November Meeting Recap

Our November meeting was packed full with activities, news, fabric, and of course, quilts!

Upcoming Events:

 

 -Submit quilts to QuiltCon

by November 30, 2014 

Click here for registration form

-December Meeting 

Tuesday, December 9, 2014, 6:30 (optional shop/social time), 7-9:30

Pennington Quilt Works

See bottom of post for details

-Dues for next year - bring to December meeting preferably to renew your membership! It's $50 for the year, and this goes towards our challenges, meeting lessons/events, charity projects, guild retreats, and to the international Modern Quilt Guild. If you have any questions, please email the account!

-January Meeting 

 Tuesday, January 13, 2015, 6:30 (optional shop/social time), 7-9:30

Secret Quilter gift exchange and officer elections

 -January Sewcial (free!), Hopewell Train Station, 10am-5pm

Sunday, January 18, 2015

3 out of 20 spots remaining - members RSVP here.

Sat. March 21 - 10-4:30

-Cloud 9 Fabrics – Michelle Engel Bencsko – Lecture and Organic Fabric/Quilt Trunk Show 

Saturday, January 31, 1-2 pm, Pennington Quilt Works, Pennington, NJ

Free for 2015 CJMQG members, $5 guests

-Mid-Atlantic Mod Sewing Retreat

Doubletree Hotel, Lancaster, PA

April 23-26

Details here - general registration - Nov. 30 @ 7pm

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General Announcements:

  

-Event section on the Forum online (Bigtent) – please post any sewing related events you are involved with/hear of. You can announce them at meetings, too.

- 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 décor or laminate etc. sold in quilt shops).

-Meetings start with a shop/social time from 6:30-7! No obligation to come, but this is a great time to catch up with friends, get to know others, and shop at PQW!

-I'm experimenting with MailChimp, an email service, for guild updates in addition to Bigtent (possibly an all-inclusive newsletter kind of thing). You should be getting an email from me soon!   

-The Great Fabric Trade from last meeting was successful and we'd love to see more people participate next time. We will do it again in the spring, so set aside your destash goods for the future!

   

-End of year survey – will go out through email and link on Bigtent. Please start to think about what you'd like to do next year!

  

-Please respond to the email about volunteering to vote for our quilt exhibit and the Quilt Fest in March. The voting committee will vote in mid-December before the holidays.

-Our November retreat was so much fun - see blog post here!

  

-Charity quilts went to the Center for Great Expectations - see blog post here!

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Meeting:

-Ice breaker – We found out whether there were families of sewists out there, or lone wolves (a bit of both - and many learned from their grandmothers!). 

-We discussed officer positions and nominated members for those positions (President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer). Nominations will also take place at the December meeting, and elections will take place at the January meeting. If you have any questions, feel free to email the account!

Challenge: We collected 8" x 8" blocks for our guild's QuiltCon Charity Quilt. Guess what? The top is already pieced!

 

Designed and pieced by Jessica Skultety

Discussion:  Scrap sewing/storage - What are your favorite solutions for sewing with scraps?
How do you store them?

Activity: Fabric and color play with Jessica Levitt

 

- 2nd round of the CJMQG Bee – Lee's quilt blocks

  

-Show and Tell

Lori S.:

 Jess S.:

 Elaine:

 

 

 Neva:

Jess L.:

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December Meeting

• Discussion: Favorite sewing classes online and in person – bring laptop to follow along 
• Challenge: Bring in a gift you are making for the holidays 
• Officer Nominations  
• Work on your Secret Quilter Exchange project – due in Jan.
•  Wrap up 2014 Guild QAL 
• Bee  
• Show and Tell

Looking ahead:

January Meeting

• Activity: Bring in your Secret Quilter Gift Exchange! 
• Challenge: Receive fabric for Jessica Levitt's Cascade fabric challenge - due in March - you can still sign up (email us) 
• Officer Elections  
• Bee 
• Introduce new guild QAL 
• Show and Tell

Happy Thanksgiving! :)

-Jess S.

Guild Weekend Retreat

This past weekend, guild members gathered at the Hyatt House in Bridgewater, NJ for a retreat! We usually gather for a retreat 1-2 times a year.We stayed from Friday to Sunday, and several members slept over for the weekend. I think it's safe to say that we all got something done, in between eating, drinking, chatting, basting, pressing, piecing, and quilting. We put our guild design walls to good use, too!

Neva was kind enough to take some great pictures of the attendees. Thanks, Neva!

