February Meeting Recap

February was our first meeting with our 2014 officers! It's going to be a great year!

Sneak peek at the guild banner, made up of modern blocks from our members - it will be done very soon. See below for more info!

News:

- Dues are due. In order to stay on the active roster, please pay your dues of $50 today to Kristina. New members will get their pins soon. Membership cards from the MQG are on their way!

- PLEASE RSVP for meetings! We still use BigTent for meeting and event reminders. You still need to sign up for the MQG site as well. Let us know if you have any questions or need help.

- Survey results – more swaps, more show and tell, more events!

- Please enjoy our giveaway table and feel free to donate.  However, please don't bring very large items and please only bring quilter's cotton fabric (or the kind of designer home decor or laminate etc. sold in quilt shops).

-We are hoping to get Jacquie Gering, modern quilter and author of Quilting Modern, to lecture and lead a workshop in August. We should have more info for you at the March meeting.

 

-Mid-Atlantic Mod - a modern quilting retreat is full!  Dates and location are: April 3-6, 2014 at the Doubletree Hilton in Lancaster, PA. If you're still interested, register and you'll be on the wait list. Some wait-listers have been given the chance to join already.

-Next month I will have a paper contact list available of guild member towns and emails. The purpose of this list is to help members connect with each other outside of meetings. You can see our social media list here. Those who did not want to be included have indicated so. If you didn't write your name down at the meeting (as in, you don't want to be included on the list that will go out to all members), feel free to email the account (centraljerseymqg(at)gmail(dot)com) before the March meeting. 

-The Quilt Fest of New Jersey is coming (March 6-9) and we have an exhibit of modern quilts! If you volunteered to help hang out or clean up, you should have already signed up to be there. When you know when you are going, please post on the BigTent thread so some of us can meet up and tour the festival together!

-Banner update – it’s almost done, thanks to volunteers within our guild! It will be on display at Quilt Fest. Jess L. is currently longarm quilting it and adding the finishing touches.

-Treasurer Report from Kristina - Kristina discussed the guild's expenses from last year.

-Charity update – We are hoping to start making baby quilts for a local organization - we will have more info at the March meeting. We hope to dedicate a sewcial soon to sewing baby quilts.

-Presentation/Discussion:– Neva discussed the tools she uses for Free Motion Quilting, and showed how her quilting has evolved via quilt sandwiches (a piece of batting between two pieces of fabric). She also demonstrated how drawing out your design on paper/doodling will help you practice for the machine. I also discussed inspiration (Pinterest, other people's quilts, nature/architecture) as well as the importance of taking breaks and letting yourself relax. In March, come in and show us a new FMQ design or your quilt sandwiches! Try it!

-Swap: Modern Valentines! Many members made something for our swap.

Thanks to Laura for the pictures, as usual! You can see more of them full size by clicking her name and visiting her Flickr account.

-Guild Quilt-A-Long (QAL): Jenifer Dick, Modern Mondays – Members showed us their 6 completed blocks for the month of February. It's been so fun to see all the fabric combinations our members are coming up with! You can jump in at any time and make blocks. See more info here.

-Challenge – Riley Blake. Members shared MORE amazing Riley Blake quilts! We had a lot of participation with this challenge. The workmanship, creativity, and effort of our members are just amazing. See the bottom of this post for the link to RSVP for the NEW Michael Miller challenge!


 

1. CJMQG February meeting, 2. CJMQG February meeting, 3. CJMQG February meeting, 4. CJMQG February meeting, 5. CJMQG February meeting, 6. Antithesis

The last one on the bottom right, Rachel's Antithesis, is in the MQG Top Ten Challenge Quilts! We are so proud to call her our own!
 

-Show and Tell:

 


1. CJMQG February meeting, 2. CJMQG February meeting, 3. CJMQG February meeting, 4. CJMQG February meeting, 5. CJMQG February meeting, 6. CJMQG February meeting, 7. CJMQG February meeting, 8. CJMQG February meeting, 9. CJMQG February meeting, 10. CJMQG February meeting

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March Meeting
 March 11, 2014, 7pm - 9:30pm, Pennington Quilt Works

- Presentation – Meg Cox, Quilt Index and Quilt Alliance Challenge

-Discussion – Radiant Orchid – color of the year – bring in fabrics and those you think would coordinate - slideshow of inspiration by Jess S.

- Challenge – free motion a new design and/or bring in your practice quilt sandwiches
 -Share pictures from Quilt Fest!
-Discuss QuiltCon, Quilters Take Manhattan, and the Michael Miller Challenge

RSVP for the meeting here!

Other RSVPS:
Quilters Take Manhattan (ends March 1)
Michael Miller Challenge (ends Feb. 27)


Can't wait!
Jess S.

QuiltCon Announced!

Did you hear about QuiltCon? QuiltCon is a modern quilting conference that is really going to be "the place to be" next year. Jess L. will be telling us more about it at the March meeting (she went last year).

 

Picture from the MQG blog

The special keynote lecture is by the Quilters of Gee's Bend. Instructors and panelists include names you might know, like Carolyn Friedlander, Lizzy House, Jacquie Gering, Elizabeth Hartman, Angela Walters, and more (see here for the list so far). 

Hotels have already filled up, but the MQG says they will be releasing more block rates for members next week.

Important dates from the QuiltCon site:

Registration: 
Course Catalog released by May 15, 2014.

