August News & Upcoming Events

The Royal Proclamation
By Debbie Grosskopf

My daughters are some of the best shoppers you will ever meet!  Their tastes have changed and matured, but there was a time when they were really fond of the typical teen stores - the Gap, Old Navy, American Eagle….just to name a few.  They had a budget at the beginning of the school year to use to get un-ripped jeans (in the days before you PAID for the ripped ones…) a couple of cute, new tops, some new shoes.  They learned how to make their money stretch so they could get more items at lower costs.  When Forever 21 opened, they were ecstatic - until the first time they washed that so-cheap-and-really-cute top.  Then it shrunk to  toddler size or the lace came off or the seams opened.  It was a lesson in getting what you pay for.

The HMQG has been dealing with it’s own version of Forever 21.  We decided to try a new location this year, the Trini Mendenhall Community Center.  It has been a blessing to have a place that is free but that price tag has come with some restrictions that have made it impossible to do our Guild business.  Consequently, your HMQG Board has voted to move back to St. Martin’s Church.  We will be paying $50 a month to use the facility for our regular meetings but we will be able to host raffle quilts from other guilds, collect dues, sell mugs and other things and do our Guild business.  Our hours are less restrictive and the church will set up and clean up for us.  There will be opportunities to use the larger room for sewing but that comes at a larger cost.  So we plan to still use the Mendenhall center for sewing events where no money will be exchanged.  

What does this mean for you?  You have to read your newsletter and Google calendar and the emails we send.  We will post everywhere we can think of to make sure you know where to go for things you want to do!  I hope you know we didn’t make this change lightly.  We just have to be able to conduct business. 

August Meeting Details:

Purl and Loop Trunk Show
10am at St. Martin’s Episcopal Church
717 Sage Rd, Houston, TX  77056
We meet in the Payne Bldg (behind the church) in Room 210/12
We will have people outside to guide you up until the meeting starts so get there early!

HMQG Upcoming Events

• August 11, 7 pm (Thurs) -- HMQG Social at Good Dog Houston (RSVP)
• August 13, 9 am to 3 pm (Sat) -- Quilt Show booth sewing day (Trini Mendenhall Center)
• August 20, 10 am to 1 pm (Sat) - August HMQG Meeting NEW LOCATION
  
  • Purl and Loop Trunk Show
  • The August meeting is an important one.  We will be discussing some changes to our By-laws.  We need your vote, so please plan to attend!
  • NEW LOCATION - St. Martin's Episcopal Church, Payne Room 210/212
• September 9 and 10 (Fri, Sat) - Coastal Prairie Quilt Showcase with HQMG Fundraising booth
• September 17, 10 am to 1 pm (Sat) - September HMQG Meeting
  
  • Trunk show with Felice Regina, Windham Designer (St. Martin's)
• October 15, 10 am to 1 pm (Sat) - October HMQG Meeting (St. Martin's)
• November 1 (Tues) - Carolyn Friedlander workshop
• November 19, 10 am to 1 pm (Sat) - November HMQG Meeting (Trini Mendenhall Center)
• More great events announced soon!

AUGUST 13 SEW-IN:
Join us for a sew in at Trini Mendenhall Community Center on August 13, from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. We will be making items for our booth at the quilt show in September. It's just around the corner, so please come and help out!

AUGUST MEETING:

Get excited for a trunk show and mini shop with Angela Smith, founder of Purl and Loop, at our August meeting! Angela will show us the weaving supplies that they offer as well as a weaving demonstration. Don't miss it!
 

Carolyn Friedlander Workshop 
Don't forget to sign up for our workshop with Carolyn Friedlander! Spots are going fast! We will be doing her awesome Everglade pattern. The workshop will be onTuesday, November 1, at Quiltworks (9431 Jones Rd) from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.Sign up as soon as possible using the link here. You have the option of including the cost of the pattern with your registration, as you will see on the sign up page. If you do want to include the pattern, you must sign up by no later than October 1. Contact Kate White with any questions.

Second Half of 2016 UFO Challenge
Congratulations to all those that finished projects during turn the First Half of 2016 UFO Challenge  Due to popular demand, we are having another UFO challenge for the 2nd half of 2016.  Send a quick note to Kate to identify the items you'd like to commit to finishing by the end of 2016.  Every finished UFO is an entry for a prize!

The next Quarterly Birthday Swap will be in September. If you wish to participate in the swap, please bring a gift to swap. Gift ideas can include, but are not limited to: 1 or 2 FQ of modern quilt shop quality fabric,1 small handmade item (zipper pouch, pin cushion, mug rug, hot pad etc) sewing notion, a personal size sweet treat (candy, small cake). These are only suggestions, feel free to include any items you think a quilter/sewer would enjoy.

