July at Weston Town Hall

We had a cozy meeting  at the Weston Town Hall in July.  We discussed our upcoming fabric dying workshop with Richard Killeaney and discussed the details for our September 20th speaker Heather Kojan. Mostly though, we showed and talked quilts. 

The big reveal of our quilted Pulse charity quilt

Our second Pulse top ready to be quilted

Jeremy showing us his log cabin houses

Quilt members taking it all in

Another of Jeremy's creations...

with his own custom quilting

Left over blocks Dayna used to make NICU quilts

One of Ginny's creations

...and custom baby quilts

Brenda sharing a friend's cool "fringed" quilt

Brenda's red, black and white quilt

Another of Brenda's creations

A graduation present for Michelle's nephew

Gail's circles and dots quilt

Gail's chicken house inspired by classes at the Bolt

Our next meeting will again be held at the Weston Town Hall at 10:00 a.m. Hope to see you there! 

June Gathering

Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up. Pablo Picasso

Picasso would be proud. This group definitely does not have any problems with remaining artists considering all the juicy items that were exhibited in our show-n-tell this month.  Luckily for those who were not able to attend, we get to see all the goodies. The rest of you get to enjoy them a second time. 

A big thank you to Terrie for the notes and the photos. You are a blog saver!  Also a big hello to our newest members Jeremy and Veronica. We look forward to sharing this fun, creative quilting process with you. Now on to the "show"!

 Michelle's Elephant and Me Pillow for a friend's daughter's birthday

 A  bag made out of Kate Spain's  laminate fabric (oilcloth)

Michelle's on a bag making roll with Tula Pink Fabric and faux leather

 Gail's pineapple blocks on a fabric foundation

Gail's Houses from her "Pieces Class" at the Bolt

 Susan's May Block of the Month

 Maybeth's "pieces" from her class at the Bolt

Maybeth's version of the June BOM

Lisa's Sashiko Love

Suzanne's teeny tiny economy quilt for granddaughter's doll - now that is too cute!

"P quilt for baby Parker

 ..and the back

  

 Jeremy, one of our newest members,  just started quilting in April. He has already finished two quilts and a quilt top. Just wow!

Jeremy's Quilt

...and another

 Veronica, another new member and a longtime long arm quilter ,shares her craft with us. She  also owns Fairfield County Quilts where she custom quilts t-shirt quilts. 

 Her quilted Jack- another wow!

Lori ends the meeting by sharing the May Block of the month. 

As usual, a visual feast. Keep quilting and see you on July 9th!

May Musings

"Anyone who works on a quilt, who devotes her time, energy, creativity, and passion to that art, learns to value the work of her hands. And as any quilter will tell you, a quilter's quilting friends are some of the dearest, most generous, and most supportive people she knows." Jennifer Chiaverini

Every time I sit down to write up this blog, I can't help but think about this amazing group of individuals that gather once a month  to share and support one another. There is something magical about working together on quilts, sharing our creative triumphs, and stumbles, and finding common ground in the beauty of quilting.

Connecting with a group who TRULY understands the need and passion to create, inspires and encourages us to challenge, and express ourselves. It allows our individual stories to get told, which, I think, is one of the best parts of these meetings. Whether it is the love poured into a baby quilt for a grandchild, to a memory quilt for a beloved family member, you realize, as the quote above states, how dear, generous and supportive quilters really are. Enjoy the glimpse of the creativity and generosity below.

 

Lori shows us her finished Kaffe blocks from a Kaffe Workshop in N.J.

  Christine has us in stitches with her stories of applique. 

Christine explains how her granddaughter patiently awaits this quilt inspired by Freddie Moran.

Maybeth creates wonderful quilts to keep preemies warm and cuddly.

Dayna shares her expression of a  Quilting Bee Block.

She also lets us know there is hope for finishing off those quilt tops that have been hanging around, even if they are 30 years old. 

 

Betsy displays her colorway for May's Block-of-the-Month.

