March 2026
March Program – Brown Bag Goes Green!
Tuesday, March 17, 2026: 6:00 p.m.
5:00 p.m. Members drop off donations – 6:00 p.m. Meeting begins – Brown Bag Hustle starts immediately after business meeting
Love fabric? Love a good bargain? Join us for one of our most fun and popular events of the year!
Our Brown Bag Hustle is part raffle, part auction, part treasure hunt, and 100% crafty fun. Quilting fabric, notions, books, tools, and other creative goodies are donated by guild members and our local community, then sorted and displayed for auction or brown bag raffles. There will also be a “cash and carry” area filled with books, patterns and fabrics sorted by color.
How It Works:
Purchase raffle tickets at the event - 6 for $5; 15 for $10; 20 for $15; 30 for $20
Drop tickets into the brown bags for the goodies you’re hoping to win.
A winning ticket is drawn from each brown bag and if it’s yours, you collect your treasures and bring them home with you!
Clean out your sewing room and bring your donations starting at 5:00 p.m. We gladly accept quilting fabric, supplies, unfinished projects, books, sewing equipment, and all things sewing-related that you no longer need but are of good quality and worthy to pass on. Reach out to us if you would like to donate but cannot attend the event
Bring large shopping bags or laundry basket for your winnings!
What To Bring:
Guests – there is no fee for guest attendance. Bring a guest – get a gift!
Credit Cards, Cash & Checks!
Bring Donations! Donations! Donations!
Large shopping bags or laundry basket to transport your winnings!
Wear green! The leprechauns will be dancing to the Bee Gees! If you have any questions, contact Donna Fitzgerald.
April Program - Ice Cream Social & Annual Meeting
Tuesday, April 21, 2026: 6:30 p.m.
Doors open at 6:00 p.m. – Ice Cream Social and Business Meeting at 6:30 p.m.
We will start off with an old-fashioned ice cream social at 6:30, complete with all the toppings, provided by your Board members. We have several new board members to elect, and we will vote on our budget for our next fiscal year. Members have the opportunity to ask questions and learn more about the workings of the guild. This is a time for each member to participate in the decision-making process of Village Quilters.
We will enjoy ice cream sundaes together, then have the business meeting and Show and Tell. Along with the business part of the evening, it is also a fun social time. So, please come and participate!
Nominating Committee Report
Prior to our April annual meeting, the nominating committee is required per the bylaws to present the slate of officers for the 2026-2027 year. We will vote them into office at the April meeting and their term begins May 1st, 2026.
Slate of Officers:
President: Erica Jarrett
Vice President, Membership: Robyn McGarrigle, and Rosemarie Gray
Vice President Programs: Pam Eulberg and Mary Phemister
Advance Programs: Ligia Colello and Jocelyn Galloway
Secretary: Celia Stratman
Treasurer: Leitha Schaal
Assistant Treasurer: Caren Vollrath
Newsletter: Carrol Stovold
Quilt show: Nancy Smith and Christine Tindell
Member at Large: Sharon Pierluissi
Committee Chairs (non-board positions):
Historian: OPEN POSITION
Library: Linda Spring
Webmaster: Margaret Martin; Assistant: Andrea Krier
Friendship: Judi Hillebrand
Ways and Means: Donna Fitzgerald
Service: POSITION OPEN
Birthday Blocks/Mystery Quilt/Block of the Month: (OPEN POSITION – Chair Chooses Activity)
Social Media: Carrol Stovold
I would like to thank Nominating committee members Caren Vollrath and Katherine Culbertson who worked with me to nominate these qualified and willing leaders for the next year of Village Quilters.
Christine Tindell, Member at Large
President’s News
We had a great time presenting quilts to the residents of The Sheridan at Green Oaks. It was fun to share our quilts with members of the community!
I think it would be fun to explore other avenues to showcase quilting in our area. Village Quilters members could be ambassadors of the art of quilting and help bring others into the community of quilters – perhaps even boosting our guild membership! I'm hoping to explore the idea of displaying quilts in some of the community art centers or in area libraries. If anyone else is interested and would like to brainstorm with me, please contact me!
