Holiday Party December 2018

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

We had a wonderful time and a great turnout at the Holiday party!  Our Holiday-themed pillow exchange was a huge success -- so many unique and comfy pillows!  Please enjoy the pictures from the fun-filled evening. Best wishes for a peaceful holiday season and a happy New Year!  See you in January!

October 2018 Meeting Summary

What a wonderful meeting and workshop we had!  A few items of guild business you should be aware of:

1. Christmas party is Tuesday, 4 December, 5:30 - 9:00 at the University Roadhouse!  Make a 12-16" holiday-themed pillow for the gift exchange. Pillow needs to be finished (stuffed or pillow form) with the closure of your choice (zipper, envelope, etc.), and wrapped or in a gift bag. The gift exchange is optional!!  

2.  Reminder to renew your dues ($40) in January.  If you renew before the February meeting, your name will be entered in a drawing for a super prize!

3. Speaking of the February meeting, some exciting news!  We will be meeting on Thursday, 7 February at the Kalamazoo Public Library.  Why a Thursday? Because we will be FaceTiming with VICTORIA FINDLAY WOLFE!  She will be giving us a virtual trunk show! More details to come, but be sure to save the date! You can find her at vfwquilts.com

4. If you would like to host the January informal meeting, please let us know! We also need hosts for May, July, and September.  We usually meet the 4th Wednesday, but we can change that to accommodate the hosts' schedules.

5. RETREAT IS ALMOST HERE! November 15-18 at Camp Lutherwald! You will need to bring your own food. If you can't come for whole time, you can come for the day!

6. Don't forget to make your Converging Corners block (instructions here). These blocks will be assembled and quilted for a special presentation to the Kalamazoo Log Cabin Quilt Guild's 40th anniversary in April. The finished quilt will then be donated to the WMU Seita Scholars program.

Stay tuned to the blog for the 2019 schedule -- some GREAT stuff coming!

The Traveling Quilts have all gone home! 

Jill's 

Lisa's

Leslie's

Lynne's

Carolyn's

Pat's

We can't wait to see Stephanie's!

Show and Tell!

These blocks were found at a second-hand shop and assembled with care by Erinn.  

Erinn also made the Finnish and Scottish Flags to be gifted.

Shannon made this cute bag.

She also finished this cheerful masterpiece!

...and did an amazing job on the quilting!

Jackie shares some of her amazing work. 

The Aloe Vera bloomed, and Jackie captured the beauty in this piece!

Another beautiful quilt top from Jackie!

Jane finished her Glacial Ice from the Gudrun Erla workshop!

Jane's Haldora, also from the Gudrun workshop...

Stephanie has been practicing her longarming with Angela Walters!

More amazing quilting!

Our Sew Together Sew-Along! Thank you Stephanie and Carolyn for your guidance! Check out the Facebook and Instagram pages for some of the finished products!

Sew Together Bag Sew Along

Hi Everyone!

On October 27, our guild meeting will include a sew along immediately following the formal meeting (so, starting at about 11:00).  Each of you will sew your own Sew Together Bag!

This post is an effort to help you prepare for the event so we can hopefully finish your bag at our sew along.  (We will have the room reserved for the entire day, so come ready to sew!)  Carolyn and Stephanie will be there to help you through and answer questions you have!

Here are things you need to know and accomplish before October 27.

1.  Get the Pattern!

Most importantly, you need to bring a copy of the Sew Together Bag pattern!  If you don't already have one, you can purchase one from a variety of sources.  Here are a few:

• Purchase as an instant download on Craftsy from the designer.

• Purchase as an instant download from Pink Castle Fabrics.

• Purchase a paper pattern from Pink Castle Fabrics

2.  Decide on your fabrics!

We created a Pinterest board to inspire you on your fabric selection!  You can make the outside one piece of fabric, or you can piece it.  You can do patchwork, English paper piecing, make some miniature blocks...go hog wild with your ideas!  Also select your fabrics for the inside and binding.

3.  Get your zippers.

The Sew Together bag has 4 zippers: three 9" zippers inside and one 20" zipper on the outside.
You will need to bring the three 9" zippers.  Use colors that coordinate with the inside of your bag.  They can all be the same color, or they can all be different colors.

4.  Tell us what color zipper you want for the outside zipper.

The guild will provide you with a zipper for the outside of the bag IF YOU CLICK ON THIS LINK AND FILL OUT THE SURVEY BY OCTOBER 15.

If you did not fill out this survey by October 15, you will need to bring a zipper that is at least 20" long (we recommend longer).  Choose a color that coordinates with the outside of your bag.

5.  Get the rest of your supplies.

Look at the pattern and determine what the required supplies are.  Make sure you have all of them and that you bring them to the sew along.

6.  Create the quilted exterior of your bag.

You will stand a better chance of finishing on the day of the sew along if you come with the outside of your bag already prepared and quilted.

