President’s Message

 November already! This holiday season will be a little different from our last one, but we hope you are finding creative ways to celebrate and give thanks.

Cheered by the success of the Quilt Social and as we head into the colder weather, we are looking for different ways to stay connected. At our November Guild meeting we will be trying out the functionality available on Zoom which allows us to break into “chat rooms” of small groups. The plan will be to hold our business meeting first.  Immediately afterwards, our host, Anne MacDonald, will then (by the magic of technology) break us into groups of 5 for a short discussion or chat.  Anne will give us a topic to start the conversation, and the group members can start by introducing themselves to each other and then address the topic for the chat. At the end of 15 minutes, we will all be brought back together in time to attend the lecture.  Anne will be providing exact instructions during the meeting, as well as the discussion topic, and we promise that the experience will be easy to navigate!

The mini Comfort Quilt meetings, latest on Wednesday, November 4th, provide another opportunity to get together with Guild members, drop off a quilt for donation or pick up a quilt kit or two to work on.  Everyone is welcome.

Carol Sterk and Rosemary DePaola will soon be distributing a draft of the Member Directory (both digital and hard copy) for review.  The Directory is a key resource for staying in touch so please make sure to look over the contact information listed for you and email them if there are any errors at membership@northernstarquilters.com.  So far, we have 169 members, and we thank you all for rallying to support the Guild in these difficult times.

As Susan Fasnacht mentioned at our last Guild meeting, ArtsWestchester is providing a unique opportunity for its grantees.  ArtsWestchester will match any first-time donation to the Guild up to $1,500.  Susan describes the details of this matching gift opportunity in the Latest News this month, so please check it out and think about making a gift as a vote of support for our programs.

Giving the lecture this month is Merrill Comeau, a fiber artist, who will give a survey of her work and other international artists who work with fiber and suggest techniques for creating colorful patterned fabrics. This is another wonderful opportunity to see the creative ways that different fabrics – particularly recycled fabrics –  are used to express ideas in quilts with stunning results. You can see some of Merrill’s work here: www.merillcomeau.com.

As we celebrate on November 26, we will be giving thanks for all the support the Guild has received over the last year.  Happy Thanksgiving Northern Star Quilters!

Stay well.
Karen and Anne
November 2020

Happy fall!  We hope that the seasonal changes happening around us are providing plenty of quilting inspiration.

Over 65 members joined our very first zoom Guild Meeting in September and it was good to see people log in and eagerly connect with other members they had not had the chance to see for some months.  As time goes on and we become more comfortable with this format, we are hoping to set up chat rooms where small groups will be able to spend a little more time together and catch up.

This month, our speaker will be Adele Scott who will be sharing her favorite tips, techniques and tools.  The Guild Meeting will start at 5:45 p.m. and the Lecture will begin at 7:00 p.m.  Links to both these zoom rooms will be sent out to everyone beforehand.

The Board and other volunteers are busy planning our Quilt Social event which will take place on Saturday, October 10 from 10:30 to 2:30 p.m. on the grounds of the North Salem Volunteer Ambulance Corps. To allow us to maintain social distancing, this is a member-only event and everyone must pre-register and receive a time slot ahead of time.  There are still some spaces available in the afternoon, see the details further on in the latest news section.

There will be a lot of quilts to see at the Quilt Social.  All the 2020 Challenge Quilts will be on display with the opportunity to cast your vote, the beautiful 2021 Quilt Raffle quilt will be exhibited, and all the Comfort Quilt Salt ‘n Pepper summer project quilts will be there with the opportunity to win one of your choice.  In addition, as some of you know, Jennifer Larrabee has put together a quilt from blocks she received from 45 different people in 17 different states using the fabric scraps left from masks they made. The quilt is a feast of wonderful colors and shapes.

