Here once again is the list of executive positions that will become vacant in February, 2012, along with a short bio by each member currently running for a new executive position.

Vice-President
This person assumes the duties of the President in her/his absence. Oversees the storage locker and post office box rentals.

Candidate: Katherine Morgan, currently Member-at-Large
“I have been a quilter and a sewer off and on for many years, but got re-acquainted with quilting in 2001 when I was working on the north shore and a friend brought me to a LGQG meeting as a guest. I joined in time to enter a quilt in the next quilt show! Since then I’ve enjoyed the programs, workshops, quilt shows, bus trips, community quilts, and especially COPS days (they’re like a day spa of quilting). For the last year I’ve been a Member at Large, and I have now volunteered to run for the Vice President position as I enjoy being on the Board and contributing to the success of our guild.”

Treasurer
Responsible for all accounting tasks related to Guild business, including preparation of year-end financial statements and required tax returns, as well as preparation of draft and final budgets each year . Presents all budget and financial report details to members at each year’s AGM.

Candidate: Bena Luxton, currently Treasurer

Newsletter Editor
Prepares and distributes the guild newsletter for each of the 9 months of January through June and September through November.

Candidate: Colleen Bohan
“I started quilting about ten years ago when I took a beginner class from a friend. I have been a member of LGQG for five or six years. I’m interested in both traditional and modern quilting. I also like to make bags. I enjoy hand quilting just as much as machine. My only regret is that I don’t have enough time to work on all the projects I’d like to!”

Program Coordinator
Prepares the Program for each guild meeting, including all arrangements for guest speakers and presenters.

Candidate: Andrea Cowie, with committee members Paula Bohan and JoAnne Lee

Members at Large
The two Members at Large (one is elected each year) provide another communication channel to the executive. Responsibilities include greeting people at the door for meetings, coordinating the 50/50 draw, and providing assistance for “show and tell.” A Member at Large, in the second year of the term, will also be the Nominating Committee Coordinator for future elections.

Candidate: Joan Elliott (one-year term)
“I began taking quilting classes in 1997 in an attempt to use up some bits of fabric that I had. In January of 1998, (taking more classes) one of my class mates asked if I’d like to go to the Lions Gate Quilt Guild meeting with her. At the membership table was someone I knew from work and it was a nice surprise that made me feel more at ease right away. I’ve been a member ever since. In 2004, I started working at the Thread Bear and enjoyed it very much; the staff, the fabric and the customers made it a great environment to be in and when the store closed in 2008, I really, really missed all of it. I think that the company of the members is one of the main reasons for being a part of this Guild and, while I’ve always entered two quilts each time we have a show and have always volunteered to help at those times, it’s time to do a bit more. Plus, I’d get to hang out with the cool people.”

Candidate: Terri Gareth (two-year term)
“I started quilting about 30 years ago before the days of templates and rotary cutters! In the last decade I revived my passion with an occasional course but it’s only been since my full time retirement in 2008 that I’ve had the time to give quilting the attention it deserves. I treated myself to a Bernina Artista last year and that sent me down a different path of new technology. I’m planning holiday trips around quilt stores – an adjunct to the geology stops we always make!! Best fun of all is making quilts for babies born into our circle of family and friends and donations to Community Quilts. The guild is a great community of creative, talented women and men and I appreciate all the help I’ve received to date. It is with pride and excitement that I join the executive group and hope I can be of some help to the organization.”

Librarian
Responsible for set up and take down of library at each guild meeting, recording of books in and out, library fines, and the purchase of new additions to the library.

Candidate: Margo Novak, with helper Debbie Speight
“I have attended the Guild’s Quilt Shows for many years but have only been a member for about a year and a half since ‘graduating from work.’ As a relatively new member, I thought that looking after the library would be a good way to contribute to the Guild and to meet other members (and my first career was as a librarian!) I enjoy the Guild meetings and workshops and look forward to participating in more classes and making new friendships.”

All of the above positions are two-year terms and require the elected members to attend monthly Executive meetings.

EXTRA EXTRA! A Special, Wonderful, Exciting door prize for members only! If you are a member of the guild, even if you haven’t renewed your membership for the 2012/2013 year, you are eligible for this fantastic door prize donated by Matt of The Quilted Bear:

***A Bali Pop package and Bali Pop book entitled Strip Therapy, by Brenda Henning. A total retail value of $65.00! ***

How can you enter for this fantastic membership door prize? If you were a member of the 2011/2012 year, you already are. If you are a new member, your name will go in the bag too. All you have to do is be present at the AGM, February guild meeting, and be sure to be wearing your name tag.

For those of you who have already handed in your membership renewals, thank you. For those who still need to renew, try out the membership form online. It is a pdf format that you can type your information right into and them print it, off, sign, and bring along with your cheque to the February meeting. New Membership cards will be available at the break during the February meeting.

