Reminder: Lee Heinrich talk and trunk show

QuiltCon Charity Quilt Challenge: A Safe Place

photo credit Amy Friend

Below please find the blog post that Judy wrote and submitted to the MQG as the blog post about our group's quilt!

photo credit Amy Friend

Our guild set aside time at our September meeting to plan our QuiltCon charity quilt. Our planning and execution was truly a group effort with a large percentage of our members contributing ideas, time, materials, and skill. Our project manager, Judy Durant, led a lively discussion.  The plan for the quilt design evolved quickly from Stephanie Harrison's suggestion of donating the finished quilt to “A Safe Place”, an emergency shelter for women and children in southeastern NH. Her suggestion was met with overwhelming approval, especially because she also contributed the idea of a quilt design involving houses, representing a place of warmth and security. Once this was decided, we were off and running. The color palette given to us by the MQG appeared challenging at first but as discussion proceeded it was decided that we would use all the solids in the palette with the addition of only one print. The deep turquoise (we used Kona Glacier) was chosen as the background. Each block was to include a house and one chartreuse star. We left that meeting with a plan settled and all tasks involved covered by volunteers.

photo credit Amy Friend

Kali Zirkle volunteered to create a quilt layout diagram and from her design members were assigned a block size. The blocks were of varying sizes and shapes and because all used a common background color we were able to achieve an alternate grid work design of houses and stars scattered in the deep turquoise background. Peg Connolly secured fabric, made packets for each member, and shipped those packets to all who were making house blocks. And as if by magic, everyone appeared at our October meeting with a finished house block! It was such fun to see the variety of house styles everyone had created and the level of interest and enthusiasm was wonderful.

photo credit Jessica Benoit May (Mary Gregory's hands)

The house blocks were assembled by Jessica Benoit May into a charming quilt top. She added some stars in areas of negative space and she pieced a wonderful improv strip of solid scraps to add design interest to the quilt back. Mary Gregory then burned the midnight oil quilting our creation with all sorts of free motion designs, including a cat in one of the house windows! 

Some of the designs suggested tiles or shingles.

photo credit Jessica Benoit May

By our November meeting the quilt was ready to hand off to Nancy Peach and Sue Trask for binding, sleeve, and label. Sue used her embroidery machine to create a very special label. Our finished product was much admired by all at our December meeting before it was shipped off to Texas where some of our members will be able to see it on display.

photo credit Amy Friend

Our guild has decided to make and donate pillow cases to A Safe Place along with the quilt for the women and children who are sheltered there in their time of need.

2015 SMQG Retreat Payments: Second Payment Due

Hi all,

If you made a deposit for our 2015 Retreat to be held in Kennebunk, ME on April 24-26 (with the option of arriving on April 23), it is now time to make your second payment!

Please choose your option below very carefully. The drop down menu lists options for Single or Double Room, number of nights, and pay half (with another payment due in March) or pay in full. If you don't remember what you signed up for, you can search your email for your original Paypal confirmation email, or Laura can tell you. Please contact Laura with any questions. *Paypal button has been removed!*

The Gathering Exhibit Submissions are Open!

Have quilts ready to submit to our fall 2015 Gathering Exhibit? You can begin submitting quilts now! See the following message from Amy on how to do so:

Hi everyone!

The exhibit committee would like to announce the system for submitting your beautiful modern quilts to our SMQG exhibit at The Gathering in November 2015.

Please submit any quilts you have ready as soon as possible to help us understand whether or not we have enough quilts to fill the space. You do have time to make a new quilt still! The deadline for submitting is not until August 1. As mentioned though, we'd appreciate any submissions now that you know you intend to submit.

To submit a quilt, please send Amy two images of each quilt. One should be a full frontal, flat view of the quilt. It should be named with the quiltname_full.jpg. An example using my Kite Tails quilt would be KiteTails_full.jpg. Also send a second image that is a detail showing the quality of workmanship and quilting details. Title it quiltname_details.jpg. The files can be of any size since we will be using Dropbox. Once she receives the files, she will upload them to Dropbox.

Then, use this Google Docs Survey to submit information about your quilts.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1A4sudx82FFOMhLVZaLqTPuk4CeD_RcWoiB0gCngHOE0/viewform?usp=send_form

Only the Exhibit Committee members and the Guild President will have access to the Google Doc and Dropbox so you have some privacy as you would in any quilt show when submitting quilts! You may submit as many quilts as you like. Though we plan to limit the number of acceptances to two each.

Swap/Bee Survey!

At our recent Executive Committee meeting, one of the 2015 goals we discussed for our guild is the goal of FUN. I know we have a busy year ahead of us, but I wanted to gauge interest in the kinds of fun little swaps and bees that are always tempting us on Instagram and blogs. It's always so much more satisfying to own and use a piece sewn by someone who you know in real life! (Ask me how much I love my Farmer's Market Super Tote :) )

Take a minute and fill out the survey. I'm open to your ideas, if you have one I haven't thought of!

Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey , the world's leading questionnaire tool.

January meeting recap

  

Our first meeting of 2015 was held at the Stratham Library and featured a bag construction workshop led by Jess. Laura hosted her first meeting as president with aplomb. Business items included:

- Notice of the Boston Modern Quilt Guild show at Fabric Place in Natick beginning at their January 24 meeting, from 3-6, with food and mingling. The quilts on display will be up for a month, with viewing hours on the weekends.
- Our charity quilt arrived safely in Austin and will be hung at the QuiltCon show.

- Retreat second payments will be due in early January (~2nd week) via Paypal, notice will go out via email.

- Payments for the Sheri Lynn Wood workshop are due by Jan 31st. Please mail to the P.O. Box.

- Gathering Exhibit update: May meeting is the deadline for the mini quilt challenge and a sew-in for a raffle quilt will be held at the April meeting.
 

Our members were busy despite the holiday season so Show and Tell was a treat.

Melanie had a [nearly] finished Anna Maria Horner quilt that endured several affronts from water damage and magic markers but managed to be spectacular anyway.

Kali continues to rock the Kona Pomegranate (sunglasses not provided) and did a fantastic quilting job on this mini.

Laura showed off the Do Good Stitches Dessert block quilt. A triumph that included setting triangles, consulting the Pythagorean Theorem and battling minkee. The on point design with the secondary design is a winner that will make some little girl very happy.

Diane showed off a lovely Missouri Star quilt with a soothing palette and darling bird panels that look like applique. The hand quilting detail around the birds is charming.

Stephanie had a productive month that included some clutch envy, not-so-stash-busting rainbow potholders and this darling quilt made by her six year old daughter. Like mother, like daughter.

Mary made a quilt top for an ailing cat of her vintage loving sister with vintage sheets.

And another futile stash busting attempt with this string quilt made from Portsmouth Fabric Company scraps.

Allison's black and white quilt may look familiar but this is #4 Baby Quilt and she found out that a #5 is needed. Yikes!

Nancy had a Tokyo Subway mini that is a stunner.

Bag making began with some trepidation (see Laura's expression) but Jess' gentle affirmations and confidence-building tutelage, sewing began.

Steph and Mary dove right in.

Melanie looked on while Kali worked on some straps.

 Laura was finally convinced that inset zippers weren't all that bad.

And the inevitable "Yahoo!" moment is celebrated with our fearless instructor. Thanks again for a great workshop, Jess.

Next month we will be having a Batting workshop with Sue Trask at the Fremont Library. See you then!