Susan places May's block-of the month amidst the other 2016 blocks.

Lori holds up her version of the flower block as well. It is fun to see everyone's color choices/style for this year's quilt along

Lisa exhibits the June Block of the Month. Lisa's choice for block-of-the-month comes from Wombat Quilts.  The Bee Block is called Homeward Bound.  Have fun!

Michelle wows us with one of her bags. 

Terrie solicits help in finishing our charity quilts. 

While we all continue to design and create quilts, several members are working on a line-up for future workshops. Ideas range from fabric dying to sashiko to taking blocks from traditional to modern. We will post more when workshop possibilites and dates are set. Thank you to  Cheryl, Lisa, and all of you who search, plan and work to bring new techniques to the guild!

Don't want to wait to expand those skills. Check out these quilting opportunities!

For those wanting a "little" challenge, Christie's Quilting Boutique has a Denyse Schmidt Challenge going on now. For $25, you receive 5 fat 8ths. You can use any Denyse Schmidt fabric in the line and solids.  Your finished product must be 24 inches.  The winning quilt will be picked by Denyse. Contact Christie's for more details.

Then there is this.  

Keep quilting and see you tomorrow at the Weston Library!

April Rendezvous

Do you know when you have a nagging feeling that you are forgetting to do something and then it occurs to you three weeks later? It finally dawned on this member of the guild to write up that April meeting.  Ooops! It wasn't that it wasn't fun and memorable. We always have an inspiring and great time.  It's just that sometimes babies, quilts, and life get in the way...and maybe some adult onset ADD.  No matter! Here it is in all its splendor, minus a couple of April event shout outs.

Proof of good times being had

The April block-of-the-month which is due this month is called a Fizzy Block. Thanks Susan for challenging us with curves. Looking forward to seeing everyone's take on this block. The quilt looks like it would be really something. Click here to learn more.  

Feel like we just finished our last charity quilt and it can't possibly be time for a new one? You know what they say about time. Well, early discussions have begun for the 2017 version. You can find  ideas on scale, the chosen colors and design on the MQG website.  Come with ideas or inspiration to share. 

Speaking of inspiration and challenges, the Riley Blake Challenge is due on May 31st. Those of you who dared to play with those prints have several weeks left. 

CarolAnne sharing a quilt made out of her daughter's things. 

In other quilty news, Jennifer graciously offered up her island cottage for a slow sew event. She will poll everyone and figure out a date that works for most people.  More information to come in the following months.

Last but not least, wouldn't it be fun to have a quilting guru come out to spend some time with us? It is time to think programming. Who would you like to come out and visit? Keep an eye out for your favorites and if/when they might be visiting our neck of the woods. It would be fun to sponsor events in the future, perhaps even involve local quilt shops and or snag big title quilters from a quilt show near by.  Come with names of your favorite quilters/bloggers.

And, as always, on to the show.

CarolAnne introduces us to Smart-ease fusible interfacing that makes creating shapes easier. She created these circles out of her dad's ties. 

Garen shares her quilts from the Cut It Up book and a City Quilter Retreat.

Rebecca created this quilt for her daughter who loves horses. She discovered the perfect fabric at QuiltCon. 

Rebecca designed a baby quilt pattern called Little Boy Blue for Sew Mama Sew.  

  Sherri's Updated Picnic Petals debuted! Want to make one? Then take Sherri's class at the Bolt on June 25th!

 Maybeth talked to us about Making Parts, a class she is taking at the Bolt. 

 Suzanne spoke to us about her class with Freddy Moran and how she was inspired to "keep going" in her quilting.

She also attends the Out of the Box Series: Making Parts class at the Bolt.

Here we have some lovely ladies enjoying show-n-tell. 

Lori displays all the 2016 blocks-of-the-month and inspires the procrastinators in the group to catch up.

A lovely jam-packed meeting with an amazing, creative group! 'Til we meet again on Saturday. 

x