Kate Burzuk
Membership Coordinator

Happy New Year, everyone. I hope everyone had a restful break and is ready to begin a busy and exciting new year of sewing and quilting. We are working our way toward a June Quilt Show with all of the fun, hard work and perhaps a little stress involved in that endeavour.

But before the Quilt Show comes we have our Annual General Meeting in February along with Executive Elections. During the business portion of our January meeting we will have the second and final discussion period about changes to our Constitution. Please go to our website and read through the Guild Constitution and the Community Quilts Constitution. If you have questions please bring them to the meeting or email them to Joan Herrin, Anne Pelton or myself.

As you read through these documents you will be able to see comprehensive write ups on the executive positions. To date we need only two positions to be filled, those of Vice President and Member-at-Large. In other words we have had 4 people come forward and offer to take on the positions of Treasurer, Programs, Library and Newsletter Editor. The Nominating Committee will make phone calls to each member of the Guild next month if we cannot fill the last two positions. So, please consider accepting a role on the executive as either Vice President or as a Member-at-Large.

At the Executive Meeting on November 28th we decided to increase guild fees to $50 a year. We read and listened to input from our membership and from other guilds’ executives’ comments. We listened to our Treasurer lay out our financial situation and then we made this decision. Any further concerns about our finances can be addressed at the February meeting when Bena Luxton gives her Treasurer’s report. Some other guilds are also having to implement membership increases.

We have business to attend to and money to spend. For what? To quilt, to sew, to hang out with friends/quilters, to learn, to give back to the community and to create.

I want to quote a few lines from the Introduction of one of my favourite books: The Gentle Art of Quiltmaking by Jane Brocket. “I hope to reassure tentative quilters….that quilting is easy and incredibly enjoyable, that anyone can do it in an ordinary home environment and without a dedicated room or table or design board, and that you don’t need hundreds of expensive fabrics. And I would like to convince you that, with a few fabrics and a small number of specialist tools you can create gorgeous quilts that reflect something of their maker’s personality and individuality, quilts that give pleasure both in the making and the finished article.”

We have a lot of wonderful workshops, exciting programs, Community Quilts days and in June a Quilt Show to look forward to.

I wish you all a healthy, happy and successful quilting New Year.

Happy Quilting,
Betty

You’ve read the pleas in the newsletter, you’ve heard the pleas at the meeting: we’re still looking for candidates for Vice-President and Member-at-Large.

• Vice-President: assumes the duties of the President in his/her absence; oversees the storage locker and post office box rentals
• Member-at-Large (one of two): greets members; coordinates the 50/50 draw; provides assistance for “Show and Tell”; sends cards to members who are ill or in need of support; in second year of term, chairs the Nominating Committee

Please consider putting your name forward for these positions; the responsibilities are small and the benefits are huge.

Eileen Wright, from Vancouver Island, is returning to present a two-day Bargello workshop in April. Eileen will be offering 3 choices of patterns from her book, “Twist-and-Turn Bargello Quilts.” These choices are Island Sunset, Aurora Borealis and Cosmic Twist. Cosmic Twist is a little bigger quilt but is a little easier to make. You will also need to wash and pre-cut your fabric before the workshop.

DATE: Friday, April 27 & Saturday, April 28, 2012
TIME: 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
PLACE: St. Agnes Church, 530 East 12th, North Vancouver
COST: $100.00 for 2 days

PLEASE NOTE: If you are interested in this workshop you will need to purchase Eileen Wright’s book. It is part of the series from “That Patchwork Place.” Maureen, from Creative Edge, has agreed to bring these books in for us but we will need to pre-order them. I will be taking orders when you sign up if you are interested. They are also available through Martingale & Company or through Amazon.com. Don’t wait until April to get a copy of this book if you are considering enrolling in this workshop.

What shall the New Year bring us? Let’s hope its time for quilting and friends.

It is also that time of the year to think about membership renewals. A renewal form is on the following page 9 of this newsletter but is also available on our website. Also a reminder that as of February 1, 2012 our membership dues will now be $50 for one year.

If you are planning to hang a quilt in the show in June, you must already be a member as of December 9, 2011. If you are unsure of your status, please consult the membership list. If you don’t have a current list, you can email a request for one. In addition, you must also renew your membership in February 2012. You may hand in your renewal form and cheque or cash at the January meeting to save you (and me!) time, or you can mail your renewal to our guild mailbox.

To date we have 165 members in our guild. To be a door prize winner, be sure to be wearing your name tag at the meeting. All of your names are in the draw bag, they are entered automatically when you renew your membership.

If you have any concerns or questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me: https://lionsgatequilters.wordpress.com/contact-us/email-the-membership-coordinator/

Kate Burzuk
Membership Coordinator

Fellow quilter and LGQG member Pat Bowman is also an author and her young adult book, suitable for ages 12 to adult, titled Back in Her Time, has just been published.