Member registration opens June 24, 2014. Become a member today!
General public registration opens on July 1, 2014. 

 Quilt Entry: 
Quilt show entry open July 1 to November 30, 2014.
Notifications of acceptance by December 30, 2014.

Volunteers:

Super Volunteer application released by May 15, 2014.

Super Volunteer applications accepted May 15 to June 15, 2014

Super Volunteer notifications go out by June 23, 2014.

General Volunteer sign-ups begin December 1, 2014.

 

This is going to fill up fast, so be ready to register in June!

 

-Jess S.

Congrats, Rachel!

Congrats to our very own Rachel Singh, who made it into the Top Ten quilts for the Riley Blake Challenge out of over 300 entries!!

Picture from Rachel's post on her blog, Let's Begin Sewing

You can see the rest of the beautiful top ten quilts here on the MQG blog! Good luck in the finals, Rachel! You make us proud :)

-Jess S.

Riley Blake Challenge - Where to Post your Finishes

Hi everyone! Here's how you post your RB Challenge finishes to be considered for the fabric prizes (and to share with the quilting community!):

1. Make sure you have a bright picture of your whole quilt.

2. Once you log into the Modern Quilt Guild website, go to this link:
http://community.themodernquiltguild.com//groups/finished-riley-blake-challenge-photos

3. Scroll all the way to the bottom and you'll see a white box to post. In the gray toolbar above the white space, click the furthest button to the right (when you scroll over it, it says "Add Media.")

4. From here, you'll be able to choose your picture from the computer, upload, and post.

Hope this helps! The deadline for posting your picture is Monday, February 17.

-Jess S.

January Meeting Recap

News:

• Dues are due to Kristina, our treasurer! Most have paid their dues for the year ($50) but if you haven't, please send her a check ASAP. If you need her address, please email the account (centraljerseymqg(at)gmail(dot)com). Anyone who has not paid will not be on the official member list from the MQG.
•  If you did not receive a membership pin and you are a paid member, please let Jessica Levitt know at the February meeting. They are nifty :)
• Please continue to RSVP to events on Bigtent - we will still use this in conjunction with our MQG group for now. RSVPing helps the board organize the meetings and prepare for who is attending. Guests can RSVP by emailing the account (centraljerseymqg(at)gmail(dot)com).
• Continue to bring in your quilt shop quality fabrics, and well as gently used magazines, notions, etc. for the freebie table! No overly large items, please and thanks to Neva for managing the table at every meeting.

Upcoming events:

• February Meeting (see bottom of post): Tues. Feb. 11, 7 - 9:30 - RSVP here
• Riley Blake Challenge submission deadline online: February 17 (they must be uploaded to this MQG community thread to be considered for a prize)
• NJ Quilt Fest with our guild exhibit on modern quilting: March 6-9
• March Meeting: Tuesday, March 11, 7 - 9:30
• Mid Atlantic Mod: April 3- April 6 (it's coming up!!!)

Meeting

• The 36 members present at the meeting unanimously voted in the following positions for the 2014 officers:
• Jessica Skultety - President
• Jessica Levitt - Vice President
• Kathleen Stanish - Secretary
• Kristina Bobo - Treasurer

 It's going to be a fabulous year!

Additional volunteer positions:

• Hospitality: Amy Blanchard
• Photography: Eugenie Wagner and Laura Bennett
• Philanthropy: Krishma Patel

Thank you, ladies - you are a huge help!

• Work has continued on the guild banner behind the scenes. It will be done for the Quiltfest in March. We will have an update at the February Meeting! 
• I mentioned that I would like to discuss with those interested in starting a blog and/or helping with our guild blog. If you didn't already give me your name, please email the account. I'm still working out how I would like to go forward from here, but knowing how many are interested is the first step.

• We shared our BOM blocks! We are following Modern Mondays from Jenifer Dick's blog, www.42quilts.com. Memebrs should try to make 6 blocks per month (or set your own goal):

•  Demonstration: Robin gave a talk about needles and how to choose the right one for your project. She posted a summary with links on the Bigtent Files page, titled "Needle Resources." Thanks, Robin!

•  Secret Quilter Gift Exchange - this was a hit last year, and this year was no different. Thanks to everyone who took such time and care in making beautiful gifts for their secret partners!

• Riley Blake Challenge quilts!

 Congrats to Neva (first row, second picture) for being featured on the MQG blog!

Show and Tell:

Thanks to Kathleen Stanish for providing the minutes for the meeting and to Laura Bennett for the pictures!


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February Meeting

 Tuesday, February 11, 7 - 9:30pm
Pennington Quilt Works, Pennington, NJ

Members, please RSVP HERE!

Join us! At this meeting, we will:

•Have a presentation on free motion quilting (tools, inspiration, ideas) with Neva and Jess S.
•Have an open discussion about free motion quilting -- think of a goal you would like to achieve with FMQ, and/or bring an example of your FMQ to show and discuss
•Swap: Modern Valentines! (mug rugs, pillow cover, bunting, table runner, anything you want, Valentines themed)
•Challenge: Riley Blake (last meeting to share before deadline)
•Share our next blocks from the guild BOM -- 42quilts.com
•Review end-of-year survey results
•Listen to a treasurer report from Kristina about 2013 finances
•Collect ALL show quilts with sleeves and labels -- see acceptance email for information

Guests welcome! Please email centraljerseymqg(at)gmail(dot)com to let us know you are coming.

See you soon!
-Jess S.