President's Message - Late Spring
What is one to say about June, the time of perfect young summer, the fulfillment of the promise of the earlier months, and with as yet no sign to remind one that its fresh young beauty will ever fade – Gertrude Jekyll
I am Summer, come to lure you away from your computer… come dance on my fresh grass, dig your toes into my beaches. ~Oriana Green, @NatureSpirits
My dear quilting friends, on June 21 we will have the Summer solstice – the day the sun is the highest in the sky. I have enjoyed what I could of the late Spring weather, between rainy spells. One of the best days to enjoy the outdoors was the Saturday of Memorial weekend, when Chris and I went hiking at Wolf Trap National Park in Virginia; a perfect late Spring day.
Or was it perfect? I thought so, and so did an adult Ixodes scapularis – commonly known as the Eastern Black-legged tick, a.k.a. the Deer Tick. She thought she had a good deal when she surreptitiously crawled up my leg and attached just below my waist. Mmmm, good rich African blood, she thought. However, when I discovered her engorged body, I expertly removed her, sequestered her in a clean Gerber Baby Food jar and hot-footed it over to my doctor. I took the prophylactic Doxycycline she prescribed like a good kid.
Deer ticks live about two years and go through four life phases: egg, larva, nymph, and adult. They feed exclusively on animal blood and eat only three times during their lives: once to molt from larva to nymph; once from nymph to adult; and once as adults to lay eggs. I feel sorry for any organism that eats only three times in its entire life (I love eating!) and I feel sorry for a creature who is following her God-given instinct to procreate, and finds herself on Death Row. Nevertheless, that evening we sent her off in a rapidly flowing watery grave. Godspeed Ixodes; no stinkin’ Lyme Disease for me!
Meanwhile, the beauty of Nature lures me away from quilting and knitting into the great outdoors and helps me forget how miserable I was in Winter. Hope you are all enjoying the beauty of the season.
See you at Share and Learn on the 18th!
Your President, Rita VanWyk-Due – in good health.
Secretary's Report
York Quilters Guild Meeting Minutes
May 21, 2015
The meeting was called to order by Rita VanWyk-Due, President at 7pm. Rita welcomed everyone and opened the meeting with a quote of the day: “Love is like pi- natural, irrational, and very important.” (by Lisa Hoffman)
Committee announcements:
Membership: We had one new member this evening.
Programs: Cheryl Dawson spoke about upcoming meetings and classes. The June meeting will be another sewing session. You can bring your own projects to work on as well as work on charity quilts. We will have the church from 10am until 9pm and Cheryl is hoping to organize a “pot luck” dinner for around 6pm.
Cheryl will be having a T-shirt Quilt class on June 27. A sign-up sheet is available.
“Walk Down Memory Lane”: Barb Colvin spoke about the numerous Quilt Challenges that the Guild has had through the years. There have been 28 challenges including the current one. She mentioned that the challenges are good for us because they encourage us to get out of our comfort zone and stretch us to use our imaginations. When you look back over the challenges, you can see the trends over the years. (Jelly rolls were starting to be popular at a particular time, there was a black and white challenge, and challenges using only scraps or orphan squares when recycling became popular)
Show and Tell: Many members showed off their “Sourdough Quilting” squares after taking Rita’s workshop in May. Other talented members showed quilts that they have completed and a chenille pillow from another previous workshop.
Program: Rita VanWyk-Due introduced Dr. Theta Grimaud who has a Clinical Doctorate in Occupational Therapy, to discuss ergonomics related to sewing. The definition of ergonomics is suiting the work environment to the worker. Dr. Grimaud suggested numerous stretches for the neck, shoulders, hands, arms, and wrists and suggested to take a 30 second stretch break every 30 minutes that you are sewing. She also stressed the importance of staying hydrated and to “breathe” while you are sewing. She recommended heights for tables: 29” for sitting and 32”-34” for standing height. Good lighting is also a necessity. The program was well-received and members came away with lots of good information to try in order to eliminate fatigue, aches, and pains during future sewing sessions.
Members were asked to bring to the program any items that helped them solve any physical challenges related to sewing. Tables were set up to display the items.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:45 pm.
Respectfully submitted ,
Anne King, recording secretary
YQG Trivia
May 15, 1997 our meeting was “Working with Stripes”. Past President and former member Bobbe Benvin
showed us the ins and outs of working with stripes. We were to photocopy a printed page of striped fabric,
make several plastic templates, bring scissors, pencil, glue stick and plain typing paper.
We used the templates to cut shapes from the striped paper, making 8 pointed stars and other combination.
I guess it was the beginning of the stack and wack idea. Lots of fun and I still have my practice papers.
Barbara Colvin
Sunshine and Shadows
If a fellow quilter is ill, has surgery, a birth or death in the family, or could just use a note of cheer, please let me know. You can reach me at LSWri@aol.com or 717-428-2893 Thank you.
In May a speedy recovery card was sent to Karen Kay Buckley.
Linda Wright
Quilting Humor
Classified Ads
He'll Never Find It!
What is one to say about June, the time of perfect young summer, the fulfillment of the promise of the earlier months, and with as yet no sign to remind one that its fresh young beauty will ever fade – Gertrude Jekyll