Sharon Pierluissi, President
Friendly Service Project
Our Friendly Service projects are winding down for this year - we have only 2 more months of blocks to create. This month is an easy and quick split rail fence done in bright colors, so consider making dozens! The pattern can be found on the Service page.
Also consider trying your hand at the boat block from last month! I gather that it seems daunting, but it is really just a bunch of half-square triangles, and you'll be a pro at them after building one! And, if you are inspired, please consider tackling the flower basket block from last August - we could use a few more in order to have enough to create a lovely quilt for a little girl.
As always, thank you for all you are creating – our contact at Staben House has let me know how much these beautiful quilts are treasured.
Erica Jarrett, Service Chair
Members Meeting Members
I knew I was going to adore Ellen Marie Ewbank solely on the basis of her fun pink hair! Darn if she didn't change it to purple (also adorable) but I was right regardless. I left our visit feeling like I had met a long-time friend, who likely could be my daughter given our age difference! Her home in Highland Park of two years is a fun mid-century split level, complete with original sliding panels in the dining room, original kitchen and the most astonishing 1970s bathroom you have ever seen - I had to take a photo as it really belongs in a museum! She and her husband are renovating the home, but are planning to keep many of the original details, making it a wonderful mix of new and vintage, much like Ellen herself.
Ellen grew up in Indiana, studying Biology at IU and eventually working in Madison, WI. She met her husband during Covid, and, while planning their wedding, was aghast at the cost of things. A ‘simple’ solution was to learn to sew, and using a hand me down machine from her sister, she made her wedding veil. From there, she began making fabric bags, and went down the internet rabbit hole of designers, learning from them, and purchasing a semi-industrial Juki sewing machine to upgrade her not so great hand me down. Eventually she began making quilts, and the new online community she connected with brought her to Village Quilters.
She has been a member only since 2025, and has enjoyed two retreats, meeting members, learning a great deal about quilting, and making friends. Her star quilt, completed at a recent retreat, is her first large quilt made for her and her husband, and is now being professionally quilted by a fellow member Ligia Colello. She has also been teaching at quilt shops! She currently has a beginner class lined up to teach at the Early Bird Quilt Shop in Libertyville. Looking to inspire anyone you know to begin quilting? Have them sign up! Ellen is a dynamic, fun member who enjoys modern and vintage styles – which seems obvious since her dog is named “Zeppelin” for those gals who remember the song “Black Dog” by Led Zeppelin!
Erica Jarrett
Rope Bowl Workshop
At February’s workshop, “Fun With Rope”, members learned tips and techniques for making rope bowls from instructor Celia Stratman. Most participants went home with a finished product - no UFOs! Those smiles tell the story!
Treasurer’s Report
Bank Balance as of December 31, 2025: $36,360.40
Income: $330.00
Expense: $63.30
Bank Balance as of January 31, 2026: $36,627.10
January income of $330 was from workshop fees. Expenses were $50 for rent for the upcoming new member gathering and $13.30 for workshop transaction processing fees. There is a significant check of $960 outstanding, which is for the January lecture and workshop; therefore, the available bank balance is $35,667.10.
Respectfully submitted, Melanie Houser, Treasurer
Membership Report
Happy St. Patrick’s Day, Members!
We now have 125 members as of this writing! We welcome all of our new members, and we hosted a February Coffee Chat for all of them. It was a great success with 12 new members in attendance, and it was a good opportunity to get to know each other.
We are always looking for seasoned members to become a mentor or buddy to our new members as they come in. And thank you to all who have graciously volunteered to do so!
During our meetings, please remember to:
Silence your phones
Wear your name badges
Greet people that you don’t know yet!
Lorraine Potts, Rose Gray and Robyn McGarrigle are your membership co-chairs. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to us!
Happy March Birthday!
3/3 - Bobbie Etchell
3/20 - Madge Pierce
3/24 - Katherine Culbertson
3/29 - Jocelyn Galloway
