Today, I updated our Calendar tab at the top, which will show you upcoming events for our guild through Google Calendar. I will update this at least once a month. In addition, I've updated the Past Meetings tab, which provides links to all of such meetings and activities. I continue to take requests/suggestions for the blog, so please don't hesitate to ask. Enjoy!
-Jess S.
Monday, October 14, 2013
Sunday, October 13, 2013
Recap: Barbara Persing Trunk Show, Lecture, and Demonstration
This past Tuesday, in place of our regular October meeting, Barbara Persing visited us. She is a well-known long arm quilter and author of StrataVarious Quilts (written with her sister, Mary Hoover) and Listen to Your Quilt. I think it's safe to say we were completely mesmerized with her quilts, quilting, and ideas.
As she shared her quilts, Barbara listed the ways in which you can approach quilting your quilts.
1. Categorize your quilt - is it an art quilt? For kids? Modern? Traditional? She suggested you "marry the quilting to the style of the quilt." For example, a traditional quilt might have feathers that are in the same exact place on all sides. A modern quilt with traditional elements might have feathers scattered all over.
2. Determine the intended use of the quilt. Will it be for a bed (all-over quilting/less quilting works best with a lot of washes)? How about the wall, which gives you more freedom to quilt densely? Is it for a show?
3. Decide how much impact you want the quilting to have. This connects with #2.
4. Decide the kind of thread and color you want to use. Barbara believes that 9/10 times, a matching thread color will be best, though a contrasting color definitely has its place.
She suggested learning how to free-motion quilt (FMQ) stippling, loops, and short lines first, because all of the designs you can make come from those.
Finally, Barbara took many of our quilt tops and suggested how we can quilt them. The individualized attention we received was priceless! Thanks again, Barbara, for an inspiring presentation!
The stunning cover quilt, "The Sampler," from Listen to Your Quilt. It has a different quilting design in each orange peel/cathedral window block. When she passed this quilt around, everyone took their time when it came to passing it to the next person!
A traditional version of the same quilt
Robin helped hold many of the quilts. She is a champ!
1. Categorize your quilt - is it an art quilt? For kids? Modern? Traditional? She suggested you "marry the quilting to the style of the quilt." For example, a traditional quilt might have feathers that are in the same exact place on all sides. A modern quilt with traditional elements might have feathers scattered all over.
2. Determine the intended use of the quilt. Will it be for a bed (all-over quilting/less quilting works best with a lot of washes)? How about the wall, which gives you more freedom to quilt densely? Is it for a show?
3. Decide how much impact you want the quilting to have. This connects with #2.
4. Decide the kind of thread and color you want to use. Barbara believes that 9/10 times, a matching thread color will be best, though a contrasting color definitely has its place.
She chose a brown thread color for this quilt, which was designed by her sister.
Finally, Barbara took many of our quilt tops and suggested how we can quilt them. The individualized attention we received was priceless! Thanks again, Barbara, for an inspiring presentation!
Barbara drawing designs for Andi to quilt on to her traditional Christmas quilt
-Jess S.
Tuesday, October 8, 2013
Mid-Atlantic Mod Registration OPEN for guild members!
Hi all! Glad I got to see many of you at the Barbara Persing talk tonight (pictures and recap up this weekend!). I'm posting to remind you that sign ups for Mid-Atlantic Mod, a modern quilting retreat are open TODAY for guild members. Just what is that, exactly? Scroll down to find out!
If you've heard of modern sewing retreats like Sewing Summit in Utah and Sew South, our retreat is similar but with a focus on social quilting. That means that for the majority of the weekend, members of the CJMQG, DCMQG and Philly MQG will be sewing in one big ol' room together! Many of you know how much fun we have in our sewcial days... imagine that times 6 (60 people can attend altogether, so 20 for each guild). The Presidents of the three guilds are planning activities, sponsors, and mini workshops (if you want to teach, see this post). Anyway, it's going to be a total blast, and you KNOW you want to join us!!
