NQA Membership

February, 2013

AT A GLANCE

What's the Buzz...?

From the President

From the Vice President

2013 NQA Show

Chapter News

Member Spotlight

National Quilting Day

NQA is  giving away a free spool of YLI thread to new and renewing members as a Gift with Membership in 2013

What's "the Buzz..."?

It time to put on your thinking caps and plan your activities for National Quilting Day! National Quilting Day is the third Saturday in the month of March – March 16, 2013. Ruth has great ideas for your consideration and I am sure that your guild can think of many more.

Remember to visit us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pages/NQA-National-Quilting-Association/112254952228007

From the President - Ruth Pollow

Ways to Celebrate National Quilting Day

It may seem a little too early to be thinking of a date in March but to plan for a celebration of quilting on March 16, starting early will create more interest and participation.  First of all, mark YOUR calendar for that day.  Then work with your Guild or favorite quilter friends to plan how you will celebrate and share quilting with your community.  We have made the NQD Poster available to our Chapters to put into your Guild newsletter or print off and leave in quilt and fabric stores in your community.  Bulletin boards in grocery and drugstores may be another place to post the news. Of course, for those of you who are social media savvy, post the news of NQD there as well.

Here are some additional ways you can celebrate National Quilting Day.

1. Make March 16 a service day and work on quilts for your favorite charity.
2. Organize a quilt exhibit at your local library or historical society.
3. Organize a quilt history day, inviting members of the community to share the quilts passed down in their families.
4. Make arrangements with your local library or quilt shop to demonstrate quiltmaking techniques.
5. Offer to teach a simple quilt project at a school, scout troop, or church youth group.
6. Contact a local senior citizens facility and organize a show and tell of your quilts and their quilts.
7. Donate a baby quilt to a local hospital for the first baby born on March 16.
8. Encourage your local quilt shops to sponsor a special NQD sale or activities.
9. Create packets of sewing supplies and make arrangements at a local women’s shelter or recreation center to teach a beginners’ class.
10. Share your love of quilting in whatever way works best for you!

Ruth Pollow, President

From the Vice President, Linda Miller

Please don’t forget about the victims of Hurricane Sandy and the challenge put forth by eQuilter and your NQA board to send 5000 quilts to the east coast.  Last known count is 1300 quilts received, over 1000 already in the hands of those in need, but many more people are still homeless and quiltless!  Details on what sizes to send and where to send them are on eQuilter.com and on our website nqaquilts.org.  Together we can make a huge difference, both emotionally and physically, to those in need.

Quilting Quarterly seeks Assignment Writer

Are you a good writer AND a quilter? Would you like to write about quilting on a regular basis?

The Quilting Quarterly seeks an Assignment/Staff Writer. The Writers, working with the Editor, develop ideas into interesting articles for publication in The Quilting Quarterly. Assignments range from member profiles to Just One More features to explorations of other interesting quilt-related topics. Writers are asked to participate in quarterly conference calls and submit a minimum of two articles per six-issue magazine cycle. Membership in NQA is a requirement. 

Interested? Send your resume to Barbara Polston, Editor at editor@nqaquilts.org. Deadline for submission is February 28, 2013.

From the 2013 Quilt Show Directors

The 44th Annual National Quilting Association Show website is live!  Please visit us at www.nqaquiltshow.org for all the latest information on classes, events, entries and volunteering.  The website will be updated often, so check back for new information.  The site contains links to download forms, or to download the entire registration brochure.

Classes are filling quickly, so register early to study with your favorite instructors.  We have a variety of techniques and skill levels, so there is something for everyone.  Please contact showdirectors@nqaquilts.org with your questions.

Did you know that it takes 300 volunteers to hang, maintain, secure, and take down the annual show?  Whether you are young or young-at-heart, can stand or need to sit, can stay for a short time or all day, we have a way you can help!  Please contact showdirectors@nqaquilts.org for more information on available positions and times or to volunteer.  You may download a form from our website, or use the one from your registration brochure.   You'll receive a special pin, a show pass, a vendor gift, and for two or more shifts, you'll get early registration for next year's show.  We can't do it without you!

Great News!  Connie Davidson's Beginning Piecing Class now has a machine Sponsor! Our thanks to Laura Livingston of Beth's Creative Stitchery for supplying machines to make it even easier for new quilters to attend class.  We are grateful to all our machine sponsors:

• Red Rooster and Janome
• A Touch of Thread
• Quilt Beginnings
• Beth's Creative Stitchery

See you in June!

