Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Minutes of the Monthly Meeting of the Needle Arts Guild of Toledo April 15, 2009

The meeting was called to order by President Caren Scarbrough at 6:30 p.m.

Ann Rorarius presented the program for this month which was a Petite Project from EGA of blackwork dolls. Ann provided directions/patterns and demonstrated how she had worked part of the pattern. She will gladly help anyone who decides to tackle this project.

We had 23 members and 2 guests attending the meeting.

Education -Irene Leonard told us of plans to have a Fall seminar on November 7, 2009 with the possible teacher being Lauren Sauer from the Cleveland area. Irene set out three designs for a vote. The price of the kit is paid by each member. We need 10 people to have Lauren come to teach the chosen design. November Chase was selected and the packet is $65.00.
The remaining two plans were well liked also, so we may decide to have other seminars later in the year. Another project of interest, possibly a year from now, is A Secret Garden Revisited, a folded needlecase. You do the stitching and then attend the class to learn how to finish the project. EGA sent information on extended study classes. The Heart of Shenandoah books
arrived and are available for those who signed up for one.

Diane Myers had a basket to take to GLR Seminar with all sorts of goodies to share. The Toledo MudHens are having a stitch and pitch on June 25th at 7:00 p.m. Register on their website and make sure to say you are with NAGT.

Marilyn Freeman introduced our two guests: Kelly Jackson and Ann Simmons.

Kay Griffin has started the kissing pillows for soldiers project and passed out kits to anyone who wanted to participate. Please have them completed by the June meeting so they can be used for an August deployment.

Newsletter- Su Pellitieri said the deadline will be after GLR seminar, so have items to her by 1st weekend in May. She would appreciate information on teachers, special projects, hints and tips for stitchers, such as how Su found a different use for ammo boxes...they hold lots of threads!
Caren asked for information about seminar that she can use in the President's letter.

Program - Kim Carles-Hammer said the May meeting will be completing the Biscornu project with Sue Hojnacki and the June program will be Christine Hampshire sharing the process she went through for her EGA Master Craftsman, our Potluck dinner and Get It Finished.

Treasurer's Report-Nancy Wright reported as of 3/18/09 we have $2,048.15 in our Charter One Checking account and $1,074.41 in our Charter One Savings account; 5/3 CD is $2,126.25 and 5/3 Savings is $1,050.85.

The meeting was adjourned at 7:50 p.m.

Monday, April 13, 2009

MINUTES OF THE MONTHLY MEETING OF THE NEEDLE ARTS GUILD OF TOLEDO - March 18, 2009

The Needle Arts Guild of Toledo met at First Unitarian Church in Fellowship Hall at 6:30 pm on Wednesday, March 18, 2009. President Caren Scarbrough presided and welcomed two guests and 33 members. Annette Hill reported that she had been asked to take minutes for tonight’s meeting in the absence of our Secretary, Cassie Jamet. Annette provided copies of last month’s board meeting and monthly meeting minutes and advised that prior minutes have been posted to our blog. Treasurer Nancy Wright reported that our account balances are as follows: Checking account, $1887.65; Fifth Third Certificate of Deposit, $2126.25; Fifth Third Savings, $1505.85; and Charter One Savings, $1074.41.

Caren welcomed our guest speaker, , who is in charge of the needlework exhibits at the Lucas County Fair. He told members that he is open to all suggestions and wants to know what we are working on and wants to tailor the fair show to fit current practices. He announced that this year’s fair booklet would be published soon. A $15.00 fee will allow you to enter into any categories of exhibits, and will also entitle you to admission to the fair for the whole week. If we are in need of meeting space, they have the 4-H Club room, which is larger than our current meeting space here at First Unitarian. The Fair Board is eager to have groups demonstrate for the public during fair week. Members asked about the security of the exhibit area. The close cases are backed up to the walls so that they are quite difficult to get into, and some can even be locked. There are also security officers patrolling the premises. They have never had anything stolen from a fair exhibit.

Members asked about their judges. The get at least two judges and sometimes three. They are not necessarily certified by any organization.

He will provide entry forms and information about the exhibit for our next meeting. They intend to have the entry forms available online this year as well.

Our membership will discuss this opportunity and email any feedback to Caren, and our first guest speaker then departed.

