Letter From the President

Dear Guild members,

Welcome back all you Snowbirds. I bet you felt sorry for us because we were knee deep in snow up here. But we didn’t hibernate. We had some great workshops and some busy meetings all through the winter. Join the fun. As I walk my two little pooches through the neighborhood, I see the big oak trees blooming and lovely light green leaves poking out everywhere. The pollen is a little tough on my eyes, but it is Spring at last here and our 29th Annual Quilt Show is fast approaching. The volunteer sheets are filling up, but, please, take a look at them and notice the areas that really need help. Give the guild some extra hours before and during the Show. Nothing makes you smile more than being around a bunch of quilters seeing their efforts and getting inspired. I will be in the judging room all day Thursday and busy the rest of the week in the boutique. We can all do some double duty and have some double pleasure. Also remember when you volunteer, whether at the Show or in any of the committees everyone depends on you to fill the spot. If you don’t show up, there is a scramble to find others to cover your job. In another vane, I want to remind you that we have a wonderful professionally run Quilting Library. It is filled with both new and old quilting books of all kinds. Talk to the librarian at her table, she will love to help you. I will see you at the meetings and in the workshops. Here’s to square corners and straight bindings.                                                                             Toni Neel, President

At one of  ELIQG’s UFO auctions I saw a pretty half-finished daffodil block that needed a home. The daffodil was my father’s favorite flower, so I bid on the block and won! I added log cabin borders that always reminded me of the Scandinavian cabins with their green grass and flowers on the roof. It became a memory quilt to my father. I wish to share with you the following poem written by William Woodsworth which is entitled:

“THE DAFFODILS”

I wandered lonely as a cloud

That floats on high o’er vales and hills

When all at once I saw A crowd

A host of golden daffodils,

Beside the lake, beneath the trees

Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine

And twinkle on the milky way,

They stretched in never-ending line

Along the margin of a bay,

Ten thousand saw I at a glance

Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced, but they

Out did the sparkling waves in glee,

A poet could not be gay

In such a jocund company!

I gazed and gazed, but little thought

What wealth the show to me had bought.

For oft, when on my couch I lie

In vacant or in pensive mood,

They flash upon that inward eye

Which is the bliss of solitude,

And then my heart with pleasure fills

And dances with the daffodils.

Toni Gilleeny

ELIQG 2010 President