Please contact us with questions or comments at showdirectors@nqaquilts.org.  We would love to hear from you!

Karen Blocher and Judy Taylor                                                     National Quilting Association Annual Show Co-Directors  

NQA Chapter Services - Sue Castelli,

ATTENTION QUILTERS:  Upcoming NQA chapter shows in Maryland, Missouri, Texas, Virginia – and a whole bunch of them in Florida!!  Make plans  now to attend a show near you!

• February 15-16 – Spacecoast Quilters, Inc., Titusville, FL www.spacecoastquilters.com
• February 15-16 – Quilters Workshop of Tampa Bay, Tampa, FL       www.quiltersworkshop.org
• February 15-16 – Coastal Bend Quilt and Needlework Guild, Corpus Christi, TX  www.corpuschristiquilters.com
• February 22-23 – Peace River Quilter’s Guild, Punta Gorda, FL  www.peaceriverquilters.org
• February 28- March 2 – Flying Needles Quilt Guild, Niceville, FL www.BeachRetreatAndShow.com
• March 1- 2 – The Feather Princesses, Tampa, FL www.featherprincesses.org
• March 1-2 – Naples Quilt Guild, Naples, FL  www.naplesquiltersguild.com
• March 7-8 – Lake County Quilters Guild, DeBary, FL  www.lakequiltguild.com
• March 8-9 – Palm Beach County Quilters, West Palm Beach, FL       www.PalmBeachQuilters.com
• March 8-9 – Friendship Knot Quilters Guild, Englewood, FL          www.friendshipknotquiltersguild.com/quilt12
• March 9-10 – Cabin Branch Quilters, Manassas, VA          www.cabinbranchquilters.org
• March 15-16 – Creative Quilters of Citrus County, Floral city, FL      www.creativequiltersofcitruscounty.com
• March 16-17 – Baltimore Heritage Quilters, Towson, MD          www.baltimorequilters.com
• March 16-17 – Thimble and Thread Quilt Guild, House Springs, MO   www.thimbleandthreadstl.org

DOUBLE WELCOME!

1. Welcome a new chapter to the NQA family!Southside Virginia Quilters Guild in Danville, Virginia
2. Welcome to the 62 new friends who “liked” us during the past      month on the NQA Facebook page.

EYE CANDY ALERT!

Come on over to the NQA website and enjoy two new Raffle/Opportunity quilts on display.  A Virginia Album was produced by the Cabin Branch Quilters from Woodbridge, Virginia.  Rocky Mountain Fiesta was created by the members of the Sunset Slope Quilters in Grand Junction, Colorado.  Both are a treat for the eyes of any quilter!

CHAPTER SHOWCASE

Hands All Around Quilt Guild of Bloomington, Illinois will continue on the Chapter Showcase during the month of February.  We have a few openings later this year for any chapter that would like to be featured on the Chapter Showcase webpages.  Contact me at nqachapterc@nqaquilts.org to schedule your chapter’s display---first come, first reserved! 

February 2013 Member Spotlight - Sally Hatfield 

Sally’s love affair with all things quilts began in Michigan in 1974 when her sister gave Sally a gift subscription to Quilters Newsletter and a shoebox full of 4” squares of fabric collected from clothes made in her sister’s home ec classes.  The sister’s brief interest in quiltmaking had waned – but Sally’s exploded.   Read the rest of her story here.

http://nqaquilts.org/member-spotlight/hatfield/index.php

Calling all NQA Members willing to share about your quilting life on the NQA Member Spotlight!!!!!  Please contact Mary Anne to be added to the schedule.  memberservices@nqaquilts.org

Not a member????  Join here and then you can be added to the schedule.

http://nqaquilts.org/membership/index.php -

From the National Quilting Day Coordinator - Freda Jones

By now you’ve had a chance to view the “Celebrate America” quilt in the Projects Issue (December 2012) of the Quilting Quarterly.  Have you started your version of the quilt yet?  There will be a poster available to share with guild members, guild newsletters, local quilt shops and anyone else that will help promote National Quilting Day. 

National Quilting Day is the third Saturday in March, March 16th in 2013.

Remember to submit information of how you celebrated National Quilting Day to: nqdcoordinator@nqaquilts.org.  We are planning to showcase this information at the NQA Quilt Show in Columbus, Ohio,  June 27-29, 2013.  Make sure that you include your name, e-mail address and telephone number, so if there are questions, we can contact you.