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