February Meeting Reminder

Our February meeting will be held from 10am - 12pm at the Kingston Community Library in Kingston, NH.

There is a change of programming: Carrie of It's a Zizza will be joining us in March for the ruler quilting demo. This meeting, February, we will have a demonstration from Sue Trask on using specialty rulers to make flying geese. This is a great skill to have in your repertoire, and will be especially helpful for those of you participating in the block of the month!
Sue will have some of these ruler available for sale after the demonstration.

We will also have a demonstration on how to post a photo to Instagram. Please bring your mobile device if you have any questions or want to follow along.

Fall Workshops: Please remember that February 4th, Saturday, is the last day that sign-ups for the September Workshops with Jen Carlton Bailly will be open exclusively to SMQG members - after this we will be opening sign-ups to the public, so let your friends know!  Deposits of $50 per workshop are require a deposit to hold your seat in the workshop.  Find more information about the workshops here!

Block Lottery: For this month's block lottery we will be making Polaroid Blocks. I have included the handout from Judy here.  These blocks are based on a tutorial by Capitola Quilter, that can be found on the web here.  We will be piecing only the center fussy cut and the white frame around it. Also, for consistency, please use Kona White as the fabric for your edging.
Please note that 4 Polaroid blocks + $1 will count for one entry for this month.

Please also remember to bring your calendars and name tags.

Fall Workshops with Jen Carlton Bailly

The Seacoast Modern Quilt Guild has invited Jen Carlton Bailly, also known as @bettycrockerass to visit our guild on September 9^th and 10^th to teach two workshops where she will share her secrets for sewing successful curves!

The workshops will be 6 hours each running from 9 am-noon with an hour break for lunch and then resuming at 1 and finishing at 4:00 pm.  They will be held at the West Newbury Town Annex located at 381 Main Street, West Newbury, MA.

The workshop held on Saturday, Sept. 9^th will be Sew all the Curves Plus Design: Does the idea of sewing curves scare the heck out of you? Don’t let it! In this class, students will learn three different methods of sewing curves – pinning, gluing, and freehand. They’ll learn tips and tricks to creating a beautiful curve as well as tips on how to square up their blocks and sew them together with beautiful matching points. Students will leave wanting to sew all the curves!

Once all you have all those curves sewn let’s spend some time figuring out all the designs you can create with them.

On Sunday, Sept. 10^th we will enjoy the Scandinavian Flower Garden Sampler: (see image above) The Scandinavian Flower Garden Sampler is an exciting new pattern featuring mod styling and big blocks to create an impactful, chic, and curvy-licious quilt. Whether students are beginners at sewing curves, wanting to put all their new skills into practice, or just play and learn new tips and tricks this class is for them! Students will work with a variety of different sizes curves as well how to best use color, value, and hue to make their designs pop.

If you are not familiar with Jen’s work, please check out her website: http://www.bettycrockerass.com/.

Her work has been featured in a number of publications including Modern Patchwork and the QuiltCon Magazine.  She is an instructor at QuiltCon 2017.

In order to finalize plans for these workshops, we need your deposits right away.

The cost is $75 for members and $85 for nonmembers.  This cost is for one day and includes lunch.

If you would like to register, send a check to the Seacoast Modern Quilt Guild at PO Box 774, West Newbury, MA 01985.  We need a $50 deposit. Please write the name of the workshop you want to sign up for in the memo field of your check or include a note.  Alternately, you may hand your check directly to Amy Friend at any meeting.  Amy will maintain the class lists and start a waiting list. 

You may sign up for both workshops if you like. In that case, your deposit will be $100.  Final payments will be due by the June 3^rd SMQG meeting.  Deposits are nonrefundable unless the workshop is cancelled.

Signups will be open to members only through February 4^th.  At that time, we will open them to the public.  To secure your spot, sign up right away!

EDIT: Signups are now open to the public! If you would like to join us, please mail your deposit to the PO Box listed above. 

January Meeting Recap

On Saturday morning we met before the snow at the Wiggin Memorial Library in Stratham NH. We discussed plans for the upcoming year, had a block lottery, and show and tell.

Charity Pouch Update
Kate delivered the pouches that we made and filled to substance abuse facilities in Dover and Lynn the week before Christmas. These were greatly appreciated, and hopefully made their holiday a little brighter!

Retreat Update: As the holiday season has past the Retreat Committee is sharpening their pencils and working to finalize the plans for the May Retreat. A Retreat survey will sent out shortly with details to follow for deposits.

Dues
Please get your 2017 dues in to Barb ASAP.

QuiltCon Charity Quilt
Our QuiltCon Charity quilt is about to be shipped to Savannah for QuiltCon 2017! If you are attending QuiltCon, be on the lookout for it! Also, if you're attending, please come back and tell us all about it.

