Monthly Meetings:

The Ladybug Guild meets at 7:00pm on the 2nd Monday of each month in the all-purpose room at the Newark Senior Center in Newark, Delaware. Meetings include a review of Guild business, updates from Committee Chairs, member show and tell, invited guest speakers, fat quarter raffles, door prizes and more.

The Ladybug Guild follows the same weather closure policy as the Newark Senior Center and announcements regarding the closure of the Center can be heard on most local radio stations.

Directions to the Newark Senior Center:
Going South on I-95:
Take Exit 3 (Route 273 West – Newark). Follow Rt. 273 for approximately 3.5 miles (past MBNA, Avon, & FMC). At the 9th traffic light, you will see a Shell Gas Station on your left and a red “84 Lumber” sign on your right. Turn left at this light, onto Marrows Road (note: there is no street sign at this corner). Go 0 .7 miles and turn right at the third stoplight onto White Chapel Drive. Go .1 mile and the Newark Senior Center will be on the right.

Going North on I-95 and from Route 4:
Take Exit 1 and follow signs for 896 North. Go 1 mile on 896 North to the 3rd traffic light (Route 4). Turn right onto Route 4 – East. Go 1.4 miles to the light at Marrows Road (there is an Exxon station on one corner and a Dairy Queen on the other) and turn left onto Marrows Road. Go 0.8 mile to the light at White Chapel Drive (see signs for “Gardens at White Chapel” and a green DelDot sign that says “Newark Senior Center”). Turn left onto White Chapel Drive. Go 0.1 mile, the Newark Senior Center will be on your right.

Upcoming Programs:

2008

January 14th  - UFO Swap, Flea Market
This is our Flea Market night for those who want to do some down sizing of their stash.  Let us know how much table space you need to sell your goodies!

ALSO a new twist to those UFO’s that we never seem to get bac to OR we look at and say “what was I thinking?”  Bring one that you want to “swap” to the meeting and we will have a “swap meet”.  If this isn’t your thing – bring a project to work on while you socialize.

February 11th - Joyce Hoopes – Demonstrations by rotation
Demonstrations for all to rotate through.  Joyce Hoopes is planning this event.  Stay tuned for more information.

March 10th - Loretta Hayes, Threads and Embellishments
Frank Klemens has arranged for Loretta Hayes to speak to us from Hayes Sewing Machine on Route 202.  Her subject will be an update on threads and the use of embellishments.

April_14th - Cyndi Souder of Annandale VA had to cancel last year because of her commissioned quilt she had to deliver to London.  She will be conducting a workshop in machine appliqué called “Circle of Leaves”.  Cyndi will show us two quick appliqué techniques and how to perfect the machine blind stitch.

Cyndi’s lecture will be “Lessons Learned.”  She will give us a trunk show using her quilts to illustrate the different lessons like “respecting the bias, knowing when scrappy is too scrappy” as well as other examples.  Her web site is Moonlightingquilts.com.

May 12th – To be announced

June_9th - Karen Kay Buckley will be with us and her workshop will be “Ocean Sunrise” a wall quilt that is paper pieced and machine appliquéd.  Check her web site karenkaybuckley.com for a picture and description. 

Karen’s lecture will be “A Walk Through History”

July 14th – Summer social and picnic

August 11 – Hospice Tree

September - Pat Sloan
Pat Sloan will do a workshop at Quilter’s Hive on the Kirkwood Highway.  It will be a hand appliquéd welcome basket.  Check her web site www.QuiltersHome.com for a picture and description of the class.

Pat's lecture will be “From Then to Now”
“I feel that real quilts are such a joy to share,” says Pat Sloan about her lecture presentation.  She shows more than 60 real quilts that she has made over the years.  Pat uses her quilts as examples to explain how her designs have changed and progressed.  She discusses her creative process and what inspires her to come up with quilt and fabric designs.  In addition, Pat talks about her creative techniques and how the audience can use them to spark their own new creative flow.  Join Pat for this fun and light-hearted look at how she has progressed through her quilting career.  After the lecture, the audience is encouraged to examine the quilts close-up and chat with Pat about quilt and fabric design.  Please visit her web site at www.QuiltersHome.com.

October 13th – To be announced

November 10th – To be announced

December 8th – Holiday Social and Banquet

Please try to hold on to this information! We will list it in the newsletter as well! Also check the Ladybug Guild Website!

 

Quilting Bees:
Bees are small groups of quilters who meet regularly in member's homes to share their quilting successes and challenges. Some bees may become involved in special projects, trips or demonstrations; others simply enjoy each other’s company while sewing. Talking is always encouraged! The bees give Ladybug members a chance to get to know one another in a smaller group setting. If you would like to join a bee, please visit with Sue Norfleet at the next meeting.

Quilt In A Box:
Groups of twelve may participate in a Quilt- In-A-Box group. Each person in the group picks their own fabrics (instructions about types of fabric to choose and how much is needed are provided). After selecting and pre-washing the fabrics, you put them into a box with you name. Each month you trade boxes with others in your group and take home someone else's fabric. During the month you make a machine or hand pieced block or an appliqued block. You will make the same block each month until you have made one for each member of your group. At the end of the year, a get- together is planned and members of the group exchange the blocks they have made for each other. Each participant ends up with twelve blocks made from her choice of fabric.... Enough for a nice sampler... The swap is an excellent opportunity to get experience in making blocks with fabric you maybe wouldn't chose yourself. It also shows how the same block and look SO different when made from various fabrics and fabric placement.

DuPont Quilt Display:
Interested in sharing your quilting with others? Consider displaying your quilt at the Capital Management Office of the DuPont Company. The office is located on Route 202, Bldg #1, 3rd Floor (pink buildings across from Borders). Quilts hang behind a Plexiglass cover located next to the receptionist’s desk. Any size quilt up to 65” wide and 70” long will fit the space. This is a nice way to expose people to the art of quilting, so please volunteer your quilt to share with others. For more information email Jeanne Haley at Jeanne.haley@comcast.net.

Service Projects:

Delaware Hospice - Every year Delaware Hospice asks organizations to design and decorate a Christmas tree that they then auction off. The Ladybugs have a volunteer that works with the Delaware Hospice to design an ornament. At the August meeting, members participate in making the ornaments for the tree.

Save Our Stories - Save Our Stories, (Quilter’s SOS) is a project that is a joint effort between the Alliance for American Quilts and the Center for American Cultural Studies at the University of Delaware. The Ladybugs are helping to record and document tales of quilters. After training, volunteer quilters interview other quilters of all ages and skill levels. The interview centers on a "touchstone object," usually a quilt made by the interviewee. The topics in the interview are wide-ranging, from "how did you choose these colors" to "what makes a great quilt." The interview is tape recorded, and a digital photo of the quilt is taken. After the interview is transcribed and checked, it and the photos are posted to the QSOS site. Some Ladybug members' interviews are already there. And there are more to come!