April 2020 Newsletter

President's Letter

Hello Members,

I’d like to begin on the pertinent issue at hand, the virus pandemic. It is very important for all of us to take every precaution necessary for our best interest. And in doing so, the board has decided to cancel April’s meeting. We will re-evaluate the concerns for May. Until then, there is much we can do.

We are a very unique group, on so many levels. We have the talent to sew and most of us have an ample stash of fabric. So, sew!!  Sew masks for the local hospital that need them. Kelly Meanix has sent out, via email, a pattern. I have another type if you’d like, just email me with your request to have it. Marti Campbell has made it know that Philadelphia hospitals are in need and that she is willing to collect them from us.

I will be making masks. I will be trying to send them to Italy. If anyone knows a way I may be able to get them there, please help me.

Another item I would like to keep your attention to, the Volunteer of the Year Award. Please send me your nominations with a brief description of why you chose that person. It’s important for us to notice what we each do to help others and the community. It’s a valued trait we should all strive to do. It should be recognized when we see it!

The past winners are:

Suzanne Stiverson & Kelly Meanix

Maureen Carlson

Robin McMillen & Jean Fox

Delores Holzwarth & Angel Henderson

Pat Sherman

Jean Zubert
Jamie Loncaric

Please note, all of the above and the board members are not elibgible to be Volunteer of the Year.

One more thing...please reach out to the board if anyone has a need. We have each other to count on. Plus, if there is something you’d be willing to help with, let us know. 

Any other ideas or thoughts that come to mind, please direct them to myself or a board member.

Stay safe and healthy!!
Helen Hofbauer  - hhofbauer@comcast.net

President

2020-2021 Board Elections:

The nominating committee is taking a virtual approach to elections of the 2020-2021 board given the recent social distancing and stay at home restrictions.  We are publishing the list of candidates here in the newsletter rather than announcing them at the April guild meeting since we will not have an April meeting.  

We are asking anyone who would like to nominate another person for an office or would like to be the Assistant Program member to please contact Kelly Meanix or Maureen Carlson by April 1, 2020 either by e-mail or phone call.  

If no additional candidates are put forth by April 1^st, the nominating committee will issue an e-mail to the guild asking the guild via e-mail to motion/second to accept this slate of candidates.  Once the motion is made and seconded, we will have an e-mail vote.  No reply by the specified date will mean you are in favor of the candidates taking office. 

Here is the 2020-2021 slate of candidates:

President:                                          Lynn Telson

Programs:                                          Jen Burke

Recording Secretary:                           Kelly Meanix

Corresponding Secretary:                    Maureen Carlson

Ways & Means:                                   Robin McMillen

Treasurer:                                          Ellen McMillen

Membership:                                      Bob and Kathy DeCarli

Programs - Denise Blake and Jen Burke
Greetings fellow quilters,

I want to thank everyone for their efforts in the Quilts of Valor for the hospice. We got quite a bit accomplished I don't have exact numbers, but it was quite a bit. Many people took blocks to finish at home. Carolyn Davis made kits that we'll distribute at a future meeting. She has also volunteered to quilt some quilts, and she also has more border fabric. Go Carolyn! Thank you so much :)

I think our sew nights turned out really well. I'm sure we'll be doing more in our future :) Want to make a Veteran's Quilt during the quarantine? See below for the pattern.

Elaine Egan has offered to do binding for some of the quilts. Thank you Elaine!

If anyone else would like to help out with anything else, please let me know. We could use some fabric for backings if anyone would like to donate.

I think our sew nights turned out really well. I'm sure we'll be doing more in our future :)

So, the rest of our year will hopefully go like this:

May 11, 2020

Rachel Rossi will be speaking at our guild. She is in the Epherata area. Now, I haven't heard back from her as to what her lecture will be, but she has designed patterns and I believe a fabric line, and has lots of great quilts. Looking forward to her speaking at our guild.

June 8, 2020

Janneke Van der Ree will be our guest speaker. She was a local person, but has since moved to New Jersey--which is still kinda local. She will be doing a trunk show on all of her fabulous quilts. Really looking forward to a visit from Janneke.

That wraps up our year. Everyone, keep on sewing and stay safe.

