Coachella Valley Quilt Guild

It is hard to believe that two years ago the Desert Guilds Quilt Show was the last function at the Pavilion before everything was closed down by COVID and now it was the function that opened the Pavilion up again. I know that the committee for the show wondered at times if it was really going to happen or if it would be shut down at the last minute. It was good to try and re-establish a bit of normalcy with the 2022 show.

The show turned out wonderfully. Thank you to all the members who entered their quilts in the various categories — Showcase, Miniatures, Miniature Art, Challenge and the special Faces exhibit. They were so beautiful and they all helped to create a positive atmosphere for the show.

And, of course, a thank you to the committee members and volunteers that helped make the show go so smoothly. The show wouldn’t have taken place with out the efforts that the committee put in over the two years of planning for the show.

And finally there were the people who attended the show — it was wonderful to see them. So thank you to everyone who spread the word and invited family and friends and strangers and the members who attended themselves. Let’s get ready to do it again in March 2024.

The show isn’t the only thing to look forward to in the future. Check out the programs, classes and sew alongs that have been planned for guild members (and non-members). Laura Fiedler and Joanne Hunt are organizing a Wool Embroidery Sew Along via Zoom starting in April so if this is something you have always wanted to try (or something you already do) look at the details in the newsletter or on our website.

The world seems to be slowly moving out of pandemic mode but I hope you will all be careful as you step out into more and more activities. What ever you have planned for the next few months, I hope you will find time for the guild’s hybrid meetings and to keep creating those beautiful and comforting quilts.

Kathleen Herring, President

Thank you to the Desert Guilds Quilt Show Committee!

Theresa Hanada — Boutique

Pat Siegel — Treasurer

Kim Carlson — Volunteers

Stephanie Beasley — Miniatures

Robert Tucker — Challenge

Stevana Collins — Quilt Intake

Kathy Dunham — Ribbons

Annie Houston and Nancy Wilhelm — Hospitality

Kathleen Herring — President

And to the quilters in Pass Patchers and Cactus Sewables who served on the committee. If you are interested in being on the committee for the next show, feel free to contact Kathleen Herring kathleen.herring@icloud.com We welcome new members — especially if you can help with publicity.

Desert Guild Quilt Show Viewer's Choice Awards

Showcase Viewer's Choice: "Lollipops" by Loretta Duffy

Fortune Cookie Challenge Viewer's Choice by Pene Owens

Desert Guilds Quilt Show Miniature Quilts

Left: Miniature Art Quilt Viewer's Choice "Ike" by Cheryl Quesnell

Right: Miniature Quilt Viewer's Choice "The Twisted Wreath" by Alan Calgaro

What a wonderful quilt show this year! Coachella Valley Quilt Guild had 24 entries in the Miniature Art Quilt Division. Our very own Cheryl Quesnell won this division with her beautiful use of thread to share “Ike” (the cat) with us. Mrs. Cindy Snyder, a neophyte quilter and first-time attendee, absolutely loved Ike. She wanted to adopt Ike and bring it home.

There were 5 entries in the Miniature Quilt Division from CVQG and our Alan Calgaro won with “Tiny Twisted Wreath”, a beautiful example of tiny piecing. Mr. Bill Harper (a non-quilting guest attending his first quilt show) was very impressed with Alan’s entry, he simply couldn't believe how perfect and tiny each little block was.

Thank you to all of our members who submitted entries for these two divisions and CONGRATULATIIONS TO OUR TWO WINNERS!

Stephanie Beasley, Desert Guilds Show Miniature Quilt Coordinator

Desert Guilds Show Boutique

What a wonderful event this year. The fabulous showing of quilts really made this year special. Two years in the making through Covid uncertainty and barring swim meets, we had a wonderful turn out. Im happy to say the boutique was the most successful ever thanks to all your wonderful donation. We really had some fantastic items from our very talented members. I also want to take a moment to also thank my extraordinary boutique volunteer's, Patti Reyes, Mary Gorfine, Lauri La Salle, and Deborah Carron. This was my first year on this event so I just want to say a very special thanks to Pat Siegel. Pat was a wonderful mentor and a wealth of knowledge. Could not have done it without you. So I’m going to take a nap and and spend a couple weeks enjoying the welcome relief of a successful event being complete.

