President’s Message

Happy Spring everyone!

We hope that you all have the opportunity to read the rest of the Newsletter and see the nominees for the positions of officers to the Board for the 2020-2021 year.  We think you will agree that this is a terrific slate of candidates and we thank them all for stepping forward to serve the Guild.  All these candidates will be presented at the upcoming Guild Meeting on April 20^th and will be voted on in May.  We would also like to thank Pooa Bloomberg, Anne MacDonald, Carol Sterk and Jody Sullivan who served on the Nominating Committee and who did such a wonderful job of reaching out to the membership over the last three months.

In addition to the presentation of the Board candidates at the April meeting, Dee Plouffe will be conducting the Raffle drawing for the beautiful “Painted Prism” quilt, coordinated by Daisy Dodge and Debby Warren and quilted by Angela Vertucci, and for the Bernina sewing machine, donated by Lisa Alfonzetti at Pins and Needles.  Thank you to all of you who bought tickets – there has been a wonderful response.  As you know, the proceeds will go to SHORE/ICARE, a Westchester organization that builds and renovates homes to provide permanent housing for homeless families..

Don’t forget to put Saturday, May 1, on your calendars for the Spring Fling at the North Salem Ambulance Corps.  You can register and read more details further on in the Newsletter.  There will be a number of activities and, in addition to catching up with quilting friends, this is a great opportunity for us all to see the quilts that you have been working on over the winter.  If you have a quilt that you would like to show, please bring it to display while you are at the event.  We are also hoping to see samples of the work created in one or two of the online SIG’s.  Watch for further emails!
Please contact us at president@northernstarquilters.com if you have any questions.

Thank you to Nanette LaVerdiere who held a pop-up workshop on making an adorable armchair pincushion.  For those of you who missed the workshop, you can find the recording HERE. Coming up in April, Susan Deshenksy will demonstrate how to make a Book Pillow and Linda Stern will be showing us creative ways of labeling our quilts.

This month’s lecture is by David Owen Hastings.  David, who is a quilter, graphic designer and textile artist will be showing his process of creating simple graphic quilting patterns and providing examples of translating architectural photos into quilt designs, opening up new ways of looking at the world around us to find inspiration.

We often hear from you about interesting online exhibitions and articles which we share on our website and include in the Newsletter’s Member Notes and Links of Interest below.  Keep those coming!

Hope to see you at the Spring Fling!
Karen and Anne

Things are definitely looking up!  The temperatures are rising, the snow is melting, and vaccines are already in arms or scheduled.  It looks as if March will indeed go out like a lamb. Spring is on the way!

First and foremost, in our message this month, we want to express our sincere thanks to those members who have heeded the call to serve as elected officers on the Guild Board next year.  The nominating committee has compiled a slate of candidates for Board approval at the March board meeting.

Thank you also to the members of the Nominating Committee – Pooa Bloomberg, Anne MacDonald, Carol Sterk, and Jody Sullivan who have worked the phones and sent emails over the last two months to come up with such an excellent roster of candidates.

It is not for want of effort but, unfortunately, we have not been able to find a nominee to chair the Quilt Show for 2022. We all understand that it is a difficult position to fill, given the responsibility and time-commitment.  Long-time Guild members now have other obligations and newer members are naturally reluctant to take on the position with little or no experience under their belt.  Sadly, given the feedback we have received, it may be time for the Guild to recognize that, for the moment, we need to scale down and consider a different way of promoting quilting in our community – perhaps limited exhibitions of member quilts in local venues that can be organized separately by different groups of volunteers. We are certainly open to ideas and would like to hear from you.

Although there is no Quilt Show this spring, we still plan to get together!  The Board is currently considering reprising our fall Quilt Social at the North Salem Ambulance Corps. with a Spring Fling!  This will take place in late April or early May.  We are hoping for a small exhibition of quilts – Comfort Quilts or quilts created through the SIGs or some other member organized display.   Some shopping – there will be bargains on Boutique quilt kits, books, magazines, and raffle quilt pins.  We hope to have a few tables available for members to sell items.  If you have any other thoughts about what the event might include to add to the fun or how you might like to participate, please get in touch with us.

