August meeting recap

Our August meeting was held Saturday, August 4 from 10 am to 3 pm at the West Newbury Town Hall Annex. 20 members plus one guest were in attendance. 

Judy opened the meeting by announcing that JoAnne has agreed to take on the role of retreat coordinator for one final year. If you would like to work with JoAnne on the 2019 retreat, please contact her.

Barb gave the Treasurer's Report and noted our guild's excellent financial health.

Paula and Diane passed around a sign up sheet for those who would like to exhibit a quilt at Strawbery Banke. If you were not at the meeting today and would like to show a quilt, please contact them directly with the size of the quilt in inches. Diane will be collecting show quilts at the September meeting and at one other date in September. The skinny mini challenge that Paula and Diane have organized is also due at the September meeting. It is open only to retreat attendees, who have already received information about it. For any questions regarding the Strawbery Banke show please contact Paula and Diane directly.

Looking ahead:

Sept meeting (9/8): show quilts due, Skinny Mini challenge quilts due

Oct 6: Strawbery Banke show

Oct meeting (10/13): Sheri Cifaldi-Morrill of Whole Circle Studio trunk show (follow her on Instagram at @wholecirclestudio and let her know we're excited to meet her!), board/officer nominations, meeting will be at the WN Annex and will begin at 9:30 for nominations

Nov meeting (11/3): voting on board nominations, WIP challenge will be due

Nov 10: Michelle Wilkie, MQG regional rep, talk and meet & greet

Dec 1: end of year party and swap at WN Annex

Mary Lee asked about the pillowcases that Paula had decided to have our group sew this year. If you have chosen to sew pillowcases, please sew them on your own time and plan on bringing them to a future meeting. Kelly will take them up.

Jane is working on our 2019 workshop. She is contacting potential teachers and there are some promising leads.

Bethany won the Sparrow Lottery blocks--congratulations Bethany! She may receive a couple more at the September meeting :)

Show and Tell:

Robin finished this single Irish Chain quilt. She had Carrie Zizza quilt it with an orange peel design.

Kali needed a quick fun sew in between bigger projects, so finished up this magic number black and white quilt. It will have teal binding to match the thread.

Bethany plans to practice her free motion quilting on this Charming Chevrons quilt (pattern by Krista Watson).

Bethany finished this 2016 Splendid Sampler quilt and mixed in several other different blocks.

Lou made this quilt for a cat lover!

Diane's quilt is her piece for the SAQA show for which she was specially selected to produce new work. She designed all the fabrics for this quilt and will let us know when we can see it hanging at the Lowell Quilt Museum.

Paula and Diane did some dyeing together and are thinking of making the results into pillows.

Paula and Colleen are admiring the Strawbery Banke committee's quilt. They made houses based on some historic houses on the Strawbery Banke property.

QuiltCon Charity Quilt Sew-In:

Thanks to the QuiltCon Charity Quilt Committee, Suzanne, Kelly, and Judy, for designing our quilt and setting up our sew-in. Kelly cut all the fabric and prepped all the kits, and taught us how to do tiny piecing. We found that very careful ironing was best for keeping all those seams open and flat. All of Kelly's prep made for a very successful sewing session!

Each group of 3-5 quilters had slightly different colors chosen from a set palette of 6 solids for their tiny pieced panels. We were surprised by how different the panels looked in the end, depending on which colors were included or excluded!

Hope to see everyone on September 8, meeting location TBA. Stay cool!

August meeting reminder

Judy's Sparrow lottery blocks are bright and summery!

Our August meeting will be held THIS Saturday, August 4, from 10 am to 3 pm, at the West Newbury Town Hall Annex (381 Main St., West Newbury, MA).

At this meeting we will have a regular meeting, show and tell, and lottery blocks are due. (If you are printing the templates on your own, please be sure to print templates for the lottery block at 100%!)

Please bring your items for show and tell, lottery blocks plus $1 per block entry, and your sewing machine and basic sewing supplies. We will be working on some tiny piecing for our QuiltCon Charity Challenge quilt. We will have community cutting stations and ironing stations set up, so you only need to bring those items if you have volunteered to do so via email.

If you signed up at our July meeting, Kelly will have a kit available for you. If you did not sign up, you are still welcome! Just send Kelly a quick email so that she will know how many kits to have prepped. All the fabric will be made available to you, so you need only provide your sewing machine and thread. (And, probably, seam ripper!)

We have the Annex until 3 pm so you are welcome to stay and sew as long as you are able. (The Annex DOES have air conditioning! ;) ) The guild will be providing a light lunch of wrap sandwiches and fruit salad. Please bring your own drink or water bottle to go with lunch.

