The BRQG April 19, 2021, meeting was held via Zoom.  Betsy Muir, president, welcomed the group of over 30 members and our guest speaker, Pam Goggans, from Sager Creek Quilts in Siloam Springs, Arkansas.  

Nora Slikkers, program co-chair, gave the group information about our May 17 meeting when Pam Goggans will conduct an all-day workshop class for the quilt Tribute via Zoom.  Nora noted that members need to sign up via the registration form on the BRQG website, call Nora indicating they are planning to attend (as mail can be slow), and send the $50 payment (check made out to Big Red Quilt Guild) to Nora for the class, pattern, V-block tool, and laminated technique sheet.  Nora’s phone number:  479-957-7460; mailing address:  5228 147^th Ave., Holland, MI 49423.

Nora also indicated that our August program is Rayna Gilams.  She will be conducting two workshops.  Members can find registration forms on the BRQG website.  October will bring a class by Coleen Merte.  Information will soon be posted on the BRQG website for this as well.

Pam Goggams then presented a trunk show of quilts from her studio, including the use of various Deb Tucker tools with a variety of quilt blocks:  Tucker Trimmer for half-square triangles and hourglass blocks, Wing Clipper for flying geese blocks, Square Squared, V-block, Corner Beam, Split Rectangles, Diamond Rectangles, Four Patch Square-up, Rapid Fire Lemoyne Star, Wedge Star, and Star 60.  She explained that the technique sheets for each tool give information for additional quilt blocks.  

See the BRQG website for Pam’s special offer to BRQG members for ordering these various tools by April 28 via a phone call to her studio.  No tax or shipping charges will apply as Nora Slikkers will pick them up and bring them back for delivery to the BRQG members who place orders.  Remember to call Nora as well as sending Nora your check and order form for the May class, pattern, tool, and technique sheet for the quilt Tribute.

Meeting ended at 8:15 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Lorelle Eberly

Big Red Quilt Guild Meeting
February 15, 2021, via Zoom

The Big Red Quilt Guild met at 7:00 p.m. on February 15, 2021, via Zoom. Twenty-eight members and
one guest were in attendance. Various members shared quilting projects they had made over the past
several months during our Covid-19 shutdown. Pictures of these projects can be viewed on the BRQG
website. What a lot of talent was evident in the quilts, table toppers, wall hangings, notebook covers,
pillow cases, wallets, table runners, and bags displayed by both our members and our guest Shelli
Sesock, who asked about putting eyes on her quilt of snowmen. Several members offered suggestions.

Seven members’ names were drawn for door prizes: Barb Bredemeier, Bridget Morel, Colleen Dekker,
Bobbie Vruggink, Kay Solsbury, Kim Frisch, and Kathy Ryzenga. Those who won need to contact Kris
Kennedy to arrange picking up their prizes.

Betsy Muir thanked everyone for participating in our program tonight. She also reminded us that Charity Quilt Day is February 20 and National Quilting Day is coming March 20. Wouldn’t It be great if
we would all create either small quilts for Project Linus or larger quilts for our other charities! Check the
BRQG website for sizes.

Our next meeting will be March 31 (April Fool’s Eve) when we will have our Challenge Project
Reveal/Show and Tell.

Meeting ended at 8:10 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Lorelle Eberly

Big Red Quilt Guild November 16, 2020, Zoom Meeting

Betsy Muir, president, opened the Zoom meeting at 7:00 p.m. from Kris Kennedy’s home. Betsy and Kris have created several Christmas quilts that they showed the group with the help of their husbands, Jim Muir and Roger Kennedy. We thank these men for their outstanding quilt holding—and quilt walking!
Among the quilts displayed were those featuring Tumbling Trees, gnomes, Christmas trees, snowflakes, the Milky Way, gnomes with Twister snowflakes, Christmas houses with trees, and one with three trees
and a gnome.
Kris also gave information about where to find patterns, one of them free, for several of the quilts:
1) Tumbling Trees table runner by http://www.thefatquartergypsy,com (uses a 30 degree triangle template)
2) Twister Gnomes by http://www.aroundthebobbin.com also available on Amazon (uses Lil’ Twister tool)
3) House table runner from Modern Holiday Table Runner pattern—download from Fat Quarter Shop (on sale now and includes several holiday runners)
4) Scandinavian Tomto pattern (1 large gnome with three large trees) download from http://www.rebeccamaedesigns.com
5) Jelly Snowflake Mystery Quilt—free from Fat Quarter Shop Jolly Jabber Quilting Blog https://blog.fatquartershop.com/jelly-snowflake-mystery-quilt/

Before the meeting, Betsy had emailed all BRQG members a copy of the proposed budget put together by our treasurer, Karen Keip, and approved by the BRQG board. Betsy called for a vote on the budget; it was unanimously approved by the 31 members in attendance via Zoom.

