No June Meeting

There will be no Grange quilting on May 30th and the June 2 meeting has been canceled

Linda Ethridge, our wonderful president, will be delivering our 2019 Grange donation quilt to David Weaver in June. Thanks to everyone who helped by cutting, sewing, quilting, and binding. We cannot do this without all of you.

July 7th meeting We hope to be able to have our next meeting in July and we will take all precautions that everyone is safe. We will set it up so that social distancing is observed I will send out another email with details for July.

Please remember your Secret Quilting Sister during this difficult time. We can all use a little pick-me-up. So mail them something wonderful! Or you can always drop it off at Scrappy Quilter and I will make sure to call them and have them come pick it up.

2020 Grange Donation Quilt Linda Ethridge is busy getting ready for our 2020 Grange Quilt donation. She is making block kits that you can pick up at Scrappy Quilter when they are ready. I will send out another email when they are ready

Postcards

The program was how to make fabric postcards.

We took scraps and put it onto Pellon 71F.

Homework was to do a decorative stitch on the seams and finish off the back.

Other postcards are:

      

It's a fun, easy and quick process.

Please share your creations.

February Show & Tell

Lots of wonderful show & tell in February

    
         

Blogs

I was thinking that it would be nice if we knew about the members of our group who blog.

It would be a fun time to visit their blogs.

IF you blog, please add your blog homepage to this message and I'll start a listing for us to visit.

Welcome to 2020 at HCMQG

We had our first meeting of the year.

What a great group of ladies and FUN was had by all.

There were 14 members and 2 visitors in attendance.

The Grange quilt is almost bound. Isn't it beautiful?

There are so many things to look forward to this year.

Programs

Our January program was the Disappearing pinwheel.

The finished quilt will be a QOV donation.

Programs throughout the year will include:

Half Square Triangles, Reckless Applique, One Block Wonder, Demos & Tips, plus a few others.

The upcoming retreat is March 6-8 at The Queen's Rustic Retreat.

There are still openings available.

August will bring on a Road Trip to the Quilt Museum in La Grange.

Community Service Projects

Our Community Service Projects program is headed by Jacqui Kirk and will include:

Quilt for Kids where they need quilts that start at 37" x 42".

Quilts should be made with 100% cotton or good quality flannel with thin batting and dense quilting.

Bring any donated quilts to our meeting and Jacqui will collect them.

Fleece blankets can be serged, or the fleece donated for a charity project.

Pillowcases for charity.

Any project donated will receive an entry into a drawing at the December party.

Announcements 

If you have any sunshine or shadow news, please let Linda or Meloney know so we can alert your other guild members.

Beginning in March, we will have a scrap table where you can bring your unwanted quilting items.

This will happen in March, June, September, and January.

It's not too soon to be thinking about what we want to exchange at the December Christmas party.

We exchanged pincushions at the 2019 Christmas Party.

So, what should we exchange this year?

Some of the ideas were table runners, tote bags, ornaments, mug rugs, candle mats, placemats, purse, FQs.

What are your ideas?

We will vote on them at the February meeting.

Get Em Done (GED)

How many people have any UFOs, WIPs, PIGs, PHDs or WHIMMs?

(Unfinished Objects, Works in Progress, Projects in Grocery Bags, Projects Half Done, or Works Hidden in My Mind.)

I know I do.

I have way more than I'll ever finish in a year, but I'm excited about a challenge to get more done this year than ever.

Join in on the Get Em Done (GED) Challenge for $10.

If you are interested, please let Lana and Meloney know.

Remember, the projects don't have to be quilts or big projects, they are anything YOU need to finish in 2020.

To gain entry into the drawing at the December meeting, bring your finished project to a meeting for Show and Tell.

At the December meeting, a drawing will be held for half the amount of money collected.

Secret Quilter

Secret Quilter is starting up in February.

We have 14 players

Remember to make arrangements if you are not going to be at the meeting.

Gifts each month don't have to be expensive, they are just to bring some joy into the person's life.

Bring it in a brown paper bag and place it on the table by the refrigerator

Drawings

The door Prize was donated by Marilyn and won by Ramona.

The Foxy Auction was donated by Marilyn and won by Betty.

Wishing everyone a Happy New Year and a year full of Quilting and Finishing.

The Pantone Color of the Year

The whole idea of someone selecting the color of the year and impacting art, fabric, clothing and just about everything in the world, seems strange to me. I decided to try to better understand by doing some research.

First I wanted to know Who or What is Pantone. Where did this company come from? The website says “In 1963, Lawrence Herbert, Pantone's founder, created an innovative system of identifying, matching and communicating colors to solve the problems associated with producing accurate color matches in the graphic arts community. His insight that the spectrum is seen and interpreted differently by each individual led to the innovation of the PANTONE MATCHING SYSTEM®, a book of standardized color in fan format.

