Sunday, August 19, 2012

August Meeting Recap

Woo! I have the August meeting recap ready for you, just a few days after the actual meeting! This has got to be some kind of record :) Pictures and a recap of the minutes headed your way!

(P.S. Check out the July meeting pictures, now on the post! Thanks, Laura!)

General Announcements
  • Join BigTent if you haven't already. Email centraljerseymqg@gmail.com if you are having trouble!
  • Keep checking the blog for Modern Mondays (yes, there will be one tomorrow!) and our new segment, Member Spotlight... as well as some other things I have up my sleeve
  • Want to teach a mini lesson at a meeting? You'll get a $10 gift card as thanks! Email the account. All the cool kids are doing it (well, at least, I am :))
Upcoming Events
  • Next meeting: September 11, 2012 (more on that in a minute)
  • Quilters Take Manhattan - Sept. 15, 2012 (see the minutes for more details)
  • Sewing Sewcial at Sandy's - Thurs. September 20 at 5 pm. Bring a dish for dinner! (I will post more info when it gets closer!)
  • There will be more info regarding a potential Kaffe Fasset workshop on Sunday, October 7. It will not be a sewing workshop - it will be cutting and color inspiration. This is bound to be a unique opportunity, so look for more official info soon. Anything news that is sent out via BigTent will also be posted here!
Meeting
  • Intros: We shared what other hobbies we have besides quilting and sewing... we have a lot of knitters and hikers, and there were a lot in between!
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  • Next, we swapped pillow covers. Anyone who wanted to participate made a 14x14" cover in any modern style. Our guild always produces such beautiful swap items - I'm always so impressed!
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  • We had a lengthy discussion about improv piecing, led by our president, Jessica. There are so many ways to go about improv piecing that you can do it however you would like, and those of us who have tried it stated that it's "freeing." One method you can use is Denyse Schmidt's, which was shown at the workshop. The main idea of all improv piecing is: don't use a pattern!
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  • At the break, the officers took the scrap bags members brought in (I think almost everyone brought one, too!), and filled them with different scraps, to ensure that each would have a variety.
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  • Our September challenge is to create scrappy improv blocks using ANY technique, as long as you include the Sage Kona Cotton passed out at the meeting (if you couldn't make it to the meeting, you can pick some up from Jan at Pennington Quilt Works). The blocks should be 12.5" in one direction to ensure that, when swapping (see below), there is a little consistency. Otherwise, your other dimension can be whatever you want it to be! Try to make at least 3 blocks: 1 to keep, 1 to swap, and 1 for charity. Bring whatever you make to the next meeting! Remember: LOW STRESS, have fun! I'll be posting some improv inspiration on here, too.

  • September swap: Bring in one of your improv blocks to swap! Easy peasy.

  • Finally, we had show and tell!
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That's all for now! It was a very productive and interesting meeting. Stay tuned!
-Jess H.