January Online Activity

Happy Scrappy 2018!

I've been trying to get my fabric organized over the last few weeks , and I realized, boy do I have a lot of scraps! This month's online activity will help use up those smaller (2 1/2") scraps. It's a scrappy nine patch bowtie block, using Annemarie Chany's "Scrappy but Classy Block" tutorial. We've done a bowtie block before, but this one is a bit different.

You'll need 22 squares of any bright modern fabric measuring 2 1/2 " 

Use 18 of the squares to construct two 6 1/2"

nine-patches.

You'll also need two 6 1/2" solid pieces for the other two corners. Please use white or very light fabric that reads solid. 

The remaining 4 squares will be stitched and flipped on the corners to become the center block. I didn't get a photo. but Annemarie has this clear diagram in her post: 

The finished block is 12 1/2 square 

Have fun and bring your blocks to the February meeting for a chance to win them all. Lotto rules here.

July 2014 Meeting Summary

We had 19 members at our meeting.   We would like to welcome our 4 new members, Pat, Susan, Samantha and Mark.  We now have 31 members!

We had a wonderful presentation on fabric dyeing by Teri Springer along with samples of her work.  She gave us a very informative handout on MX and other dyes.  If anyone is interested in dyeing fabric, they can contact Teri at 269-615-6591.  Thank you Teri for sharing your talent with us.

Fabric Swap:  Fun Times!  We had over 100 fat quarters and over 45 different designs of "text fabric". We might see some of the black and white text fabric used in next month's online activity.

 Retreat Update:  The retreat will be at Camp Lutherwald in Howe,Indiana on November 14 thru 16.  The cost is $210.00 for private rooms and $150.00 per person for rooms with 2 to 4 people.  There is a $50.00 deposit due by October 25, non-refundable after that date.  On October 1 we will open reservations for nonmembers.  There is an additional $25.00 fee, but it includes a membership.  Meals are included, Friday dinner thru Sunday lunch.  We will provide our own single bed linens and towels or we may pay an extra charge.  We are checking into the possibility of coming for the day.  More information will be on our blog.

Meetings:  Our next meeting will be at the Portage Public Library on September 27, 10:30 to 12:30 followed by a sew in.  We will not have a meeting in November due to our retreat.  We have a Christmas party planned for December 8 at Bells Brewery with a small handmade gift exchange.  Possible choices include:  pincushion, placemats, oven mitts, coasters, rotary cutter case, eye glass case, small zipper bag or fabric ornament.   January 24, 2015 meeting/sew in will be at Bernina.

Block Drawing:  Our new member Mark  won 27 "X Marks the Spot" blocks.  Congratulations!

Door Prizes:  Pam B. won a very cute small duffle bag donated by Stephanie, and Pat F. won three zipper pulls donated by Holly.

 Tina shared information about donating handmade items to Bronson Babies.  If anyone is interested, please contact volunteer services.  Sue Haas, haass@bronson.org 269-341-8754 or Julie VanderNoot, Vandernj@bronson.org, 269-341-8644.

Show and Tell: Our favorite part, was great as usual. 

Minutes from the September, 2013 GLMQG Meeting

We had another just wonderful meeting of the guild!  Below are minutes and photos from the meeting.

Old Business:

Everyone brought their blocks from our block challenge we did last month.  Check out all the beautiful blocks!

We drew a winner...and  Lisa won! What a beautiful quilt this will make!  Thanks to all who participated in the challenge! 

Judy had completed her quilt top with the pieces she won at the July meeting. She was able to make a queen sized quilt and plans to use it as a summer quilt.  Looking good, Judy!  Love the piano key border!

New Business:

a. Presentation by Carolyn

Paper Piecing—Kaleidoscope Block by Alex Anderson

Carolyn gave us a wonderful demonstration of paper piecing using a kaleidoscope block. 

Carolyn showed us now to place the fabrics and sew....

She suggested we then use an Add-a-Quarter ruler to trim things up.  (Might be a tool you want to get for our October challenge!)

We'll be doing this block for our October challenge.  Stay tuned for instructions. We will be doing the Kaleidoscope Block with grey, white and brights.

b. Logo—We reviewed some ideas that Holly’s son, Dylan, developed. We had a few suggestions for changes but really appreciated his general ideas.

c. Need for Program Committee Members—Elaine offered to help Pam.

d. Please make a nametag for our next meeting, if you haven’t already.

e. Donations for door prizes. If anyone has things to donate, please let Pam know. Stephanie, Pam and Evelyn donated today’s prizes. Thank you!

f. We are looking for a location to meet nearer to Kalamazoo, since most of our members seem to be from that area. We checked with members present and everyone agreed that this was a good plan. Holly will be checking into possible venues.

Finally, we had show and tell!  Ready for a quilt parade?  :-)

One member showed her quilt, which was published in Generation Q magazine!   You can even download the pattern and instructions for this quilt at the magazine's website.  Click on the link that says Baubles and Bangles.

One member brought this quilt she had made.  Great Granny Squares!  Loved the backing fabric, too!

 A miniature quilt that was paper pieced....after all, that was the theme for the day!

 A member brought this modern art quilt she had made.  The title of the quilt was Ova, I believe.

 A lovely chevron quilt!

 A lovely oriental style quilt.  You should see the quilting!  It had koi fish on it!

 A member brought this pillow she had made using some scraps from a bedspread she had previoiusly made.  Just beautiful.

 Great Ikea fabric on the back of the pillow.

 A very striking and colorful quilt top here!

 One member liked our challenge block from a couple months ago that she is making her own quilt out of it.  Love the use of the gray fabrics with the bright colors.  This will be wonderful!

