Upcoming Meeting Details

The next meeting of the BMQG is this coming Saturday, October 20th, 2:00 - 4:00, at Strawberry Patches. Jane will be showing us the details on how to properly prepare a quilt for domestic machine quilting. We will also be discussing a variety of battings and how/when to use them. 

Our next sew-in will be held at Strawberry Patches, 10:00 - 4:00, on Saturday, October 27th. Bring a snack to share and a project to work on. It doesn't have to be a quilting project. Bring your crochet, knitting, needlework, or anything else you want to work on while enjoying a fun day with some wonderful people!

The November meeting date needed to be moved, because Strawberry Patches will be hosting Barri Sue, of Bareroots, on our regular meeting day. We have moved the date to the 10th of November. The time will remain the same. Make sure you mark your calendars so that you don't miss it! 

The end of the year is quickly approaching, which means that it'll be time to elect new officers. If you enjoy this group and want to see it continue, then you need to consider stepping up and serving. We have a great foundation in place, and there will be plenty of support for new officers. Here are the positions and the descriptions:

BMQG President

-Primary function is to see to the smooth running of the BMQG. Organization is necessary and follow through is a must.

-Arrange, schedule and facilitate monthly meetings of the BMQG, as well as for officers of the BMQG.

-Assist in maintaining blog and Flickr, and other duties as necessary.

- Take suggestions from all members under advisement. Works with individuals as needed.

-Prior to officer and BMQG meetings, the President, with input from other BMQG officers, is to prepare an agenda. This is to be emailed to all officers before the monthly meeting. In addition, a brief general description of upcoming activities/meetings is to be posted on the blog.

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BMQG Vice President

-The vice president will perform the duties of the president if needed, including running the monthly meeting.

-Assist in maintaining all online media (blog, Flickr, etc)

-Attend monthly guild meeting. Arrive 1/2 hour before BMQG meetings to assist with meeting set up and stay for clean up.

-Attend monthly board meetings. Actively participate in guild leadership and making decisions regarding activities and growth of the BMQG.

-Collect and maintain door prizes. 

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BMQG Secretary

-The primary duty of the BMQG secretary is to take notes at all monthly BMQG meetings and officers’ meetings. In a timely manner, a summary of these meetings will be sent to all Board members. The secretary will also assist in posting pertinent guild information to the blog/web page, including announcements, guild business, presentations, show and tell, shop hops, sewing nights, charity work, etc. Picture taking at monthly meeting is also helpful, and this responsibility will be shared by everyone on the board.

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BMQG Program Coordinator

-Supports the planning, implementation, maintenance, and documentation of BMQG’s public programs and educational activities.

-Actively recruits a guest speaker and/or arranges group activity for each BMQG meeting. Works with the speaker on presentation, offering help, encouragement and support.

-Actively works on future month’s meeting: content, lectures, social events, sewing projects, etc.

-Coordinates give-aways, challenges, swaps, and guild activities.

-Encourages members to be involved in presentations.

-Have on-hand filler material or a ten minute tutorial on hand in case a meeting runs short, and/or program changes.

All positions require the require the following:

-Officers are expected to represent the guild in a honorable manner, in all communications and interactions related to the BMQG.

-Ability to speak in front of a group

-Can actively seek new information from people and groups, via internet, phone, etc.

-Organizational ability and attention to detail

The time commitment for each position is about 10 hours per month, which includes monthly BMQG meetings and monthly officers’ meetings.

We would also like to get involved in a local philanthropic project. The Board has some ideas on what we could do, but we need a philanthropic coordinator for the group. That person would coordinate the gathering and delivering of donated quilts to the specified group. In addition, the coordinator would be responsible for communication between the Board and the designated charity contact person. If you think you'd like to fill this position, please let one of the Board members know. 

We are running low on door prizes. All of the items that we've given away have been donated by our members. If you have extra fat quarters, patterns or notions that you'd like to donate, please bring them to the meeting and give them to Christy. Your generosity is much appreciated!

Looking forward to seeing you all on Saturday!

Lynn, Christy, and Laura

Upcoming Meeting and Other Fun Stuff

Our next meeting is Saturday, September 15th, 2:00 - 4:00, at Strawberry Patches. Christy has been making an adorable Halloween quilt using Spider Web blocks. She will be showing the rest of us how to make this fun, easy block! During our show 'n tell, you'll have a chance to share the project you've made with the Perfect Polaroid Blocks we swapped at the last meeting. Pam has made another pillow, using Halloween themed Polaroid blocks. It's a fun, whimsical piece, and she'll be teaching the class at Strawberry Patches on the 17th @ 10:00. We are so blessed to have such talented and creative members in our group!

Our sew-in for this month will be held on the 22nd at Bolts to Binding, from 10:00 - 4:00. If you want to bring your lunch, we have use of the frig and microwave in the kitchen area. There are plenty of places nearby to go and pick up something. Bring a snack to share and a project to work on, and enjoy the fellowship and fun that this group has to offer! If you've never attended one of our meetings or sew-ins, a sew-in is a great way to check us out!

