The Kenya Quilt Guild held its April meeting as its Annual General Meeting for 2012. Chair Neela Shah welcomed a rather limited turn-out of members (29 with one guest) for the AGM. Apparently, some schools are not yet back in session, so some of our members were still on holiday. After a brief introduction, Neela held the Election of Officers for 2012. These were elected as follows:
Chair: Neela Shah
Vice-Chair: Deanna Gaudaur
Secretary: April Webb
Treasurer: Loise Gitagia
Members-at-Large: Brij Datta and Jasbir Sokhi
Dena Crain, author of the current KQG Constitution, explained the functions of the Subcommittees which support the Executive Council in six areas of the Guild’s work: Membership, Education, Exhibitions, Community Outreach and Charitable Works, Advertising and Promotions, and Newsletter Publication. Dena exhorted members to be involved in this “painless” way! Membership of a Standing Committee is not onerous and only one person from each one is required to attend Executive Council meetings once a month. A sign-up sheet was passed around and a good number of members pitched in as follows:
Membership
Kundan Patti
Education
Gill Rebelo
Philippa Yusuf
Rashmika Patel
Raji Syan (Librarian)
Exhibitions
Brij Datta
Jasvinder Phull
Jasbir Sokhi
Raji Syan
Poley Bhamra
Neela Shah
Community Outreach and Charitable Works
Patty Arensen
Gretchen Mwaura
Christine Kibuka
Mercy Mungai
Margaret Karanja
Elizabeth Cheserem
Advertising and Promotions
Rajminder Kalsey
Dena Crain (IT only)
Newsletter Publication
Margaret Atandi
Jane MacAskill
Gill Rebelo
Rowena Buxton
With Election of Officers and structuring of the Subcommittees out of the way, the Guild voted on the proposed amendments to the Constitution of the Kenya Quilt Guild. One of these was that Snippets, the KQG newsletter, would be discontinued unless a volunteer editor was found at the AGM; this was obviated by Margaret Atandi and Jane MacAskill who have proffered their skills to maintain the newsletter. Snippets survives!
The second proposed amendment to the Constitution was to change the date of the AGM to the April meeting date. Sheryl Fowler proposed (seconded by Gretchen Mwaura) a change to the amendment: the AGM shall take place on or before the third Thursday in May of each year.
Two thirds of those members present at the meeting needed to approve the change by a show of hands in order for it to be adopted. There was a unanimous vote in favour of the change to the amendment. The acceptance of the amended proposal was also unanimously supported.
Gill Rebelo reminded members of the exciting programme of workshops on offer in the near future and encouraged those interested to sign up and pay a deposit or in full as soon as possible in order to ensure a place:
- Mon 7th May a.m.
or p.m.: Bev Rebelo, Hand quilting, KSh500 per half day at the Rebelo residence in Loresho
- Tues 8th May: Bev Rebelo, Machine quilting, KSh1500 full day at Shalom House
- Tues 15th May: Sarah Brewin, Dancing Ladies, KSh2,800, full day including kit at Shalom House
- Fri 18th May: Magie Relph, Broken Windows, KSh 1500, full day at Shalom House
- Mon 21st May: Magie Relph, African Jazz,* KSh 1500, full day at Shalom House
- Wed 23rd May: Magie Relph, Extreme appliqué*, KSh 1500, full day at Shalom House
- Thurs 24th May a.m.: Magie Relph, Adinkra Stamping, KSh 800, half day
at Shalom House
- Thurs 24th May p.m.: Magie Relph, Creative Strip Cloth, KSh 1200 incl fabric, half day
at Shalom House
*Please note change of dates for these 2 classes.
Plans for the upcoming Exhibition at Village Market on 11th, 12th and 13th May are well in order. Dena designed and had printed 30 copies of a colourful poster advertising the exhibition. She encouraged members to sign up and take copies to display in public places. Those who have to pay to display may claim the cost from the Guild if they keep and present their receipts.
Neela suggested that posters should only go up a week to ten days before the exhibition.
Members were also encouraged to sign a roster to volunteer their services in various roles at the exhibition. This really is a joint effort, and both posters and the duty roster can be found at The Woman Shop until 5th May. Stop in and collect a poster for displaying at your church, school or other high-traffic public place. Sign up for a two-hour stint as a welcoming hostess, raffle table worker, membership recruiter or white glove lady. Your help will be much appreciated!
Jasbir and Jasvinder were collecting entry forms and fees for quilts which members wish to show or sell at the exhibition. Members were reminded that any forms submitted after 19th April would attract a penalty fee of KSh300. All quilts need to be delivered to The Woman Shop or to Neela or Gill by 5th May. Neela explained that members may submit two quilts each for exhibition but extras will be accepted and may be displayed, depending on the space available. The entrant will be reimbursed their entry fee if the quilt is not included in the show.
