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!