June meeting reminder!

Our June meeting will take place on Saturday, June 6 from 10am to 12pm at the Fremont Public Library in Fremont, NH. The address is Jackie Bernier Drive, Fremont, NH.

At this meeting, you might find it especially beneficial to wear your guild nametag. *wink wink* If you do not have a guild nametag, consider making one to wear! There are no rules--our current members have used methods such as applique and embroidery to make their own nametag.

At this meeting we will be holding our usual Show and Tell (hooray!), discussing the upcoming Gathering exhibit and submissions, and discussing the Charity Challenge quilt for 2016's QuiltCon.

Please prepare by checking out the information provided by the MQG HERE. You'll find the color scheme, a definition of "improv with intent," and all the information we'll need to plan this quilt. Come ready to brainstorm a plan--we'll be sewing at our July meeting!

Stephanie will also be demonstrating bias tape applique for use in quilting. If you are curious about what you're in for, check out photos of her Technicolor Galaxy quilt on her blog. Bias tape helped her create those perfect defined curves--so come curious, and ready to hear about how this technique can add to your quilters' toolbox.

I hope to see everyone there!

Recap: Sherri Lynn Wood Bias Strip Curves Workshop

On Sunday, May 3, Sherri Lynn Wood taught our guild's very first "sewlebrity"-taught workshop: her Bias Strip Curves workshop. Using a totally ruler-free method, she walked eighteen workshop participants through the process of making continuous bias strips, attaching them to curved shapes, and then "committing" them together into a quilt top.



After helping us find our centers, we selected three fabrics each and worked silently for thirty minutes. Silence was more challenging for some of us than others, but it helped set the tone for a day of good creative work, and I found I was much more able to work quickly when I was working quietly.



After we made our bias strips, Sherri taught us how to attach the strips to the curved shapes of our choice. She also gave us tips for identifying problems, and stood by the ironing boards troubleshooting wavy pieces. Surprisingly, the answer was almost never "pick it apart"!



After lunch we all had one to three petal shapes or half petal shapes to work with. Sherri walked us through some different methods of thinking about composing the shapes into a final composition. She emphasized making one "commitment" at a time--creating only one relationship between two pieces--before you could think about making the next move. Each seam and each "commitment" could not be predicted! While we worked, Sherri walked from table to table, providing composition advice and reassurance, and helping to unstick people who were stuck.



By the end of the workshop, some people had nearly-finished pieces; others have a few more commitments still to make.



Sherri was an excellent, approachable teacher who produced both productive group discussions and engaged with each student one-on-one to provide customized advice. By emphasizing centeredness, curiosity, openness, and flexibility, Sherri Lynn Wood changed workshop participants' perspectives on patchwork piecing, and taught us an advanced technique that I look forward to applying to my work in the future.

[[Thank you to Amy Friend for bringing her camera to the workshop and capturing most of these shots; image credit for the first group photo goes to Sherri Lynn Wood herself!]]

A Visual Feast - May Meeting Recap

Our May meeting was held at the Old Town Hall in West Newbury. Laura let us know the status of the Riley Blake Fabric challenge (if you don't have fabric by now, it isn't coming) and announced the Michael Miller Fabric Challenge featuring Glitz fabrics - black, white with silver and gold metallic. To sign up for fabric, look for your registration email on Saturday, May 9th at 10am EST. These challenge projects will be submitted to QuiltCon 2016. Fabric ships mid-July and the deadline for entries is Nov. 30.

Next up was the Modern Quilt Guild Charity Challenge 2016 themed "Improv with Intent". Click here for complete details. We voted unanimously to participate. Please read about the challenge and come prepared next month with ideas and discussion points. We will be donating to a local Massachusetts charity. Kali will be the project manager. The quilt will need to be in Pasadena on Feb. 3, 2016 and a blog post on Jan. 14, 2016.

Jess presented the Treasurer's Report with all the retreat financials tidied up.

Mary collected the Greek Cross lottery blocks. Laura won the FQ drawing.

