Bowl Cozy Pop-Up Tutorial by Carol Auer

Carol’s written directions are still available HERE.

Member Zoom Tutorials

We have more member ‘pop-up’ tutorials scheduled to educate and entertain this January so be sure to join in.  Watch for emails with details and zoom links.
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Friday afternoon, January 8th, Roni Gerhardt demonstrates how to make a reusable Bowl Cover:   Let’s start getting ready for gatherings again!  Potluck dinners, picnics, birthday parties…. When it is your turn to bring a salad, or some yummy dish, grab your favorite bowl and put a beautiful cover on it.  Easy to make, reusable and so much nicer than Saran Wrap or foil. Can be made to fit any size bowl.
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Friday afternoon, January 22nd, Meg Mooar shows us the wide world of Boro Stitching in this two hour tutorial.  Choose leftover scraps from a project, specialty fabrics, or traditional indigos to create a raw edge patchwork surface that you will embellish with simple embroidery stitches.
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Winter Programs - April Russell -

Hello and Happy New Year!

This month we have a great January program for you to enjoy.  We have the Mother & Daughter Dynamic Duo of Cathy and Sarah from the Quilt Basket who will be joined by the uber talented Debby Brown which, makes for the perfect Hat Trick!

Cathy and Sarah have successfully owned and operated The Quilt Basket for many years, offering wonderful fabrics, patterns, tools classes, retreats and more!  And, while the brick and mortar store may have closed, their online store is open for business and still offering the same wonderful selection and service.  They will be sharing with us one of the Cutie Pattern’s they have developed and walk us through the construction from start to finish.  They will then pass the baton to Debby who will provide us with creative quilting ideas on how to finish the quilt with either your domestic  or long-arm machine.

A seamstress from her youth, Debby transitioned into quilting while expecting her first child. Thirty years and thousands of quilts later, she is an award-winning quilter who has published quilts, patterns, books, articles and columns in major quilting magazines.  She teaches at national and international quilting shows, has filmed HQ Sweet Sixteen® instructional DVDs and has taught multiple machine quilting classes on Craftsy, Annie’s Creative Studio, Annie’sCatalog.Com, as well self-produced online classes.  Debby loves working with new free-motion quilters because she knows that they can succeed with just enough encouragement. Debby is obsessed with the precision of ruler quilting on domestic, sit-down, and long-arm machines and spices up those lines with whimsical free-motion quilting that appeals to quilters of all skill levels.  When not traveling to spread her fun brand of quilting, Debby creates in her studio in New York’s beautiful  Hudson Valley. Debby and her husband enjoy plotting how best to spoil their grandchildren.

Let’s keep supporting them.  Please visit them on line at:  QuiltBasket.com and DebbyBrownQuilts.com.

Don’t forget to keep working on your Challenge Quilt: Put a Heart on It.  I can’t wait to see them.

Happy Stitchin’, April

Programs - Linda Stern -

Bethanne Nemesh ‘Creative Textures’ workshop is full.
Check for waiting list availability if interested – programs@northernstarquilters.com

After our January and February winter programs, our March speaker  and workshop is by Katie Fowler.
Click Fearless Creating for details and signup.

Review our lecture and workshop lineup on the website anytime.

Special emails with details and reminders about workshops and any special events are sent regularly, be sure to watch for them.
Zoom links will be sent out a couple days beforehand, links for those lectures that can be recorded will be sent out a couple days after.

Linda Stern, programs@northernstarquiltersguild.com

Special Zoom Workshop for All

We have another special free workshop scheduled to help alleviate any winter blues, thanks to donations from members and ArtsWestchester.

Saturday, January 30th, 10am-1pm, Mary Cannizzaro will be teaching how to make T-shirt quilts from her book Beyond the T, co-authored with her daughter, Jen.

Sooner or later, every quilter gets a request for a T-shirt quilt.
If you haven’t made one yet, be prepared and learn the techniques.
If you’ve already made one,  get inspired for the next one.

Click HERE for description and supply list.

This workshop is free, open to all NSQG members, and will NOT be recorded.
We will be sending out the zoom link a day or so before to all members.

Formal registration not necessary, but to have some idea of how many will participate, please email Linda at programs@northernstarquilters.com if you are likely to attend.

Local Guild Workshops

Other area guilds, like us, often open their workshops to non-members when they have extra slots.  There are links to local area guilds on our home page and at the end of the newsletter.  If you are looking for additional workshops, check out their websites!

New Zoom SIGs

Some new online SIGs are being offered for members only.  A description of the proposed groups is below.  Meeting lengths and schedules will be determined by the host and participants.  The maximum for any group is 12, so signups are first come, first served!

There is still time to register for a group or to offer to host or co-host, please respond HERE before January 10th.

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Quilting Skills – Host:  Diane Linker.   This will be a project-based group. The group will focus on a variety of quilt techniques, with the goal of each member designing and completing a quilt incorporating those techniques. Each member of the group will decide on the style, size and degree of complexity of his or her quilt. The skills that we will work on will be those selected by the group members, but will include foundation piecing, machine applique and precision piecing techniques. The group will meet twice each month, but there will be help available by email or phone in between meetings.

