October Meeting Reminder

On Saturday October 1st we will be having our meeting in West Newbury at the Old Town Hall from 10am-12pm.

 
We will be holding nominations for the 2017 SMQG Executive Board positions. Voting will occur at the November meeting.

After nominations and show & tell,  Kali will be doing a quick and dirty zipper demonstration and we will have some time to work on sewing some small pouches to give away to teens at the holidays. The intent is to donate these pouches filled with some personal care items to teens in local drug rehab centers. If you would like to help with the pouch making effort, please aim to make two pouches, one in a masculine design and one in a feminine design, that would be completed by the November meeting. If you are new to installing a zipper, you can come to the meeting with your fabric cut and prepared so that you can start stitching away after the demonstration! 

Here are two patterns that would be great for this, but you are welcome to use whatever pattern you would like:

• http://noodle-head.com/2012/06/open-wide-zippered-pouch-diy-tutorial.html

• http://www.skiptomylou.org/pleated-pouch-tutorial/

Just to make it a little extra fun, and since this is a charity project for the holidays, for every two pouches that you contribute before/at the November meeting your name will be entered to win a prize!  Also, if you have ideas about what we can stuff the pouches with or if you have any leads on getting "stuffable" items donated to us please reach out to Kate.

The SMQG Charity Quilt Stash: Kate is collecting completed quilts to be stashed for any future charity events which may require some quick action. Please feel free to bring these to the meeting. 

September Meeting Recap

On Saturday we met in West Newbury for our September meeting.


Upcoming Dates and Deadlines
Gather Here is hosting the Squam Modern Quilt Show at the Fall Squam Artist Retreat on Saturday September 17th from 5-10 pm. There is more information, and a link to RSVP at https://gatherhere.worldsecuresystems.com/announcements/squam-modern-quilt-show.

Christa Quilts class will be held on October 8th from 10-5pm at the West Newbury Old Town Hall. There are still 7 spots available for the class, please sign up if you plan to do so, or tell your quilter friends! Reminder, you will need to purchase the book  Machine Quilting with Style separately. Sign ups are on the blog at http://www.seacoastmodernquiltguild.com/2016/07/sign-ups-are-open-for-our-class-with.html.

Details for the Michael Miller Luxe Challenge can be found here! The deadline for this challenge is November 30th.

Details for the American Patchwork & Quilting Nine-Patch Challenge are now available. The challenge? Create a modern quilt using the simple nine-patch block. Entries are due with other QuiltCon entries on November 30, 2016.

Join the national MQG the third Sunday of every month to sew with friends on Instagram using the hashtag #mqgsewday. The next sew day will happen September 18.

Charity Sewing 

Please see Kate's email listing out our current charity endeavors, we have so much going on! Three cheers to Kate for getting us organized! 

Show & Tell 

Jess showed off a number of projects! This is an applique quilt top that she started at a workshop with Carolyn Friedlander. She also attended a workshop with Chawne Kimber in Cambridge and pieced small!

Peg showed off this skirt that she made with Melody Miller records fabric.

Marylee shared this quilt that she made for her neighbor. It is backed with polar fleece, but has no batting.

Marylee also showed this mini quilt that she made that uses tulle to create shadow or highlight. This work was inspired by Nancy Morgan, a local textile artist, who will be speaking at the Seacoast Art Association in Exeter on the second Sunday of October at 2pm.

Diane shared some samples from her upcoming class at the East Kingston library on September 21 and 22. She also showed her August Lucky Spool Challenge, an exploded block. 

Laura shared this Noodlehead Caravan Tote that she finished as a stylish diaper bag. If one were to attempt a similar bag, Laura recommends backing the Liberty fabric with Craft Fuse instead of interfacing.

Hilde shared this quilt from a class that she took at MassArt many years ago. The class was on Resist Dyeing, and when she combined her examples into a quilt she set a new standard for the class.

Hilde also showed off this quilt top that she assembled recently using the stack and slice method.

Nancy shared her quilted Farm Girl Vintage quilt, pattern by Lori Holt.

Nancy also showed off this quilted tote bag that she made for herself using fruits and veggies fabric. 

Upcoming Meeting

Our October meeting will be held in West Newbury at the Old Town Hall. We will be holding nominations for the 2017 SMQG Executive Board positions. If you would like more information please contact Mary. Voting will occur at the November meeting.