And at long last, the sun was shining, no snow to be seen and a long winter's worth of work was ready to be shown! Show and tell had been on hiatus for a few months and there were so many lovelies to admire.

Laura shared a modern quilt that, though she didn't much care for, was well received.

Laura's first (and potentially last) commission quilt was equilateral triangles in the 1000's (check with her for the exact number!). It's queen sized and destined for a little girl's bed. An amazing and beautiful endeavor.

Laura's travelling quilt featuring a Virginia Woolf quote was a breathtaking collaborative piece beginning with the letters, embellished with a New York beauty, an octagon, a feather and arrows. Mary did the longarming.

Kali showed her retreat finish with V and Co. fabrics set in greys.

Jess' "soon to be bed quilt that matches the rug" was displayed, front and back.

Mary showed her string quilt made from her Portsmouth Fabric windfall.

Amy insisted on holding this peach and grey quilt, appropriately named by Judy "Pointed Statement" because it wasn't bigger than she was. But in fact, it was just as big as she and she remains hidden in this picture.

Not escaping the camera entirely, Amy showed this improv quilt that was included in Sherri Lynn Wood's book.

Nancy's Foxes made an appearance as a finished quilt, complete with Minkee back. (Note that Nancy looks somewhat fox-like peeking over the top.) Next up a colorful geometric quilt top.

Diane's Marsala challenge made an appearance. As did this top, constructed with star lottery blocks she won last year. She also shared some lap quilts from her winter work that were longarmed by Carrie Zizza.

Stephanie showed a top from a Lee Heinrich pattern called Chandelier as well as a Noodlehead Divided Tote she completed at retreat, filled with school supplies for Teacher Appreciation Day.

Mary Lee modeled a fitted jacket she made at a workshop, complete with a handmade Sculpey button.

Next.....

Traditional Blocks Made Modern Challenge Minis!

Mary Lee's "Escargot Gone" is based on a Snail's Trail. She decided to go less snail, more trail. She also included the traditional block on the back. Clever!

Mary Lee also showed Robin's Broken Windows based on an Attic Windows block.

Stephanie made a "Deconstructed Bachelor's Puzzle" by breaking apart the elements of the block and assembling them with the arrow unit and blocks falling away.

Paula's "Churn Dashing" uses value variation and alternate placement of the block elements.

Diane's "Returning Birds" incorporates a two toned background and a free-form bird pattern.

Joanne's "Catch a Falling Star" uses a navy background for the night sky, very tiny star piecing and quilting to illustrate the catching hand.

Mary's "Complements Attract" quilt features subtle value shifts and piping on the border for a real dimensional look.

Judy's "Spoolin' Around" takes a minimalist and colorful look at a spool block with the 'empty spool' of thread in the corner.

Nancy brought her sister Barbara's "Water Wheel with Drops" showing the center wheel with square 'drops' falling to the sides.

Nancy's "Flying Home" show colorful geese in groups of three and five, with the one lone goose at the bottom.

Sue's "Modern Bear's Walkabout" takes the family of bear paws in different directions, accented by dense quilting.

Amy showed her "Improv Fan" with concentric circle quilting in multiple directions.

Jane shared "Pigeons in the Park" where the pigeon toes were rearranged and accented with diamonds.

Jess debuted "Fish in the Sea" based on Birds in the Air. The final product gets tilted 90 degrees clockwise (sorry, that picture was blurry) so that the little fishes are eaten by a shark, oh my!

Kali turned Robbing Peter to Pay Paul into "Something to Steal" in a blue/orange compliment with colorful orange echo quilting in the white.

Kali also brought Sarah's "Make Way for Ducklings" with quilting designs based on a Woodland Park block.

Mary's late night effort, "Rainbow DNA" takes the curves of Snake in the Hollow and lays them out on a rainbow.

Laura's daughter Lucy named this one "Navigation Sign". The block based on Crossing Canoes features an element exiting the plane on the left, perhaps a tip she picked up from Lee Heinrich.

Great work ladies!!!

See you next month in Fremont.