On August 7, 2021 Our own Kathleen Herbach gave a wonderful trunk show called: “Lessons Learned”.  This was a Zoom presentation where every guild member had a front row seat.  Kathleen shared over 75 quilts with lots of close up of her amazing designs, quilting, binding and finishes. Now we have the inspiration to add a little something extra to our next projects.

Kathy above with Sizzle

Spiral 4

Tessellation

Tilted Star

 

June 5^th, 2021 the guild welcomed Kathleen Riggins.  Her lecture Combining Designs in Modern Ways was held via Zoom. This was a fast-paced lecture filled to the brim with excellent quilting information. We learned about straight line quilting ideas, grid designs, swirls, feathers and how to combine them.  Although the lecture was full, her book, The Building Blocks of Free-Motion Quilting, has more than 57 ideas for combining quilting motifs. https://kathleenquilts.com/

On April 3^rd, 2021 guild member Kathy Downie presented her program on Art Quilt Finishes.  This was a Zoom lecture where we able to see, close up, all of Kathy's art quilts and competition level, wearable art. Kathy shared methods for finishing those special art pieces and answered tons of questions. Looking forward to what is yet to come from Kathy.

In Feb 2021, the guild offered a Zoom lecture by Stephanie Hackney from Hobbs Bonded Fibers. Stephanie’s presentation explained all the different types of batting and stuffing products offered by Hobbs. As the Director of Sales and marketing, Stephanie is certainly an expert. We had a jam-packed lecture that taught batting selections by type of bat, loft considerations and type of quilting. A free download of the Hobbs product reference chart is available on their web site https://www.hobbsbatting.com/products/

This Dream Big Panel quilt was custom quilted by Susie Wong. It has two layers of batting in it - Tuscany Wool batting as the top layer and Tuscany Silk batting as the bottom layer.

This quilt is also made by Susie Wong

It was unfortunate that due to the Covid Pandemic, we had to cancel several meetings in 2020. We have re-worked our program line-up to accommodate Zoom programs/lectures.

 I am going to be adding some updates on some of those meeting over the next couple of days.

First up.. Oct 2020  - Our own Tracy Husch-Lissak gave a Zoom presentation on T-shirt quilts.  Tracy shared a slide show of her fabulous quilts and we learned how she stabilizes knit fabrics for quilting. You can see more of Tracys work at   https://keptinstitches.com/

The August 2020 NILAG meeting has been canceled.  The church where our guild meets is currently not scheduling any gatherings due to COVID.  We  hope that everyone is safe at home and creating beautiful quilts.  We hope to see you soon.

June 2020 Meeting is canceled

We are sorry to announce that the June 6th, 2020 meeting has been canceled. We hope that everyone working on their  challenge quilt and staying "safe at home".  We hope to be able to meet soon.

CHALLENGE REMINDER:  While we are all at home working on various quilting projects during this social-distancing time, we want to remind all members about the June Quilt Challenge.

Theme:  MY HAPPY PLACE

Size:  24 by 24 inches

Prizes will be awarded..  We hope to have enough entries to display them at a local gallery.  This would help promote the guild.

So...what is YOUR happy place?

In an effort to decrease exposure to Covid-19 and corresponding implications, the April 4th NILAG meeting has been canceled.  Our concern for our members and attendees is our greatest concern.  The church has canceled all meetings.  We will post any updates as soon as we have them.  

February 2020

The Calendar page has been updated with the 2020 program schedule.

Please join us this Saturday Feb 1st, 2020  Sarah Evans will share "Rita's Quilt".  In September 2019, Sarah Evans volunteered to longarm a quilt which was an unfinished estate sale find.  By November the project had garnered nationalmedia attention.  Sarah will tell us about her quilt preparation of over vintage blocks embroidered by 100 different artists.  She will share her process of creating Rita's Quilt from inspiration to completion.  Sarah Evans is a designer, piecer, quilter and teacher of textile arts who has been quilting for over 15 years.

Please join us for our next meeting, October 5, 2019 at Gary United Methodist Church, 224 N. Main St, Wheaton IL 61087  9:30 AM

NILAG member Dori LeStarge will give a talk on "Repurposed Design". Many of us make scrappy quilts to use up bits and pieces of fabric.  We can do the same with our quilting designs. Come learn how to reuse discarded household items with great shapes into quilting motifs.