The last date to become a member and to have your name listed in the Member Directory is October 31st.  This year we will be sending all members an email containing a link to the Directory in PDF format which can be downloaded onto your computer and printed if you choose.  We will be printing a limited number of booklets.  If you would like a booklet, please submit your request via the Membership section in the latest news section which follows. Because we are not meeting in person and mailing is expensive, the booklet will be available for pick up at a number of locations.  If pickup is not possible for you, we will make other arrangements.

We know that many of you like having the booklet – we do too!!  But we are keeping our eye on our finances in light of all the uncertainties that we are facing.  We do, however, have a brand-new option for the digital Directory!  As a way of helping us stay connected as a community at a time when we can’t get together in person, every member will have the choice to submit a  face shot photo for the Directory which will appear next to their name and contact information.  One of our new members, Joanne Visovsky has very generously taken on this project and is enthusiastic to get started. You will be receiving an email shortly to let you know how to submit your photo.

Because the Treasurers’ reports will not be available at the meetings for members to review, Rebekah Glacey and Karen Martinez, who are working very hard behind the scenes to keep the Guild finances ticking over, will be providing a Budget Report and Balance Sheet via email to members.   As you will see, we are making some savings as a result of holding our meetings online but there are also areas where we may lose income.  We appreciate your support and will need it more than ever as we go forward.

We hope to see you at the Quilt Social.  For those of you who will not be able to make it, we will miss you but look forward to seeing you at our zoom meetings!

Stay healthy,
Karen and Anne

October 2020

MEMBERSHIP SIGNUP

Summer seems to have whizzed by and now fall is rapidly approaching.

Sadly, we will not be able to have our Guild meeting in person, but we are planning to have to have a zoom meeting on September 22.  The meeting will start at 5:45 p.m., but the ‘room’ will be open 15 minutes beforehand and you can log on and chat with other members before the formal meeting starts.  Following that business meeting, Thomas Knauer will present his lecture “Why We Quilt”, starting slightly earlier than previous lectures, at 6:30pm.  There will be separate links for the Meeting and the Lecture, and we will be sending those out a day or so beforehand, together with instructions, so please watch for those.

We plan to use this format through the fall and Linda has lined up more wonderful quilters who will present zoom Lectures on the evening of our Guild meetings and will teach workshops the next day.  All the information can be found on the website and we hope that you will look into signing up for some of these very interesting workshops.

Thank you to those of you who responded to our survey about the possibility of having a Quilt Social event in October.  Naturally, everyone has her or his comfort level and while some members are enthusiastic about an outdoor event, others are still more cautious.  As a result, the Board will be discussing the feasibility of holding a smaller outdoor event for those members expressing an interest.  We hope that by spring we will be able to put another outdoor event on the agenda that more members will feel comfortable attending.

We are always looking for new ways in which we might connect – perhaps break-out rooms on zoom where small groups might meet to show what they have been working on or discuss new workshops they have attended – and we would love to hear your ideas.

Thank you to those of you who continue to send in photos of your quilts and run the various SIGS and quilting groups

Please be sure to pay attention to your NSQG emails and our website, our main lines of communication these days!

Let’s fill the fall and winter with as much color as we can and keep sharing our love of quilting!

Karen and Anne
September 2020

If you need some assistance with technology to access our online meetings and workshops, let us know!
We can provide help to make sure you can stay connected to your friends and the activities at NSQG!

Watch this short Zoom tutorial we found for you
//youtu.be/9isp3qPeQ0E.

Contact Anne MacDonald for more personalized help,
annemacd8250@gmail.com or cell# in NSQG directory

MEMBERSHIP SIGNUP

We hope that you have been able to enjoy the beginning of summer and the Independence Day holiday.

Over the summer we will be continuing to look for ways of staying connected and sharing our ideas and quilts until we can meet in person once again.  Our Programs Chair, Linda, is scouting out more online programs and workshops for us to enjoy. We are also considering ways in which we will be able to hold our Guild meetings over zoom and possibly socialize online prior to those meetings.  Many Guilds are facing the very same issues that we are and we are keeping our ears to the ground for new ideas and opportunities to make sure that the coronavirus doesn’t get the better of us as a Guild!