Since then, Pantone has expanded its color matching system concept to other color-critical industries, including digital technology, textiles, plastics, architecture and contract interiors, and paint." So, my question is, what makes this company the leading authority on color and allows them to select a “color of the year” that impacts so many industries.

I thought that perhaps they looked at what designers were doing worldwide to see what colors were being used and then used that pallet to identify what the popular color is. But that doesn't seem to be the case. 

Their website says the color of the year is “A symbolic color selection; a color snapshot of what we see taking place in our global culture that serves as an expression of a mood and an attitude.”

This year’s color is greenery. It’s supposed to be a “bright but calming symbol of new beginnings and a reconnection with nature.” I sure don’t see that happening in my world.

Leatrice Eiseman, Executvie Director of the Pantone Color Institute says, “Greenery bursts forth in 2017 to provide us with the reassurance we yearn for amid a tumultuous social and political environment. Satisfying our growing desire to rejuvenate and revitalize, Greenery symbolizes the reconnection we seek with nature, one another and a larger purpose.”

I actually love their color choice and plan to use it a lot in my quilts this year and will be happy to see it reflected in fabric. I also agree with how they describe the color: “Greenery is a fresh and zesty yellow-green shade that evokes the first days of spring when nature’s greens revive, restore and renew. Illustrative of flourishing foliage and the lushness of the great outdoors, the fortifying attributes of Greenery signals consumers to take a deep breath, oxygenate and reinvigorate.”

Green has long been a favorite of mine and my favorite green is a spring green, which to me describes But the question remains, does the Pantone color of the year come from what the world has already dictated. Or does Pantone’s selection of that color make it become prevalent throughout the world. We may never know.

Pantone says “color experts at the Pantone Color Institute comb the world looking for new color influences. This can include the entertainment industry and films in production, traveling art collections and new artists, fashion, all areas of design, popular travel destinations, as well as new lifestyles, playstyles and socio-economic conditions. Influences may also stem from new technologies, materials, textures and effects that impact color, relevant social media platforms and even up-coming sporting events that capture worldwide attention.”

Yet they also say “For 17 years, Pantone’s Color of the Year has influenced product development and purchasing decisions in multiple industries, including fashion, home furnishings and industrial design, as well as product packaging and graphic design.”

So, maybe it works both ways. If you look at my stash, you’ll see I’ve been collecting this spring green color for some time and there has been no shortage of fabrics with this hue. But thanks to Pantone’s emphasis, I’ll be using it more and more in the next year. What about you?

If you’ve never looked at the Pantone website, I highly recommend a visit to: www.pantone.com.  If nothing else, you’ll see some great color combinations that you can experiment with in your next quilt. You're sure to find something you like. Here's a few:

New Resolutions for the New Year

Do you make resolutions with each new year?   

Are they quilting related? 

Do you keep them?

I don’t know about you, but I have a hard time keeping my resolutions.  So this year I resolve to make my resolutions easier -- achievable.  Here’s some ideas in case you want to join me.
---

Instead of “Always pull fabric from your stash instead of buying new yardage” How about “Always use small pieces of fabric first”No one said you couldn’t cut the bigger ones to make them smaller before you use them.---
Instead of “Keep your sewing space neat and organized”How about “Keep your sewing space clear of unwanted people”Like those who say you should be more neat and organized.---
Instead of “Finish projects you’ve already started before starting new projects”How about “Finish a project this year”Who cares how many you start as long as you get at least one done.---
Instead of “Finally make a quilt for yourself”How about “Only sew what makes you happy”If it makes you happy, it doesn’t matter who it’s for, because you get to enjoy it, regardless of where it ends up.---
Instead of “Start your holiday projects and gifts earlier”How about “Don’t celebrate holidays with quilts; every time you finish a quilt consider it a reason to celebrate”Who cares what the holiday is -- every day is a good day to quilt.---
Instead of “Do your own quilting instead of sending it out”How about “Quilt what you want, when you want, how you want”If that is sending it out or quilting it yourself, if you finish a project to the quilting stage, you’re a winner.---
Instead of “Stop promising to make quilts for friends and/or family”
How about “Stay in your sewing room so much no one can ask you to make anything”Problem solved.  If you don’t see or talk to anyone you can make or break no promises.---
Instead of “Make more time for quilting”How about “Take more time for quilting”Steal it from wherever you can.  Five minutes a day is still better than nothing.---
Instead of “Finish one BOM before joining another”How about “Finish one block at a time”Whether it takes an hour, a day, a month or a year, if you finish just one block you are making progress.---
Instead of “I resolve to make no more resolutions”How about “I’ll try not to lie to myself as often as I do now”You really are just kidding yourself when you make a resolution.  Everyone who knows you knows you’ll never follow through, so don’t make a resolution, don’t resolve anything, just have fun, enjoy and stitch to your heart’s content.