Latest Quilt News and Events

Over the past month, we received some quilt news and events in our mailbag.  Here is a selection of news and events you might find interesting! 

1.  Quilt Exhibit:  The Ruth Funk Center for Textile Arts at Florida Institute of Technology announces its first juried exhibition of art quilts, FLORIDA IN FABRIC, Wish You Were Here!, which will feature 15 original quilts created by Florida artists. The center will also present an exhibition featuring national artist Yvonne Porcella entitled Yvonne Porcella: Quilt Selections 1986 - 2012.

These quilts will be on view at the Funk Center in Melbourne, Florida, from May 19th to August 18th.  You can find out more information HERE!


2.  Serger Quilt Pattern:  At our charity quilting day in May, someone mentioned serger quilts.  Charlotte found a great free pattern for a serger quilt!  You can find the free pattern HERE!


3.  Quilt Show Entry:  Quilters are invited to enter up to four (4) quilts in the 2012 Quilt Expo Quilt Contest, held in Madison, Wisconsin from September 6th to 8th!  Cash prizes of up to $1,500 are available.  The entry form and materials must be submitted by June 29th.  Click HERE for more information and entry forms. 


4.  Quilt Show Entry - For Kids!  As part of the 2012 Quilt Expo Quilt Contest, a special contest is being held for quilters ages 15 and under!  This is a great opportunity to have younger family and friends participate in their first quilt show and win prizes!  The entry form and materials must be submitted by August 24th.  Click HERE for more information and entry forms.

Have any quilt news you would like to share?  Email us and we'll post it on our website!

May Meeting "Things to Bring"!

For the May meeting, here are your "Things to Bring!"

1.  PINCUSHIONS!
--We will be holding a pincushion swap.  Make one (or more) pincushions for swapping with other members!
--Bring in your pincushion collection for discussion and sharing ideas.
--Feel free to make your pincushion in any size and shape you like.  THIS SITE has a list of 30 free pincushion tutorials!
--If you need inspiration, check out Charlotte's great Pinterest board HERE!

Great sample pincushion tutorial HERE!

2.  STRIPS FOR OUR GROUP QUILT
We are continuing to bring in strips for group quilts, which we are sewing together for Project Linus' wonderful cause.  This is an ongoing project and benefits a wonderful cause!

a)  Size:  Please bring in at least one "strip" of fabric that is 44/45 inches wide (the width of quilting fabric from selvage edge to selvage edge).  It can be any height, but should probably be at least 2.5 inches tall.
b)  Pattern:  You can piece the strip with interesting patterns.  Alternatively, you can just bring plain strips (or excess Jelly Roll strips).
c)  Color:  If you piece your strips, please include at least a bit of white in the strip.  If you bring in plain fabric strips, any color is fine.

3.  MISCELLANEOUS
Of course, don't forget your standard "Things to Bring" for each meeting (you can see the standards items HERE).  Feel free to email if you have any questions.

See you on Saturday, May 19th at StitchCraft!

Charity Sewing Day Photos!

Earlier last month, some of the South Florida Mod members met at the Boca Raton library to hold a charity sewing day in honor of Project Linus! 

It was wonderful being able to sew in the same room as the other lovely ladies and see them in action!  We had plenty of beautiful donated fabric for quilts (extra fabric was given to Project Linus at the end of the day).  We also had plenty of fun door prizes and food!

Completed quilt top with stencils.

Three completed coordinated quilt tops.

Scrappy completed quilts.

Donated fabric.

Piecing a quilt top!

Another completed quilt top!

Quilts waiting to be basted.

Completed quilt top.

Completed quilt top!

Sewing away!

Pressing a quilt top.

More completed quilt tops!

Overall, we made 11 completed quilts and 20 quilt tops (which can be dropped off at any of our upcoming regular meetings).  Everyone made beautiful quilts, and we would love to see more photos of the completed quilt tops! 

Thanks again for joining us and making the sewing day a success!

Workshops, For Sale, Website, Etc!

I've received a number of emails over the past week or two, and I wanted to share them with interested South Florida Mod members:

1.  Long Arm Quilting Machine for Sale:  

• Myra from Coral Springs has a Tin Lizzie Eighteen for sale.  She purchased it from Sunshine Sewing in Margate, Florida and has barely used it.  
• The cost was over $8,000 new, but Myra is willing to sell it for around $4,000.  She has a second set of handles and a huge roll of batting that go with the machine.  She believes that someone from Sunshine Quilting may be able to disassemble the machine for shipping or local pick-up.
• Please email us at southfloridamod [at] gmail [dot] com for Myra's contact information!