Denise Blake and Jen Burke

Ways & Means - Robin McMillen

Hey -- The Acorn Shoppe sale is in September and since we are all cooped up in the house, you can use this time to clean out.  We will see the other side of this so let's think ahead.  Please collect any craft or household related items for the sale and keep them in one place.  That will help your guild in September.  

Also -- think about making items to consign.  Reach out to Elaine Mayer or Marianne Caporale if you have questions on how to consign.  I believe you set the price and the guild get's 20% of sales.  This is a crazy time but it is good to keep busy so here is what you can do:

• wash your hands
• stay inside
• clean your space
• save items for the sale
• make items to consign

Hang in there quilters reach out if you have questions (610)836-1363

-Robin    

Robin McMillen

(610)836-1363

(610)873-2950

Community Outreach - Elaine Mayer

Hello Fellow Quilters,

Thanks to all of you for your participation in our 3 ongoing community outreach programs.

It is sincerely appreciated.

We have now collected 125 lbs. of food. Attached is the thank you note from Ken Ross thanking us for our donations and monetary gift (proceeds from Elaine's fabric sale at the retreat). As you may well imagine, The current need a the Honeybrook Food Pantry is dire as they strive to help even more families.

We collected 15 Chester Bears from a small group of people to be donated to the Chester County Hospital ER. Thank You!

Carolyn Davis donated 10 pillowcases to bring our total to 26 thus far.

Continue to work ont he Mainline Hospice veteran's quilts as you desire. I will be in touch with Denise to see how we should coordinate this project.

If you need a Chester Bear pattern or a pillowcase kit (or two), please contact Elaine Mayer and I will get them to you via mail or drop off.

Thanks again to the generous members of Penn Oaks.

Elaine Mayer

From the Honey Brook Food Pantry:
Thanks Elaine for your $50 cash donation and for the many fine donated food products we will distribute tomorrow.

Please share our greatest appreciation with the members of the Penn Oaks Quilt Club.

The hundreds of people we serve each month are truly appreciative of your support!

Pattern for Veterans' Quilts

I made this as big and bright as I could, maybe print it out?

Membership - Kathy & Bob DeCarli and Marianne Caporale

April Birthdays  - Myrna Paluba

While I didn’t attend the meeting I heard it was great. Lynn did a super job on the challenge. Congratulations to the winners. We hope to be able to get gift cards soon. 

Kelly is trying to keep us informed we are grateful for all she does.

Stay safe 

Bob and Kathy

Want to make a mask?

I am getting feedback that if there is a choice, fabric ties work better than the elastic.

4 ties, 15 “ each gives enough allowance for any size head

I’m using bias tape which I sewed down to prevent fraying, or you can make your own. Shouldn’t be more than 1/2 in wide; 1/4- 3/8 is good.

They will, of course still take those w elastic, but the preference is tied.

Other options of places in need:

Nursing homes

Assisted and independent living

VA hospital

Urgent care

( I just mailed 12 down to my little cousin in a small town in TX... they are down to almost nothing)

I’ve also heard conflicting interest. Yes, there are some professionals that refuse anything but N95. Unfortunately, they are dwindling. 3M is trying to get more shipped ; they are manufactured in the USA, but the components are manufactured elsewhere.

With two layers of tightly woven fabric; the masks we are able to make are about 90% effective. Most professionals will take that over nothing. I was reminded that prior to the 3M N95, guess what the standard mask was?

Thankyou for your efforts

Be well

Marti

*****Idea for making the strings......cut a strip of fabric 1" wide using pinking shears. Press in half the long way and sew along the edge to the top and bottom of mask.

If you are on Instagram @Moderncraft has a great and easy tutorial.*****

Challenge - Lynn Telson
I want to thank all guild members that participated in the challenge this year. All were award worthy. Check out our facebook page for the entries. Thank you Jamie for taking pictures. 

The winners: Best use of Color - Kelly, 1st and 2nd place  (chicken with pink background); Most Original - Robin 1st place (bee), Kelly -2nd place;

Best Workmanship - Bob 1st place (horse), 2nd place unknown; Funniest - Lynn 1st place (pig), Marti - 2nd place (rooster). 


