March 2026 Newsletter

OUR NEXT MEETING:

TUESDAY MARCH 24 AT 6:30pm at St Catharine Catholic

Church, 500 S Gould Rd, Bexley

Remember to bring back your completed blocks for the Raffle Quilt. And please bring cash to participate in the 50/50 Raffle.

MARCH MEETING:

Just a reminder that the bylaws update will be voted on this month. We will be voting by item with paper ballots to ensure accuracy and privacy.

Our speaker will be Stacey Coffee, Textile Artist - Collage Enthusiast

Here is a little about Stacey:

I’ve had an emotional attachment to fabric for as long as I can remember, but never fell in love with traditional quilting. Once I’ve pieced together enough blocks to see what the completed project will look like... I lose all interest.

For me, the art of textile collage is an ever-evolving journey, full of exploration and creativity

right up until the final stitch—and that’s exactly what I’d love to share with you.

I'll introduce you to a variety of techniques that will empower you to create your own one-of-a-kind textile art. Along the way, you'll connect with like-minded creatives, find a lasting sense of community in my private Facebook group, Stacey's Fiber Cafe', and continue to learn long after the class is over. www.staceycoffee.art

Workshop Wednesday March 25, 2026 10-2:30 Pataskala Library

Fee: $40 plus a kit fee

Member Registration

GUILD FUNDRAISER WORKSHOPS:

Robin Ruth workshop

May 23,2026 Pataskala Library 10-3

Melanie Dodd

Accuquilt workshop June 20, 2026 Pataskala library 10-3

Catie Gynn and Melanie Dodd

RAFFLE QUILT:

Please return all blocks for the raffle quilt at our March guild meeting. Thank you all for making blocks, and we can’t wait to see them! We are excited to present our completed raffle quilt at the AQS quilt show in Sept. AQS is asking for volunteers from the local quilt community to help during the show with set-up and take down, as well as help during the show. It is a requirement that we volunteer to help as we are able. An interest survey will be loaded to our website after our March guild meeting. Please review this interest survey, complete and return to the raffle quilt committee.

Thank you for your help.

MONTHLY FQ RAFFLE:

Black & White Prints

You will receive a raffle ticket for each FQ that you donate!

BIRTHDAY FQ RAFFLE:

Please bring your March FQ’s to the swap table, as well as any remaining FQ’s for birthdays in January and February if you still need to turn them in. Also, be sure to label your FQ’s, including both the recipient’s name and your name, so they know who they are from! If you still need to pick up your packet with labels, they will be at the swap table. If you have any questions, please contact Betsy Zimmerman.

TREASURER’S UPDATE:

Retreat deposits are in the bank account, raising the balance (as of March 14th) to $15,999.70. If you need reimbursed for an expense, please complete the expense form on the guild website and email it to Betsy at elizabeth.truex@gmail.com

MEMBERSHIP:

The membership list on the website will be updated to reflect 2026 members as of the March

meeting. If you see something inaccurate in the list, please contact Valerie at vsrake@gmail.com.

APRIL MEETING:

Our April speaker will be guild member Judy Sagara. She’s going to do a Bargello workshop on Saturday, May 16th at the Pataskala library 10-4.

Here is her bio for your reading pleasure:

Judy Sagara often says she was doomed from birth. Her mother was a 4-H kid and a home

economics major in college. Her maternal grandmother was a professional seamstress, working at some of the high-end clothing stores in Detroit. She also made bespoke clothes for select clients and was a 4-H leader. Her paternal grandmother made clothes, crocheted, and quilted.

Judy was destined to immerse herself in the needle arts!

She remembers cross stitching her first pillowcase at 4 or 5. She started sewing as soon as she could reach the pedal, she learned to knit and crochet at around the age of 8. She made many of her own clothes growing up and gave numerous sweaters and afghans as gifts. Judy doesn’t remember exactly when she decided to try quilting, but as she does with most things, she dove in headfirst.

She was inspired by Japanese print fabrics, and bought enough for about 6 quilts. She read books and designed the first few quilts herself, then decided it might be helpful to take some classes. Judy recognized that her cheap little Singer wasn’t the right machine for the direction she was headed, so she wandered into Quilt Beginnings on Main Street and bought her first PFAFF. Judy has worked and taught at Quilt Beginnings for more than 20 years at this point.

Judy figures she makes 20 or more quilts a year, including shop samples for the classes she teaches. She also makes birthday quilts for her 2 grandchildren, 1 bonus granddaughter, and 4 great nephews and nieces. She tries to squeeze in a couple for herself each year.

Her favorite pattern designer is Elizabeth Hartman. She has made somewhere around 30 of her quilts. Judy has about a half dozen of her quilts on her kit shelf. Her favorite fabric designer is Tula Pink. She has made many of Tula’s quilts including Queen of Diamonds EPP, and has around a dozen Tula kits on her shelf yet to make.

Judy began entering quilts in the Franklin County Fair only because her friends Marty Rigo and Kathy Zaebst were in charge of the quilt competition and turned to their quilting friends to increase the number of entries. Judy was skeptical, but entered two quilts, and both won ribbons. She continues to enter and win. She has three Peoples Choice awards and is most proud of her Judges Choice award.