July meeting recap

Kelly shows off the charity quilt that she and Suzanne recently finished. So much work went into this quilt--many thanks to Kelly and Suzanne and all who sewed blocks!

Our July meeting was held Saturday, July 7 from 10 am to 12 pm at the Mary E Bartlett Library in Brentwood NH.

Barb opened the meeting by presenting the treasurer's report and noting that we currently have quite a full treasury. A general budget dictating how we might use our funds is under ongoing discussion.

We are still seeking a volunteer to head the retreat committee; please contact Judy directly if you have questions or are interested in filling this role.

Jane B will be taking over the events planning role from Laura. She is jumping right in planning the 2019 workshops. She has already sent a survey that requires your quick response--please take a few minutes and rank instructors in an email to Jane!

We received a check with the financial overage from the April Anna Maria workshops. It is enough to cover our planned November lecture from Michelle Wilkie with plenty to spare. Michelle Wilkie is tentatively planned for November 10, 2018 10am to 12pm. The location is TBD.

Kelly showed us the design that the QuiltCon charity quilt committee has developed for the QuiltCon charity quilt. The theme is small piecing. We will be having a sew in at the August meeting (August 4, West Newbury) to work on the small piecing components of the quilt. The design has large panels that look like sails that will be pieced from tiny pieces. Fabric will be provided by the guild and kits are being assembled so that we can sew efficiently. If you are planning to sew with us at the August meeting, and did not sign up with Kelly, please send her an email so that she can have the right number of kits prepped.

In Colleen's absence, Judy introduced the block lottery block due in August. We are using the free MQG block from June called "Sparrow". If you purchased the bettycrockerass templates from Jen Carlton Bailly, the 6.5'' size will work for the drunkard's path component. You need two files if you did not receive a hard copy at the meeting: CLICK HERE for block instructions, TEMPLATES ARE HERE.

Amy gave a demonstration of how to add a hanging sleeve to a quilt that you are sending to a show. Please note that the larger quilts for Strawbery Banke will need sleeves, but the smaller ones will not. You can find the tutorial that Amy uses and that the MQG recommends HERE.

WIP Show and Tell

These projects are WIPs that people plan to finish for our October meeting "motivation" :)

Paula has Christmas clamshells from Amy's curved piecing demo YEARS ago:

Barb has the first quilt she ever pieced. It is well basted and just needs quilting.

 Kate has a lovely top from Jen's workshop that needs quilting:

 And the hot weather has Kate also thinking of Christmas! She has plans for finishing these two blocks.

 Letty also plans to finish the first quilt top she ever pieced:

 MaryLee showed the red blocks that Lou plans to finish.

From two years ago, MaryLee plans to finish some charity quilt blocks in blue and white.

 Jane's "not-African" quilt has a perfect backing and needs to be quilted and finished.

 Andrea has a denim quilt she's planning on tying...

and a quilt top she finished after the last meeting that she will ask her mom please to quilt :) 

 We have seen Nancy's New York Beauties before. She has found the charm squares for the center and is ready to finish them--the arcs are all sewn.

 Robin made a top after she learned what "modern quilting" was and plans to finish it up.

Show and Tell

JoAnne bought Japanese fabrics at Quilted Threads and has begun blocks. Photos don't do the fabrics justice.

 Barb finished her granddaughter's flamingo quilt, but notes that baby C's older sister quite admired the quilt as well...

 Barbara's tote is well made and lovely! She took a class at Portsmouth Fabric Co and the pattern and straps are from Noodlehead

 So great to see the 2017 BOTM quilts start to be finished! Nancy showed hers off:

 Amy used antlers to inspire her design for this quilt. She is using it as an example for one of her QuiltCon classes.

 Kate joined us at the July meeting; please welcome her next time you see her! She made this hashtag quilt using her fabric pull from the Color Fluency workshop with Anna Maria. Kate is a glassblower and uses her art to inform her quilting color choices.

 the back of Kate's hashtag quilt:

Our next meeting is Saturday, August 4, 10 am to TBD, West Newbury Annex (381 Main St West Newbury MA). We will be sewing panels for the QuiltCon charity quilt so plan on bringing your machine and basic sewing supplies.

July meeting reminder

Our July meeting will be held on Saturday, July 7, from 10 am to 12 pm at the Mary E Bartlett Library in Brentwood NH.

There will be a hanging sleeve demo at this meeting.

Please bring show and tell quilts, as well as the project you hope to finish by the October meeting for our WIP completion prize. Everyone who finishes a WIP will receive an entry into a random drawing for a (tba) prize.

Judy also sent reminders via email on June 25, please see your email for her notes.

June meeting recap

Jane was the lucky winner of these stunning lottery blocks!

