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2022 YEAR END ARCHIVE REPORT

OFFICERS-

PRESIDENT-Cindy Christenson VICE PRESIDENT-Jill Kirkland

TREASURER-Sue Zabell SECRETARY-Pat Trapanese

CHAIRS-

Archivist/Awards-Celeste Sheldt Hostess-Roxanne Santini

Birthday Club-Jan Wood  

Membership-Nancy Klump

Block Exchange-Barbara Means Newsletter-Sue McBride

BOM-Danielle Morgan 

Photographer-Monique Byrne

By-Laws-Barb Levan 

Red Top Retreat-Barb Levan/Carolyn Shea

Communications-Nancy Draheim 

Sit N’ Sew-Cindy Christenson

Community Service- Special Projects- Debbie Winstead

Carolyn Shea- Quilts 

Sunshine-Beth Virden

Barbara Means-Pillowcases 

Web Master-Kim Ayers

Vickie Evaristo-Dog Beds 

Zoom-CindyChristenson, Daryl Miller,

Door Prizes-Suzie Callendar, Monique Byrne Nancy Draheim

JANUARY 4 General Meeting on Zoom. 46 members attended.

Program- Antique Road Show. Antique quilts shown by members.

UFO Challenge announced with 1st due in March

VP Challenge announced- “Do Something Different, Challenge Yourself “ Due November

Name Tag Drawing implemented to encourage members to wear name tags

Allatoona Guild’s 40th Anniversary Year started with plans for a party in August

FEBRUARY 1st General Meeting (First In person meeting since Covid) Masks Required

Program- Wool Trunk Show by member Barbara Means with a class after the meeting.

BOM- 1ST Block Revealed

MARCH 1st General Meeting on Zoom

Program- “Use it All” by Norene Skiles. Ideas and techniques on using scraps of fabric and batting.

Red Top Retreat (7th to 11th) Theme was LUCK OF THE IRISH with an Irish Chain Quilt Pattern

BOM- 2ND Block Revealed

“Where Were You in ‘82” articles started by members in conjunction with our 40th

Anniversary year. Jan Wood headed up program.

APRIL 5TH General Meeting in person

Program was the Silent Auction headed by Daryl Miller with Jan Wood and Barbie

Richardson helping. Raised $1510 for the guild.

BOM- 3rdblock revealed

2023 Red Top Chairs will be Sue Baumgartel and Sue McBride

40thAnniversary Pins approved to be ordered

Board Meeting were decided to remain on zoom

MAY 3RD General Meeting in person

Program was Demo Day. Short demos by 9 members showing various techniques and How-to’s

Block Exchange will be Red and White colors.

BOM- 4THBlock revealed

Special Projects of a quilted gift exchange was announced 

It was decided to start going back to in person sew in days with the 1stone on the 24th.

JUNE 7TH General Meeting on Zoom

Program- “Math for Quilts” by Cyndi McChesney

BOM- 5th block revealed

2022 Red Top attendees to be refunded $12 or can donate it to food bank

JULY 5th General Meeting on Zoom

Program- “Spools & Tools” by Michelle Umlauf presenting favorite tools, techniques and notions

BOM- 6thblock revealed

RSVP invitations for the Anniversary party sent out. Members asked to wear red to party. Past

Presidents were invited and asked to bring their presidents quilt.

AUGUST 2nd General Meeting in person

40thAnniversary Party- There were 70 members attending with 2 guests. 9 past presidents attended.  

Chicken salad luncheon was served. Anniversary pins and mug rugs given out to members

BOM- 7thblock revealed

2023 Red Top Theme announced- “Sew Happy Together”

SEPTEMBER 6th General Meeting in person

Program- Trunk show by member Danielle Morgan with a class after meeting. “Taking a Panel to a

New Place” 10 members attended

BOM- 8thblock revealed

OCTOBER 4TH General Meeting in person

Program- Collage trunk show and lecture by speaker Nancy Hutchinson with workshop scheduled

On the 25th

BOM- 9thand final block revealed. Sashing instructions will be revealed next month

Special Project- quilted items were exchanged by 14 participants

Tool Holder/Sew Organizer class was taught by President Cindy Christenson after the general

Meeting

New officers and committee chairs voted on for 2023

NOVEMBER 1ST General Meeting in Person

Program- speaker Lynn Rinehart. Lecture on quilt appraisal. She will do quilt appraisals after meeting

VP Challenge participants showing their items

NOVEMBER and desserts will be provided.

