July meeting recap

Kelly shows off the charity quilt that she and Suzanne recently finished. So much work went into this quilt--many thanks to Kelly and Suzanne and all who sewed blocks!

Our July meeting was held Saturday, July 7 from 10 am to 12 pm at the Mary E Bartlett Library in Brentwood NH.

Barb opened the meeting by presenting the treasurer's report and noting that we currently have quite a full treasury. A general budget dictating how we might use our funds is under ongoing discussion.

We are still seeking a volunteer to head the retreat committee; please contact Judy directly if you have questions or are interested in filling this role.

Jane B will be taking over the events planning role from Laura. She is jumping right in planning the 2019 workshops. She has already sent a survey that requires your quick response--please take a few minutes and rank instructors in an email to Jane!

We received a check with the financial overage from the April Anna Maria workshops. It is enough to cover our planned November lecture from Michelle Wilkie with plenty to spare. Michelle Wilkie is tentatively planned for November 10, 2018 10am to 12pm. The location is TBD.

Kelly showed us the design that the QuiltCon charity quilt committee has developed for the QuiltCon charity quilt. The theme is small piecing. We will be having a sew in at the August meeting (August 4, West Newbury) to work on the small piecing components of the quilt. The design has large panels that look like sails that will be pieced from tiny pieces. Fabric will be provided by the guild and kits are being assembled so that we can sew efficiently. If you are planning to sew with us at the August meeting, and did not sign up with Kelly, please send her an email so that she can have the right number of kits prepped.

In Colleen's absence, Judy introduced the block lottery block due in August. We are using the free MQG block from June called "Sparrow". If you purchased the bettycrockerass templates from Jen Carlton Bailly, the 6.5'' size will work for the drunkard's path component. You need two files if you did not receive a hard copy at the meeting: CLICK HERE for block instructions, TEMPLATES ARE HERE.

Amy gave a demonstration of how to add a hanging sleeve to a quilt that you are sending to a show. Please note that the larger quilts for Strawbery Banke will need sleeves, but the smaller ones will not. You can find the tutorial that Amy uses and that the MQG recommends HERE.

WIP Show and Tell

These projects are WIPs that people plan to finish for our October meeting "motivation" :)

Paula has Christmas clamshells from Amy's curved piecing demo YEARS ago:

Barb has the first quilt she ever pieced. It is well basted and just needs quilting.

 Kate has a lovely top from Jen's workshop that needs quilting:

 And the hot weather has Kate also thinking of Christmas! She has plans for finishing these two blocks.

 Letty also plans to finish the first quilt top she ever pieced:

 MaryLee showed the red blocks that Lou plans to finish.

From two years ago, MaryLee plans to finish some charity quilt blocks in blue and white.

 Jane's "not-African" quilt has a perfect backing and needs to be quilted and finished.

 Andrea has a denim quilt she's planning on tying...

and a quilt top she finished after the last meeting that she will ask her mom please to quilt :) 

 We have seen Nancy's New York Beauties before. She has found the charm squares for the center and is ready to finish them--the arcs are all sewn.

 Robin made a top after she learned what "modern quilting" was and plans to finish it up.

Show and Tell

JoAnne bought Japanese fabrics at Quilted Threads and has begun blocks. Photos don't do the fabrics justice.

 Barb finished her granddaughter's flamingo quilt, but notes that baby C's older sister quite admired the quilt as well...

 Barbara's tote is well made and lovely! She took a class at Portsmouth Fabric Co and the pattern and straps are from Noodlehead

 So great to see the 2017 BOTM quilts start to be finished! Nancy showed hers off:

 Amy used antlers to inspire her design for this quilt. She is using it as an example for one of her QuiltCon classes.

 Kate joined us at the July meeting; please welcome her next time you see her! She made this hashtag quilt using her fabric pull from the Color Fluency workshop with Anna Maria. Kate is a glassblower and uses her art to inform her quilting color choices.

 the back of Kate's hashtag quilt:

Our next meeting is Saturday, August 4, 10 am to TBD, West Newbury Annex (381 Main St West Newbury MA). We will be sewing panels for the QuiltCon charity quilt so plan on bringing your machine and basic sewing supplies.