Raffle ticket sales have been booming!  Thanks to all of you who returned your raffle booklets, to SHORE/ICARE who reached out to their donors, and to Lisa at Pins and Needles who advertised the raffle to her store clients – the response was wonderful.  Just a reminder to those of you who have not yet purchased your raffle tickets, the deadline is fast approaching (the raffle drawing will take place out our April Guild Meeting) and the mail is not as reliable as it was!!!

Thank you to Roni Gerhardt, Susan Fasnacht and Patricia Loquet who treated us to wonderful pop-up workshops this month.  Coming up: Nanette LaVerdiere will teach us how to make an armchair pincushion, Susan Deshensky will give a class on sewing a book pillow and Linda Stern will be showing us creative ways to make labels for our quilts.  Keep an eye out for the emails!

Our Guild speaker this month is Katie Fowler who will describe finding her creative bliss by painting on fabric and layering and stitching the paintings to provide texture and structure. She describes herself as a fearless quilter and her lecture is bound to release a sense of adventure in all of us.

Happy quilting!
Karen and Anne

March 2021

Valentine Heart by Barbara Powers – Inspired by a CQ pattern

Despite the cold weather outside…  brrr… there are lots of opportunities to stay warm at home while working on our quilting skills this month.

After the wonderful demos from the Quilting Basket and Debby Brown at the last Guild meeting, we are excited to see another lecture demonstration on February 16.  Lisa, owner of Pins and Needles in Mount Kisco, will be demonstrating how to ensure accuracy in our quilting projects. Lisa is an experienced teacher and a long-time supporter of our Guild and we warmly welcome her to our meeting.

The additional special workshops have been a great success.  Mary Cannizzaro explained the basic steps in making a T-shirt quilt while introducing more creative ways to use the logos in a variety of designs.

In our most recent member tutorial, Meg Mooar introduced us to boro stitching and interweaved demonstrations with a history of the craft.    In February, Roni Gerhardt will show us how to make a casserole carrier, Susan Fasnacht will be demonstrating how to sew a reusable bag and Patricia Loquet will be exploring quilting as you go.

The online SIGs have already had their first meetings and are offering the opportunity to get together and learn and share a variety of different quilting techniques and projects.

At this month’s Guild meeting, April will be presenting the quilts in the 2020 Challenge, “What’s Your Vision,” and we will have the opportunity to vote on them.  It will be a wonderful opportunity to see the Guild talent on display.

Due to the pandemic and the difficulty of collecting the quilts, the 2021 Quilt Challenge deadline is being extended to 2022.  So, for those of you who want to take part but didn’t get a chance to complete a Challenge Quilt, there is still time!!   February is the perfect month to start that “Put a Heart on It” quilt!!

We have excellent news from ArtsWestchester. Be sure to read Susan’s report in the Latest News section.  We are very grateful to ArtsWestchester for supporting our programs and workshops and our thanks also goes to Susan Fasnacht, who has been the driving force in all facets of the application process for the grants we have received.

Over the last year we have been moved by Guild members, both on and off the Board, stepping forward to donate their time and share their talent and quilts to help keep us connected to each other. They have demonstrated that as members of the Guild we are part of an active and vibrant fellowship. In turn, the vitality of our Guild allows us to forge connections with a larger quilting and artistic community around the US and the world.

This May, as it does every year, you will choose a new Board to guide us through the next guild year.  Our first priority now is to find a President or co-Presidents.  Some of you may be reluctant to propose yourselves because you believe you are too inexperienced in the Guild to take on a leadership role compared with more seasoned members, or are nervous about taking on the responsibility.  Please do not dismiss the possibility of serving as President out of hand because of these concerns.  As you have seen this year, so many members are willing to help and support the Guild and there are plenty of experienced members who have devoted time to the Guild in the past who are prepared to offer guidance.  Give it some thought.  Chat with a friend.  Give us a call and chat with us.  The Guild relies upon people willing to take the plunge for a community which is important to them.

Looking forward to seeing you at the Guild meeting.
Stay warm and safe.

Karen and Anne
February 2021

Happy New Year!

As we move into 2021, we have a variety of fun opportunities to look forward to, so be sure to check out the details in the newsletter’s Latest News sections or on our website.

Several members have stepped forward to offer different pop-up tutorials, starting in January.  Thank you to Roni Gerhardt who will demonstrate how to make a reusable bowl cover on January 8^th and to Meg Mooar who will be teaching Boro stitching on January 22^nd.