Members asked to bring special mug/cup

BOM-sashing instructions were provided in the newsletter. Final border and finishing instructions 

next month  

Red Top 2023- Daryl Miller showed a Friendship Star Quilt that goes along with the theme of the

Retreat. She gave various web sites where the pattern can be found

DECEMBER 6th General Meeting in Person

Program- Presentation of comfort quilts to the Acworth Police. A quilt made by members was 

Presented to Chief Dennard on his retirement. The new Chief of Police was introduced.

YTD Community Service-

Comfort Quilts-135

Pillowcases-747

Police Bears-74

BOM- Final instructions in newsletter

Block Exchange- 88 red and white blocks were made with 26 members participating. The blocks were won by 6 members.

Christmas tea, coffee and dessert was enjoyed by all

2021 AQG Yearly Review

Officers:

President – Susan Baumgartel

Vice President – Daryl Miller

Secretary – Barbara Means

Treasurer – Sue Zabell

The Guild approached 2021 with considerable enthusiasm and hope that Covid would soon be behind us … this was not the case. Covid continued to impact the Guild’s ability to gather in person. As a result of the pandemic conditions, we rallied and moved forward, despite the unfortunate circumstances posed by Covid. 

Highlights of accomplishments for the year: 

· We met every month via Zoom for our General Meetings and the Executive Board meeting. We averaged 35-40 for the General Meetings and 12-20 for the Executive Board Meetings. 

· Sit-n-Sews were held at least two times per month via Zoom. Members grew to love having contact with Guild friends and also loved the convenience of having all supplies/tools quickly available. In the past our sewing gatherings had only moderate attendance and often attendees left after lunch. Our Zoom sit-n-sews, at times, lasted until late in the day. Members also felt they accomplished much more via the Zoom gatherings. 

· Daryl Miller presented excellent programs throughout the year. Listing and highlights follow in the VP report. 

· We held a virtual retreat, replacing our usual Red Top retreat, the second week of March. It was well attended with special projects, goody bags, games, and lots of fun for the two days. Our closing survey revealed that the group would not be opposed to three days in the future if we’re unable to have our in-person Red Top retreat. 

· We held multiple Parking Lot Pick-ups/Drop-offs during the year. Multiple programs/projects were at the heart of these socially-distanced gatherings. The Community Service report provides details. 

· We were able to have a membership of 79! My hope/goal as President was to retain at least 50% of our previous membership of 94 at the end of 2020. Thankfully members rallied and we ended the year favorably. This was very encouraging. 

· We were encouraged by members’ participation in Block of the Month, Speak Up, VP Challenge, Postcard exchange at Christmas and the Block Exchange. 

· We completed the year financially healthy as we closely monitored expenses throughout the year. 

· Meeting minutes were completed for all formal meetings and they can be found on the website.

· The Executive team and chairs worked well together. There were major decisions that had to be discussed throughout the year; those of greatest challenge were determining when, or not, we would meet together again for a General Meeting, and what circumstances/requirements would be imposed. This occurred in 2020 as well. Thankfully, we had no discord in making these decisions. The membership body supported our decisions as we had the health and safety of members at the heart of our discussions. I believe the 2022 Officers/Chairs are going to have similar decisions to address. Covid/Pandemic has/will continue to pose challenges in our environment. 

VP Programs – Daryl Miller

During the past two years Allatoona Quilters’ Guild programs have been significantly affected by the Covid-19 Pandemic. We held only three meetings in person before the pandemic hit in March 2020, but were able to complete the 2020 Red Top Retreat before we restructured all activities.

After a one month “Covid Break” we began Zoom programing and have had 8 programs by members supplemented by 12 outside speakers from remote locations. We would never have been able to invite and afford speakers from Seattle or Toronto without Zoom. 

