Bulletin Board

It’s time to start thinking about nominating an active member of Quilters Unlimited for the Distinguished Quilter Award. The nomination form must have both a nominator and a co-nominator from the guild. Submit nomination forms by July 1

In addition to basic contact information, the entry form has three sections to describe the nominee.

1. Outstanding quilting expertise and talent
   
2. Quilting demonstrations, teaching and/or writing by quilter
   
3. Local, regional, and/or national quilt shows entered; awards received
   The Award Criteria below is online in the Policies and Procedures:
   • Committee Procedures for Nomination
     a) The Awards Committee shall solicit nominations from active Quilters Unlimited members through forms, published on the guild’s web site.
     b) There shall be a nominator and a co-nominator, and both shall complete and sign the Nomination Form.
     c) The Awards Committee Chairperson shall not be a nominator or co-nominator. In the case of any tie votes, the Chairperson shall cast the deciding vote.
     d) An Awards Committee member, nominated for an award, shall not participate in discussions or voting pertaining to that award.
     
4. Distinguished Quilter Award Criteria
   a) The Distinguished Quilter Award will be given to a participating guild member, who: supports the goals and purposes of Quilters Unlimited by promoting knowledge of and interest in quilting and the art of quilting; has outstanding quilting expertise and talent; shares by demonstrations, teaching, or writing; and enters quilts in local, regional, and national quilt shows.
   b) The nominee may also: serve as an officer or committee chairperson, demonstrate areas of expertise in guild (programs, writing, other), and show initiative and/or assume responsibility.
   c) The Distinguished Quilter Nomination Form is due to the Awards Committee Chairperson no later than July 1st of each year. Submit nomination forms by July 1
   
   Contact Janet Hughes with questions about submitting nominations.

Having room and time for demonstrations at the Quilt Show is one more way that this year’s show is going to be BIG!

Did you know?

• Giving a demonstration at the show (15–45 minutes long) takes the place of a volunteer shift (3 hours).
• Demonstrations can be on any topic of quilting or fabric art. (Have you ever done helio printing? Made a huswife?— you’ll get a chance to watch!)
• A trunk show highlighting some aspect of your quilting also makes a great demonstration — two of the guild’s distinguished quilters are on board for this option already!
• 8 of 20 Demonstration Time Slots are already full.

About the demonstration area:

• The demonstration area holds at most about 30 chairs, so you won’t be in front of a huge audience.
• There will be electricity/table/chair for you if you want to bring your machine.
• There will be racks to hang quilts.
• The guild’s projector and screen will be there if you want to show slides or video from your laptop.

The diversity of unique talents among our guild members is amazing — share your favorite corner of the quilting world with others! Sign up HERE before all the slots are filled.

I can no longer remain “silent”. I must shout out with enthusiasm about the Silent Auction and the donations I already received. We have some beautiful quilts donated for the Silent Auction which will yield good proceeds for QU but we need many more items. I was fortunate to attend the Frayed Edges Sit N Stitch group and see the projects they are working on for the Silent Auction. I am shouting out the need for other Sit and Stitch groups to think about working on auction items. Remember the donations can include any sewn or quilted item such as quilts, wall hangings, purses, place mats, table runners, necklaces, ragdolls or such.

PLEASE NOTE: The boutique will be selling cosmetic-size bags, book covers, pet collars and backpacks so keep that in mind as we do not want to compete with the boutique.

As a reminder, the participant who brings in the most money for a single donated item will receive their next year’s QU dues (2025) gratis. Please note that the award is for a single entry and does not include the total of an individual’s multiple entries. However, we do encourage multiple entries if you so desire. The Sit N Stitch group that brings in the most money for a group donation will receive a $20 gift certificate, given to the contact person named in the directory, to use at one of your upcoming Sit N Stitch sessions.

Quilts should have a label on the back with the quilter’s name, a title for the item, and the year completed. The title will be published in the Silent Auction Guidelines given to bidders at the show. It would be helpful to also provide the size (in length and width) of a donated quilt. You can optionally set a minimum bid amount for each of your items — you will get an item back at the end of the show if the minimum for it is not met by a bidder.

I will be accepting Silent Auction donations at every QU meeting. If you are unable to bring your item, I am very happy to meet up with you to get your donation. You can contact me via email at stichnmo@aol.com or by cell at 850-345-1530. Let’s make this Silent Auction one to shout about! Thanks again and I look forward to receiving your Silent Auction donations.

Marty O’Neill

It’s been an encouraging month for Quilt Show planning — we’re seeing more and more members getting involved! This show is going to be great because of YOUR participation!

• Kits flew out the door for Boutique items at the February Guild Meeting. I can confirm that the kits I took were really well put together. Let us see your craftiness at Show-and-Tell soon😊! Instructions are at https://www.quilttallahassee.com/qu24show/qu24show-donate/
• Kudos to Wendy Adams for recruiting THREE show sponsors😊! Give her a high-five and ask her how easy it was! Sponsor brochures can be downloaded at https://www.quilttallahassee.com/qu24show/be-a-sponsor/
• There are currently 10 quilts entered in the show. Three people have entered two each😊! (Please WATCH FOR THE EMAIL CONFIRMATION of your entry. That’s how you’ll know your entry form was accepted. If you are having trouble, please come see me at the Guild Meeting.) Enter your quilts at https://www.quilttallahassee.com/qu24show/enter-quilt/
• Clarifications about Volunteering: The requirement of a volunteer shift for each quilt you enter does not apply to Challenge quilts. So if you enter a Challenge quilt, you can have 4 quilts in the show and just be there for 3 three shifts😊! Also, please remember that giving a Demonstration of any aspect of quilting or related crafts counts for a volunteer shift. Pick your preferred time to give a demonstration by signing up at https://signup.com/go/DUQkbPr

At the March meeting, we will be bringing quilt kits for tops to be pieced in traditional fashion. There will also be a sign-up sheet for dates and times to come to Ann’s house to make more kits. This is a big push to clear much of our current donations for charity quilts.

Also at the March meeting, we will have components for quilt sandwiches to be quilted. Some may be best done on a long-arm or free-style machine. So, any of you with this type of machine, please consider taking a bundle. However, some will be small enough to be manageable on a standard machine. The quilting does not need to be fancy – sturdy is best!

There will also be kits available for strip quilts, also known as quilt-as-you-go quilts. These are easy to complete on a standard sewing machine.

If you would like to make a charity quilt of your own design, you can gather some or all of the materials you need from donated fabrics available from our philanthropy team.

Thank you to all of you who took tops to quilt or bind at the February meeting!

Dozens of quilts were delivered to Sleep in Heavenly Peace and Big Bend Hospice in the last month.

The QU directory will be available at the March guild meeting. Members, please check in at the membership table and pick up your copy.