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.

A New Year and a New Challenge

Our first meeting of 2016 was a good one.  We met our new board.  Please welcome in Jo as President; Wendi as VP for Membership; Laurie as Treasurer; Nadine as Secretary; Marilyn and Sarah as VPs for Programs; and Cathy as Special Projects.  They're all planning a great year for us.  Hope you can participate.

We also had a presentation for the grange, gifting them one of the house quilts made by members.  It'll probably be hung in the grange and will be much appreciated.

We had a short presentation on fabric postcards and were challenged to create one and bring to the February guild meeting.  The postcard should be 4" x 6" (approximately but not bigger).  The top should be pieced.  The back can be plain or printed/marked for postcard, or just include a note of encouragement to your guild members.  A favorite quote or tip would be nice.   It does NOT have to be bound.  It can be zig zagged, blanket stitched, fancy stitched or just regular stitched about 1/4 inch in and pinked to finish it off.  Or if you want, you can bind the mini postcard quilt just like any other quilt.  The recommended batting is Pellon, Peltex 72F, Double-Sided Fusible Ultra Firm Stabilizer.  If you have any questions, let Cathy know. 

We started a year long challenge that lasts until November.  You can get the details on the FB site, as well as the instructions and forms, but this is a chance for you to get 'em done in 2016.  So dig out all the projects you've started or wished you started and use the GED form to list them all, adding what still needs to be done (C-cut; P-piece; F-finish piecing/add borders; Q-quilt; B-bind).  Once you've got the form completed, give it to Cathy and you'll be entered in the challenge.  To gain entries into the drawing at the end of the year, make sure Cathy takes a picture of your finished project.

Our programs VPs are busy developing a diverse schedule for next year's presentations.  If you have any suggestions, let them know. They are also planning some sew-ins so we can get together and sew together.  This guild will only be as good as we make it.  Joining together helps make it great.  Hope you'll be able to join in.

Our special projects coordinator is also planning some interesting activities.  It is all voluntary, participate as you can and wish.  We anticipate having 4 swaps throughout the year, 3 lottery blocks, 3 special projects and 1 GED challenge PLUS our End-of-Year party festivities and activities.  Our first swap is the postcard swap in February.  Hope you'll take a little time and make a postcard to swap with your other guild members. 

You'll be able to see the sew and tell from the meeting on our blog's Eye Candy tab.  Enjoy!

Welcome to our new web presence

We are a small quilt guild with members who enjoy the modern aesthetic. We are still finding our way and though we are few, there is a lot of talent and creativity in this group of quilters.  If you're interested in joining us, check out the info on the "Join Us" page and come check out a meeting. We'd love to meet you and share our passion with you.

The guild was started about a year ago and members decided to establish a charter block using Elizabeth Hartman's  Fancy Fox pattern.  Members could be as creative as they'd like with the block pattern. Here's some started and finished member charter quilts.