October meeting

Lots of laughs and learning were shared at the BMQG October meeting. President Lynn announced the November meeting has been changed to Saturday, Nov. 10, to accommodate a special event at Strawberry Patches. Meeting time will still be 2 p.m. - 4 p.m.

Next Saturday's (Oct. 27) sew-in is from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Strawberry Patches. If you don't feel like lugging your heavy sewing machine to the sew-in, feel free to bring hand sewing/embroidery, or even knitting or crocheting.

QuiltCon, the first convention and show of the Modern Quilt Guild, is coming up in late February. Several of our members are planning to attend. Lynn encouraged everyone to consider entering the quilt show. Entry fee is $30 per quilt, with one quilt allowed per person per category. The Modern Quilt guild also is collecting the logos of each of the member guilds and will be printing fabric containing all the logos. Lynn has contributed the Bakersfield MQG logo, so we will be represented.

Upcoming programs: In November, Nicci will teach us how to make prairie points for our projects. December's meeting will be our Christmas party. Those attending should bring an appetizer and a charm pack (new, packaged by a fabric manufacturer) to exchange. Members who made goal boards for 2012 should bring those to share and talk about the progress made (or not!). We will be revising and/or creating new goal boards for our meeting in January.

New board members will be elected in December, and the following positions are open: president, vice president, secretary, program chairperson, and philanthropic coordinator. Please see Lynn, Christy, or Laura if you are interested in any of these positions. We need active participation and leadership for the guild to thrive and grow!

Lynn checked with the group to ensure that everyone is familiar with the Bakersfield Modern Quilt Guild blog and Facebook page, as these are the best places to get the latest information on guild events. She and other members also post tutorials, tips, and even recipes on the blog a few times a week.

This month's program was provided by Jane, who demonstrated how to sandwich and baste a quilt for domestic machine quilting. We all learned a couple of nifty ways to close safety pins and not injure our fingers. Lynn brought lots of samples of various battings and discussed which ones work best for which types of quilts, wall hangings, etc. Thanks to the Strawberry Patches team for sharing samples of the battings they stock as well.

The awesome creativity of our membership was revealed in the show and tell session (see photos below).

And, in an unbelievable turn of events, your BMQG secretary is posting this meeting summary on the SAME DAY that the meeting occurred.  :-)

Don't forget next weekend's sew-in ... hope to see you there!

Laura
BMQG Secretary

Upcoming Meeting Details

The next meeting of the BMQG is this coming Saturday, October 20th, 2:00 - 4:00, at Strawberry Patches. Jane will be showing us the details on how to properly prepare a quilt for domestic machine quilting. We will also be discussing a variety of battings and how/when to use them. 

Our next sew-in will be held at Strawberry Patches, 10:00 - 4:00, on Saturday, October 27th. Bring a snack to share and a project to work on. It doesn't have to be a quilting project. Bring your crochet, knitting, needlework, or anything else you want to work on while enjoying a fun day with some wonderful people!

The November meeting date needed to be moved, because Strawberry Patches will be hosting Barri Sue, of Bareroots, on our regular meeting day. We have moved the date to the 10th of November. The time will remain the same. Make sure you mark your calendars so that you don't miss it! 

The end of the year is quickly approaching, which means that it'll be time to elect new officers. If you enjoy this group and want to see it continue, then you need to consider stepping up and serving. We have a great foundation in place, and there will be plenty of support for new officers. Here are the positions and the descriptions:

BMQG President

-Primary function is to see to the smooth running of the BMQG. Organization is necessary and follow through is a must.

-Arrange, schedule and facilitate monthly meetings of the BMQG, as well as for officers of the BMQG.

-Assist in maintaining blog and Flickr, and other duties as necessary.

- Take suggestions from all members under advisement. Works with individuals as needed.

-Prior to officer and BMQG meetings, the President, with input from other BMQG officers, is to prepare an agenda. This is to be emailed to all officers before the monthly meeting. In addition, a brief general description of upcoming activities/meetings is to be posted on the blog.

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BMQG Vice President

-The vice president will perform the duties of the president if needed, including running the monthly meeting.

-Assist in maintaining all online media (blog, Flickr, etc)

-Attend monthly guild meeting. Arrive 1/2 hour before BMQG meetings to assist with meeting set up and stay for clean up.

-Attend monthly board meetings. Actively participate in guild leadership and making decisions regarding activities and growth of the BMQG.

-Collect and maintain door prizes. 

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BMQG Secretary

-The primary duty of the BMQG secretary is to take notes at all monthly BMQG meetings and officers’ meetings. In a timely manner, a summary of these meetings will be sent to all Board members. The secretary will also assist in posting pertinent guild information to the blog/web page, including announcements, guild business, presentations, show and tell, shop hops, sewing nights, charity work, etc. Picture taking at monthly meeting is also helpful, and this responsibility will be shared by everyone on the board.

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BMQG Program Coordinator

-Supports the planning, implementation, maintenance, and documentation of BMQG’s public programs and educational activities.

-Actively recruits a guest speaker and/or arranges group activity for each BMQG meeting. Works with the speaker on presentation, offering help, encouragement and support.

-Actively works on future month’s meeting: content, lectures, social events, sewing projects, etc.

-Coordinates give-aways, challenges, swaps, and guild activities.

-Encourages members to be involved in presentations.

-Have on-hand filler material or a ten minute tutorial on hand in case a meeting runs short, and/or program changes.

All positions require the require the following:

-Officers are expected to represent the guild in a honorable manner, in all communications and interactions related to the BMQG.

-Ability to speak in front of a group

-Can actively seek new information from people and groups, via internet, phone, etc.

-Organizational ability and attention to detail

The time commitment for each position is about 10 hours per month, which includes monthly BMQG meetings and monthly officers’ meetings.

We would also like to get involved in a local philanthropic project. The Board has some ideas on what we could do, but we need a philanthropic coordinator for the group. That person would coordinate the gathering and delivering of donated quilts to the specified group. In addition, the coordinator would be responsible for communication between the Board and the designated charity contact person. If you think you'd like to fill this position, please let one of the Board members know. 

We are running low on door prizes. All of the items that we've given away have been donated by our members. If you have extra fat quarters, patterns or notions that you'd like to donate, please bring them to the meeting and give them to Christy. Your generosity is much appreciated!

Looking forward to seeing you all on Saturday!

Lynn, Christy, and Laura