Welcome to the Utah Quilt Guild

From Our President, Debbie Robertson

 

One of my favorite things to do, other than quilt of course, is to sit down with a good book.  A few years ago my mother handed me a book she had just finished.  The cover design of the book had a nine-patch quilt and was titled, The Persian Pickle Club, by Sandra Dallas.  "What's this?" I asked her.  "It's a good read," she responded. "And since you are into quilting, I think you will enjoy it."

As usual, my mother was right.  I was immediately drawn into the book.  And how could I not be?  Firstly, the book is about women and quilting.  Secondly, there is a mystery to be solved.  The book is set in the 1930's where hard times have hit a small farming community in Kansas.  Crops are burning up and there is not a job to be found.  So a group of farm wives form a quilting bee.  The highlight of each woman's week becomes the gathering of the Persian Pickle Club.  The group dedicates themselves to improving their minds, exchanging gossip and putting their quilting skills to good use.  The mystery begins when a new member, Rita, joins the club.  When she first joins, Rita thinks the women are not much more than a bunch of hens cackling quilting around the dining room table.  But when a dark secret is revealed, the women must band together and support one another.

The book caused me to reflect on the quilting bees I have been a part of.  My first thought was, "So would my friends and I look like a bunch of cackling hens to an outsider?"  Or worse, what would our daughters and granddaughters think?

Life has changed a great deal since the 1930's, and yet some things are still very much the same.  Quilting is still an American tradition, and so is women banding together in times of need.  We still like to get together and visit while we keep our hands busy.  We still enjoy learning new quilting techniques, and we still horde fabric!  I wonder what the women of 80 years ago would think of our quilting stores today.  What would they think of rotary cutters, self-healing cutting mats, acrylic rulers and the dozens of other gadgets that are so accessible?  Would they think we are crazy because we make quilts just to hang on the walls of our homes?  Would they think we are wasteful or be green with envy for all the fancy tools at our disposal and the hundreds of bolts of fabric to choose from?  Maybe they would just gasp in shock at the money we spend on this hobby!

It is reassuring that some things never change, but it is also a good thing that some things change and become beter with time.  One thing is for sure; quilting will continue to be around for years to come.

Quilt Update: Stacks of quilts were received at the August UQG board meeting for Helping Hands of Haiti.  The quilt count received since our June board meeting is 78 quilts for a total of 549.  Many of you have taken this service project to heart and have gone gangbusters!!  Some of our members have personally sewn numerous quilts and gone way beyond the "one quilt per member" that has been asked of all of us.  Thank you for your generosity!  We will continue to work towards our goal of 1000 quilts and wrap up this service project during Quilt Festival in October.

From one quilter to another... Debbie

From our President, Debbie Robertson

 

“Don’t worry; I will take care of it later.”  How many times have you heard this phrase?  How many times have you said it yourself?

 

About a month before Christmas, I asked my daughter who was heading to the mall to work, to purchase a BYU team sweatshirt hoodie that my husband had had his eye on.  My plan was to give it to him as a Christmas present. She replied that she would be happy to help.  Good, that meant one less trip to the mall for me.

 

The next day I found the sack containing the hoodie on my cutting table in my sewing room.  I pulled it out only to discover that it was at least one size too big and probably two sizes larger.  I called my daughter to the sewing room and exclaimed, “You have got to be kidding me!!”  Her explanation, “Mom, they had sold out of dad’s size.  I thought you could take this in.” Now my children have grown up with the notion that I can perform miracles at the sewing machine.  And they were right; I have altered and sewn more clothing that I care to remember.  I looked at that oversized hoodie and began to plan.  It would require unpicking the ribbing around the bottom and each sleeve before I could even begin cutting the sides.  Did I really want to do this?  I was already engrossed with sewing Minky pillow cases for each of the kids, sewing a quilted handbag and finishing up an heirloom photo quilt.  Nope, I did not have time for this!!

 

I found my daughter in the kitchen and asked for the sales slip which had not accompanied the hoodie in the sack.  She was in a hurry to leave the house and said, “Don’t worry Mom; I will take care of it later.”  Well “later” turned into three weeks with me occasionally asking for that sales receipt.  Her answer was always the same, “I will take care of it later.”  Finally with only days before Christmas, “LATER” had come!!  With some indignation, I marched into her bedroom and demanded that sales receipt.  Well, as you can probably guess, in the interim of three weeks that sales receipt had sprouted wings and flown away.  I did what every frazzled mother does whose Christmas “To Do” list is longer than her life does; I picked up the hoodie, grabbed the nearest empty box, wrapped it and put it under the Christmas tree, muttering to myself the entire time, “I will take care of this later”.

