they can be very intimidating! Spend time with Dawn learning simple approaches to creating beautiful feathers on your quilt and you'll soon say "I can!" instead of " I can't". Dawn walks you through basic principles for feather quilting and introduces several methods so that you can find a feather technique that works for you. Discover how to relax and let your quilting feathers take flight!

Wednesday, January 29, 1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.

FEATHERS AS FILLERS (1/2 day class)

So you've figured out how to do a feather. and now you're ready to take that knowledge up a notch and learn how to make that feather curl, grow and swirl. Dawn shows the secrets to correct feather orientation, how to control your feather turns, and how to make the feathers look graceful and flowing instead of lumpy and clumsy. Once you know how to properly divide the space and let your feather branches "play nice", you'll never have a naked spot on your quilt again!

Thursday, January 30, 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

BACKGROUND GRID WORK FILLERS

As we quilters become more savvy, we look for even more ways to make our quilting special. Learn how to create intricate background fills that look complex, but are really a breeze to quilt, with Dawn's simple instructions. From diamond crosshatching to clematis leaves and tiny feathers, you'll discover a whole new way to look at background quilting.

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Registration

For any workshop, you may mail in your registration form along with your registration fee to Ann Reed, 681 61st Street, Des Moines, IA 50312. We will also be taking reservations at our meetings on the fourth Tuesday of each month. If you have any questions you can contact Nan Earll, nanquilter@gmail.com or 515-321-4949, or Ann Reed, 515-276-6005.

Location

Workshops will be held at West Des Moines Christian Church at 4501 Mills Civic Parkway in West Des Moines. To get there from Interstate 35, exit at Mills Civic Parkway, exit 70. Turn east onto Mills Civic Parkway and drive about 0.9 of a mile. The West Des Moines Christian Church will be on the north side of Mills Civic Parkway. We will meet in Building #3 which is the one closest to Prairie Life Fitness.

In Memoriam

It is with deep sorrow that we bring you the news of the following death:

Jane Johnson, former long-time Guild member, passed away on December 10, 2013.

Our Website

Please stop by and visit our guild website often at www.dmaqg.org for news and information about DMAQG. Look for the photo albums in the blog from the photographers we've had documenting events for us! Also remember to check the calendar to keep up-to-date on all Guild meetings and workshops.

If you have anything to contribute to the website, please send it to elainevoyce@mchsi.com.

Newsletter

The Piecetime newsletter is published electronically twice a month. The Programs portion of the newsletter is sent on the Friday before the Newcomers monthly meeting held on the third Tuesday of the month. The News portion is sent out the Friday before the Guild's monthly meeting held on the fourth Tuesday of the month.

If you would like to submit news or articles, send them to ktpavlik1@gmail.com.

About Us

The mission of the Des Moines Area Quilters Guild is to stimulate an interest in quilts and quilt making, educate its members, provide for the interchange of information, and encourage community giving.

Meetings

The monthly meetings of the Des Moines Area Quilters Guild are held January through October on the fourth Tuesday of each month at the West Des Moines United Methodist Church, 720 Grand Avenue, West Des Moines.

We have an afternoon meeting and program at 1:00 p.m. and an evening meeting and program at 7:00 p.m.

Things to bring:

■ Name tag (required to win a door prize)

■ Membership renewal form
■ Workshop registration form
■ Items for show and tell
■ Items for Community Giving