After nominations and show & tell, we will be having a zipper demonstration and will have some time to work on some small pouches. We will be filling these will small personal care items and giving them away to teens in local drug rehab centers at the holidays. There is more information in that handy email from Kate!


Two recommended patterns are listed below:

• http://noodle-head.com/2012/06/open-wide-zippered-pouch-diy-tutorial.html
• http://www.skiptomylou.org/pleated-pouch-tutorial/

September Meeting Reminder

On Saturday September 10th we will be meeting from 10am-12pm at the West Newbury Town Hall Annex to do some charity sewing. The below message is from Kate, our Charity Quilting Chair: 

Hello all!  I hope you are all looking forward to our next meeting--we have lots of different charity things happening.

 

We will continue our work on out QuiltCon Charity quilt, we should be able to get the top finished and possibly get the back pieced!

 

With the fabric (tops and squares) returned to us from England along with some donated fabric from Susan Gold, we have plenty of material to work with for charity projects--but it will require some creativity on our part to utilize what we have.  It would be great to end up with some quilts for teens specifically, so please keep that in mind when you are sewing.  Since we aren't sure what we will end up with after we all put a few hours of sewing in using up the materials on hand, let's see what we end up with before selecting a charity--this way we can hopefully maximize our time sewing.  Some of the completed squares may lend themselves more toward smaller projects rather than a quilt top, so come with your ideas--maybe a zippered pouch, a tote bag, or a notebook cover?  We have brainstormed about giving some handmade gifts to local groups around the holidays and this would be a great way to do that!

If anyone would like to sew NICU smocks, here is a link that was passed on from Diane.   I think this would be an equally nice thing to do with some of the donated fabric we have.

http://www.craftsy.com/blog/2016/07/charity-sew-along-2016/?utm_source=feedblitz&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=The%20Craftsy%20Quilting%20Blog&utm_content=Freebie%20Friday%3A%20A%20Few%20of%20Our%20Favorites&utm_term=Blog%20Post&skipMod=1

Additionally, if you have a favorite patter or tutorial that is quick to stitch up, feel free to print out one (or two) copies and bring it along! I haven't seen the donated fabric so I am not sure what audience it lends itself to. 

Please bring any blenders or solids that you are willing to contribute.

See you all next weekend!

Kate

Additionally, please bring your sewing machine and any necessary accessories. Please contact Mary if you would like to volunteer to bring your iron and ironing board, or rotary mat and a ruler. 

August Meeting Recap

We met at the Lane Memorial Library in Hampton for our August meeting.

At the time of the meeting, there was still one spot left for the Sew Boston event on October 8th. If you are attending, signups for the swap close on Monday August 8th (act fast!)

On Friday, August 19th from 2-8pm, we will be having another sew-in at the Wiggin Memorial Library in Stratham. Bring your machine, any other necessary accessories, and whatever project you would like to work on in the air conditioning!

Signups are still open for members for the free motion quilting class with Christa Watson on October 8th. Currently the class is half full, and will open to non-SMQG members on August 15th. Sign up here!

Submissions are still open for the Squam Modern Quilt Show. Quilts can be entered on the Gather Here website. The quilt show will be open to the public on September 17th from 5 to 10 pm, with a makers reception from 5 to 7pm.

This meeting was the deadline for the "Tell Me A Story" quilt block drawing for anyone who made a block from Amy Friend's book Intentional Piecing. Amy offered one fabric bundle that featured fabrics perfect for fussy cutting from Sew Me A Song, and every block that was made earned one chance to win. There was some steep competition, and Kate was the lucky winner after making many blocks with baby clothes that her children had worn and that have many memories.

Show and Tell

Jane F finished the quilt that she was working on at out retreat. She used Anna Maria Horner's Loominous collection. The combination of the Loominous fabric and Warm & White batting made a very soft quilt!

Jane F also finished this quilt using a jelly roll and a 60 degree triangle ruler.

Kathy showed off her Mondo Bag, as well as this iron caddy. She also made this baby quilt for her soon-to-be-born grandson.

Sarah shared this baby quilt that she made for her husband's friend. Isn't her puzzle piece quilting great!

Mary O finished the quilt that she was working on at retreat, however it is a surprise so it's currently top secret! She also shared this Sew Together bag that she made.

