December Meeting Highlights

Snowmen and earmuffs might not be common sights during December in San Diego, but that didn't stop us from celebrating the end of 2014 with our final guild meeting and Potluck party!

If you couldn't be there, here is what you missed:




Business:
1) Membership Renewals - Our new Treasurer, Angela G., started collecting dues ($40 for 2015) from those who wanted to renew their memberships for next year. We will have to pay our guild's dues to the national organization by January 15, so please make every effort to renew your membership at the January 11 2015 meeting if you haven't already. 

2) Regional Group activities - our North County members have already organized two informal meet-ups, but the South/East County folks are right behind them with plans for a Sew-In on January 31 at Memory Lane Quilt Shop in El Cajon. We have to charge a small fee for this event to cover the room rental, and space is limited, so reserve your spot now!
The Central members are still waiting for a non-rainy weekend to reschedule the Photo Day in the Park. Watch this space for more details.

3) Anyone planning to go to Road to California in Ontario, CA on January 22-25? We're trying to organize carpools for either Friday the 23rd or Saturday the 24th. If you're interested, sign-up here. Even if you don't need a ride, check in for details about meeting up for lunch or a tour of the exhibits!

4) Upcoming Special Events - We are trying to plan a workshop on improv piecing with Jacquie Gering, director of the National MQG and popular author of Quilting Modern, to be held in March or April. Watch this space for more details!

Also in progress are plans for a Quilting Retreat to be held in September or October. Unfortunately, our first choice of venue, Sisters in Temecula, is booked up for all of 2015 already, so if you know of any other good venues that could accommodate 12-15 people and sewing machines, let us know.

5) Report from the Field - Speaking of Temecula, Susan M. reports that the recently opened Needle in a Fabric Stash is definitely worth the drive! She showed us many pictures of their wide selection of modern fabrics and supplies. 

Activities:

1) Charity Quilts - Our QuiltCon Charity Challenge Quilt is finished! Thanks to Chris for quilting and binding, and thanks to everyone who contributed a block and helped us assemble it in the October meeting.
Soon it will be off to Austin TX to be exhibited during QuiltCon 2015!

After the con, the quilt will come back to us so we can donate it to a local youth charity. Nancy, our new charity coordinator, proposed we give it Just in Time for Foster Youth, an organization which helps set up households for young adults as they age out of the foster care system. 

Susan K., our outgoing charity coordinator, also brought along 2 big boxes with the quilts we've made and collected in 2014. Several guild members were enlisted to help sew on our guild labels to make the quilts ready for donating. The smaller ones will go to the NICU at UCSD Hillcrest Hospital, and the larger ones will find their way to senior and oncology units.

2) Bee Blocks - We took a bee break for the holidays, but be sure to finish your blocks for Jen (October) and I-Chun (November) by the January 11 meeting. The January block will be presented by Chris, followed by Theresa in February.

3) Demo - Sue Bouchard gave a very timely demonstration of a quick and easy, 1-yard, lined shopping bag pattern, based on a Lazy Girl Designs tutorial. Might be just the thing for those last-minute gifts!

Which do I want?

4) The Pouch Swap was a big success! We had 21 participants, and lots of stealing. Ilene was especially unfortunate. But we all went home with a handy pouch and an extra gift inside!


5) Sew and Tell! the best part of the meeting! All the wonderful projects from quilts to bags to scrappy teacher gifts! We can't post all the photos here, so click over to our Flickr Pool to see them all!

Just the beginning....

We wrapped up the meeting with our annual Potluck Lunch. Though there were some yummy vegetables and salads, our members also exhibited some serious skill in the cookie and desert arts! (That's why we only do it once a year...)









That's all until next year! But get ready - at our January meeting, we'll be doing Book Reviews and Iron Testing. Bring a new or favorite quilting book and tell us what's great about it. Pack your old trusty iron, and we'll use high-tech scientific equipment to evaluate which models work best. And don't forget your dues...

Join us for our next guild meeting on January 11, 2015 starting at 11:00 am at Quilt in a Day. See you there!

December 14 Guild Meeting and Potluck Party!

The Holiday Season and the end of the year are rapidly approaching, so it's time for a party!

Please join us on Sunday, December 14, 2014 at 11:00 am at Quilt in a Day  for the last SDMQG meeting of 2014.

We'll catch up on regional activities, see how the charity quilts turned out, watch a quick & easy bag demo, and maybe hear about some exciting plans for 2015! 

We'll also have a Yankee/White Elephant-style swap of zipper pouches (with small gifts inside), compare progress on our latest projects during Sew-and-Tell, and wrap it all up with our annal Potluck Lunch. Bring whatever holiday (or non-holiday) food or drink you like to share! Plates, cups, and silverware will be provided. 

After all that, we'll have the spacious classroom for free sewing until they chase us out at 4:00 pm! Finish your secret projects away from prying eyes, or just hang out and chat, we won't tell.....