If you are making a quilt for the Bolts to Binding color challenge, the quilt has to be turned in by October 1st. The color for this challenge is a particular orange solid that the shop carries. The quilts will be displayed, and customers can vote on their favorite quilt. The winner will receive a gift certificate to spend at the shop. If you need more information, you can call Bolts to Binding at 661-873-4691.

QuiltCon opened for registration last week, and several of our members will be attending. What a great opportunity to be in the thick of things at the first convention of the Modern Quilt Guild! If you want to find out more about QuiltCon, visit their website at http://www.quiltcon.com.

I'll be on vacation for the next couple of weeks, so I'll miss the meeting and the sew-in. As much as I'll miss everyone, I'll be enjoying the company of my son. I haven't seen him since March, and I'm needing some face time! Enjoy the meeting, sew-in, time with fellow quilters, and be good to one another.

Until next we meet,

Lynn
President

Swap Reminder

We have just about a week and a half to finish up our Scrap Bag Swap projects. Put those finishing touches on your project(s), and be ready for the big reveal! Our meeting is on Saturday, June 16th, at Strawberry Patches, from 2:00 - 4:00. Don't forget to bring your show 'n tell projects and the blocks you are working on for the QuiltCon Block Challenge! See you soon!


Lynn
President 

Question of the Week

This week's question is about what you listen to while working on a project. Do you listen to music, audio books, the t.v.? What gets your blood pumping and ready to create? 

Question of the Week

We have decided to start posting a question each week, to see what everyone thinks or knows about a particular topic. If you have questions you'd like to see asked, e-mail them to bakersfieldmodernquiltguild@gmail.com. Our first question of the week is:

When did you start quilting, and what prompted you to start?

A Fun Saturday Sew-In!!

Last Saturday, the BMQG sew-in was held at Bolts to Binding. We usually have a slow start, as people trickle in around noon. There's usually only a few of us that show up at 10:00. I guess everyone must have gotten up early, because we had a packed house by 11:00! Fourteen members were in attendance throughout the day! That's the most we've ever had! The room was abuzz with chatter, creativity, and of course, lots of laughter. Oh, and food! Several people brought snacks, so we were adequately sugared up! LOL!

Jen worked on a skirt for her daughter and showed us a quilt that she'd finished. Sarah worked on her Habitat challenge (I know the due date has come and gone, but some of us are still working on it), Lynsey couldn't do much, because of having problems with her hands, but she showed up to spend time with us and share her warm smile. Christina, a friend of Jen's, attended for the first time. We really enjoyed having her with us! Nicci worked on her Swoon block. Meg worked on a scarf, Cindy worked on her "sew-in only" quilt, and Christine worked on a raggy quilt. Christy prepped some fabric, and Laura made a pillow case to go with her nephew's Thomas The Tank Engine quilt. Liz was drafting a design for her Kaffe Fassett fabrics (a quilter after my own heart). Lana was playing with some beautiful Art Gallery fabric by Pat Bravo. Such rich, glorious color!

As for me, I repeated my Dresden Plate tutorial, and I got busy sewing those little blades. I cut up two charm packs and ended up with 160 blades! I'm telling you, it's easy to get carried away on these things! They are fun to make! I thought they also looked good as a scarf. ;-) For pictures of our sew-in, visit our Flickr page.

While we were busy sewing, Pam was helping Suzanne in the Strawberry Patches booth at the quilt show. I got a very excited text from her, letting me know that she'd won 5 ribbons on her beautiful quilts! Bob Miller and Patty Young were also ribbon winners! We have some amazing talent in our guild, and the whole group rejoiced when I shared the news with them! Congratulations, ladies and gent!

Our February meeting will be held on February 18, at Strawberry Patches, 2:00 - 4:00. This month's sew-in will also be at Strawberry Patches, February 25, 10:00 - 4:00.

**Note: Bolts to Binding will be moving to a larger space in the very near future. If you go by there and the doors are closed, don't panic! As soon as I have more details, I'll share them here!

Happy stitching,

Lynn

BMQG Meeting - Introduction to Improv

Image from Jaquie @ http://tallgrassprairiestudio.blogspot.com/

Randomness, is not always easy. The most interesting part about the modern quilting movement is the randomness seen in many improv quilts. Starting a quilt with little or no plan of action and letting it take you away is a skill people share because it brings out utter creativity within a quilter.

This Saturday we will have an introduction to improvisational quilting. A simple technique that once learned you will love it. This is also a great way to use scraps for all you scrap busting quilters out there.

No supplies are needed for this meeting except your smiles and willingness to think outside of the box. We look forward to sharing this part of quilting with the BMQG group.

March 19th 2011 Saturday 2pm - 4pm
Learning Improv Techniques

Location :: Strawberry Patches

6439 Ming Ave # C

Bakersfield, CA 93309-6713

(661) 835-1738

Image from Elizabeth at Oh Fransson

There will also be a discussion of officers at this get together. Please attend if you can it will be a very important meeting and we would love to have everyone attend.

See you all there.