Nominations for 2006 Elections

The Nominating Committee is pleased to announce
that the following members have been nominated for the offices below:

Note: The Secretary and Assistant Coordinator are to be elected in odd numbered years. If vacant positions are not filled by election, the Coordinator with the approval of the board of directors may appoint members to fill those positions.

Voting/ratification will take place at the November meeting. Members must be present in order to vote.

Block of the Month
Renea Bailey, Chair

The theme for the 2006 Block of the Month is the latest craze in quilting - Postcard Quilts! They are quick, uncomplicated blocks, so no UFOs will be sitting around to be quilted. You can complete several postcard quilts in no time flat! Each month I will make a postcard quilt and post it so that you can create a similar postcard. Or, let your creativity flow and create a postcard based on the theme for each month. Have fun, and bring your postcard quilts in for show and tell.

November's postcard theme: Bountiful Harvest / Happy Thanksgiving		Renea's interpretation: "Happy Thanksgiving"

A MUST READ!!!!  The 2006 Block of the Month will soon come to an end. To challenge you to complete all 12 postcard quilts by the December guild meeting, there will be three surprise gifts given. To participate, you must have completed all 12 theme postcards listed below. All postcards will be posted on a special wall for all to see. Your name will be placed in a container and three names will be pulled for the three surprise gifts.

Book and Magazine Sale
Sara Vogt-Knox

Someone gave me a number of quilt-related books and magazines, and I will be selling them at the November meeting. 

Books will sell for $3 and magazines will sell for 25 cents. If you have any to contribute, please bring them to the meeting. All proceeds will go to the Uhuru Guild treasury.

If you have any questions, please give me a call. Thanks

African Symbols Get Stamp of Approval

Donnette Cooper recently taught the art of adinkra stamping and pattern making at the Anacostia Art Gallery & Boutique in Southeast Washington, D.C. Adinkra is a form of pattern making in which concentric symbols combine to create messages that the textile wearer wishes to communicate. The recently held workshop demonstrated how adinkra symbols are used in clothing not only to signify royalty and privilege, but also as a system of communication in African societies, both past and present.

During the workshop, participants were instructed on making the adinkra symbols from wood, and foam, finally applying the symbols to cloth with ink and dye.

Learning adinkra pattern making is an important tool for Afro-centric teaching. Ms. Cooper said, "I think that adinkra symbols symbolize that we had writing, language much earlier than a lot of European cultures give us credit for." She argued that, like hieroglyphics in Egypt, other countries in Africa had complex forms of writing and communication not understood by Europeans. According to Ms. Cooper, this tradition must be recognized.

Hospitality
Renea Bailey, Chair

Anyone attending the November meeting, would you please contribute very light refreshments, i.e. beverage, fruit, veggies and dip or cookies. When the refreshment period begins, please put away all quilts and materials. This will prevent any damage to your valuable items. The refreshment period is only for 45 minutes. Upon completion of this period, trash bags will be circulated so you can dispose of unfinished food and drinks before we open Show N Tell or continue a workshop.

When you bring food, please assist me in the cleanup after refreshments have been served. We want to ensure that the room is back to its original order before leaving the Center.
 
Thank you in advance for your participation and cooperation.

Sew Help Me. . .
Tips to boost your creativity

This month I'll share a few tips useful for making our postcard quilts:

(1) Do you want to fuse small odd-shaped pieces to your postcard foundation, and you don't want to prepare a large piece of fabric to cut them from or waste a lot of fusible web? If you don't have any "release" paper, this is easily done by placing the small pieces face down onto a scrap of fabric. Then cut out pieces of web big enough to cover the odd-shaped pieces, place them on top, cover with a pressing cloth (to avoid accidental damage to your iron) and fuse. If you are fussy-cutting and need to see the front, you can peel off the scrap immediately and cut out the pieces.

(2) When making a free-form applique or tracing a picture, I like to draw my patterns directly onto the smooth side (back) of fusible web, then fuse it onto the backside of my fabric. When done, I just cut the small pieces out as I normally would. Note: the pattern will be reversed.

(3) Children's coloring books (do they make them for adults???) are a good source for applique patterns. Some of the dollar stores used to have a pretty good selection.

(4) Search the web for free clipart. If you have a graphics software such as Photoshop or Paint Shop Pro, they can be resized, rotated, combined with other elements, or otherwise manipulated to create your desired image.

Just Sew You Know

… and a bountiful Birthday grin at Carolyn Campbell-Flowe (4th); Shirley Hodge (10th); Patricia King (14th); and Brenda McKelvin (20th)

Kudos

Winifred Wallace won a Husqvarna Viking Scandinavia 200 computerized machine (one of the two grand prize winners) on Saturday, September 30th at the Original Sewing and Quilting Expo, Chantilly, VA. To have a winning quilt in the "Challenge" and then to win a sewing machine -- too much!!

Charlene Marshall won the raffle quilt, "A Quilter's Neighborhood," at the NeedleChasers Quilt Show in Chevy Chase, Maryland, last month. It is a beautiful quilt designed by Deborah Lamb Mechanic. Charlene has generously offered to bring the quilt to our November meeting. The quilt is pictured on pg. 19 of the NQA Quilting Quarterly, Fall 2006 issue. We look forward to seeing it "live!"