October 12 Guild Meeting and Sew-In

Polka dots and charity blocks

We need all hands on deck for the next San Diego Modern Quilt Guild meeting because we will be discussing important issues for next year and the future of the guild!

Please join us at 11:00 am, Sunday October 12, 2014 at Quilt in a Day, San Marcos. We will be voting on dues for 2015, and taking nominations for next year's officers. (Elections will be held at the November 9 guild meeting). 

We realize it's a long drive to QiD for some members, so we are asking for volunteers for a committee to find more central locations for future meetings. We also need people to oversee charity projects and help plan regional activities. This is your chance to make the guild better for all!

Our swap this month is Polka dot charm squares. Check the link for who has signed up and how many to bring. Meanwhile, start collecting your scraps for our fall scrap swap in November, and don't forget the zipper-pouch swap in December...

Please bring your charity blocks for the QuiltCon Challenge project so that we can assemble the top during our Sew-In after the business meeting.

Jen will kick off Round 3 of the SDBee - can't wait to see what she's dreamed up this time!

And most importantly, bring your latest projects for Sew and Tell - we love to share your inspiration and creativity!

After the talking is done, the Sew-In will begin. We have Quilt in a Day's spacious, air conditioned classroom until they close at 4:00 pm. Help us with the QuiltCon challenge quilt, or just get some uninterrupted sewing time for your own projects.

Hope to see you then!

September Meeting Highlights

Sammy contemplates his human's pillow swap prize

Lots of Angela-Walters-inspired quilting on display at the September 14 SDMQG meeting! If you couldn't be there, here is what you missed:

Business:

1) Membership cards and pins for new members should be here soon. We no longer have to wait 3 months for them to come in.

2) We're adding members' shops and blogs to the blogroll to the right. Let us know if you have a link to add. Shop local! 

3) Board elections will be in November. If you are interested in getting more involved in the guild, we will start taking nominations/volunteers at the October 12 guild meeting for the offices of President, VP of Activities  VP of Operations, Secretary, and Treasurer. We could also use a new Charity Coordinator.

4) Speaking of elections, The Modern Quilt Guild is taking applications for a Region 1 representative (covering AK, AZ, CA, HI, NV, OR, UT, WA). Our own Sandi Sawa Hazlewood is the current representative. Applications are due Oct. 15. Request an application here.

5) Membership Survey results are still being processed. There was some interest in having regional activities so that South and East County folks wouldn't have so far to drive every time. We are looking for volunteers to be regional directors and plan local activities on an occasional basis. With that in mind, we are considering a Balboa Park Meet-Up for mid October. Stay tuned for details!

On the Road:

1) Our own Susan Kephart will be giving a presentation on Modern Quilting to the Chula Vista Quilter's Guild on October 8 at 7:00 pm, using quilts made by several fabulously talented SDMQG members. If you're in the area, come and offer moral support. Otherwise, help her compile a list of Modern Quilting Resources to share with our CVQG friends.

2) The first ever Quiltfest Oasis Palm Springs is the weekend of October 2-4. Or if that's too far, the Temecula Outdoor Quilt Show is also October 4. Take a long weekend and hit both!

3) But if you're trying to save gas, why not register for The Sewing Party on November 8? This online craft festival will feature classes on Quilting, DIY fashion, home decor, and much more! And you have 90 days after the event to stream whatever classes you like. Use promo code HV97248 if you do register.

Charity Quilts:

We decided on a concept for the QuiltCon Charity Challenge - Random Chevrons, and distributed fabric kits for "blocks". Thanks to Carrie for providing the fabric at cost! We will collect the "blocks" at the October 12 meeting and use the Sew-In time to assemble the top. More info on the Flickr link.

SDBee: 

We wrapped up Round 2 by collecting blocks for Marisa and Grace. There are a few slots left for Round 3, but they are going fast! Sign up on Flickr, and Jen will start us off in October.

Swaps:

This time, we swapped pillow covers, to the delight of our feline associates, as seen above. 

At the October 12 meeting, we will be swapping 5" Polka Dot Charm Squares. Sign up at the Flickr link by September 30 so we can determine how many squares each one of us needs to bring.

The November 9 meeting will see the return of the ever-popular Scrap Swap. Scraps and unwanted yardage will be welcome. More details to come.

And finally, the December 14 meeting will feature a zipper-pouch swap. Make a (non-seasonal, please) zipper pouch, and bring it with a small (<$10 worth) gift inside, and we'll swap at our year-end potluck party.

Demos: 

Both Marisa and Deb gave quick presentations on tricks to make inserting zippers in your projects easier. Wonder tape actually lives up to its name!

Sew-and-Tell:

Many wonderful projects both large and small were shared and can be seen in our Flickr Pool. Seems like half of them featured quilting techniques from the Angela Walters class last month! We were delighted to have first-time visitors like Suzanne and Maho share their projects this time, and it was great to see how Lori has mastered free-motion quilting in such a short time.

