Mount Vernon News
Quilters Unlimited
November 2008
Mount Vernon Chapter Officers 2008 – 2009
Co-Presidents—Lynn Miller and Carol Kunkel
Co-Vice Presidents—Angela Miller and Lynne Fishburn
Secretary—Dotty Eisenhour
Treasurer—Kathy Edwards
Nominating Chair—Jim Melton
Presidents’ MessageI “fell into fall” today… haven’t turned back all of my clocks yet, but I will get that done just as I promise to get those unfinished projects across the finish line soon. I find fall to be a season for reflecting and I am truly doing that as I survey the many projects I started this year, those few that I actually finished, and those still swimming around in my head just waiting to fall out onto the design board. October was an exciting month. I had the pleasure of attending RaNae Merrill’s Spiral Rose workshop, Ruth McDowell’s lecture which featured many of her newest works, and Carol Taylor’s free motion workshop. So much to learn, so little time! If only I could find a way to quilt more, but don’t we all say that?
I hope that everyone got out and cast their vote on Tuesday. Now that we can leave politics behind for awhile, it’s time to look forward to what promises to be an exciting month ahead. We’ll kick off November with our Business Meeting on November 11th at 12:30 pm. Please remember to meet at the Franconia Governmental Center at 6121 Franconia Rd., Alexandria, VA 22310. We might also call this the "meet your other Co-President” meeting. In observance of Veteran’s Day, I will be off work and leading the meeting in Lynn Miller's absence and enjoying an afternoon of quilting. As a highlight of our day, Angie Miller will be showcasing those quilts donated by the generous members of MVQU to the AKHA Development Center before departing on her mission trip to Thailand.
For those of you interested in joining the Old Dominion Appliqué Society on their bus trip to the Virginia Quilt Museum in Harrisonburg, VA to view the current exhibit “Five Generations of Mennonite Quilts” with a stop at Rachel’s Quilt Patch in Staunton, VA on November 17th, please contact Cathy Eckbreath regarding availability at 703-534 4402. As of this writing, there are still10 seats available.
On November 25th, award-winning local quilt artist and fellow QU member Cyndi Souder will give us some tips on “Overcoming Quilters Block” and show some of her stunning quilts. I can really relate to that topic, and can not wait to hear what she has to say.
And lastly, a couple of reminders: For those of you who have quilts to donate to Carpenter’s Shelter, plans are underway to showcase those on December 9th at our Holiday Luncheon with arrangements being made for delivery of these quilts shortly there after. And don’t forget, we will also have a mini-auction at our Holiday Luncheon. If you have items to add to those not auctioned off in September, please see Barbara Tucker.
Wishing you a wonderful, food and family filled Thanksgiving!!
Carol Kunkel & Lynn Miller, Co-Presidents
November 25, 2008-- Cyndi Souder Lecture and Trunk show
Where do quilt ideas come from? Cyndi Souder, award-winning local quilt arti
st and fellow QU member whose work has been displayed at the International Quilt Festival in Houston, TX, the
Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival, and Quilt Odyssey, will lecture on "Overcoming Quilter's Block." Cyndi will show some of her own quilts and talk about where her ideas came from. She will also share some tips to jumpstart your creativity. Cyndi says. “The only problem you'll have is deciding which quilt to make first!”
Please plan to attend to hear this enthusiastic quilt artist. We will meet in Room 112 of the Hollin Hall Senior Center, 2511 Parkers Lane, Alexandria, VA 22308. The lecture will begin promptly at 12:30 pm. Be sure to check out Cyndi’s website at
http://www.moonlightingquilts.com/ and follow her Blog at
http://moonlightingquilts.wordpress.com/Lynn Fishburn and Angela Miller, Co-Vice PresidentsMVQU 2008-2009 CharitiesMount Vernon members voted to support two new charities this year, Carpenter’s Shelter, a local homeless shelter for women, children and men, and the Akha Youth Development Center, an organization located beyond the borders of America. The Carpenter's Shelter is Northern Virginia’s largest homeless program. Located in the heart of Old Town Alexandria, this shelter provides a broad range of services to those in need in our local community. All their programs are geared toward promoting self-reliance. Members of MVQU are encouraged to donate quilts of all sizes to this local charity. Carpenter’s Shelter is one of the few non-profit organizations in our area to receive Charity Navigator’s 4-star rating for sound fiscal management. Charity Navigator evaluates the efficiency programs for nonprofits. To learn more about this facility visit
http://www.carpentersshelter.org/index.html.
