September 2017 Helping Hands Newsletter 1

Helping Hands Newsletter

http://www.helpinghandsquiltguild.com/

September 2017 • Dover, Delaware

President’s Message Sue Hoecker

Vice President’s Message Mary Dawn Ditty

September Program

Our speaker this month will be Sandi

Blackwell who created the term,

Square-agonal. She is from West Va.

where she sells her quilts and is deeply

involved in the quilting communities of

the state. Sandi teaches often, has

published 4 books as well as patterns,

teaches on Craftsy, etc.

Sandi’s program will be a “Square-agonals Trunk Show.” Continued on pg 2

Mark October 23 on your calendar for our annual Auction. Bins

available in back of room for you to contribute your items. I’ve

been hearing a lot of great ideas for theme baskets…start

planning for yours now. You will be hearing from our Committee

regarding needs. Always a fun night.

Christmas Dinner Committee has been meeting and planning

details for a great evening of fellowship for all of us on

December 5th. Look for article in this newsletter.

Raffle Quilt 2018 is nearing completion. Lucinda Mercier is

chairing this project. Thank you to everyone who came to the

sewing workshops to work on this…your efforts are appreciated.

Food Bank at First Baptist – See article in this newsletter.

Thank you to Geri Headley for leading this effort. Many food

bags have been made by members and food items needed are

listed in a separate article in this newsletter. The end of year

holidays present significant needs for food banks. This is one

small way we can give back to the church and food bank where we

meet.

Ann Fischer has some exciting news to share from “Quilting For

Others”. Thirty-one quilts were assembled and sent to Houston

for flood victims. Great job, ladies! Always makes you feel good

to help others.

Membership for 2018 begins at our September meeting. $25

pays your dues for an entire year of meetings, workshops, and

special discounts to quilt shops. The value of sharing with a

group of people with like interests is immeasurable. See Kate’s

article in this newsletter.

I look forward to seeing you all September 25th! Say hello to

someone you haven’t met before and let them know they are

welcome.

Sue Hoecker My Soul is Fed by Needle and Thread

Please join us every 4th Monday of the month at 6:30 pm.

First Baptist Church of Dover, located at 301 Walker Rd.

Our membership fee is $25.00 per year.

Quilts of Valor night was a special evening. It was a very

meaningful ceremony, and wonderful to welcome so many guests.

Also enjoyed ourpicnic of fried chicken and all the side dishes.

Thanks go out to Peg Gilson and Betty Rigo for coordinating the

QOV effort, Mary Kokoszka for the ceremony, and to Robin

Aschenberg for coordinating the food. And, to each of you who

brought a special dish to share. A good time was had by all.

The Quilts of Valor free workshop was held the following day

with a full house of sewers, pressers, cutters and much donated

fabric. At the end of the day we had enough blocks for two

more quilts, with a third in the works! Great job Peg and Betty.

I hope each of you will take the simple pattern and contribute

to this worthy effort. This is your chance to be a part of this

great project.

September meeting holds the “big reveal” of our Block of the

Month “Lucky 13” Quilts. Hope you are finishing yours to be

part of the fun. Sandi Blackwell, pattern designer, will be our

speaker for the evening, with a workshop on Tuesday. Look for

details in this newsletter.

UFO #5 is due at September meeting. I personally want to

thank Kate Ruper for this project…it has really kept me on

track.

Raffle Quilt continues to travel to many venues. Barbara

Austin is doing an exceptional job promoting it. There are still

several slots open for you to serve at a venue …it’s so much fun

meeting people and sharing the love of quilting. Don’t forget to

pick up your tickets at the back table if you haven’t already

done so.

Our first annual Retreat was a great success. Thank you

to Mary Kokoszka and her Committee. A relaxing time for us all

to share free time sewing and fellowship. Thank you to Mary

Dawn Ditty and Lisa Stallings for your leadership in our evening

activities. Don’t want to miss next year’s retreat. Date has been

set. Start planning for it now.

Refreshments Robin Aschenberg

Hello Ladies of Helping Hands.

