New Maple Leaf Quilters Chairperson , Nancy Smith will provide leadership for our group for the next year.

NEW LEADERSHIP.
      We want to thank Fran Hathaway for her great leadership during the past several years, serving first as vice chairperson during our planning for the 1998 Quilters Gathering, and then serving for chairperson for the past two years. Thank you, Fran, for the service and leadership. She has exended much thought, care and energy to her role for the Maple Leaf Quilters.
      We look forward to a new year of programs and activity with Nancy at the helm. She has been actively seeking input from Maple Leaf Quilters on the kinds of activities we would like to see happen during the June 2000-May 2001 guild year, and she has been busy compiling ideas and contacting resource people and teachers. Be sure to let Nancy know if you have suggestions programs, workshops and activities.
      We also want to thank Edith Shanholt, treasurer and Paula Newman, secretary, for their contributions and work on behalf of the Maple Leaf Quilters during the past two years. The new treasurer will be Liz Martin Clark, and new secretary is Marie Troyer. Thank you both for your willing to hold these offices.

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RECENT MLQ ACTIVITES.

Report on the Shipshewana Dear Jane Retreat.

       Fifty-five quilters from all over the US and Canada enjoyed a fantastic time at the Shipshewana Farmstead Inn during the last weekend in April. Maple Leaf Quilters were probably the best represented quilt guild there. Fran, Beulah, Sylva, Marie, Edith, Paula, Elaine, Carol, Patty and Janis were there. Nancy dropped by on her way home from Sauders. Patty made her first (2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th!) blocks on her Dear Jane project. And Edith finished the quilting on her wonderful Dear Jane. We hung the six DJ Rows of Sharing (see below for pictures)on the wall - all six will be shown at the Vermont Quilt Festival. And of course, our own dear honorary Maple Leaf Quilter, Brenda Papadakis was on hand to share in the fun. The weather was perfect, the quilting friends were great, the food was wonderful and chocolate plentiful. It was Dear Jane Heaven!                                                Carol Honderich

(Photo by Linda Franz)

Look at the grin on Edith's face, moments after putting the final quilting stitches in her DJ at the Shipshewana Dear Jane Retreat.

Cancer Treatment Centers of America Quilt.
       On Saturday, May 20, a number of the Maple Leaf Quilters met at Goshen Hospital for a Paper Piecing Workshop for CTCA Quilt. Liz Martin Clark is heading up a MLQ committe to design and make a very large "survivor" quilt to be displayed in Goshen's new Cancer Treatment Center. The quilt's theme is "Celebrate Life." It will feature a center medalion on point of an appliqued tree (CTCA's logo) on top of a watercolor background. The medalion will be surrounded by 6" paper pieced blocks, each in a "Square on Square" block setting. We will be having at least two paper piecing events to make blocks for the quilt.
        If you missed this first one, we hope you can participate in the Monday, June 26 evening guild meeting, which will be a piecing night. Please bring some nice (prewashed, 100% cotton) scraps for paper piecing. The blocks will include anything that "celebrates life" - flowers, trees, animals, activities, people, toys, events, etc. Smaller scale prints generally work best for paper piecing blocks since the pieces tend to be fairly small. We will provide instructions, guidance and tips for anyone who wants to learn the paper piecing technique. Bring a sewing machine. For more information contact Liz at 535-2834 or email lmartin@goshenhealth.com .

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Monday, July 24 -- No meeting.

Middlebury Harvest Festival,, October 5, 6 and 7.

BIRTHDAY FAT QUARTER CLUB.  

Imagine -- It's your birthday and you've just been presented with an armful of fabric fat quarters in all your favorite quilt fabrics and colors! Hey, join the Birthday Fat Quarter club and it will happen.

During our June, 2000-May, 2001 guild year we encourage you to join the Maple Leaf Quilters Birthday Fat Quarter Club. Here's how it works: When you sign up you are committing yourself to provide a birthday card and fat quarter of fabric (approx. size: 18" x 20-22") in the color and/or theme chosen by that particular month's Birthday Gals. We will use the regular 4th Monday evening meeting (beginning with the June 2000 meeting --although we currently have no one signed up with June or July birthdays) as the time to present the cards and fabrics to the participants. Fabric themes you might choose for yourself could be: "purples" or "cat fabric" or "batiks" or "Thimbleberry fabrics," -- anything you like and want to collect. When purchasing your gift fabric, please buy good quality 100% cotton quilting fabrics. You can use fabric from your stash if it fits the theme/color being requested. Finding the perfect fabric and birthday card for each of the other members will be lots of fun. If you sign up late you will be responsible to make up the gals who have already celebrated their birthdays.      Carol Honderich

Birthday Club Members

MONTH	MEMBER	BIRTHDATE	FABRIC DESCRIPTION
JUNE	--	--	--
JULY	--	--	--
AUGUST	Nancy	8/16	Batiks
SEPTEMBER	--	--	--
OCTOBER	Edith	10/25	undecided
NOVEMBER	Janis	11/06	Batiks
	Betty	11/27	Bug Fabric
DECEMBER	--	--	--
JANUARY	Marie	1/11	30's Fabrics
FEBRUARY	Phyllis	2/13	Batiks
	Becky	2/16	Cartoon Characters Fabric
MARCH	Paula	3/12	undecided
	Carol	3/27	Vegetable Fabrics
	Beulah	3/30	undecided
APRIL	Sylva	4/6	Green Floral Prints
MAY	Fran	5/8	Fabric with strips, dots or spots
	Elaine	5/29	undecided

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A Note from THE COTTON BOUTIQUE:
          Please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Cindy Whitten and my husband and I have a new online fabric store called The Cotton Boutique, specializing in 100% cotton fabric from such leading lines at KP Kids, Moda, Alexander Henry, Michael Miller, Timeless Treasures, South Sea Imports, and many more. As a small family business, any help you can give us to make our store a success will be greatly appreciated. Please be sure to check out our website at   http://www.cottonboutique.com      
Your comments and suggestions are what help make our store better.
        Cindy sent us a "fabric gift" for a door prize for the May meeting. Be sure to visit their site. They have great prints and prices! Check out the novelty fabrics. I found a lot of new prints that would look great in an "I-Spy" quilt, including a must have "Animals On-line" print.