Thank you to those of you who have written to us with suggestions and links to online exhibitions and other items of interest that you will find in the Newsletter this month.  The New York Times article on Rosie Lee Tomkins is fascinating and video links about the Bisa Butler exhibition at the Katonah Museum are still available. Some of you might be interested in submitting a quilt to the Yorktown Grange Fair which is going virtual this year. Our own Mary and Jen Cannizzaro were interviewed by The Quilters Circle . Rosalie Dace has very kindly agreed to keep the recording of her presentation up a little longer so it’s not too late to see it.  ArtsWestchester is featuring local members of the sewing community, and Barbara Glab, one of our own members, appears in one of these delightful podcasts.

We hope that you have enjoyed the Show ‘n Tells.  Please keep the photos and ideas coming over the summer!

Don’t forget to vote!  You will be receiving two emails on July 20 – one requesting your vote on the Bylaw Amendment and the other your vote on the slate of officers for the 2020-2021 Guild year. Please look out for them and vote promptly.

Last, but certainly not least, the new Guild season for 2020-2021 has begun and we remind you to renew your membership.  Rona Spar submitted a letter for inclusion in the Newsletter that says it all.  We hope that you will read it and that all the benefits of membership that Rona outlines in her note will prompt you to re-up and keep the Guild thriving through these difficult times.

Stay well and keep happy quilting,

Anne and Karen, president@northernstarquilters.com
July 2020

A NOTE FROM THE SECRETARY:

Hello Fellow Quilters,

I am writing to encourage you to join or rejoin NSQG to continue to be a part of our creative and supportive organization.   I urge you to think about our programs like Super Saturday, the Ugly Fabric Auction, Row-by-Row groups, Comfort Quilts, yearly challenges, boutiques, salad suppers, helping with the yearly charity raffle quilt, group trips, raffles, SIGS, and so much more. Think of the speakers and workshops which you have attended:  Adele Scott; Raina Gillman; Carole Lyles Shaw; Beth Helfter; Joe Cunningham; Cindy Grisdela; Charlie Hietala; Victoria Findlay Wolfe; Paula Nadelstern; and so very many more.  These programs will continue online or in person, depending upon COVID-19.   Especially think about the Quilt Show, which is the high point of the year.  Sadly, there was no show this year, but plans are progressing to have a fabulous show in 2021.  Be a part of it!!  JOIN!!  And while you are at it, consider making an additional donation to the guild, easily accomplished right on our website.

Until we meet again or Zoom again,  Rona

Online Voting

Considering the continuing difficulty of holding an in-person Annual Meeting due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Board has decided to hold these votes electronically.

The two items of business to be voted on:
– the vote on the proposed Amendments to the Bylaws:  removing the VP Education position with those activities picked up by Special Events and Special Events being renamed Activities Liaison.
– the vote to elect Board Members for the 2020-2021 Guild year(*returning): Co-Presidents*-Anne Chehebar and Karen Carlson, Secretary-Rona Spar, Co-Treasurers*-Rebekah Glacy and Karen Martinez, Co-Vice Presidents Communications-Daisy Dodge and Deborah Warren, Vice President Membership-Carol Sterk, Vice President Programs*-Linda Stern, Vice President Quilt Show*-Narcita Medina.

Emails with the details about these Annual Meeting items were sent in April and again last week along with the voting process.
That email information can also be reviewed here.
Floor nominations for other board candidates were solicited via email and none were received.

Every 2019-2020 member will receive two email ballots, one for the bylaw change and one for the board slate, to be sent July 20, 2020, closing date July 31, 2020.
PLEASE PROCESS BOTH EMAIL BALLOTS PROMPTLY.