2.  Workshop:  Ceramic Beads, Buttons and Buckles

• An instructor from the Museum of Art / AutoNation Academy of Art in downtown Fort Lauderdale is holding a workshop in June.
• The workshop focuses on creating ceramic beads, buttons and buckles.
• The dates are June 4th - 6th, from 12pm to 3pm.
• Please click HERE for more information and registration!

3.  Threadbias:  New Website and Giveaways!

• A member of the Portland Modern Quilt Guild recently emailed us to introduce Threadbias.com, a new website for people having fun with fabric.  The website hopes to foster conversation among sewers/quilters and provide a place to share ideas and be inspired.
• The website is hosting a lot of free giveaways as part of its kickoff!
• Membership is free, and you can reach the site at Threadbias.com.

4.  Quilt Commission Request:

• Sara, one of our members, was recently contacted by a woman who wants to have quilt made for her son out of her late husband's clothes.  Sara is not able to accept the commission, but she thought that another member might be able to take on this project.
• If one of our members is interested in making a commission quilt, please contact us at southfloridamod [at] gmail [dot] com for Sara's contact information!

5.  Quilt Block Challenge:

• We previously posted about the Quilt Block Challenge that the Modern Quilt Guild started as part of the first-ever QuiltCon convention, to be held in February 2013.  
• One of our members thought this would be a great opportunity for our guild to donate some blocks!
• Please let us know if you are interested in participating.  We can also discuss this at future meetings.
• You can find out more about the Quilt Block Challenge HERE.

Happy quilting!

Quilt Show by the Sea - Photos

After our March meeting, a few of the ladies headed to the Quilt Show by the Sea in Fort Lauderdale.  It was a small but beautiful show, with plenty of beautiful quilts to admire and booths to shop.  Here are a few photos, for those who couldn't make it.

Quilt Entries:  Submitted by quilters in the Fort Lauderdale area.

Charlotte's amazing entry!

Closeup.

Textured art quilt.

A winner by Charlotte (on the top-left)!

The show also featured a wonderful Gee's Bend exhibit!

Made out of postal worker uniforms!

I hope everyone enjoyed the show!

March Meeting Roundup

Happy April!  It was great seeing everyone at March's meeting!  For those who didn't have a chance to attend, here is a quick recap:

1.  We welcomed everyone and had an icebreaker about the origins of our ugly fat quarters!
2.  April Sewing Day:

• On Saturday, April 21st, we will be holding our first sewing day instead of our regular monthly meeting!  It will be held from 10am to 2pm (4 hours of glorious sewing)!   We will be sewing to support Project Linus, an amazing group that gives small quilts to children who are sick or in need.
• The sewing day will be held at the new Boca Raton Library on Spanish River Boulevard (not Stitchcraft that month), which is a beautiful space.
• There is a $10 cover charge per person (please bring cash), to pay for the cost of the room.  Any extra proceeds will go directly to Project Linus!
• Bring your own sewing machine, iron (and ironing board), extension cord, fabric, batting and sewing supplies.  Snacks for the group are also certainly welcome!
• Be on the lookout for child-friendly fabrics!  Pull from your stash, stock up online and shop at Stitchcraft.  Fabric.com and Fabric Shack online tend to run good sales.
• Please invite knitters, other sewers and folks who want to participate in a great cause.

3.  May and Summer Meetings:

• We will be holding our regular May meeting on Saturday, May 19th from 10am to 12pm at Stitchcraft.  Charlotte is guest-hosting the May meeting!  
• We will be holding a regular June meeting on Saturday, June 16th from 10am to 12pm at Stitchcraft.
• The summer meetings may be a little smaller (depending on how many snowbirds we have), so we can be creative with the meetings.  A mini sewing day, perhaps? 

4.  We started a Round Robin quilt with a hedgehog quilt block!  This paper-pieced pattern is available for free HERE, along with other great free patterns.  I enlarged the dimensions approximately 130%.

Start of the Round Robin quilt!

5.  We had a great mini-lecture from Diane (an AQS-certified appraiser) about how she appraises quilts and her background.  If you are interested in contacting Diane for a quilt appraisal, her website is HERE!

Diane's Book!

