We made it through 2020! Welcome Back! For our first meeting of the year, we continued with Lynn Hanna’s ‘What is a Modern Quilt?’ series. Lynn showed examples of quilts that used alternate gridwork. This transitioned perfectly into viewing an episode of Fresh Quilting “Alternate Grids” presented by Jacquie Gering. After the video, members arranged cut up blocks to arrange in various alternate grid formations. Laura led a discussion and members shared their various arrangement of the blocks as shown below.

President’s Message from Barbara Mathews

Happy New Year!!  I don’t know about all of you, but this often-used salutation means more to me this year than usual!  2021 – WOW!  I remember when I was a kid (back in the dark ages) I didn’t think I’d live to see the turn of the century!  When I think back to all the inventions, achievements and improvements to our lives – even in the last 20 years – I can’t help but notice how far we’ve come in the art of quilting! Whether you’re a traditional, modern, art, collage or whatever style of quilter, there’s a place for you in this community – AND lots to explore and learn!

We’ve certainly had to make some adjustments this year – the “virtual” connection has taken over our lives! And, even though it’s a pain in the neck sometimes, it has kept us connected to each other.  I’m not a “techie” by any stretch, so I’m forever grateful to the ladies on the Board and Committee Chairs who are, and can help us navigate this complicated (to me!) territory!

I hope you’re all having as much fun as I am exploring new techniques and finishing those dusty UFO’s during this continued lock-down.  With YouTube tutorials, on-line classes, Facebook groups and sew-alongs, and other venues that have gone virtual, there are lots of opportunities to learn something new, fine-tune your skills or get encouragement and inspiration from like-minded quilters!

I pray you and your families are all staying healthy and that you’re doing one of the things we all love – QUILTING!

Renew your Membership for the Upcoming Year

We want to remind you to fill out the membership form, send in your check or use PayPal, but it’s time now to renew your Membership. It’s all up there on the tab that says “How to Join our Guild”. We have great programs and top of the line speakers planned for this year, so don’t miss out on being a member for 2021!

Announcements & Reminders

MEMBERS CORNER: Please remember to utilize the tab “Members Corner” for the Guild calendar of Upcoming Events, a downloadable Bylaws Document, and a downloadable Roster (all for personal use only). In addition, you can find the Zoom codes for the General Meetings and Drop-In Sews. It is a password-protected page, and if you’ve misplaced the password, email us for it at iemodernquiltguild@gmail.com.

UPCOMING MEETING: Our February meeting will feature Sandra Johnson who will be presenting her lecture “Modern Quilts”. More details to follow shortly. In the meantime you can browse her website prior to the meeting. Please note there will be no Show and Share at this meeting in order to devote as much time as possible to our guest speaker.

UPCOMING QUILT CHALLENGE: Our March meeting will feature our Mini Quilt Challenge, Sounds and Voices.  The only guideline we have is that the longest side should measure no more than 24 inches. Think about highlighting a sound, a voice, a political statement, or COVID related quilt: What have you heard in the 10 months of isolation? Is it a life-long issue that repeats? Is it a new idea? Is it a singular noise or group of audible expressions? Is it musical or shrill? How will you display sounds or voices in a visual quilt? You can be abstract or literal. Here is an article from the New York Times that ties quite nicely into our March 2021 challenge.

We can’t wait to see your entries. Email a photo of your quilt along with the quilt title, your name, size, and inspirational statement to us at iemodernquiltguild@gmail.com with the subject line “Sounds and Voices Challenge”. Please send no later than Saturday, February 27th to allow time for prepping prior to the meeting.

INTERNATIONAL QUILT MUSEUM: We are excited to provide you with an additional resource – the International Quilt Museum (IQM)! The IQM is located on the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s East Campus. The museum has the world’s largest publicly held quilt collection, dating from the early 1700s to present and representing more than 60 countries. Diversity and inclusion are central to the University’s and the IQM’s mission and pursuit of excellence.

They have a portal dedicated to guild members where you will find information about the museum as well as resources available available to guild members, including virtual programs from their experts, downloads, Q&As, and more. You can visit the museum here to see what exhibits they are currently showing as well as upcoming events. Please use the log-in information from the email sent to members on January 1, 2021.