Sampler Sew Along - Kelly Meanix

Rob Lodi 's blocks

Blocks by Kelly Meanix

Look at the blocks made by former member Rob Lodi! Wow they look fantastic Rob! Are the rest of you keeping up? Do you like the 6" size?

I made a paper piecing tutorial that is on the same blog as our newsletter. You can always access it here-----Paper Piecing Tutorial
I sent out the April blocks early as we all are at home with a lot of time on our hands. We could add some blocks to this quilt instead of the original 30. What do you all think? I am happy to send out 3 new blocks every 2 weeks until things go back to normal. Yes, no, maybe so?
Send me an email and let me know. If there is not enough interest I will go back to the 1st of every month. Please email me at kellymx@aol.com to voice your opininion about sending out 3 blocks every 2 weeks.

Newsletter Articles
As always members are invited to send items to be included in the newsletter. Please send them to Kelly Meanix at kellymx@aol.com Items are due no later than the 24th of the month. The newsletter is published on the 25th. Please send them in an email and not as an attachment.


Corona Virus Quarantine Activities

Confetti  Cards!     https://www.stitchedincolor.com/blog/2018/1/12/confetti-cards?rq=confetti

Mystery Quilt
Laundry Basket Quilts is having a mystery quilt sew along. This is the link for block #1.
https://www.laundrybasketquilts.com/blog/mystery-quilt-2020-block-1/



Fitness Idea!

YouTube Chair Exercise Videos
If you're like me and spending too much time in a chair these days, let the chair work for you. The videos from Grow Young Fitness, More Life Health Seniors, and Has Fit all have full-body workouts that may be done standing or from a chair. You may also find them helpful for a good body stretch after a long sewing session.
And perhaps a bit of a stress reliever during these uncertain times.
Ellen McMillen


From Cindy Vognetz:

Zentangles!!!

Zentangles!!! 
Go to this link https://zentangle.com/pages/what-is-the-zentangle-method


Free Patterns From the Fat Quarter Shop!

Follow this link for some free patterns! 
https://www.fatquartershop.com/free-quilt-patterns


Corresponding Secretary - Maureen Carlson
This month’s Women’s Right to Vote article was to list different museums and exhibits opening shortly in and around Chester County.  While I’m still going to list those URLs below, with the state-wide shutdown these exhibits are definitely delayed. 
What is important during these uncertain times is that we all remember to exercise our ancestor’s hard-won right to vote and VOTE despite the current social distancing.  IF you don’t want to leave your house to go vote, there is a way to vote via mail in Pennsylvania -- apply for a mail-in ballot via this URL -- https://www.votespa.com/Voting-in-PA/Pages/Mail-and-Absentee-Ballot.aspx
Note the deadline for mail-in ballots must be received by April 21^st by your county’s election officials so register via the URL NOW. 
Plus you can register at this time to receive ballots for both the primary and general election in November.    Many thanks go to Ellen McMillen who 1^st informed me of this voting option. 

So, back to Suffrage-related museum exhibits:
Chester County Historical Society:  http://www.chestercohistorical.org/exhibit/governing-women
Burks County:  https://www.berkssuffrage2020centennial.org/
PA Constitution Center, Philadelphia:  https://constitutioncenter.org/experience/exhibitions/upcoming-exhibitions
And if you want to explore exhibits farther afield:  https://www.2020centennial.org/programs-events
Maureen Carlson

Paper Piecing Tutorial

Here is a Paper Piecing Tutorial you can reference any time you are doing a block. Everything shown here can be applied to any paper pieced block.

 There are 47 pictures! I think I covered it all.

Things to remember:
After you sew each seam be sure to trim the seam allowance to 1/4".
Always cut your fabric larger than you think (-:
Press often to keep your work flat
Your fabric should always be on the white side of the paper and you are always sewing on the colored section of the pattern.
When you print out your pattern make sure it is actual size.

If you have ever thought about using a light box, I found this on Amazon for $22.00 Tiktek is the brand. You don't need one but I use it for a lot of things.

We are doing this block today. I will go almost step by step and hopefully it will become more clear to you. The more you do this, the easier it gets. I will be including paper pieced blocks in our Sampler Sew Along as often as I can for you to try.

