ABC's of MMQG
Misty Mountain Quilters' Guild was founded in May, 1984 to “educate, share, promote and keep alive the craft and traditions of quilting.” We have close to 200 members, most of who live in Fannin, Towns and Union counties in Georgia, and Cherokee and Clay counties in North Carolina.
Membership dues are set annually by the Executive Board and must be paid between June 1 and June 30. There is a $5 late fee for dues paid after June 30. Members are entitled to the following:
admission to monthly meetings, many of which feature well-known speakers;
participation in all guild activities such as the workshops, outreach groups, retreat and more (some will have additional fees);
access to an information packed website and Facebook group;
an electronic membership roster;
the opportunity to meet quilters of all skill levels and become inspired;
the opportunity to learn new and varied quilting skills;
the opportunity to volunteer your time and talent to make our guild all it can be.
Membership Terms:
As a member of the Misty Mountain Quilters' Guild, in addition to paying your annual membership dues, you agree to abide by the guild’s By-Laws, which may be found on the Forms & Reports page.
You agree to make a Moon over the Mountain name tag & wear it at all general meetings.
You agree to bring refreshments for sharing to at least one meeting a year in your birthday month (not including luncheons).
You agree to participate in at least one Outreach Project per year.
You agree to be a part of fundraising efforts that the guild sponsors. This includes selling raffle tickets for the guild’s raffle quilt and may sometimes include other fund raisers.
You agree to participate in the guild’s quilt shows. You will be asked to sign up for at least one task at the quilt show. You are encouraged to enter your work in the quilt show but are not required to do so.
You agree to follow the rules of the meeting places.
No member may use, sell, distribute or give away the guild’s membership roster information for personal gain.
MEETINGS
General guild meetings are usually held on the 4th Tuesday of every month (except December) at First United Methodist Church of Blairsville. We gather at 12:00 noon for refreshments and conversation. The meeting begins at 12:00 PM and consists of a short business session and usually a program with a regional or national speaker as well as awarding of door prizes, raffle drawings, and Show & Tell by our members.
Our June meeting is a pot-luck luncheon and memorial remembrance. The December general meeting is on the 2nd Tuesday and is a Holiday pot-luck luncheon.
Workshops on various topics are offered for members by the guild during the year. Generally the workshop will be led by the program speaker for that month and is usually held on the Wednesday after the general guild meeting. Workshop times and locations will be announced for each event. Classes may be held one day a week for several weeks; i.e. beginning or intermediate quilting. For workshops and classes there is usually a fee and additional costs for patterns and materials.
OUR OUTREACH AND SEWING GROUPS
For further information, email mmqginfo@gmail.com, and you will be put it touch with the appropriate person. (We do not list individual's email addresses here, due to phishing and spam concerns).
Hugs & Kisses is MMQG’s equivalent of Project Linus. Quilts are made by MMQG members and donated to neglected, abused and seriously ill children in the surrounding counties. These donations are made by requests from organizations such as S.A.F.E, Reach, and DFACS. This group meets at the Civic Center in Blairsville (165 Wellborn Street) usually on the 3rd Thursday of each month. We meet from 10:00 until 2:00. Check the Guild calendar for this month's schedule. Bring your lunch and essential sewing supplies. You do not need to be a Guild member to participate in this group. Contact Tim or Cindy Strike.
The mission of Heart 2 Heart is to provide a measure of comfort to nursing home residents within our immediate and surrounding communities with lap quilts, fidget pads, adult bibs, walker bags, wheelchair bags and other sewn items. It is our hope these handmade items will help our seniors to feel more at home and remind them they are loved in their community. Check the Guild calendar for the current month's Heart 2 Heart workdays, which are usually the first Wednesday of the month, at the Civic Center on Wellborn Street in Blairsville, 10 am - 2 pm. Heart 2 Heart relies primarily on donated fabric and notions, including good quality quilting cotton, pre-quilted fabric for walker and wheelchair bags, and assorted small items for fidget pads, such as short zippers, buttons, rick-rack and other trims, sew-on souvenir patches, hair elastics, and plastic rings. Contact Robin Jones.
