A summary from our first meeting on May 17, 2011.
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Sorry we missed you at our first meeting of the Chattanooga chapter of the American Sewing Guild (ASG). We had a lot of fun that evening, meeting one another, seeing what everyone has been working on and talking about what kinds of programs we would like to have in the future. Here is a quick recap of the meeting.
The Chapter Advisory Board (or CAB) was introduced. The current CAB consists of the 5 founding members of the Chattanooga chapter. Julie Ormsby is the president and chair of the programs committee. Julie just moved to Chattanooga from Memphis and she enjoys garment sewing and crocheting but she would like to learn about quilting, smocking and heirloom sewing. Ruth Ann Kuebler is the 1st vice president and neighborhood group coordinator (more on neighborhood groups later). Ruth Ann runs a sewing school and teaches smocking, quilting, and serging. Gail Claypool is the 2nd vice president, newsletter editor, and long-time member of the ASG. Gail has been working hard on our first newsletter (a benefit for chapter members) and it will feature educational articles, chapter happenings, and local retailer discounts. Lynn Miller is the treasurer and chair of the membership committee. Lynn will help us stretch our budget to the max so we may bring in knowledgeable presenters, go on field trips, host sew-ins and other events. Lynn Ownsby is the secretary and webmaster. Yes, we have a website! The website (
www.asgchattanooga.org) will have a members-only section as well as information about the upcoming chapter events.
An overview of the ASG was also provided. The mission of the American Sewing Guild (
www.asg.org) is advancing sewing as an art and life skill. All sewing levels and interests are welcome to participate. ASG membership comes with many benefits, including inspiring and informative newsletters mailed to your home, free webinars to learn about various sewing techniques at your convenience, discounts on purchases at more than 60 retailers (see attached document), and discounted registration for the annual national conference (August 18-22, 2011 in Los Angeles) as well as programs hosted by chapters across the United States. ASG is a membership organization with dues paid once a year. A portion of the dues goes to ASG headquarters to produce the newsletters and educational programs and a portion of the dues is returned to your designated chapter to provide support for chapter-specific activities. If you are ready to become a member, you can join online under the “Become a New Member” link and select “TN--Chattanooga” as your chapter. For any that are undecided, please remember that ASG welcomes guests to attend 2 meetings before they must join. Feel free to come to a meeting and check us out!
We will be meeting as a chapter for the next few months and then we will split into neighborhood groups. Neighborhood groups are smaller groups that will meet in different locations at different times. Groups can be formed based on location (such as the Hixson group) or by special interest (such as a group for garment sewers). ASG members may attend as many neighborhood groups as they like. Each group will have a leader to serve as the communication link between the CAB and the group. Ruth Ann will coordinate the activities of the neighborhood groups through the group leaders. Periodically throughout the year we will schedule special programs and these are the times when we will come together as a whole chapter. We will also have an annual meeting, held in the fall, to celebrate the year’s successes and elect CAB officers for the next year.
For the remainder of the evening, we each shared our Show & Tell items and a little about ourselves and sewing interests. Among us there were alterations experts, accomplished seamstresses, avid quilters, fiber artists, experimenters of all sewing techniques and those that have been lured back to sewing after being away for many years. Funny stories were told and we have all discovered that we are afflicted by the same condition: SABLE disease (Stash Acquired Beyond Life Expectancy). This kind of camaraderie is exactly why each of us are so excited to finally get this Chattanooga chapter underway. It doesn’t matter if you’ve been sewing for years or are just getting back into sewing, we can each learn from one another. To help us plan upcoming programs and organize neighborhood groups, please consider completing a survey at the June 14th meeting or via email by sending a survey request to
asgchattanooga@yahoo.com.
A reminder for the June 14th meeting will be sent at a later date but go ahead and mark it on your calendar now and tell your friends. Our June program will be Paper Piecing led by Ruth Ann Kuebler. You can bring your sewing machine (or hand sewing needles and thread), fabric scraps, and basic sewing supplies (scissors, needles, thread, etc.) and we will provide the paper patterns. For anyone that needs a visual to understand what paper piecing is, check out this link: Practice Paper Piecing (
http://www.quilterscache.com/StartQuiltingPages/startquil...). Future meetings will be held on the 3rd Tuesday of the month at 6:30 pm at St. John United Methodist church at 3921 Murray Hills Drive.
If you have any additional questions or suggestions for future activities, feel free to contact any member of the CAB. We look forward to seeing you on June 14th.
Sincerely,
Julie Ormsby, President & Programs Chair
asgchattanooga@yahoo.comRuth Ann Kuebler, 1st VP & Neighborhood Group Coordinator
Gail Claypool, 2nd VP & Newsletter Editor
Lynn Miller, Treasurer & Membership Chair
Lynn Ownsby, Secretary & Webmaster
*NEW* Chattanooga American Sewing Guild chapter for TN, GA, AL
