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!

September 14 Guild Meeting and Sew-In

Are you exhausted from the San Diego Quilt Show and the Back-to-School grind? Do you need some quiet time with a good pillow? Then be sure to come to the next meeting of the San Diego Modern Quilt Guild!

Be there at 11:00 am on Sunday September 14, 2014 at Quilt in a Day, San Marcos, where we'll discuss the Membership Survey results and the QuiltCon Charity Challenge. We'll collect SDBee blocks for Marisa, and take sign-ups for the last few slots for Round 3. We'll catch up with the Vintage Quilt Revival Quilt-Along, and have a double-barreled demo on zippers. 

Our swap this month is pillow covers! Make a pillow cover to fit a standard 14-, 16-, or 18-inch square pillow form, and be prepared to swap it for another member's fine creation. The pillow insert is not required.

Then the best part - Sew and Tell! Bring your latest projects to share your inspiration and creativity!

After the talking is done, the Sew-In will begin. We will have Quilt in a Day's spacious classroom until they close at 4:00 pm. (You can also probably find a quiet nook to nap in, if so inspired...)

Hope to see you then!

August Meeting Highlights

Basting Party!

We were delighted to see so many new faces at the August 10 SDMQG meeting, especially some who drove quite far to see us! 

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

Upcoming Events

1) Beach Day is August 23. Families are welcome, but leave the sewing machine at home! Meet up near the playground at La Jolla Shores at 11:00am. A public parking lot is available, but it fills up early. Bring your own refreshments, handwork, sunscreen, whatever you need for a great San Diego day in the sun!

2) The San Diego Quilt Show is September 4-6. Those of you who entered quilts, be sure to have them finished by the drop-off deadline! For North County folks, that's Sunday August 24, and southern-county folks have until Labor Day, September 1. Drop-off times and locations are in the link.

Swaps

No swap at the August meeting, but lots of fun swaps coming up:

September 14 meeting - Pillow Covers. Make a quilted pillow cover to fit a standard 14", 16" or 18" square pillow form. Any style, any closure method. You don't need to bring a pillow insert with it. 

October 12 meeting - Dot Charm swap. We'll be swapping 5" squares of any dotted fabric. Demure or bold, pick your favorite style. There will be a sign-up in advance, and we'll ask you to bring 2 charms for each participant. 

November 9 meeting - return of the Scrap Swap! Start culling your scrap basket now!

Group Projects

Wonky Star Charity top pieced by Theresa

1) SDBee - Time to finish up the blocks for Grace and Marisa, and decide whether you want to sign up for Round 3. There are still a few spaces left!

2) Charity Quilts - Our Wonky Star quilts are coming along nicely. Theresa pieced this fabulous top, and handed it off to Carrie for Quilting. Susan K is still working on the second Wonky Star top.

3) QuiltCon Charity Challenge - Unlike the block challenge last time, this year's challenge asks each guild to create a completed quilt using a predetermined color palette and alternate grid work design. We need your ideas! More details and discussion on our Flickr page.

4) Vintage Quilt Revival QAL - Find the monthly blocks and post your progress photos on the Quilt-Along Page. The first two blocks are Double Z and Dakota Star!

Katherine's Marimekko quilt

Sew-and Tell - Many wonderful projects both large and small were shared and can be seen in our Guild Pool. We were especially impressed by Katherine, who drove all the way from Palm Springs to show us her Marimekko quilt. Great to see another veteran quilter exploring the Modern side!

Then it was on to the Sew-In, where we had a Pin-Basting Party! Wow, does that go so much faster when you have help!

Hope to see you at the Beach Day or the SD Quilt Show, but if not, please join us for our next guild meeting, on Sunday September 14, at 11:00 am at Quilt in a Day. We'll be swapping pillow covers, have a demo on zippers, and just maybe comparing Quilt Show ribbons! ;)

June Meeting Highlights

Judging from the number of projects on display, the members of the San Diego Modern Quilt Guild have been spending a lot of time in their sewing studios, so we were glad so many of you could tear yourselves away for the June 8 guild meeting!


First the Business:

1) The membership cards and pins for those who joined in the 1st quarter are in and will be available at the next meeting. The 2nd quarter joiners should get theirs in a couple of months.

2) Demo Volunteers are needed! If you've recently learned a new skill, or if you've perfected an old one, we'd love to share in your know-how. You don't have to be an expert or an experienced teacher, just be willing to give a ~10 minute demonstration at a future meeting. Demonstrators will receive a QIAD gift certificate for their trouble. Contact Chris  if you are interested.

3) If you are interested in the Angela Walters Trunk Show and Modern Quilting Class on August 2 or the hands-on Longarm Class on August 1, don't delay. Members should have received an Eventbrite e-mail invitation around May 1 with registration info, but if you deleted yours, there is more info at the links above. We will open registration to non-members on June 15.

4) Are you interested in entering the San Diego Quilt Show? The registration deadline is July 1. The show will be at the convention center September 4-6. Let's show them what our kind of modern quilting is all about!

5) QuiltCon 2015 is fast approaching. Some Important dates to keep in mind: Member registration begins June 24. The best workshops sell out fast, so plan your attack and be ready at your computer as soon as possible. Entries for the Quilt Show will be accepted starting July 1 through November 30. Don't be shy! They can't accept you if you don't enter!

6) The Michael Miller Fabric Challenge deadline has been extended to July 25. You must have a photo of your finished project uploaded to the Fabric Challenge Forum on the MQG website by then. We saw a few projects during Sew-n-Tell, and hope to see more at the July 13 meeting!

7) The Vintage Quilt Revival Sew-Along will begin in July. Also in July, we will be doing a swap of Low-Volume fat quarters. Get a yard of your favorite modern low-volume fabric, cut it into FQs, save one for yourself and bring the other three in for swapping. We'll do a blind draw, so everyone will get three new FQs to add to their stash.

8) Our annual Beach Day will be August 23, one week before Labor Day Weekend. Watch this space for more details.


Next, the Community Projects:

SDBee: We collected Patti's Converging Corners blocks and Deb's Blue Wonky Stars, and Grace distributed fabrics for slice and inset blocks, which will be due in August. Marisa will wrap up this round of the bee in July, so we'll be signing up for the next round very soon. New participants are always welcome!

Charity Quilts: the Return of the Wonky Star blocks will be due in July, when we'll ask for volunteers to provide piecing, backing, batting, quilting, and binding.  We also had a number of finished and nearly-finished charity quilts on display at the meeting - I can't believe how productive this group has been recently!

For our Demonstration, Nancy talked about her approach to color in her quilt designs. Some useful websites she recommends are munsell.com and www.colourlovers.com for designing palettes. She showed us how she uses a collage book for inspiration, and how an unexpected accent fabric can really make a quilt sparkle. She brought examples of her own quilts (including the wonderful value quilt up top) to show how her color philosophy has evolved over the years.

And finally, we had an epic Sew-n-Tell! So many wonderful creations that they barely all fit on our Group Flickr Page. Thank goodness they upped their storage limit to 1 Tb! Please go there and check them all out.

Our next meeting is Sunday July 13, at 11:00 am a Quilt in a Day. Hope to see you then!

Charity Quilts Requested

We have a request from UCSD NICU for baby quilts that are at least 52 x 44 to cover the living space for the premies.  We have our wonky star quilt but is there any interest in producing baby quilts for the UCSD NICU?  Thanks!