The meeting was called to order by the President, Cathy Barlow, at 1:05 p.m.
SECRETARY'S REPORT -we dispensed with the reading of the minutes since they were previously distributed to the members via email. A printed copy of the minutes will be available for review at each business meeting. The April minutes were approved by the members.
TREASURER'S REPORT - Dee Dean announced that the checking account balance on April 10th, 2012 was $ 2,756.86. Receipts for April totaled $0.00 and expenses for the same period were $28.23. The ending balance on May 8th, 2012 is $2,728.63.
MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE - headed by both Heather Farnell and Jo Loder. Jo along with all in attendance welcomed our 2 new members. Today our membership totals 81. Jo said the new-comers booklet is almost finished and new members will receive a copy upon its completion.
PROGRAM COMMITTEE - Sharon Musch was not present however Cathy Barlow provided the following information:
Dale's Retreat bag - May 22nd fee is $5. Per person, however, the pattern and fabric must be purchased separately. Contact Joan Keltner for the pattern.
Joan Keltner - will offer a sweatshirt class on September 18th and the 25th.
Sharon Hannahs - will offer a hanging sleeve class on October 23th.
All are encouraged to sign up now for any of the fall classes and workshops offered by the Guild. Early sign up locks your space in that class or workshop.
If anyone is interested in teaching a class for the Guild, see Sharon Musch for the application that will outline all the needed steps to start the process.
Members are encouraged to check the Guild website (www.qgotv.org) for the latest information regarding upcoming programs and classes. If interested in attending any classes, please see Sharon Musch at a meeting or write to sharonmusch@comcast.net.
There will be a DVD featuring Patsy Thompson on beginning machine quilting at Allamanda's sit-and-sew meeting May 29th, 2012.
Old Business:
4H: Carol Fox provided an update on 4H activities. She met with 4H contacts to go over the record books that all 4H members are required to submit for their annual pins. The 4H extension office people, as well as a couple of the mothers, raved about how much the girls have enjoyed the sewing club. Our 4H contacts are arranging for someone from the paper to come out a do a story on the 4H sewing club to try to create additional interest in the area. While completing an annual form, we found out that our club qualifies for a gold award, and the award will be presented to our volunteers at the August awards dinner.
The 4H year will end August 31. In the meantime, however, we have a couple additional meetings where volunteers are needed. Allamanda currently has 7 volunteers who have completed the reference check forms, but if we want to continue with this effort, more people will need to get involved. The girls are new to sewing and need a lot of attention and help while learning these new skills. Carol mentioned that we've learned a lot this first year, and it would be a shame to disband the club if the girls are still interested. She plans to talk to the girls about this over the next month or so. Carol has come up with several creative ways to minimize the scheduling conflicts that plagued us this year. As an example, she explained we could hold longer sewing sessions on a single day versus trying to have shorter monthly meetings during the school year. Longer "workshop" type days would permit the girls to get concentrated time at the sewing machine and give them more of a chance to finish projects and practice what they're learning. These "days" could be scheduled during school breaks for Christmas and Easter, and several could be held during the summer too. As a chapter, we need to decide whether this is the type of community service in which we want to be involved. At next month's business meeting, members will be asked to be prepared to discuss where we go from here. Should we continue with 4H for next year? Should we invite other chapters to join us (i.e., our sister chapter)? This possibility would create a larger pool of volunteers from which to pull. Please think about this subject and join the discussion next month as we decide the future of this program.
Historian Position - at this time a volunteer is still needed for this position. Cathy Barlow put a scrapbook together that charts Allamanda's history from beginning up to its current status. This gives a head start for anyone who takes on this wonderful opportunity and runs with it. See Cathy if you have an interest.
New Business -
EQ Software Users Group- meets the 1st Tuesday of each month from 11 a.m. -1:50 p.m. at Laurel Manor's Jefferson Room. Patty Carlson spoke about this group in that this is not a teaching group but one that uses this electronic software program and discusses the advantages of the program. Assistance could be provided to a member if the need arises.