Here's (left) Neva, Tatiana, Laura, Sonia and Teddi with their clutches! Sonia taught a free mini class on how to make them. Jessica L. also taught a free class on making folded star fabric ornaments. This was an addition to our retreats that we'll surely return to!

On day 1, Friday, we shared the ins and outs of Instagram with guild members. You can see all of our tags from the retreat under the hashtag #cjmqg.

Stephanie was our guest from the Philly MQG! It was so fun getting to know her.

 I did a lot of pressing and chain piecing! This is my all-voile quilt, which Jess L. and I basted on a table together... fun times!

Tatiana especially loved making zip pouches! She also showed us her beautiful quilt from the Jacquie Gering workshop this summer.

 This is Linda B.'s Michael Miller Challenge from earlier this year. Isn't it lovely?

 Kristina B. worked on some cute embroidery and her Swoon blocks.

 Sue worked on a pretty purple quilt for herself!

 Teddi was hard at work on this gorgeous applique for her future grandson:

 Kathleen H. was sewing up tiny HSTs!

 We had a lovely visit from Elizabeth, Laura's 6-month-old daughter. Laura sewed with us on Friday, too!

 Neva worked on a bunch of projects, including this block from this year's Pile O' Fabric Quilt A Long. How striking is this hanging quilt?

Jess worked on her amazing modern medallion.

 Terri hand sewed hexagons!

And last but certainly not least, Michelle worked on quilting this lovely rainbow quilt.

 Here's a sneak peek of our guild quilt for the Quiltcon Charity Quilt Challenge. I designed the quilt and pieced the whole thing this weekend. Members brought us blocks earlier in the week at our November meeting!

-Jess S.

2014 Charity Project Complete!

This month, the Central Jersey Modern Quilt Guild donated 21 baby/crib quilts to The Center for Great Expectations. It was so exciting to visit the Center and talk with the directors and residents. They loved our quilts! Residents will receive them over the holidays.

A big thanks to Windham Fabrics for many of the fabrics!  They were leftover from our charity pillowcase sewing at Mid-Atlantic MOD, and we couldn't believe how many beautiful quilts we were able to make.

 

Thanks to Krishma (right, above), our philanthropy coordinator this year, for all of her hard work! Also, thank you to all the wonderful and dedicated guild members who contributed to this project, from the donation and organization of of fabrics to the quilting and binding of the quilts. We couldn't have done it without you! We look forward to another charity project next year.

 

Thanks to Robin, who embroidered these beautiful labels for our guild!

-Jess S.

CJMQG Retreat - 3 spots left

Our retreat is this weekend at the Hyatt House in Bridgewater, NJ. Come, relax, and sew with us! The sewing room has refrigerators as well as ample space to baste, cut, and use design boards. If you would like to come, please email the account and let us know, and we'll let you know where to send a check.

CJMQG members pay $50 for use of the large sewing room for the whole weekend.
Non guild members pay $70 for the same.

We are also offering day passes  - $20 for members, $30 for nonmembers.

Dates: Friday Nov. 14 (10 am) to Sunday Nov. 16 (8 pm).

Lodging may still be available at the hotel but there's no guarantee at this point. Feel free to call the hotel at (908) 725-0800.

There are only 3 spots left! First come, first served, so email us! :)

You do NOT have to stay at the hotel to be at the retreat! If you choose this option, you would pay $50 for use of the conference room for the weekend.

On Saturday, we are offering short, free lessons for making quick gifts to anyone who wants to learn. If you sign up, I'll send you a schedule in case you want to attend!

-Jess S.

Reminder: November Meeting

Hi all,
Please remember that our November meeting is tomorrow night! Hope to see you then!

When: Tue Nov 11, 2014, 7-9:30 pm (6:30 optional social/shop time)
Where: Pennington Quilt Works, Pennington, NJ

Members, please RSVP here. 

Guests welcome! Please email us to RSVP so we know you are coming! Feel free to read the guest policy in the "About" tab.

Activity: Fabric and color play with Jessica Levitt

Discussion: Scraps and scrap sewing/storage - how do you store them? What are your favorite solutions for sewing with scraps?

Challenge: Charity Block for QuiltCon (due that day) - 8" square (fabric already given out)

-Discuss officer positions for next year (elections in December - please start thinking about running!)

-Discuss Secret Santa (for January)

-Share bee blocks and guild quilt a long blocks (Modern Mondays, 42quilts.com)

-Show and Tell


-Jess S.

