Candlelight Quilt Guild
General Meeting Minutes
June 10, 2024

September Workshop- For the September workshop with Lydia Middaugh there will be (3) kits to choose from, (2) are Chickens and (1) is a flower.  There will be a $20.00 charge for the workshop and a $30.00 kit fee ( possibly less depending on how many sign up for the class).  

QCNYS- Candlelight will be hosting the Consortium meeting Wednesday, December 4th.  We will need baked goods to serve and raffle basket items.  Please consider donating fat quarters, fabric yardage, tools, patterns, etc.  We also have to make center pieces for the tables.  We are thinking to put a FQ on a skewer to look like rose buds that will be raffled off at the meeting.

Budget Vote- A question was asked why the scholarship item was so low and response was that the scholarships in the budget are for the State Fair winners.  We discussed bringing back the guild scholarships for $60.00.  You are eligible if you pay your dues on time.  If you win you can take a class and have to present what you learned to guild members.  We decided to increase the budget by $100.00.  This will be a separate line item in the budget.  The $100 increase was voted on and passed.

New Board Members:
Co-President- Barb Smith
Co-Ways & Means- Ginnie Brown / Kathy Allardice
Sew & Share- Sharon Hiltbrand / Glenda Chappell / Jennifer Aquino
Sunshine- Joan Marshall
Member at Large- Mary Burchill
Guild Project & Exchange- Janeen Pfeiffer / Stasia Halligan
Information Coordinator- Paula Cutrone
Website- Suzanne Fox/ Carol Sandford / Alice Kinsella
Consortium- Lisa Wennberg / Kathy Roche
Programs- Wendy Jutzlier, Co-Programs- Rhonda Knutsen
Positions were voted on and approved

Policy & Procedures- will be posted on the website

By-Laws- A change was made to read that any expenditure over $200 needs to be voted on. We will change Publicity to Communications.  We will include a committee which will be called Guild Project & Exchange Coordinator which will take care of mystery quilts, row robins, etc.  

Consortium- Best of NY show will include quilts chosen from 2019 to present.  The form to enter your quilt, if you were chosen to be in the NY Best of Show, is found on the QCNYS website.

Show & tell was held directly after the meeting.

Alice

Candlelight Quilt Guild
General Meeting Minutes
April 9, 2024

Passports- Are available for $5.00.   The last page lists the shows and dates.  The first show is April 20th in Corning, NY.  There are (3) shows the weekend of April 26th, Lake to Lake in Seneca Falls, Empire Quilt Fest, and Plank Road.

QCNYS- Best of Show is October 12th & 13th.  All quilts selected for the past 4 years are eligible to participate.

May Program- We will have a class in making rope bowls.  Put your name on the sign-up list if you are interested in taking the class.  You do not have to participate but can still watch how the bowls are made.  There might be a fee for the class, and we will be given this information before the next meeting.

Pink Ribbon Quilt- Chris Santucci put together the blocks and it just has to be quilted.

Policy & Procedures- Lisa passed out the guild Policy and Procedures for review. Changing the meeting time from 7:00 pm to 6:30 pm was discussed and it was unanimous that the meeting time will change to 6:30 pm.  If there is a program for the night the program will start at 7:00 pm.

Board Members- Board Members are needed for Co-President, Co-Ways & Means, and Community Service Chair.  Rhonda has volunteered to be Co-Programs with Wendy.

Projects- Bring in your Candlelight Blocks and turn into Wendy so that she can start working on the new guild banner.  Bring any pillowcases, place mats, or quilts to Lisa.

Nametags- If anyone needs a nametag, they are $12.50 and can be ordered from Mary Longman.

Show & tell was held directly after the meeting.
Alice

Candlelight Quilt Guild
General Meeting Minutes
March 12, 2024
 
Passports- Will be available at the April meeting for $5.00.  First show is April 26th.  Have your passport stamped at each show and give passport page to Lisa at the end of all the shows and it will go into a drawing for prizes.  A member won a sewing machine for last years drawing!

Genesee Valley Quilt Show- The last day to enter your quilts in their show will be March 14th
Raffle Quilt- The raffle quilt for our show in 2025 will be the Mystery Queen quilt.  Blocks to be completed will be available at the April meeting.

April Program- Lydia Middaugh will be our guest speaker on wool applique

May Program- We are trying to set up a demo on making clothesline rope bowls.  A list of tolls and materials will be included in the April Newsletter.  Some of the items needed will be a jeans needle, rope and fabric
Pick Your Stitch- has offered their shop to our guild on any Sunday for community service sewing.  Lisa can open up the registers for shopping!  Lisa wants to know if there is any interest.

Consortium Show- Held October 12 & 13 at Camp Cory on Keuka Lake.  Admission is $10.00, and if you have the passport, admission is only $6.00

Guild Positions- Lisa will have a list of positions with a description of duties for the April meeting.  We are trying to fill some positions so take a look to see if you would like to volunteer.

Skills Night- tonight is skills night and Lisa will be demonstrating the Square Squared ruler, the folded corner clipper ruler for exact half square triangles and the quick curve ruler.  Sharon will be demonstrating paper piecing and Wendy will be demonstrating the binding tool.

Board Members-voted to take Stephanie Baker off the guild account and add Lisa Wennberg to the account.  Paula Cutrone motioned the change and it was approved by the Board.

Show  & tell was held directly after the meeting
 
Alice

​On October 11, 2022, Guild Member Stephanie Baker shared with us some great information about how a longarming business works, how pricing is determined, and tips for keeping your longarmer happy.  Here is the third and final installment of what we learned during Stephanie’s presentation.

