Meetings and Programs:

• In-person meetings canceled through November 2020.  
  • In alignment with current direction from the State of Michigan, BRQG has canceled in-person meetings, workshops and retreats through November 2020.   Details of electronic programming follow.  
  • We look forward to resuming our in-person meeting schedule at our new meeting home at Tiara Yachts at the beginning of 2021!
• August 17 meeting–your Guild will host Nancy Roelfsma via Zoom on Monday, August 17.  Her program, “Why We Quilt”, including a trunk show, will be available via Zoom. 
  •  We will send out an invitation to the membership three days before the event (Friday, August 14) by our email list. 
  • The daytime workshop, “Paper Piecing Basics” has been canceled.
• August 28 Tile Backgrounds Workshop, to be rescheduled–Barb Bredemeier has contacted participants to advise that this workshop will be rescheduled when we are able to meet safely.
• September 21 meeting–this scheduled in-person meeting will be replaced by a presentation delivered via Facebook Live, hosted by Betsy Muir and Kris Kennedy.  (If you’re not already, now is a great time to become amember of the group, Big Red Quilters Guild, on Facebook.  https://www.facebook.com/groups/bigredquiltersguild/ .)  
  • Theme–“Simply Scrappy September” in honor of the by-product of all this quilting we are doing!  We will focus on techniques to organize scraps for optimum usefulness and will demonstrate a project that we can all enjoy using during our increased “stay at home” time!  It also makes a great gift!  
  • Nora Slikkers will be our special guest and will share her special tips on this pressing problem/opportunity!
  • The interview and demonstration will be LIVE in the Big Red Quilters’ Guild Facebook page at 7 pm, 9/21/2020 and will be available there afterward; a link to the recorded material will be provided by email after the event so that everyone can have access regardless of Facebook user status.
• September 22-24 retreat–the planned retreat will be rescheduled to March (dates TBD).  More information on this to come.  
• Future meeting dates–we are planning to host a Facebook LIVE event at least monthly during this time (on our regularly scheduled meeting dates), to include interviews, projects, tips and tricks, and other topics of interest!  If you have ideas or things you would like to share in this way, reply back to this email and we’ll get working on it!

Registration for 2021:

• It’s time to renew your membership to Big Red Quilters’ Guild!  
  • Dues for the 2020-2021 membership year, commencing October 1, 2020, have been reduced to $10 to acknowledge the challenges of these times, to each of you personally and as a Guild in delivering the membership year we all planned on!  
  • We plan to resume normal meeting cadence and programming content in January.
  • We will continue to do our best to provide content and engagement via electronic means wherever and whenever possible during this uncertain time!  We are all in this together!
• Membership form is available on the website (click here).  Return the form with your check to Karen Keip.
• Gift Basket–Members returning their membership forms and dues, postmarked by October 1, 2020, will be entered in a drawing for an amazing gift basket that is being assembled by your Board!  You’ll want a chance to win this!!!!

President’s Note:
Friends, I pray this message finds all of you safe, healthy, and at peace. Isn’t it wonderful we have quilting to keep us grounded during these times?  By the look of our  Quarantine Quilt Gallery, you all have been VERY busy!  Please keep the pictures coming!
I look forward to the day when we can all gather safely. Until then, Sew On!!
Betsy Muir
President
Big Red Quilters Guild