June General Meeting

We tried out a new location for June's meeting, and it worked out great! The room at the Weston Public Library was not only spacious, but it had a photography exhibit going on, which gave us inspiration for our next challenge! More on that later in the post.

This month we had a great turnout, many of the usual faces, as well as some new ones. We began with our challenge, which was a pincushion swap. Check out all of the interesting ones. We then assigned each a number, and everyone drew numbers.

We then decided that our next challenge will be to make a block inspired by this photograph that was hanging on the wall.

Please ignore the reflections!

We had some fantastic show and tell this month, which included some of the entries for the MQG Michael Miller challenge.

Photos (left to right):

Row 1-Maybeth and her squares, can you spot the missing one?, Suzanne and her rendition of Denyse Schmidt's Between the Lines.

Row 2: Sheri's Michael Miller challenge, nearly finished!

Row 3: Twister quilt, Debbie and her stacked blocks quilt.

Row 4:Suzanne and her Michael Miller challenge. 

Row 5: Michelle with her finished Michael Miller challenge, and a Mondo bag made of Denyse Schmidt Flea Market Fancy. 

After the meeting we had a little field trip to Norwalk for lunch at Valencia Luncheria, and Christies Quilting Boutique. Yummy and Yummy!

Our next meeting will be at the Weston Public Library on July 12 at 10:00 am. You can find us on Facebook here.

May General Meeting

We had a great turnout this month despite the fact that I had to change the date at the last minute. Thanks everyone for your patience. Our challenge this month was to make a name tag. Jen did a great one using techniques that she learned from a Craftsy class

They look great all together!

We have a fantastic challenge coming up. Denyse Schmidt has been very generous, giving us 10 Fat Quarter bundles for 10 lucky members. The rules are only that the item has to be quilted, should be either one of Denyse's patterns, or inspired by one of her patterns. Start looking for photos next month of what everyone is making. Here is a sneak peek of what was going on at my house as we put the bundles together. Thanks to Lori and Parthena for your help!

We had some fun show and tell. Lori, Betsy, and myself took a Double Wedding Ring class with Victoria Finlay Wolfe a couple of weeks ago, and brought along our works in progress.

Sheri brought some of her paper pieced stars

The start of her Michael Miller challenge. She hasn't decided what its going to become yet, but we all love her blocks.

 This is the back for her dress quilt. All the fabrics are from a friends clothing that she was getting rid of when she moved. See last months post for the front. We can't wait to see this all put together!

 Sharon made a bag for her Michael Miller challenge.

Terrie brought a quilt that her Aunt made her. She is a lucky girl because no one else in her family has ever received a quilt from this Aunt. 

 Betsy was on her way to a baby shower straight after our meeting, and this was the baby gift. What great colors!

We had a couple of new ladies join us today, and they brought along some beautiful items. Sue made this, its going to become a basket. Each piece was only 1.5 inches. We were all loving the colors and the low volume fabrics.

Then Maybeth brought this fantastic quilt made from some of Denyse Schmidt's fabrics and linen. As you can see we all loved the feel of the linen!

 The back was as fantastic as the front!

Look forward to seeing everyone next month at the Weston Library on June 14th at 9:15 am. Until then Happy Quilting!

A Colorful April Meeting

I hope you have a couple of minutes to sit down and read because this meeting was jam packed with Modern Quilt Guild information, fun fabric challenges, and show and tell.

We started off this meeting by passing out MQG membership cards and pins. Unfortunately, we weren't sent enough pins, and some name tags were missing but they should (hopefully!) be here for the next meeting.   For those who attend the meetings and didn't get one, just shoot Michelle your email on our Facebook page. For those who have a hard time attending, your best bet may be to become an individual member and have the card and pin sent directly to you. (Click here for the Individual Membership page.) You want that membership card! Some stores, like Jo-Ann's, offer a discount with it.

Another perk of being part of the MQG is the fabric challenges. Michael Miller has donated fabric called
Petal Pinwheels. Don't you love it? For those participating, you can find information at this link.  Your project needs to be quilted and finished by June 23rd. For those looking for coordinating fabrics, check out Hawthorne Threads online. Let the creating begin!

Michael Miller Fabrics

I know, I know! When will we see some quilts?

Just one more thing about the MQG. With membership you can watch Modern Quilt Webinars for free. What is Modern Quilting? Watch the webinar, and see whether you agree. (You must be a Group or Individual member to watch the webinar.)

Now, look at these blocks!

This month our group decided to play around with some Half-Square Triangles (HST) for the monthly block raffle. The colors of the fabrics were bright and springy, a real delight after this long winter.

As luck would have it, these blocks went to Lori. On point or not? We shall see what direction this quilt takes. No pressure, Lori! :)

Of course, this led to more eye candy.  We just love show and tell. 

One of our members, Sheri, took a trip to Hawaii last month, so Lori brought in some Hawaiian quilts to share with us. They were hand appliqued and hand quilted for her children by her mother. They took at least five years to make. Simply amazing, and beautiful!

Sheri then showed us the treats from her trip to Hawaii. Quilters NEVER  plan a trip without a visit to the local quilt store or stores.

She then wowed us with this quilt made out of a good friends clothes. How much fun is this pattern? Just look at those adorable dresses. She even told us where to find it!  

And a little dress detail..

Betsy made us think blue with this fun quilt design. We love how certain shapes pop, and your eye can catch so many patterns in it. Her tool recommendation this week: The Strip Stick, which makes ironing seams easier and smoother.

Suzanne updated us on her economy block quilts. Absolutely love the attention to detail, and how they will cater to each of her daughter's interests. These will be some fun "I Spy Quilts" for her daughters (and future grandchildren).

Eileen brought in a colorful quilt full of Kaffe Fassett fabrics, and...

 ...a variation on a strip quilt. Notice the darker squares amid all the  reds, pinks, and yellows.

She shared with us a creative venture with parrot bookmarks and a band aid. Look closer and you'll find more interesting details.

Lastly, Eileen showed us a quilt that reminds her of her mom. They had picked the fabric out together, and she created a quilt from it. Love those dancing figures in the middle, and the colors. We are honored she shared it with us.

Jen brought this favorite back as a finished project. She also mentioned that she color treats her quilts by placing 1/4 cup of white vinegar in the pre-rinse cycle.

This quilt was motivated by shadows and sunshine.

The minky on the back is really cute.

Carol Anne, hidden behind the quilt, shared her rendition of Fabric Fling by Ginny Murphy Design. Look at the variety of fabrics!

Sharon and Terrie demonstrated a little bit of the process of fussy cutting a one block wonder.

Sharon also mentioned a new use for a wooden wallpaper roller. It seems that they are great at opening up paper piecing seams.

We get to see projects of all  sizes. Here's a little quilt with the name Josh on it.

Parthena brought in a memory quilt in progress for her very special nephew.

Michelle shared a block from a paper piecing block of the month several of us are putting together. Very pretty colors! A little motivation for some of us that have fallen behind.

She also shared the linear quilting on her quilt top.  Her machine actually makes knots at the beginning of a stitch. Now that is cool!

A close up look...

Finally, our crafty group branches out into other creative endeavors. Gail asked our opinion on her linen stitch scarf. I think we all agreed we loved it the way it was. The yarn was gorgeous!

Overall, a lovely meeting filled with quilting inspiration. Hope to see you at the next meeting on May 10th in Weston! Check out our Facebook page for more information.