Go check out all the projects and let their creators know how much you like them!

Quilt Along: 

The folks participating in the Vintage Quilt Revival Quilt Along met to show their blocks and and share sewing tips. Check out the schedule to see which blocks are up next. There are going to be some amazing quilts coming out at the end of the QAL!

That's it until our next meeting, Sunday, October 12, at 11:00 am at Quilt in a Day. Hope to see you then!

April Meeting Highlights

Bags for Swapping

No April showers kept the San Diego Modern Quilt Guild members from their appointed rounds - we had an exciting guild meeting on April 13, full of swaps, blocks, and surprises!











First, the business: 

1) MQG membership cards and pins arrived from the mothership for those who joined in 2013. We expect cards for those who have joined since then to arrive in the next month.

2) Fabric for the Michael Miller Fabric Challenge was distributed. Participants have until June 23rd to finish their projects and upload them to the challenge forum on the MQG website. See the link for details. 

3) To help us plan activities for the future, a Membership Survey will soon be arriving in the e-mail, if you are a paid member. 

4) Volunteers are needed for demonstrations at future guild meetings. You don't have to be an expert, just be willing to share something you think is cool, or that you've recently learned. Demonstrators will get a $10 gift certificate to Quilt in a Day for their efforts. Contact Chris Broehmer via Flickr if you are interested.

5) Angela Walters, Rock Star of Longarm Quilting, will be visiting San Diego the first weekend of August. We are trying to organize a day of lecture/trunk show/quilting demonstration events with her. When we know the details, SDMQG members will get first dibs on registration. Expect more information by e-mail.

Next, the Community Projects:

For our 2Q 2014 Charity Quilt, we are reviving our Wonky Star project. Packets

with the background fabric, inspiration fabric, and some scraps from our March swap were distributed. Blocks are due by the July 13 meeting.

For the SD Bee, Theresa M's pinwheels were due this month. If you have more for her, please contact her via Flickr. Some of Patti's Converging Corner blocks were also on hand - you have until the May 11 meeting to finish them. Deb handed out fabric for her Blue Wonky Star blocks, which will be due at the June 8th meeting. There are only 2 more months on the current round of this Bee, so signups for round 3 will start soon. So if you've been patiently waiting for a chance to assign blocks to your guild mates, that will be your chance!

We all know that Julie H. is getting married, and since she didn't want a quilted wedding dress, she invited us to help make blocks for her her wedding huppah. Not much time is left, but see her blog for details on how you can participate. 

We had a very creative and diverse Sew-n-Tell, featuring projects both large and small, new and old, flat and 3-D, and even an awesome quilt that Sandi won in a raffle from one of our former members. As always, you can see all the pictures in our Flickr pool.

For the Demonstration, Jen taught us the inset circle method she learned at Quit Con from Cheryl Arkinson. So nifty and neat! If you missed it, there's always Craftsy. 

We topped the meeting off with a Grocery Bag Swap. As you can see at the top of the post, there were so many beautiful bags that it was hard to pick just one. And hard to keep a favorite bag, once the stealing got started! 

Once the dust settled, it was time for the Sew-In. Seems like a lot of vacation-oriented projects were in progress this month. 

Our next meeting is Sunday May 11, at 11:00 am at Quilt in a Day. That's Mothers' Day and we have a light schedule planned, so those of you who need to be out Brunching won't miss too much. But if you're free, stop by and see us!

April 13 Guild Meeting and Sew-In

Please Join us for the next meeting of the San Diego Modern Quilt Guild on April 13, 2014, starting at 11:00 am at Quilt in a Day, San Marcos.

This will be a jam-packed meeting! We will hand out new membership cards, distribute fabric for those who signed up for the Michael Miller MQG Challenge, start a new charity quilt project (that harks back to one of our earliest guild projects), collect SD Bee blocks for Theresa and Patti, get a new Bee block from Deb, hear about Julie's wedding quilt, have an informative demo on inset circles, and top it all off with a Grocery Bag Swap, and maybe a few other surprises!

Don't forget to bring your latest projects for Sew-and-Tell. We love to see what you all are working on!

After the business is done, the Sew-in continues until 4:00 pm. Visitors are always welcome at the SDMQG (your first two meetings are free), so stop by and see what we're all about!

Grocery bags for swap at April 13, 2014 meeting

How is everybody coming on their grocery bags for the swap at the April 13 meeting? (Don't panic, that's still two weeks away!) As you can see, I still have some work to do myself....


To participate, make a grocery/tote bag of any design and bring it to the meeting. Everyone who brings a bag will get to swap for one made by another member. No signups required.


Need ideas? There are lots of links to tutorials here: http://www.flickr.com/groups/sdmqg/discuss/72157632973499735/