Wednesday, November 23, 2022

2022 Holiday Party

We will gather to celebrate the December holidays on Tuesday, December 6, beginning at 6:00 pm.

University Roadhouse
1332 W Michigan Ave, Kalamazoo
https://www.universityroadhouse.com/

We'll gather in the private dining room on the lower level. Dinner and drinks can be ordered individually from the full menu

Activity: Pizza Box Swap!

We invite you to participate in our optional gift swap activity during the holiday party.  This is always a fun way to get to know each other and share our love of quilting with each other.  We had so much fun with the shoebox swap last year, we decided to do something similar.

Rules:

  • Make whatever you want, but it must fit in a pizza box. 
  • Place in an unused pizza box and wrap it for gift exchange.
  • Try to use something you learned from one of our speakers or workshops this year.
  • No need to sign up. If you show up with a swap item, you’ll go home with one. 

We hope to see you on December 6!

2021 Holiday Party/Swap
2021 Holiday Party/Swap

2021 Holiday Party/Swap
2021 Holiday Party/Swap

Sunday, October 23, 2022

October 2022 Meeting Recap: Sharon McConnell trunkshow and workshop

 For our October meeting, we hosted the wonderful Sharon McConnell of Color Girl Quilts.  You can find Sharon's quilt patterns here and her YouTube channel here.  She is also doing some product development for Love Sew.  Check out their really wonderful stuff here.  (For you lefties out there, Sharon is a lefty, and she is developing products that are lefty friendly!)

We began on Friday night with a terrific trunk show.  Sharon showed us several of quilts made from her patterns.   Along with getting a chance to see these terrific quilts, we had a good lesson on color and value and how your decisions about placement of those makes a big difference in how the quilt looks.  We got to see multiple versions of some of Sharon's quilts to illustrate that point.


This medallion quilt was just wonderful!

This quilt is Hula Girl and was one of the quilts Sharon taught in her workshop on Saturday.

A great illustration for the difference between a scrappy quilt and one using a consistent background.

Look at how the use of color changes the look of this quilt!

Look how the black background on the quilt on the left emphasizes the circles and the white background on the quilt on the right emphasizes the "melons."   

We all ooohed and aaahed over these dresdens and the pretty "ice cream" colors!

This quilt is called Sunbeam, and some of us made this quilt in the workshop on Saturday.  Look at the difference in how the quilt looks by changing the alternate "rays" in the suns from white to black!

Another pair of quilts that look completely different simply by changing the color of a few shapes in the quilt!


We followed the trunk show with show and tell. See below for some fun show and tells!

Sharon C. brought this beautiful quilt she made from Sharon M.'s pattern.

This was a wonderful Entangled Sky quilt, made from Krista Moser's pattern (and our workshop earlier this year).

This stunningly "hot" quilt was very fun to see!  Well done!


On Saturday, we held an all-day workshop at the Ransom Public Library in Plainwell.  It was so fun, and the space was so lovely to work in.

Here, Sharon starts teaching us her paper piecing tips.

Working hard right out of the gate!

These Christmas fabrics were so cute!

More fun colors!

Lynne successfully created some rays for her Sunbeam quilt.  Love that orange!

Cindy had never paper pieced before, and look at this beautiful job she did!

Cindy really went to town with her paper piecing and made this "hula hoop!"  Way to go, Cindy!

Here we all are with some completed blocks.  We had a blast, and if you couldn't be there, we sure missed you!  Hope you can come next time.  Sharon, thank you for a wonderful day!  We appreciated it!

A few quick business items before we close:

  • If you haven't signed up for the November retreat, please do so!  We'd love to see you all there!
  • The holiday party is in December 6 ant 6:00 pm at the University Roadhouse.  We hope to see you there!  We are having a swap again this year.  Your swap gift should be made with modern fabric and fit in a pizza box...any size!  Please bring your gift wrapped in a clean pizza box.  You can still come to the party even if you don't want to swap gifts.  No problem!
  • All of the officer positions are up for re-election next year.  Please consider running for an office, as we could really use some help!  

 See you all soon.  We missed everyone who couldn't come to our meeting this month.  It sure was fun to be back in person and to see everyone again. 

Respectfully submitted,

Stephanie



Tuesday, September 27, 2022

Sharon McConnell of Color Girl Quilts

We are so excited to host Sharon McConnell for two days in October!

