Please support our local and area quilt shops during this stay-at-home time. They are offering online shopping, phone orders, and curbside pickup. Check their websites or call. If no answer, leave a message because they may not be in the store during their “normal” hours but are checking messages. We certainly want them to all be here when we are able to go out and shop again.

Also support our guild members who are long arm quilters or have other quilting businesses. Member, Lori Dickman, is offering a Spring Mystery Quilt on her website. Click HERE for step 1, HERE for step 2, HERE for step 3.

Stay safe and healthy!

Thank you for everyone who came out to the March neo-natal sew-in. The winners of the most popular NICU quilts are:

1st: Ying Chi – Crayon quilt
2nd: Cecilia Mann – Circle and Squares quilt
3rd: Amy Ottens – Happy quilt
4th: Donna Shay – 25 Patch quilt

Pam Surmo will hand out the prizes to you when our next meeting occurs or she can send it to you. Let her know.

*************************

Elizabeth Franck has reported that face masks can be dropped off at Joann’s for distribution. Elizabeth is making masks to send to her niece who is a pediatrician in San Antonio, TX and if anyone wants to make and donate to her cause, please contact her. There are several online tutorials being circulated. Many of them use 1/4″ elastic, but if you don’t have the elastic on hand, there are some instructions on how to make fabric ties or use elastic hair ties instead.

I’ve also received an email from Michelle Watson that our healthcare workers in Rockford would love masks to put over their paper masks. You may want to call your healthcare friends/family or your doctor’s office to find out where the need is.

*************************

Announcing our guild banner challenge: “The Alphabet of Flowers”. Click HERE to view the complete details. Since we don’t know when our next meeting will occur, please email Robin Gausebeck to receive your assigned letter of the alphabet.

Stay safe everyone.

Stay in and SEW!! It’s a great time to shop your stash and raid your scrap bins to make items for our upcoming craft show at Edgebrook on June 13th. Small items like purses, bags, potholders, placemats; medium sized items such as table toppers/runners and wall hangings, pillows, garments and small quilts; and larger, more expensive quilts. Look online for free patterns. Or sew up some neo-natal quilts and lap quilts for chemotherapy patients.

Since most of us are in the “high risk elderly” category, be smart and stay in. Reach out for help if you need groceries or other essentials.

Guild Library: Books and magazines from our library collection will be for sale at the April through June guild meetings.

Special Projects: We’ve added chemotherapy lap quilts to our Special Projects charity program. These will be donated to area hospitals to be given to their patients undergoing treatment. Contact Special Projects committee with questions.

2021 Quilt Show Challenge: The banner quilt challenge is back! Sign up begins at the April meetings where you’ll be given all the details and rules.

Art and Craft Shows:

Indoor City Market on Friday, April 17th, 5-9 pm: We have 2 spaces at the ground floor room within the Indoor City Market building. Advertising will be provided in a brochure distributed by Rockford Area Art Council which sponsors the April ArtScene. This event requires original art pieces so many of our craft show pieces will not be appropriate for this event. We will sell original items from our craft show inventory. We will also accept additional original items on consignment with SQG keeping 20% of the sale price. If a consigned item is not sold, SQG will return it to the owner. If an original item is donated to SQG (ie. It is not consigned) the guild will become its owner. (An original guilt or item is one that is not made from someone else’s pattern and it reflects the creativity of the artist who submits the quilt.) Please bring your original items to the April guild meeting. Allow time to complete a short information form for consignment items. Following the April 17 th show, quilters who have sold consigned items will be responsible for submitting the tax form reporting their earnings.

Artsy Arts and Craft Show at Edgebrook on June 13th, 10 to 5 pm: This event will allow us to sell our usual crafts and it appears to be well attended by customers who appreciate unique craft items. We definitely will need new craft items for this sale: small items like purses, bags, potholders, placemats; medium sized items such as table toppers/runners and wall hangings, pillows, garments and small quilts; and larger, more expensive quilts. Items for the Edgebrook sale can be dropped off at the April, May and June guild meetings.

Please contact Amy Ottens with any questions.