Then the program moved to the four kits that had been distributed to BRQG members who signed up for the Make and Keep ornaments project. The ornaments could be used to decorate a Christmas tree or as gift tags on packages.

Kris began with the felt tree topped with a gold star. She suggested using tissue paper behind the star when stitching and using pompoms or buttons for decorations on the tree.

For the Scottie dog ornament, Kris suggested tracing around the pattern on tissue paper or freezer paper, attaching the paper to the fabric and then stitching around the dog shape, leaving an opening in the belly area for turning. She advised to be patient when turning so as not to poke a hole through the stitching. Betsy placed her dog shape on the bias of the fabric for a slightly different look. Be sure to clip the fabric near the stitching for the neck and the tail of the dog in order to make a good dog shape.

Betsy then discussed the three fabric trees. She used Steam and Seam Two to stabilize the tree fabric. Only one ribbon is included in the kit, so makers will need to use some of their own ribbons for two of the trees. Be sure to fold the ribbon in half and enclose the ends between the fabric pieces of the tree. Kris used garland on her tree while Betsy used rickrack for decorating hers.

The last project involved holly leaves. Betsy traced the pattern on freezer paper, ironed it on fabric, cut out the shape and stitched around the edges, leaving an opening for the stuffing. She made one leaf of fabric and one of felt. Either pompoms or small red buttons could be used for the berries. She
suggested sewing the pompoms on rather than gluing them.

Kris thanked Nora Slikkers and Carole McLean for preparing the kit materials, and the BRQG board for packaging and delivering the kits to the members. Betsy noted that some of the ornaments would be good projects for making with kids and/or grandkids.
The Zoom meeting ended at 7:35 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Lorelle Eberly

Big Red Quilt Guild Zoom Meeting
October 19, 2020

Betsy Muir, president, opened the meeting at 7:00 with a big welcome to all 24 Zoom participants plus those who were presenting. She reminded us that our September meeting focused on scrappy designs, and our October program would continue that scrappy theme.

Betsy introduced Kris Kennedy who presented a scrappy pumpkin block made up of 5 x 5 (a total of 25) 2 ½” squares of various orange fabrics. Kris noted it is easier to center the green pumpkin stem if using an odd number of squares. Each of the four corners of the pumpkin uses a half-square triangle piece, and the stem uses two half-square triangles. Easy and cute! Kris also indicated she uses thin cutting mats from Dollar Tree for her templates.

Betsy then showed us two small pieces she made from a pattern she found at Pressing Matters: a Boo piece in black and white, using a white cursive script for “Boo” and a button-eyed white ghost on a black background, and an orange “Eek” in cursive also on black. Instead of using a sleeve for hanging, she had made two corners from a diagonally folded 5 ½” square sewn into the binding, and then had inserted a dowel rod for hanging. The 5 ½” squares gave good support at the top.

Kris demonstrated various styles of napkin rings made from a pattern she found on sewinginnomansland and then modified. She cut two pieces of fabric 11” x 3 ½” and backed them with two pieces of fusible interfacing 10” x 2 ½”, turned in the ends and clipped the corners. She then fused or glued the two pieces together down the middle and top stitched all around, turning it into the size desired. Kris took a 20” ribbon or piece of twill tape, folded it in half and looped it over a button she had sewn on the ring.
These could be as formal or informal as wanted to fit your decor.

Betsy found a coaster pattern in the autumn 2020 issue of Quilters’ World. First, cut a hexagon from fabric and a backing hexagon 1 ½” larger. Place the smaller top fabric on a hexagon of batting the same size and then onto the wrong side of the backing fabric. Fold the backing edges over twice on each hexagon side in sequence to form a binding and stitch it in place. Voila, a new coaster!

