Kaleidoscope of Color may be happening even as you are reading this. If you haven’t been to it yet, don’t miss it! If you have been, grab a different friend and see it again. See you there!
I’m writing this message a week before it opens. But I’m hopeful that we really are going to pull off this crazy-big annual quilt show. So let’s plan to celebrate our success at the September 12 guild meeting! There will be ribbons and there will be snacks!
The most important thing there will be is gratitude for all the time and effort so many, many of you have given to the show. Please know that I’m a bit overwhelmed right now and afraid I’ll forget to acknowledge someone’s contribution. It ALL mattered! The logo you designed. Every quilt you entered in the show. Every quilt or boutique or silent-auction item you sewed. Every friend you told about the show. Every volunteer shift you fulfilled, including the ones that left you with sore muscles the next day. Every time you shared on social media. The food you brought to the opening reception. The vendors you helped find. The sponsors you asked to donate. The funds you donated as sponsors. The way-more-than-usual financial record keeping. The baskets you put together and donated. The work so many did on the Opportunity Quilt more than a year ago. Having patience while we didn’t have all the answers. Putting yourself out there to give a demonstration despite butterflies in the stomach. The show ribbons you made. The volunteer badges you put together. The cut-and-fold-600-programs work. The Challenge designed and fulfilled. The art supplies you donated. The A/V setup you improvised. The ladders you lent. The music you played. The flyers and bookmarks you handed out. The things you did so quietly without any expectation of acknowledgment. Thank you all for believing in the vision of a great big show! Give yourself a pat on the back, a round of applause, or both!
And this doesn’t even mention that the members of the show committee did those things plus research and planning and site visits and sitting through loooooong meetings and you name it — all of which were steps outside their comfort zones. The committee went above and beyond in every direction, time after time. It was an honor to serve with Karen Kunz, Susan Thomson, Janet Taylor, Ann Gaber, Dawn Griffin, Peggy Allen, Marty O’Neill, and Tara Goodman. If I am still sane, they are the reason.
Your grateful chair
Sue Isaac