crystal Coast QUilters' guild

Dear Guild Members,

By the time you read this, I will have probably finished the quilting on the 2023 Raffle Quilt. Yea! And, just in time, because there are four events coming up where we will have the opportunity to sell tickets for the quilt. The first is Saturday, March 11th at the Emerald Isle St. Patrick’s Day Festival from 9:00-6:00. If you’re available to help sell tickets that day, please contact me in order to sign up for a time slot. The second event is the Artisans’ Affair in Havelock on Saturday, March 18th. This will be the first time we’ve done that event. Thank you to the ladies who volunteered to work the booth for that. The next event is the Quilters by the Sea Day of Sharing in Wilmington on Saturday, March 25th. If anyone is planning on attending and would be willing to sell tickets, please let me know. They are requesting RSVP’s by March 10th. The last event is Beaufort’s Publick Day on Saturday, April 15th. Please contact Nancy Smith, if you’re able to help at that event. It’s great to have several events that give us the opportunity to showcase our quilt! Thanks again, to Susan Foster for generously donating the quilt top!

For those of you who missed the last meeting, Jan Willis brought a quilt top that Paula Johnson had asked her to share, suggesting we use it for our 2025 Raffle Quilt. The top was made by Polly Scott and needs a little work on it in order to make it a queen-sized quilt. If you might be interested in working on that project, please let Jan or me know. Thank you!

As mentioned in my recent email, we will soon be conducting a vote to decide whether to keep the guild’s scholarship program. If you have any questions or comments, please contact me. Thank you.

Don’t forget to stop by the Sacred Threads Art Quilt Exhibit at the Core Sound Community Outreach Center at 806 Arendell Street in Morehead City. Thank you, Nan Miller, for helping to secure this exhibit for our enjoyment!

Keep Stitching everyone!

Laurie

Dear Guild Members,

If you missed the January meeting, we discussed a lot of things of interest to our members. We started off by installing our new Secretary, Pat Bowes. I’m sure she will do a bang-up job! After a brief discussion, it was decided that we would preface our guild meetings with a social half-hour with some light refreshments being offered at 5:30. The regular meeting will still start at 6:00.

After discussions at the ENC Guild Presidents’ meeting and our Budget meeting, the Board has decided to charge $5 each for the Raffle tickets this year. We hope this change will help make ticket sales easier for our members. More on that in an article below. We have some raffle ticket selling opportunities right around the corner. The Emerald Isle St. Patrick’s Day Festival is on March 11th and Publick Day in Beaufort is on April 15th. If you are able to help sell tickets at either one of these festivals, it will be greatly appreciated!

I’m happy to announce that Debbie Goines has offered to take over managing the Membership for us. Thank you, Debbie! We will miss Kelly but wish her all the best on her next adventures!

If you think you’d be interested in helping out with the Raffle quilt for 2025, now would be a great time to start sharing ideas and get started with that project. hint, hint…

I just learned today that the Quilters by the Sea Quilt Guild will be hosting a Day of Sharing with special guest, Susan Brubaker Knapp, on March 25th. Information is included in this newsletter.

Hope everyone has a Happy Valentine’s Day!

Keep quilting.

Keep Stitching,

Laurie

Dear Guild Members,

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and wish you a Happy New Year! Where did 2022 go? A good time was had by all in attendance at the Guild Christmas gathering at No Name Pizza. A big thank you to Lisa Rechkemmer for planning the luncheon and everyone else who helped with decorating and setting up. It sure was fun to hear the stories from the ladies who shared their different Christmas quilts. Thank you! And, congratulations to all the Scholarship winners!

Looking ahead, the Workshop Committee has lined up workshops, lectures, and even a two-day retreat at the Ft. Benjamin Rec. Center that I’m sure will keep us busy throughout the year.

We are also drawing close to the end of this past year’s Busy Bee UFO Challenge. I wonder what Worker Bee Chris has planned for us??

I know that these Challenges have really helped me get some UFO’s completed! How about you? I have no news to share regarding the sale of our house. It’s been a slow month. We’ll see what the new year brings.

See you in 2023!

Keep Stitching,

Laurie

Dear Members,

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! It’s that time of year, when we all reflect on the things in our lives for which we are thankful. In addition to my family, I’m thankful for the friends I have made in the quilting community, and especially our guild, which makes it difficult to share that Colin and I have put our house on the market. Out of the blue, our daughter saw a listing for a house for sale. Long story short, we really liked it and have listed our house in the hopes that we can purchase this other house. We’ll see what happens. If we do move before my term is up, I will be appointing a replacement to fulfill the remainder of my term.