The letters of the alphabet responsible for refreshments this

month are "O -Z. If you are responsible for refreshments and are not going to

attend that month, it would help if you contact another member

to take refreshments for you.

Thanks, your refreshment chair, Robin Aschenberg Any questions? Please feel free to call or e-mail me at:

302-670-2535, and robinaschenberg@comcast.net.

September 2017 Helping Hands Newsletter 2

Helping Hands Website: PLEASE REFER TO THE HELPING HANDS

WEBSITE http://www.helpinghandsquiltguild.com/ FOR CHANGES AND DETAILS ON OUR MEETINGS

AND PROGRAMS.

Vice President’s Message continued from pg 1

Membership Kate Ruper

Quilt of Valor Workshop

Our QOV Award Ceremony in August was so

inspiring that we want to get a start on quilts

for our 2018 awards. Fourteen members came

to work on QOV. Hard work was accomplished

by all! Enough blocks were made to assemble

two more quilts.

Those who helped were: Peg Gilson, Betty Rigo,

Sara Short, Tracy Vaughn, Rose Ann Battista, Sue Hoecker,

Geri Cohens-Headley, Joyce Sinclair, Beth Flaherty, Nancy

Thomson, Trish Audy, Barbara Austin, Marie Austin, Judy

Field, and Mary Dawn Ditty. See pictures of our product.

2017 QOV recipients

Reminder for Membership: HHQG Christmas Dinner The second HHQG Christmas holiday celebration will be

held December 5, 2017, at Wyoming United Methodist Church.

The doors will open at 5:30PM and dinner will be served

at 6PM. Tickets will go on sale at Guild meetings and will be

$18 per person.

THERE WILL BE NO SALES AT THE DOOR. The program

will have a short period of Show and Tell for members' quilts.

Due to time constraints, we request that you bring ONE quilt

for showing. POC: Nancy Roberts 302-538-5594

Sign up for September workshop:

Spiral Out by Sandi Blackwell

Tuesday, September 26

from 9-3 at Wyoming Methodist

$40 for members

Email Mary Dawn Ditty

maryditty@gmail.com

Sign up for October workshop:

Wooly Tree workshop

Tuesday, October 24

2 sessions (AM or PM)

AM is full, PM still available.

Wyoming Methodist

$25 for members

Kits available for $25 fee payable at

the workshop.

ALL materials provided.

Wooly Tree model. Varied colors and sizes available.

Wooly Tree model. Varied colors and sizes available.

Raffle Quilt 2018 Lucinda Mercier

Dear Helping Hands Members,

This is our last sit ’n sew for next year’s raffle quilt and it

is to do the final cutting and piecing together of the top

and border. Please help if you can on September 13th at 6

p.m. at the Barclay Farms Clubhouse.

Your help is greatly appreciated.

I would like to thank our small group of ladies who have

already helped. Your time and efforts have shown, the

raffle quilt is beautiful. Be proud of yourselves.

I truly am...thanks so much, Lucinda Mercier

lucindamercier@yahoo.com

Workshop Fees: Fees for all-day workshops are $40 payable to the guild

when you sign up. Half day is $25. Member led workshops

are $15 to cover guild costs.

You have probably already heard, we are starting our annual

membership drive in September. We would like to have the

drive completed at the November meeting so the roster can

be finalized and made available to members in January 2018.

Dues remain $25. You can pay by cash or check made out to

Helping Hands quilt guild.

If you are not able to attend a meeting, you can mail me a

check.

Thank you all for making my job as membership chair such a

pleasure.

You can text, phone, or email me with questions, but

remember I am one of those people who rarely reads email.

ruperk1@yahoo.com , 302 697-7274, 302 359-5615 cell, Kate

Ruper 388 Sedgewick Dr. Magnolia, DE 19962

September 2017 Helping Hands Newsletter 3

Quilting for Others will next meet on Tuesday, October 10

at 6PM at the Simpson Center on Main St. in Camden. Please

remember to park behind the church off Center Street and walk

across the sidewalk to the back door of the center. We always

have pinning of quilts to do, and many hands make light work! It

is always a fun evening, so don't hesitate to join us!

