September 2004 Newsletter

The Next Meeting

Presidents' Message

We hope you all had a wonderful summer. It's hard to believe that our first meeting is right around the corner - literally.

For members who did not attend June's meeting, we're moving because the library needs the community room for their own growing programs. As many of you know, meeting rooms are hard to come by for a group our size. What a relief to receive a welcoming and encouraging response from the facility manager of Enfield Schools and from Eli Whitney School. This school appears to be a good choice because:

1. It's next door to where we have been meeting.
2. It's larger that the community room plus it has a stage.
3. It's all ours - we no longer have to worry about being asked to reschedule our meetings or lose half our space.
4. The cafeteria has its own access to parking lots in the front of the school.

Speaking of meetings, we're going to try something different for our September meeting. Yes, we'll have a brief business meeting and Show and Tell, but NO raffle. After that, Committee Chairs will be at tables where you can meet with them and if you choose, sign up to donate for raffle and refreshments and participate in Secret Pal, fabric swap, et al. This also gives members a chance to visit and catch up with each other. 2004-2005 Membership packets will be available for all paid members.

We want to thank the Executive Committee for their hard work in preparing for this coming year!

A copy of the Treasurer's Report, submitted by Pat Hatcher, can be seen by clicking here. This report is from June 2003 through August 2004. At the June 2004 meeting we made $443. Thank you everyone for making our night a success.

Well, we look forward to seeing everyone!
Co-Presidents,
Pat Mercier and Vicky Altenhein

Steering Committee

Member Profile

Cynthia Warren Mahdalik. I left Pratt & Whitney Aircraft in 1971 when our daughter was born after having worked for fifteen years. In the back of my mind I was interested in quilting but sewing was not one of my preferences. When hubby came home from work in the evening, I would take night classes such as chair caning, bargello, needlepoint, stenciling, etc. I kept avoiding quilting. Each year I would attend the Springfield Expo and run to drool over the handmade quilts. In 1979 I finally signed up for a class at Bits and Pieces in Enfield and fortunately had an excellent teacher (Mary Lou Smith) who taught the fundamentals of quilting along with how to draw up your own patterns. Geometry, of course, plays a huge roll in the designing of quilts and I, being a lover of math, immediately was hooked.

Back in the late '70's and early '80's there were very few books on the market. My first quilt was a Sampler which incorporated numerous techniques within the twelve blocks. We also used templates during those early years. I quickly completed the quilt top but, in the meantime, Bits and Pieces went out of business and I was left with an unfinished top and did not know how to proceed since my knowledge of sewing was very minimal. The quilt top was set aside until 1985, the year I joined Enfield Quilters. A member took pity on me and helped me baste my quilt. I hand quilted this quilt and completed it by June, 1986. The quilt won three blue ribbons and a Best-in-Show trophy at various showings. This quilt has served many years of wear every evening in my family room and now desperately needs a new binding.

I must add that in those early years I would only buy what fabric I would actually need to complete a quilt. Somewhere through the years something went wrong and I started buying for one idea, but then another idea would pop into my head and soon I was out of control. The rest is history.

Cynthia Warren Mahdalik

About Our Members

Rosalee Keekgan won first place for two of her quilts!

Star Shadows - Sort of turquoise and green stars with shadows of stars behind them, all hand pieced and hand quilted - all batiks.

Log Cabin Mystery - done in Log Cabin Club with JoAnn Pelletier. I lost the directions for putting it together, so it became a real mystery! It was machine quilted by Jan Bridge, and won a special award for machine quilting, which she will get. It also got the Joan Pinkney award for use of an historical pattern.

Both quilts were also at Images in August.

Cynthia Toolin won 3 ribbons!

Blue (first) for Chicken with Necklaces, a penny rug pillow.

Red (second) for Chocolate Bunny, a penny rug pillow.

Blue (first) for Jacobean Floral, a punch needle rug.

Barbara Lange won a blue ribbon and a sponsor award for her 6 knitted/beaded purses that are displayed in a shadow box!!

WAY TO GO!! CONGRATTS!!

ANNOUNCEMENTS

We need 2 volunteers to work at the Big E, Sat. Sept 18 from noon-2pm. You will receive a free parking pass and entrance ticket and have time to do the fair! Email Sally Cummings, or call 763-4106.

We will be having raffles every meeting EXCEPT in Sept. and May (which is our annual fundraiser/auction).

SECRET PAL

TIPS AND HINTS

These are from the book, Every Trick In The Book, by Ami Simms.

• Need to remember what's stashed at home before buying another yard? Record yardage on hand, fabric width, fiber content, place of purchase, price, etc. in a small notebook and staple a swatch next to the pertinent information. Bring it to the fabric store.

• Peanut butter smeared onto plastic rulers will remove gummy residues left over from masking tape and other adhesives.

• To clean a dirty iron, take a clean grocery sack and cut it open. Lay it on top of the ironing board and sprinkle it with salt. Iron the salt.

DATES TO REMEMBER

9/25, Saturday, Shelburne, Vt. Museum Quilt Wonders 9am-4pm 802-985-3346 e 3396

10/2-3, "Quilters Showcase IV" sponsored by the Farmington Valley Quilters, Inc.: The Hartford Insurance Company, Simsbury, CT.

10/13 7pm workshop to be held at the Senior Center

10/16-17 Sat. & Sun. Branford, CT, 25 years of Quilting On The Shore, $5.00 203-488-7946

10/20 Enfield Quilters Guild meeting doors open at 6 and the meeting begins at 7pm at Eli Whitney Elem. School (across from the library). The program will be Fairfield Processing with Ann Driscoll.

10/23 GHQG annual meeting, hosted by the West Hartford Chapter. Metropolitian Learning Center, Bloomfield, CT.

Planning ahead for next year August 20-21, 2005, GHQG annual meeting, at the Colony in Vernon.

CLASSIFIED

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