6.  We had a discussion on fabric stash organization.  If you are interested in trying out the "comic book board method" of folding fabric, there is a great tutorial HERE.

7.  We talked about quilt news in the area and handed out fliers for upcoming events.

• A quilt guild in Orlando is organizing a bus trip to Quilt Market in Houston this October.  If you're interested, the information is HERE.
• One Yard Wonders is calling for submissions for their upcoming book!  Submit your original project for kids/babies/parents that uses one single yard of fabric!  Information is available HERE.
• Sewing Summit is coming up in October, which is a great conference and workshop for "modern" quilters and bloggers.
• The Modern Quilt Guild (our parent guild) is holding its first convention in February, called QuiltCon!

8.  We laid out the strips for our strippy quilt, and we will keep collecting them for Project Linus quilts.  
9.  We decided on May's "Thing to Bring" (to be posted in an upcoming post).  There is no "Thing to Bring" for the April sewing day.
10.  We swapped ugly fat quarters, did a Show and Tell of our latest project and had a doorprize raffle.

Here are some photos of the meeting:

Finished blocks for the February Bee!

Flying geese for the March Bee!

Strips for Project Linus quilts.

Happy Passover/Easter/Spring, and happy sewing!

Coral Springs Quilt Guild - Auction this Wednesday (3/28)!

I received the below information from the Coral Springs Quilt Guild, and I wanted to pass along the information!  The Coral Springs Guild is hosting a large auction tomorrow night (Wednesday, March 28th).  It sounds like a lot of fun and a wonderful opportunity to win some goodies! 

C.S.Q.G. AUCTION    7:15     AT CYPRESS  HALL

                                              CYPRESS HAMMOCK PARK

                                               1300 CORAL SPRINGS DRIVE

                                                CORAL SPRINGS

WE PLAN ON HAVING A LOT OF FUN AND HOPE YOU CAN MAKE IT!

WE'RE HAVING A LIVE AUCTION, SILENT AUCTION, AND CHINESE AUCTION.  SOME OF THE ITEMS WE WILL HAVE:   LOTS OF SPECIAL BASKETS, A FEATHERWEIGHT,  A BROTHER, HANDMADE ITEMS, QUILT RACKS, BOOKS, ACCU CUTTER GO, GIFT CERT, FROM LONGARM QUILTERS, AND OF COURSE, QUILTS!

BRING A FRIEND, ALL ARE WELCOME, SEE YOU WED. NIGHT!

QuiltCon - Block Contest!

Our parent guild, the Modern Quilt Guild, recently announced that they will be holding their first-ever quilting conference in February 2013 in Austin, Texas!  "QuiltCon" will feature amazing speakers and teachers (some of the best in the modern quilting movement), and it sounds like an incredible time.  You can find out more about QuiltCon HERE.

As part of the event, a QuiltCon Block Challenge was just posted!  Submit a 12.5 inch block in the QuiltCon logo's colors, and you could become part of the official QuiltCon raffle quilt.  All blocks that are submitted will become part of quilts for Austin's children's shelter.  A win-win!

Quiltcon Logo Colors.

To find out more, please click HERE.  Entries are open until August 15th.  Happy quilting!

March Meeting - Things to Bring!

For the March meeting, here are your "Things to Bring!"

1.  UGLY FAT QUARTERS
--We will be holding an "ugly fat quarter" swap.  One person's trash is another treasure, so give that ugly FQ a good home!
--You are welcome to bring more than one ugly fat quarter for swapping!

Sample of my ugly fat quarters.

2.  STRIPS FOR OUR GROUP QUILT
We are continuing to bring in strips for group quilts, which we are sewing together for Project Linus' wonderful cause.  This is an ongoing project and benefits a wonderful cause!

a)  Size:  Please bring in at least one "strip" of fabric that is 44/45 inches wide (the width of quilting fabric from selvage edge to selvage edge).  It can be any height, but should probably be at least 2.5 inches tall.
b)  Pattern:  You can piece the strip with interesting patterns.  Alternatively, you can just bring plain strips (or excess Jelly Roll strips).
c)  Color:  If you piece your strips, please include at least a bit of white in the strip.  If you bring in plain fabric strips, any color is fine.

3.  MISCELLANEOUS
Of course, don't forget your standard "Things to Bring" for each meeting (you can see the standards items HERE).  Feel free to email if you have any questions.  See you on Saturday, March 17th at StitchCraft!