Greetings Members! Have you felt the change in the weather lately? There’s (finally) a bit of a chill in the air, leaves are hinting at the coming change in color and Pumpkin Spice is everywhere!
On September 20th, the Portland Modern Quilt Guild met for its ninth meeting of the year. Below is a recap of all the announcements and discussions that happened during the meeting.
Programs and Workshops
Anna Maria Horner will be our guest speaker for our November 15th meeting and teaching the Folk Flower Workshop on Friday the 16th and Inspiration by Hand workshop on the 17th. Both of these classes are currently sold out, if you’re interested, please take a moment to sign up on our waitlist on the PMQG page linked above.
Denyse Schmidt will be our guest speaker on December 6th (please note that this meeting is on the first Thursday rather than the third of the month due to meeting hall availability). On Friday December 7th Denyse will be teaching her Free Wheeling Single Girl Workshop. On Saturday, December 8th, she will be teaching her Woven workshop. Like Anna Maria Horner’s workshops, these workshops are currently sold out and waitlists are available on the PMQG page linked above.
A note about the waitlists: we’ve already had a lot of movement on these workshops, so if you’re interested, please be sure to sign up so you can have a chance to get into the workshops!
The location of Anna Maria Horner’s workshops and Denyse Schmidt workshops has also changed because of feedback from our Chawne Kimber workshops. The new location for these workshops is the Kenton Historic Firehouse.
PMQG Showcase
Our October 18th meeting will be our Annual PMQG Showcase. This is your opportunity to show your fellow guild members your work while enjoying some delicious food and drink! In order to have a successful showcase, we need you to submit your quilts to show! Visit our website to submit your quilt, the deadline has been extended to September 28th! Members will be notified if their quilts were accepted into the showcase by October 4th, and members need to turn in their quilts by October 11th. The Showcase meeting is open to PMQG members only, and will require an RSVP, we’ll be sending an Evite to members soon! We’re still looking for volunteers to help with setup, please fill out the volunteer form on the Showcase page.
A special note to members--If you made a Kaleidoscope Mini quilt, we’ll be displaying them during the Showcase. Be sure to submit yours to a board member by October 11th!
PMQG Town Hall
2019 Board Needs
We are looking to fill our leadership roles, including board positions and volunteer coordinators. The more, the better to equally distribute the work. As our volunteers for the board come together, the current board will work with you to help you find a match for your background and passions. Our website has a list of how we have worked well in the past, distributing some of the work required to keep the guild functioning, but also ensuring our volunteers have the opportunities to showcase their skillsets and learn new ones. We are still in need for more members to step up and join the 2019 board.
The term for the 2019 Board runs from January 2019-December 2019. New board members will have an orientation to their elected position from 2018 Board Members in December. 2018 Board Members will be available to be a resource for 2019 Board Members throughout the year.
We also have some volunteer opportunities open that won’t require as much time as being on the board will. New members--this is a great way to get involved with PMQG! The following positions have no volunteers for 2019:
MQG Liaison (New)
Quilt Exhibits - Sisters Outdoor Show, Others
Guild Quilt Showcase & Catering
UFO Club
New Members and Guests Welcome Program/Packets
Small Quilt Groups
Open Sew Day
Please be sure to email the guild if you’re interested in serving in any of these positions. Thank you to all of our members who have signed up to be a volunteer for 2019!
Bylaw Amendments
Two bylaw amendments were proposed and approved by the membership to go on the October Ballot. They were:
Bylaw amendment to Article 8.2.
Current: The President and Treasurer shall be authorized to sign checks for PMQG.
Proposed: The President and Treasurer shall be authorized to sign checks for PMQG. An additional signer will be appointed by a majority of the Board.
Bylaw addition of a Zero Tolerance Policy: Portland Modern Quilt Guild will not tolerate any forms or perceptions of violence, intimidation, fraud, sexual harassment, gender, racial or age discrimination. Reports of any such unacceptable behavior will be investigated and (if necessary) met with consequences which may include permanent expulsion from the Portland Modern Quilt Guild and involvement of law enforcement officials as deemed appropriate.
A note about our October ballot vote: In preparation for our upcoming Annual Meeting in November, we’ll be sending out a ballot to all of our paid members to vote on the 2019 Board as well as these two Bylaw Amendments. Results will be announced at our November meeting.
Hearing from Members
We addressed some of the questions we received from members. The first topic was the issue of the growth of the guild. During our town hall, members expressed the interest in diversifying the membership, creating a junior PMQG group as well as expressing concern at the rate of growth, and the possibility of having to find a new site to meet at.
There were also concerns about the workshop sizes that have been offered. As much as we’d love to offer a workshop to 100 people, workshop sizes are currently set by the instructors we invite. It was discussed to change the way that workshops are sold by changing from the current first-come-first-served system to a lottery system. This will be decided upon the 2019 board, as all of the 2018 workshop spaces are have been sold.
The size of the raffle prizes also came up and Judy, our VP of Membership and Procurement spoke on how she hasn’t heard much back from many of the companies she’s contacted. Judy does take the time to ensure that all of the raffle prizes are at the retail value of $50, so we do give about $150 worth of raffle prizes at each meeting. We also spoke about how there wasn’t a sewing machine to give away for the Retreat raffle prize. The board decided that because only a limited number of members can attend the retreat, it would be more fair to offer such a large prize at a general guild meeting rather than the retreat.
We also shared an update on the announced Modern Quilt Guild dues increase for guilds of our size (251+ members) and our proposed response. Programs Coordinator Susan Beal read a draft of a letter based on several discussions of the 2018 PMQG board, requesting the opportunity to negotiate a more reasonable increase. We then asked for feedback and input, and many PMQG members shared their thoughts and ideas.
In order to cover the proposed increase without dropping any of our current programming, we’d have to increase individual member dues by $5 to $45 for the year, and maintain our membership at 300 members. It was suggested during the town hall that in order to decrease hardship to members, PMQG should offer membership scholarships each year.
We then had an extended break where members were invited to share their thoughts about the guild and issues raised during the evening using Post-Its under 11 prompt signs. All of your responses have been recorded which will be an excellent resource for this and next year’s board. Thank you for your participation and constructive comments! If you have anything to add, please be sure to send us an email!
Announcements
The Zipper bag committee is in need of zipper bags as well as zippers and interfacing. For members interested in participating, zipper bag kits have been created for members to take and make at home before returning at the next meeting.
Portland Textile Month is in October. Find out more information on their website.
NW Quilting Expo is September 27, 28 and 29th.
Fabric Depot hours are changing, so plan accordingly for our October Sew Day and beyond.
March 2019 marks PMQG’s 10th year, and we’d love to plan something exciting to celebrate. Susan is looking for members to submit photos and memories for something special.
Our raffle prize winners were:
Chris Ervin won the Ten Square of Rhoda Ruth fabric donated by Robert Kaufman Fabrics and the Fancy Forest Quilt pattern donated by Elizabeth Hartman.
MaryEllen Edwards won The Applique Book by Casey York donated by Stash Books and the mystery jelly roll.
Marjorie Elliott won the won the Quilters Dream Blend Batting donated by Quilters Dream Batting as well as the Meadow Dance charm squares donated by Benartex Fabrics.
Some snapshots of our fantastic Show and Tell:
We’ll see you at our next meeting on October 18th!
SUMMARY OF UPCOMING DATES
September 28 - Submission Deadline: PMQG Member Showcase
October 4 - Notification Day for Acceptance of Quilts for the PMQG Member Showcase
October 6 - Open Sew Day at Fabric Depot
October 18 - PMQG Member Showcase
October 28 - Hand Sew Happy Hour