We sent 31 quilts to the victims of Hurricane Harvey through

a family whom Sue Hoecker knows in York, PA. Thanks to all the

ladies for getting this effort together in a few days; and who

knows who actually worked on making those quilts? Although the

vast majority of our quilts have remained in Delaware, once in a

while we can't help but do our part to assist others in such dire

need. We hope that just knowing we are thinking of them by

sending these quilts will be a boost to their morale.

Kits for making our tops are always available at the meetings,

and please don't hesitate to contact me for any work or any

questions regarding the work of QFO.

Thank you, Ladies. Ann Fischer, Coordinator, QFO

302-744-9786 fischersfarm@verizon.net

Workshops 2017 For your planning Convenience

Please, support our guild and attend some of these great opportunities! See Helping Hands website “Programs” for details.

2017 DATE

Artist Title Technique Location

9/26 $40

Sandi Blackwell Square-Agonals “Spiral Out” Large table runner Wyoming Methodist

10/24 $25

Wooly Pines by Mary and Jackie

“Wooly Tree Workshop” Kit: $25 payable that day

Create wool 3 dimensional tree

Wyoming Methodist 2 sessions (AM & PM)

Quilting For Others News Ann Fischer

Quilts Of Valor Peg Gilson & Betty Rigo

Information about Programs and Events Please, see newsletters (linked on website) or website for

all workshop info. There is a calendar for the year (under

“Calendar”) as well as “Programs” organized by the month.

At each guild meeting, please, take the time to watch

the scrolling announcements (with pictures) that is on the

front wall of the stage. You will learn about guild news,

workshops, upcoming speakers, etc.

There will also be brief reminders about meetings and

events through email a few days before our fourth Monday

guild meetings. WE WANT YOU TO BE INFORMED

ABOUT ALL OUR OPPORTUNITIES AND FUN!

Many thanks to everyone who came out to our QOV sewing

day at the Methodist Church on a miserable rainy day. Our

workshop participants rocked! Thanks to you we had enough

blocks for one full quilt (Thank you Geri for starting their

assembly.). We also generated multiple 4- patch blocks

which are awaiting strip blocks to go with them. Do you have

a favorite block? Go ahead and make a few of them to add

variety to our quilts. They need to be 9-1/2 inches square,

including seam allowances and be red, white on white, and

blue.

Questions? Call Betty Rigo or Peg Gilson - QOV co-chair

Auction October 23, 2017 RoseAnn Battista

Time Is Running Out! The September meeting is the

last opportunity you will have to

make a donation for our October

Auction. Congratulations to our

members who have already

organized their sewing rooms and

donated their "over-stuff" goodies

for auction! To those who procrastinate like me, please go

through your house and bring in any slightly used or new

items. If you and your friends would rather make a basket,

that would also be very much appreciated! The weather is

cooler and more conducive to sorting and cleaning; so go for it,

quilty friends, time is running out! Thank you!!!!

FYI: Helping Hands wants to be a FRIENDLY, WELCOMING

guild. We are so happy to encourage visitors, new members,

and those who want to try us out.

In an effort to be “fair” to our dues-paying members, the

board has set the following fees:

• $5 visitor fee for meetings with speakers. Dues will

become $20 (instead of $25) if visitors join at the next

meeting.

• $10 extra VISITOR charge for workshops (Normally $40

workshops become $50 to non-dues paying attendees.)

September 2017 Helping Hands Newsletter 4

A Nominating Committee was named by our Board to serve

and select a slate of Helping Hands officers for 2018-19. The

Committee met and contacted potential candidates to serve.

The following slate will be presented:

President: Mary Dawn Ditty; Vice President: Mary Kokoszka;

Recording Secretary: Rosalie Collins; Corresponding

Secretary: Beth Flaherty; and Treasurer: Carol Johannsen.

Nominations will be taken from the floor at our September

and October meetings, with elections taking place at our

October meetings. Installation of officers will occur at our

November meeting.

Respectfully submitted: Sue Hoecker, Chair; Rose Ann

Battista and Betty Rigo were named.