 

My husband opened that package on Christmas morning and with some surprise graciously received that oversized BYU hoodie.  With apologies, I promised to return it to the store and get him one that fit.  Shortly after the New Year, he drove to the mall without the sales receipt to return the hoodie.  He is now the proud owner of a Sports Authority gift card.

 

The advantage of taking care of a task now is you do not have to remember to do it later.  By “taking care of it later”, two jobs are created in having to remember it and still having to do the promised job.  This creates stress for all involved.   The task is not accomplished on time or not completed at all.  We leave a mess for others to clean up and a trust has been breached.

 

In regards to working with my board members and other amazing quilters in this guild, “I will take care of it later” is not a part of their thinking.  We just completed our first board meeting this week and these women are excited and committed to make 2010 a great year for the Utah Quilt Guild. 

 

We are excited to announce a new make over of our website!!  Levi Hutchison, our Webmaster and I have put in long hours in designing this website and working with the hosting company that has been hired by the guild.  I think that all of our members are going to be pleased with this new look and functionality.  One of new features is a gallery of quilts made by our own members.  I requested digital pictures to be submitted in our November Beeline newsletter and received photos from three quilters who are Carol B. Johnson, Sharon Wright and Charlotte Davis.  All right ladies, there are more than three of you out there!!  The website home page features Carol’s Canyons Quilt.  Carol’s Rock Ribbons quilt is part of the side bar on all the web pages.  A close-up shot of Sharon’s St. George Arches quilt is displayed in the Contact section of the website and a full view of this quilt is on the Newsletter page.  Charlotte’s quilt is featured in the Quilter’s in the Spotlight section. All of these quilts along with full view photos of their quilts can be viewed in the Gallery section.

 

We are anxious to continue adding digital pictures to our Gallery.  You may submit photos for consideration to Levi Hutchinson at levihutchinson@msn.com .

 

Another new feature of this site will be photos of the executive officers.  Have you ever wanted to put a face to the name?  Our website will accomplish this.  Also, we are excited to add a blog. There will be an icon on the home page for you to click.  Bev DeMaria is our new blog coordinator.  We want to hear all about what you are doing in your quilt guild.  You can send articles and digital photos to Bev at lintybev1@comcast.net .

 

The last feature on this website is a secure log-in which is for members only.  You may access the Beeline newsletter, board members names, emails and phone numbers only through this secure log-in.  This will require your email address and a password.  All email addresses that were given to us at the time you renewed your membership have been given to the web design/hosting company.  Currently the password is ‘buyfabric’ (do not include the quotations when logging on).  You will then be able to change that password to one of your own choosing.  If you forget your password, follow the prompts to recover it.  You will also have access to the entire website which includes all Beeline newsletters from this point on; board contact lists and the guild membership list.  We will no longer be mailing a membership list in March.  The membership list will be updated from time to time on the website.  We will continue to send out the Beeline via email and for those members who do not have email; the Beeline will be mailed to you.  The advantage of having the Beeline on the website and emailed to you is that it will have color photos and other eye-catching graphics.

 

Now for those guild members, who do not have an email address and want to log onto the website, pay close attention.  Here are your instructions.  In the secure log on page type your first and last name in small letters with no spaces and add @utahquiltguild.org.  For example, debbierobertson@utahquiltguild.org.  Type in the password ‘buyfabric’ and press login.  Again, do not include the quotations when logging in.  If you choose to change your password, write it down and DO NOT loose it.  Because you do not have your personal email to log in, the system will not be able to recover a lost password.

 

Some of you may be asking why board members information is under the secure section.  For years now, we board members have been subjected to mass amounts of spam email because our personal information has been available for all to view.  To say the least, this has been annoying.  I personally, had to change my email a few years ago because it became unbearable.  This also is the reason why our members’ information will be secured.  I am sure that you do not want your personal information out on the web for all to access.

 

With all of that said, I am excited for what this New Year will bring and look forward to working with all of you!

 

From one quilter to another….Debbie

 

 

Grand Canyons Quilt by Carol Johnson

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beeHave you looked at the UQG Library?  It is extensive and worth browsing!  UQG Members, click here to take a look.


2010ServiceProject (Large)