Betsy then demonstrated making candy corn treat bags she found on craftyforhome.com. Cut one 4 ½” x 4” piece from yellow felt, two 4 ½” x 2” pieces from orange felt, and two 4 ½” x 2” from white felt.
Overlap the longer 4 ½” edges and stitch them together starting with white, then orange, then yellow, orange, and white. Turn it into a bag by folding the 4 ½” pieces in half, piercing four small holes ¾” apart in the top for the ribbon to make a drawstring to close the bag. Each side will form a small pleat. It is a small bag, just big enough to hold a few pieces of candy. What a great favor to have at each place at the table!

Betsy suggested that participants send pictures of their projects to Janet Haines to post on the BRQG website.

Betsy then interviewed Carole McLean about her work with Quilts of Valor. Carole has been making these red, white, and blue quilts for veterans for more than two years. This year she has made twelve thus far and has probably made more than thirty total by now. Carole showed some 40” x 54” quilts with flannel backs for use by people in wheelchairs. The flannel keeps the quilt from slipping off the lap. Several of her quilts were panels that Carole surrounded with various block and border designs. One

she used the Every Other Block of the Month challenge blocks to create an interesting design around a panel. Carole showed larger Quilts of Valor also. In December she will gift her Quilts of Valor to the veterans’ home in Byron Center. She will willingly take contributions of red, white, and blue fabric to
make more quilts.

Betsy thanked Carole for her beautiful work with this meaningful project for our veterans.

In early November the BRQG board will deliver kits to the homes of BRQG members who want to participate in this Make-and-Keep project. Please let Carole McLean know if you are interested in having a kit delivered to your home. Bridget Morel will be sending an email message with Carole’s
email address.

Betsy ended the meeting at 7:40 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,
Lorelle Eberly

Big Red Quilt Guild
October 14, 2020

Betsy Muir, president, opened the October 14, 2020, BRQG meeting at 6:00 p.m. in the parking lot of Tiara Yachts. One visitor, Terri Bruch, and twenty members brought chairs and wore masks for the opportunity to get together in person. Karen Keip reported that we now have 53 paid members. Nancy Miller won the wonderful basket of quilting supplies in a drawing from among the names of those who had paid their 2020-21 dues.

Betsy asked if anyone had questions or comments about the minutes of the September 21, 2020, meeting that were posted on the BRQG website. No one did.

Betsy noted that our next meeting, October 20, will be a Zoom meeting. All dues-paying members will receive an email invitation.

Kris Kennedy displayed the finished Village quilt made by many BRQG members; it will be donated to a local charity for their fund-raising activities.

Kathy Ryzenga is accepting charity quilts. Five members showed and donated ten charity quilts of various sizes at tonight’s meeting.

Betsy reported that the three board members whose terms end this year have volunteered to stay on for another two-year term: Karen Keip, treasurer; Carol Vinnedge, publicity; and Lorelle Eberly, secretary. Betsy called for any additional nominations from the group; hearing none, she asked for a vote on the three positions. They were elected for a second two-year term. Betsy distributed bags of chocolate kisses to the three members who will serve another term on the board.

Our October 20 meeting’s program is Quilts of Valor with Carole McLean. Betsy also asked that members have squares of white, yellow, and orange felt, and a piece of ¼” ribbon for the Make-and-Give-It project.
The November 16 Zoom meeting will include a Make-It-and-Keep-It project, this time a delivered-to-you-personally-at-your-home kit. Each member who wishes to participate needs to contact Carole McLean by November 1 to request a kit.

Members who had completed the Every Other Block of the Month project showed their quilts; several six or nine block wall hangings, a table runner, and a full size bed quilt demonstrated the various talents of our members. A drawing was held for prizes for those who brought their EOBoM projects.

Almost every member present showed one project completed since our last in-person meeting. Many small and large quilts were displayed. Thus we had our own quilt show!

Finally, an outdoor prize drawing was held. Many members won prizes!

The meeting ended at 7:03 p.m.

Respectively submitted,
Lorelle Eberly

Big Red Quilt Guild Meeting August 17, 2020

Betsy Muir, president, opened the meeting via Zoom at 7:00 p.m. Seven board members were present at Tiara Yachts to assist with the quilts displayed for the program and 28 members were present on Zoom.