Block of the Month Cindy King

After 15 months of work to create the Lucky 13 Quilt,

designed by Sandi Blackwell, Quilt Guild members will

present their Block of the Month quilts at the September

2017 meeting. Come see the variety of colors, fabrics,

and layouts. You've seen the blocks as they were made,

now see the completed quilts.

The First Baptist food bank needs from our members contributions/donations that will help fill their

supply for Thanksgiving and Christmas bags for those in need in the community. They're asking for can

goods-vegetables, soups, sauces, and other holiday foods; dry goods-rice, sugar, cereals, noodles, box

meals; baking goods and the like. Things you would need to create thanksgiving or Christmas meals.

Tote bags are needed to be used for those holidays by the food bank. Kits were distributed, and

anyone who has made them are asked to bring them in. Directions available for tote bags. Ask Geri.

Please place your contributions on the table inside the door as you enter for our meeting. Thank you

for your help to this great need.

Save the Date! The Helping Hands first annual quilt retreat at Camp

Pecometh was a huge success! If you missed out this year,

don’t worry, we are holding our second annual quilt retreat

at beautiful Camp Pecometh from August 16th thru 19th

2018. All are invited, but space is limited. The 2018

registration form is located on the Helping Hands Quilt

Guild website. Please save the date!

Nominating Committee Report Sue Hoecker

Quilt Retreat Mary Kokoszka

Food Bank Needs Geri Headley

Upcoming Quilt Events:

Pennsylvania National Quilt Extravaganza, September 14-17 For more info: http://www.quiltfest.com

Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, PA

Big Quarter Auction, Friday, October 20, 2017, Doors open at 6pm, Auction starts at 7pm

Seaford Volunteer Fire Department Banquet Hall

302 East King Street, Seaford, DE 19973

Sponsored by: the Delmarvalous Quilters (DQG) and the Ladies’ Auxiliary, Seaford Volunteer Fire Department (LASVFD)

$5.00 for one extra paddle, $50.00 for all-in paddle; Bring quarters *** For tickets, call Julie at 302-629-4658

Tickets: $15.00 in advance, $20.00 at the door, Ticket price includes heavy appetizers

Undercover Quilters 2017, October 20 – 22, 10am-4pm, Admission $8.00, E-mail www.undercoverquilters.com

Brookhaven Municipal Blding, Community Room entrance

2 Cambridge Rd, Brookhaven, Pa 19015

Old Kent Quilters Guild, Shore Love Quilting! Show and Market, Oct 28 10am - 4pm & Oct 29 11am -3pm, Admission $8.00

Kent Center, 215 Scheeler Road, Chestertown, Maryland

Brownstone Quilters Guild, Allendale, NJ -November 10-11 www.brownstonequilters.com

Celebration of Quilts 2017, North Highlands Regional High School, 298 Hillside Ave, Allendale, NJ

If you know of any events in the area, please let us know. You can send any information to: Barbara Sansone

Phone: 302-730-4169 or E-mail b.sansone19@gmail.com

September 2017 Helping Hands Newsletter 5

Treasurers Report August 2017 Mary Kokoszka

DATE ACCOUNT BALANCE 8/1/17 Citizens Bank checking account Statement balance: $ 26417.04

8/31/2017 Citizens Bank checking account Register balance: $ 18148.94

8/31/2017 Citizens Bank checking account Register balance $ 17580.29 Respectfully Submitted, Mary Kokoszka ( All records are available for review upon request unaudited - for management purposes only)

Minutes for the August 28, 2017 Meeting Delores Burns

Checks Cleared:

Camp Pecometh Retreat Payment $ 8098.10 Julie Brown Retreat Overpayment Refund $ 85.00 Sara Short Retreat Overpayment Refund $ 85.00

$ 8268.10

Deposits Cleared: None

$ 00.00

$ 00.00

Uncleared Deposits:

Membership

$ 75 .00 Workshops $ 390.00 50/50 $ 26.00 Retreat Payment $ 300.00 Guild Raffle Quilt $ 425.00 Misc. Leftover Fried Chicken Sale $ 36.00