Caren then had members share their Get It Finished Program projects with each other.
Our second guest speaker, Gretchen Schultz, was introduced by our Program Chairman, Kim Hammer. Gretchen is associated with the local quilt shop, The Quilt Foundry, and has also been collecting antique needlework tools for 20 years. She presented a slide show, lecture and exhibit of her collection.

There was a drawing for tonight’s gift bag. A Silent Auction was conducted for the five remaining books from our now defunct library.

Caren announced that our 2008 account books have been audited and all is in order.
Program Chairman, Kim Hammer announced that our April program will be an EGA Petite Project entitled "Blackwork Dolls." This is a repeat program from several years ago and members are encouraged to bring in their previous projects in whatever stage of completion to share with the group. Sue Hojnacki circulated samples of Biscornu and provided patterns that would be appropriate for these projects in the latest edition of the newsletter. Karlyn displayed her work on the armchair caddy that will be our program in August. Kim reminded members to set aside needlework items that we would like to sell in our July Garage Sale. Proceeds from the sale will be put towards bringing in a teacher.

Donna Cairns is still sending stitching kits to Brooks Army Medical Facility and welcomes donations.

Show Chairman Sue Wiemer announced that she has a signed contract from the judge for our show this fall. Su Pellitieri asked that members who are attending regional seminar please take entry forms and flyers for our fall show to distribute there. Christine Hampshire has already arranged to promote our show in the regional seminar’s daily newsletter.

Membership Chairman Diane Myers distributed new membership rosters to everyone.

Members were encouraged to bring donations for our contribution to the opportunity drawing at the regional seminar to the next meeting.

Christine Hampshire announced that she is collecting more contact addresses for publications in which to promote our annual show.

Caren thanked Anna Kerlin for tracking our volunteer hours diligently during the past year at Toledo Botanical Garden. TBG sent us a bill for $200.00 and Caren responded with documentation of our volunteer hours which therefore waived the fee. They did not reply and we consider the matter settled.

Our guest speaker, Gretchen Schultz, displayed a vintage embroidered piece that someone brought to their shop in search of someone who could repair a hole. She asked members is anyone was interested in assisting.

Irene Leonard reported to members that there is more interest in stitching the Heart of Shenandoah project as a group than any of the Group Correspondence Courses which were suggested. If anyone is interested in participating, they should sign up tonight and pay $15.00 in advance for the book. We will assemble kits as a group to save money. A Group Correspondence Course will be considered in the future after this project is completed.

The guild membership discussed bringing in a teacher for a workshop. It has been suggested that we use the 2009 and 2010 education allotment in combination to hire a teacher for the spring of 2010. We would need at least 10 members participating to qualify to use the education fund money for this purpose. Members are asked to submit suggestions for teachers and classes for consideration. Members attending regional seminar in April are asked to check out Teacher’s Showcase for possibilities. Members are asked to have suggestions submitted by the May meeting so that we can proceed with planning. Christine Hampshire asked if we could consider doing a pilot class for a teacher. Teachers sometimes offer that opportunity at a discount price in exchange for the feedback required from the participants. A pilot class is also a new project which has not yet become available at seminars.

Refreshments for this evening’s meeting were provided by Marilyn Freeman and Katherine Thompson. The meeting was adjourned. Our next monthly meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, April 15, 2009.

