April 2026
April Program - Ice Cream Social & Annual Meeting
Tuesday, April 21, 2026: 6:30 p.m.
Doors open at 6:00 p.m. – Ice Cream 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. 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. You might be tempted to think the evening will be boring, but it won’t be! Along with the business part of the evening, it is also a fun social time. So, please come and participate!
Nominating Committee Report
As reported last month, please consider the slate of officers that we will be voting on at the April Meeting. Their term will begin May 1.
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: Judy 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
Please note that we still need a few committee chairs:
Historian—takes pictures at meetings and keeps records of happenings in the guild.
Service—Organizes charitable service projects for the community.
December social—Plans food and activities for the social.
Thank you for considering!
Christine Tindell, Member at Large
May Program: Deb Strain
Tuesday, May 19, 2026: 7:00 p.m. (Doors open at 6:30 p.m.)
Although Deb Strain spends many hours in her home studio, one of her favorite things is speaking with quilters about fabric design. A 28-year veteran of the industry, Deb has created over 100 fabric groups for Moda since 1996. She loves sharing how her hand-drawn and hand-painted artwork gradually evolves into lovely fabric, noting, "It is exciting to work with color and pattern that eventually becomes a quilt enjoyed by many."
Her casual presentation will guide us through the entire design journey from initial concept to the quilt store. The program ends with a parade of 20-30 quilts made from her fabrics, providing inspiration for future projects. Fun stories of how Deb got started and adventures encountered along the way make this a light-hearted, yet informative presentation. As Deb explains, “Spending time with Quilters and talking about fabric is about as good as it gets!”
May Workshop: Bees and Lavender
Wednesday, May 20, 2026: 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Deb Strain and her husband Scott, live in the small village of Yellow Springs, Ohio. She has been a licensed artist for over 28 years. It is in the peaceful woods surrounding their home where Deb finds her inspiration. Drawing on memories of growing up in Ohio and times spent with family and friends, she seeks to convey a kinder, gentler way of life.
Inspired by nature, her workshop, “Bees and Lavender” is a hands-on beginner embroidery class. For 3 hours, the workshop attendees will stitch alongside Deb, learn practical techniques and enjoy personal guidance in a relaxed, creative setting.
Attendees will learn to use 4 basic embroidery stitches that will create a lovely bee and lavender design. Attendees must purchase a $20 kit from Deb Strain. The only supply they need to bring is a pair of scissors. Register for the workshop today!
Brown Bag Report
Even snow and ice didn't keep 70 people away from the Brown Bag Goes Green fundraising event on March 17th. What a great way to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day! Thanks to the generosity of our Village Quilters membership and friends, the Ways and Means Committee raised $3,448.00!
The BBGG Committee started organizing for the event the moment June 2024 event ended! Along with the benefit to our own members, we have the opportunity to help charities. This year Linda Zimmermann, Carol Swartz’ guest, purchased for Grace Lutheran church's charity, Lutheran World Relief. She was ecstatic to share leftovers with St. Alexius as they often run out of fabric and can't sew. Providing our leftover fabric to keep charities sewing is a worthwhile goal to be proud of.
Join me in thanking our fabulous, dedicated committee: Donna Derstadt, Nancy Smith, Kate Klein, Laurie Waldron, Yolande Sherrod, Jocelyn Galloway, Robyn McGarrigle, Joyce Allen and Erica Jarret who not only dedicated her barn and her home, but also hours of sorting, hanging items, and toting bins with endless enthusiasm and lots of fun.
Donna Fitzgerald, Ways & Means Chair
The Brown Bag Hustle went Green at our meeting on St. Patrick’s Day, where members and guests went home with lots of new treasures!
President’s News
Our April meeting on the 21st is our annual business meeting. This is a time for each member to participate in the decision-making process of Village Quilters. We will present the budget for the next year as well as elect several members to board positions. To top off all of that we are having ice cream sundaes this year! Okay, maybe ice cream could be considered a small bribe for attendance, but come on - how can you pass up a fun evening of business and ice cream? We’ll also have Show and Tell, and after missing a month I’m sure this one will be amazing!
Note that this meeting will start at 6:30 p.m. with doors opening at 6:00 p.m. In all seriousness, I hope that all of you will plan to attend. It is an important part of Village Quilters and we want as much participation as possible.
I also want to say that I have enjoyed my time as President and want to thank each of you for making the experience so positive. I’m pretty excited about the future of Village Quilters. We have had so many new members join and new energy is being felt at our meetings!
