August is for barns

Doris Rice gave a great presentation on Barn Quilts.  She discussed the history, shared a great book, showed photos of Barn Quilts across the U.S., explained an easy way to make your own (at your own home or at the Queen's Rustic Retreat workshop) and showed off  a beautiful barn quilt that goes on the bed, not the barn.

We completed our Mini Quilt swap. Check out the happy swappers and beautiful quilts

Next month will be our annual business meeting and we'll be holding some Quilting Olympics.  Hope to see you there.

July's meeting was hot

Our July program was provided by Shannon Brinkley who introduced us to Scrappy Bits Applique and her great technique for turning scraps into something awesome.  The meeting was changed to Friday and then a workshop was held on Saturday.  Workshop pictures are below.  There was no special project for July as in June we announced a Mini Quilt Swap due in August.  Don't forget to check out the Eye Candy page for the great show and tell from the meeting.

How do I quilt that?

Our June program was a presentation from Sharon Young on how to decide what kind of quilting to put on a quilt.  She gave us a list of questions to ask and think about before quilting anything. 
Understanding how the quilt will be used, who it is for (male, female, child, senior), and what their preferences are will make a big difference in how a quilt is quilted.  Folks brought in their half square triangle special project.  Look at what they created using an odd number of HSTs.  Don't forget to check out the eye candy page for show and tell pictures.

May .... be I'll make a bag

Our presentation at the May meeting was from fellow guild member Sarah Gregg.  She shared tips and tricks on patterns, interfacing, batting, hardware and specialty supplies used in bag making.  She provided us info on what bag designers she liked and why and had samples for us to feel the difference between the different techniques and supplies. She talked about big bags for traveling, purses and even small little change purses or project bags.  She'll be hosting a bag sew along for anyone who is interested later this month. You'll be able to sew and get help on whatever bag you'd like to try or Sarah can provide some recommendations. Watch FB for information on that, as well as for links to some of her favorite designers and suppliers.

Members brought in 12 half square triangles and went home with 12 different ones.  The challenge is to make a block out of them (adding fabric as needed) and bring the HST block to the June meeting.  As one member pointed out it would have been easier if there were 16 HST but it wouldn't be a challenge if it were easier.  I can't wait to see what our creative sewers make.

Our next meeting will also include a collection for orphan blocks.  These will be collected and used later in the year or next year at an Improv workshop to create a quilt that can be auctioned or raffled as a fund raiser.  All orphan blocks will find a home.  Bring as many as you'd like -- or just donate the HST block you made as the special project challenge block.

June's presentation will be provided by Sharon Young, who will answer the question "How do I quilt this?"  She'll give tips and tricks on selecting the "right" quilting pattern based on answers to some specific questions. This presentation is good for those who quilt on their domestic machines or using a longarm.  Hope to see you there!

No fooling, the April meeting was great

If you haven't had a chance, check your GED spreadsheet on the facebook site and let Cathy know if she got anything wrong.  Keep working on getting 'em done so you have lots of chances to win a the end of the year.

We voted in the bylaws.  They'll be posted on facebook and on this blog.

We talked about the retreat at Honey Hill on April 22-24.  If you want to go, let Kim know.  We'll plan meals once we get a final on who is going.  If you want, you can add Thursday too.  Kim and Jan will be bringing their embroidery machines and if you want to make a Tuffet, Kim has kits and can help with that.

We're still looking for a Grange Liaison.  You'd just need to attend one meeting a month.  Right now they meet the first Sunday of the month.  Let Jo know if you can help out.  This will help us make sure we can use the facility when needed and keep us connected to the Grange and what they're doing.

We held our Spring mini-quilt swap.  We had 10 participants.  Thanks to all who played along.  We were all winners.  (Sorry I missed the photo of my and Barbara's swap.)

We have 2 challenges for the May meeting.  1) Bring in 12 squares made from half-square triangles.  They can be scrappy, all the same fabric combos, whatever you want.  But all the same size.  We'll be swapping them.  2)   Bring in your favorite bag pattern or whichever one you want to make next, and the fabric to make it. You'll get tips and tricks from our presenter on bag making.  We'll have a sew along in May so we can all sew on our favorite bags.

You can see the sew and tell in the Eye Candy tab.  See you next month.

March wasn't mad but it was a little batty

Our special project for March was a Spring lottery block with a texty background.  There were 12 entries and Pam won them all.  Can't wait to see what she makes.  They were all pretty awesome.  Our April special project is a Spring mini-quilt swap.  Everybody who plays wins with that one.

We also had some submissions for a logo for the guild.  The most popular one had a really cute fox on it.  The board will get it developed by a graphic designer so we have a product we can use to make promotional items, as well as something that can be sewn up into a banner in the future.

Our March presentation was on batting and the differences between them. Sharon Young gave a great presentation showing samples that displayed the difference between some of the most common battings and how they end up before and after washing.  She discussed a variety of aspects and provided a handy chart to help you decide which to use based on what you wanted your end result to be.  Very informative.

Next month's presentation is on joining and being successful in the quilting business.  Jen Eskridge is our presenter.

Flexible February

One thing I've learned about modern quilters is how flexible they are.  So when we couldn't get into our normal meeting place, guild members had no problem relocating at a moment's notice.  Texting and calling those who hadn't arrived yet gave the new meeting address and we carried on as if nothing happened.  That's flexibility.  And even a visitor (who we hope will be a new member soon), found their way to the relocated meeting. The presentation, which changed three times, ended up being on How to prepare your quilt for the longarmer.  The presenter felt like she was preaching to the choir, since there were quite a few longarm owners in the audience, but I know I learned something that hadn't come up for me yet, and I suspect everyone got at least one tip or trick that was new to them.  We held our first swap of the year.  The January meeting presentation was on fabric postcards and a few members used what they learned to join in the postcard swap.  Below are the postcards with their new owners. If you want to see the show n tell from the meeting, check out the Eye Candy page.

March presentation:  Picking the right batting
March special project:  12 1/2 inch Spring block with Text background for Lottery drawing (get as many chances as blocks you make)
Bring: Your design for the guild logo.
Bring:  Your Get 'em Done challenge list
April presentation:  Tips and tricks on quilting related businesses
April special project:  A Spring mini-quilt to swap at the meeting.