MAY 2026 MEETING MINUTES

Kerry Bevers, President, called the meeting to order at 06:31 PM with 28 members and 1 guest in attendance.

Program:  Kelly Spell, abstract quilt artist, presented on Showing Your Work. She covered why you should show your work, a few constraints, where to exhibit, how to find shows, and best practices for submitting. In 2025, Kelly achieved a 44% acceptance rate from invitations to participate based on her submissions. She spent funds on submission and shipping fees, and received income from sales and prizes. 

 

Show your work to connect with viewers and other artists, to build confidence, and to demonstrate quilts as an artform to a wide audience. 

 

Constraints include time; show dates; the size and age of your body of work; submission and shipping costs; the show’s narrow scope or definition of quilts; photography; and wear and tear on quilts. Consider your priorities in shows, such as those that publish catalogs, have award money, have sales, a show that is a specific type of venue, a show you admire, or those that minimize wear and tear on your quilt. Shipping insurance would cost extra and may require an appraisal as proof.

 

Work can be shown at local venues, such as art centers, community centers, medical centers, libraries, and coffee shops. Regional venues may include guild shows, state fairs, and airports. Local and regional venues may be free or more reasonably priced to show. There are national and international venues, such as AQS QuiltWeek and other AQS shows, which also may have appraisers there. Kelly finds value in appraisals and recommends them. Other shows include Mancuso QuiltFest, International Quilt Festival in Houston, SAQA Global Exhibitions, Quilts=Art=Quilts (New York), Art Quilt Elements (Wayne, PA), Quilt National (Ohio), and QuiltCon. Find calls for quilts in email newsletters from local and regional arts organizations, callforentry.org(CaFÉ), saqa.com (Studio Art Quilt Associates), and announcements by quilters you admire. 

 

Best practices for photos include a neutral background with no distractions, light from different angles, ensuring the camera is level and square to the quilt. The artist statement hangs with the quilt and should set the mood for the viewer, avoiding jargon, and carefully edited before submitting. Submission guidelines must be read carefully. Avoid double booking. When shipping, roll or fold quilt with the right side facing out to prevent creases, wrapping with paper and then plastic to protect from liquid.

 

 

Business / Announcements: 

●      The next monthly meeting is June 23 and the program is “Color Theory with Ester.” 

●      The next Sew Day is June 20 with continuation of postcards or other projects.

●      Rick encouraged quilt submissions to QuiltCon; please contact him for more info.

 

Committee Updates:

●      Swaps/Challenges: this month’s theme for the Midnight Garden 2026 quilt challenge is furry and feathered friends with Phoebe displaying 2 blocks of adorable animals. For June, focus on “what is lighting up your sky” including the moon and stars.

●      The fabric postcard swap in celebration of America’s 250th birthday is due by the end of June for delivery by July.

●      Charity quilts, Molly has fabric, backing, and batting, and kits that include all of the necessary components. Molly shared that the Goose Creek recreation desk has an art exhibit for quilt submissions, if interested. The airport authority is expanding Terminal C and Molly will get more info to see if they might display our quilts.

●      Directory: Kim requested new members be available for photos.

 

Members shared their quilts at Show and Tell.

The meeting adjourned at 7:47 PM.

Events & Dates to remember - Check the “2026 Calendar” in the right hand column. 

Next meeting - June 23

Sew Day at Five Eighth Seams - June 20

QuiltCon 2027 Atlanta registration - August 19

Camp Quilt Along - August 27-30, 2026

APRIL 2026 MEETING MINUTES

Kerry Bevers, President, called the meeting to order at 06:32 PM with 31 members and 3 guests in attendance.

Program:  Lynn Crymes presented a refresher course on “What is Modern?” The presentation covered the history, characteristics, and examples of modern quilting. Lynn shared the following, source unknown: “Modern quilts are utilitarian art. They tell stories. They are graphic, improvisational, or minimalist. They break the rules. They make a statement. Modern quilts are creative expressions made with needle and thread, fabric, and time, expressing today’s aesthetic through a generations-old traditional craft.”