Lecture and trunk show
Friday October 21, 2022 6 - 9 pm
Trinity Lutheran Church, 504 S. Westnedge, Kalamazoo

Workshop: Hula Girl Quilt
Saturday October 22, 2022 10:30 am - 4:30 pm
Ransom District Library, 180 S. Sherwood Ave, Plainwell

Sharon is a quilting pattern designer and the magic behind Color Girl: all things quilts. The site is a rich trove of inspirational quilting and sewing blog posts and tutorials. The shop sells a  beautiful selection of designer fabrics, Sharon's patterns, and quilting notions including her Classic Curves Ruler.

On Friday evening, Sharon will give a talk and share some of her stunning colorful quilts.

On Saturday, she will coach us through foundation paper piecing using attendee's choice of her Hula Girl or True Colors patterns. The workshop is free to Great Lakes Modern Quilt Guild members, but space is limited and registration is required. Register here.

"Hula Girl" Quilt

"True Colors" Quilt


Sunday, September 11, 2022

Meeting Information from August 2022 Business Meeting

 Hi Everyone,

At our workshop with Krista Moser in August, there were some technical difficulties with the computer at the beginning of the meeting, which left little time for the business meeting.  As a result, we are putting this meeting agenda and details on the blog to ensure that all our members have the information you need for upcoming events and next year's plan.

 

1.     Call to Order

2.     Election Committee:  We need to elect a new treasurer.  Many thanks to Kim for her hard work for the past few years!  We appreciate it!  We are looking for someone to step in and serve as treasurer until such time as we have elections next spring.  If you are interested, please reach out to Stephanie.  If there is more than one person interested, we can hold a special election.  The duties are to attend board meetings prior to each formal meeting, manage the checking account, assist with collecting dues, and the like.  Thank you!

3.     Program update for 2022

a.     September 24—Social Meeting 10:30 am. Zoom?

b.     October 21 (Friday)—Formal Meeting with Sharon McConnell lecture  6:00-9:00 pm Trinity Lutheran Church, 504 S. Westnedge, Kalamazoo

c.     October 22 (Saturday)—Formal Meeting with Sharon McConnell workshop 10:30 am - 4:30 pm Ransom District Library, 180 S. Sherwood Ave, Plainwell

d.     November 18-20—Retreat at Camp Lutherwald

e.     December 6 —Holiday party 6:00 pm at University Roadhouse; Pizza Box Exchange (see below)

4.     Program* for 2023 OUR 10TH ANNIVERSARY AS A GUILD!— (Our meetings will be offered in a variety of formats next year.  Zoom means the entire meeting will be on Zoom; Hybrid means we will meet in person but make a zoom option available for people; In Person means only in person option is available.)  *These dates are tentative.  We are still working on firming some things up, so please keep your eye on the schedule over the next year.

a.     January 29—Social Meeting 10:30 am; Zoom with Krista Moser (show and tell your Entangled Sky quilts!)

b.     February 25—Formal Meeting 10:30 am; Hybrid with Shelly Pagliai who will introduce a special GLMQG Block of the Month program not available to anyone else! (Shelly will be available on Zoom)

c.     Feb 3-5—In person Retreat at Camp Lutherwald and Pajama Day Sale in Shipshewana

d.     March 25—Social Meeting 10:30 am; Zoom together and sew BOM together

e.     April 15—Formal Meeting 10:30 am In person Christina Cameli (Christina will be here in person!)

f.      May 20—Social Meeting 10:30 am; Zoom together and sew BOM together

g.     June 24—Formal Meeting 10:30 am In person Jodi Madison workshop on paper piecing a Judy Neimeyer quilt (Jodi will be here in person)

h.     July 22—Social Meeting 10:30 am; Zoom together and sew BOM together

i.      August 26—Formal meeting 10:30 am In person with Giuseppe Ribaudo “Giucy Guice” to do a color study while making a Winding Ways quilt (Giuseppe will be here in person)

j.      September 23—Social Meeting 10:30 am; Zoom together and sew BOM together

k.     October 28—Barn Quilts?  TBD--Let us know if you have ideas for this meeting.

l.      November ??—In person Retreat at Camp Lutherwald

m.   December??—In person Holiday Party

5.     Pizza Box Exchange—Bring a gift to swap at our holiday party.  Your handmade item must fit in a (clean) pizza box--any size from personal pan pizza to extra large!  Most pizza shops will give you a clean box if you ask them nicely.  Get creative, but please use “modern” fabrics.  We challenge your creativity on this one!  Bring a gift, get a gift at the holiday party. No obligation to participate.  If you can’t bring a swap gift, you are still welcome to come to the party!  If you can't come to the party but want to swap, give your swap item to a friend and have them bring it for you.