Respectfully submitted, Annette Meyer Hill

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

MINUTES OF THE MONTHLY MEETING OF THE NEEDLE ARTS GUILD OF TOLEDO, February 18, 2009

The Needle Arts Guild of Toledo met on Wednesday, February 18, 2009 in the Fellowship Hall of First Unitarian Church of Toledo. With President Caren Scarbrough out of town, and President-Elect Sue Hojnacki ill, Treasurer Nancy Wright presided over the meeting which began at 6:45 pm. There were 18 members present and no guests. Annette Hill provided copies of minutes from the January meeting which were written by Marianne Mussett. Annette will take minutes this evening in the absence of Secretary Cassie
Treasurer Nancy Wright reports the following bank account balances as of January 31, 2009: Fifth Third CD $2126.25; Fifth Third Savings $1050.78; Charter One Savings $1074.41; and Charter One Checking $1872.77.
Nancy reminded members that there are five books left from our now disbanded library which will be available for sale at the March meeting. There will be an announcement in the newsletter.
The next Board meeting will be on March 5 at the Barnes and Nobles at The Shops at Fallen Timbers at 6:30 pm.
Show Chairman Sue Wiemer announced that Sandy Rogers will judge our annual show in September. The show will be on Friday and Saturday this year, because the library has limited staff on Sundays and does not want us to have the show open then. The dates are September 25 and 26. We will accept entries on Wednesday the 23rd, and judge on Thursday the 24th. This actually gives us more time for set-up, as the library is open until 9:00 pm on Thursdays. We will change the judge’s contract to read that we will reimburse for mileage at the rate set by the IRS that is in effect at the time of the show.
Irene Leonard asked members to consider participation in two Group Correspondence Courses: Cleopatra’s Cat, which is a Canvaswork piece, or the Stumpwork class that is available. We will also continue to consider doing the Heart of Shenandoah project as a group project. It was also announced that Jane Zimmerman has retired and is selling some of her stash online at www.janezimmerman.com.
Su Pellietieri reports that the newsletter deadline is February 25. She needs information on the books to be sold at the March meeting and will contact Caren.
Program chairman, Kim Hammer, passed a sign up sheet for the Heart of Shenandoah book which costs $15.00 which members should pay in advance. Kim or Irene will order them. Since Sue Hojnacki is not present tonight, Kim will arrange for her to provide pattern information for the Biscornu designs which are tonight’s scheduled program for the newsletter, and also assure that the patterns will be available next month so that we can work them up in time for August. For our March program, Diane Myers put her in touch with Gretchen Schultz who has collected antique needlework tools and will present a slide show. Members should bring any antique tools they would like to share. It is also time to share our Get it Finished items at the March meeting as well. In
April we will have Ann Rorarius teaching Blackwork Dolls Petite Project which we have done before. If you began it back then, bring in your finished project, or finish your unfinished one with us. In May, Sue Hojnacki will teach us finishing techniques for the Biscornu project which was scheduled for tonight. In June we will have our annual Potluck. In July we will have a garage sale of needlework items, so members are encouraged to gather items to sell. In August, Karlyn will teach an armchair caddy type project that members can coordinate with their Biscornu design.
Donna Cairns recruited additional volunteers for refreshments in coming months.
Several members shared their Contract to Finish project from the January program.
The meeting was then adjourned and members visited with each other and shared refreshments. The next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, March 18, 2009.

Respectfully submitted,Annette Meyer Hill

Monday, February 9, 2009

Minutes of the Monthly Meeting of the Needle Arts Guild of Toledo

Meeting Minutes for January 21, 2009

The meeting was called to order at 6:30 p.m. by President-elect Sue Hojnacki.
There is a sign up sheet going around for attendance at this meeting. Thanks to Annette Hill for sponsoring us in our new location, First Unitarian Church on Glendale Avenue.

There were no formal reports from the Secretary or the Treasurer.

Membership: Diane Myers reported that February is National Embroidery Month.
Feb. 7th is National Stitch In Day. We will be at the Maumee Public Library from
10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. to stitch, with four people at a time, due to limited seating. Please sign up for one of two times: 10:00 a.m. to Noon or Noon to 2:00 p.m. We will also
have a display set up. Diane contacted Franklin Park Mall to see about stitching there but the cost would have been $400. Diane has prepared a new roster which she will bring next time. We have 46 members.

Show: Sue Wiemer reported that we will be having our show at Sanger Branch Library on September 23 - 26, 2009. This is actually a day earlier in the week, as the library has a new policy about not using meeting rooms on Sundays due to staffing shortages. Registration will begin on Wednesday, September 23 from 4:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. with guild members coming at 3:00 p.m. to learn their duties. The judging will be on Thursday, September 24 and the show will be on Friday and Saturday, September 25 and 26. There will not be any critiques of the needlework.

Education: Irene Leonard reported that the correspondence course catalog arrived as part of the current issue of Needle Arts magazine. If there are 10 members interested in a course then we may be able to get some funding from the guild. A meeting place will be needed for the group correspondence class. Irene reminded us that we also have a number of projects from EGA which we can do as a group. If you are interested in having a teacher this fall, please contact Irene or someone else on the Board with your idea. We would like to do something like we did last fall at the 577 Foundation.