First take your pattern and cut off the extra paper, it will be in your way. Make sure to NOT cut on the dashed line.

Take something like a book mark and score all the lines on the pattern. They do not need to be perfect. They are used as a guide for you to follow. Just press the edges over the edge of the bookmark.

Make sure your fabric is neatly pressed. Wrinkles do not help for acurate sewing.

Pick out your fabrics. For this demo I will use the exact colors on the pattern so you will not be confused. The MOST important part about cutting out your fabric is to cut the pieces much larger than you think. I would say 3/4' to 1" larger at least. Repeat to yourself "I am not wasting fabric".
If you try and cut exactly you will be picking out all the time and get frustrated.

Here is an example of a much larger piece than it looks like I need.

See how wide I made this? It will allow for any moving of the fabrics.

We will start with piece #A1 which is pink. Number A2 is a window and I am using a white print. See how large I cut the piece? You will thank me at some point, I promise.

If you want you can copy the lines on the white side of the paper for reference. I think that takes a lot of time but do what works for you.

Here is piece #A1 placed on the white side of the paper, covering spot A1 on the pattern.

Next I am placing #A2 a white fabric (window) on the pink fabric, right sides together. If you want you can put a pin in there to hold them together.

I have flipped it over so you can see all my lines are covered. This is on my light box. See how much extra fabric I have?

This is the part that I think is the most confusing for everyone. Your fabric should be on the bottom (white side of paper)and you are sewing on the line of the pattern (colored side of paper).

Starting a little bit before the line sew and go past the line as shown above.

Once it is sewn, flip it over and press the white out. I do use my iron to keep it flat. Finger pressing works too. Trim the seam between A1 and A2  to 1/4" if needed.

Next we are sewing A3. It is very skinny but I am still using a large piece of fabric.

Place the A3 pink fabric along the edge of the white window fabric. Pin if necessary.

Sew along the A2 and A3 line as you did with the last seam line.

It will look like this when you flip it over, and press A3 down flat.

After ever sewn seam be sure to check your seam allowance and trim to reduce bulk.

Number A3 trimmed and readt to add the next #A4 window fabric.

Finish sewing #A1 through #A5 as we did above. It will look like this when complete.

Next we will sew A6.

Flip back the paper on the A6 line and trim the extra fabric. Do this with every piece.

Always aim for a 1/4". It is not critical but try.

Next take piece A6 (pink) and make sure you have a large enough piece.

Sew it down on the line and flip over as shown above.  Press well and check to make sure it covers all the lines.

Next is the green door #A7. Place it along the edge, flip and sew on the line. You may use a pin to hold things in place at any time. I don't use them because they get in the way.

Trim the seam allowance and press in place.

Next is A8 pink, place it along the edge, pin, flip and sew.

Fold back on the line of #A9 above the windows and trim the excess fabric.

Next we will continue on in the same fashion for the top of the house. Pin, flip and sew #A9.

It should look like this. Are you getting the hang of it now? If you notice on the left I was very close to not having enough fabric to cover my edge. I just made it! Make sure all your edges are covered.

The next section is #A10, the roof.

Make sure your farbic is large enough to cover the entire roof section. Even the triangles at the top edges.

Place your fabric on the line between #A9 and #A10 and sew. Flip and press so it looks like this.

Flip back the corner triangles #A11 as shown above.

  Trim this edge leaving a 1/4" as shown above.

It should look like this when you turn it over. Do the other side also, #A12.

Cut a large rectangle for #A11 and #A12  (DO NOT CUT A TRIANGLE) make sure it is large enough to cover this entire area. Pin, flip, sew on the line.

Turn it over and press it to the outside edge. See above. Do the other side the same way.

It should look like this. Be sure the fabric covers all the edges.

We are coming down the home stretch! Cut your bottom piece for the "grass" #A13. Again make sure the piece covers all the edges.

Your finished block should look similar to this. Press it well and make sure all the edges are covered.

Turn the block over and trim. Place your ruler in the solid line using the 1/4" mark. Don't be worried if it is not on the dash line exactly. It is more important for it to be a 1/4" from the solid line.

Your block should look like this! Press well and admire your work.

I hope this is helpful and let me know if you have any questions.
Kelly Meanix  --- kellymx@aol.com