Part III: Computer-Guided vs Operator-Guided Quilting

Computer-Guided Quilting-  The operator uses a machine that is programmed with a digital quilting design.  These designs are more likely to be consistent. These designs can be also be altered to fit in the spaces necessary and can be very time consuming on the custom quilts. 

Operator-Guided Quilting- The operator guided quilting machines are completely hand-guided and can be faster since there isn’t a need to program each space individually.  There is also less consistency with the design elements execution.  This is completely dependent on the quilters fluidity when quilting.

Edge-2-Edge- An E2E design has one element repeated throughout the body of the quilt.  It can also be called an all-over design or a pantograph.  Pricing is dependent on your quilter as the quilting can be sparse or dense.  This is another area that needs to be addressed with your quilter, as it can reflect in the pricing.

Semi-Custom-  This refers to a combination of E2E and Custom.  This could mean having a border treatment that differs from the body of the quilt.  The pricing will vary depending on how may borders you have and the density of the designs chosen for those borders.

Light Custom- Custom in general, to me is when each section of the quilt top has a different design element in it.  If you had a sampler quilt, each block might have a different design applied and the sashing and corner stones would be quilted differently.  This is another place to be creative with border applications too.

Heavy Custom-  These can be very pricy and well worth it. Think about how will you be using this quilt, are you gifting it, is for show? Depending on the complexity of the design, the price will vary.

Binding Options, Labels, & Other Fees- Some longarmers choose to charge for these elements by the linear inch or by the hour.  This includes, but is not limited to, binding application, piecing your backing, and making or applying quilt labels. Some longarming charges that may not fall under the already discussed categories include loading fees, bobbin fees, and thread fees. 

For more information about Stephanie's business, you can visit her website at www.stephaniezquiltz.com/about

On October 11, 2022, Guild Member Stephanie Baker shared with us some great information about how a longarming business works, how pricing is determined, and tips for keeping your longarmer happy.  Here is the second installment of what we learned during Stephanie’s presentation.

Part II: Backing, Batting, and Thread

Backing choices and how to prepare them- 3 common types of backing: 1) 108” wide backing- great for larger quilts, if you can find the designs you like.  2) 42” wide fabric pieced backing - makes the back coordinate with the top of the quilt.  3) A fully pieced backing - can be tricky and not all quilters will work with this type of backing. It’s almost considered another quilt top.  These can be hard to work; you cannot guarantee the placement of the top of the quilt and how it will “land” on the back of the quilt. 

The size for your backing must be larger than the quilt top by 4-6” on all 4 sides.  If your quilt measures 72” x 60” add 10” to each of those measurements (82” X 70”) and you will be covered.  The backing needs to be larger due to the side clamps and the leaders that hold the quilt to the frame. 

Batting choices- There are many options for different situations. Who is the quilt for?  How will it be used? What type of look are you going for (piecing or quilting as the focus)? An 80/20 cotton/poly blend is common for everyday use, gifted, or community service quilts.  For custom quilts it is popular to have the 80/20 for the base layer and a second layer of wool with more loft for the show quilts or quilts for display.  Some longarmers will opt to have their clients provide their own battings while others require you to buy directly from them.  Batting, like backing must be 4-6” larger on all 4 sides.  
Thread selection- Most longarmers have their own collection of thread to use.  You can usually pick out the colors with them.  Depending you your quilters’ preference, you can match the bobbin thread to your backing or match the top and bobbin threads. For the custom quilting jobs, thread matching becomes more important as each area may have a different color.

We will complete our journey later this week in Part III: Computer-Guided vs Operator-Guided Quilting! See you soon!

For more information about Stephanie's business, you can visit her website at www.stephaniezquiltz.com/about

On October 11, 2022, Guild Member Stephanie Baker shared with us some great information about how a longarming business works, how pricing is determined, and tips for keeping your longarmer happy.  Over the next few weeks, we’ll be sharing what we learned during Stephanie’s presentation.

A little bit about Stephanie: "...my sewing journey began when she was 8 years old.  My mother was a seamstress.  All her free time was spent in her sewing room and all I ever wanted was to learn how to sew.  I started with garments like my mother.  It wasn’t until years later…after my second child was born that I decided to make my first quilt.  After that I was hooked.”

A few years later, Stephanie decided to get certified to teach Judy Niemeyer's Quiltworx patterns. She came home from final certification with 5 quilts that needed to be custom quilted.  It would have cost roughly $800-$1,200 per quilt, about $4,000-$6,000 for those to be completed by someone else.  She decided to invest in a computerized longarm and within a month of owning her first machine, she was quilting for hire.

Part I: Intake and Quilt Top Basics

Intake Form- Most long armers have what’s called an intake form.  This gives the long armer all the information needed to complete your quilt.  Intake forms may include: personal information, contact information, quilt details such as size, color, how you want it quilted, thread color, batting and backing information, etc.  These are all items that should be discussed with your quilter to make sure that you are both on the same page. 

Quilt top preparation- Your quilt top should come to the long armer ready to go on the frame.  It should be pressed, all threads on the front and back of the quilt should be trimmed and it should be square.  Square, meaning measurements from opposite corners should be the same.

Quilt top embellishments- These can be added either before or after the top is quilted.  Some longarmers will choose not to quilt with embellishments or it may incur an additional cost.  They can also steer the quilter towards a custom design, depending on the quilt.

We will continue our journey in Part II: Backing, Batting, and Thread! See you soon!

For more information about Stephanie's business, you can visit her website at www.stephaniezquiltz.com/about

We are so excited to present you with our brand new website! We're hoping to keep our site fresh and up-to-date with all our recent Guild activity.  Check our our linked Google Calendar for upcoming meetings and events.