Michael Miller Quilt Con Fabric Challenge
The fabric is in!  Eleven (11) of you signed up to do the challenge - the fabric will be at the meeting.  It's really pretty - you want yours!

HMQG Fall Retreat: September 30th - October 2nd (Deep Woods Retreat Center)
We have one more spot for the fall retreat. This is your last chance to visit Deep Woods Retreat as they are closing in December. If you are interested, be the first to email sallykeller814@gmail.com

 for your spot. She will send you the link through which to pay. Here are the particulars again: September 30-Oct 2, 2016 at Deep Woods Retreat in Smithville, TX. Cost: $185 (through Paypal) $180 cash discount. Thanks!!
 
2017 Open Board Positions
There are many ways to get involved in the HMQG.  We will have the following board positions open for the 2017 year:

President Elect
Treasurer
VP Membership
VP Programming
VP Communications

If you are interested in running, the process is easy!  Just contact our current President, Debbie Grosskopf.  You can self-nominate or, as we like to call it, volunteer!  We would love to have you!  Remember, you have to be a member in good standing for 6 months prior to your nomination.

We are also taking names for a nominating committee to select qualified candidates to run for the positions.  If you are interested in serving on this committee, please contact Sally.  The job of the committee is to find qualified and willing candidates for each position by the October Meeting.  

Our slate of candidates will be presented at the October meeting.  If a position is contested, the candidates will give short speeches at the meeting.  Bribes are frowned upon - unless it's chocolate...  We will vote at our November meeting.  You will have the opportunity to vote absentee online.  You may not vote more than once.....

The very best way to meet your new friends is to get involved.  Our group is growing at a breakneck pace (for us, anyway) and you really want to be part of the movers and shakers.  Ask us about the duties of the positions - we have answers for you!

The August meeting is an important one.  We will be discussing some changes to our By-laws.  We need your vote, so please plan to attend!
 
Blog Roll on HMQG Blog - we're working on sprucing up the HMQG blog and we'd like to connect to all of you talented sewists.  If you have a blog or website that you would like to be included on our blog, please let Sydney know.
 
Advertisers in the Monthly Newsletter - with our new monthly newsletter, we will be seeking sponsorship from interested local or national companies.  If you are interested in advertising your sewing-related company or service, please let Stephanie know.

MEMBERSHIP

Welcome to our new members:  Brynne, Heathir, and Kirby.  We are so glad you joined our fun group!  If you need anything, don't hesitate to reach out to any of the officers or members.  Check out the directory in the google doc below.  We have printed copies (printed in June) available for a $1 donation.  Get one at the meeting.
FUNDRAISING

We are counting down in the final month of the fundraiser activities.  We have had many items made thus far and lots of nice donated items such as books, fabric, notions.

If you have been planning to clean house and eliminate any "new condition" books, fabric bundles, fabric yardage, tools, notions, etc, this is a great opportunity to donate it to the fund raiser.  Our last big sew day is August 13 and we hope you can come and join the fun.  If you want to come but don't want to sew, we will have lots of activities you can help with such as fabric cutting, fabric bundling, and so much more.

If you have items that can help make our booth beautiful, contact Joe Ann McClure and let her know so that she can plan the booth accordingly.  If you want to help in any way on Thursday, Sept 8, contact Joe Ann McClure.  If you want to "man" the booth on Friday, Saturday, Sept 9 and 10, contact Sally Keller.  Both of these ladies need your help and support.  None of us can make it alone.  We need all your help!

Make sure to save the dates Sept 9 and 10 and come shopping in the booth as well as see all the beautiful quilts (over 246, many of which are from our own HMQG members).

All items turned in will receive one more coupon for a quarterly drawing in September and for every 25 items  you have turned in, you will get one ticket for the grand prize drawing of a Brother Sewing machine.  Keep those items coming...... 

Pictures of items:  Fundraiser items

Tutorials and Patterns:  https://community.themodernquiltguild.com/groups/fund-raiser-items-patterns-and-links-patterns 

 

Logo Mugs are Here!!!

How are you getting by without your insulated, 24 oz HMQG mug?  You must be thirsty!  Let us remedy that situation!  Pick up your mug for just $12 at the meeting.

 

 Our Charity Happenings

We are still working on our contributions for the Orlando MQG Pulse Quilts. If you have heart blocks or a quilt in the works, please bring to the August meeting. Thank you to everyone for taking time away from your personal sewing to work on this project!  
And as always, we are still accepting finished quilts and pillowcases for our local charities.

 
QuiltCon Charity Quilt - Chairman NEEDED ASAP! We have received a lovely donation from Michael Miller of ALL of the fabric needed to complete our QuiltCon Charity Quilt. We don't, however, have a person to spearhead the project. Please please please consider taking this on! Check out the requirements and deadlines on the MQG site and help us put together a beautiful Charity Quilt to represent the HMQG. Contact Debbie if you are interested in spearheading this project.