When: Thurs - Sun April 3-6, 2014
Where: Doubletree Hilton in Lancaster, PA
Cost: $90 for the large room for sewing, pay your own hotel ($129 a night, can split with a roommate) and food. Hotel stay is required with registration, though you do not have to stay all 3 nights).
For more information: http://midatlanticmod.
*****To register, please fill out the registration form: https://docs.google.com/forms/
After receiving your registration you will be sent payment instructions to secure your place, as well as instructions for reserving a hotel room.
General registration will open on Nov. 1st and we hope to attract attendees from all over the mid-Atlantic region. If you have friends in other guilds or just quilty friends in general, encourage them to sign up right away on the 1st! Yay!
-Jess S.
If you've heard of modern sewing retreats like Sewing Summit in Utah and Sew South, our retreat is similar but with a focus on social quilting. That means that for the majority of the weekend, members of the CJMQG, DCMQG and Philly MQG will be sewing in one big ol' room together! Many of you know how much fun we have in our sewcial days... imagine that times 6 (60 people can attend altogether, so 20 for each guild). The Presidents of the three guilds are planning activities, sponsors, and mini workshops (if you want to teach, see this post). Anyway, it's going to be a total blast, and you KNOW you want to join us!!
When: Thurs - Sun April 3-6, 2014
Where: Doubletree Hilton in Lancaster, PA
Cost: $90 for the large room for sewing, pay your own hotel ($129 a night, can split with a roommate) and food. Hotel stay is required with registration, though you do not have to stay all 3 nights).
For more information: http://midatlanticmod.
*****To register, please fill out the registration form: https://docs.google.com/forms/
After receiving your registration you will be sent payment instructions to secure your place, as well as instructions for reserving a hotel room.
General registration will open on Nov. 1st and we hope to attract attendees from all over the mid-Atlantic region. If you have friends in other guilds or just quilty friends in general, encourage them to sign up right away on the 1st! Yay!
-Jess S.
Sunday, October 6, 2013
September Recap and October Reminder
**Reminder - there is no general guild meeting in October! Members only can attend a lecture/trunk show/demonstration with Barbara Persing, author of Listen to Your Quilts, this Tuesday, October 8 from 6 -10 PM at Pennington Quilt Works (please note the time change). If you are at the lecture and signed up for the Riley Blake fabric challenge, you will receive your fabric at this time. Guild bee members should also bring their completed blocks for September (if not already turned in) and October. PLEASE RSVP HERE so we have an idea of how many to expect! If you want to bring a quilt top to ask Barbara about, please say so here (on the new site). Thank you!
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At the September meeting, we were bursting at our seams again! We had 32 quilters, including several visitors and new members. Let's keep up the enthusiasm for our guild!
If ever you are looking for more information about what happened at our meetings, please do not hesitate to read our meeting minutes, submitted by our wonderful secretary, Kathleen. This meeting's minutes are a download in BigTent and can be accessed here.
Upcoming Events:
Guild News:
Jess L. showed us how to access the new MQG website and to get to our group. We talked about the pros and cons of the site so far. Once you sign in, you can access our group here. You can share anything about the guild, possible events, or your creations on our site! We will be phasing out BigTent as time goes on, but for now, we are still using it for RSVPs. As always, if you have trouble signing on or finding your way about the site, please don't hesitate to email us.
Carol did a great job demonstrating how to make a wonky 5-point star. This tutorial can be found in two parts: here and here, thanks to Carmen Rose Prose. And thanks, Carol, for an awesome demo!
Swap: Members swapped mug rugs with each other at random. Great job, ladies! So many modern techniques!
Challenge: Members submitted blocks for the Guild Banner (more info soon! I'm working on it!).
November Meeting (Tues. Nov. 12, 7 PM, Pennington Quilt Works)
Discussion: Fabric designer - who are your favorites? Bring some fabric to show us!
Challenge: Any complete projects from the Riley Blake challenge.
Spotlight: If you'd like to explain your story as a quilter and show us the quilts you have, let us know!
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At the September meeting, we were bursting at our seams again! We had 32 quilters, including several visitors and new members. Let's keep up the enthusiasm for our guild!