Stay tuned to our next blog post, which will highlight our October guest teacher, Sharon McConnell!

Quilt on!

Stephanie

Thursday, August 18, 2022

Introducing Krista Moser - Workshop on 27 August

Dear Great Lakes Modern Quilters,

Our next meeting on 27 August 2022 will be a workshop with Krista Moser. If you recall she presented a trunk show back in April.  We were all excited looking at her great quilts.

About Krista


Krista Moser is the creative force and inspiration behind The Quilted Life. A quilting and fiber arts enthusiast, she started sewing at 8 years old sneaking off to the sewing machine during her Mom's nap time. Since she couldn’t read patterns, everything was made from her imagination propelling the creativity and the innovative design she is known for today. She began her professional sewing and machine quilting career at the spunky age of fourteen adding the texture and dimension machine quilting brings to every project.
She has been teaching sewing and quilting lessons for more than twenty years. Her work has been featured in quilting magazines, published by Martingale Press, and hung in prominent quilt shops around the country.

It's probably genetic ;-) and the Grandma's would be proud. What a life, this Quilted Life is, and what a joy to share the journey!

Feel free to check out Krista's blog for some additional great inspiration and some fun tutorials

You can also find Krista on Youtube.

About the Workshop


Krista will be teaching us Entangled Sky (pictured above)

The Entangled Sky quilt is made entirely out of 2 ½” strips and is deceptively easy to assemble. All the magic happens with three shades of each color, in light, medium, and dark. Constructed essentially from two different blocks, get a 3D effect by arranging the A and B blocks to meet each other. Achieve a complicated architectural look without all the fussy piecing.

NO Y SEAMS

Finished size 55” x 74”

Pattern available for purchase here.   Members should have already received an email with info and a pattern discount code.

Meeting information

Aug 27, 2022

All via Zoom (Members will receive a Zoom link by email)

We will have a short business meeting starting at 10:30am.  

Krista Moser workshop:  11am-5 pm via zoom

Pattern:  Entangled Sky


For those wanting to sew together

We have also reserved a meeting room at:

Ransom District Library (Plainwell, MI)

180 S. Sherwood Ave.

Plainwell, Michigan 49080

The library is open from 10 am to 5pm.  You can enter at 10 am and get setup.  We need to be out promptly at 5.  



Wednesday, June 8, 2022

Strippy Improv Workshop

Our own Lisa Ruble will share her Strippy Improv technique with us on June 25, 2022.  The workshop will be from 10 am to 2 pm. Doors will open at 9:30 a.m. for setup.  

We'll be meeting at Trinity Lutheran Church in downtown Kalamazoo. The address is 504 S. Westnedge (corner of Westnedge and Cedar). The doors are on the west side of the building. We’ll be meeting in the basement, but there is an elevator. 

We’ll be using Lisa  strippy improv technique on your choice of patterns available in her Etsy shop: Circles, Hearts, Holiday or Halloween. All patterns use the same basic technique: strippy improv piecing on a foundation and then reverse applique on top to create the desired shapes for each block.  GLMQG members can check their email for a discount code!

No preregistration is required. 

Supply list:

  • Pattern of choice (print out templates at full size) 
  • Fabric requirements listed on pattern 
  • Fusible web (as listed on pattern)
  • Muslin or other foundation fabric (as listed on pattern)
  • Sewing machine 
  • Cutting board, mat and rulers (12” square and a 3” x 12” or similar recommended for blocks)
  • Personal mini ironing board and iron (highly recommended, as we’ll be pressing after each seam) 
  • Basic sewing supplies

Strippy Improv Circles
Strippy Improv Circles



Strippy Improv Holiday
Strippy Improv Holiday


Strippy Improv Hearts
Strippy Improv Hearts


Strippy Improv Halloween
Strippy Improv Halloween