If you do not receive your ballots on July 20 or have any questions, please contact president@northernstarquilters.com

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June marks the end of our Guild year – and the fourth month that we have not been able to get together for our Guild meeting at Kennedy Catholic.  We miss the noisy buzz as we crowd around the membership table, sign up for programs, buy raffle tickets and share stories and tips.  We miss the tasty snacks and browsing through the library books and magazines.   We miss being together.

Still, we have much to be thankful for.

Despite us all being homebound, the Quilt Show Raffle was able to go ahead on schedule – over Zoom!  Thank you to Anne MacDonald, who hosted, and to her husband, Bruce, who was a such a great sport and drew the winning tickets from the drum set up in their living room.  (For those wishing to see the drawing you can find the recording here.)

We are proud to report that the Raffle raised $3,954 for New Dawn Family Resource Center in Pound Ridge.  This is a tremendous accomplishment given that there was no Quilt Show at which to sell the tickets.  Anne MacDonald pulled out all the stops, preparing emails encouraging member support and filling in all the information on the tickets for people buying through the mail and online. Lisa at Pins and Needles also advertised the raffle in an email to her customers who responded generously.  And, as always, the membership rose to the occasion, breaking all records by buying tickets and selling them to friends and family.

Sixty-seven of us watched Joe Cunningham live from his studio in California and another 36 logged into the recording.  It was a wonderful opportunity to have a presentation from a renown quilter who we would not be able to afford to bring to New York for a live lecture.  He was extremely entertaining and it was fascinating to see his studio and his unique quilts. His philosophy of quilting was both inspiring and a challenge to take risks and break rules.

Although we cannot have our usual salad supper, Linda has pulled off another coup for June 16 – as she announces in this Newsletter!

Also in the Newsletter is the 2021 Challenge that April Russell is organizing.  Her theme stressing hope, support and kindness is one we all want to embrace at the moment.

Many of you are helping to keep us all connected.  A shout out to Rosemary DePaola who continues to pick up our mail, to Mary Cannizzaro for offering her Zoom workshop on pouches to the membership, to Carol Sterk who is keeping in touch with our newer members, to Comfort Quilts for not letting lockdown interfere with the summer project — and, of course, to all of you who contribute to the Show and Tell, who run SIGs over the Internet and reach out to other members in a myriad other ways.

Carol Auer shared this article with us:  https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2019/feb/23/the-calming-effects-of-sewing-can-help-people-express-and-calm-themselves.  A number of you will have already read it but for those of you who haven’t, it recounts the calming effects of sewing. The author recalls the time when her mother first introduced her to sewing.   It is a beautiful piece which may stir a lot of pleasant memories and holds relevance for us at home sewing during this difficult time.

We are looking forward to the time we can all be back at Kennedy together.

Until then, take care and stay healthy.
Anne and Karen, president@northernstarquilters.com
June 2020

ZOOOOM!

These are difficult times, unprecedented for most of us.  The news is sobering.  Some of us are fortunate under the circumstances. Other members may be facing challenges and even losses of family or friends, and to those members, we hope you know that our thoughts are with you.

We hope you have all been able to find pleasure and relief from the daily stress in your sewing.  Thank you to all of you who have lifted our spirits with photographs of your comfort quilts, masks, works in progress and quilting stories.  These photographs are fun to see and inspiring to us all.  Please keep sending them in.

Our May and June meetings are cancelled.  Kennedy Catholic is still closed for the time being.  We are continually considering our options regarding guild activities and will be sure to keep you informed.

We are missing the opportunity to see each other in person but online we have been treated to the striking quilts in Timna Tarr’s chronicle of her quilting history and educated by Cindy Grisdela’s experiments with color choices and improvised combinations in her lecture and workshop.

Although our May meeting is cancelled, Linda Stern has pulled another rabbit out of the hat and Joe Cunningham will be giving us a tour of his San Francisco studio and his quilts via Zoom that evening.  More to follow.  Linda definitely deserves a standing ovation!  Thanks to Anne MacDonald who has been volunteering her Zoom skills and smoothing the way for these events.