Zoom has enabled us to keep the guild going during these years as we have been able to keep quilting during the pandemic and also stay connected. It will be great to see the whole guild together in person again but our connections have mostly been with those who attend on the Zoom screen. We have had participation from 25-50 for various General Meetings and perhaps about 25-35 at Board Meetings. The significant participation increase has been due to the Sit and Sew meetings. These casual meetings average 18-20 members and run from 9:30 am sometimes as late as 5 pm! In person, these were poorly attended and typically wrapped up when a few left for lunch. Members find it so convenient to sew in their own studios without having to pack up and carry their machines and supplies to the school for a 2 or 3 hour session. Communication is easy and connections in this group will be long lasting when we meet again face to face. 

The VP Challenge for 2020 was to make a “Curvy Quilt” and we had 12+ participants. In 2021 the Challenge was to “Speak UP!” using words in the quilt with 8 members participating.

The Block Exchange was not held in 2020, but we did it in 2021 with Dottie Pittman and Connie Kessler purchasing and distributing the fabric, as well as collecting and managing the contest.

The PhD Programor Projects Half Done for 2021 was a great success. There were 24 members who “applied” to the “registrar” with their project list. To encourage quality over quantity members could break their projects into segments, they set the month to work on them to fit their calendars and they had one month off for other commitments or to catch up. Each paid $10 for the 8 month program and had to send photos for Show and Tell on Zoom. There were 12 who completed their projects and they will “graduate” and receive a Diploma, a PhD charm and 2 spools of Aurufil thread.

2020 Programs

January- Quilting Ergonomics was explained by member Beth Aitken, a Physical Therapist.

February- Re-Loom from Atlanta showed a wide variety of products woven from fabric and clothing discards. They made bags, rugs, placemats and even dog leashes.

March- Elisabeth Frolet gave a beautiful Applique and Embroidery Trunk Show. Her workshop was cancelled by the lockdown but there were 25 members who had paid to attend.

April- “Covid Break”

May- Barbara Means and Vicki Evaristo, gave a members Trunk Show via our first Zoom General Meeting. We had met as the Board via Zoom before setting up the regular meeting.

June- On the Wall Quilts- members showing what was hanging in their homes as we found ourselves “climbing the walls” over covid restrictions.

July- The Carol Bobar Show. Carol sent in so many photos from her Wall Quilts, that she earned her own monthly program spot via Zoom.

August- Jeanette Walton with a Judy Neimeier Trunk Show via Zoom. Jeanette is a Judy Neimeier instructor who lived in Kennesaw before moving to California and has been scheduled to do several quilting cruises. 

September- MJ Kinman with a wonderful Zoom program on her Gemstone quilts made with freezer paper patterns from Louisville, Kentucky.

October- Our Curvy Quilt challenge was supplemented by Karen Eckmeier, whose program Wiggles and Waves, on Free Form Curves fit in nicely. Karen is the fiber artist of the Quilted-Lizard Studio in Connecticut.

November- Red Top Show and Tell. We showed completed works from the March retreat and discussed signing up for a virtual retreat for March 2021.

December- There was a Community Service Drop off at the Police Station because of rainy weather. And the Zoom program was photos from members’ homes of holiday décor, as we were all still “Home for the Holidays.”

2021 Programs

January- Face the Year- Program Chair Daryl Miller compiled several videos and photos from Freddie Moran’s Face the Year series of faces. Freddie is a California quilter who began to create faces as she recovered from a severe illness. She made and created a friend story about a face every day to help her face her new year. She also donated several to the Sisters Oregon virtual quilt show of 2020.

February- Barbara Eikmeier joined us via Zoom from Lansing, Kansas showing us her Random Block Sampler. This was also our month to show our completed Row by Row Block of the Month quilts from 2020.

March- Barn Quilt Blocks with Suzie Paron was a hit with her photos of barn quilts all over the country. She also held a zoom workshop that afternoon to create our own barn quilt blocks. She provided kits including the 24” plywood squares, paints and patterns for those who signed up.

April- Japanese Yukata fabrics was presented by Patricia Belyea from Seattle. She also explained the Japanese International Quilt Festival and growing indigo plants at her eastern Washington farmstead.

May- Secrets of the Houston Quilt Market was a Zoom by Michelle Baston from Lunenberg, Massachusetts.

June- Rhonda Pierce from Schmetz Needles in Chicago joined us for an informative program on Schmetz needles. She was terrific and what a great name for a needle rep!

