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The Annual General Meeting of the Kenya Quilt Guild was held on Thursday, April 18th, at the Simba Union Hall where we have been meeting in recent months.
Chairwoman Neela Shah opened the meeting with a brief discussion about our recent exhibition at Sarit Centre. The general feeling was that the show was a big success and that we will want to repeat the performance every year in future at the same venue. According to the foot traffic monitor, we had over 3700 visitors! Even taking off numbers for our own people walking to and fro, this was a lot of people! Our goal, of course, is to educate the general public about the beauty and functions of patchwork quilting and other needlework; we feel we did that very well this year at Sarit Centre.
On behalf of our general membership, Neela offered thanks to the Exhibitions Committee, under the capable guidance of Sheryl Fowler, who worked hard and tirelessly to put on such a great show.
The thinking is that we should hold another exhibition next year at the same venue but during the school term so we can invite schools (May?) but not during Easter or any other religious celebrations. With Easter coming at different times each year, and schools frequently altering their schedules, this may be a little difficult to organize, but our Exhibition Committee will do their best!
We are also grateful to the Kenya Embroiderers Guild for sharing the hall space with it. Without this partnership, it is doubtful that the Kenya Quilt Guild could have afforded the space. We will hold various challenges for our patchwork quilters to undertake during the year to increase the number of quilts made, thus making our contribution to each forthcoming show larger than the previous one.
Prizes were awarded during this exhibition for Viewers Choice and Viewers Choice Second Place. Sarah Brewin was awarded the trophy by Kundan Pattni and the First Place prize, a lovely crystal bowl, was awarded to Sarah by Neela Shah, for her quilt Mnyama Viatu (Animal Shoes). Natasha Khromova took Second Place for her quilt Point of No Return.
![IMG_1046[1]](http://kenyaquiltguild.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/img_10461.jpg)
All our members should have received the entry forms by email for the “Out Of Africa” Exhibition in London, Ontario, Canada. It is very important that we receive those quilts as soon as possible. Drop them at The Woman Shop at the Sarit Centre. One suitcase will go almost immediately, the remainder will follow around the 9th of May. In order to co-ordinate the quilts and get them packed safely, we would appreciate your co-operation. When you drop your quilts, be ensure that they are labelled and that the entry forms are attached to each quilt securely so they do not get lost.
Election of officers was held with the following results:
- Chairwoman: Patty Arensen
- Vice-Chairwoman: Charu Patel
- Secreary: Sheryl Fowler
- Treasurer: Loise Gitagia
- Members-at-Large: Corinne Talbott and Suzanne Waithaka
Of course, our Immediate Past Chairwoman is Neela Shah, whose experience will be most useful and highly appreciated during the coming year. Executive Council standing committees will be chaired as follows:
- Education: Gill Rebelo
- Membership: Kundan Pattni
- Charity and Community Outreach: Gretchen Sanders-Mwaura
- Public Relations: Jasvinder Phull
- Library: Raji Syan
- Snippets Newsletters: Margaret Atandi and Surinder Thethy
- Exhibitions: Sheryl Fowler (whose seat during Executive Council meetings will be filled by another member of the Committee as Sheryl already serves on Council as Secretary)
The Kenya Quilt Guild thanks those Officers and Committee Chairwomen who served for the last year for all their hard work–it paid off handsomely!–and those who have come forward to assume their new duties for the coming year. Our gratitude and best wishes to all!
With the Election of Officers out of the way, it was time for show-and-tell:
Finally, Gill Rebelo gave a fine talk on the history of kangas, the ubiquitous brightly coloured cloths worn the length of the East African coast, from Somalia to Zanzibar and inland, wherever Kiswahili is spoken.
Kangas derive from the Portuguese lenco, a handkerchief or headscarf which became popular in Mombasa and Zanzibar in the 1860s. It is thought that the early designs were spotted, hence the name kanga, which means guinea fowl in Kiswahili. Kangas are also known as lesos from the Portuguese lenco.
Kangas always feature a border (pindo), a central panel with a design (mji) and a Kiswahili proverb or saying (jina). The jina may give a political message or may be a health warning, against the spread of HIV for example, but often it is a more personal message and frequently one to be exchanged between husband and wife. It might be wise to get the jina translated before gifting a kanga in case the message is not appropriate, although usually these messages are subtle and can be interpreted in different ways. Examples of kanga jina can be enjoyed here.
The largest collection of kangas in the world is held by the Erie Art Museum in Canada, which held its first exhibition of kangas in 2008. There is a strong cultural link between this museum and the Lamu Museum in Kenya. The British Museum in London has recently had an exhibition of kangas amongst other textiles of eastern and southern Africa. Barack Obama’s victory kanga, popular after his election as USA President, was one of the kangas featured! There are plans afoot by the British Museum to make a documentary film on the kanga. The National Museums of Kenya held a very comprehensive exhibition of kangas last year. and produced an interesting DVD to accompany the exhibition.
Find photos of the recent Kenya Quilt Guild/Kenya Embroiderers Guild Exhibition at Sarit Centre listed in our sidebar at the left, or simply click here.
Canada–have a good look! We’re coming to you next!
Find us at the London International Quilt Festival: Out of Africa in June!
The meeting began with introduction of new members and guests.
Gill informed us that Jean Classen passed away a few days ago, so we had a minute’s silence for her.
Was also informed that Kulvinder’s father-in-law passed away this week.
Then we talked about the coming Exhibition at Sarit Centre, handing of quilts, posters were ready so members could take some to put wherever they could. Suzanne kindly offered to be in charge of that.