Dori has been quilting for 38 years and longarm quilting for 17 years.  She uses a stitch-regulated Prodigy machine.  Since her degree is in Graphic Arts, all of Dori's work is done freehand from the front of the machine. She specializes in custom heirloom quilting, custom T-shirt construction and memory quilts.

You can find Dori on Instagram under Highmeadow Lane.  https://www.instagram.com/highmeadowlane/

We had a great meeting Aug 3rd 2019. Our guest speaker was Debbie Wesenberg.  Debbie showed us many examples of quilting, using her custom longarm and sit-down, machine templates.  Can't wait to what everyone creates.  Debbie can be found at www.facebook.com/dkappliquestudio

We have rescheduled the February NILAG meeting. Mark your calendar now! 

Saturday, March 9, 2019

9:30 a.m.

Gary Methodist Church

224 N Main St, Wheaton (park in rear lot)

BRING—

Member form and $25 dues

Show & Tell 

Quilts of VALOR quilts 

NO Quilts Beyond Borders quilts as Carla is still in Florida.

PROGRAM—

Schoolhouse

Each schoolhouse will be 10 to 20 minutes.

Dori LeStarge—exercises and stretches for quilters to keep your body healthy

Gwen Roarke—large orange peel designs

 Lawana Perez—feathers for beginners to advanced stitchers

Nancy Mueller & Nancy Sturgeon— freehand Graffiti quilting

Kathy Herbach -- alternate binding techniques 

Fish Bowl of Questions

—questions about running a quilt business, questions about problem quilts, or even questions about what to quilt

We have decided to cancel the NILAG meeting scheduled for this Saturday, February 2, 2019 in Wheaton due to possible icy road conditions. So many of you travel a good distance to get to the meeting, and we don't want you to deal with icy roads. Better safe than sorry! 

We wanted to let you know as soon as possible so that there is no chance that any of you will show up at the church door on Saturday morning. 

At this time we are looking into the possibility of rescheduling the meeting to March 2, but first have to check availability of the church. We'll get back to you on this as soon as we find out.  

Thanks for understanding. Stay warm. 

Rita Farrell

President

****Our December meeting will be in a different location****

Saturday, December 1, 2018

Please mark your calendar to note that NILAG will meet at  The Lisle Park District Recreation Center located at  1925 Ohio Street in Lisle. 9:30 a.m. We will be in the small multipurpose room. Click on the address to view a map. The Recreation Center is located just west of Rte. 53 and south of Ogden Avenue (Rte. 34) and the railroad tracks. The parking should be good. Games and prizes. You will receive a December newsletter in addition to this notice. 

Bring a small batch of cookies to share.

Coffee and tea will be provided.  

Bring your show and tell.

Bring your completed Challenge Quilt.

Bring your quilted Quilts of Valor quilts.

Do not bring your Quilts Beyond Borders quilts as Carla is in Florida until April.

See you then

August 5, 2017 -- Feature Program“Quilting Vintage!”

Kelly Cline’s passion is turning ordinary antique linens and quilts into heirloom pieces, completely on a long arm machine!  She will have a trunk show of her favorite pieces and talk about this wonderful twist on quilting that connects our past and present.

Kelly is a Handi Quilter Ambassador who hails from beautiful Lawrence, Kansas and loves to travel.  Browse her website (http://www.kellyclinequilting.com) and visit her daily posts on Facebook, Kelly Cline Quilting.  And if you are a subscriber to QNN TV, look for Kelly in the episode “Quilting Vintage Linens”!

The meeting starts at 9:30 at

Gary United Methodist Church

224 N. Main St

Wheaton IL 61087

Use door #5 in the rear of the building, that is where the parking lot is located.
Take elevator to lower level and walk ahead to meeting room.

“A DAY WITH DELOA”

Mark your calendar for Saturday, April 1 when NILAG will host a day-long workshop

featuring DeLoa Jones, a nationally known longarm quilter and MQX Teacher of the

Year in 2012! Prepare to be inspired, learn a lot, and leave with many ideas to put into

practice on your own quilts.

