PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
As more of us are vaccinated, we see hope for freedom from
the pandemic. Our plans for the Quilt Show are moving
forward. Suddenly there is a flurry of activity surrounding
deadlines for membership and quilt show entries. It looks like
it is going to be a very busy summer for the Quilt Show team.
There is a chain of consequence that needs to be done in a
timely fashion. Membership renewal must be completed by
June 30th to put a quilt in the show. The deadline to submit
your entry request is July 31st and the ad deadline is August
1st. All this needs to take place for the team to have time to
prepare the show booklet which needs to go to the printer. The
usual turn around time is 8-10 weeks. Please help the team by
getting your forms completed and submitted with the proper
payments as soon as possible.
This is my final President’s message. I wish all our members a
wonderful summer with a chance to get out and see family and
friends. Come back to live guild meetings starting in
September and support all the wonderful volunteers who make
sure that Merrimack Valley Quilters Guild not only stays alive
but thrives. Thank you, everyone, for a wonderful four years. I
truly have enjoyed every minute of it.
Elizabeth Swan, President
MERRIMACK VALLEY QUILTERS GUILD
Encouraging the art of Quilting in the Merrimack Valley, MVQ was established in 1980
June, 2021
Executive Committee
2020 – 2021
President: Elizabeth Swan
Vice President: Bev Valle
Secretary: Jamie Ruh
Treasurer AP: Diane Kelley
Treasurer AR: Layne Rando
Go to MVQuilters.org and
look under the board
member section for the full
list of all the board and
standing committee
members.
To reach any committee
member, please address any
correspondence to:
MVQ Guild, PO Box 566
Haverhill, MA 01831
Next Virtual meeting:
June 17th, 2021
Board Meetings
Until further notice, all board meetings are virtual. They are scheduled in advance on the first
Wednesday of the month, starting at 6:00 pm. The dates are listed on the MVQ website
under “Calendar of Events”. All members are welcome to attend by contacting Liz Swan at
least 2 days before the meeting and request an invitation.
Facebook:
Did you know that MVQ has two Facebook pages? One is Merrimack Valley Quilters
Guild. This page is managed by Cathy Harnisch and Elizabeth Swan. It was created
purposely to give members and friends an additional venue for sharing information
specifically about our guild. Viewing the information posted is available to the public.
Only the managers can post on this page.
The other is a Group page called MVQ Members. Members of the group are welcome to
post questions and information on this Facebook page. If you have something to sell or
want to share information with other guild members, this is the page for you. Want to show
off your recently completed quilt or other accomplishment? You can post it here. Only
members of our guild are invited to join this page. If you wish to join, please contact Cathy
Harnisch and she will send an invitation to you. Cathy monitors this page for content.
Membership Information
Membership Information
Time is running out! If you haven’t renewed your membership yet, DO IT NOW! It’s easy! You
can conveniently renew online or, instead, print the 2021-2022 membership form and mail it
with a check to Linda Lydecker. The deadline is June 30th. This is especially important if you
want to submit a quilt for our Ruby Celebration Quilt Show this fall. A HUGE THANK YOU to
the 80+ members who have already renewed. Don’t miss your opportunity to belong to our
wonderful guild where friendship and inspiration are guaranteed.
Linda Lydecker, Membership Chair
Show and Tell:
Any member or guest is welcome to send pictures of their creations to me for Show and
Tell at our next virtual guild meeting. Include a little information about your project as
well. Please send them to me by email no later than 24 hours before the guild meeting.
Elizabeth Swan, President
Newsletter items must be submitted on the first FRIDAY after the board meeting to Mary
or Ann Stobbs:
COMFORT QUILTS Comfort quilts are due at the Quilt Show, Thursday, September 30, 2021. They will be displayed on a table or two. Please fold them pretty side out. The comfort quilts that are being hung at the show can be added to the pile after they have been picked up and the sleeves removed. Thank you.
There are two comfort quilt projects for 2021: You may designate your quilt for a specific place, by noting on the outside of the donated quilt bag which project you wish it to go toward. If it does not make a difference to you, your quilt will be donated according to size. Tough Warrior Princesses Lap size woman's quilt about 50 by 60+. Wellspring House Gloucester Twin size woman's quilt about 60 by 72 Young Children's quilts about 40 by 60.
All sizes are approximate. Thank you for your generosity. Donations will be collected in October. Bev Valle
NEW ENGLAND QUILT MUSEUM
Need a fun day trip? Try the New England Quilt Museum in Lowell. They are open with
reduced hours, Wednesday – Saturday 10am-4pm. As with all things New England, you should
call first before heading over there (978) 452-4207.