July- Quilting legend and quilt historian Barbara Brackman gave a presentation on Civil War quilts from her newest book Divided Hearts: A Civil War Friendship Quilt. She joined us from Lawrence, Kansas.

August- Karen Brown, blogger from “Just Get it Done Quilts” was our speaker in August from Toronto, Canada. Her topic was “Be the Best Quilter You Can Be” with “tips, tricks and strategies to help you make the quilt you want to make.”

September- Amy Reed from the Marietta Museum of History was able to Zoom with us as we stayed remote showing a museum collection of quilts made by quilters in Cobb County. 

October- Debi Warner from Harlingen, Texas Zoomed to share various insights in writing short quilting articles for the Quilting Contessa Quilting Hub. She covers hints, humor and history.

November- Speak UP! Challenge month was a success with 8 members entering quilts in the challenge. Members attending the meeting voted via the Zoom survey feature and winners received gift certificates to Tiny Stitches Quilt Shop.

December- Community Service Presentation of quilts to the Acworth Police Department as well as our Quilted Post Card swap.

Ryan’s Case for Smiles – 2021 – Barbara Means

December 2021

Dear Allatoona Quilters Guild Members:

As 2021 comes to a close and a new year begins, I want to take this opportunity to THANK each of you for your donation of time and pillowcases. The organization could not function without your incredibly generous contributions.  

A hospital experience can be terrifying and traumatic for both a child and their family. While others strive to find cures for childhood diseases and illnesses, Ryan’s Case For Smiles (RCFS) helps with the stress and emotional impact of an illness in the here and now. Our whimsical pillowcases give children an emotional boost, while resources and tools developed by RCFS help families better understand and cope with the experience. For more information, go to www.caseforsmiles.org. 

In 2021, the ‘Case For Smiles’ Georgia Chapter delivered a total of 3,776 pillowcases to 10 hospital throughout the state. Pillowcases were also donated to the Forsyth County Senior Services. To date, the Georgia Chapter has delivered over 60,900+pillowcases. Nationwide, over 2.4 million pillowcases have been delivered since 2007.

Pillowcase donations to local hospitals would not be possible without your continued support. A total of 809 pillowcases were made and donated by AQG members. A special callout to the following members for donating 25 or more pillowcases: Susie Callender, Deb Cannizzaro, Vicki Evaristo, Arlena Hickman, Karen Hobbs, Barb Levan, Ruth MacCullen, Carolyn Shea and Sue Zabell. Barb, Ruth and Carolyn went above and beyond the call of duty and made 100+ pillowcases. THANK YOU!

Two new drop off locations were added to the list in 2021 – Shirt Off Your Back Quilts (Alpharetta) and Citizen Exchange (Lilburn).

It has been a pleasure getting to know AQG members and to be part of such a wonderfully talented and generous group.  

Thank you for ‘helping kids feel better to heal better’.

Regards,

Barbara Means

Georgia Chapter Coordinator

Ryan’s Case For Smiles

www.caseforsmiles.org

CaseForSmilesGA@comcast.net

770-851-7774

Community Service – Carolyn Shea

Community Service – Carolyn Shea - Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, we did not meet in person.  Therefore, we held seven (7) Drop-off days at the Roberts School parking lot: Feb 25,  April 29, June 10, July 29, Oct 26, and Nov 30.  Members dropped off their comfort quilts, pillowcases, and doggie scraps/beds.  Community Service Days were held online through Zoom meeting: March 30, June 29, Aug 31, and Nov 30.  This year, we were asked by Chief Dennard of the Acworth Police Dept. to make "bears" out of their old uniforms to carry in their cruises.  As a guild, we donated 138 quilts and 75 bears to the Acworth Police Dept., 809 pillowcases to Ryan's Cases for Smiles, and 200 doggie beds. We also donated 4 quilts to the victims of the Kentucky December tornadoes.  We had 49 members who either donated a quilt or pillowcase or both; about 61% of the guild. There were 7 quilts donated with no names attached. We had numerous donations of fabric from people who were downsizing their sew rooms.

SPECIAL NOTE: On September 16, 2021, the City of Acworth invited the Guild to the city council meeting where the Guild was given a proclamation recognizing the "Guild for their many talents and compassion in providing aid and comfort with hundreds of quilts they have woven throughout the years benefitting the Acworth Community."

