March 19, 2024 • General Meeting

This is a longer post, as there is much to share. Please read to the very end.

Our next Raincross Quilt Guild Meeting will be held this coming Tuesday, March 19, 2024. The doors open at 6 p.m. and the meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. Please bring your Goeske check-in card, your Raincross Quilt Guild badge, Show-and-Share and if you want, something foody to share during our Hospitality Time.

Our program: “Anyone Can Collage!”

This will be given by our very own Barbara Mathews (these are her collage quilts). She’s done multiple collage quilts, and has become quite an expert at doing this, so we are lucky to have her for our speaker. Come prepared to sit back and enjoy Barbara’s story and see her quilts. Barbara writes: “I’ll be showing a variety of styles and techniques in making collage quilts – pieced and applique, cotton and wool, and embroidery embellishment. I’ll be identifying resources for getting started and will have a workshop interest list for those that would like to try their hand at making a collage.”

It’s finally time, as scheduled on our Transition Page, to get going on elections for Officers, as well as to identify those who will serve as Appointed Chairs. Please pay special attention to the red-titled sections with bullets.

ELECTED OFFICERS

President
President-Elect
Vice-President (Programs)
Secretary
Treasurer

APPOINTED OFFICERS (STANDING COMMITTEES)

Membership Chair
SCCQG Representative
Community Projects Coordinator
Hospitality Coordinator
Communications Chair
Ways and Means Chair (fundraising)
Block of the Month Chair
Retreat/Event Coordinator

The following are other positions that may be filled, as need arises, by the Raincross Quilt Guild Board. If you are interested, we’ll be happy to take your name. If you want to know the big picture of what these people do, more information is available in our Standing Rules, starting on page 5. No, you won’t be doing everything on the list; it’s comprehensive because that’s what the document required. You’ll have lots of help, in whatever you chose.

OTHER POSSIBLE POSITIONS
Workshop Coordinator
Facilities Coordinator
Virtual Team Chair

AUXILIARY POSITIONS
Photographer
Challenges Coordinator
Internal Auditor
Past President

SPECIAL COMMITTEES
Nominating Committee (serves yearly for two-three months only)
ByLaws Committee (functions at request of the Board, about every two years)

Here’s a chance for YOU to serve for a year or two. All Elected Officers and Appointed Officers have term limits, depending on the position, so if you can bring your enthusiasm and talents to share for this short period of time, we are looking for you! We will also be contacting people, so don’t be shy! Let us know!

The positions with bullets, with red headers, are especially needed. Send an email to the Raincross Quilt Guild (raincrossqg@gmail.com) or contact one of the members of the Nominating Committee: Debbie Warner, Linda Adams, or Elizabeth Eastmond.

Block of the Month is the French Twist block, and is brought to us by Charlotte Byrne. Inspired by a block from the Quilter’s Newsletter, and in keeping with our theme of “Oh! The Places You’ll Go!” who wouldn’t want to go to Paris in April? Check the Tab for Block of the Month above to download the instructions.

As is so often the case, we are notified when an older quilter is not longer needing her stash, or machines or notions or books. Today we have TWO of these.

Layna R. contacted us to see if anyone would like to purchase this Husqvarna Platinum 16 machine. I went online and many say it is made by Handiquilter, for Husqvarna/Viking. It looks identical to the Handiquilter Sweet Sixteen, a very reliable mid-arm quilting machine. The bobbin winder is separate, and I can see some online in the range of 4,000 to $4500 dollars, a real deal. Please contact Layna if you are interested. I will post her phone number, as well as some details in the Members Only section. (Please refer to an earlier email from the guild for the password for this section, or see Elizabeth Eastmond at our meeting.) It is in excellent condition.

An older quilter in Moreno Valley, who was active and quilting for many, many years, is donating her book collection to our Guild. Right now we have three boxes of like-new titles and we’ll be selling them to help raise money for our Guild. The price is right: $2 bucks-a-book, with 7 for $10. A steal! Some of these titles I’ve seen listed online for 30 or 40 dollars, as they are out of print, so bring your dollars to our Book Sale, beginning at 6:10 to the start of the meeting, and then again at the break. More books are coming next month!

It’s a “new” year for us at Raincross Quilt Guild, which means it’s time to pay your dues.
Dawn Meade reports that last month we had 45 of us renew our membership for the Interim + Regular Year, with 4 choosing only the Interim.

