Author: Heart in Hand

President’s Message

Hello Thumb Butte Quilters!

Our year is quickly coming to an end in a BIG WAY!

I hope that everyone can make the next 2 meetings, because they will be jam packed with fun!  In May, we will be having the President’s challenge ‘Name that Tune’ quilt reveals.    The quilts will be around the room and you will get a chance to guess the name of the song that inspired the quilt.  Prizes will be given out to participants and the person who guesses the correct songs/quilts.  Turn that radio on and start listening!  I have had a sneak peek at them and I know it will be a fun event.

In addition to the President’s Challenge, we will have a silent auction.  This isn’t just any silent auction…. this is for quilts that have all the pieces, parts and patterns to complete!  Other goodies will be available as well.  I think we have well over 40 items!  Come prepared with cash or check.

Are you still working on you quilt show quilts??  The May meeting is the final day to turn in your entry forms, but remember your quilt doesn’t have to be complete until the day before the show opens!  You can do it!!!  We will be having signup sheets for quilt show duties, so get involved and have some fun. Kathleen Bond will be doing a demo on how to add a quick sleeve and label to your quilts.  After the meeting, Carrie Casto will be doing a workshop on ‘Best Practices’.  She is a fabulous teacher and I think everyone can benefit from her knowledge and skill.

Our June meeting will feature Lindsey Neill of Pen + Paper designs.  She is young, fun and very inspirational.  We are lucky to have her so close to Prescott!  She will be doing a fun workshop on Forest Fungi!  I’m a huge Pen + Paper fan, so I hope we get a big turnout for her lecture/trunk show and the workshop.  I’ll be there!  We will also be handing out the quilt show packets so it’s important for you to come if you have a quilt in the show….and I know that means everyone will be there!!

As our year comes to an end, we also have some housekeeping to do.  Our volunteer board members will be stepping down and opening the door for a new board.  The nominating committee has worked hard and SO MANY PEOPLE have already volunteered to be on the next board.  I know you will be thrilled at who is stepping up!  We will have the signup board in May, so you can take a look at who is wanting to volunteer and if you are interested you are also welcome to add your name.  At the June meeting we will be voting on the next year’s budget and the new 2023/2024 board members.

In closing, I want to invite anyone who has volunteered in some way to the guild to participate in an outside activity on Thursday, June 22^nd at 1pm – 3pm.  This is not a guild sponsored event, but just a crafty, fun way to end the year.  I will be hosting a paint party and a location to be determined, based on the attendance.  The cost is $35 and will be put on for us by the Caffeinated Crafter.  If you belong to the guild and did anything at all to volunteer (bring snacks, sit with the opportunity quilt, paid dues, etc)  you are invited.  RSVP to Dawnell by the May meeting. 

See you at the May meeting!!!

Dawnell Muecke – President

Membership

Welcome three new members in April:  Lori Allaire, Mary Ellen Coe and Leslie Gellerman. Please make them feel welcome.

Don’t forget your TBQG $35.00 dues for 2023 – 2024 are due by June 15 (or the June meeting on June 12).

Angela Smith – Chair

Workshops

Carrie Casto is teaching a half day class in May on “Best Practices” as a beginner quilter. Some experienced quilters have problems from time to time and would probably benefit from going back to the basics. 

In this class you will improve your accuracy in: rotary cutting, finding your quarter inch and scant quarter inch, pressing, piecing, half-square triangles and borders.  

Check it out! on the Website under Programs/Workshops.

Also check out our June Speaker Lindsey Neill.  Her trunk show featuring “Precision Piecing” will inspire and give you ideas for future projects.  

See you this month for the “Fun Day”.

Kathleen Bond – Vice President  

ways and means

Silent Auction

Don’t forget at the May 8^th guild meeting we will present a silent auction with over 60 items to bid on. This is a way to support your guild, challenge yourself to completing an unfinished project and purchasing new products. For those high bidders keep in mind we can only accept cash or checks.

Liz Hart – Chair

Hostesses

May Hostesses are: Angela Smith, Pat Noel, Susie Opdahl, Pam Peter, Sharla Peterson, Ruthe Petty, Sally Plummer, Edythe Pries, Ann Ramsey, Zoe Charon, and Carol Rabbit.