Sharon Pierluissi, President
Friendly Service Project
Our service block projects are coming to an end with April being our last month. This month's block is a simple one - basically a snowball done in pinks on yellow. As always, the directions are on the Service page.
We have created and donated 38 quilts to Staben House as of this writing! There are still 5 quilt tops that could be finished, as well as a collection of blocks needing someone's creative ideas to turn them into a quilt. These blocks include ducks, split rail fence, boats, and baskets. I am hoping we can continue to create baby, child, teen, or mom-sized quilts with the works still in process. I will be happy to deliver them to Staben House as they are thrilled to receive them!
Erica Jarrett, Service Chair
Third Thursday Sunshine Stitchers
Are you feeling distracted or uninspired? Join friends or friends-to-be at the monthly get together at The State Banks of the Lakes in Grayslake. You will laugh, share light conversation, and see what others are working on. You can ask for help if you are struggling with a specific technique. Meet Vicki, the gal who named this get-together Sunshine Stitchers.
Note that the date, April 16, occurs before our monthly meeting this time rather than after! Drop in at your convenience from 10:30 a.m. – 3: 30 p.m. and bring whatever sewing or other projects you’d like to work on. In March, Marti painted friendship rocks!
Questions? Contact Kathy Heuskinveld or Marti Austin
NLCQG Invitation: Cathe Holden Program and Workshop
The Northern Lake County Quilters' Guild speaker on May 6, 2026 is Cathe Holden, a Moda Fabric designer. If you would like to attend, the guild will meet at the Dolly Spiering Community Center, 817 Holbek in Antioch at 7:00 p.m. and there is a $5.00 guest fee.
Cathe draws inspiration from her treasured collection of vintage textiles and ephemera, and will present a keynote sharing her creative journey, her studio, and her background as a graphic designer turned fabric designer for Moda Fabrics. She will also showcase a trunk show of inspiration. Additional information about Cathe can be found here: https://my.modafabrics.com/designers/cathe-holden
Provisions Keeper Workshop - May 7th, 9am-4pm In this one-day workshop with all materials included, you’ll step away from the sewing machine with needle in hand to create a charming sewing notions holder using a mix of vintage and new textiles and trims to organize and store your on-the-go sewing essentials. The class price is $60 and includes the kit. (Guest fee is an additional $5). You can sign up by sending an email to LRAYQUILTS@aim.com .
Postcard Exchange News
A big thank you goes to Northern Lake County Quilt Guild, Village Quilters of Lake Bluff/Lake Forest, Prairie Patch Quilt Guild, and Southport Quilt Guild for their participation this year’s postcard exchange. We had over 40 participants and hope we can expand our numbers next year!
We received some very creative postcards. It was nice to see work done on a small scale! Check out this gallery of finished postcards.
Thank you very much!
Rose Gray and Robyn McGarrigle
Treasurer’s Report
Bank Balance as of January 31, 2026: $36,627.10
Income: $10.00
Other: $370.00
Expense: $2,034.40
Bank Balance as of February 28, 2026: $34,972.70
February income was $10.00 from a guest at the January workshop. The $370 is a refund from overpayment to the movers at the Quilt Show. Significant expenses included $1,402.42 for January and February lectures and workshops and $450 for the payment of 3 months rent for the remainder of the fiscal (February, March and April).
Respectfully submitted, Melanie Houser, Treasurer
Membership Report
Happy Spring! We’re loving the longer daylight and flowers waking up with beautiful colors. We had 60 members attending the Brown Bag Goes Green event in March.
Welcome new member Elizabeth Williams! We now have 126 members as of this writing!
This is also membership renewal season for 2026-2027. Save $5.00 by renewing your membership during the months of April and May when dues are $45.00 for the year. In June, the price increases to $50.00.
We are still looking for seasoned members to become a mentor or buddy to our new members as they come in. And thank you to the ones who graciously volunteered to do so!
At the meetings remember to silence your phone and wear your name tag!
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 April Birthday!
4/2 Phoebe Chandler-Turner
4/6 Erica Jarrett
4 /8 Joanne Binkley
4/18 Robyn McGarrigle
4/20 Linda McCabe
4/21 Margaret Martin
4/25 Cindy Vistain
4/26 Julie Milne
4/28 Edythe Hirasawa
4/30 Enid Mattimiro