Modern quilting started in 1998 and was advanced by technologies, then instructional books in 2005, and propelled by social media. The Modern Quilt Guild (MQG) formed in 2009 and held the first MQG QuiltCon in Austin in 2013 with 1350 attending. Currently, MQG has 18,000+ members with 29,000+ attendees at the Feb 2026 conference in Raleigh. Characteristics that help define modern quilting include bold use of color; high contrast; graphic areas of color; minimalism; maximalism; improvisational piecing; use of negative space; alternate grid work; modern traditional; social commentary; and use of recycled/upcycled materials. Our Chas MQG will reinstitute the use of a “modern quilt characteristics” checklist for Show and Tell for members to complete and share when describing their quilts. 

 

Business / Announcements: 

●      Rick Sanchez announced that he is leading an effort to encourage and support members who want to enter a quilt into QuiltCon next year. Contact Rick if interested in contributing to this effort.

 

Committee Updates:

●      Swaps/Challenges: Members swapped large flower blocks supporting the 2026 guild block swap challenge. It was a lively swap and we will continue to build our quilts each month and conduct another block swap in the fall. 

●      Elaine Woodward initiated a fabric postcard swap in celebration of America’s 250th birthday. Elaine provided a detailed handout. Each participant makes a postcard and mails it to a fellow member, thus all are senders and recipients. Members signed up for the swap and the cards are due by the end of June for delivery by July. Note that extra postage is due if >1 ounce. Demos will be conducted at the May 16 Sew Day. 

 

Members shared their quilts at Show and Tell. Kate Weston and Molly Piepenburg showed several quilts they made for foster kids. Molly reported that more quilts are needed for 12-23 years old and she has a large fabric stash that can be used for charity quilts. Contact Molly to coordinate delivery of the fabric and/or batting to support our foster children donations.

The meeting adjourned at 7:55 PM.

Events & Dates to remember - Check the “2026 Calendar” in the right hand column. 

Next meeting - May 26

Sew Day at Five Eighth Seams - May 16

Camp Quilt Along - August 27-30, 2026

MARCH 2026 MEETING MINUTES

Kerry Bevers, President, called the meeting to order at 06:30 PM with 29 members in attendance.

Program:  Gina Pantastico, Director of Operations for Cloud9 Fabrics presented the company’s April through October future fabric collections. She shared many fabric cards and fabric samples of current collections. Gina said that Cloud9 Fabrics is the “premier source for sustainable fabrics.” She and her partner, Michelle Engel, founded the business 10+ years ago with a nursery collection. She explained the design and production cycle, generating the fabric cards 8 months in advance of production followed by three strikeoffs, then header cards with fabric samples, and finally, bulk production. All of Cloud9’s fabric is sourced from South Korea with the exception of knits from Turkey. They are pleased to have licenses for Frank Lloyd Wright, Good Night Moon, and Vera Neumann based on her silk scarves. 

Budget: Phoebe Harrell presented the 2025 actuals and 2026 budget for approval. Last year began with $4471.13 and ended with a balance of $8161.47. National dues will be $1016 this year. This year is projected to end with a balance of $7369.47. A motion was made to approve the 2026 budget as presented, followed by a second to the motion, then the membership unanimously approved the 2026 budget.

Business / Announcements:

●      The calendar was reviewed: 

o      The next monthly meeting is April 28 with a presentation by Lynn Crymes titled “What is Modern?”

o      The next Sew Day is April 18 with an intro to Foundation Paper Piecing by Phoebe Harrell.

●      The Greenville MQG has extended an invitation to attend their Magic Triangle Table Topper Workshop with Christina Camelli via Zoom on April 25. Cost is $50 and enrollment closes April 18. For more info and registration go to http://www.greenvillemodernquiltguild.com

Committee Updates:

●         Programs: Coordinator Connie Zafiris reviewed the list of upcoming programs; Kelly Spell presents a Zoom session in May on “Show Your Quilt” to encourage and support members to submit quilts for QuiltCon 2027. 

●      Swaps/Challenges: A reminder of next month’s block swap for our 2026 guild challenge to sew a quilt with #midnightgardenquilt and #nightgardenquilt as examples. If planning to swap blocks with others, use a dark background for uniformity. 

 

Members shared their quilts at Show and Tell. 

The meeting adjourned at 7:45 PM.

Events & Dates to remember - Check the “2026 Calendar” in the right hand column. 

Next meeting - April 28

Sew Day at Five Eighth Seams - April 18

Camp Quilt Along - August 27-30, 2026