NQA Chapter Newsletters

Chapter Chair Newsletter: May 2012

AT A GLANCE

* What's the Buzz...?

* From the President

* 10 Uses for Leftover
Batting

* From Barbara
Polston

* From the Member
Services Chair

* From the Volunteer
Coordinator

* From the Vice-
President

* From the President
Elect

* See Our Quilt Shows

What's "the Buzz..."?

We want to hear from you! Let us know what it is you would like to see from your NQA. What are we doing right? What are we not doing that we should be? Obviously nobody can do it all but we want to be the kind of organization you are proud to be part of. So tell us what you want from your quilt guild!

Remember to visit us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pages/NQA-National-Quilting-Association/112254952228007

Kathy Lichtendahl, Communications Chairperson

communications@nqaquilts.org

From the President - Judy Taylor

It's hard to believe but we are only 45 days away from the 43rd Annual NQA Quilt Show. I am very pleased to announce that Sheryl Powell of Doylestown, OH has been selected as the Volunteer Coordinator for the 2012 Show. Our thanks to those NQA members who responded to our request for a new Coordinator. We are so appreciative of your willingness to support the NQA and its Annual Quilt Show.

In my April President's letter, I also placed an appeal for you, our NQA members who were planning on attending the show, to serve as a volunteer for just one shift. As Hilary Clinton once said, "it takes a village," and the NQA Quilt Show is no exception. Unfortunately, as of this moment, we are critically short of volunteers for hanging, white gloving, assisting in the photography room and take down.

As President of the NQA, I would like to personally ask each of you who plan on attending to help us make this show a successful as it can be. If you are willing to help, contact Sheryl at volunteers12@nqaquilts.org . We need your support, so please volunteer.

I look forward to seeing you all at the show! Until then,

Happy Quilting!

Judy Taylor, President

10 Uses for Leftover Batting Scraps

If you are making quilts on a regular basis, whether they are large or small, you find yourself with scraps of batting that fill a bag or drawer in your sewing room. Some of the pieces can be patched together for another project but others are just too small for a project any bigger than a sheet of paper. Just like saving scraps of fabric from projects, many of us just can throw out small pieces of batting. Well, there is hope for you. Here are 10 ideas for other uses for those batting scraps taken from an article by Karen Overton in the November 2011 issue of Machine Quilting Unlimited Magazine:

1.      Rather than throwing loose threads onto the floor (they
         never manage to make it into the wastebasket) save a
         small piece of batting at your sewing table to collect loose
        threads.

2. Cut cotton batting into small squares and keep a stack

next to your machine to wipe up oil leaks or wipe up
extra oil when oiling your machine.

3.      Use batting scraps to pack in boxes when sending a
        package. It doesn’t weigh much and still provides great
        protection.

4. Wrap a batting scrap around the broom and use it to
knock down spider webs. Then toss it away.

5. Place larger pieces of batting in rolls and place them at
the folds when folding quilts for storage.

6. Place batting scraps between your good seasonal glass
plates so they don’t scratch each other.

7. Use scraps as snow at Christmas for decorating around
little trees or in nativity scenes.

8. Use left-over batting in the winter to “chink” leaky
windows or made draft stoppers.

9. Cut a scrap a bit smaller than your lamp base and use it to
protect your table.

10. Use small scraps to erase the black marker lines off a
white-board.

From Barbara Polston, Editor, The Quilting Quarterly

You...In Print!

The Quilting Quarterly is always on the hunt for interesting articles and patterns for our members to enjoy. We especially want to feature the work of our many talented NQA members. What do we look for? Here’s the short list:

Interesting happenings in your quilt career for the Member Spotlight
“Human interest” stories that relate to quilting
Articles that instruct a focused quilting technique or educate about a skill related to quilting
Patterns - original patterns that have not been published elsewhere for anything from wall quilts to bed quilts to home dec or accessories that use quilting principles.

Have something in mind? Get started by contacting Barbara Polston, Editor, at editor@nqaquilts.org or phone 480-961-5177 (currently Pacific Time, so please mind any time difference.) If we contract with you for an article or pattern, you are paid for your work upon publication.

While we’re happy to work with those who have numerous publishing credits, being previously published is not a requirement. We all start somewhere. Your Quilting Quarterly team enjoys working with first-time authors and will offer guidance along the way.