The Community Handwork Group, led by Shirley Deasy, is held at Mountain Quilts in Hiawassee, on the 2nd Monday of each month. There is no charge for attending, and you do not have to be an MMQG member. All are welcome. This is a very informal group, and anyone who enjoys handwork is invited. You do not have to sign up or commit to participating. An MMQG reminder e-mail will be sent out prior to each session and you will be asked to let Shirley know if you plan to attend. Bring a handwork project, or if you have a pattern/project you haven’t started, you can bring that to get advice from the group. Bring finished projects to show the group.
Comfort Quilts are made by our members for presentation to a fellow member who is experiencing a serious, life-altering illness. With Privacy and HIPPA laws in mind, the quilt will be presented only when the member is ready to share their information with all Guild members so that during the time of special need we will all be able to share/give our love, support, caring friendship and prayers. All members of the Misty Mountain Quilters Guild may participate in this endeavor by making squares/blocks for each lap-sized quilt. Directions for making these blocks can be found here. Donations are also accepted for the purchase of fabric, batting, etc. Contact Jan Kitchen.
Quilts of Valor stitches quilts with love, prayers and healing thoughts for those who have been touched by war. We usually meet the 1st Thursday and 3rd Wednesday of every month, 9:30 to 1:30, at Coosa UMC in Blairsville, GA, and welcome any who would like to participate in this effort. Contact Sue Young.
Quilt Camp / Education Committee holds week-long sessions for local 4H Club middle and high school students to teach them basic sewing machine operation and complete simple sewing projects. Volunteers are always welcome to come and help these local students get excited about sewing. Contact Mary Chamier to volunteer or to arrange classes for your group.
For 2024, the schedule is as follows:
Union County, at the Civic Center, June 10 - 14, 9:00 am - 12:00 pm
Fannin County (Blue Ridge) July 8-12, 9:30 am - 12:00 pm
Towns County (Hiawassee) July 15-19, 9:30 am - 12:00 pm
Longarm Group meets once a month, usually on the first Tuesday, at the Civic Center in Blairsville (165 Wellborn Street) to discuss topics related to longarm quilting. If you have a longarm machine, or are interested in learning more about them, join this group! Check the Guild calendar for meeting dates. Contact Shirley Deasy or Meredith Warwick.
Art Quilts Group meets once a month to learn to create art quilts. Check the Guild calendar for meeting dates. Contact Judy Avant or Kay Donges.
NAME TAGS:
Our logo is the Moon over the Mountain block. A pattern & instructions are included in New Member Kits. We encourage you to make your name tag as quickly as possible and wear it to MMQG meetings so we can get to know you! A 25 cent fine is levied for not wearing your name tag at the general meeting. Name Tag instruction sheet.
ANNUAL RETREAT:
Instead of an overnight retreat, MMQG has started doing occasional "Sleep in your own Bed" retreats. Come join us for a few days of sewing, quilting, eating & socializing. This is a wonderful way to get to know your quilting sisters!
Misty Mountain Quilters' Guild holds a quilt show in the odd numbered years , normally in the fall. The show has over 200 quilts which range in size from bed quilts to miniatures within several quilting categories. Quilts are judged with ribbons and monetary awards given to winners. We also have a boutique filled with items made by guild members, several vendors and a raffle quilt for which part of the proceeds also go to a local charity. The success of QuiltFest is entirely dependent on the participation of guild members.