Programs
Program for Thursday June 17th Zoom Meeting : Journey's
MVQ Programs for 2021-2022
I reconnected with the speakers Heather Shields had scheduled for this past year. All were pleased
to be recalled for this year. While this is still a work in progress here is our proposed schedule.
Websites for presenters are included so you can take a look at their work.
September – Sew and Know by members sharing something they learned or tried during Covid.
(Volunteers still needed. Please contact Judy Naylor or Janice Jones to add to our program.)
October - October 21th – Sue Bleiweiss – Trunk Show of her journey as an artist of colorful and
whimsical quilted fiber art collages. Workshop on October 23rd – “Whimsical Birds”.
https://www.suebleiweiss.com/artquilts.html
December 2nd - Holiday Party.
January 20th - Journeys
February 17th - UFO Auction March 17th – Kathie Beltz Study 180 Design Trunk show.
March 19th - Around the Pond workshop https://kathiebeltz.com/
April 21st - Sheri Cefaldi-Morrel – Trunk Show Workshop (Thursday) April 22nd – Hawaiian
Inspired Appliqué https://www.wholecirclestudio.com/
May 19th – Michelle Banton of Little Pup Designs – Looking Great Dresden Plate lecture. May
22nd - Your Dresden Neighborhood workshop https://www.littlepupdesigns.com/
June - Speaker TBA
For details, contact Judy Naylor Programs Chairperson
978.352.2210 (H)
978476.2525 (C)
June Raffle Basket
The donations have started coming in for our last basket of this year. So far, we have:
• A basket to hold donations
• Thistle Farms Healing Products for Women
• 3 Yard Quilts pattern and 3 gorgeous fabrics to complete a project.
• A gift card from Dunkin’ (What says summer more than ice coffee?)
Please contact Judy Naylor to add to this basket.
978.352.2210 (H)
978.476.2525 (C)
___________________________________________________________________
Quilt Retreat Update: It is hard to believe that we are coming up on the year mark of this
pandemic! It has impacted every aspect of our lives and has caused the cancellation of 3 of our
Kennebunk Quilt Retreats at Franciscan Guest House. But...we are beginning to plan for our
Fall Quilt Retreat!!! We are in communication with Franciscan Guest House (which has been
closed for several months) and are working out the details. We are aiming for the end of
October -early November, 2021. We will keep you updated!
RUBY CELEBRATION QUILT SHOW
Show Days are October 1 and 2, 2021
Set-up Day is September 30
Judging Day is September 29
Hope Church, Newburyport, MA
ACTIVITIES TO CONSIDER OVER THE SUMMER:
1. Enter your quilt into the show by July 31.
2. Put together your raffle basket, enclose with cellophane, and attach a
list of items.
3. Rummage through your stash and locate some fat quarters for the Penny Raffle
table.
4. Find your Silent Auction contribution.
5. Finish your Challenge Exhibit pillow.
6. Gather your boutique items and fill out your inventory form.
7. Make a pile of fabric and other stuff to donate to the White Elephant
room.
8. Collect your comfort quilts and note which charity they should go to.
We look forward to seeing you at our September guild meeting to finalize all the details for
the show. But in the meantime, if you have questions:
Email Diane at [email protected]
Liz at [email protected]
Quilt Show Volunteers Needed!
It might seem early to think about volunteering for our Ruby Celebration Quilt Show, but it really
isn’t. Volunteer with a friend! Lock in the slot you want! Satisfy the MVQ requirement of working
at least 2 hours at our show. WE NEED YOU! It takes everyone’s help to make this show a
success. The show has 174 volunteer slots to be filled which is above and beyond those who are
chairing the show itself and specific areas. At this point not even half the slots are filled. If you do
the math, we also need members to volunteer for more than one slot if their schedules allow.
“Floaters” are especially valuable as they allow us flexibility to assign people to where they are
most needed. A HUGE THANK YOU to those who have already signed up!
To sign up, use the Volunteer Signup link under the Quilt Show tab on our website. It will take you
to the Sign-Up Genius app where you can see what slots are still open as well as who is working
when. Later, if your plans change or you want to work another shift, you can edit or add to your
signup. All volunteers are admitted to the show for free no matter what day they work or what day
they attend the show. If you need help signing up, please contact Linda Lydecker
MVQ Guild Meeting Minutes 5/20/21
Zoom Meeting Call to order: 7:00 P.M.
President’s Announcements
Last month’s guild meeting minutes are accepted as circulated. Treasurer’s Report accepted as circulated. Cathy
Harnisch is monitoring the chat room
Liz revealed the results of the election: 123 election ballots. 90 voted. 4 paper ballots. Lynne Pisani: President,
Jamie Ruh: Vice President, Maggie Judd: Secretary, AR Treasurer: Layne Rando, AP Treasurer: Diane Kelley.