By the way, if you’re interested in a beach house with a great studio, call me!

The Greenville Day of Sharing is this coming weekend. I hope those members who are attending will have a good time. Next week, we will be having our annual Holiday Gathering. We will meet for lunch at No Name Pizza in Morehead City. I hope you’ll be able to attend. It’s not too late to make your Christmas block for the block exchange! (hint!)

I hope you all have a joyous Christmas holiday and have time to relax and enjoy yourselves!

Keep stitching,

Laurie

Dear Members,

I’m sorry that I missed the October guild meeting. I hope it proved to be a fun-filled evening with a lecture by Claudia Martinez, the drawing for our raffle quilt, voting for officers, and refreshments! What more could one want? Thank you, Lisa and others, for filling in for me in my absence. And congratulations to the 2022 raffle quilt winner!!

As further explained in an article below, the survey asking members their opinions about hosting a quilt show in the future has closed. Thank you to those who participated. Short answer is that members do not want to host a quilt show. I can give more details at the November guild meeting.

Don’t forget about the Greenville Day of Sharing in December. If you’re interested in going, let me know by November 6th. I need to send our information in to them. More details in the body of the newsletter.

Hope everyone has a Happy Halloween!

Keep stitching,

Laurie

Dear Guild Members,

As a reminder, several members been asking whether the guild was going to host a quilt show in the future. Since this issue was part of the Listening Sessions that were conducted while Cathy was President, I had thought that most members were against having a regular quilt show and preferred hosting various exhibits instead. Since we have several new members, and members were asking, we thought people’s opinions may have changed. There is a survey addressing this concern on the website. Please take the time to complete the survey and let us know how you feel about having a “Traditional Quilt Show” or something similar. Only a few members have completed the survey at this time. Please do so before the deadline of October 10th. Thank you.

Another thing that was discussed at the last meeting was what to do about a raffle quilt for 2023? Several things have been suggested and discussed. The Board has decided to accept a donation from Susan Foster of a completed quilt top that she made using one of The Quilt Show’s Block-a-Month designs. Also, Vicky has said that she would take care of managing the tickets for us. Thank you, Susan, for this very generous donation! And thank you, Vicky!

I’m afraid that I will miss the next guild meeting but hope that everyone tries to come out for the Zoom lecture that is scheduled with Claudia Martinez. It’s going to be a fun-filled night! We will be drawing the winner for the 2022 Raffle Quilt (so make sure to get your ticket stubs turned in!), and I understand that some special refreshments will also be served!

For those of you who missed the September meeting, the Nominating Committee, Mary Frankle and Chris Pochwat, nominated Jeanne Biddle for Vice-President and Pat Bowes for Secretary! Voting, and any nominations from the floor, will take place during the October meeting. Thank you, Mary and Chris, for presenting these fine nominees, and thank you, Jeanne and Pat, for being willing to step forward to help our guild. Until next time…

Keep stitching,

Laurie

Dear Guild Members,

I’d like to thank everyone for the cards and warm wishes sent to me after I underwent surgery recently. For those who did not get my email, after tripping and falling last May, I had a CT scan, where they found some nodules on my thyroid. Long story short, I needed to have my thyroid removed, and that was done on August 16th. Everything went well. I only stayed one night in the hospital and have been feeling better day by day.

Since Lisa was out of town for the guild meeting, Vicky stepped in and ran the meeting for me. Thank you, Vicky! One of the things she discussed was whether the guild wants to pursue hosting a quilt show in the future. Several members have heard others ask about it. The board is going to put together a survey to get everyone’s opinion on the matter. We will be sharing the survey soon.

Don’t forget about the different road trips that the Eastern Carolina guilds are putting together. The group is interested in organizing a road trip to quilt shops in the Fayetteville/Fuquay-Varina area for the weekend of April 13-16, 2023, as well as organizing a trip to Houston in November 2023. If either of these trips interests you, please let me know. The road trip in April would involve ladies driving their own vehicles, not renting a bus. Both sound like fun events, and if you've never been to Houston, it is FABULOUS!!! Every quilter should go at least once!

I hope you can make it to the September meeting. Since there was interest in how I was preserving the antique quilt that I shared recently at a guild meeting, I’m going to share how I am doing that. I am also going to show an easy (yes, I said easy) way to fold fitted bed sheets. If you have been challenged with that in the past, bring a fitted sheet with you that night to learn how to make that challenge a distant memory! Until then…

Keep stitching,

Laurie

Dear Guild Members,

A BIG “Thank You” to Lisa Rechkemmer for organizing our Birthday Luncheon in July. A good time was had by all, and we had fun playing a trading game similar to Right, Left, Center. I came home with less items that I arrived with, so I consider that a WIN!