Jasbir Sokhi was in charge again of giving out the raffle books and receiving the ones already sold.
Brij Datta was in charge of the monthly raffle tickets, which we sold at 100/- for 3 and 50/- for 1. The prizes were: 1st was a rotary blade sharpener, 2nd was a book on quotations, and 3rd was invisible thread.
Charu told the members that even if they could not hand in their quilts today, they should at fill in the forms and hand them over so she could do the write ups.
After that I touched on the Canadian Exhibition, informed those who were going to go should start booking their tickets as the prices were going up.
Then we had show and tell, and had quite a few quilts. Thanks to Surinder Thethy who took photos of the quilts.
We had a break then, and started the meeting after 20 minutes. First we did the draw, and then formed 4 groups, as we had fours speakers, and started with the demos. The meeting finished at around 12.30 p.m.
As we had a class with Dena in the afternoon, the ladies had a quick lunch while the room was being reset, then we started the class on bindings. They were 19 of us. The class went well, and everyone was glad to learn two new binding methods.
The Annual General Meeting of the Kenya Quilt Guild will be held on the third Thursday of April, the 18th of the month, at the Simba Union Hall off Forest Road near Limuru Road, starting promptly at 10:00 a.m. If you wish to become a member of the Kenya Quilt Guild and to vote during this meeting, your dues for 2013 must be paid before the meeting begins.
Dues of KES 1,500/- can be paid at the meeting venue or, more conveniently, to Kundan Pattni at The Woman Shop, Sarit Centre, Westlands.
We hope to see you there in good time to participate fully in this most important meeting of the year!
During the upcoming Annual General Meeting of the Kenya Quilt Guild, to be held at the Simba Union, 10:00 a.m. on April 18th, 2013, we will consider and hopefully approve revisions to the current KQG Constitution. The proposed revisions can be found as red text in the current document, accompanied by footnote explanations for each proposed revision. If you have paid your 2013 KQG dues and will be voting for the election of officers and proposed amendments to the Constitution, please familiarize yourself with the new document and be prepared to discuss it:
The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
4,329 films were submitted to the 2012 Cannes Film Festival. This blog had 25,000 views in 2012. If each view were a film, this blog would power 6 Film Festivals
Happy New Year, everyone!
We had our first meeting of the year on January 17 at the Sikh Union Clubhouse, a lovely new venue for us and one we look forward to using in coming months.
KQG Exhibition:
Charu Patel mounted a small wall hanging along with an example of a write up. She circulated a sheet for members to list their quilt entries for the upcoming KQG Exhibition to be held at Sarit Centre in April. Deadline for entries will be the March meeting, but in special cases this can be extended if necessary.
A 4” sleeve, label and flat rod will have to be organised for each quilt. Entry Fee: Shs. 200.00 per quilt. Quilts from the previous exhibition may be accepted if there are not enough new entries.
Jaswinder Phull invited members to submit high resolution quilt photos via email for consideration for printing on posters. Mike Gaudaur has volunteered to help design the posters.
Kundan Pattni is taking reservations for vendors. The stalls are 2m x 3m at the cost of Shs. 5000.00 total for the three days. Deposit: Shs. 1000.00. Bookings will be taken for five vendors only.
Deanna Gaudaur will circulate a list for members who wish to sell quilts in the Boutique Stall that are not in the exhibition. The Guild will take 10% commission. It was stressed that prices should be reasonable. Those wishing to take advantage of this stall must volunteer to serve in it at least 2 hours.
Sheryl Fowler explained how the finances will work. Kundan is the Treasurer and will keep the accounts. The cost of the hall will be divided between the Kenya Quilt Guild and the Kenya Embroiderers Guild as will be profits from vendors and the raffle. The expenses will also be divided between the two Guilds. The only exception will be the workshops, where each Guild will keep their own profits.
The Flying Geese blocks for the raffle quilt were collected and the quilt face will get underway as soon as all the geese are received. Permission for the raffle is yet to be obtained from the Betting and Licensing Control Board, but the work on it has been begun.
Show Slogan: This should be a short, catchy phrase and probably not contain the words ‘Quilt or Embroidery’. The members were broken into ‘brainstorming’ groups and came up with dozens of suggestions.
Sponsorship: Letters were available for members. We hope to get as many sponsors as possible this year to help cover the cost of the Sarit Centre Exhibition Hall.
Workshops: Cost Shs. 500.00 including kits. Sign up for these at the February meeting.
Constitution:
Dena Crain briefly explained the changes suggested to the current Constitution (available on the website). The new Constitution has been restructured, the corrections have been highlighted in red. If anyone has any further changes they must put them forward without delay as the motion to pass the Constitution will come up at the AGM.
Newsletter:
Thank you to Gill Rebelo and Margaret Atandi for a fabulous newsletter this month.
Blog:
The Blog is a place to journal, our presence online. We need a volunteer to submit interesting information onto the website for Dena Crain to include in our Blog. Dena explained WordPress and said that she would assist a member in learning how to post, write and edit.
Show and Tell:
Members shared their quilts with us; they speak for themselves:
Demonstration:
There was a powerpoint presentation by Sheryl Fowler on Tucks and Embellishments.
Meeting Venue:
It was decided to hold the monthly meetings at the Sikh Union up until and including June. This will give the Guild time to investigate other venues.
Our next meeting will be held on February 21st, starting sharply at 10:00 a.m. at the Sikh Union. It’s a little hard to find, in the general location of the large pink block in the map below, above the label for Forest Road. Approach from Westlands, cross Limuru Road and take the sliproad down to the left. Sikh Union is near Premier Academy.