 That same member was recently traveling to Ireland and took a long plane ride. She put together all these hexies on her trip.  Wow!

 Another member brought these cute wool mug rugs...

 And this cute wall hanging.

 She also worked on these wonky partial log cabins....

 And this table runner.

We had tons of fun.  Another inspiring meeting!

Next meeting: Our next meeting will be on November 23^rd at Bernina’s on Portage Road in Portage, MI. We will begin with a 10 am, then members are encouraged to stay for a sew-in that will last until about 5 pm. Please bring your own machine, supplies and rotary cutter. Mats and ironing supplies are provided. You can bring your own project to work on and/or try some curved piecing after Stephanie’s tutorial.

Respectfully Submitted,

Mary Baggerman, secretary

Stephanie Peterson, adequate photographer

July 2013 Meeting Summary

HI Everyone!

Jane and Stephanie here to share the meeting minutes from our July meeting--which was AWESOME!  We had a great time!

Want to hear some great news?!  We had 5 new paid members this week.  We now have 20 paid members in our guild!!! We are growing like a weed!  Yay!

 Old Business:

We drew a winner for the block challenge we did last month.

One of our new members, Judy, won 24 beautiful blocks.  We laid them all out on the floor so we could get a good look at them.  There was a lot of ooohing and aahhhing over these!  Great challenge for us, Lisa!

Pam decided to be a rebel and contributed a block that she put together differently.  Love that creativity! 

We all decided we should make it a signature block.  What an awesome idea.  From now on, we'll always do a signature block.  Very fun!  (We edited the photo to "rub out" last names...it's not really schmeared like that!)  Thanks to all who participated in the challenge!

 

New Business:

1. Program--One of our members, Lisa, gave us an excellent presentation entitled, "Confessions of a Quilt Magazine Editor."  She gave us the ins and outs of what goes into magazine production and how to submit your quilts to magazines for potential publication.  Thanks so much, Lisa!
2.  Modern Room at KLCQG Quilt Show? We discussed having a modern quilting demonstration at the upcoming Kalamazoo Log Cabin Quilt Guild Show.  We decided to wait until the next show in 2015. 
3. Introductory blog posts sign up--We decided to have monthly member introductions here on the blog (much like Lisa did a few blog posts ago.)  A sign up sheet was passed around for people to sign up to do an introductory post.  If you were absent, please make sure you let us know at the next meeting so we can get you signed up!
4. Paypal for pre-sign ups for future sew-ins and membership dues--Carolyn has set up a Paypal account for the guild.  In the future, when we have sew-ins, people will be able to pre-register for them using Paypal.  In addition, members will be able to pay their dues online using Paypal.  We'll try to link the membership form to Paypal.
5. Change in meeting date for September meeting--Due to several members of our guild being gone on retreat on the date of our next meeting, we have changed our next meeting date to September 21.  (Heads up!  This is the 3rd Saturday in stead of our usual meeting date of the 4th Saturday of the month.)  It is possible we will be doing a field trip for this meeting, so there may be a change in location.  Keep your eyes on the blog for more information!
6. Nametag--please make a nametag for the next meeting.  No special requirements except that it should have a modern flair.  Express yourself!
7. Next online activity--The next online activity will be announced on the blog in mid-August.  Stay tuned.  Hint:  Lots of little pieces.
8. Donations for prizes--Stephanie and Carolyn brought in 7 items to be used as doorprizes.  Evelyn donated a handmade item as well.  Thank you!  Ideas will be welcomed for future door prizes or if you have a connection with a store/company that can donate items, that would be helpful!

We wrapped it up with Show and Tell.

 

 A member brought in this beautiful stitchery.  So fine and detailed!

 A member brought in this Bell Wave quilt, which was a free pattern she got from www.freshlemonsquilts.com.  So bright and cheerful!

Speaking of bright and cheerful, how about this adorable quilt made of all half-square triangles!  Just lovely!

And here is the back of that quilt.  Really adorable.  It's so fun to have a little surprise on the back!

 Another member brought in this bag she had made.  What a great shape and design to the bag.  Great fabric choices!

 A member brought in this really neat Double Fat Jack quilt top.  She was debating on how to finish it.  We shared some fun ideas.  She said she used this tutorial for making the blocks.  Another tutorial for Union Jack blocks can be found here.

 A member brought in this couch-sized quilt that she had finished for her daughter, who is getting married later this month.  It was just beautiful!  She used this tutorial here to design and execute the quilt.

 A member brought in this great little quilt designed from actual leaves she had found in her yard.  We all really enjoyed the ombré fabrics in the background.  Very pretty!

Another member brought some lovely gift items she had been working on...a little pouch, a hot pad, and a cute towel for strapping on the oven.  Very neat stuff.

Another member brought this ereader cover she made from a pattern designed by Amy at Amy Made That! blog. You can get the pattern in her Craftsy pattern shop here.

Show and Tell was wonderful!  We discussed lots of books, magazines, blogs, and patterns.  Here are some of them that were not mentioned above:

Modern Quilts Illustrated – Weeks Ringle (a magazine recommended by some members)

Blue Underground Studio (a sources of some fun, modern patterns)

Modern Patchwork magazine (a favorite magazine of a few members)

Cat & Vee (great sources for screenprinted panels printed on linen)

Art Gallery Fabrics--Pure Elements line (a new line of solids that are so silky soft; they have a really nice hand)

Well, as you can see, it was a busy meeting!  We had a wonderful time.  Thank you to everyone who made this such a delightful meeting.  Hope you can all come to our next meeting!

Respectfully Submitted,

Jane, substitute secretary
Stephanie, adequate photographer