November meeting recap

Our November meeting was held on Saturday, November 1 at the West Newbury Town Hall Annex.

Judy opened our meeting with some announcements and general business items:

• Our "sense of place" minis were collected at this meeting and will be shipped to Northampton. When we receive our minis in return, they will be distributed random-lottery style.
• If you are a paid member of our guild you should have received an email from the MQG regarding regional representative elections. There are three candidates for our district (they are all from below the Mason-Dixon line...perhaps one of us should remedy that next go-round!). Please review their profiles and make your selection, and then, on November 10, you will receive an emailed ballot. You'll have until 11/13 to vote. This election only seems far-off and like it won't matter--if you want the East Coast to have a say in what goes on for the MQG, now is your chance. 
• Retreat pricing came in for the April 24-26 retreat at the Franciscan in Kennebunk, ME. The pricing looks to be similar to what it was last year. We will need to make a deposit with the Franciscan by November 28, so watch your inboxes for instructions on making your deposit and reserving your retreat space!

Looking ahead to next month, we will be holding our annual end-of-the-year party and handmade item Yankee Swap. Everyone is invited to make a small handmade gift to participate in the Yankee Swap! We ask that the item be small (like a pincushion, mug rug, mini quilt, small pillow, small pouch) and be sewn. The item should NOT have a Christmas theme. Please place your item in a small, non-Christmas gift bag so we can cut down on paper mess and waste. 

We will also be holding a potluck brunch. Make a fun treat of your choice to share! Debbie has me thinking of biscuits and gravy and I am wondering how well gravy might travel. :)

There were quite a lot of pieces of show and tell this month! We have been a very productive group. I apologize in advance for the wobbly photos. I should have used my flash. It is sometimes hard to tell about the light in these big rooms.

Sam's bright solid quilt is for her son. It's twin-sized so it is quite large!

This is Robin's contribution to the A Sense of Place swap.

And Robin made this beautiful quilt using Amy's Melon Ice pattern. 

This blurry photo absolutely does not do justice to Sue's A Sense of Place mini. Her quilting, which you can barely see, is particularly lovely!

Nancy made a colorful Dresden plate.

And this is Nancy's A Sense of Place mini. It is her backyard! It is entirely improv-pieced, and I am impressed by the precision she achieved.

Judy's A Sense of Place mini is inspired by her home and the objects that populate her everyday life. The tranquil blue is for the Seacoast water.

Joanne used metallic thread to quilt her autumn wall hanging. She had some issues with it and this led to a little discussion on using metallic threads. 

Diane's runner from Paula's workshop last month is finished. She handquilted the words and the asterisk (and there are several other words on the runner). 

Diane also finished this blue runner.

And this was Diane's test block for her contribution to our charity quilt. I love the whimsical feel of this block!

Paula's A Sense of Place mini was inspired by all the colors in our area, and the beautiful nighttime sky.

Laura's A Sense of Place is called Lucy Boston on the Road to Tennessee.

Laura also made a pickle dish unit, but is not sure what to do with it.

Laura also finished this Courthouse Steps quilt.

Karin showed off her bright citrusy pillow. This will be cheery throughout the coming dreary winter!

Karin made this Fat Eighth Frenzy quilt in 24 hours. The top photo is the front and the bottom is the back. She used Kate Spain fabrics, I believe!

Here is the banner made by the banner committee. It is still in progress (I believe Mary will be quilting it) but it is already incredible! Thanks to Jess for spearheading that project.

Kali's A Sense of Place mini was inspired by a foggy morning. She says these are her first machine-quilted swirls and I find that hard to believe!

Kali continues to rescue 90s stash fabrics and make things with them! She made this quilt out of a combo of fabrics given to her and purchased at a yard sale.

Allison is handquilting this black and white plus baby quilt. This photo doesn't show her stitches but she is using pink in the black area and black in the white area.

Mary made a take on Carolyn Friedlander's Aerial Grove pattern for her A Sense of Place swap mini. I believe those circles are hand-appliqued. They are rainbow pebbles on a beach.

Jess and Mary did an incredible amount of work on our Charity challenge quilt. (So much that I guess I needed to put this photo in this post twice.) Jess hammered the top into shape, and Mary did all the quilting. She added such darling details, like a couple of hidden cats and tiny ribbon candy quilting. I could look at this quilt for a couple of hours and not see it all. Great work everybody, and especially great work, Jess and Mary!

Jess's A Sense of Place mini is a whale and a NY Beauty sun. She handquilted it!

Jess also made a throw-sized top for her sister.

Amy's A Sense of Place mini is a quilted representation of Plum Island. The quilting really adds so much to this mini!

Recognize this? This is Amy's Melon Ice block, smaller, and with prints. (Same pattern as Robin's blue and white quilt, above!) I love how swapping figure and ground makes this into a totally different quilt.

Amy also made this as a modern quilting study. (It is not blurry, that is the badness of the photo.) 

Inspired by an Amish quilt, Amy made this ninepatch/Irish Chain variation. She made it modern by using some differently colored solids for an ombre effect. Amy also showed off the quilt she made for publication in the scrap quilt book, made of grey, lime, and yellow scraps--but I didn't get a photo of it.

After show and tell, we had a productive discussion about what makes a quilt "modern." If you are looking for the MQG's definition of a "modern quilt," find it here. If you are looking for our group's guidelines for our 2015 modern quilting show, please check your email!

See you in Stratham next month for our end-of-year party!