OUT OF TOWN RETREATS:

The Spring Retreat will be April 30 - May 3,2026 - Berlin Inn and Resort, Millersburg, Ohio

Spring retreat sign ups began at the February meeting.

BRING YOUR CHECKBOOK IN ORDER TO SAVE ON CREDIT CARD FEES!

You must be a paid member to sign up for the retreat by the date of the February meeting.

A note from Sam and Monique:

Sorry for the delay in publishing this 2026 out of town retreat information. We were still working on the Spring retreat and plans were fluid until last Friday.

We looked at moving the Spring retreat to the Comfort Suites just outside of Parkersburg with a class provided by Brian, The Redneck Quilter from Bolts and Quarters. Monique and I visited the hotel and went to meet Brian last week. The hotel has been under construction for

awhile. The renovations are very nice. The conference room would meet our needs. And the

room rates are $80.00/night plus tax. Conference room is $500.00 for the 4 days. The hotel

staff was really excited to have us come. Brain, from Bolts and Quarters was willing to do a

class for us. However, management could not guarantee that the renovations would be com-

plete or that new tables for the conference room would be available. At the current time they

have round tables and very old 6 foot tables. There is also no refrigerator available for confer-

ence room use. After much discussion and also looking at other hotels in the area, we decided that it would be too risky to schedule the retreat at the Parkersburg Comfort Suites for Spring of 2026.

Out of town retreat schedule for 2026:

To remind everyone the hotel room fees are increasing by approximately $52.00 per night and the sewing rooms for all hotels have increased $300.00 -$500.00, dependent on number of room nights we book. (We have done everything we can do to keep these costs down. If we do not have enough attendees to break even, the retreat will be cancelled per bylaw requirements.)

We have contracts for the following dates.

• Spring 2026: April 30 - May 3, 2026 - Berlin Inn and Resort, Millersburg, Ohio

• Fall 2026: August 27 - August 30, 2026 - Comfort Suites, Berlin, Ohio

• Spring 2027: April 29 - May 3, 2027 - Comfort Suites, Berlin, Ohio *Tentative - location may change to Comfort Suites Parkersburg, West Virginia . If scheduled here, the cost of the retreat will be adjusted.

• Fall: 2027: September 9 -12, 2027 - Comfort Suites, Berlin, Ohio

Registration costs:

2 nights - double occupancy: $220.00

3 nights - double occupancy: $310.00

2 nights - single occupancy: $390.00

3 nights - single 0ccupancy: $550.00

Timelines that committee is required to meet under the new contracts: (Again, please note that if we do not have between 36-42 attendees the retreat will be cancelled or the registration fees would need a slight increase. Per the Guild By-laws the retreat is required to break even, which includes the $300.00 deposit for the following year dates.)

Online Registration for Spring Retreat opens: February 24, 2026

Registration closes: March 14, 2026

List of attendees to hotel: March 27,2026

Payment is due to hotel: April 16,2026

If you have any questions please contact Monique Muncy (937) 367-6846 or Sam Chapman (614) 595-2023.

IN TOWN RETREAT:

Spring In Town Retreat - April 17th to 19th

Canal Winchester Community Center

45 E Waterloo St

Canal Winchester OH

• Friday night 6:30-10pm

• Saturday 9am-9pm

• Sunday 9am-3pm

Bring dinner Friday Night

Pizza Provided Saturday Night

Potluck for Breakfast/Lunch Sat and Sunday

Space is limited to 30 at this event.

Cost $45

We still have 6 spots left. If we can’t fill it, we may have to cancel or not do the pizza dinner.

QUILT SHOW:

The Raffle Quilt committee, (Cheryl Nash lead), has agreed to plan our fall quilt show at our October guild meeting. More details will be shared soon. It’s time to start planning your entries! Anyone who is interested in helping the planning committee please contact Cheryl Nash.

CHARITY QUILTS:

Our new project for this year is I Spy quilts. Children can look for specific objects, colors, numbers, etc to build language skills. We will primarily use 5.5 inch blocks of novelty prints, in a 6 x 7 block format. Add a border, 3-4 inches. Final quilt top size goal is less than 42 inches on the short side, to eliminate the need to piece a back. OK to add non-novelty blocks as fillers. Alternatively, you can also use 5-6 inch blocks if you have precuts. I have a good stash of precut squares (thank you Melanie M., Lisa S., and several others who cut FQ or this project) We will assemble kits with 42 squares to distribute. Add your own border from your stash or scraps. Can be 4 different fabrics, because these quilts are colorful.

Contact Jennifer Thurmond Wwaterjen@yahoo.com with questions.

SUNSHINE COMMITTEE:

If you become aware of any guild member who is ill, facing surgery, or has had a death in the

family, please let Karen Beckley know. Email: karensew@aol.com or text to 614-264-6566, so that a card can be sent out on behalf of all of us.

Also, if you know of any reason to celebrate or receive a pat on the back such as graduation,

promotion, or award, we would like to publish it in an upcoming newsletter. Please contact Karen with any celebrations.

Please leave your name and contact info so you can be contacted with any questions