Outdoor Quilt Exhibit

On Saturday, October 25, our guild set up an outdoor exhibit at the Pennington Farmer's Market. It was wonderful to interact with the community, answer (many!) questions about quilting, such as:

1. What's the difference between traditional and modern quilting? (Definitions varied, as they should! There's no real "definition" of modern quilting, though there are characteristics.)
2. Do I need a longarm to quilt? (No! :) )
3. How do you get fabric? (Pennington Quilt Works, other stores in the area, online, hand dying, etc.)
4. How long does this take you? (It's hard to say)
5. Are these for sale? (Only a couple were, but that's okay!)



Thank you so much to the ladies who came out, brought their quilts, and spent the morning hanging out chatting. It was a fun day! Thanks to the Farmer's Market for having us and letting us spread the joy of our craft.

 

-Jess S.

Congrats, Robin!

Congrats to Robin Buscemi, a longtime member of our guild, whose red and white quilt was recently exhibited at the International Quilt Festival in Houston, TX. Her quilt, which is the one in the middle hanging down on the right, is a tribute to the Chicago Board of Trade. It's beautiful, Robin!!

-Jess S.

October Meeting Recap

We hosted an explosion of old members, new members, and guests at our October meeting! It was so nice to see everyone.

Upcoming Events:

• Charity Quilt Drop off and Starbucks Meet up - Somerset, NJ
• Thurs. Nov. 6, 11 am 
• Member RSVP 
• CJMQG Early Bird Mid Atlantic Mod Retreat Registration
• Nov. 9, 7 pm EST
•  Check your email for information (if you didn't get an email, email me!)
• Website
• November Meeting 
• Tues., Nov. 11, 2014, 7-9:30 (6:30 optional shop/social time), Pennington Quilt Works
• {blog post} {member RSVP} {email us if you want to attend as a guest!}
•  CJMQG Retreat
• 8 spots left!
• $50 for CJMQG members for the weekend (not including hotel or food), $70 for non-CJMQG members
• 3 workshops - TBA this weekend
• Email us if you want to come and need to send a check
• Member RSVP
•  Cloud 9 Fabrics Lecture and Trunk Show 
• Sat., January 31, 2015, 1-2 pm, Pennington Quilt Works
• Member RSVP 

Meeting:

-We gifted Lee a mini quilt in honor of her recent retirement. Thanks to all those who contributed and Krishma and Lori S. for putting it all together. She loved it! Congrats, Lee!

- Our outdoor exhibit at the Pennington Farmer's Market was so fun! See the blog post soon for pictures. Thank you so much to everyone who came to help spread the joy of modern quilting. :)
 
-Jessica Levitt's Cascade fabric challenge has been moved. We will distribute fabric in January to all those who signed up.

-Thanks to all those who volunteered to make a modern 8" block for the QuiltCon Charity Quilt! They are due at the Nov. meeting. All received fabric.

-This year, our guild made over 30 charity baby quilts! Many of them will be donated to the Center for Great Expectations in Somerset! We way surpassed our goals. Thanks to Krishma for her fearless leadership as philanthropy chair! Here she is showing us all the fruits of our labor:

-"The Great Fabric Trade" - This was the first time we bartered, traded and sold fabric and notions amongst ourselves. Members brought in anything they wanted to get rid of or "destash."We will do another trade in the spring so set aside your destash items. It was a success for all who participated. We hope to see even more participation next time!

-2nd Round of the CJMQG Bee: Janneke's house blocks were due. Here are a couple!

Carol explained plans for her bee quilt: wonky stars.

 -Challenge: Scraps - bring in a quilt using 30 or more fabrics

-Show and Tell:

Thanks to Laura B. for the pictures and Kathleen for the minutes! You can see more pictures from the meeting on Laura's Flickr stream.

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November CJMQG Meeting

When: Tue Nov 11, 2014

 7-9:30 pm (6:30 optional social/shop time)
Where: Pennington Quilt Works, Pennington, NJ

Members, please RSVP here.

Guests welcome! Please email us to RSVP so we know you are coming! Feel free to read the guest policy in the "About" tab.

Activity: Fabric and color play with Jessica Levitt

Discussion: Scraps and scrap sewing/storage - how do you store them? What are your favorite solutions for sewing with scraps?

Challenge: Charity Block for QuiltCon (due that day) - 8" square (fabric already given out)

-Discuss officer positions for next year (elections in December - please start thinking about running!)
-Discuss Secret Santa (for January)
-Share bee blocks and guild quilt a long blocks (Modern Mondays, 42quilts.com)
-Show and Tell
+ more!

Hope to see you then!
Jess S.