Bethanne Nemesh’s Creative Textures workshop is January 16th, already filled up.  We have an extra workshop scheduled for Saturday January 30^th by our own Mary Cannizzaro who will be teaching from her book, Beyond the Tee, with techniques and ideas for fashioning fabulous T-shirt quilts.

Our programs chair, Linda Stern, has other pop-up offerings waiting in the wings, so keep an eye out for the emails.

New online SIG’s are being offered, providing more opportunities to get together with other Guild members and made possible by members generously volunteering to share their expertise.  We are so grateful to the hosts who will be organizing them.  There should be something in the list to match every member’s interest.

The nominating committee is making great strides in filling the elected positions for 2021-2022 but we still have one or two Board positions looking for nominees.  We are waiting until we have the full roster before we make any announcements, but we thank those members who have answered the call (you know who you are!).  As we start the New Year, we hope that you will consider serving on the Guild Board.  Organizations flourish with new perspectives and creative energy and we know there is plenty of both out there!  The Board’s meetings over Zoom have worked so well that meetings may continue over Zoom, particularly in the dark, winter months.  This would make serving on the Board more feasible for those of you who have a long ride or concerns about nighttime driving.

For January’s winter program, April Russell has arranged for demonstrations by Cathy Anderson and her daughter Sarah from the Quilt Basket and by Debby Brown, an award-winning quilter and teacher.  And don’t forget to work on your Challenge quilts.

Congratulations to the Comfort Quilts group that has donated a record 429 quilts to hospitals and social services organizations since July 2020.  You can find a link to a detailed list of donations in the Charitable Activities section along with the information to return (or get more)  charity raffle tickets from Dee Plouffe.

Don’t forget to check out our website from time to time.  In addition to showing what is on our calendar there are links to exhibitions where our members have work displayed and other online events to enjoy.  Carol Auer has shared an interesting article about the way the pandemic has inspired the rediscovery of the practical arts such as sewing. Check it out!

Keep your photos coming.  What have you just completed?  What is on your wall?

Stay healthy and happy (quilting!)
Karen and Anne
January 2021

We hope that you all enjoyed your Thanksgiving dinners and are looking forward to celebrating the winter holidays and the end of 2020.

December is the month of giving and the Guild offers many opportunities.

Hopefully you were part of the 45-50 members who were able to attend our special Friday afternoon workshop with Adele Scott teaching simple string piecing and came away with lots of ideas.   The holiday “Happy Hour” afterwards split into groups of 5-6 several times over and offered members a chance to chat about holiday sewing, gifts, and plans.  One popular gift idea was a ‘Soup Cozy’;  we plan to offer a short ‘pop-up’ zoom tutorial on how to make them, possibly this coming Wednesday, December 9th – stay tuned for email details.

Kennedy Catholic will host their Holiday Auction online this year, we’ll be sending an email so you can see the quilts we donated and maybe pick up some gifts of your own.

Is the Guild on your holiday list?  See Susan’s update  about member gifts to the ArtsWestchester matching donation program.  Remember, any donations to the Guild are always welcome! You can make a donation HERE.

Another way to support the Guild is by giving your time and talent.  This might involve taking on a Board position or hosting an online SIG or volunteering for various subcommittees.

During the next few months, we will be looking for members willing to take on the positions of President, Vice President Communications, Vice President Quilt Show, Secretary, and Treasurer for the next guild year, July 2021 thru June 2022.  The nominating committee will be meeting shortly and making calls.  Please consider serving on the Board or talking to a friend about working with you.  Taking part in discussions and decisions to keep the Guild alive and relevant to us all as members of a quilting community is rewarding and challenging (in a good way!).

In addition, the feedback we have received tells us that there is a real interest in forming small groups which allow the chance to socialize.  One or two of our SIGs have been getting together very successfully online and we are looking at expanding that model to provide opportunities for members to meet around an area of specific interest – applique, traditional piecing, hand quilting – or simply to sit and sew or discuss a regular challenge with a follow-up show and tell.  We can provide help with the zoom access, together with tips and support from experienced members.   Please let us know if there is a particular group you would like to see take off and that you would be willing to host.

Everyone should have received the Member Directory in pdf form that you can keep on your computer or print out.  This year, for the first time, the directory contains photos of members who wanted their picture included and it really helps to put a face to a name.  See Carol’s update further on about obtaining your hard copy. A big thank you to Carol Sterk, Rosemary DePaola and Joanne Visovksy who did such a wonderful job of pulling the Directory together.