Sunshine Report – Ruth MacCullen

Sunshine Club End of 2021 Year Report

January – 6 cards, 2 emails, flower arrangement for Nancy Klump

February – 2 emails

March – 1 email, 2 cards

April – 1 email, 1 card

May – 2 emails, 1 flower arrange to Jo Budwick

June – 5 emails, 1 card

July – 1 email, 1 card

August - 3 emails

September – 1 email

October – 4 emails

November – 2 emails

December – 3 cards

There were also several additional telephone calls, text messages and correspondences made with several guild members throughout the year.

Sit-N-Sews – Cindy Christensen

The Sit and Sews were held on Zoom every 2 weeks. We averaged around 17 on our Sit and Sews for this past year.  This has been a great time of being able to spend time with each other and also sew!  Who can’t love that!

Block Exchange – Dottie Pittman and Connie Kessler

We purchased 10 yards of fabric. We chose three different bolts of a line that the shop had plenty of bolts to choose from, in case quilters wanted to purchase other fabrics from the line. We bought 4 yards of our favorite, 3 yards each of the other two bolts. We cut the yardage into fat quarters and sold them at $3.00 each to members who were participating in the block exchange.

The members who purchased a fat quarter were to use a recognizable amount in each 12 ½ block they made. Up to 5 blocks could be made by each member. They placed their name on each block finished and turned in. The number of blocks turned in was the number of times their name was put in the drawing. 115 blocks were created which allowed us to give away 9 sets of 12 blocks. We had 2 sets of 3 blocks to be used for table runners that were also given away.

Treasurer – Sue Zabell – Year End Report

To be included with this report. 

Webmaster – Kim Ayers

Maintained website and uploaded pictures from members for Show and Tell and special activities. 

By-laws/Red Top 2022 – Barb Levan

By-Laws

The annual look at the By-Laws did not happen. 2021 was another unusual year. We will take a closer look at the By-Laws early in 2022.

Annual Red Top Retreat

Our annual Red Top Retreat in March was cancelled due the Covid-19 Pandemic. There was a mini virtual Retreat in 2021. It was very fun. We are looking forward to the March 2022 Retreat and hoping it will happen as an in-person event. 

Block of the Month – Beth Aiken

This year I choose a star pattern because may of our members choose stars in alot of their quilts. The pattern ; Midnight Stargazer could be adapted to many styles  of fabric. Another factor this year was that it was all online instead of our monthly get togethers. Some used the fabric and layout presented in the original pattern by TK Harrison and others choose different fabrics and different layouts. All in all, I think we all ended up with a beautiful quilt.

Membership

December 2020 ended the year with 99 members.  This was a really hard year due to the Covid Pandemic.  The entire year meetings were conducted via Zoom.  There were 74 who renewed their membership.  During the year there were 6 new members.  The year was ended with 80 members.

Door Prizes

The year 2021 for Door Prizes was quite challenging with having to zoom. We still a lot of gifts that have not been picked up. We received a lot of donations from members and we were very thankful for their generosity. We look forward to meeting in 2022 in person (we hope).

Officers 

President – Kim Ayers

Vice President – Dianne Olsen

Secretary – Bonnie Davidson

Treasurer – Sue Zabell

Meeting Programs

Jan - played Left-Right-Center with 2.5" strips being the prize.  

Feb - Susan Lenz spoke about her quilt art

Mar - Carole Liebzeit using ugly fabrics with an afternoon workshop

Apr - David Gilleland paper piecing and custom quilting with an afternoon workshop on paper piecing a mug rug

May – Member Then and Now - First Quilt / Latest Quilt 

Jun - Emily Gail Wyatt, Huguette Boyer, and Doreen Clink did a member showcase.

Jul - Christmas in July presentation from members showing Christmas quilts, Christmas items (like stockings, table runners) and also small gifts that could be made as Christmas presents.

Aug - Robin Jones from Cottontail Quilts who discussed how Cottontail came about and the ups and downs of owning a quilt store

Sept - demo day displaying different things related to bindings (flange and piping binding, hand sewing a binding, bias bindings, attaching bindings, and joining bindings.)

