It's November!

We had a terrific program last week, featuring the Pixel Ladies.  They are fun energetic, and awesome story tellers.  It was a very enjoyable evening.  You can visit their web page at:  http://www.pixeladies.com/

The Pixel Ladies Taking Questions From The Audience

The block of the month for October was a really cute Christmas tree.  Too bad we don't have more participation.  It would make a great Christmas quilt.  It only costs $2 to get a block, and possibly win enough to make a quilt.  Where else could you possibly make a quilt for only two bucks?

Here are a couple of the quilts that were shared by our members at the October meeting:

Be sure to note that our next meeting is November 18th. That is a week earlier than usual, due to the Thanksgiving holiday.  It will be a fun evening of sharing our favorite projects.  They can be quilty ... or anything that you would like to share.  And don't let it hold you back, if it isn't finished.  ;~)  I don't know any of us that don't have a load of UFO's hanging about. 

Our annual Christmas Brunch will be on December 11th.  The time will be announced at the November meeting, and posted here as well.  It's potluck, so bring a dish to share, and a yard of fabric (and some scissors) for a game that Natalie Davey is putting together.  If you have a Secret Sister, you will reveal yourself at this meeting also.

And last ... but not least ... we are getting to that time of year where we start asking if you would like to serve on a committee or the board, in the coming year.  If you are interested, please let Sharon Markwardt know.  The more help we have, the more input we have, the less work we have.  So please think about how you would like to help out.

The Countdown

Only a bit over a week until the 'Possibilities of Christmas' luncheon.  The food has been ordered, the room layout is confirmed, decorations are ready, and I think that we have everything we need to make it successful.  Everyone attending will be leaving with a door prize valued at a minimum of $20.  I think it is going to be a wonderful day.

Our next guild meeting is on the 23rd, and we are doing Member Demo Nite.  This is always a fun evening, and it's great to see everyone sharing their little tips and tricks.  The saying "you can't teach an old dog new tricks" definitely does not pertain to quilters.  I have learned something every time.

Our guild board meeting was held on September 2nd.  It was really nice to see so many members in attendance.  Hopefully we can see more of your faces at these meetings.  A couple of new fun things for the guild, were decided on, at the last board meeting.  So watch out for the announcements in the next few months.

Has everyone turned in blocks for the outgoing presidents quilts?  Remember that this year we are working on 2 of them, so if you have any questions be sure to give Sharon Markwardt a call.

Hope to see you at guild!

Possibilities of Christmas Luncheon

The Guild sponsored "Possibilities of Christmas' luncheon is just around the corner.  This luncheon is our first official fundraiser, and we hope to make it big success.  The facility is all set, and we have over $4000.00 in door prizes donated by companies in the quilting industry, as well as local businesses.  There will also be several awesome raffle baskets, so don't forget to bring a few dollars to buy some chances to win one of them.  And the highlight of the luncheon of course is Lynda Milligan and Nancy Smith of Possibilities.

Lynda Milligan & Nancy Smith started the business together as the owners of Great American Quilt Factory, a retail store that opened in 1981. In 28 years, Great American Quilt Factory has grown quite a bit! In addition to expanding their retail business to the internet, the location they are now in is approximately 7000 square feet and has over 4500 bolts of fabric, over 200 book titles, 500 pattern titles, and numerous gifts, greeting cards, and other quilting and sewing related projects and items.


Not only do Lynda and Nancy oversee the operations of their retail store, they also run a successful publishing division, Possibilities. Under their direction, the Possibilities team creates projects for books and patterns. Designing quilts and projects, sewing them, writing and testing directions, book and pattern editing and layout, marketing, advertising, and order fulfillment all take place on the other side of the door from our retail store. Possibilities has written and published over 70 high quality quilting books, as well as patterns.


If those projects didn't keep them busy enough, Nancy, Lynda and the Possibilities design team also work hard to design various lines of fabric and pre-printed panels.Since 1991, Nancy and Lynda have designed for Chapel House, VIP/Cranston, Henry Glass, Avlyn, Inc., and are currently designing for Quilting Treasures and QT Express. To date, Possibilities has designed over 60 different fabric lines.

The popularity of Nancy and Lynda's books has allowed them to be on HGTV's Simply Quilts numerous times. You can find them appearing in the following episodes:


- I Spy Napping Quilt (QLT-303)


- Teaching Kids to Quilt, Irish Chain Quilt (QLT-444)


- Quilt Home Decor, S.W.A.K Envelope Quilt (QLT-732) Featured Book: Hearts Aplenty


- Divide & Conquer (QLT-810) Featured Book: Divide & Conquer


- Quilt Toppers (QLT-1103) Featured Books: Toppers & Toppers 2

Some Little Known Facts About Nancy & Lynda:

- Both Nancy and Lynda LOVE Mexican food and margaritas! Bring on the nachos!


- Nancy adores frosting and has even been the lucky recipient of a bag of frosting from our local (and very yummy) bakery.


- Lynda loves designing quilts using EQ6!


- When you see them next, ask them about wine and creamsicles :)


- Both Nancy and Lynda are close with their families - in fact Lynda's mom works in the accounts payable/payroll department, Lynda's daughter works in receving, and two of Nancy's three daughters work at the store as well. Ashley, Nancy's middle daughter is the Director of Marketing and Human Resources and Laura, Nancy's youngest is the Webmistress, technical support guru, and can most often be seen working with one of her boys close at hand.