• Session 1: Got stencils? Use them! In this 2 hour lecture DeLoa will explain what to

look for in stencils to build a versatile stencil “stash”, how to look for inner less

prominent designs to “double” your stencil collection, how to add free motion to

stencils to adapt them to areas or styles of the quilt, & how to fit a border stencil

without the math! We will get a chance to have some “hands on” drawing practice to

try out what we’ve learned. (9:30am-11:30am)

• Session 2: Discover the Ghost Block Discover the block within your block. Creating

alternate quilting spaces with a quilt can take a quilt from ordinary to extraordinary! In

this hands-on drawing class, DeLoa will teach you how create these spaces (both

pieced areas & background spaces) and designs to quilt within them. Learn to

combine stencils and other designs to enhance the quilt to another level.

(12:30pm-2:30pm)

• Session 3: Practical Tips for the Machine Quilting Business DeLoa will share her

knowledge, first-hand experience, and practical advice for the business of quilting for

hire. She will address the ups and downs of the machine quilting business, helping

customers, incorporating other services, setting up your work area efficiently and

working efficiently, pricing and different types of quilting, and making the business fit

into your lifestyle. Whether you currently run your own business or are just

“considering” it, take advantage of DeLoa’s business experience and expertise! Come

ready to ask any questions you may have. (3:00pm-4:30pm)

Some practical notes for the day...

Brown bag lunch (11:30am-12:30pm) Bring your own lunch to munch on. DeLoa will

give us a chance to shop her “store at our door.” Be prepared!

Snack break (2:30pm-3:00pm) A chance to relax & refresh with goodies from the

Guild!

Because we want to make the most of our day with DeLoa, there will be no Guild

business meeting, show & tell, or Board meeting on April 1st! Life will return to

normal at our next meeting on June 3rd.

And the BEST NEWS OF ALL! This workshop is offered AT NO COST TO OUR NILAG

MEMBERS!! Guests are welcome to join us for a fee of $30 for the day. We also

welcome our guests to join the Northern Illinois Longarm Guild (NILAG) for an additional

$25 membership fee.

HOPE TO SEE YOU ALL THERE!! Our guild meetings are held at the Gary United

Methodist Church, 224 N Main St, Wheaton, IL 60187. Please park in the lot behind the

church building. Enter door #5 and take the elevator down to the lower level.

NEW LOCATION

We have a new location for our meetings....

Gary United Methodist Church

224 N. Main St

Wheaton IL 61087

Use door #5 in the rear of the building, that is where the parking lot is located.

Take elevator to the lower level then walk ahead to the meeting room.

Dues for 2017 are $25.00 

Guest Fee: $10.00

The next meeting is

DATE:  Feb 4, 2017 

TIME:  9:30 AM to 12:30 PM (we have to do our own set up and take down, so anyone that can help please come at 9:00 AM)

Please see the new Calendar Page for a full list of programs.

Bill Kerr Program

On December 3, 2017 NILAG members were treated to the "eye candy" of Bill Kerr and Weeks Ringle.  Bill presented his program "Color in a Supporting Role". We learned how great quilts use color to support a big idea or design intention. Members came away with a new understanding of how color can be used to create unity, movement or to give "edge" to areas of our quilts.  

United States of green

 Glyphs (featured in Modern Quilts Illustrated #9)

Pacific (featured in Modern Quilts Illustrated #8) 

Argyle  (featured in Modern Quilts Illustrated 11)

 Pickup Sticks  (featured in Magic Inch Quilts)

Jewel Box  (featured in Modern Quilts Illustrated #8)

Please visit their web site to see more quilt photos or to purchase books and patterns.  https://www.modernquiltstudio.com/

We also had great show and tell:

On Oct 1, 2017, NILAG was pleased to present Sandy Smith's No Hassle Feathers  lecture and drawing workshop.    Sandy showed us many types of feathers that are easy to accomplish since they have no backtracking.  We all came home with our sketch book filled with ideas.   

Sandy's workshop is the basis for our next Skill Builder project.  Use the feathers presented in Sandy's workshop to make your own feather sample.  Size should be at least 18 inches, pieced or whole cloth.  The layout is your choice and you can use any many feather as you like.  Bring your project to the Feb meeting. 

Show and tell from Oct 2017