Send the e-mail or make the call! We’d love to see you...in print!

From the Members Services Chair - Lois Arnold

Mary Persyn is in our Member Spotlight for May. Mary is a long time member of NQA and is behind the scenes many times volunteering. Mary considers herself more of a quilt historian than a quilt maker, though she has won awards for her quilts as well. Be sure to take time to go to www.nqaquilts.org to see Mary’s wonderful quilts, family quilts and antique quilts!

I hope by now you have your entries and registrations ready for the 43rd Annual Quilt Show and your travel plans made! I’m looking forward to seeing you there!

From Sheryl Powell - Volunteer Coordinator

Hello everyone! My name is Sheryl Powell and I am the 2012 Volunteer Coordinator for NQA’s 43rd Annual Quilt Show. I would like to thank everybody for giving me this wonderful opportunity to help spread and share the wonderful art of quilting. I am looking forward to meeting all of you and would like to remind everyone that the show is not far away and we always have room for more volunteers! If you would like to volunteer for this year’s show or have any questions please contact me at spowell@powell-consulting.com. Thank you for your support and I hope to hear from you soon!

Sincerely
Sheryl Powell

From Linda Miller - Vice-President

Volunteering is important, and can be so rewarding. But being in charge of anything can be exhausting, too. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Diane Dadisman, our most recent Volunteer Coordinator for over 6 years, for all of her dedication and hard work before, during and after the shows. Diane was always a friendly face to look for outside the showroom floor. For many like me, Diane was the first of many friends that taught me about respecting the quilts, respecting the stories, and how it all goes together at the quilt shows and about the large community that is the National Quilting Association. To a fantastic ambassador, thank you Diane! Enjoy your time at this year’s show, you have so earned it!

From Ruth Pollow - President Elect

SEEKING NATIONAL QUILTING DAY COORDINATOR

National Quilting Day, celebrated this past March 17, always brings lots of quilting activities to the forefront. Many guilds schedule special demonstrations or activities to celebrate this day and to make their towns and cities aware of the local quilting community. My guild organized a special workday at the local library to make philanthropy quilts and tell interested visitors how these quilts are used in local hospitals or children’s homes. Another guild made a special quilt that was given to the first baby born on March 17. In one town, the local library put up a special quilt display in one of their display windows.

The pattern for the quilt to be featured on National Quilting Day 2013 is being selected and now we are looking for a volunteer to take on the job of promoting this event. NQA is known for having established the third Saturday of March as a special day to celebrate quilting.

This position involves sewing a small quilt using the selected design and promoting the quilt and pattern in The Quilting Quarterly, on the NQA website, and through an informational packet sent to Chapters and individuals interested in participating in NQD activities. This person will also consult with the Quilt Show Director to create an informative display at the Annual Show. While March 16, 2013 seems far away, we want to get started with this important NQA activity. If you are interested in using your quilting and promotional talents, and learning more about the NQD Coordinator position, please contact President-Elect, Ruth Pollow at president-elect@nqaquilts.org today.

This job is not just for the professional quilter. If you love to sew quilts and have intermediate level skills, you are a perfect candidate for this job. We select a pattern that the average quilter is capable of sewing because we want everyone to participate in this fun celebration. The “I’m not a good enough quilter” excuse is not allowed!

SOQS – SEE OUR QUILT SHOWS – 12 Shows in the next 60 days!!

REMINDER TO CHAPTERS: All NQA Chapters can include information about their upcoming quilt show on the Calendar of Event page on the NQA website. Come on over – www.nqaquilts.org.

May 4-5, 2012 – Miami Valley Quilters Guild, Xenia, OH

http://www.miamivalleyquiltersguild.org/

May 5-6, 2012 – Colonial Quilters Guild, Easton, PA

http://www.colonialquilters.org/

May 18-20,2012 – Gate City Quilt Guild, Greensboro, NC

http://www.gatecityquiltguild.com/

May 18-29, 2012 – Nevada Quilt Guild, Fallon, NV

http://www.nvquiltguild.org/

June 2, 2012 – Letort Quilt Guild, Carlisle, PA

http://www.letortquilters.com/

June 2-3, 2012 – West Alabama Quilters Guild, Tuscaloosa, AL

http://www.waqg.com/