If ever you are looking for more information about what happened at our meetings, please do not hesitate to read our meeting minutes, submitted by our wonderful secretary, Kathleen. This meeting's minutes are a download in BigTent and can be accessed here.
Upcoming Events:
- Tues. Oct. 8 - Barbara Persing lecture - NO OCTOBER MEETING!
- Tues. Oct. 8 - Registration opens for all guild members for Mid-Atlantic Mod, a modern quilting retreat. One of the organizers is our very own Jessica Levitt! Our guild, the DCMQG, and the Philly MQG will be in attendance (up to 60), and quilters outside the guilds can sign up on November 1.
- Fri.- Sat. Oct. 11-12 - Keystone Quilters show in Quakertown - click here for more info.
- Sat. - Sun. Oct. 26-27 - Evening Star Quilters Guild of Belvidere, NJ show (I'll be there one of the days!)
- Tues. Nov. 12 - November meeting, CJMQG
- Thurs. - Sun. April 3-6- Mid-Atlantic Mod! See the new website to sign up for email notifications (right sidebar).
Guild News:
- Bring any unwanted but gently used quilting fabric (no smaller than 1/4 yard, quilt shop quality only please), batting, books, notions, patterns, etc. to our freebie table at meetings! We will not have a freebie table at the October lecture.
- Want to be an officer? Let us know before the November meeting. We are hoping for volunteers! The four positions are as follows: President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer.
- Have a suggestion for a guild quilt along? This would start in a couple of months (but no commitment) - everyone makes the same quilt at the same time and shares their progress. The ideal QAL would be already written in full, online and thus easily accessible, and free. Check out this thread on our group website, where we've discussed a few. Let us know what your favorites are at the link, or suggest another you might have seen around quilty blogland.
- Riley Blake Challenge - The Modern Quilt Guild is hosting another challenge, just like the Madrona Road challenge from last year that many of us participated in. This time, members who signed up will receive a fat eighth bundle of some great Riley Blake basics. Here's more info:
- The item you make must be quilted, but it can be anything!
- You do not have to use all of the fabrics you receive.
- You can add solids or another Riley Blake fabric.
- The challenge runs from now until December (I could be wrong, but I think the picture has to be uploaded to the MQG Fabric Challenge forum, which is part of the new site, by Dec. 31. We will confirm the date ASAP).
- Time to get your thinking caps on... what will you make this time?
Jess L. showed us how to access the new MQG website and to get to our group. We talked about the pros and cons of the site so far. Once you sign in, you can access our group here. You can share anything about the guild, possible events, or your creations on our site! We will be phasing out BigTent as time goes on, but for now, we are still using it for RSVPs. As always, if you have trouble signing on or finding your way about the site, please don't hesitate to email us.
Carol did a great job demonstrating how to make a wonky 5-point star. This tutorial can be found in two parts: here and here, thanks to Carmen Rose Prose. And thanks, Carol, for an awesome demo!
Swap: Members swapped mug rugs with each other at random. Great job, ladies! So many modern techniques!
Those who are participating in the Guild Bee gave Jess L. her house blocks. This is going to be a gorgeous quilt!
Challenge: Members submitted blocks for the Guild Banner (more info soon! I'm working on it!).
Show and Tell:
Thanks to Lori Saporito for taking pictures at this meeting!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------November Meeting (Tues. Nov. 12, 7 PM, Pennington Quilt Works)
Discussion: Fabric designer - who are your favorites? Bring some fabric to show us!
Challenge: Any complete projects from the Riley Blake challenge.
Spotlight: If you'd like to explain your story as a quilter and show us the quilts you have, let us know!
-Jess S.
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
Riley Blake Challenge Fabric is in!
Hi all,
Just a heads up that the fabric is in for all those who signed up for the challenge! Jess L. will be giving it out at the October workshop with Barbara Persing (by the way, the RSVP is here - this is a free lecture for members).
Just a heads up that the fabric is in for all those who signed up for the challenge! Jess L. will be giving it out at the October workshop with Barbara Persing (by the way, the RSVP is here - this is a free lecture for members).
Yum! Right?
-Jess S.
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