Oct - Silent Auction with over $1400 was raised for the guild

Nov - VP challenge reveal of mini quilts.  We had 13 participants

Dec - table runner exchange well as the raffle blocks made with ombre dots.  Placemats for Meals on Wheels were also made.  31 placemats were donated

Awards- Dottie Pittman

We had 1 member who hand-quilted a quilt over 300” and 10 members who completed a block of the month project (1 for 2016, 3 for 2017 and 6 for 2018). 

The following is a summary of what we awarded in 2018:

Heart and Hand Pin for Hand Quilted Quilt over 300” – 1

Gold Thimbles for quilting a quilt over 300” without help from another person - 10

Silver Thimble for a quilt over 300” but had help of another person – 27

Blue Ribbons for projects less than 300” (including charity quilts) – 98

Block of the Month pins – 1 for 2016, 3 for 2017, and 6 for 2018

Challenge Pins given for participation in Vice President’s Challenge – 23 (9 for 2017 and 14 for 2018)

Birthday Club- we acknowledged all birthdays each month and a FQ was gifted

Monthly Sew–in– 3rd Thursday of the month from 10-5

BOM – Emily Gail Wyatt – Utilizing the book 101 Fabulous Small Quilts by Martingale and Company

Jan – Feb -Twice as Nice, page 51

Mar – Apr - Feedback Flags, page 267

May – Jun – Stand-up Straight, page 204

Jul – Aug - Four-Patch Pinwheels, page 230

Sep – Oct – Japanese Circles, page 14

Nov – Dec – Vines and Flowers, page 27

Membership – Huguette Boyer -we ended the year with 108 members

Monthly Exchange– MaryAnne Perry

30’s and Kona: 11 –3” strips WOF, keep 1 strip, fold remaining 10 strips individually

January-Yellow 30’s print

February –Pink 30’s print

March –Green 30’s print

April –Miscellaneous 30’s print or Kona

May –Purple 30’s print

June –Blue 30’s print

July –Red 30’s print

August –miscellaneous 30’s print or Kona

September –Brown 30’s print

October –Orange 30’s print

November –Black 30’s print

December - miscellaneous 30’s print or Kona

Christmas exchange – Table topper/table runner

Food Pantry – Acworth Food Pantry food donations, in addition to $927.78

Door Prizes – Connie Kessler sold tickets for $1.00 each at each general meeting then purchased door prizes for the next general meeting

Special Projects – Sue Lane

Jan – Pocket Hearts

Feb – Microwave Bowl Cover

Mar – Hot Iron Transport Tote

Apr – Cell Phone Holder

May – Snap Bag

Jun – Sewing Machine Cover

Jul – Santa Ornament

Aug – Chicken Pot Holder

Sep – 4-patch Pinwheel

Oct – Neck/shoulder Rice Warmer

Nov – none (holiday)

Dec - none (holiday)

Redtop Retreat – Barb Levan - Friends Food Fabric Fun was held on March 13 - MARCH 16, 2018 . We had 75 members attending the retreat so we had to use two shelters. The retreat quilt was the Blooming 9 Patch.

Community Service – Carolyn Shea - held four (4) Community Service Days in 2018; January 30, May 29, July 31 and October 30.  We had an average of 17 members attend these service days.  As a guild, we donated 163 quilts to the Acworth Police Dept and over 500 pillowcases to Ryan's Cases for Smiles (formerly Con-Kerr Cancer).  We had numerous donations of fabric from people who were downsizing their sew rooms; a friend of a member donated 11 fleece throws, and a former member donated a quilt. We had 68 members who either donated a quilt or pillowcase or both.  This is about 63%.  There were 9 quilts donated with no names attached. 

Presidents Quilt – Presentation of a Quilt of Valor (QOV) to Kim Ayers for her service this year.

UFO Challenge - The UFO challenge continued, but only 8 people participated, and not all of them actively.  At the end of the year only 4-5 fat quarters were collected.  These were put in the birthday fat quarters bucket.  Fat quarter bundles were purchased for 3 randomly drawn prize winners.  

Special Class – Sept - Gail Wyatt rug making/wool dyeing

Vice President Challenge – Dianne Olsen -This year the VP Challenge was mini quilts. Pattern had to be an actual quilt not a “block/wall hanging”. Mini quilt requirements were measure no larger than 12” x 14” and should be made up of blocks no larger than 2 ½” unfinished.