Lions Gate Quilters' Guild

From Kathryn

I was sorry to miss our speaker last month (heard Stacey was great) but when my husband said let’s do a Panama Canal cruise I just had to say “okay”.  Twenty-two days is a long time to cruise without access to a sewing machine or fabric but somehow I kept myself busy with cooking demos, Spanish lessons, space lectures, BBC Earth productions, digital workshops by Microsoft, Salsa and Merengue dance lessons and much more.  The travel through the locks was definitely the highlight but having someone make my bed and cook me dinner was right up there.

Cruising the Panama Canal was a great experience but there is nothing like coming home to all the beautiful spring flowers! The lawn was another matter – It took quite awhile to wrestle the lawn mower around to tame the rain-fed grass (Good thing my husband was up for it…). Now it’s back to reality and I have only just over a week to get my PHDs completed to show at the May 23 meeting.  It will be interesting to see how many get finished.

I look forward to seeing you all at the May meeting.

Kathryn Gillis, Co-President

From Karen

We had 65 members and 1 guest present at our April Guild meeting…..but at the break, the guest came over to the membership table and registered as our newest member, making it 66 members present for the meeting!

The lucky door prize winners were Chris Gardner and Colleen Bell. Remember to wear your nametags if you would like to win a door prize; everyone who signs in has an opportunity to win. Nametags are available at the membership table for $1.00 each, if you forgot yours.

Thanks to those who volunteered to be a “Buddy” for a guest at the April meeting. It’s simple – just sign the volunteer list at the membership table. If a guest comes on their own, I will ask if they would like someone to show them around, and then I’ll call on a volunteer Buddy to welcome them, explain a bit about our Guild, then sit with them if they like, answer questions, and perhaps introduce them to some fellow quilters. Just to clarify, this is not a long-term commitment; we are not asking you to phone them to follow up or become their new BFF – we don’t want folks to feel they are being pressured to join. It is simply to make sure that all of our guests know they are welcome at their first Guild meeting. Please think about sharing your love of quilting in this simple way.

The guild currently has 96 members and we’d love to have more…. so please consider renewing if you haven’t yet done so, or encourage a friend to join. Our Membership list will be sent out soon; wouldn’t you like to be on it? Membership offers so many benefits: inspiring speakers and fun meeting programs, socializing with other quilters, viewing members’ show & tell quilts, workshops to hone your skills, supporting Community Quilts, being part of our amazing Quilt Show, opportunities to attend COPS days and retreats, 50/50 and door prizes to name a few. And did I mention socializing with other quilters?

A membership form is on our Guild website. Just go along the headings at the top of the page and click on the ‘Members’ heading. Then go down to ‘join or renew’. This is a PDF file which will allow you to type in your information, print it off, sign it and then drop it off at the membership table with cash or a cheque for $60.00 made out to ‘Lions Gate Quilters Guild’ or ‘LGQG’. This form cannot be saved but can be printed off so you can hand write on it also. You can also pick up a form at the membership desk, and membership renewals will be accepted at any meeting. For those who have already renewed, your new membership cards are ready for pick-up….you guessed it, at the membership table!

Should you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me.

Quilt on!

Katherine Morgan, Membership Coordinator

Each month we are so grateful for the number of quilts that are made by the guild members for the community.  At the end of May we will be distributing the quilts and report on the number of quilts made so far this year along with a list of recipients.

Starting in September we challenge you to complete a quilt for the community. With every finished quilt your name will go into a box for a prize at the end of January. We encourage you to take home a kit to work on over the summer or finish a kit that has been languishing in your sewing room.

Thanks for your continuing support.

Brenda and Karen.

Hello everyone!

After many years away from the Quilting Community and Quilt Guilds, I am very happy to once again be a member of the LGQG. For me, serving as Co-President means an opportunity to meet and get to know many wonderful people who love quilts and quilting.  One of the things I most enjoyed in the past was going to LGQG Retreats.  Sometimes I got a lot accomplished, and sometimes I simply enjoyed being with everyone … and occasionally getting up to a little mischief!!

I also spent some time on the Executive of the Fraser Valley Quilters’ Guild, as Co-Chair for the Evening meetings and sharing the position of Community Liaison.  During those years with FVQG I  got to know many of the members and had an incredible amount of fun at UFO Days and Community Events.

Although this isn’t a new idea, the Executive has decided to try to make our Guild more welcoming by introducing a “Buddy” system for Guests.  Starting at the April meeting, we will be looking for two Volunteers each month to make themselves available to spend the evening with any Guests who would appreciate having a Buddy.  Buddies will be expected to sit with Guests, visit with them, answer any general questions they might have (or find someone who knows the answer), and do their best to ensure that Guests have a pleasant time visiting our Guild.  There will be a sign-up sheet for “Buddies” at the “Membership / Sign In” table.  Ideally we would like to have Buddy Volunteers signed up one or two months in advance.  And if we have Guests at the April meeting, we would like to start the “Buddy” initiative right away!  I hope you will consider being a Buddy for a month.

You may have heard that Kathryn Gillis will be chairing the monthly Guild meetings (Tuesday night) and I will be chairing the monthly Executive meetings, although I expect we will both attend as many of these meetings as we can.  Although I am new (again) to the LGQG, I know that most of you are not.  Whether you are working on a small project, perusing books in our Library, or enjoying the Program and visiting with friends, spending an evening with other quilters is comfortable and inspiring.  If you have a completed quilt project or a special quilt top that is not yet layered I hope you will bring it for Show ‘n Tell.  I look forward to seeing you at the April Guild meeting.  Happy quilting!!

Karen Cooke, Co-President (with Kathryn Gillis)

Hello Community of Quilters,

Thanks to everyone for all the community quilts that were shown at last month’s meeting.  I’m always amazed at the sheer numbers of quilts we produce. We’re still sorting them and will hopefully have them delivered by the end of the month.

As a reminder, we do have new labels available for quilts (they’re quite nice), so if you’re in need we’ll try to bring a few to each meeting, as well as one or two kits.  Please feel free to bring any finished quilts with you to the meeting.

We haven’t formalized any challenges yet, trying to keep everyone motivated, but until then, I will challenge you to spend 10 % of your quilting time on community quilts.  Use community quilts as leaders/ enders, cut an extra block to make a small quilt, or a sampler.  If you hit a road block on a current project, take a break! That’s only SIX minutes over the course of an hour!

Karen and Brenda