If you cannot attend the meeting, when it is your turn to be a hostess by bringing a treat, please arrange to trade with someone. Plan to arrive early for setup and stay for cleanup. 

Birthdays

Birthday celebrants – When it’s your birthday month, bring a wrapped gift suitable for a quilter, something you would like to receive, with a value of at least $10.  

May Birthdays — Diana Atkins, Marie Gniazdowski, Angela Smith, Gayle DeBoom, Ruthe Petty, Julie Eastman, Cathi O’Neill, Karen Johnson, and Suzy Davidson.

OPPORTUNITY QUILT

We are nearing the end of our Opportunity Quilt fundraiser! Currently we have earned $3297 of our $4500 goal, and that puts us at 73% there!
May is going to be a very busy month! Thank you to all the volunteers that have signed up to help with our final push!

The quilt will be shown at these May events:
May 1st – Lonesome Valley Quilt Guild evening meeting
May 8th – TBQG meeting
May 9th – Chino Valley Quilt Guild meeting
May 13th & 14th – Winey Cats at Granite Creek Vineyard Mother’s Day Weekend in Chino Valley
May 26th & 27th – Prescott Antique Show at Findlay Toyota Center
Our grand finale will be at our very own “Bloom Where You are Planted” Quilt Show on June 16th & 17th at Prescott High School.  Drawing will be on June 17th, so buy or sell your tickets by then!
I would like to thank everyone that has participated in our Opportunity Quilt fundraiser and know that I greatly appreciate your support! It is fun to be a part of this great guild!
Kathy Spry – Opportunity Quilt Chair

quilt show

We are coming up on less than two months until set up, and two days of oohs and aahs as visitors  wander through the many quilts on display.

The Marketplace committee spent an entire day counting, categorizing and marking quilts, pin cushions, steering wheel covers, totes, cozies, project bags and tissue holders, etc., for sale during the two-day show.  

We had a real opportunity to see examples of incredible talent from our members!  Who would have thought a candy bag could be turned into a sturdy zippered bag?  Or, a yardstick could become an adorable wooden tray?  Just wait until you see the offerings of the Marketplace!  Great creativity, Members!

Show meetings will be held weekly in the last few weeks before the show.  Our next meeting is 9:30 Thursday morning, May 4 at the Stoneridge Community Center.  

We still need volunteers to work the show.  If you haven’t signed up yet for show shifts, please do so at May’s Guild Meeting.  No one person makes the show a success, it takes a ‘village,’ or in our case, a Guild to accomplish it!  

Nan DeChant – Chair

Marketplace

Just a reminder that we need your items for the Quilt show “Marketplace”.  We have received wonderful things from you all and cannot thank you enough for all you have done.

The show is for 2 days so we really want to have enough to keep people buying for both days.  We still have no items that have masculine fabric,  we know the ladies will buy for their men, lol.

Any items that you enjoy making we would love to have.  Also remember it you have done a “Bloom Where You Are Planted” quilt, let us display or sell it for you.  

Any group or individual who is getting a basket ready for the raffle we need your baskets a.s.a.p. to get it wrapped and ready for sale.  Remember there is a drop off at my house – 3690 N. Pleasant View Dr. Prescott Valley.

Thank you so much.

Cathy Day and Kristine White – Co-Chairs

Small Quilt Auction

We will again have a container at the May guild meeting for your small quilt donations for the Small Quilt Auction.  So far we have received almost 20 small entries.  Our goal is to have a minimum of 40.  So we welcome more of your small quilts to sell for the benefit of our guild and its programs which we all enjoy so much.  Remember, the auction itself is on Saturday, June 17 at 2:00 pm.

If you are working on one and not quite finished, please let us know and we will work out a time to get it.  

Sheryl McLain, Olivia Turnham, and Arlene Morris – Co-Chairs

Quilt Camp

President’s Message

Hello Thumb Butte Quilters!

I can’t believe it’s already April!  We have so many things planned for the last 3 meetings of the 2022/2023 TBQ quilt year that I don’t want anyone to miss out on the fun.