Su Pellitieri reported that she had heard from Cindy Valentine about the correspondence course that was finished last year. We should get our items back soon. "You guys rock," was Cindy’s complimentary remark about our group. She was very pleased with the work our group did and will be glad to judge others afterward if you get your piece finished before too long. Cindy will be at GLR in April.

Newsletter: Su reported that the deadline is February 25.

Publicity: Christine Hampshire is our new chair for publicity. There was an article in the Blade on January 21, 2009 about our dismissal from TBG. We were also noted on the activities page. A copy of the article will be mailed to President Caren Scarbrough who is out of town. Christine would like to send out more descriptions of our programs. She wants to start with the national magazines, neighborhood papers, or blogs involved with needlework. Christine will also help with the publicity for our show.

Hostess: Donna Cairns is not here tonight so Helen Zeller is sending around the sign up sheet for bringing treats. The hostesses for tonight’s meeting are Irene Leonard and Diane Myers.
There were no guests at the meeting tonight.

Program: Kim Hammer sent around the contract for us to sign for completion of an old project over this next year. If we finish our project by December, 2009 then we will be rewarded in some way. Our February program will have Sue Hojnacki introducing us to "tuffets biscornu" or pin cushions. We will start the project and for the May program Sue will show us the art of finishing our tuffets. Also, Christine Hampshire will share her Master Craftsman steps with us as part of our February program.

New Business: Sue H. noted that our Bylaws need to be changed because of our meeting date change from the second Wednesday to the third Wednesday of the month. Caren Scarbrough has worked on the minor changes and will bring the completed bylaws for a vote. Caren is also planning to address who may be voting members on the Board.

When we established the Evelyn Goodeman Memorial Education Fund we made about $8,000 when we had the sale of Evelyn’s stash several years ago. Shirley Fischer proposed how we should spend the money. We will need to revise the language pertaining to how the funds are distributed now that we are no longer meeting at TBG. EGA will get any funds that are remaining if we ever disband as a guild. The plan allows for us to have certificates of deposit in the amount of $500 available for a teacher and/or 3 correspondence courses per year. The Education chairman is responsible for arranging this. Additional funds would be paid by the members. A motion was made by Christine Hampshire to make the necessary changes in the fund documents, seconded by Katherine Thompson and passed by the members.
Katherine Thompson noted that she still has 5 books from the guild library in her car. It was decided to leave further discussion about what to do with the books until the March Board meeting when Caren is back in town.

There will not be a February Board meeting.

Meeting adjourned at 7:05 p.m.

Monday, January 5, 2009

MINUTES OF THE MONTHLY MEETING OF THE NEEDLE ARTS GUILD OF TOLEDO - November 12, 2008

The monthly meeting of the Needle Arts Guild of Toledo met at 6:30 pm in the Terrace Room of the Conference Center at the Toledo Botanical Garden on Wednesday, November 12, 2008. Due to the absence of Maria Nowicki, the meeting was conducted by Past President, Marianne Mussett.

[Due to a computer malfunction, the notes for the first portion of the meeting unfortunately were destroyed.]

The second portion of the meeting included a show and tell by all members of hand-stitched family heirlooms. Gifts were distributed to Secret Stitchers. The monthly Gift bag drawing was won by Anna Kerlin.

Marianne presented to the membership the slate of officer candidates which resulted from the efforts of the Nominating Committee, as follows:

President-Elect – Sue Hojnacki
Secretary - Cassie Jamet
Program Chairman – Kim Hammer
Assistant Program Chairman – Karlynn Thompson
Great Lakes Representative – Annette Hill

There were no nominations from the floor. Marianne moved that the slate be approved by unanimous vote. Peverley Hormann seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. The officers were then installed in a short ceremony.

Because we will not be meeting at the Toledo Botanical Garden any longer, and therefore have no permanent storage space, the contents of our library were auctioned off to members by silent auction. The most valuable books were saved for compilation into an opportunity drawing basket at a later date. The proceeds from the auction will be deposited into our general treasury.

The meeting was then adjourned.

Respectfully submitted,
Annette Meyer Hill