Installment will be at the June guild meeting. Lynne Pisani said she looks forward to it and thank you for voting.
Liz asked if anyone was interested in chairing the 2023 raffle quilt or the 2022 quilt show.
Quilt Show – Diane Kelley: Entry forms are on the website and can be printed and mailed to Layne Rando with a
July 31 due date. The red and white quilts will get priority. Number your quilts in priority order if you’re submitting
many quilts. We can hang only 160 quilts total. Lolly has gotten several vendors and ads. Linda Lydecker reminded
us that we need to be members in good standing and work a minimum of one 2-hour shift at the quilt show. She
has 174 shifts to fill. The link on the website is called “Sign-up Genius”. She especially needs floaters and runners.
Cathy Harnisch is looking for demonstrators to do 15-30 minutes segments. Maggie Judd talked about Boutique
where members sell handmade crafts or books. The maker gets 80% and the guild gets 20% of the profits. Items
should be $5-$20. Bring items on Thursday. This is Maggie’s last year as Boutique chair and has some people
interested in taking over. Susan Nelson talked about Silent Auction. Items should be handmade and don’t have to
be quilt related or made by you. Susan will put something in the newsletter about silent auction. Money made from
the silent auction will go to Merrimack Valley Food Bank. Margaret Tipton talked about Penny Raffle. Baskets can
be any theme and don’t have to be quilt related. She will need donations of lottery tickets and fat quarters. Contact
Mary Lou Monteiro or Margaret Tipton for donations. This year’s judge is Mary Derry.
Programs – Judy Naylor: Next year’s programs are getting finalized. She will share her plan for next year at the June
guild meeting. “Journeys” is in June. She will need some members to help with the September meeting as there will
be no guest speaker. She’s thinking of a “What I played with during COVID”-type meeting where members share
what they did last year in a show-and-tell style. 3-5 people are needed, about a 10- minute presentation. Contact
Janice or Judy. The raffle basket winner was Jamie Hart. Next month’s theme is “Summertime and the living is
easy”. We made $155 for tonight’s basket.
Comfort Quilts – Bev Valle: If you have a specific destination for your comfort quilt, tape or safety pin it on the back
of the quilt. Bev will let us know when the last possible date the quilts can be given to her for donation if they are
not ready at the time of the quilt show.
Membership – Linda Lydecker: 43 have renewed their memberships. She welcomed new member Christina Bell.
We had Show and Tell.
Linda Martin Mills was tonight’s speaker.
June 17th is the next guild meeting.
Meeting adjourned: 9:13 PM
Respectfully submitted, Jamie Ruh, Secretary
5/31/2021
Merrimack Valley Quilters
INCOME AND EXPENSES
May 1 through May 31, 2021
Part 1
Notes:
INCOME
May Raffle Basket $ 110.00
CHECKS
New Memberships (16 in checks) $ 485.00 15 x $30 and 1 x $35 15 @$30 and 1 @$35
$ (160.00) moving $160 to raffle quilts 16
PAYPAL
5 New Memberships ($35 PayPal) $ 175.00 5 x $35 5 $ (50.00) moving $50 to raffle quilts
6 New Memberships ($30 PayPal) $ 150.00 6 x $30 6 $ (60.00) moving $60 to raffle quilts
2021 Quilt Raffle Tickets $ 270.00 27 x $10 (from 11 pp memberships plus 16 checks) 16+5+6=27
2021 Jubilee Raffle Tickets $ 30.00 via PayPal
Donation $ 20.00 via PP
Donation $ 1.00 Grant from PayPal
Donation $ 25.00 via check
Ad Revenue $ 480.00
Vendor Revenue $ 555.00
Judging Fees $ 30.00 via check
Total Income $ 2,061.00
5/31/2021
Merrimack Valley Quilters
INCOME AND EXPENSES
May 1 through May 31, 2021 Part 2
EXPENSES
PayPal Fees for Jubilee Raffle Tickets from the memberships
$ 3.67
PayPal Fees for Memberships $ 7.44
PayPal Fees for Jubilee Raffle Tickets $ 0.96
PayPal Fees for the May Raffle Basket $ 6.02
PayPal Fees for Donation $ 0.74
Speaker Fee $ 200.00 Linda Martin-Mills
Event Payment $ 40.00 Betty Hastings
Election Runner $ 29.00 Liz Swan
Total Expense $ 287.83
CHECKING ACCOUNT as of 5/30/2021 $ 12,839.78
MONEY MARKET ACCOUNT $ 5,060.19
MASS MUTUAL FIXED ANNUITY $ 17,932.26
NEXT MVQ MEETING
WHERE: Virtual Meeting at your place on your phone or computer
WHEN: June 17th, 2021.
Hope to See You There!