Cut or piece together a rectangle of fabric at least 10" by 14". Choose another piece of fabric to be the backing (this will show on the inside of your bag!).  Layer some batting between these two pieces and quilt them.   EDIT:  YOU CAN QUILT IT WITH THE FABRIC YOU CHOOSE FOR THE FRONT AND THEN SOME SORT OF BATTING.  NO BACKING IS REQUIRED (YOU CAN BACK IT WITH MUSLIN IF YOU WANT. IT WON'T SHOW ON THE BACK.  SORRY FOR ANY CONFUSION!  Bring this quilted piece of fabric to the guild meeting with the rest of your supplies and sewing machine.

7. Look forward to some fun!

That's about it!  At this point, we'll be ready to cut and sew our bags!  If you have any questions, please let Stephanie or Carolyn know.

This is going to be such a fun meeting.  We're going to walk away with a really awesome bag, and you'll be surprised how fun it is to make.

We'll see you then!

Stephanie and Carolyn

Block Activity: Converging Corners

This next couple months our block challenge will be to make Converging Corners blocks to be made into a collaborative quilt which we'll share at the Kalamazoo Log Cabin Quilters' April 2019 program, "Not your Grandmother's Log Cabin."

This pattern is a very modern spin on  log cabin block. We'll maximize the modern vibe by using only solids and Kona White background.  (See the blocks we did in 2013 using prints - so cool!)

Guidelines:
1) Tutorial at http://filminthefridge.com/2012/02/23/converging-corners-block-a-tutorial/
2) Use solid, clear colors for the corners and center square
3) Use Kona White for the background
4) Trim to 12 1/2" square
5) Turn in at the October meeting, the retreat in November, or the party in December

Tips:
- center block can be any size
- vary width of corner strips for visual interest
- pay attention to value/contrast for interest
- no need to make each side of the corner "L's" the same color!
- no need to make each side of the corner "L's" the same length!
- it helps to square up after each round
- have fun!

E-mails

Members,
If you are not receiving emails (usually sent from me) regarding social meeting details or other guild business, please let me know.  We don't post those publicly for privacy reasons. These emails are only sent to guild members.

Thanks,
Jill

Fall Retreat

Fall Retreat Registration Open

Registration is now open for our annual Fall retreat!

Dates: Friday November 16 - Sunday November 18 (optional Thursday November 15 at additional cost)
Location: Camp Lutherwald, Howe Indiana
Prices:

• $200 double occupancy
• $168 triple occupancy
• $155 quad occupancy
• $15 per day for day campers, meals extra
• $37 optional Thursday, no meals
• $7 optional linen rental

We've lowered prices from last year to reflect the increase in annual dues. We've also tried to make costs more fairly distributed across occupancy categories.  If you attended the August meeting you are aware that Lutherwald has increased their prices we have kept the cost the same for now.

What to bring:

• Projects, projects, projects!
• Tools, machines, irons, ironing boards, notions and supplies-Remember to label all your items
• Rotary cutter
• Snacks and personal beverages-there is a cooler available for cold items.
• Twin bedding (or rent camp linens for $7)
• Towels

Meals begin on Friday evening through noon on Sunday.

Location and Directions

Kempski Retreat Center
2065 W State Rd 120 Howe, IN 46746

Directions from Kalamazoo:
Head south on US-131 S
Enter Indiana
Continue straight (south) onto IN-13 for 1.7 miles
Turn left onto IN-120 (State Rd 120)
Take State Road 120 east for 11.9 mi
2065 W State Rd will be on the left

Miscellaneous

We will have massages available.

There is also free WiFi at the retreat.

August 2018 Meeting Recap

Following are some highlights from our meeting and workshop on Saturday. It was definitely a FULL day of quilting awesomeness!  

We were excited to have Gudrun Erla for an amazing lecture and truck show from her latest book Quilts of Iceland.

Our members showed some of the gorgeous projects they made with Gudrun's patterns.

Joanne's GE quilt is stunning!

Sharon had 2 versions - one with a light background and one dark. Beautiful!

Jane made this Valentine table runner and placemat set - so cute!

We love Deb's "Dangerous" BOM from Gudrun's Quilt Crew.

Jeanine brought a wonderful baby quilt.

It was great to have our new member, Kate, show some of her latest projects - a baby quilt and a Bigfoot for a forest-themed classroom.

Stephanie brought her Curvy Clutch bags!

The block challenge turned out some great "barn blocks." Congratulations, Kim! Can't wait to see what you do with them!

Following are some of the latest additions from the Travelling Quilts:

Stephanie added feathers to Carolyn's star.

Jill added half-circle borders to Leslie's.

Pat added 3 gorgeous pieced blocks and quotation to Stephanie's Hope.

Lynne added a curvy border to bring back an earlier addition to Jill's curvy flying geese.

Carolyn added a striped border to Lisa's star block. 

Only 2 more "trips" and the travelling quilts will be going home!

Next was the workshop with Gudrun!

Gudrun demonstrated how to use her Stripology rulers - they are worth every penny!

We chose which quilt we wanted to make. Above is the Halldora - below is Glacial Ice. Both patterns can be found in Gudrun's book Quilts of Iceland.

No time wasted - we got started right away!

Can't wait to see the completed projects!  Thank you, Gudrun!