The Akha Youth Development Center is an organization for children of the Akha Hill Tribe in the mountains of Northern Thailand. The youth hostel is administrated by Akha Pastor, Luka Chermui, and his wife, Ghan. The AYDC is a safe place where Akha youth from poor hard-to-reach mountain villages can live and grow in a Christian family environment while attending Thai public schools. The hostel has grown from supporting less than 20 kids in 1998, to over 90 in 2008. MVQU member Angie Miller and her husband, Jack, sponsor this organization through mission trips with members from Epiphany Lutheran Church of Alexandria, Virginia. Their next trip is scheduled for November 13-25, 2008.
Part of the mission this year will be to distribute “Quilts of Love” from MVQU to Akha teenagers as they go on to skills training or college. It will mean so much to give quilts to these teens as they move forward to life beyond the hostel. They own so little materially. These quilts will more than likely be kept for the rest of their lives and used during the rainy, cold season from April to June.
While there, Angie plans to introduce hand or machine piecing of nine patch blocks, and possibly Redwork. Lynne F and Libby gave her teaching books to work with. The Akhas do a lot of fine needlework, and recently learned how to knit.
If you have extra sewing items you would like to donate for piecing and quilting practice with the Akhas, please bring them to the November 11th meeting (being held at 6121 Franconia Road Govermental Center). Angie will have a basket for small things like thread, needles, fat quarters, or strips of fabric big enough to make nine-patches. She will also have the finished quilts there for one last look before making their way to the mountains of Northern Thailand, where they will add a little extra warmth and love from the Ladies of Mount Vernon, Virginia.
As MVQU members, this is one way we can reach out globally to those we know will receive and appreciate our quilts for years to come. If you have a quilt that needs a home, please consider giving it to one of these children. Angie Miller will donate all machine quilting for this charity at no charge. Angie may be reached at
a2miller@live.com for more information.
Angie Miller, Co-Vice President
“Thank-you” from Aby Dolinger
November 2008
Dear Members of MVQU,
Thank you so much for the signature blocks you sent me. I will enjoy making a quilt with them and I will enjoy reflecting on our friendship and good times spent together even more!
My husband and I are quickly acclimating ourselves to life in Fayetteville, NC. He loves his job as deputy garrison chaplain! I have become involved with two quilt groups--but nothing can replace MVQU in my heart!
Aby Dolinger
7837 Shuttle Rd.
Fayetteville, NC 28311
November Calendar- November 4, 2008—Bee, 12:30 pm, Room 216, Hollin Hall Senior Center
- November 11, 2008—Business Meeting, 12:30 pm, Room 112, Franconia Governmental Center
- November 12, 2008—Evening Bee, 6-8 pm, Mt. Vernon Governmental Center
- November 17, 2008—Bus Trip to VA Quilt Museum sponsored by Old Dominion Appliqué Society. Please contact Cathy Eckbreath at 703-534-4402 for details.
- November 18, 2008—Bee 12:30 pm, Room 216, Hollin Hall Senior Center
- November 25, 2008—“Overcoming Quilter’s Block” lecture with Cyndi Souder, 12:30 pm, Room 112, Hollin Hall Senior Center
- November 26, 2008—Evening Bee, 6-8 pm, Mt. Vernon Governmental Center
Looking Ahead
- December 2, 2008— Bee, 12:30 pm, Room 216, Hollin Hall Senior Center
- December 9, 2008—Holiday Luncheon, Room 112, Hollin Hall Senior Center
- December 10, 2008—Evening Bee 6-8:00 pm, Mt. Vernon Governmental Center
- December 16, 2008—Bee, 12:30 pm, Room 216, Hollin Hall Senior Center (Last Meeting of the Calendar Year 2008)
MT. VERNON QU
Minutes of the 10/14/08 Business MeetingThe meeting was called to order at 12:35 pm by Lynn Miller.
Hospitality for the meeting was provided by Margaret Chandler, Barbara Zygiel, and Gail English.
The Minutes of the September meeting were approved as presented following a motion by Cathy Hanratty and seconded by Pat Alfredson.
The Treasurer's Report—editor's note: this report can be found in the attachment that notified you of this posting. Community Education—Tammy Mannarino asked members to sign up for putting quilts on display at Sherwood Hall Library and the Senior Center. She will need two each month. Quilts for the library need to be 50” wide or less and ones for the center can be 70” wide.
2009 QU Quilt Show—Bert Garino attended a meeting about the show on October 6th. Vendors are being contacted about demos for which Mt. Vernon will be responsible. Size limit for quilts will be 115” x 115”. Whether or not to hold a silent auction is still in flux. The theme for the show will be “All the World's a Stage.” The exact due date for applications for entries will be announced soon – probably near the end of February. The lecture by Mark Lipinski will now be held on Saturday night, June 6th, possibly at Chantilly High School.