Our June meeting was held June 2, 2018 at the West Newbury Town Hall Annex. 20 members were in attendance, with no guests or visitors.

Judy opened the meeting by noting that QuiltCon registration opens on June 26. The catalog can be viewed at the QuiltCon website. If you are considering participating in registration on June 26, please log in to your account at the MQG Community site and be sure that your login works. Also look at your email inbox to ensure you are receiving emails from the MQG. You will receive an emailed link when registration opens--it is the only way to register. The MQG usually sends out tips and instructions via email in the weeks before registration, so keep your eyes peeled. As an MQG member, you receive a three-day show pass for free, and are eligible for discounts on preregistration for workshops and lectures.

Barb gave the treasurer's report and noted the guild's good financial health.

JoAnne gave a wrap-up of our 2018 retreat and thanked all the retreat committee members. She is stepping down from the retreat coordinator position for 2019, please notify Judy if you are interested in this position. The group held a vote to keep the retreat for 2019 at the Franciscan Guest House, 16/20 people voted in favor. The Franciscan has us tentatively scheduled for the first weekend of May 2019. JoAnne has confirmed that she has reserved the Franciscan for the first weekend of May 2019.

Our group is also seeking a replacement for the role of special events/workshop coordinator. (Previously, Amy had done this job, and Laura did it this year.) Please contact Judy if you are interested in coordinating special guest workshops for 2019.

Paula gave an update on the decisions made by the Strawbery Banke committee and others who were interested in attending the informal meeting that was held at the retreat. Paula has distributed her information via email, please check your inbox for Paula's email dated May 6 2018. Please contact Diane and Paula via email if you are planning to show a quilt at this year's show, they would like a rough estimate of which quilts they will be showing by the July 3 meeting. Please note the size of your quilt and indicate order of preference about which quilt you would like to show. Diane noted that there will be only two drop-off dates for quilts, at the September meeting at at a later TBD September date. They are looking for white-glove volunteers to do two-hour shifts at the show on October 6, 2018. Please contact Paula and Diane directly via email with any questions regarding the show.

Jointly, the retreat committee and the Strawbery Banke committee have planned a "skinny mini" challenge to be due at the September 8 meeting. Only retreat attendees are eligible and Paula and Diane have distributed slips of paper inside swag bags that have instructions on them. The fabrics for the challenge were also inside attendee's swag bags. Please contact Paula and Diane directly via email with any questions regarding the Skinny Mini challenge.

Prizes for Diane's Skinny Mini Challenge

Our next meeting will be July 3, location and agenda TBD. August meeting is August 4, as expected, and the September meeting will be September 8. Our October meeting will be October 13, as the Strawbery Banke show is October 6.

Judy announced a WIP "encouragement" to take place over the summer. If you have a WIP that you started before 7/3/2017, and would like to finish it this summer, please bring it to the July meeting for a little show and tell. Then, plan on bringing that project FINISHED to the October 13 meeting. Each person who finishes their WIP will be entered into a drawing for a prize.

Colleen gave a pin basting demonstration, and Jane gave a spray basting demonstration. Thank you, ladies, for demonstrating a step that is so onerous but so vital to the success of a show-worthy quilt! 

Colleen likes to pin baste from the center of her quilt out, with lots of ironing

Jane's design wall spray basting technique involves a mask, lots of smoothing,  and a sturdy, non-meltable design wall.

Show and Tell:

Judy made a Tell Me a Story block pillow cover for her husband John. Each block tells a story about John's life.

Barb finished her flamingo quilt top for her granddaughter who turns 1 on July 4!

JoAnne shows off her 2017 BOTM quilt top, and matches it to boot.

Nancy shows a beautiful money lei made for her son Taylor (congrats, Taylor and Nancy!)

Diane made this paper-pieced sneaker quilt for her grandson.

Diane made this quilt top using her economy block lottery winnings.

Paula's "heart quilt for a heart patient" is made with wool batting to keep her husband cozy during his recovery.

Paula warns us all that this mini has about 310 pieces in it, just in case you are thinking about trying some teeny tiny piecing. Some seam ripping was involved, she says!

Jane's wonky star lottery blocks became this beautiful quilt.

Jane made this as a gift for a friend who keeps chickens! She self-drafted the rooster and all of the flowers.

Suzanne's setting of her 2017 BOTM quilt is quite unique .

Andrea hand-pieced these curves on a trip through Amish country, then machine-quilted it when she got home.

Andrea's jelly roll quilt top WIP--will it be finished in October?

Laura's Pine Burr quilt from Tara Faughnan's QuiltCon class

Laura finished her rainbow traveling quilt from 2015