After the December Guild meeting, the lecture will be given by Bethanne Nemesh.  The title of her presentation is “Walk the Creative Path,” and she will be describing her journey from traditional quilting to her beautiful pictographic silk art quilts, with tips and creative suggestions along the way.  We will not be able to record this lecture, so try not to miss it.  Bethanne’s workshop will be held on Saturday, January 16. Review Linda’s update further on for details and to register.

It is hard to believe that 2020 is coming to a close.  This year has certainly been a demanding one, stretching our ability to respond to new norms and testing our resilience. For many of us during this period our quilting has been a lifeline – an enjoyable way to spend our time and also an opportunity to give to others by making masks and comfort quilts and sewing for friends and family. As we look back on this year, we give thanks for this wonderful gift.

We wish you all joy this holiday season.

Stay well.
Karen and Anne
December 2020

 November already! This holiday season will be a little different from our last one, but we hope you are finding creative ways to celebrate and give thanks.

Cheered by the success of the Quilt Social and as we head into the colder weather, we are looking for different ways to stay connected. At our November Guild meeting we will be trying out the functionality available on Zoom which allows us to break into “chat rooms” of small groups. The plan will be to hold our business meeting first.  Immediately afterwards, our host, Anne MacDonald, will then (by the magic of technology) break us into groups of 5 for a short discussion or chat.  Anne will give us a topic to start the conversation, and the group members can start by introducing themselves to each other and then address the topic for the chat. At the end of 15 minutes, we will all be brought back together in time to attend the lecture.  Anne will be providing exact instructions during the meeting, as well as the discussion topic, and we promise that the experience will be easy to navigate!

The mini Comfort Quilt meetings, latest on Wednesday, November 4th, provide another opportunity to get together with Guild members, drop off a quilt for donation or pick up a quilt kit or two to work on.  Everyone is welcome.

Carol Sterk and Rosemary DePaola will soon be distributing a draft of the Member Directory (both digital and hard copy) for review.  The Directory is a key resource for staying in touch so please make sure to look over the contact information listed for you and email them if there are any errors at membership@northernstarquilters.com.  So far, we have 169 members, and we thank you all for rallying to support the Guild in these difficult times.

As Susan Fasnacht mentioned at our last Guild meeting, ArtsWestchester is providing a unique opportunity for its grantees.  ArtsWestchester will match any first-time donation to the Guild up to $1,500.  Susan describes the details of this matching gift opportunity in the Latest News this month, so please check it out and think about making a gift as a vote of support for our programs.

Giving the lecture this month is Merrill Comeau, a fiber artist, who will give a survey of her work and other international artists who work with fiber and suggest techniques for creating colorful patterned fabrics. This is another wonderful opportunity to see the creative ways that different fabrics – particularly recycled fabrics –  are used to express ideas in quilts with stunning results. You can see some of Merrill’s work here: www.merillcomeau.com.

As we celebrate on November 26, we will be giving thanks for all the support the Guild has received over the last year.  Happy Thanksgiving Northern Star Quilters!

Stay well.
Karen and Anne
November 2020

Happy fall!  We hope that the seasonal changes happening around us are providing plenty of quilting inspiration.

Over 65 members joined our very first zoom Guild Meeting in September and it was good to see people log in and eagerly connect with other members they had not had the chance to see for some months.  As time goes on and we become more comfortable with this format, we are hoping to set up chat rooms where small groups will be able to spend a little more time together and catch up.

This month, our speaker will be Adele Scott who will be sharing her favorite tips, techniques and tools.  The Guild Meeting will start at 5:45 p.m. and the Lecture will begin at 7:00 p.m.  Links to both these zoom rooms will be sent out to everyone beforehand.

The Board and other volunteers are busy planning our Quilt Social event which will take place on Saturday, October 10 from 10:30 to 2:30 p.m. on the grounds of the North Salem Volunteer Ambulance Corps. To allow us to maintain social distancing, this is a member-only event and everyone must pre-register and receive a time slot ahead of time.  There are still some spaces available in the afternoon, see the details further on in the latest news section.