Theresa Hanada, Boutique Chair

Wool Embroidery Stitch Along

A Wool Embroidery Stitch Along is coming in on the Guild Zoom in April, May and June. This event is free to all guild members and non guild members, and is directed towards those who want to try wool applique; however, all skill levels are invited to attend. Joanne Hunt and Laura Fiedler will be giving instruction as needed. At the first Zoom class in April, there will be about ½ hour of direct instructions to those who are just starting out. This ½ hour session will be recorded and put on the guild website: cvquiltguild.org

We suggest you order a Candle Mat pattern and kit from Bareroots.com for a simple kit to get started with. The kit and pattern will be around $22 and the kit will include all the wool and thread you will need for your project. The easy patterns we are suggesting for beginners are Chicks Candle Mat, Fall Leaves Candle Mat, or Beeskeps Candle Mat. Of course, feel free to choose another if these don’t appeal to you.

I have created a SignupGenuis for you so that I can send out emails to give you further instructions.

Annie Houston, Vice President of Programs

Upcoming Programs

April – Guest speaker Anne Sonner "Family History Quilts"

May – Guest speaker Judi Kirk "What Judges Are Looking For"

September – Guest speaker Kathryn Pellmen "Storytelling Through Quilts"

October – Guest speaker and instructor Pamela Hadfield, Trunk Show, Saturday and dWhimsey Wedges Class, Sunday

In addition, In April, May and June we will be having a zoom sit and stitch. There will be free instruction and help with wool embroidery. Check our website for more info.

We are looking for volunteers to host Zoom Studio Tours during the summer. Get in touch with Annie Houston or Pat Siegel if you are interested.

Annie Houston and Pat Siegel, Programs

2022-2023 Slate of Officers

Below please find the slate of officers for Guild Board the next program year. We will be voting on these officers at the April meeting. We will also be calling for nominations from the floor if anyone is interested in running for one of these positions. If you are nominating someone else for a position, we must have in writing that person's willingness to serve on the board.

Coachella Valley Quilt Guild Slate of Officers

President: Tony DeZego

Vice President of Facilities: Treese Plfume

Vice President of Programs: Cheryl Quesnell and Nancy Wilhelm

Vice President of Opportunity Quilts:

Secretary: Kathy Dunham

Treasurer: Cal Trimpey

Membership Chairperson: Stephanie Beasley and Marcia Ulrich

Parliamentarian: Janna Calkins

Philanthropy Chairperson: Jackie Mason and Judi Moran

Janna Calkins, Nominating Committee

Holiday Luncheon Party, December 3

SAVE THE DATE!

Holiday Luncheon Party

Desert Willow Golf Resort

Saturday, December 3

We weren’t able to book the Desert Willow for the second Saturday of December so we will be holding the Holiday Luncheon on the first Saturday. Hope you can set that day aside (or at least the morning) and join us.

OPPORTUNITY QUILT

A huge THANK YOU to all of you who volunteered to sell Opportunity Quilt raffle tickets at the Desert Guilds Quilt Show. We made almost $200 at the show. Your hard work and volunteerism really paid off. I am impressed with how enthusiastic and responsible all of you were. Thanks again for supporting our Opportunity Quilt program.

Theresa Lake, VP Opportunity Quilt

FAcebook and Challenge

Who knew two years ago that our Coachella Valley Quilt Show would be one of our final group events until 2022. And now as though coming out of a deep sleep our exhibition is one of our first group events for many of us.

As this year’s wonderful show comes to an end, I am happy to inform you that over 4,684 people just on the first day have been reached via one of the guilds Facebook posts. This is mainly due to people “sharing” the post.

I posted an image of my main entry quilt on various guilt and art groups I belong to on Facebook and received positive feedback. At least 5 local persons responded to my post stating they were unaware of the quilt show and were excited to attend on the second day.

The Fortune Cookie Challenge had a delightful outcome. There were 34 participants and 19 were from the Coachella Valley Quilt Guild. Hanging the smaller entries on just two walls/sheets poses a challenge. Special thanks to Brian Brown and Tony DeZego for helping Kat and myself in hanging the pieces.

As I walked the show, I noticed that a lot of quilts did not have photos of the artist or very old photos attached to their statements. The photo is an opportunity to meet the artist in a different way and another avenue in which to be creative.

Exhibiting quilts has been very rewarding for me. I’ve had my quilts in museum shows, galleries, Road to California and the Mancuso show but this show is my favorite. The entries were just great, interesting and so varied. The size of the show is perfect and the fact that it is a community effort demonstrating shared interests and such conviviality. As I walked through the show all I saw was friendship and enthusiasm. Now that’s the way to live!

Robert Tucker, Facebook and Challenge Quilts

FACILITIES UPDATE

I am happy to report that the hybrid meeting (Zoom & in person) combination has been a success. It's nice to "see" everyone again. We will continue to follow the UCR guidelines requiring in person attendees to be vaccinated, wear masks, maintain social distance, and health surveys. If and when this policy changes we will let you know. I met a lot of new quilters at the show and invited them to come to our meetings in person or via Zoom this month. Please feel free to invite new quilters and friends to join us. Make a note on your calendar that the December holiday party and guild meeting will be on Saturday, December 3, 2022. More information will follow in the next few months.