$ 1252 .00

Uncleared Checks:

Barbara Sansone Aug. 2017 Newsletter printing $ 11.85 Elaine Morris Retreat Overpayment Refund $ 85.00

The Riverview Retreat Camp Penometh Aug 2018 Deposit $ 1723.80

S 1820.25

Committee Reports:

• Workshops: Mary Dawn invited members to attend the

following workshops: August 29th – QOV, September 26th –

Sandi Blackwell’s Squaraginals, October – Wooly Tree

Workshop. The Holiday Dinner will take place in December.

• Auction: RoseAnn is collecting items and theme baskets. This

will be the last month to contribute.

• Raffle Quilt: Barb A. thanked those who volunteered at the

Peach Festival. Volunteers are needed for the Apple Scrapple

Festival, Hobby Lobby, Big Thursday on Sunday, Fifer’s Fall

Festival, Sam’s Club, and Nobel’s Pond. The total in sales is

$2256.

• QFO: QFO – The next meeting is September 12th.

RoseAnn has kits for making name tags for anyone interested.

UFO #5 is due next month and the BOM quilts will be revealed.

The meeting concluded with a 50/50 raffle and a Name Tag

Drawing.

Respectfully submitted, Delores Burns

The meeting opened with a prayer read by our President, Sue

Hoecker, followed by the introduction of our guests and three new

members. She welcomed the families of our Quilts of Valor

recipients.

Presentation

Members presented their beautiful quilts and projects they have

completed.

Program:

Our own, Mary Kokoszka, led the annual Quilts of Valor ceremony.

Six veterans were presented quilts made by the members of HHQG.

Business:

The Secretary and Treasurer’s reports for July were approved.

Sue thanked members for providing the food for this event. She

also thanked Mary K. for leading the QOV ceremony and Peg and

Betty for their leadership.

The membership drive will start next month and all dues are due by

January 1st.

The nominating committee will announce the candidates for 2018 –

2019 at the September meeting. The vote will take place in October

and officers will be installed in November.

September 2017 Helping Hands Newsletter 6

How To Understand Quilters’ Shorthand: A Guide To

Acronyms Every occupation, hobby, interest and sport has its own lingo, and quilting is no different. Several abbreviations and acronyms make perfect sense to experienced quilters, but this language may appear confusing to all the non (or beginning) quilters of the world.

Say What?

For instance, Judie Bellingham of BellaOnline once told her husband about a fat quarter. He thought she was shaming her own body, but Bellingham really meant a square piece of fabric 1/2 yard per side. A fat quarter has the abbreviation FQ.

Another funny term is stitching in a ditch, or SID. This means someone stitches along the right seam line, as the nearest ditch in a road is usually off to the right. These are just two of the many acronyms quilters used to describe their work.

Acronym Guide

Imagine a few of these acronyms for stitching terms. Try not to find yourself in stitches as you read them.

A UFO is an unfinished object. When your husband or children ask you about the family heirloom quilt you started five years ago, say your UFO is up in the attic. Similarly, a USO is an unstarted object. When you start talking about BOB, that means a beginner’s only block. Bob’s cousin, a BOM, is the block of the month. Everyone needs to buy supplies. Consider a FART, or a fabric acquisition road trip, with your quilting BFFs on a Saturday afternoon. If you buy too much fabric and cut too many squares, you might store these fabric pieces in a grocery bag. That’s when you have PIGs, or a project in a grocery sack. On the other hand, you could have PITs, or a project in totes. An experienced quilter could be so advanced that the person has a PHD, or a project half done. By the time the person gets around to completing a quilt, that’s a TGIF (thank goodness it’s finished) moment.

Have fun with your acronyms and wait until your non-quilter bursts out laughing. Just make sure you know where you put your TOAD and the STASH before you CRAFT. What are some of your favorite quilting acronyms?