There will be a lot of quilts to see at the Quilt Social.  All the 2020 Challenge Quilts will be on display with the opportunity to cast your vote, the beautiful 2021 Quilt Raffle quilt will be exhibited, and all the Comfort Quilt Salt ‘n Pepper summer project quilts will be there with the opportunity to win one of your choice.  In addition, as some of you know, Jennifer Larrabee has put together a quilt from blocks she received from 45 different people in 17 different states using the fabric scraps left from masks they made. The quilt is a feast of wonderful colors and shapes.

The last date to become a member and to have your name listed in the Member Directory is October 31st.  This year we will be sending all members an email containing a link to the Directory in PDF format which can be downloaded onto your computer and printed if you choose.  We will be printing a limited number of booklets.  If you would like a booklet, please submit your request via the Membership section in the latest news section which follows. Because we are not meeting in person and mailing is expensive, the booklet will be available for pick up at a number of locations.  If pickup is not possible for you, we will make other arrangements.

We know that many of you like having the booklet – we do too!!  But we are keeping our eye on our finances in light of all the uncertainties that we are facing.  We do, however, have a brand-new option for the digital Directory!  As a way of helping us stay connected as a community at a time when we can’t get together in person, every member will have the choice to submit a  face shot photo for the Directory which will appear next to their name and contact information.  One of our new members, Joanne Visovsky has very generously taken on this project and is enthusiastic to get started. You will be receiving an email shortly to let you know how to submit your photo.

Because the Treasurers’ reports will not be available at the meetings for members to review, Rebekah Glacey and Karen Martinez, who are working very hard behind the scenes to keep the Guild finances ticking over, will be providing a Budget Report and Balance Sheet via email to members.   As you will see, we are making some savings as a result of holding our meetings online but there are also areas where we may lose income.  We appreciate your support and will need it more than ever as we go forward.

We hope to see you at the Quilt Social.  For those of you who will not be able to make it, we will miss you but look forward to seeing you at our zoom meetings!

Stay healthy,
Karen and Anne

October 2020

MEMBERSHIP SIGNUP

Summer seems to have whizzed by and now fall is rapidly approaching.

Sadly, we will not be able to have our Guild meeting in person, but we are planning to have to have a zoom meeting on September 22.  The meeting will start at 5:45 p.m., but the ‘room’ will be open 15 minutes beforehand and you can log on and chat with other members before the formal meeting starts.  Following that business meeting, Thomas Knauer will present his lecture “Why We Quilt”, starting slightly earlier than previous lectures, at 6:30pm.  There will be separate links for the Meeting and the Lecture, and we will be sending those out a day or so beforehand, together with instructions, so please watch for those.

We plan to use this format through the fall and Linda has lined up more wonderful quilters who will present zoom Lectures on the evening of our Guild meetings and will teach workshops the next day.  All the information can be found on the website and we hope that you will look into signing up for some of these very interesting workshops.

Thank you to those of you who responded to our survey about the possibility of having a Quilt Social event in October.  Naturally, everyone has her or his comfort level and while some members are enthusiastic about an outdoor event, others are still more cautious.  As a result, the Board will be discussing the feasibility of holding a smaller outdoor event for those members expressing an interest.  We hope that by spring we will be able to put another outdoor event on the agenda that more members will feel comfortable attending.

We are always looking for new ways in which we might connect – perhaps break-out rooms on zoom where small groups might meet to show what they have been working on or discuss new workshops they have attended – and we would love to hear your ideas.

Thank you to those of you who continue to send in photos of your quilts and run the various SIGS and quilting groups

Please be sure to pay attention to your NSQG emails and our website, our main lines of communication these days!

Let’s fill the fall and winter with as much color as we can and keep sharing our love of quilting!

Karen and Anne
September 2020

If you need some assistance with technology to access our online meetings and workshops, let us know!
We can provide help to make sure you can stay connected to your friends and the activities at NSQG!

Watch this short Zoom tutorial we found for you
//youtu.be/9isp3qPeQ0E.

Contact Anne MacDonald for more personalized help,
annemacd8250@gmail.com or cell# in NSQG directory

MEMBERSHIP SIGNUP

We hope that you have been able to enjoy the beginning of summer and the Independence Day holiday.

Over the summer we will be continuing to look for ways of staying connected and sharing our ideas and quilts until we can meet in person once again.  Our Programs Chair, Linda, is scouting out more online programs and workshops for us to enjoy. We are also considering ways in which we will be able to hold our Guild meetings over zoom and possibly socialize online prior to those meetings.  Many Guilds are facing the very same issues that we are and we are keeping our ears to the ground for new ideas and opportunities to make sure that the coronavirus doesn’t get the better of us as a Guild!