Paula finished this mini quilt from the book 101 Mini Quilts. She had something to share at show and tell, and also has this summery addition to hang on her door!

Diane finished a quilt top inspired by the July Mighty Lucky quilt challenge where she used only one fabric to achieve this pattern!

Diane also shared this table runner that features these magnificent feathers.

Suzanne finished this quilt for us using the blocks that were signed at the Portsmouth Pride Festival. She quilted it with lots of hearts and love!

Colleen shared this piece of improv patchwork that she is going to make into a floor pillow for her daughter to take to college.

Laura shared these two baby quilts that she made. The pink-er of the two was made when she was convinced that she was having another girl, and the blue one was made after she was informed otherwise.

Dottie, a new member, shared this piece, "Flowers of Spring", that she made in spring of 1997. This is the first piece that she made and kept for herself.

Mary G was pattern testing for Christie Fincher of Purple Daisies. The applique is made using wash-out paper and glue basting.

Amy shared two quilts that she has been working on, Cinched and Plumb Line.

Applique Demonstration
Bea showed off some of her favorite techniques for hand applique. Bea recommends straw needles, clear plastic folders instead of template plastic, plastic (not metal!) bias press bars, and washers from the hardware store to iron around. Bea tries not to iron her pieces too flat so that she can wiggle her needle in between the seam allowance that is pressed to the back and the backing fabric. She never brings her needle to the front of the fabric, so there are no visible stitches.

Our next meeting will be held at the West Newbury Annex on September 10th. We will be doing some charity sewing, so please bring your sewing machines.

August Meeting Reminder

The August meeting will be held on August 6th, from 10am-12pm at the Lane Memorial Library in Hampton. There is parking on the street around the library, and also a parking lot across Academy Ave by the junior high. We will be meeting downstairs in the Lane Room.


Bea will be giving a hands on demo on hand appliqueing flower shapes. If you would like to participate, please bring the following:


-A piece of background fabric approx. 6" square
-Scraps of fabric for leaves, flower petals, and circles on the flowers (All approx. 2"-3")
-If you would like to make a bias stem for the flowers, please bring a fat quarter of your fabric choice.
OR
-A scrap of fabric for a coffee mug shape, about 4"
-Thread to match the fabric
-Hand sewing needles
-If you would like to make a bias stem for the flowers, please bring a fat quarter of your fabric choice.
-Fabric scissors
-Regular scissors for paper/plastic
- A marking pencil


Please bring any Tell Me A Story blocks from Amy's book Intentional Piecing that you have made if you would like a chance to win a roll of fabric perfect for fussy cutting! Every Tell Me A Story quilt block that you bring will count as an entry into the drawing for the fabric.

I hope to see you all there!

SIGN UPS ARE OPEN FOR OUR CLASS WITH CHRISTA WATSON!

It's finally time to sign up for our fall class with Christa Watson!  This will be a full day of sewing and learning on October 8.  For more info about the class, click here.


Please click below to purchase your spot in our class with Christa Watson.

**Reminder**  Sign ups are currently open to anyone.

Our Fall Class...

Announcing our Fall class with Christa Watson!

We are so excited to be able to bring Christa Watson to our guild to teach Modern Machine Quilting.  

Take your modern quilts to the next level by adding depth and dimension to your designs. The secret is learning to let go of perfection by practicing over a dozen different asymmetrical textures that require little to no marking of the quilt.Students will utilize both free-motion and walking foot techniques by practicing on small practice samples or leftover quilt blocks. Students may bring in their tops for a discussion of possible quilting ideas.

The class will be an all day event on October 8th, held at the West Newbury Old Town Hall in West Newbury, MA.  (For those of you like me, that's the one that looks like a church between two farms.)  We'll start at 10 a.m. (be sure to arrive around 9:30 to set up machines, grab snacks, and settle in), break for a catered lunch, and end at 5 p.m.  We'll have the full day to practice new techniques on our machines so that at the end of the day you can go home with the ability to replicate what you've learned.

Christa's book, Machine Quilting with Style, will be required for this class.  

Sign ups for this class will open on July 15.  There will be a PayPal button live on this blog at 8:00 a.m.  I will send out an email to let you know that you may start to sign up.  There are only 22 spots in this class and they will go first come, first serve.  In the event that we do not fill those spots within the guild, we will open the remaining spots to non-members on August 15.