Quilt Day – Saturday, March 15 – In person and on Zoom
● In person – Doors open at 8:30 a.m., meeting begins at 9:15. Address for the meeting is Washtenaw Community College, Morris Lawrence Building, 4800 E Huron River Dr, Ann Arbor, MI 48105. Click here for directions.
● Zoom – Invitations will be emailed on Thursday, March 13. We will open the meeting for Zoom attendees at 9:00 a.m.
● The March meeting will include:
○ Jane Clark’s opening remarks, including the member vote regarding the amended GAAQG Articles of Incorporation. Members: please be sure to review Jane’s March 2nd email messages regarding the guild’s efforts to change our nonprofit status.
○ Nancy Roelfsema’s lecture, “Why We Quilt.”
○ Information on 2025 guild activities.
○ Show and Tell – SafeHouse quilts and personal works.
● Workshops and Lecture – Michigan’s own Nancy Roelfsema brings in March like a lioness! She is fresh from a teaching trip to Tanzania and will be headlining a retreat in Grand Haven later this month. Check out her popular YouTube channel to see playlists of tutorials and projects. This weekend, we will see her wide range of skills in three workshops: Great Basics on Friday, Monoprinting on Saturday afternoon, and Invisible Machine Applique on Sunday. Click here for more details and to register as there are only a couple spots left in each class.
● Vendor – Fireside Quilts from Grand Rapids, Michigan. They have any supplies you may need for Nancy’s workshops.
● Demo by Kathy Schmidt – Super Easy Cathedral Window – Got scraps or spare charm squares? That’s all you need to put together this non-traditional Cathedral Window block. This method makes it simple to create, from pin cushion size to full quilt size. Our demo will show you the steps and helpful tips.
2025 Workshops – Keep an eye out for the 2025 program survey coming soon. Your input is vital to what workshops and events that the guild plans. We want to hear from you!
Our remaining 2025 workshops are open to members and nonmembers alike. Click here for more information and to register.
May Workshop Update – Tammy Silvers’ Guided Improv workshop on Friday, May 16 has only a few spots left. Due to low enrollment, her half-day workshops have been cancelled. Affected classes are Motifs to Embellish (Saturday, May17), Hack That Pattern, and Quilt Block Remix (Sunday, May 18). If anyone has purchased a book and wishes to have a refund, please send a copy of your receipt to treasurer@gaaqg.com.
Guild Challenge – You still have time to sign up for the 3,5,7,10 Challenge. The Challenge is to sew either 3, 5, 7 or 10 pounds of fabric as your New Year’s Resolution. This fun challenge is on the honor system and anything you worked on between New Year’s Day and May Quilt Day (5/17) counts toward your goal. Register using the link on the “Challenge Events” tab on the Members Page.
Virtual Sew-in – Our next date is Saturday, March 22, 9 a.m.-12 p.m. on Zoom. Your invitation to the meeting will be sent out two days before. In recent months, the number of attendees has increased to 20 or more, so you have lots of collective knowledge to mine for any quilting issue you may have. We look forward to seeing you!
SafeHouse Fabric Sale – The annual Guild Fabric Sale is coming up on May 17th, after our Quilt Day Meeting. Members and nonmembers: do your Spring cleaning and donate to the sale! The deadline is Cinco de Mayo (May 5) so donations can be sorted and put into inventory before the sale. Call/text Roberta Myyra to plan your dropoff at (734) 417-5174.
GAAQG Garage Sale – Don’t forget the guild’s Annual Garage Sale after the July Quilt Day Meeting (July 19). Members are cleaning their sewing spaces and setting aside loved-but-no-longer-needed quilting and sewing supplies for you to bring home and enjoy. You may discover a treasure you didn’t know you needed until you saw it! A percentage of profits (10%) from the sale will support the guild’s charitable activities on behalf of SafeHouse Center in Ann Arbor.
Please check out our GAAQG website for additional information about the guild.
If you are not currently a member, you can join the Greater Ann Arbor Quilt Guild on our website. There is a Join button on the top of every page. We would love to have you!
Sincerely,
Jane Clark
GAAQG President
I’m Maryann Hummer, VP Programs for the guild. I had the pleasure of interviewing our March instructor/lecturer Nancy Roelsema from “Quilting with Nancy.” Her website and YouTube channel are fun to explore.
We spoke about her upcoming workshops the weekend of March 14-16. Here is what she had to say:
Nancy, thanks for taking the time out of your schedule for an interview. I have some questions from our members I would like to ask you.
It’s my pleasure to meet with you.
When we were trying to coordinate this interview, you said you were pretty busy right now. What is keeping you busy?
I’m getting ready to go on a missionary trip to Tanzania. I am going to teach the women there to make a quilt, crochet a scarf, and embroider.
Is this your first trip?
