April Meeting Recap!

Happy Summer!   Here is a review of the April meeting (a bit delayed...sorry about that) and some information for the upcoming months.

1.  The blocks for the charity quilt (made with the QuiltCon colors) were completed and turned into a beautiful quilt!  The quilt was donated to Project Linus, and a lucky girl or boy will certainly treasure such a special quilt.  Thanks to everyone who participated.

2.  We are continuing with the two Round Robin quilts, and they look great!  They will be wonderful finished quilts that will go to Project Linus for children in need.  If you are interested in adding a row or side to the quilts, just speak up at the next meeting.

3.  The Virtual Quilting Bee is in full swing, and these beautiful blocks were created for April!

For May, Charlotte requested the blocks below.  You can find the tutorial HERE! 

For June, Johanna requested a "put a bird on it" theme!  She made a Pinterest inspiration board for her block, which you can see HERE.  For those who don't understand the "put a bird on it" reference, it comes from a satirical sketch show called Portlandia.  You can see the original clip HERE.

4.  We showed off our beautiful completed Madrona Road challenge quilts!  You can see all of the amazing results in a separate post HERE!
If you want to see more amazing Madrona Road quilt projects from other Modern Quilt Guilds (note:  they are not all mini quilts), check out the Flickr page HERE!  

5.  We discussed the Modern Quilt Guild's decision to formalize its membership for the various guilds across the globe.  We have a few months to decide whether we would like to continue being part of the overall Modern Quilt Guild organization or become an independent guild.  Formalizing membership would provide a number of benefits, but it would also require us to charge dues (about $30 a year), plus form a board and become a tax-exempt organization.  We will continue to discuss our options at future meetings. 

6.  Charlotte discussed mini quilts and gave us some great tips and tricks for making them beautiful and prize-worthy!

7.  Quilt News and Events:

--eQuilter is requesting quilts for Hurricane Sandy victims.  Click HERE for more information about how to donate quilts.

--The American Quilter's Society is hosting a Modern Quilt Challenge, with $6,000 in prizes!  Quilt entries are due in August.  Click HERE for more information about how to enter quilts into the competition.

8.  We discussed the ongoing Pinterest board for the South Florida Modern Quilt Guild, which you can find here:  http://pinterest.com/patchworkduck/south-florida-modern-quilt-guild-projects-and-insp/
 

9.  We swapped wrist pincushions and scissors fobs at our Member Swap!

 

10.  For our "Things to Bring" for the June meeting, we are having a "50 Shades of Grey" block prize!  Make a 12.5 inch unfinished block in a wonky/crazy log cabin style.  The center should be grey, with colorful outer rings.  
You can find an easy tutorial HERE.
One lucky member will win ALL of the blocks! 

11.  Show-and-tell:  As a final wrap-up, here are some great April show and tell photos!

REMINDER:  Our next meeting is Saturday, June 15th from 10am to 12pm at StitchCraft in Boca Raton.  See you there!

Jupiter Chapter - Inaugural Meeting Recap!

Great news from our northern Palm Beach/Treasure Coast friends!  They have started a "northern chapter" of the South Florida Modern Quilt Guild!  Here is a summary from them:

Jupiter Chapter Launch – May 18, 2013

"More than 30 women gathered at Quilter’s Choice in Jupiter to share a curiosity and interest in Modern Quilting.  Joan led the meeting, giving a short history of the movement (which counts its beginning in 1998), a definition from the Modern Quilt Guild website, and a description of her attendance at the South Florida Mod April meeting in Boca at Stitchcraft. 

Do we want a northern chapter?  YES, was the resounding answer.  We spoke about possible goals and/or activities including

·         Sharing an interest in modern quilting

·         Teaching and inspiring each other

·         Providing awareness to other guilds/shops/the community

·         Doing group quilts (charity, round robin, show entry)

We also liked the idea of piggy backing or being a northern “chapter” of South Florida Mod.  Joan described some of their activities:  a virtual quilting bee, a 10 minute monthly tutorial by a member, quilt news, door prizes and charity quilts, fun swaps, a challenge (i.e. using a particular fabric line).

Some details were established, including a meeting date to continue the 3^rd Saturday of the month, 1:30 to 3:30 pm, at Quilter’s Choice in Jupiter.  We would have a leader (Joan), note taker (Nan), photographer (Marty) and blogger or news person (Patty and Marta).  We agreed that name badges would be a good item to individually prepare for our next gathering.  They should be about  3” x 3” to 3” x 5” with our first names on them and a modern design.

A group activity sparked a welcome chord.  We debated between a “Block Party” focus from the book itself or a block per month swap. With the block party, each month a participant would specify parameters for a block to be made by others with the result that each originator would have a 12 block quilt.  With the block per month swap, a member would specify a specific block that all would make and swap.  There were about equal votes for each, so we decided that both would be possible, but that we should meet in subgroups at the next opportunity to flush it out a little more.

Joan proposed a “Quilting in Public” activity to coincide with a national event on June 15.  This would take the place of a June meeting.  Members would gather at a public location and do some handwork, thereby displaying a quilting item to raise awareness in the community about this passion that we share.  Although the Gardens Mall was nominated to be the venue, their management declined to host this activity.  Downtown at the Gardens, a second choice for location, was happy to accommodate us on that date from 11 am to 1 pm.  Mark your calendar now and email Joan (exactlysew@bellsouth.net) if you will attend, so that more details can be sent to you.

We concluded the gathering with a show and tell.  This included a display from Patty, who designs fabric.  She will tell us all about the process on July 20, when we next meet."

From the Mailbag (Part 2)!

Here is some additional information from our mailbag!

1.  "Scoops of Love" Comfort Quilts (Oklahoma tornado disaster):
--Looking for a quick summer quilt project?  The Northern Lights Quilt Guild in Lebanon, NH wants you to support gesture of love and cheer by sending a small ice cream themed comfort quilt to the 1^st and 2^nd graders re-entering school this fall in Moore, Oklahoma. 

 --Quilt Specifications:  Size in the 36” to 48” max range square or rectangle, simple comfort quilts of bright and fun colors.  Please include either/or:

a)      A couple of ice cream themed pieced or appliqued blocks

OR

b)     An ice cream novelty fabric

 --Please ship by 8/7/13

Comfort Quilts c/o Sheila Cockerill

6009 SE 86st St.

Oklahoma City, OK 73135

 --For info contact Sue Crate @ postmastermom@comcast.net

2.  Scrap Quilt Idea!

--Need a fun and easy way to get rids of those strangely-shaped scraps?

--Click HERE for a great project idea, a "come as you are" scrap quilt!