You have two options: Pay a smaller amount now, and then pay again when our new fiscal year starts in July (Interim) – OR — pay both the smaller amount and the yearly dues for 2024-2025 all at once. The info is on the Membership Form, up there under RQG Forms & Handouts.

Remember to pay on time for an On-Time Discount. Download the form, fill it out and bring it with your check or cash. The prices will go up March 20th–pay by this month’s meeting to get your discount!!

Retreats have a lot going on!

Barbara Mathews, our Retreat Chair reminds us that:
Vina de Lestonac in Temecula is coming up! May 3 – 5, Guild members $385, non- members, $395. We still have a few spots open, so grab a buddy and sign up! DON’T FORGET — balance is DUE at the March meeting ! We accept cash or check made out to Raincross Quilt Guild. Kelly Crittle has been contacted to bring her popup store!

Fall Retreat at the Ayres Hotel in Moreno Valley – November 1 – 3. $35 (members), $45 (non-members), payable to Raincross with registration form. Rooms should be booked directly with the hotel (951-571-4141), and mention Raincross. Rooms are $150 a night, so round up a quilting friend as your roommate!
We’ll be charging a fee for the large sewing room, but everyone gets their own BIG table! Put it on your calendar now, and stay tuned for sign-ups.

Any questions about retreats, call or text Barbara Mathews (number is on the Membership Roster in Members Only), or check the Activities Tab, above.

Our next Fourth Saturday Sew Day is March 23rd, from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. (see sidebar for more information) at the Lake Mathews Community Room. Bring something to add to our salad potluck and your own drinks.)

Phyllis, of the Quilts of Valor writes in to say:
“We have four Veterans needing quilts nominated from the foundation, and Rose Marie has at least 6 Veterans from the Goeske Center needing quilts. I’m ordering batting so we can complete the quilts. Need volunteers for either long arm or domestic machine quilting. We are still meeting at Easy Quilting Corner the first Tuesday of the month to piece tops. I actually could use some help cutting batting and backing, Sandy is out of town and I’d like to have some cut before our meeting.” Please contact Phyllis; her contact information is in the Members Only section, on our Membership Roster.

This arrived in our Guild Email:

The RJR Fabrics and Cotton+Steel Fabrics warehouse is relocating, and to celebrate, we are hosting a warehouse moving sale!

If you’re looking for a weekday sale appointment, we can accommodate that as well. Grab some friends, load up the car, let us know when you’re coming, and we’ll reserve shopping time for you. Of course, save some room in the car for fabric! Email us (movingsale@rjrfabrics.com) for more information or to reserve your Guild crew spot for a weekday.

The RJR and Cotton+Steel sale will feature a wide selection of bolts and rolls at deeply discounted pricing. Due to the nature of the sale, there will be no cut yardage. Our bolts will range from 6 yards to 15 yards, and will include favorites from RJR Fabrics and Cotton+Steels collections. Rolls of course offer more yardage in the roll format. There will be blenders, solids, metallics, holiday prints, batiks, canvas substrates and much much more. We will also be offering scraps, bolt ends, pre-cut remnants, and selvage strips by the pound and in mystery scrap bag options. Yep! We’ll have some really fun bins to build your stash in an inexpensive way.

And now for the exciting part and what you’ve been patiently waiting for: Quilt fabric pricing will start at $3.00/yard. This is the same high quality OEKO-100 fabric that you’ve come to expect from RJR Fabrics and Cotton+Steel Fabrics at a fraction of the retail price. Crazy, right? Fabric bolts will be replenished continuously during the sale, and we know you’ll love what you find! Did we mention we will also have quilts for sale too?

Payment for all purchases will be via cash, Venmo or Zelle only. No credit cards or checks will be accepted for this sale. All purchases will receive a special giveaway to say “thanks” for stopping by!

We would love the opportunity to meet you, help you shop for some amazing deals and say “hi” before we depart Torrance. Thank you for your support, and we look forward to seeing you soon!

Kind regards, The RJR and Cotton+Steel Team

If you have news for our Guild, or something of interest from the greater quilt world, the deadline for our next post is THURSDAY, MARCH 21, AT 9 A.M.
It’s always okay to send it early.
Send any items to our guild email: raincrossqg@gmail.com
If you miss the deadline (it happens), we’ll put it on the next post.