September 2017 Helping Hands Newsletter 7

Happy Birthday Kate Ruper Officers & Committee Chairs First Name Last Name Birthday Barbara Sansone Sept 1

Jo Ann Laskiewicz-Smith Sept 2

Charlene Stephens Sept 2

Ann Sumpter Sept 2

Nancy Thomson Sept 10

Alice Riley Sept 19

Marian Curry Sept 28

Jan Reinert Sept 28

Robin Aschenberg Sept 30

Patricia Heer Oct 5

Carol Johannsen Oct 5

Pam Sullivan Oct 6

Lorraine Walpole Oct 7

Sharon Noone Oct 9

Carolyn Porter Oct 10

Lisa Stallings Oct 14

Fran McReady Oct 19

Connie Quarnaccio Oct 21

Fern Weaner Oct 23

Patricia Wilks Oct 23

Marion Lundgen Oct 27

The Magic Table

Newsletter submissions are due, excluding exceptions, by or before the 2nd Saturday of the month.

Please email them to Barbara Sansone at b.sansone19@gmail.com

The long table as you walk into the

Helping Hands meeting room.

• Membership services (renewal dues, new members and

visitors)

• Sign-in sheet (Please, try to sign in so we can get an

accurate count of attendance.)

• Sign-up for those who wear name tag.

(There is a drawing each month for those who wear a

tag. It is encouraged so that we can all know who we

are talking to and sitting with.)

• 50/ 50 raffle ticket sale. (This is a fund raiser for the

guild.)

• Class registration

• Quilting for Others (Pick up a kit)•

http://www.facebook.com/ HelpingHandsQuiltGuild

President: Sue Hoecker…………….. Vice President: Mary Dawn Ditty……... Recording Secretary: Delores Burns…………… Corresponding Secretary: Ellen Malenfant……..… Treasurer: Mary Kokoszka….…….. Committee Chairs: 50/50: Shirley Smith …………... Block of the Month: Linda Barlow….………… Cindy King………………. Fund Raising: Ellen Malenfant……….. Raffle Quilt Sales Barbara Austin………… Raffle Quilt Construction Lucinda Mercier……. Meeting Sales Elaine Morris……….… Greeters/New Member: Rose Ann Battista….… Holiday Event Nancy Roberts………… Membership: Kate Ruper……………… Fern Weaner………….. Newsletter: Barbara Sansone……. Quilting for Others: Ann Fischer…………….. Quilts of Valor: Betty Rigo…………..…...

Peg Gilson…………….…. Refreshments: Robin Aschenberg……. Sit ‘n Sew/ Workshop Coordinator: Shirley Smith…………... Show ‘n Tell Sharon Noone…………. Skills Forum: ….... Sunshine: Sharon Cook…………….. Website/Facebook: Cindy King……………….

698-1921 883-3037 653-5515 492-8715 242-6253 678-2026 653-0650 632-7818 492-8715 632-1028 495-7163 670-7402 423-5415 538-5594 697-7274 736-6707 730-4169 744-9786 531-5585 697-7639 335-0175 678-2026 443-928-7179 734-7196 632-7818

Inside this Issue 1. Presidents Message

1. Vice Presidents Message

1. Refreshment List

2. Workshop Fees

2. Christmas Dinner 2017

2. Raffle Quilt 2018

2. Membership

2. HH Website

3 Workshops 2017

3. QFO

2. QOV

3. Info about Programs & Events

3. FYI

3. HH Annual Auction

4. Quilt Retreat

4. BOM

4. Food Bank

4. Nominating Committee

4. Upcoming Quilt Events

5. Treasurer’s Report Aug 2017

5. Meeting Minutes 8/28/2017

7. Sunshine Committee

7. Birthdays

Sunshine Committee Report

July cards sent: Ann Sumpter, Sympathy for the loss of her

brother and M.L. Kaczka, hand surgery.

August cards sent: Edna Bennett, Sympathy for the loss of

her sister, Carrie Dobos, hand surgery, and Evelyn Wells,

surgery.

Please continue to keep us informed of any of our members

that are ill, having surgery, or have lost a loved one. Respectfully submitted, Connie Quarnaccio and Sharon Cook

September 2017 Helping Hands Newsletter 8