Neela announced that formal approval for the raffle of Guild quilts has been received from the Betting Control and Licensing Board. However there has not been time to get the tickets printed for the AGM and members were asked to collect ticket booklets from The Woman Shop and to ensure they bring money, stubs and unsold tickets to the exhibition.
Pauline Mang’ana displayed the cup which will be awarded to the “People’s choice” for the best quilt in the show. The second prize will be a kanga.
For Show-and-Tell, Indu Shah showed the progress she has made on a quilt for a young girl. She has embroidered the pieces most attractively.
Brij displayed a delightful quilt made of Amish fabrics she acquired on the Guild’s trip to Canada.
Bria Gaudaur showed two quilts – one an image containing the letters LOVE was well received and the second, designed for a toddler, was most suitable for the Kenyan environment as appliquéd cars attempted to climb rick-rack hills!
Deanna showed a quilt with appliquéd letters of the alphabet and a fun image to go with each one. This is the “first grand-child quilt” although she may have to wait a while before she can give it away!
Deanna Gaudaur, Bria’s mum, then showed us a masterpiece of machine quilting. A New York Beauty design, the quilt had not been pieced but squares and complex designs were traced onto the fabric and then coloured with machine stitched free motion quilting. It was absolutely stunning!
Dena Crain then gave a masterly talk on the subject of how to care for our quilts. She listed the factors that damage quilts, such as
- light which can fade colours and cause fibre disintegration,
moisture which can encourage the growth of moulds and other decomposers,
- staining by sugar solutions, wine, chocolate or tea or the sebum from finger tips which can all cause permanent marks,
- physical damage can be caused by insects, rodents, dogs and cats and their body fluids can also cause permanent staining,
- dirt from dusty environments causes discolouration,
- abrasion – friction can damage fibres and result in holes in fabric, and
- temperature extremes have similar effects.
In order to avoid the factors listed above and the permanent creasing caused by folding, quilts should be stored face down in stacks on a flat surface such as a mattress protected by a cotton (100%) sheet. The stacks should be evenly distributed so that there is no lumpiness to warp the quilts.
A white cotton sheet should cover the stacks and the curtains of the room can be kept drawn.
Alternatively, the quilts can be rolled, with rod in place. The rolling should begin from the top end, ensuring the edges do not catch and crease, and with the top side of the quilt on the outside of the roll. This expands the top fabric a little so that any creases form on the underside of the quilt. The presence of the rod stops the roll collapsing inwards, again introducing creases into the fabric. Rolling from the top downwards ensures that loose curling is at the bottom end of the quilt and this will fall out when the quilt is hung from the rod again.
The rolled quilts can be stored individually in cotton drawstring bags, which are longer than the quilt is wide, thus closure of the bag can be more effective. Plastic bags are not good for quilt storage.
A sleeve is attached to the top of the underside of the quilt to contain the rod.
The sleeve should be pleated in such a way that there is more fabric on the outer surface of the sleeve than in the portion of the fabric attached to the back of the quilt. The sleeve then accommodates the rod so that the quilt lies flat and does not curl around the rod when hung.
A double hanger sleeve means the quilt can be hung from the centre of the rod as well as by the two ends.
If a rectangular bar of wood is used for hanging the quilt (rather than a round one) then the screw eyes should be attached on the two ends of the bar closer to the top edge. This ensures the quilt is not tipped forward as it hangs.
Exhibitors were also reminded that the rod from which the quilt is suspended for display must be one inch shorter than the width of the quilt.
It is useful to write the name of the quilt on the rod in felt tip pen as well as the dimensions of the rod. This makes it easier to locate appropriate rods from your collection.
When carrying a quilt as hand luggage, Dena has designed a canvas belted bag that contains the rolled quilt wrapped in a white cotton sheet.
When transporting larger numbers of quilted pieces, Dena advises hard-sided luggage. However, aeroplane weight restrictions have forced many quilters to resort to soft-sided luggage. Dena protects the quilts from damage in such a bag by packing (bundling) them in a very specific way. She has cut a cardboard template that fits the base of the bag. She lays the quilts on a flat surface in an even stack so that the pieces all lie diagonally to one another. She then places the template on the top of the stack and folds the quilts around it so that each is folded on the bias. This means the folds are softer and the creasing less pronounced. The folded packet can then be placed neatly in the bag.
Dena advises that the items to be packed are laid out ready and only placed in the bag just prior to departure to minimise their time in the folded state. An overnight stop means the quilts get some relief too. They should be unpacked and laid out on a flat surface or draped over a spare bed or the back of a sofa, then re-packed immediately before departure.
After Dena’s fine presentation, the meeting was adjourned.