Treese Pflum, VP Facilities

Charity Quilts

Both January and February were busy months with a total of 75 quilts received. In January we received 34 quilts and donated 47: 21 to Family Hospice, 14 to Olive Crest and 12 to Bristol Hospice. In February we received 41 quilts and donated 58: 25 to Olive Crest, 23 to Bristol Hospice and 10 to Barbara Sinatra Children’s Center. We currently have 5 quilts on hand for future donations.

The winner of the Sew What Table Gift Certificate for January was Marilyn Bromfield, and for February it is Holli Hainer.

The variety of quilts we receive is quite amazing. And if you don’t have the time to make a full quilt, or if you’re a ‘newbie’ and would like to practice your quilting, we encourage you to take one of the quilt bundles we have available and do some simple lines or swirls.

We are always happy to accept donation quilts at Guild meetings, and have the quilt bundles available to give out as well. In addition, Jackie Mason will be at Monica’s on Saturday, March 26 from 10 to 11 a.m., to receive your quilts and/or give you a bundle or two.

Thanks to everyone for washing their quilts before turning them into us, and for those of you who aren’t aware of the need to do this, the quilts have to be washed before they are donated to any of our organizations, so it is a tremendous help to us for you to wash your own quilts.

As always, thank you for your generosity and hard work. This comment in the recent thank you note from Bristol Hospice is typical of what we hear: “Your quilts are always a wonderful source of comfort & joy to our hospice patients. We thank you for your generosity from the bottom of our hearts.”

And we recently received a request for more quilts from Donna Knight at Family Hospice, saying, in part: “What joy your lovely quilts bring to patients and families. They all comment on the craftmanship, and are very grateful. Thanks for letting me be a witness to all the joy.”

So, thank you all. You’ll notice ‘joy’ mentioned several times. It’s a joy for us to be a part of this joy.

Jackie Mason and Judi Moran, Co-Chairs, Philanthropy

Sew What Table

Get ready ... The next Sew What Table event will be on Saturday, April 23, from 9 to 11 at the Joslyn Center. We're getting busy organizing the fabric and notions donations, with additional donations expected. More details will follow as we get closer to the event.

SEW WHAT TABLE FINDS

We received this fabulous Viking Sapphire 850 computerized sewing machine. No apparent damage, and my limited testing resulted in perfect stitches. Accessories include walking foot, free motion foot, 1/4" foot and lots more. (See the picture.) Also included is a Sew Steady large extension table, 24x24 inches, custom made for this machine. The age and last date of service are unknown, but this machine appears to be in perfect condition, obviously well cared-for. I saw internet prices ranging from $299 (some damage and no accessories) to $1500 (used once only). I won't set a price... I want to get as much as I can for the Guild, and I want you to feel good about buying it. Look it up online to read about its many features, contact me if you're interested, and we'll discuss.

Leslie Herbst, Sew What Table Coordinator, leslieherbst@yahoo.com

Save the date for upcoming sampler platters

Global Quilt Connection will be hosting three sampler platters this year!

Saturday March 19, 2022 noon-3pm and Sunday March 20, 2022 noon-3pm
Saturday July 30, 2022 noon-3pm and Sunday July 31, 2022 noon-3pm
Saturday September 17, 2022 noon-3pm and Sunday September 18, 2022 noon-3pm

Links to these virtual events will be sent to members when the dates get closer. More information is available here.

Ukraine UNICEF Fundraiser

Quilt Teacher Pat Sloan was inspired by Maria Nelga of Quilt.studio and is also the president of the Ukrainian Quilter's Guild to help the children affected in the Ukraine. Pat has designed a free quilt block pattern and is asking quilters to make the block and to send a donation of money to UNICEF for the benefit of Ukrainian children. Please click the link for more information.

2021/2022 Board Members and Committee Chairs

Kathleen Herring, President

Treese Pflum, VP Facilities

Kim Johnson, VP Opportunity Quilt

Theresa Lake, VP Opportunity Quilt

Annie Houston, VP Programs

Heather Keenan, VP Programs

Patti Reyes, Secretary

Calvin Trimpey, Treasurer

Tony DeZego, Membership

Janna Calkins, Parliamentarian

Kelley Bachli, Newsletter

Robert Tucker, Facebook

Jackie Mason, Philanthropy

Judi Moran, Philanthropy

Kathleen Herring, Website

Leslie Herbst, Sew What Table