Peace Quilts- Cathy provided information on this non-profit humanitarian organization. Its mission is to relieving poverty in Haiti. The organization is establishing and supporting independent women's quilting cooperatives. The goal is to make each cooperative self-managed and self-sustaining by providing training, materials, supplies, marketing assistance and educational opportunities. They market one-of-a-kind art quilts in the United States (and are in the process of developing a product line of affordable quilted items) now being sold in retail shops, online and at Macy's as part of their "Heart of Haiti" initiative. They accept monetary donations as well as fabrics and notions. Fabrics should not be less than 1/8 yard minimum of 100% cotton fabric with special emphasis on solids, Bali prints, black, brown, bold colors (avoid calicos) as well as cotton batting, embroidery floss (DMC preferred), buttons, cutting mats etc. Cathy plans to look through her stash and donate fabric that she feels she will never really use, and she thought other members might have some as well. After a brief discussion, it appeared there was interest within the group to support this effort. Cathy will coordinate the process and plans to send a separate email to the group sharing the pertinent information. Jo Loder moved that Allamanda pick up the cost of shipping the fabric or other sewing related items that get donated. Carol Fox seconded the motion, and the motion passed.
Correction: Allamanda Quilters will be hostess for July's Guild Meeting not for the June meeting as was originally published. Volunteers are still needed for various duties. If interested, please add your name to the sign-up form that will be on the welcome table.
Janet Agostinelli informed the group last month of a way that funds could be raised by providing an auction. She said old items as well as member made items could be auctioned off. We could invite other chapters as Captiva and or Sterling Sisters to join us for this type event. To her knowledge a past event raised as high as $1,200. This will be put on the agenda at a later time to determine exact dates and time to be held. In the meantime, please start saving items you would like to donate to the auction.
Showcase 2013- General Information: Cathy Barlow explained there will be a $7 admittance fee that covers both days. Hand stamps will be used for admittance on both days. Guild members will enter free with a valid membership card. The shuttle bus will only operate on Friday; and the number of vendors was cut back to 15 due to electrical concerns.
Entering Quilts - Entry forms & instructions for making a hanging sleeve are on the website www.qgotv.org Please note entries along with a photo of the quilt(may still be in progress) are due by October 1st. . Please see Cathy Barlow for the entry form.
Allamanda Showcase Banner - Marlene Jensch said the final design should be completed by next week. We look forward to viewing this beautiful design.
Showcase Boutique -Several quick workshops have been held to make different items that Allamanda will sell at the boutique. Suzanne mentioned that she has plenty of the items Heather taught us to make (over 100!), so unless you are making some from themed-type fabric (i.e., golf, other sports, etc.), she is suggesting we stop making these. She has some of the items from Cathy's workshop, but we could still use more of these. We're still trying to get Monique's workshop scheduled, but it looks like this probably won't happen until the fall.
Charity Quilt Committee - Sharon Musch was not present at today's meeting but our members were reminded that donation tickets are available. The suggested minimum donations are $1 for 1 ticket and $5 for 6 tickets. The Charity Quilt was photographed and Marilyn Paluszak explained that a member could e-mail a friend, provide the link for www.qgotv.org which when utilized one could see the picture of the Charity Quilt in full detail. Perhaps our friends will be moved to make a donation to win this beautiful quilt as a result of their viewing this beautiful work of art.
Show-and-Tell -
Many beautiful items were displayed by our members. Please visit the website www.qgotv.org to view each of these items.
Reminders/Announcements -
When donating a charity quilt please provide Regina Bozza with your name and details.
Members were notified that the Patchwork Pig quilt shop in Lakeland has closed its doors as the owner retired
A-BOMB - Only three blocks were turned in out of the 11 sold last month. We will wait for the remaining 8 blocks to be brought in next month and then complete the raffle.
50/50 - The winner -Ellen Miller.
Meeting adjourned at 2:10 p.m.
Respectfully submitted by,
Regina Bozza