No. Seven years ago, we took a couple of hand crank sewing machines over. One of the men attending the seminary earns his tuition by sewing the uniforms for the elementary students attending the school on site. I have gone to Tanzania two other times. I have been to Ukraine five times but stopped when Russia invaded. I have also gone to Greece once to volunteer at a refugee camp.
That sounds pretty ambitious.
Yes it is, but it is something I love to do.
It also seems that you like to teach as well. How did you get started?
About 25 years ago, I took a hand applique class and left more frustrated than when I started. I started teaching quilting to young girls making a quilt for their American Girl dolls. After that I just kept teaching at the local shop and have never stopped.
What is something that we can hope to learn from your Great Basics workshop?
The workshop covers over 50 basic techniques. Examples are: learning how to use a rotary cutter properly, cutting with precision, piecing with a scant 1/4 inch seam allowance, and setting triangles on the point.
So would you say this class is geared towards beginners?
Absolutely not! It is for all skill levels.
What can a more experienced sewer learn in this workshop?
So many of us who sew are self-taught. We learn a way of doing something and we go for it. That’s not necessarily bad. Sometimes we aren’t using the tools as they are intended to be used. Using the tools the proper way can make you more productive and it can make it easier.
What is something that we can learn from your MonoPrinting workshop?
This class is not for artists alone. It’s a very creative and spontaneous process. Once you have printed the fabric it is instantly ready for quilting. The fabric will not bleed, fade, or wash out.
What about the Invisible Machine Applique workshop?
Learn what nobody has taught you. I will teach how to create intriguing applique by turning the edges in a few different techniques, then you can hand sew or machine stitch. I’m most excited to teach students how to create bias stems and scallops borders which really set off your design. It is super simple to create, but looks much more intricate.
Currently, who or what is your most influential mentor/inspiration?
Mostly what I do at this point is inspired by my students. I listen for what they want to learn or are struggling with. For example, one student asked me how to make snowflakes. It took me a couple of years but I created my Winter Blues quilt Winter Blues Quilt as You Go Booklet – Quilting With Nancy so that I could teach this technique.
What is your favorite notion that you can’t live without these days?
I’m a firm believer in sizing. I’m loving Faultless Spray Sizing. I think it is the best.
Nancy, thank you so much for your time. We are certainly looking forward to seeing you in March.
Me, too!
Quilt Day Meeting – Saturday, January 18 – Zoom only
Zoom Invitations will be emailed to active guild members on Thursday January 16. We will open the meeting for Zoom attendees at 9:00 a.m.
The January meeting agenda:
Our January instructor and guest speaker, Mel Beach, has just been awarded the Quilts Japan Award at Quilt Visions 2024 by Noho Vogue of the Japan Handicrafts Instructors at the Visions Museum of Textile Arts in San Diego, CA for her Emerald Gardens (see image below or check this link). This is a layered whole cloth art quilt and free motion quilted. It is painted and block-printed on Evolon fabric with embellishments like hand embroidery and a few sequins for the bling factor.
Need a refresh? Our March workshops are for you. If you are new to quilting or a seasoned quilter, we all appreciate a new trick or two. Why not join us on Friday, March 14th for “Great Basics” taught by Nancy Roelfsema from Quilting with Nancy.
She will be here in person to teach more than 50 sewing techniques. Frankly, who wouldn’t benefit from learning a new technique or two? At $75 for a member, that’s a mere $1.50 per tip ($90 for a non-member is an average of $1.80).That’s a bargain in my book! If the ship hasn’t sailed for you and you are looking for sharpness and great curves in your quilts, then look no further.
Want to stay a little bit more muted? Why not try the MonoPrinting workshop following the Saturday lecture ”Why We Quilt.” This workshop is a favorite! The Sunday March 16th ”Invisible Machine Applique” Workshop will teach you how to get those sharp points and great curves. You will be able to choose one of six designs with edge turning techniques to achieve these goals. Want to learn scalloped or miter border techniques using your sewing machine? You will learn this too. Full descriptions, including supply lists and online registration, can be found under the Workshops tab on our website.
2025 Workshops – All our 2025 workshops are now open for everyone, both members and non-members alike. As usual, our January workshops are via Zoom only. Click here for more information and to register.
Virtual Sew-in – Our monthly Zoom sew-in for members is now held on the 4th Saturday of each month. Our next date is Saturday, January 25th, at 9 a.m. The Zoom invitation to the meeting will be sent on January 23. We look forward to seeing you!
For members only, we are holding a special guild challenge from January through May. Watch your email for further details!
Please check out our GAAQG website for additional information about the guild.
If you are not currently a member, you can join the Greater Ann Arbor Quilt Guild on our website where there is a link at the top of every page. We would love to have you!
Sincerely,
Jane Clark
GAAQG President