I hope everyone enjoyed Jeanie Ehlers’ presentation at the March meeting.  She had some wonderful tips for quilters’ ergonomics and so did our members!  I have already put some of them into practice, because I am notorious for not getting up and moving once, I start sewing.   I would have typed this message earlier in the morning, but I was busy stretching my hands before typing! 

Debbie Gansberger will be the speaker in April.  I can’t wait to see how to foundation paper piece and not remove the paper.  It looks like it’s not even paper you have to sew on, but a foundation!  Come and see how it’s done and then attend the workshops to get some practice. 

April is also the month that you need to turn in your quilt show entries.  These quilts do not have to be finished…so you still have time to SEW, SEW and SEW some more!  They also don’t have to be quilts you finished in the last 2 years.  I’m sure that every one of us has a quilt that we are proud to show off.  Please enter yours!  We would love to have several from all the members!  Turn in those forms!!

May and June will be jam packed with activity at the meetings.  So be prepared to have FUN!

In closing, I want to remind everyone of a few important events coming up.

• Turn in your quilt show entry forms
• Are you making a small quilt to donate for the small quilt show auction at the show?  Signup and complete the quilt before the June show
• Finish your president’s challenge quilt if you are participating and turn it in at the April meeting
• Buy tickets for the Guild’s Opportunity Quilt. The tickets make great gifts!
• Read the website for more updates and don’t miss out on the fun!

See you in April!!!

Dawnell Muecke – President

PS – Have you ever seen how hard the ladies at the company store work?  They go to the storage location every month and lug all of those books, bins and fabric to the meeting and back.  If you see an open parking spot right by the front door…leave it for them so they don’t have to slug all the stuff from a faraway parking spot.

MEMBERSHIP

We want to welcome our new members, Sami Logan, Linda Bagby, Diann “Dede” Erceg and Jimi Henagar.  Be sure to give them a warm greeting in April and ask them if you can answer any questions for them.

Angela Smith – Chair

ways and Means

Opportunity Quilt

We have raised $3094 toward our goal of $4500 and that puts us at about 69% of our goal.  Keep up the great work and I know we will get there!

I will be taking our quilt to the Chino Valley Quilters Guild meeting on May 9^th.  

“Eggstravaganza,” a new outdoor event featuring egg hunts, inflatables, art vendors, food trucks and more will be held on April 1^st from 10am – 1 pm at the Prescott Valley Civic Center. This is a new event, so be sure to check it out!

I will have sign-ups for the following events at our April meeting, so I will be looking for volunteers to work 2-hour shifts.   This is a great way to get to know your fellow guild members while helping fund TBQG!  I could really use your help as we only have about 2 months left to raise money for our Opportunity Quilt.    

“Antique Show and Vintage Market” will hold their event on Friday and Saturday, May 26-27^th and we still need sign-ups for Saturday.  This will be a great opportunity to showcase our quilt in the Findlay Toyota Center so, hopefully ticket sales will be great!

“Winey Cats at Granite Creek Mother’s Day Weekend Craft Show” will be on Saturday and Sunday , May 13-14^th.  What a nice way to relax and enjoy your weekend!

Our grand finale will be our very own “Bloom Where You are Planted Quilt Show” on June 16-17^th at Prescott High School. This will be our last chance to sell tickets, and the drawing will be on June 17^th.  Good luck to all those tickets holders!

Please check the dates for our events and sign up to volunteer a couple of hours if you can! Thanks to all of you for your support!

Kathy Spry – Opportunity Quilt Chair

Hostesses

April  Hostesses are: Patty McClearn, Joan McGivern, Sheryl McLain, Melodie Merino, Sandy Mitchell, Linda Morriston, Connie Muecke, Dawnell Muecke, Jenne Kern, Ellen Baker, and Sharon Harris.

If you cannot attend the meeting, when it is your turn to be a hostess by bringing a treat, please arrange to trade with someone. Plan to arrive early for setup and stay for cleanup. 

Birthdays

Birthday celebrants – When it’s your birthday month, bring a wrapped gift suitable for a quilter, something you would like to receive, with a value of at least $10.  