Thank you to those of you who have written to us with suggestions and links to online exhibitions and other items of interest that you will find in the Newsletter this month.  The New York Times article on Rosie Lee Tomkins is fascinating and video links about the Bisa Butler exhibition at the Katonah Museum are still available. Some of you might be interested in submitting a quilt to the Yorktown Grange Fair which is going virtual this year. Our own Mary and Jen Cannizzaro were interviewed by The Quilters Circle . Rosalie Dace has very kindly agreed to keep the recording of her presentation up a little longer so it’s not too late to see it.  ArtsWestchester is featuring local members of the sewing community, and Barbara Glab, one of our own members, appears in one of these delightful podcasts.

We hope that you have enjoyed the Show ‘n Tells.  Please keep the photos and ideas coming over the summer!

Don’t forget to vote!  You will be receiving two emails on July 20 – one requesting your vote on the Bylaw Amendment and the other your vote on the slate of officers for the 2020-2021 Guild year. Please look out for them and vote promptly.

Last, but certainly not least, the new Guild season for 2020-2021 has begun and we remind you to renew your membership.  Rona Spar submitted a letter for inclusion in the Newsletter that says it all.  We hope that you will read it and that all the benefits of membership that Rona outlines in her note will prompt you to re-up and keep the Guild thriving through these difficult times.

Stay well and keep happy quilting,

Anne and Karen, president@northernstarquilters.com
July 2020

A NOTE FROM THE SECRETARY:

Hello Fellow Quilters,

I am writing to encourage you to join or rejoin NSQG to continue to be a part of our creative and supportive organization.   I urge you to think about our programs like Super Saturday, the Ugly Fabric Auction, Row-by-Row groups, Comfort Quilts, yearly challenges, boutiques, salad suppers, helping with the yearly charity raffle quilt, group trips, raffles, SIGS, and so much more. Think of the speakers and workshops which you have attended:  Adele Scott; Raina Gillman; Carole Lyles Shaw; Beth Helfter; Joe Cunningham; Cindy Grisdela; Charlie Hietala; Victoria Findlay Wolfe; Paula Nadelstern; and so very many more.  These programs will continue online or in person, depending upon COVID-19.   Especially think about the Quilt Show, which is the high point of the year.  Sadly, there was no show this year, but plans are progressing to have a fabulous show in 2021.  Be a part of it!!  JOIN!!  And while you are at it, consider making an additional donation to the guild, easily accomplished right on our website.

Until we meet again or Zoom again,  Rona

Online Voting

Considering the continuing difficulty of holding an in-person Annual Meeting due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Board has decided to hold these votes electronically.

The two items of business to be voted on:
– the vote on the proposed Amendments to the Bylaws:  removing the VP Education position with those activities picked up by Special Events and Special Events being renamed Activities Liaison.
– the vote to elect Board Members for the 2020-2021 Guild year(*returning): Co-Presidents*-Anne Chehebar and Karen Carlson, Secretary-Rona Spar, Co-Treasurers*-Rebekah Glacy and Karen Martinez, Co-Vice Presidents Communications-Daisy Dodge and Deborah Warren, Vice President Membership-Carol Sterk, Vice President Programs*-Linda Stern, Vice President Quilt Show*-Narcita Medina.

Emails with the details about these Annual Meeting items were sent in April and again last week along with the voting process.
That email information can also be reviewed here.
Floor nominations for other board candidates were solicited via email and none were received.

Every 2019-2020 member will receive two email ballots, one for the bylaw change and one for the board slate, to be sent July 20, 2020, closing date July 31, 2020.
PLEASE PROCESS BOTH EMAIL BALLOTS PROMPTLY.

If you do not receive your ballots on July 20 or have any questions, please contact president@northernstarquilters.com

.

June marks the end of our Guild year – and the fourth month that we have not been able to get together for our Guild meeting at Kennedy Catholic.  We miss the noisy buzz as we crowd around the membership table, sign up for programs, buy raffle tickets and share stories and tips.  We miss the tasty snacks and browsing through the library books and magazines.   We miss being together.

Still, we have much to be thankful for.