Thank you, also, to those who responded to our survey about where we should hold our meetings and Drop-In. The overwhelming majority of those who responded showed a preference to return to the church. Beginning in August, we will be back at the church for our monthly meeting on Thursday, August 18th at 6:00 and we will start off with only meeting twice for Drop-In during August on the 9th and the 23rd. We will return to weekly Drop-In gatherings in September. We expect to continue to offer Zoom during our monthly meetings, but I am unsure of whether we can do that during Drop-In. That will depend on if members at Drop-In are comfortable with managing/hosting the Zoom meeting. The times for Drop-In will be from 9:00-12:00.

At the Eastern NC Guild Presidents’ meeting this month, several guilds in the area are interested in having ladies from outside their guild coming to teach or speak to their guild about just about anything! If you would be interested in teaching something or speaking to a group about something you have experience or knowledge about, please let me know, and I can share that with the other guilds. They are willing to pay, so this is not a request for volunteers. It is a request for teachers and speakers. Thank you.

The Carolina Pine Needle Quilters’ Guild (Jacksonville) is having their Day of Sharing on September 17. We already have several members who have signed up to attend. If you are interested, please contact me as soon as possible, so I can send your name in. Their last day to register is August 26th. There is limited space, and it’s first come, first served. It sounds like they are preparing quite an event! I’m sure everyone will have a grand time!

The Quilted Baby event is this coming Saturday. Good luck to Cathy and Chris!! I hope there’s a great turnout and you sell everything you’ve received! I hope everyone is enjoying their summer. We’re going to blink, and it will be September!

Keep stitching,

Laurie

Guild Members,

We’re into the busy summer months, and I hope everyone is staying cool back home. I’m up in New England, visiting family, and relishing the cool weather we are having here. I know it will be a shocker, when we return! I’ve managed to make progress on my #10 for the UFO Challenge though!

I’m sorry I missed the last meeting but am looking forward to seeing you at the Luncheon on the 21st. It’s always a joy to gather in a more casual setting, where we have more time to visit. Be sure to mark your calendar!

I hope everyone is trying to get something made to contribute to the Quilted Baby Sale that Cathy and Chris are spearheading. The event is July 30th, and I’m sure they would love to have an overflowing table of items to sell. Every little bit helps! Thank you to everyone who has already donated items!

The guild needs to make a decision about where our meetings and social gatherings are going to take place. A survey will be posted on the website for you to express your preferences. I hope you will take the time to complete the survey. This will enable us to better determine a place(s) to meet that will suit our needs. If you do not have internet, you can call me to complete the survey: 252-622-8658. Thank you in advance for your participation.

Keep Stitching!

Laurie

Dear Guild Members,

What a delightful evening we had, listening to Audrey Esarey, of Cotton and Bourbon, sharing her journey in quilting and working on different series in her work. Thank you, Lisa Rechkemmer, for making the evening possible!

Chris Pochwat also announced the beginning of our next UFO Challenge! What a fun way to either make progress on our projects or get them finished! Let the games begin!

At the May meeting, we also started our abbreviated version for the meetings. Committee reports and reading of the minutes will not be included during the meeting, unless there is information that needs to be shared before the newsletter is scheduled to be released. Our hope is that this will keep meetings from becoming repetitive and to shorten the length of our meetings.

We recently learned that Shepherd of the Sea is now available for us to hold meetings and Drop-In. We need to decide whether we will return to the church for all of our gatherings, stay at the Rec Center on Fisher Street, or split our meetings between the two locations.

I called the church to see whether the annual $900 we were paying in the past might be adjusted, if we met there less often and also whether we could keep our library there, if we didn’t meet there at all and what that cost would be. She had to talk to the Pastor, and she and I have played phone tag since then. So, I haven’t gotten answers to those questions.

Please think about what you think would work best for you and our members, and please share any comments or concerns you might have about this with me or other Board members.

Don’t forget about getting something finished to contribute to our Quilted Baby booth at the end of July! Contact Cathy or Chris for details.

Unfortunately, I will miss the June meeting. I am going to be out of town and won’t even be able to attend via Zoom. I do plan on being at the luncheon in July and look forward to seeing everyone then!

Until then, keep stitching!

Laurie