February Gathering Part II: Sewcations and Quilts

Welcome to the second installment of our February meeting! We had so many quilts and WIPs (works-in-progress) to share, all thanks to the wonderful ice and snow.  These snow-induced sewcations created many quilting opportunities as you see below.

Peg charmed us with three quilts/tops.

Those colorful triangles really pop

Batiks in a fun formation

Terrie made this quilt for one of her closest friends. 

Jessica has been creating a very special quilt for her baby boy.  Look at that fox,

and squirrel, 

and itty-bitty raccoon too! So cute!

Susan shared some fun curved piecing. Makes us all want to give it a try. 

Maybeth created pretty dresses out of her granddaughter's clothes. What a great keepsake!

Of course, we always want to take a closer look, and ask questions.

How lucky is the girl who is getting these?

Suzanne made a quilt full of a lot of heart. She is going to be a grandma. She made this quilt for the other woman who will be sharing this honor with her. So very sweet!

It says to Grandma's House We Go. The smoke from the house even has little hearts coming out of it. 

Many of us signed up for this 12 month paper pieced block-of-the-month.  Not sure how many of us got through them all (or even started them) but Lori did.  We are impressed!

Look at those colors and seams!

Last year our guild had a fun day learning to put together this Meadow's Quilt with Lizzy House. 

 Here is Lori's version.  

A close-up of the Meadows Quilt

Lisa is our resident guru of online swaps. Here she is showing us her current swaps. 

Our own Sheri has been truly "buzzy". She announced that she has launched her website, Whole Circle Studio, and blog of the same name. Look out for paper pieced patterns, quilt patterns and more.  All the best on this endeavor! 

Oh yeah, and when she isn't quilting, she is winning awards , like this one at QuiltCon.

Check out her quilt, What's the Frequency, Love? 

Sheri asked for suggestions for quilting the bees, and shared some photography inspired quilts.

Betsy shared with us her cool colors quilt. She is also a fountain of information. Want to know how to starch your fabric, or organize your threads?  Betsy is the woman to ask. 

Here's a fun organizational tidbit from Betsy. Want to organize your threads and bobbins? Don't need to buy Bobbinis (although they are pretty cool,colorful and  clever). Just use your extra golf tees to keep that same colored bobbin and thread together.  

Michelle is quilting a future pillow. 

Admiring the quilting

She also shared the blocks that put together the quilt below.

Jennifer shared her process for her mod strips quilt.

Happy Quilting! Next meeting will take place Saturday, March 14th at 10:00 a.m. at the Weston Library.  We will be welcoming Michele Muska to the group. She will have a trunk show and will show us how she makes her yo-yos. She is also selling her new book Quilting the New Classics for $22.  To learn more about Michele, visit her website www.lolarae.com

February Gathering Part I: Pre-Quiltcon Excitement, Charity Quilts, and Baby Love

Love, love, love! What is not to love about a Valentine's Day morning spent with quilting friends? 

A special quilt for a grandma-to-be

We received our MQG membership cards. We discussed taking classes at The Bolt, with a particular interest in their Twister class. We ooooed and awed over the exciting news that Michelle and Sheri's quilts were going to be presented in a lecture at QuiltCon by Alisa Haight Carlton. This was just the beginning of our "quilty" morning. 

Admiring our Charity Blocks-of-the-Month

Nothing says love like charity quilts. Terrie and Sharon will post charity quilt blocks for the next three months. Our first one, called "Shattered Glass", can be created using black for the background and any bright colors. 

The second block takes us to a different colorway, colors reminiscent of the ocean.  This "Herringbone" pattern uses bright white and blues and aquas to catch the eye. 

Lastly, "Scrapbuster" brings together white with any bright colored fabrics.  

Don't you just love those fun colors?

For those who didn't attend, Terrie will be the keeper of the fabrics or scraps.  No worries if you don't have the colors mentioned.  Guild members will donate what they have to help the cause and fill the quilting coffers of those without a certain colorway.  Don't have any aquas?  Pick some up at the meeting in March. Also, a charity quilt sew-in is scheduled to take the place of our April 11th meeting.  Come join in the fun.  More details to follow next month. 

Now, onto some baby love.  For those who don't know, Jessica is expecting a baby boy in April. We decided to shower Jessica with some sweet gifts.  Can you guess what is in the bag?  

Surprise!!!

Equally as lovely back

Now how adorable is this?!! Kathy is our amazing embroiderer. 

We look forward to meeting your little guy, Jessica. 

Happy New Year: January General Meeting

Luckily, the weather was mild in January, and our meeting took place as scheduled. We didn't have as much show and tell as usual due to the holidays which made for more socializing time!

 

Below is our newest member, Rebecca, with a quilt that she made for her daughter. 

Sheri is working on creating her own paper piecing patterns, and brought along some samples. 

Next months block is a drunkards path, so Michelle brought along her Featherweight and did a curved piecing demo for those who were interested. We also had templates available for members to cut their fabric at the meeting and sew the blocks at home. 

Here is this months challenge block. We chose a quick and easy one due to the holidays. The colors are what made it fun.