Dates This Month
January 15 - 1-4:45pm Sew in at the Newburyport Public Library

January 25 - 9pm Webinar: Using Simple Quilt Blocks to Create a Complex Geometric Design

January 31 - 9pm Webinar: Planned and Unplanned: Design and Improv in Piecing

Dates Looking Forward
February 4- 10am-12pm - Kingston Library: Carrie Zizza will be demonstrating machine quilting with rulers for us.
March 4 - 10am-12pm - Brentwood Library: Nancy, Barbara and Sue will be demonstrating wool applique. There will be a $3 fee for attendees due to the cost of the wool.
Parking may be a little tight, so please carpool if possible, or use the ball field to park if it is not snowed in. The best way to get to the meeting room is to go in the second entrance and around to the back. Walk in through the amphitheater. Please dress in layers as the room may be a little chilly to start off.
April 1 - 10am-2pm - West Newbury Town Hall Annex: Open Sew Day- Please bring your machines, a snack, and a project of your choice to sew.
May 6 -  10am-12pm - West Newbury Town Hall Annex - Trunk Show by Timna Tarr. This meeting will be $5 for members and $10 for non-members.
June 3 - 10am-1pm  - West Newbury Town Hall Annex: Charity Sew In - We will be making an effort to finish up some of the charity projects and blocks that we have going. Kate will still be accepting finished quilts for our emergency stash, and has pieces of projects if you would like to work on some on your own, please let her know!
July 8 - 10am-3pm - West Newbury Town Hall Annex -Please bring your sewing machines
August 5 - To Be Determined... Please speak to the executive board if you have any suggestions!
September 9 and 10 - 6 hour Workshop. More details to be posted very soon!
October 14 - 10am-12pm - Nominations and Planning for our Holiday Swap
November 4 - 10am-12pm - 2018 Officer Elections and 2018 Dues
December 2 - 10am-12pm - Year End Meeting, Holiday Swap and 2018 Dues
Please let us know if you are familiar with other locations where we could meet.


Until November 12, 2017 - Fuller Craft Museum, Brockton, MA: What Remains: Wooden Quilt Sculptures of Laura Petrovich Cheney Laura Petrovich-Cheney will be exhibiting her wooden sculptures that were made with debris left by Hurricane Sandy. She was inspired by traditional and contemporary quilt patterns.

Judy's Time
January Block Lottery - The winner of our wonky log cabins is Robin!

For February's block lottery we will be making Polaroid Blocks. I have included the handout from Judy here.  These blocks are based on a tutorial by Capitola Quilter, that can be found on the web here.  We will be piecing only the center fussy cut and the white frame around it. Also, for consistency, please use Kona White as the fabric for your edging.
Please note that 4 Polaroid blocks + $1 will count for one entry for this month.

Judy has also begun organizing the optional Block of the Month group. The group will be meeting outside of our normally scheduled guild time to plan out which blocks they would like to tackle, and then will be working individually on their own blocks. This project will use blocks from the Quilt Block Cookbook, which is available on Amazon.  They will be meeting sometime this month, and are aiming to have their first blocks made in February. Please let Judy know if you would like to join them!

Other Reminders for this year:
-Please wear your name tags so that we can work on learning each other's names.
-If you purchase anything on behalf of the guild, please submit the original receipt for reimbursement.
-Snow policy: If the space where we are scheduled to meet is closed, then the guild meeting will be cancelled and notification will be sent to members through the guild email group before 8am. If the meeting is not cancelled but you feel uncomfortable driving, please stay home.


Show and Tell
Mary shared this tree table runner that she made with her daughter.

She also showed off this flannel quilt. She found that even though pre-washing flannel is recommended, it was easier to work with if it was not washed.

Nancy shared this sewing machine cover that was made for her by Sue as a part of a swap in their other guild.

Lou shared the finish of this quilt that she started on retreat last year.

Peg shared her progress hand piecing The New Hexagon project. (Sorry my photo is so blurry!)

Judy shared this bag that was made for her by Amy, using a pattern that was designed by Amy. Judy also received a fussy cut pin tray and a seam ripper made by Amy's husband.

Suzanne shared this finished quilt that is to go to her granddaughter. The quilt top was purchased and she finished it by hand quilting it, with much assistance from her sister.

Suzanne was inspired by our block lottery this month and made quite a few blocks! She will alternate the style of blocks that we made, with blocks that have more space in the center square to give the eyes a place to rest.

She also shared this checkerboard made for her grandsons for Christmas. She quilted this on her longarm.

February's Meeting
As mentioned above, for our February meeting Carrie Zizza from It's a Zizza will be giving us a demonstration on machine quilting with rulers. We will be meeting at the Kingston Library in Kingston NH on February 4th from 10am-12pm.

January Meeting Reminder

Our January meeting will be held on January 7th, from 10am-12pm, at the Wiggins Memorial Library in Stratham NH.

This will be a planning meeting, so please bring your calendars and a pen!

We will also have our first block lottery of the year. If you would like to participate, please bring a block made to the specifications below, and $1 per block made for entry into the lottery. You may make as many blocks as you would like for multiple chances to win!

We will be making wonky log cabin blocks following these directions:
http://tallgrassprairiestudio.blogspot.com/2008/04/for-dana-wonky-log-cabin-block-tutorial.html
Blocks should be trimmed to 12.5 inches square, to finish at 12 inches.
We will be working with the following guidelines:
-Choose one color (prints or solids) and a low volume fabric (print or solid). If you are using prints of your chosen color, they should be predominantly that color with little of any other color.
-The low volume fabric should be neutral without any other color (like a light gray on off white print, or white on off white, not white with red dots).
-The center square or rectangle should be a darker shade of the color you have chosen for your block.
As you build your wonky log cabin, make one round of logs your low volume fabric anywhere you choose, and end with the outer ring of logs being low volume.

This is also the month that we will be collecting the last of the President's blocks to deliver to our outgoing president, Mary as a thank- you. Please use the following tutorial: http://www.polkadotchair.com/2015/09/september-block-of-the-month-plus-quilt-block.html/. The blocks finish at 15 inches, should have a low volume or white background, and be a rainbow of colors for the pluses. Diane will collecting and presenting these on behalf of the guild.

Hope to see you all there!