Guild Bylaws Amendment Proposal

 As we told you at the last meeting and in the meeting recap email, the Board has spent the last two months revising the Guild By-Laws. Per the bylaws, we are sending you a copy of the proposed changes two weeks prior to the planned vote.  We will vote on these bylaws at the next guild meeting.  Please plan to attend as at this time in person voting is required and we will need a quorum of 50% of membership to vote.

What are the By-Laws?

This is a legal document that includes rules adopted by an organization chiefly for the government of its members and the regulation of its affairs. It also describes how we protect our non-profit status.

Why revise them?

By-Laws must be updated periodically to keep them up-to-date with how the guild operates. Since the guild started in 2014, there have been minor changes and amendments. The current document represents a substantial revision. The need for a revision was first noted by the 2022 Board. We have tried to address all the concerns noted at that time, plus concerns that have arisen recently.

What revisions are being proposed?

In addition to various clarifying words, the following changes are proposed:

1. Throughout the document, changing “Executive Council” to “Board of Directors”
2. In section 1.8, replacing “ Robert’s Rules of Order” with the “Consensus Decision Making Process”
3. In sections 1.1 and 1.10, adding language required by our parent organization
4. In section 2.1, specifying requirements for guild membership
5. In sections 3.3 and 9.1, permitting electronic ballots for election of Board Officers and amending the By-Laws going forward
6. In section 3.6, specifying the duties of Officers and the committees that report to them. Deleting old section 5.8.
7. In sections 1.6, 4.3, and 7.2, specifying the timing and frequency of meetings and reports, and clarifying that budgets will be approved by the Board of Directors.
8. In section 3.6, deletion of the reference to the Policies and Procedures document. This is an internal document for use of the Board of Directors in implementing the By-Laws, and does not need to be referenced in the By-Laws.

Attached are two documents: 1) A “marked-up” version, showing the items deleted (in the right column) and additions shown as underlined red text, and 2) a copy of the document incorporating all the suggested changes.

Email us at nhmodernquilt@gmail.com with any questions!

Marked up version:

Clean version:

March Recap

New Hampshire Modern Quilt Guild

March 14, 2024 General Membership Meeting Recap

The meeting was led by Helen.

 There were 31 members in attendance.

Welcome new guests!

• Joyce and Sarah visited with us tonight. We were pretty well behaved, and Sarah decided to join the guild!

Thank yous!

• Thank you, Sonia, Laurie K, and Raya for attending the door and welcome table!
• Thank you, Martha and Carol P for bringing pastries and water!

Raffle Winners

• Brenda won the door prize, a Fat Quarter bundle of Riley Blake Liberty fabrics.
• Mary Lou won the raffle for the TNT portable table.
• Lynn won the raffle for the batik quilt kit.

Membership (Marie, Treasurer)

We are at 61 confirmed members (and waiting for 2 checks to make it 63).

Events and Programming (Karen G, Laurie K, and Susan H.)

10 Year Anniversary Celebration!

Our Guild is celebrating an important milestone: 10 years of quilting, friendship, and inspiration. We are planning some fun things for our official celebration at the October meeting. 

We announced our 10^th Anniversary Quilt Challenge: Make a Mini Quilt (20” by 20” max, any shape) that expresses what the Guild and its anniversary mean to you! Bring finished quilts to the October meeting – they will be hung up for everyone to enjoy. We will all vote and prizes will be given for: Most Modern, Best Use of Color, and Best in Show! (Additional details are included in the Challenge handout shown below: if you missed the meeting, you can get the flyer at the next meeting.)

Upcoming April Meeting Activities

• Round-Robin of Quilting techniques: We will have tables set up to highlight various quilting techniques and tools.
• WIP Challenge: Members can write down three quilts they want to finish by October. Bring them to Show & Tell when you finish them.

Communications (Brenda and Susie)

• Brenda used an overhead projector and her computer to show us how to log in to the Modern Quilt Guild, and find patterns, tutorials, quilt-a-longs, and other great content.
• We started a Facebook group. Submit a request to join here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/nhmqg/
• This is a private group only for dues paying members of NHMQG.  Feel free to share things like things you’re working on, sales or events or classes you find, carpools for shop hops, questions you have about sewing/quilting, etc.!
• This does not change how official guild communication goes out - we will still be sending important information via email!

Charity (Lesley and Julie)

Lesley continues to make and manage many quilts for charity. Ophelia has quilted many of them.

Retreats (Ophelia) 

• Spring retreat will be at the Franciscan Guest House in Kennebunk, ME, on May 2-5. So far, 35 members have signed up, and several additional members are planning to sign up soon! The retreat is now open for non-member quilting friends to attend. Let us know if you want to join us! To sign up, email Ophelia and Marie, and send a check to Marie. Let us know if you want a roommate: this is not guaranteed if you don’t already have one. Rates are:
• Single, 3 nights: $502
• Double, 3 nights: $355
• Single, 2 nights: $355
• Double, 2 nights: $257

Ophelia reminded us to start thinking about what projects we want to bring to the retreat. Many people like to put together kits and do cutting of fabrics at home.

