Happy July!

This coming Tuesday, July 18, 2023 will be our meeting, beginning at 6:00 pm for gathering, but the meeting will begin at 6:30, ending at 8:00 p.m. Bring your name badge so we can get to know each other, and be sure to check in to the Janet Goeske center.  If you don’t have your badge, you can check-in manually.

Happy July! We are finally having summer in Southern California! It looks like it’s going to be sunny and hot for the rest of July.  I hope everyone had a safe and enjoyable 4th of July, remembering the importance of our Declaration of Independence.  Watching fireworks always makes my heart sing, knowing that freedom still reigns in our country!!!! 

In celebration of the military service people who have defended our freedom, I’d like to thank those of you who volunteer and participate in our Quilts of Valor outreach.  It is so exciting to hear from Phyllis about the plans for presenting quilts to our Veterans.  The next Presentation Event will be on Sunday July 16th at 1:15 at the Janet Goeske Senior Center. Let Phyllis Hodel know if you can help.  

** We are in need of Quilters to quilt the quilts; long-arm quilters, mid-arm quilters, even walking foot domestic machine quilters are welcome to help.
** We have 30 tops with backing and batting READY to be quilted.
** Completion by Veteran’s Day is our Goal. Please reach out to our Riverside Community if you know a quilter who might be willing to donate their time. 

July is going to be HOT! HOT! HOT!  Maybe I will cool it down today by finishing a Christmas project.   Having future quilty plans is important for my mental health. What plans have you got going this summer?
Let’s be Creative
Jeri the PreZ

Before we go too much further, that opening quilt illustration is the mock-up of a block from the first year our guild was formed, in 1996. Here’s how it looked in our then newsletter:

Click to download the original 2-page PDF pattern from 1996. At the end of this post, you can download an updated version of this in a new pattern: it’s your reward for reading all the way through.

At our July meeting — after our welcome by Jeri Read, President — first up is our Show and Share. Please bring recently completed quilts to share with us, and show us how you’ve been using your [very] hot summer days. We look forward to seeing them.

Those who were in the Round Robin Quilt group…this month is the month for us to see your completed quilts. Don’t forget to bring them as we are looking forward to this quilt show, too.

Phyllis and Sandy: Quilts of Valor Phyllis is looking for someone to help her at the next presentation, which is scheduled for July 16 at 1:15 PM. It will be here at the Janet Goeske Center in the Ken Calvert Auditorium. Sandy can’t be there. If you can help, please contact Phyllis. Her number is on our Membership List in the Members Only tab, above. Password was recently sent to you in an email.

• Charlotte Byrne: Block of the Month: The Block of the Month will be up on our blog by meeting time, when Charlotte will tell us more.  We post the BOM blocks under the Header titled Block of the Month 2023, above.

• Barbara Mathews: Retreat Don’t forget to sign up for the Raincross Quilt Guild 2023 Fall Retreat, “Sewing on the Sand.” It is Oct. 26 – Oct. 29, 2022 (Thursday – Sunday) The location is listed on the flyer (download it below), as well as registration info. We still have several spots available. The total cost, if we have 20 participants is $375 and includes all meals. REGISTRATION IS OPEN now. Deposit of $100 will hold your spot; registration money is due in full by Sept 19, 2023, but it is great to pay now. Download form below.

At our meeting, please see Barbara Mathews for registration forms.  If you’re not attending the meeting, you may download the form below and send it, along with a check to Barbara (address is in the roster and in the email you received). 

• Dawn Marie Babbe, Programs: Dawn will announce the program that night. It will be Demo Night. Please bring a hand-sewing needle for one of the demos; thread and the other bits will be supplied.

News has come to us that at least one guild member has finished her Challenge Quilt Top! They chose to do a wallhanging, and are happy to be well on the way to having a piece to show in our upcoming Fabric Challenge in September. Hope you are making your quilt — or — bag — or wearable — or — wallhanging/runner. Others have picked out their patterns, gathered their fabrics and are on their way.

Bylaws Committee Report: We are now working on the Standing Rules, kind of the How-To-Drive Manual for our Guild, that goes along with our soon-to-be Bylaws. It is an interesting process, building a structure from the ground up, around the existing structure. We now know how those Caltrans workers feel when working on our freeways at night, the lights on while they reconstruct the roads we travel on…while we are traveling on them! If all goes well, you’ll see these by the end of the summer, with implementation shortly thereafter.

If you haven’t joined our Guild, please do!  We meet monthly, and now the dues for the remainder of the year are a bargain at half price.  See our Membership Chair, Dawn Meade, for more information.

More Summer Sewing:
Primitive Gatherings (PG) is having a Twilight Stars Quilt-A-Long, and it begins this week! Shown above is the first block, and she has many more to share with us — if you have ever sewn a PG quilt, you know Lisa loves triangles. We miss having their shop in Murrieta, but this is the next best thing. There are links to all sorts of supplies (of course) as well as her fabrics. The Twilight Stars Quiltalong is found on Lisa Bongean’s blog, and each week she’ll post a new segment. Her Triangle Gatherings book is required (info on the above link). A video to start you off is here.

Most often when a new line of fabric drops, the designer produces a pattern (or two) to encourage you to use their new lines. This pumpkin-and-stars quilt design is from Coriander Quilts. The free pattern (in order to get started on your fall sewing) is available now online.

If you know of a summer quilt along or a fun free pattern, drop us a line at raincrossqg@gmail.com

The Southern California Quilter’s Run is coming up this weekend (July 13-16) and next (July 20-23). Visit their site for more information.

• A N N O U N C E M E N T S
• The Raincross Guild Executive Board Meeting is the second Tuesday of the month. See Jeri Read for more information. Minutes of that Board Meeting will be posted up under the History tab, above.
• Southern California Quilter’s Run is coming up. See the above image for more info.
• Please check the sidebar for Upcoming Events. Friendship sewing groups, Sew Days — all sorts of things are listed there. Send an email to raincrossqg@gmail.com if you have an event.
• And we also have a Facebook page! Visit us there if you are a Facebook user; Cassandra Gray is the contact person if you need help.
• Check our past posts for current events and announcements. (We try not to repeat announcements in this box.)

Congratulations! You’ve made it to the end. The updated Spool & Bobbins pattern can be downloaded below, but it’s really more of a sketch. If you need more detailed instructions, use the 1996 version along with these updated patterns.

We’ll see you at our meeting on 
Tuesday, June 20, 2023 • 6:30-8 p.m. 
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