Also at the May meeting we would normally have voted on the nominations for Board officers for 2020-2021.   Unfortunately, that vote will have to be postponed.

We want to thank those members who have agreed to be nominees for next year’s board:  Secretary:  Rona Spar; Co-Treasurers: Rebekah Glacy and Karen Martinez; Co-Vice Presidents: Communications – Daisy Dodge and Deborah Warren; Vice President:  Membership – Carol Sterk: Vice President: Programs – Linda Stern; Vice Presidents: Quilt Show – Narcita Medina.
We are also grateful to Susan Fasnacht who will continue to give us the benefit of her advice as former President, to Kathy Keane and Nancy Picco who continue to chair Hospitality, to Deborah Tashjian as returning Librarian, to Dee Plouffe who will be chairing Charitable Activities, to Anne MacDonald who will be Assistant to the President and to April Russell who will be the Activities Liaison.

Who could have imagined that we would have the opportunity to put our sewing skills to use in a national emergency? Many of our members have answered the call and have been very busy sewing masks for hospitals, nursing homes, first responders and other organizations.  Be sure to see Susan’s update below about the guild’s face mask production; Carol Auer has been a very busy mask maker, having sewn 650+ masks!

Jennifer Larrabee is putting together a quilt, hopefully to be hung at next year’s quilt show, collecting 6½” blocks made from scraps of fabric used for masks or other PPE.  See the committee news below for details.

The Raffle continues, despite the Quilt Show cancellation, with the opportunity to win the beautiful Sunshine Star Cabins quilt organized by Pat Julian and a Bernina Sewing Machine donated by Pins and Needles.  This is your opportunity to support our 2020 charity, New Dawn Family Resource Center. Please help by donating and by returning your raffle tickets, see Anne’s information below.  The Raffle Drawing will take place May 19, hopefully via Zoom before Joe Cunningham’s talk.

Signs and colors of spring are all around us in the new growth pushing through the soil, the trees coming into bud, and the blossom – all harbingers of renewal and the arrival of happier times as well as sparks for our creative imaginations!

Keep on sewing and by next spring may we will all be together enjoying the wonderful quilts of our Quilt Show.

Wishing you all health.
Anne and Karen, president@northernstarquilters.com
May 2020

We hope that this April Message finds you all well and in good spirits.  These are certainly strange and unsettling times but, we imagine that, like us, you are finding your sewing a wonderful escape and joy.  We are very lucky.

As expected, our April Guild meeting at Kennedy Catholic and the workshop the next day is cancelled. The April Board meeting will take place “virtually.”

Although we have all been confined to our homes, our members have not been idle!  Thank you to all those of you who have shared your photos, sent instructions for making face masks and addresses to send them to, emailed links for online quilt workshops, and have set up remote meetings to keep everyone connected.

Jane Eyes and Meg Mooar held a Zoom meeting for the Improv SIG.  Jane set up the “room”, fielded tech questions and generally troubleshooted, and the group had a lot of fun showing and discussing its blocks and planning the next project.

Linda Stern has been in touch with our speakers and has arranged for our March speaker, Timna Tarr, to give her presentation to the Guild remotely via a link on her website on the date of our April meeting.  We will be sending out instructions shortly.  Linda has also been discussing with our April and May speakers the possibility of making similar arrangements and even holding a workshop online. And we will be contacting workshop participants about refund processing. Stay tuned!

Please keep the wonderful photos and descriptions of your projects coming for the Show ‘n Tell that Karen is putting together for (hopefully weekly) email blasts.  In addition, Margaret Cibulsky has kindly agreed to organize one Wo/Man Shows.  Karen kicked it off with her email about using up her stash and other emails and Instagram posts are planned.  If you would like to do a similar show of your quilts, on any theme, please let Margaret know. We would all love the opportunity to see the amazing talent in our Guild.