For Art Lovers – Host:  Tamar Drucker.  The group will start with works on paper – sketches, paintings, paper collage — as a base/study for designing fabric pieces.  As time goes on the group will develop other ideas for inspiration. The group will meet twice a month.

Embroidery – Host:  Luann Bruce.  The group will cover a variety of embroidery stitches to embellish and make your quilt unique.  Members will be able to share samples of their work and discuss tips and techniques.

Traditional to Modern – Host:  Yvonne Clayton.  Taking traditional quilt blocks to the next level.  The group will work on updating traditional blocks to modernize them by using brightly colored fabrics, striking prints, and bold solids.  We will explore using unusual color combinations and/or abstract designs to create exciting new looks.  The group will meet twice each month.

Scrappy Quilts – Host:  Jennifer Larrabee & Anne MacDonald.  A group for people who have trouble parting with even the smallest, tiniest, itty-bitty bits of fabric!  The group will share ideas for using up their scraps, challenge each other to create something stunning from those tiny treasures (and help each other avoid being showcased on the next season of “Hoarders”) and propose mini-challenges.

Domestic Machine Quilting – Host:  Roni Gerhardt. The group will cover layering, basting, walking foot quilting, followed by free motion, using basic shapes (arcs, lines, loops, curves etc) to create filler designs. The group will share horror stories about tension, awful attempts, etc.  Members help each other choose designs for projects.  The group will meet twice each month.
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*Hand-sewing+* – Host: *host/co-hosts needed to happen, please volunteer if interested.  The group will cover a variety of hand-sewing techniques such as boro/sashiko, applique, and yarn couching and will provide an opportunity to sit and sew and socialize.
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*Collage Quilts*– Host: *host/co-hosts needed to happen, please volunteer if interested.  Inspired by the Merrill Comeau workshop, the group will share techniques and ideas for using scraps, yarns, ribbons and other notions and recycled materials to create unique collage pieces.

Charitable Activities - Dee Plouffe -

Comfort Quilts

All members are welcome to contact comfortquilts@northernstarquilters.com with any CQ requests.  Need some simple sewing to help get thru the winter – we can get a Comfort Quilt kit to you!  Need some fabric for a CQ quilt – Carol Auer can open her outdoor ‘fabric shop’ for you! Any CQ quilts or quilting fabric to donate, let us know.

Click HERE to see the CQ donation list for the first half of the guild year, July thru December 2020, a record number!  Many thanks to all CQ’ers who have made quilts and have thus kept our donation coordinators very busy; and thank you to the coordinators for delivering the quilts to those in need of the bit of comfort or hug that a quilt can bring.

2021 Raffle Quilt – Don’t forget your raffle tickets!

Mail check and stubs to Dee Plouffe  280A Heritage Hills,  Somers, NY 10589
OR
Pay via credit card HERE  (more ticket packs may also be purchased online) and I will gladly fill out the stubs for you.

Dee Plouffe, charitable@northernstarquilters.com

Membership-Carol Sterk -

Hi everyone,

The December guild meeting on zoom was attended by about 70 members. If you haven’t attended a zoom meeting yet, I think you’ll be in for a pleasant surprise. Those who have attended over the past months have especially enjoyed catching up with other members in the chat rooms hosted on zoom in between the business meeting and the lecture. Hope to see you there this month! This is one January you won’t have to worry about driving to the meeting in cold, unpredictable weather!

*Extra copies of the Membership Directory for 2020-2021 are still available. Please email me if you would like one.
*It is not too late to send in your photo for the directory. When a critical mass is reached, an updated version of the online directory will be sent to all members via email.

Wishing you hope and a vaccination in the new year!
Carol, membership@northernstarquilters.com

Zoom Tips

  • If using an iPad, a November update to the Zoom app increased Gallery View to allow up to 16 (25 for Pro) participant windows on a screen, so keep your Zoom app updated to get the latest features.
  • If using a computer with sufficient resources, you can modify your Zoom video setting options to increase  your maximum participant windows from 25 to 49.
  • If your computer doesn’t have a camera/microphone and you’d like to add one to expand your Zoom experience –  basic webcams can be had for less than $20 and are simple to install.
  • Any Zoom tips or questions you want to pass along?

Member Notices:

Jennifer Larrabee, Grace Zipprich, and Judy Simek are part of the Cortlandt Fiber Arts Exhibit at the Cortlandt Town Hall, Cortlandt, NY, thru Feb.1.

Area Quilt Events and More

Area Quilt Shops

Whether you’re a new or renewing member, check out our Buddy Program if you would like a ‘buddy’ to show you the ropes around the guild.

If you know any member of the guild who is in need of a little ‘sunshine’ for illness, sympathy, or any other reason, please contact secretary@northernstarquilters.com so the guild can send a card.

Requests on how to make a donation to the guild to honor a member or support an activity are occasionally received. Such requests may now be accomplished via our website, where we have set up a Donate box on our home page, click on Make a Donation.

Guild policies are available for member review at the library table or by request to the secretary@northernstarquilters.com.

– Send Guild newsletter updates and photos as well as info on local quilt activities and shows to news@northernstarquilters.com and photos for Instagram and Facebook are always welcome at social@northernstarquilters.com.

– Follow and Share NSQG activities on Facebook  and Instagram   –   @northernstarquilters