It can be ordered from the publisher (General Store Publishing House, http://www.gsph.com/), or Pat will have copies available when she returns to her North Vancouver home from Florida in the Spring.

Congratulations, Pat!

Clothworks has announced a challenge for this year’s Pacific West Quilt Show, featuring one of the fabrics from the Flying Colors II collection by Laurel Burch. For details, visit http://bit.ly/zoLPqs.

Just before our October meeting I googled Eileen Wright and saw some of her quilts on the Satin Moon website. I just kept saying “Wow”. And then to see them up close was great. I felt that I could almost step inside some of them. We had a great turnout of about 114 people so I hope you all enjoyed the program and sign up for Eileen’s bargello workshop in April 2012. In September several people asked about workshops by Terry Aske especially her portrait work. If you would like to explore that type of quilt activity please contact Joan Herrin or myself.

I would like to report that Paula Bohan (Program rep) and I attended a Guild Gathering meeting in October initiated by Cathy Galbraith, President of the Fraser Valley Quilters Guild. I was impressed that 13 guilds were represented by 28 people. The meeting was 3 and 1/2 hours and included lunch. The purpose of the meeting was to share ideas on an assortment of topics such as program speakers, workshop presenters, finances, executive tasks and any other items that pertain to guild management and education. Some of the more computer savvy reps have set up a way for guilds to share information and now I must learn more about how these computer programs work. But I am motivated because this is going to be a wonderful asset to all of the guilds in the lower mainland. Our next meeting is going to be in late April and we are hoping to have even more guilds represented.

At our October meeting Bena Luxton presented some ideas as to the state of our finances. I did get emails from a couple of members giving us feedback but we need to hear from more members as to how they feel. The executive can then make financial decisions with as much input as possible. On a budgetary note, members who need to be reimbursed for monies spent please submit your receipts along with an expense submission form to Bena as soon as possible. Her year end is Dec. 31st. So, please submit those by the November meeting. If you need a form please email me or Bena.

Your membership card is a great asset. Fabricana will give you 10% off your purchases if you belong to a guild. But you need to have that card handy. Mine sits in my wallet just behind my Visa card.

You also need to show your membership card in order to sign out library books and to register for workshops. The librarians and workshop committee may not always ask to see your card but they may. And, of course, please wear your nametags to guild meetings. They may win you a door prize and people can learn your name much faster if it is affixed somehow to your body.

While on the topic of membership Kate Burzuk needs help. She could use a committed group of 3 or 4 individuals who can help at the membership table and with meet and greet activities. A reminder that If you want to display a quilt in the Show in June you must be a member in good standing as of December 8th. Please email Kate or myself if you can help at the November meeting. And since I am talking volunteers here please continue to talk to Executive members and find out what their position is all about. Vice President, Treasurer, Program Coordinator, Newsletter Editor , Library Coordinator and Member-at-Large are the positions coming up for election at our AGM in February.

The Constitution Review Committee will be presenting a new updated version through our website a week or so before the guild meeting. We want to have a discussion at our November guild meeting lasting from 20 to 30 minutes if need be. And then, another slot of time during the January meeting for discussion. You may have already received info about this before you receive this newsletter.

Finally, if your birthday is in November or December bake a few extra cookies and bring them to guild. We all want to share in the festivities although this month our program committee will be offering up some goodies as well. Don’t forget your name tag, mug, cheque book, library books, calendar, Christmas exchange ornament and special Christmas Show and Tell as well as any other sort of Show and Tell. We love to see what folks are sewing up. See you all on the 22nd of November.

Happy Quilting,
Betty

Elections are coming up in February, and we’re asking you to consider volunteering your time. What are your strengths? Where would your talents shine through and benefit the Guild? Here are the positions that are up for grabs in February:

Vice-President: assume the duties of the President in his/her absence; oversee the storage locker and post office box rentals

Treasurer: perform all accounting tasks related to Guild business, including preparation of year-end financial statements, required tax returns, and draft and final budgets; present all budget and financial report details to members at each year’s AGM

Newsletter Editor: prepare and distribute guild newsletter prior to each meeting (9 meetings a year)

Program Coordinator: plan and prepare programs at guild meetings, including all arrangements for guest speakers and presenters

Member-at-Large (one of two positions): provide an additional communication channel to the Executive Committee; greet members at meetings; coordinate the 50/50 draws; provide assistance for Show & Tell at meetings; in second year of term serve as Nominating Committee Coordinator for elections

Librarian: set up and take down library at each guild meeting; keep a record of all books going out and coming back; collect fines; purchase new books for the library

All positions carry a two-year term and require attendance at monthly Executive Committee meetings. If you have questions about any of these positions, the incumbents are more than happy to talk to you.