Betsy announced we will be using Facebook for our next three monthly meetings—September 21, October 19, and November 16. This will allow members who are not able to view these meetings on the third Monday to see them later. Our next meeting program will be Scrappy September.

Kathy Ryzenga is taking charity quilts. If you have quilts to donate, please contact Kathy to make arrangements to get them to her.

Next year’s dues will be $10.00 for the October 2020 to October 2021 year. All members who pay their dues by October 1, 2020, will be eligible for the drawing for the Big Red Quilt Basket loaded with fabrics, thread, patterns, chocolates, teas, and other goodies. Note: The odds for winning this basket are much better than winning the lottery!

Kris Kennedy announced our members have now made enough house blocks to complete the Village quilt. Bridget Morel, Kris, and Betsy will sew the quilt top together and get it off to a long arm quilter.

The Tiled-Background workshop with Barb Bredemeier and Janet Haines is once again being rescheduled.

October 12 the completed Every-Other-Block-of-the-Month quilts will be displayed at Tiara Yachts west parking lot. Bring your lawn chair, a bottle of water, and your EOBM project plus one other project; if you do not have an EOBM project, bring two (2) projects you have made during this pandemic. There will be a drawing for those who bring their finished EOBM, and instead of door prizes, we will have outdoor prizes! Please park in the eastside parking lot as we are using the west lot for our display area.

Nora Slikkers introduced our program presenter, Nancy Roelfsema, from the greater Grand Rapids area.

Nancy has been quilting for more than 30 years, learning how to sew when she was 10 years old. She is the eighth of ten children and learned if she wanted to have new clothing rather than hand-me-downs, she needed to create her own outfits.

Why I Quilt was the title of her presentation, during which she showed 46 quilts, beginning with her Aunt Rachel’s hand-pieced quilt. Her first reason for quilting is for family. She showed a quilt representing the farm house her family moved into when Nancy was eight years old; a quilt made of
fabric made in the Netherlands which she purchased when she and her husband visited members of his family there; quilts made for family babies, for a seven-year-old new family member, and for weddings. She made a T-shirt quilt demonstrating how to use a two-inch grid and Dyna-flow paint. She had a Round-Robin quilt made by her bee members and one made together with her sister Renee.

Her second reason for quilting is for charity. Nancy has traveled to Ukraine and Tanzania on mission trips, taking quilts with her and leaving them there for others.

Her third reason is historical. She displayed a quilt she purchased at an auction, an antique Crazy Quilt dated 1883, a modern-day Crazy Quilt Nancy made featuring various antique pieces such as a jeweled cuff and a sequined bow tie, a glorified nine-patch from the 1930s, a hand-pieced Seven Sisters antique quilt top she would like to have hand quilted, and a quilt featuring 12 Bible stories, identified as made by Grand Rapids church ladies.

Her fourth reason is for teaching. Nancy has taught various classes on You-Tube (On point—TV) for which she makes demonstration blocks which eventually end up in a quilt such as New York Beauty, Rails, and applique design in E-Quilt.

Her fifth reason for quilting is for entering competitive shows. She showed a Lone Star quilt on which she had sown 10,000 beads, a Tranquil Star with beads, the quilt she made for her Learning to Quilt book, and another quilt featured in Learning to Quilt II with fabrics designed by Sue Penn for Free Spirit fabrics.

The sixth reason Nancy quilts is to show off her collection of buttons. One of her quilts had lots of buttons!

Her seventh reason is she finds fabric that speaks to her and then she finds a way to use it in a quilt. She showed her quilt featuring various shoes, some that used African fabrics, a New York beauty with African-inspired fabric, and hand-dyed fabrics.

Her eighth reason is to try new techniques. These quilts used various dying, painting, and gel techniques.

Her ninth reason is for shows. Her Beaded Paradise (a New York Beauty style) and her miniature quilt using paper piecing were good examples here.

Finally, Nancy quilts because she is an artist. She gave tribute to her mother’s artistic talent and showed a small quilt her mother had made for a neighbor, using many different stitching techniques.

Nancy teaches classes at Smith Owens Sewing Center. Her email address is
QuiltingWithNancy@gmail.com.

Betsy thanked Nancy for her presentation. The BRQG meeting ended at 8:15 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,
Lorelle Eberly