Narci led the Quilt Show committee in the dismantling of the Quilt Show preparations and with Rebekah’s and Karen’s help, have returned vendor deposits and quilt registration fees.  A big thank you to them all.

Thank you too to those of you who are sending in your raffle tickets for the beautiful Quilt Show raffle quilt and Bernina sewing machine.  Anne MacDonald is sending out blocks of books to a number of members who have offered to sell more.  Please remember to send in your raffle books and let Anne know if you need more tickets to sell to family and friends. You can also make a donation to New Dawn via our website if you prefer.  Here is the link for further information about the raffle: https://www.northernstarquilters.com/charitable-activities/raffle.

Many of you are making face masks.  Susan Fasnacht is keeping track of the number sewed by the Guild, so please send Susan an email, activities@northernstarquilters.com, with the number and destination of any sent out.  Send photos too! There is a great photo on Instagram of the administrator of BronxCare nursing home showing off one of the masks that were sent from a member of the Guild!  Check it out at #northernstarquilters.

We are trying to stay connected with everyone.  We may be home but we are so fortunate that we can keep in touch, so continue sharing your ideas, patterns and photos via email, Facebook and Instagram – social@northernstarquilters.com.
If you have any questions about the status of guild activities, please contact us.

Most of all, we hope you stay safe and healthy.

Anne and Karen, president@northernstarquilters.com
April 2020

Great Super Saturday by our coordinator, Annette

This month a big shout out to all those people who made the February events such a success.

Kudos to Annette Nash Govan who organized Super Saturday at the Ossining High School with such quiet efficiency and aplomb.  This was a new venue for Super Saturday and it turned out to be a great space.  Our appreciation to all who made it possible – to our member teachers who shared their expertise and made it fun to learn a new skill or pattern –  Tami Drucker, Daisy Dodge, Rosemary DePaola, Caryl Castellion, Diane Linker, Carol Sterk, Patricia Loquet, and LuAnn Bruce – and to our Hospitality Chairs –  Nancy Picco and Kathy Keane – for the delicious snacks and lunch.

Linda Finegan pulled out all the stops at the Ugly Fabric Auction and to great effect – the Auction made the grand total of $1,114!  Congratulations to Linda and her helper, her daughter Eve Lott and all those who worked behind the scenes, sorting and labeling the fabric, including, Rosemary DePaola (who gave over her house for the project), Narci Medina, Nancy Picco, Kathy Keane, Althea Nolan, Linda and Sarah Stern, Barbara Glab and Rona Spar. Last but not least a thank you to all of you who donated fabric and generously opened your wallets on the night to go home with some interesting and challenging additions to your stash.

Finally, many thanks to all those members who came along to the Amanda Browder Sewing Day.  Everyone who showed up had a fun time. It is a real pleasure, as sewers, to be able to contribute to such a unique community project.  For those of you who couldn’t make it, there are still sewing days taking place in various communities through March: https://artswestchester.org/sewing-days-with-amanda-browder/.  Don’t forget to visit the finished display starting in May.

If you are not signed up for our Instagram account (and our numbers are increasing daily!), you are missing some great photos!  Keep them coming everyone.  For instructions on getting started, you can follow these directions.  We will also be having a ‘Sarah’s Corner’ by the Programs Table for those wanting some additional help.

Just one final note.  We are still seeking a member)or two) to take on the Activities Liaison role next year and another member (or two) who would be Assistant to the President, with the exciting prospect of taking over the Presidency in 2021.  Please give it some thought.  Also contact us if you think you would be able to provide a supportive role that could make it easier for another member to take on the main responsibility.

At the March Guild meeting, Timna Tarr will present her lecture, Design with Flying Colors.  She will be sharing stories of how antique and old family quilts influenced her contemporary works which should provide a fascinating bridge between the old and the new.

We are also very excited to see your Visions for 2020 as the Challenge Quilts are displayed and we all get to vote on them.

See you on the 17^th!

Anne and Karen, president@northernstarquilters.com
March 2020