Desert Threads Begin a New Year

Sue Bart

The new officers for Desert Threads are starting to make plans for the coming year (runs through June 30, 2022). We invite anyone interested in quilts to come join our chapter of Arizona Quilters Guild (AQG) and express your desires for programs and classes. Our September meeting will be Wednesday, Sept. 8, at 9:30 a.m. For more information, send an email with contact information to [email protected]. Someone will email or call you. You can also ask for a digital copy of our newsletter.

Desert Threads will be at the Cottonwood Palo Verde Community Day, during which various clubs and activities that take place in Sun Lakes will have tables set up for you to visit with their representatives and ask questions. You might want to get involved with new clubs or volunteer opportunities. Desert Threads will be there with some of our members to get acquainted and answer your questions about the fun things we do together. This event will be on Saturday, Oct. 9, from 9 a.m. to noon in the ballroom.

Our members have kept busy with a Community Service challenge from Jody using previously cut strips of various sizes. Please bring your completed charity quilt (the challenge or one you made on your own), to the Sept. 8 meeting. We are planning to meet in the Phoenix Room near the Cottonwood Country Club activities rooms.

AQG is our parent organization for Desert Threads and provides many services to all chapter members. You can join AQG as an independent member not affiliated with a quilt chapter. Zoom has become a primary medium for any AQG member to observe virtual lectures and take low-cost virtual classes (these have been fantastic. AQG is a great resource for quilters all over the state, including when you are visiting or residing in other states.

The Quilt, Craft, Sew Festival (aka Rusty Barn) will be at Westworld in Scottsdale Sept. 2 through 4. If you are a member of AQG, go to the website where you can buy a discounted ticket. You won’t have to stand in line to buy a ticket at the event.

Here’s a listing of what’s coming up from AQG (for details and to register, go to www.arizonaquiltersguild.org):

Lectures: “Quilting Cowboy Trunk Show” by Dale Allen-Rowse, Sept. 21.

“My Journey into Quilting” by Joyce Hughes, Nov. 11 (Joyce does art quilts with thread painting and embellishments, frequently using panels).

“All Star Teacher Sampler” provided by the Global Quilt Connection (GQC), Oct. 2 and 3. Sign up via AQG.

Classes (fees involved): “Circle & Curve Sampler” by Maria Shell, Sept. 2 and Sept. 4

“Stetson Cross” by Dale Allen-Rowse, Oct. 12 or Oct. 14

“Prairie Pastures” by Dale Allen-Rowse, Oct. 12 or Oct. 14

“Dimensional Thread Painting” by Joyce Hughes, Nov. 18