• We have secured a location for our Fall retreat: the Methodius Faith and Heritage Center in Contoocook, NH, on November 7-10. The center offers multiple housing options at different price points (from bunk rooms in cabins to private hotel rooms) and serves food. More details will be coming as plans are finalized.

Update of the Guild By-Laws

• Helen and Mary Lou explained the work the Board has been doing over the past couple of months to bring our By-Laws up to date to reflect the processes we have developed over the years to run guild operations. We have also added new legal language our parent guild now requires in chapter By-Laws to protect our non-profit status.
• Important changes include: (1) allowing electronic balloting for electing officers and changing the By-Laws the next time we need to do it, (2) clarifying the responsibilities of the elected officers, and (3) specifying the requirements for guild membership.
• We need at least 50% of the total membership to be present at a meeting to be able to hold a vote on changing the By-Laws. We are hoping to be vote at the April meeting. 
• Every member will be receiving a copy of the proposed new By-Laws by email at least two weeks before the meeting. The email will include a link to the existing By-Laws on our website, and descriptions of the proposed changes. Please review carefully and come to vote! It will be a Yes/No ballot. A simple majority of those voting will determine the outcome of the vote. 

Show and Tell

Gail told us about a great exhibit at the Currier Museum of Art in Manchester, NH: “I live a journey of a thousand years “ by fabric artist Raphael Barontini. It includes a 70’ by 20’panel. The exhibit is ongoing through June 23^rd.

1. Mary Lou made a Transparency quilt from the Modern Quilt Studio’s Secret Agent quiltalong.

2. Joyce showed a floral wall hanging.

3. Sonia made the Backyard Birds wool applique wall quilt from Rachel's of Greenfield.

4. She also made a flannel Cabin Windows quilt from a Connecting Threads kit.

5. Shelly showed us her finished Storm at Sea table runner she started at our last retreat.

6. She also showed us a curved leaf block she made after one of Simone’s curve classes.

7. Ashley showed us her Adventureland quilt. She did a nice job matching a large-scale print when piecing the backing. She followed a tutorial by Suzy Quilts for pattern matching.

8. Robin showed us her colorful Ultimate Travel bag 2.0.

9. Chelsea showed us two guilts. A Stars quilt.

10. And a scrap quilt.

11. Michelle showed her Sandhill Sling cross-body bag by Noodlehead, which she stated in our guild class lead by Simone.

12. Gail showed her progress with triangle blocks from Tara Faughnan’s Block Studies Collective program.

13. Ophelia was very busy! She showed us some charity quilts she made using the Roman Holiday pattern from the Quick as a Wink 3-yard quilts from Donna Robinson book but doubled to make 6 yard quilts.

14. She made a second with the same pattern, but different fabric.

15. She showed us her Echo quilt, by Deb Fisher from  Fish Museum and Circus. (Quilt pattern from Quilt Giving book)

16. She made a Trip Around the World quilt, using a YouTube tutorial by Mary Marble Market.

17. She showed us a jelly roll Tangled quilt from Cluck Cluck Sew.

18. Patty M modeled her jacket made with Anna Maria Horner cotton lawn fabric.

19. She also showed us a quilt she started at our last retreat from the popular Quilting Adventures book. 

20. Lastly, she showed her Embroidered Flowers pixelated quilt by Tilda. She used the gridded adhesive interfacing method to piece all the squares together.

21. Marie showed us her disappearing 9-patch quilt she made with flannels.

22. Our newest member Sarah modeled her Tamarak Jacket  by Grainline Studios the piecing design was adapted from the CLAVA quilt pattern by Miss Make.

23. Sarah also showed us her Redwood Tote bag she made from a Noodlehead pattern.

24. Karen G showed us her Maggie Quilt by Kitchen Table Quilting that will be hanging in the upcoming Hannah Dustin Quilt Guild Show. She noted how she used safety pins to secure a temporary hanging sleeve! 

25. She also showed a quilt she assembled using Buck-a-Blocks from her other guild (members all make the same block and then you can buy the pre-assembled blocks for $1 a piece).

26. Susie showed us a pink quilt she made for her granddaughter.

27. Susie also showed us the quilt she made with blocks from last year’s block exchange. It had a very intricate setting. It will be donated to charity.

28. Lastly, Susie showed us an oversized blue and white Liberty Lake quilt that she made for her own king size bed.

29. Lisa showed her dramatic large star quilt in white, black, and gray.

Meeting Activity: Recap of the Modern Quilt Guild’s QuiltCon 2024 Event

Brenda, Martha, Michelle, Patty McG, and Raya attended QuiltCon last month in Raleigh, NC. They told us about some of the workshops, lectures, and vendors they attended, and volunteer work they did. Brenda showed some photos of the show and classrooms. 

Brenda and Raya participated in the Mini Quilt Swap activity and shows the quilts made by their partners for them.

Brenda also showed a photo of the community challenge quilt she designed and many of us helped piece and finish. The quilt sold for $750, and the proceeds will be given to charities in the Raleigh area.

Some overall trends they noticed were:

• Quilters are introducing themselves as “artists”
• More free-motion and echo shaped quilting than matchstick or overall straight lined or grid quilting, even some E2E quilting designs
• Quilts that are not perfect squares or rectangles
• Lots of inset circles

So many inspiring quilts and ideas! See you next month!