April Birthdays — Pam Peters, Susan Sweet, Carolyn Seagraves-Wright, and Lois Doerr.

Newcomers

Our April Newcomer Gathering will be a ROAD TRIP on Monday, April 17  to Phoenix to visit some Quilt shops in the Valley. Mark your calendar, and save your money! We’ll have more info about times, meeting place etc. at the April 10th meeting!

Deb Johnson – Chair

community service

Adult Center Display

TBQ displays members’ quilts at the Prescott Adult Center on Rosser.  Please stop by to see the current beautiful display by Lorraine Owen.

Handmade Hugs

Our next workday will be Saturday, April 1, from 9 – 12.  There will be kits for baby blankets and quilt tops. We meet at Stoneridge Community Center in Prescott Valley.  Stop by to pick up kits…or drop off completed ones. Otherwise, bring your machines and join us.

If anyone has any sizable/useable batting pieces they would like to donate, please bring them to the next meeting. Please, no high loft.

Happy stitching!

Faith Cheney – Chair

quilt Show

We are in full swing for our Quilt Show coming up June 16^th and 17th.  If you are entering a quilt, you will need to fill out your entry form a.s.a.p.  It can be dropped off at Quilt Works in the Frontier Village shopping center, Prescott or bring your entry forms to our meeting in April. 

Start thinking about doing a basket for our basket raffle.  It can be small or large.  Pat Noel and Kathleen Semerau are collecting them. If you’re in a small group think about everyone pitching in to make one.  They can also be donated by an individual. 

Our Marketplace is getting a lot of great things but we still really need your help.   We are loaded on quilts but all other items are still needed. If you have any time that you could make some of your favorite things that we could sell, it would really help. We would LOVE to see your imagination go wild; LOL. 

We only have 2 ½ months before the witching hour!  How time flies.  Thank you ahead of time for all you are doing to help out the Guild.

Cathy Day

If you are like the three of us, you are “knee deep” in projects  for our  upcoming quilt show.  

You may bring your small quilts for the small quilt auction to the April guild meeting.  We will have a container for them and a sign-up card  for you to sign.  Your quilts will be due by Tuesday May 8th guild meeting.  The auction will take place on Saturday June 17th at 2:00.  You won’t want to miss it.

Thanks and happy sewing.

Sheryl McLain, Olivia Turnham and Arlene Morris

We have two urgent needs for the quilt show:

* Someone to head up White Glove Hostess recruitment.  This position gives assistance to show guests, answers questions regarding the Guild, Displayed Quilts and Show activities & events.  White Gloves are Quilt Show Ambassadors!

* Water Sales.  Pretty simple, sell bottles of water for $1 each.  This is a ‘sit down’ position, for those who have difficulty standing for lengths of time.  

Deb Johnson has created sign up sheets for all needed positions/functions for the two-day show.  Each signup is a two-hour commitment.  If you would like to volunteer, it need not be at one function or position, but can be spread out over multiple positions during your time at the show.

I remember my Thumb Butte Quilt Show experiences beginning in 2019.  I spent two days at the show volunteering at Raffle Baskets, Water Sales, Check out, etc.  It broke up the day and exposed me to all the various activities within the Guild and Show.  

We are still needing Marketplace merchandise!  We will need enough inventory to carry us through the show’s two days.  The Marketplace Committee is looking for items you enjoy, or zero in on when attending other craft or quilt shows’ Marketplaces.  Depending on the items, we don’t need hundreds, but 12-18 pieces for each day’s display of goods for sale, providing us with a nice variety of items for sale.

We will have an adequate number of ‘Squares’ for Credit Card sales.  The Squares will be attached to personal cellphones of Committee members.  Credit card sales will be accepted for larger purchases.

Remember, We “Bloom Where You Are Planted,” and we need to be in full bloom on June 16 & 17!  Don’t second guess yourself on whether your creation if ‘good enough’.  To a non-quilter, it may be the most beautiful quilt he/she has ever seen!  Spread your love of quilting in each of your creations!

Nan DeChant, Co-Chair