OFFICERS/EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE:
Guild officers for 2024-25, elected by the membership:
President: Pat Christ
1st Vice President (membership): Kathy Traylor
2nd Vice president (facilities scheduling): Shirley Deasy
Secretary: Hope Murphy (appointed by the board to fill vacant position)
Treasurer: Sally Montgomery
Committee Chairs:
Art Quilts: Judy Avant
Comfort Quilts: Jan Kitchen
Education/Quilt Camp: Mary Chamier
Email Messenger: Meredith Warwick
Greeters: Mary Chamier
Heart to Heart: Robin Jones
Historian: Pat Christ
Hostesses: Tracy Phillips
Hugs & Kisses: Tim and Cindy Strike
Longarm Group: Shirley Deasy and Meredith Warwick
Programs & Workshops: Susan Slaton
Publicity/Newsletter: Hope Murphy
QuiltFest 2023: Tim Strike
Quilts of Valor: Sue Young
Raffle Table: Diane Laslie
Retreat 2024: Diana McLaughlin and Kathy Traylor
Webmaster: Kathy Traylor
Committee Descriptions, if not covered above:
Greeters: This committee greets members and guests at all general meetings. The MMQG banner is to be displayed on the outside door of the building. There should be a sign-in sheet for members & guests, along with blank name tags, pens and a box for the no-name tag fines. The sign-in sheets are given to the President who introduces the guests. The member sign-in sheet is used for door prizes. Both sign-in sheets should be given to the Secretary for filing with the minutes. A bulletin board is also available for members to post messages & items for sale.
Historian: This person will keep all papers concerning history of the Guild, both past & present. Photo albums/scrapbooks will be kept up to date. Historian will share information with the Guild as appropriate.
Hostesses: They are responsible for securing refreshment supplies for each meeting, setting up & decorating tables for refreshments, making coffee. Refreshment area & kitchen must be cleaned at close of meetings.
Programs/workshops: The programs/workshops committee is responsible for finding and booking guest speakers or planning other activities for the program portion of the monthly meetings and is also responsible for making housing arrangements for the guest speaker, getting information to the speaker regarding the meetings, making sure the speaker has directions to the meeting location, and then introducing the speaker at the meeting. The committee makes announcements at the monthly meeting regarding upcoming programs/workshops and sends updates to the webmaster for future programs/workshops. Other duties include scheduling workshops, registering members for workshops and collecting money from the registrants. Someone from the committee should be present at all workshops to set up the room, assist the workshop instructor in any way possible and put away all supplies after the workshop. The committee is responsible for ensuring the programs/workshops stay within budget.
Publicity: The purpose of this committee is to inform the surrounding communities of the projects, programs and activities of our guild through photos & articles placed in area newspapers and other publications as needed.
QuiltFest: The coordinator's for QuiltFest are responsible for planning and overseeing the organization of our biennial quilt show. They select, supervise and advise a variety of committees to plan, facilitate and bring the show to fruition. This includes rules, guidelines, publicity, set up, vendors, boutique, judges, insurance, decorations, raffle quilt & ticket sales among others.
Quilts of Valor: Quilts of Valor groups around the country have stitched quilts with love, prayers and healing thoughts since 2003 when Catherine Roberts founded the Quilts of Valor Foundation (www.qovf.org). This national volunteer organization is not about politics, it is about people! A carefully made, pieced and quilted Quilt of Valor is awarded to those who have been touched by war. It says "Thank you for your service, sacrifice and valor" in serving our nation and truly making it the "Land of the Free, because of the Brave." Misty Mountain Quilters' Guild has proudly registered as a new Quilts of Valor group as part of Region 8 which includes Alabama, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee and Georgia.
Raffle Table: This committee purchases items for a monthly raffle held at the guild’s general meeting and sets up the raffle table with prizes and materials needed for entering and drawing names. During the drawing, someone from the committee supervises the prize table. The money collected is spent on prizes for the next month’s raffle. The committee keeps records on money collected and spent.
Retreat: The retreat committee finds a venue for the retreat and negotiates a contract. The committee then registers members for the retreat, plans classes, games and activities, purchases prizes and solicits donated prizes from local businesses. The committee will work with the event coordinator for whatever venue is chosen to decide the best use of available space, and then oversees the retreat while it is in session.
Webmaster: The webmaster is responsible for updating our webpage every month based on information received from various committee chairmen. The update is usually completed within a week after the general meeting.
QUESTIONS? CONTACT US:
mmqginfo@gmail.com
Mailing address: P. O. Box 446, Blairsville, GA 30514
MEMBERSHIP FORM: NAME TAG INSTRUCTIONS:
MMQG Membership Application Nov2020.pdfName Tag pattern.pdf