So as you can see we are in for a real treat.  Be sure to get your ticket, if you have already.

It's August!

Happy mid-summer!  Hope you are all enjoying the glorious weather.  Hasn't it been just perfect?

This month GVQG is 9 years old.  Happy Birthday to us!  And here's to many more.  This month is the Ice Cream Social so don't forget to bring an ice cream topping to share.

The newsletter is out and should be in your email box.  But just in case here is a link to download it:

http://www.4shared.com/document/KwmfX6fN/August_2010.html

And be sure to check out all the great programs and workshops that Natalie Davey has lined up for us.  She is doing a wonderful job of listening to what you are asking for.

Hope to see you all at the guild meeting next week.

Remember that any information and articles for the newsletter must be in by May 10th. We are also still looking for a willing helper to learn how to put the newsletter together, and eventually take it over. It really isn't difficult, and I have a simple to use program, so if you enjoy writing and plunking around the computer, please consider helping.

Diane Steele is the speaker at our May guild meeting. She will talking to us about block exchanges, round robins and challenges. She says "it's always fun to be part of a group project whether it's 5 of your quilting buddies or all 100 in your quilt guild". She's bringing quilts and tops, that are examples from group projects she's been part of over the years showing the different, interesting interpretations each quilter came up with. A hand-out with many ideas for your group to pursue will be handed out as well. Sounds like an interesting evening.

Hope to see you all there!

This quilt is called Barn Dance, and will be taught on September 17th. It is not paper pieced. This is a simple way of making the pineapple block, using a pineapple ruler. For more variations refer to the book Positively Pineapple by Possibilities.

Again, if you have any questions about the workshops, contact Marie at Runs With Scissors.

The Christmas Pickle quilt workshop will be taught on September 16th, from 10 - 4.

This is a paper pieced quilt, and uses many different fabrics. It looks beautiful in greens, but if green isn't your thing, feel free to use any color that you love. Kits are available for this quilt, from Possibilities.

Happy May Day

Happy May Day fellow quilting buds! It's May, and the weather is finally nice and sunny. A great time for quilting.

Lot's going on in the guild. We have a wonderful new President, Beverly Purdue, and didn't she do a terrific job at the April meeting? It was a really nice evening. Bev has already had one meeting with the new board, and they have come up with a few great ideas, to keep things running smoothly. A list of the board officers is printed in each newsletter. It also includes their contact information, so if you have a problem, or request, please let them know. All of the committee chairs, are also in the newsletter. Simplifies things, so you will know exactly who to contact. By the way, the board will be meeting every other month, on the 1st Thursday of the month. (The only exception will be in July, where it will be the 2nd Thursday) If you would like to attend, you are welcome, just let Bev know ahead of time.

The 2010 Opportunity Quilt has been on the road a lot, and so far we have raised almost $3000.00. Great job ladies! I know that there has been a whole bunch of yammering about raising $'s for the guild, but hopefully the income from this quilt will help to keep us going in leaner times. Our goal is $7000.00 for the year, so another $500 or so and we will be at the half way mark. If you have any suggestions for places to show the quilt, please let Sharon Baxter know.

Plans for the luncheon, in September are well on their way. Nancy Holinski is the leader of Room Decor for the luncheon, and has been busy collecting fabric for tablerunners. Now she has a group that will be sewing them up and quilting them. Jayma Valentine has organized groups to put together baskets of goodies, that will be raffled off during the luncheon. If you 'adopted' a basket, be sure to get your items to Jayma at the May & June meetings, so she can start working her magic, to phoof them and make 'em gorgeous. The luncheon is going to be catered by the San Juan Culinary School. They are taking it on as one of their projects, and we thank Sandi Coulter for this. Sharon Baxter has been hustling up door prize donations, and so far has collected over 70 prizes, and they are still coming in. Wow! Great job Sharon. Karen Gray is doing the marketing, for the luncheon, and has (with the help of Gloria Cromer) put together and printed up bookmarks to put in quilt shops, and distribute to guilds. If you would like some of them, or have a suggestion for a place to distribute them, please let Karen know. Valerie Kinion is overseeing the Challenge for the luncheon. If you signed up and purcheased the challenge fabric, be sure to let Valerie know the name, size, and technique used, for your entry. She will need this information to set up and display the quilts at the luncheon. Val will have forms for you to fill out at the July meeting. And, last (at least for now) Marie at Runs With Scissors is taking sign ups for the two classes that will be taught by Lynda Milligan & Nancy Smith. The classes will be $60 each. You can sign up at Runs With Scissors, or see Karen Gray at the guild meeting.

Happy National Quilting Day

Today is National Quilting Day. So happy quilting to all. If you would like some great information go to: http://nqaquilts.org/. Lots of stuff, including free patterns.

Today is also the first day of spring. I don't know about you, but it seems as though this winter has been especially long and dreary. I have really been enjoying the beautiful weather, this last week. I know that we need the rain, but I am so ready for the sunshine. Not the 100 degrees, mind you, but warm 70 - 80 degree days makes me very happy.

The March newsletter has been emailed. If you haven't gotten it, then please click on the newsletter headline to the right. You will have to sign up for a free SCRIBD account, but it is save and secure.

I am going to start posting some great quilting website links, so if you have any favorites, that you would like to share, please just send an email to: goldenvalleyquilters@gmail.com. I will be sure to add them.

See you at guild next week.