Despite us all being homebound, the Quilt Show Raffle was able to go ahead on schedule – over Zoom!  Thank you to Anne MacDonald, who hosted, and to her husband, Bruce, who was a such a great sport and drew the winning tickets from the drum set up in their living room.  (For those wishing to see the drawing you can find the recording here.)

We are proud to report that the Raffle raised $3,954 for New Dawn Family Resource Center in Pound Ridge.  This is a tremendous accomplishment given that there was no Quilt Show at which to sell the tickets.  Anne MacDonald pulled out all the stops, preparing emails encouraging member support and filling in all the information on the tickets for people buying through the mail and online. Lisa at Pins and Needles also advertised the raffle in an email to her customers who responded generously.  And, as always, the membership rose to the occasion, breaking all records by buying tickets and selling them to friends and family.

Sixty-seven of us watched Joe Cunningham live from his studio in California and another 36 logged into the recording.  It was a wonderful opportunity to have a presentation from a renown quilter who we would not be able to afford to bring to New York for a live lecture.  He was extremely entertaining and it was fascinating to see his studio and his unique quilts. His philosophy of quilting was both inspiring and a challenge to take risks and break rules.

Although we cannot have our usual salad supper, Linda has pulled off another coup for June 16 – as she announces in this Newsletter!

Also in the Newsletter is the 2021 Challenge that April Russell is organizing.  Her theme stressing hope, support and kindness is one we all want to embrace at the moment.

Many of you are helping to keep us all connected.  A shout out to Rosemary DePaola who continues to pick up our mail, to Mary Cannizzaro for offering her Zoom workshop on pouches to the membership, to Carol Sterk who is keeping in touch with our newer members, to Comfort Quilts for not letting lockdown interfere with the summer project — and, of course, to all of you who contribute to the Show and Tell, who run SIGs over the Internet and reach out to other members in a myriad other ways.

Carol Auer shared this article with us:  https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2019/feb/23/the-calming-effects-of-sewing-can-help-people-express-and-calm-themselves.  A number of you will have already read it but for those of you who haven’t, it recounts the calming effects of sewing. The author recalls the time when her mother first introduced her to sewing.   It is a beautiful piece which may stir a lot of pleasant memories and holds relevance for us at home sewing during this difficult time.

We are looking forward to the time we can all be back at Kennedy together.

Until then, take care and stay healthy.
Anne and Karen, president@northernstarquilters.com
June 2020

ZOOOOM!

These are difficult times, unprecedented for most of us.  The news is sobering.  Some of us are fortunate under the circumstances. Other members may be facing challenges and even losses of family or friends, and to those members, we hope you know that our thoughts are with you.

We hope you have all been able to find pleasure and relief from the daily stress in your sewing.  Thank you to all of you who have lifted our spirits with photographs of your comfort quilts, masks, works in progress and quilting stories.  These photographs are fun to see and inspiring to us all.  Please keep sending them in.

Our May and June meetings are cancelled.  Kennedy Catholic is still closed for the time being.  We are continually considering our options regarding guild activities and will be sure to keep you informed.

We are missing the opportunity to see each other in person but online we have been treated to the striking quilts in Timna Tarr’s chronicle of her quilting history and educated by Cindy Grisdela’s experiments with color choices and improvised combinations in her lecture and workshop.

Although our May meeting is cancelled, Linda Stern has pulled another rabbit out of the hat and Joe Cunningham will be giving us a tour of his San Francisco studio and his quilts via Zoom that evening.  More to follow.  Linda definitely deserves a standing ovation!  Thanks to Anne MacDonald who has been volunteering her Zoom skills and smoothing the way for these events.

Also at the May meeting we would normally have voted on the nominations for Board officers for 2020-2021.   Unfortunately, that vote will have to be postponed.

We want to thank those members who have agreed to be nominees for next year’s board:  Secretary:  Rona Spar; Co-Treasurers: Rebekah Glacy and Karen Martinez; Co-Vice Presidents: Communications – Daisy Dodge and Deborah Warren; Vice President:  Membership – Carol Sterk: Vice President: Programs – Linda Stern; Vice Presidents: Quilt Show – Narcita Medina.
We are also grateful to Susan Fasnacht who will continue to give us the benefit of her advice as former President, to Kathy Keane and Nancy Picco who continue to chair Hospitality, to Deborah Tashjian as returning Librarian, to Dee Plouffe who will be chairing Charitable Activities, to Anne MacDonald who will be Assistant to the President and to April Russell who will be the Activities Liaison.