Report on Auction Fund Raiser—Barbara Tucker presented her “after action report.” Some highlights of the report were
(editor's note: a portion of this report has been omitted here but can be found in the attachment that notified you of this posting):
- We had many visitors from outside of our chapter and members of the Reston chapter donated hand dyed fabric for sale. There was a lot of positive feedback from those attending. She suggested that we increase publicity about the auction next year.
- Barbara suggested that items for the next live auction be submitted at any time so the descriptions can be sent to the blog ahead of time.
- Fabrics by the yard and prepared kits were very popular.
- The bake sale was a big success. However, more large items could be included.
- The date for next year's fundraiser will be November 10th. Barbara Tucker will act as auctioneer again in 2009. Angie Miller will be in charge of publicity. We will need someone to volunteer as fixed price table coordinator. Ro Coller has agreed to be in charge of the bake sale.
December Luncheon—the luncheon will be held on December 9th. Items not ready for the fund raiser in September will be presented in a live auction. If you have other items to add to the group, please indicate a minimum price for same.
October 28th Cutting Bee will take place at the Senior Center in the downstairs room. Lynn Miller outlined how a cutting bee would work. She suggested cutting 2 ½ strips and 5” squares for which she has three patterns that work well from cutting strips and squares from fat quarters. If there are extra pieces cut, they could be saved for charity quilts. Bring bags to store pieces in, rotary cutters, mats, rulers and permanent markers. You may also bring any projects you are working on to this bee. We will begin with set up at 11:15 am and will end at 3:30 pm. Hospitality will be provided, but you may also choose to bring a brown bag lunch and/or drink or get lunch across the street at Rosina's. Lynn will include more information on the Blog. Barbara Tucker will provide music for the day.
November 11th Business Meeting will be held at the Franconia Governmental Center. Lynn has provided maps to the Center. Carol Kunkel will be in charge of this meeting.
Mystery Quilt—the fifth and final piecing instructions will be up next week.
Programs—Angie Miller and Lynne Fishburn reminded us that Cyndi Souder will be giving a lecture and trunk show on November 25th. Sharon Shambler is scheduled to present a lecture on February 24th. The cost of the lecture will be $400. Other costs connected with her visit (hotel, etc.) will be shared with three Maryland groups. A motion was made by Lynn Miller and seconded by Pat Alfredson that we spend (approximately $750) to sponsor this lecture. It was passed by the membership. In January Barbara Zygiel will give a presentation on “Frilly Frocks” (sewing for dolls) and a trunk show. Angie will visit Thailand in November and asked for quilts to be taken with her to the AKHA Youth Child Development Center there. She will take 6 – 8 quilts for high school students.
Charity Quilt Committee—Dotty Eisenhour has offered to collect quilts for Carpenter's Shelter. She will also work with others to design a label for the quilts.
Door Prizes were won by Kathy Edwards, Angie Miller and Joyce Keating.
Show and Tell—those participating were: Pat Alfredson, Kay Brill, Gail English, Bert Garino, Libby Dudley, Kathy Z, Marjorie Parkyn, Angie Miller, and Linda Townsend.
There being no further business the meeting was adjourned at 1:30 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Dotty Eisenhour, Secretary
November Birthdays
November 1 Hedy Vann
November 4 Tomma Santini
November 7 Kathleen Shaw
November 9 Anne Berard
November 14 Lynn Eccleston
November 15 Barbara Zygiel
November 20 Dotty Eisenhour
November 24 Tammy Mannarino
November 26 Beverly Krysa
December Birthdays
December 17 Joyce Matherly
Happy Thanksgiving to all of you.
Please submit items to Beverly Dasch, MVQU Newsletter Editor, at mvqu.news@gmail.com or send to 5643 Victory Loop, Manassas, VA 20112. You may also call her at 703-590-2756.
The deadline for December's newsletter is December 1st.
Lynn Eccleston celebrated turning 60 by making this quilt filled with the signatures of dear friends. 
Kathleen Shaw made this sampler quilt for her niece. She used lots of rose colored fabrics, the same as her niece's middle name.
Lynne Fishburn made this "scrappy" disappearing nine-patch quilt during Springfield QU's "Quilting for Others" day. This quilt will be cherished by a soldier recovering at Walter Reed Hospital.
Lynn's decided to make this 'planned" disappearing nine-patch for her brother who was a soldier. It's amazing how different these two quilts made from the same pattern are.
Lynn also belongs to Cardinal Quilters. She took this orphaned "cheater" cloth home, added a border and backing, quilted it... now it's ready for gift giving at the holidays!
Bert Garino made this raw edge applique quilt to coordinate with the heirloom quilt she made for her newest granddaughter... this one is perfect for cuddling.
This one, made by Bert, is sure to be cherished by it's recipient at Carpenter's Shelter when the time comes.
