Relief in Boston

The buzz word in Boston this weekend is relief.  Relief that the insanity of the last week is over and relief that with the all clear we were able to go ahead with our April meeting.

We talked a lot about ways to give back to our community and bring relief to those who have been affected by this terrible tragedy.  The Vancouver Modern Quilt Guild has organized to Boston with Love.  We a thrilled to be participating in this effort and will be working with the Seacoast Modern Quilt Guild to find locations and hang these buntings in June.  We will be collecting flags from any members or guests who wish to participate at our May meeting.

One of the sentiments many people echoed at our meeting is that we make quilts and we'd like to find a way to give quilts to those affected.  The incredibly energetic Natalie has run with this idea.  We will be rolling out our own Quilts for Boston relief effort later this week.  Stay tuned for details and ways to get involved!!!

2013-2014 Officers:
Much of our meeting focused on those pesky business details...  March marked the end of our fiscal year and the end of our fabulous leader Laurie's Presidential term.  Laurie has been on the BMQG board since it's inception and we wouldn't be where we are today without her.  Luckily, she's not going anywhere and now will get to enjoy life as a "normal"  BMQG member:-)  As a thank you we presented her with this bag of handmade gifts and quilting notions which we know she will put to good use.  Officers for the 2013-2014 year will be Alice Webb Greer - President, Rebecca Loren - Vice-President, and Stephanie Harrison - Treasurer.

2013-2014 Membership:
It's time to renew your membership!!!  We are shifting our fiscal calendar to run from September to August.  To accommodate this change we have created a gap membership that will run from April 2013 to August 2013 for $15.  Beginning in September our 2013-2014 annual dues will be $48.  Until June 1st you can join for the full 15 month term at a discounted rate of $60.  Check out our membership page for more details and to join online via Paypal.

Joining the MQG:
We also discussed joining the Modern Quilt Guild in July.  We will be voting on this issue in June.  All paid BMQG members will be eligible to vote.  Benefits of joining the national organization include 501(c)(3) status and insurance for the guild.  As members individuals will also enjoy discounts on MQG events and merchandise as well as special offers from MQG sponsors.  If we elect to join there will be no additional membership costs in 2013-2014.  Please feel free to contact us with questions about this before the June meeting.

Lowell Quilt Festival:
We have been invited to participate in the Lowell Quilt Festival again this summer, August 8th-10th.  We will be again be displaying our quilts at Appleton Mills.  This is a fabulous space and we hope everyone will participate in this amazing event.

Zuzka's precious Flea Market Fancy quilt.

My Precious/WIP Challenge:

We ended the meeting with an incredible show and tell to wrap up our My Precious/WIP challenge.  This was a fun event and was a real motivator for people to get things done!  We had an amazing 15 "Precious" fabric quilts and 23 WIPs completed.  Congratulations to Natalie, Jane, Leah and Alice who each received a $25 gift certificate to Sew Fresh fabrics.  Show and Tell pictures will be coming later this week

It was fabulous to see so many new faces, we hope to see you all again!!!