Who could have imagined that we would have the opportunity to put our sewing skills to use in a national emergency? Many of our members have answered the call and have been very busy sewing masks for hospitals, nursing homes, first responders and other organizations.  Be sure to see Susan’s update below about the guild’s face mask production; Carol Auer has been a very busy mask maker, having sewn 650+ masks!

Jennifer Larrabee is putting together a quilt, hopefully to be hung at next year’s quilt show, collecting 6½” blocks made from scraps of fabric used for masks or other PPE.  See the committee news below for details.

The Raffle continues, despite the Quilt Show cancellation, with the opportunity to win the beautiful Sunshine Star Cabins quilt organized by Pat Julian and a Bernina Sewing Machine donated by Pins and Needles.  This is your opportunity to support our 2020 charity, New Dawn Family Resource Center. Please help by donating and by returning your raffle tickets, see Anne’s information below.  The Raffle Drawing will take place May 19, hopefully via Zoom before Joe Cunningham’s talk.

Signs and colors of spring are all around us in the new growth pushing through the soil, the trees coming into bud, and the blossom – all harbingers of renewal and the arrival of happier times as well as sparks for our creative imaginations!

Keep on sewing and by next spring may we will all be together enjoying the wonderful quilts of our Quilt Show.

Wishing you all health.
Anne and Karen, president@northernstarquilters.com
May 2020

We hope that this April Message finds you all well and in good spirits.  These are certainly strange and unsettling times but, we imagine that, like us, you are finding your sewing a wonderful escape and joy.  We are very lucky.

As expected, our April Guild meeting at Kennedy Catholic and the workshop the next day is cancelled. The April Board meeting will take place “virtually.”

Although we have all been confined to our homes, our members have not been idle!  Thank you to all those of you who have shared your photos, sent instructions for making face masks and addresses to send them to, emailed links for online quilt workshops, and have set up remote meetings to keep everyone connected.

Jane Eyes and Meg Mooar held a Zoom meeting for the Improv SIG.  Jane set up the “room”, fielded tech questions and generally troubleshooted, and the group had a lot of fun showing and discussing its blocks and planning the next project.

Linda Stern has been in touch with our speakers and has arranged for our March speaker, Timna Tarr, to give her presentation to the Guild remotely via a link on her website on the date of our April meeting.  We will be sending out instructions shortly.  Linda has also been discussing with our April and May speakers the possibility of making similar arrangements and even holding a workshop online. And we will be contacting workshop participants about refund processing. Stay tuned!

Please keep the wonderful photos and descriptions of your projects coming for the Show ‘n Tell that Karen is putting together for (hopefully weekly) email blasts.  In addition, Margaret Cibulsky has kindly agreed to organize one Wo/Man Shows.  Karen kicked it off with her email about using up her stash and other emails and Instagram posts are planned.  If you would like to do a similar show of your quilts, on any theme, please let Margaret know. We would all love the opportunity to see the amazing talent in our Guild.

Narci led the Quilt Show committee in the dismantling of the Quilt Show preparations and with Rebekah’s and Karen’s help, have returned vendor deposits and quilt registration fees.  A big thank you to them all.

Thank you too to those of you who are sending in your raffle tickets for the beautiful Quilt Show raffle quilt and Bernina sewing machine.  Anne MacDonald is sending out blocks of books to a number of members who have offered to sell more.  Please remember to send in your raffle books and let Anne know if you need more tickets to sell to family and friends. You can also make a donation to New Dawn via our website if you prefer.  Here is the link for further information about the raffle: https://www.northernstarquilters.com/charitable-activities/raffle.

Many of you are making face masks.  Susan Fasnacht is keeping track of the number sewed by the Guild, so please send Susan an email, activities@northernstarquilters.com, with the number and destination of any sent out.  Send photos too! There is a great photo on Instagram of the administrator of BronxCare nursing home showing off one of the masks that were sent from a member of the Guild!  Check it out at #northernstarquilters.

We are trying to stay connected with everyone.  We may be home but we are so fortunate that we can keep in touch, so continue sharing your ideas, patterns and photos via email, Facebook and Instagram – social@northernstarquilters.com.
If you have any questions about the status of guild activities, please contact us.

Most of all, we hope you stay safe and healthy.

Anne and Karen, president@northernstarquilters.com
April 2020