January Meeting Recap

It was great to finally meet again after taking most of December off. I'd missed seeing all of my BMQG friends! We started the meeting off by electing new officers for 2012. They are:

Lynn Douglass - President

Christy Hall - Vice-President

Laura Haywood - Secretary

We still need a Program Chairperson and a Treasurer. I'm very excited about all of the fun things the three of us are already planning for the new year!

Our meeting program consisted of sharing our goal boards and talking about the things we'd like to learn and accomplish in 2012. It was fun to see all the different ways that members created their collages. Now, we can cheer each other on and encourage one another to not only start new projects, but to finish some of those UFO's!

Our tutorial was on making Dresden Plate blocks. When poking around the internet and looking for a clear tutorial, I was thrilled to find out that I could make the blocks from charm packs! I have lots of those, and they've been sitting in a basket for way too long! With each 5" square, you can cut two blades. Each block consists of 20 blades. Therefore, you can make four blocks from one 40 pc. charm pack! I'm totally stoked! You can find the tutorial on the Bunny Hill website. You can also watch the YouTube tutorial . I cut my blades at 4.5", and the block finished at 11.5"! Woohoo! For more inspiration, check out the dresden plate Flickr group.

Suzanne, at Strawberry Patches, has ordered the easy Dresden ruler. Call the store to reserve one.

Nicci came up with a great challenge for the group! Each of us drew a little card out of a bag. On that card, was a picture and name for a traditional quilt block. The challenge is to take that block and make it modern. Blocks are to be 12" square. We'll reveal our blocks at next month's meeting on February 18th. If you weren't able to attend the January meeting and you'd like to participate in the challenge, contact Nicci at Nino9969@gmail.com.

Don't forget that this coming Saturday, January 28th, our sew-in will be at Bolts to Binding. You can show up with any project you want to work on, anytime between 10:00 and 4:00. This is where we get the opportunity to relax and get to know each other a bit better. The store has a frig and microwave, and there are food places nearby, if you want to pop out for lunch.

The Cotton Patch Quilt Guild show is also this weekend, and some of us are planning to check it out on Sunday. They will have 205 quilts on display, 20 vendors, demos going on, and a vintage sewing machine display. BMQG members, Lynn, Bob, Pam, and Patty, have quilts entered into this show. The show is held at the Kern County Fairgrounds, and the entry fee is $5.00.

I hope you are all enjoying some quilty fun on this cold and rainy day. If you are working, then don't forget to take a little time for your quilting soul. It's a good thing!

Until next we meet,

Lynn

Are You Ready for Saturday's Meeting?

I sure hope so! It's been a long, dry spell! Nicci and I have been working to put together a fun way to kick off the new year, and I think you are all going to enjoy the new challenge! If you come on Saturday, you'll get to hear all about it. In addition to a new challenge, I'll have a short tutorial on Saturday, using a template/ruler you may not be familiar with.

How are you coming with making those goal boards for the new year? I put mine up in my sewing room, and it honestly helps me to stay focused. I can't wait to see what goals the rest of you have set for the year!

January marks the first birthday for the BMQG! Most of us were a bit green a year ago, and it has been a lot of fun to see everyone grow and get excited about the Modern Quilt Guild movement. I am so excited about the new year and the possibilities of what is to come with this group! This is going to be the year of new possibilities! I can feel it!

Until next we meet,
Lynn

Local Happenings in the Quilting Community

January is a busy month for quilting in our area! After a bit of a holiday break, our first meeting for 2012 is coming up on Saturday the 21st, at Strawberry Patches, 2:00 - 4:00. We are still accepting nominees for officers and also looking for volunteers to chair some new positions. It's going to be an exciting year for the BMQG, so consider being part of the planning and growth!

Road to California is an international quilt show held in Ontario, CA, every year. If you've never been, it's something to see! We just took a peek at the list of vendors, and there are more than ever before! You will see all types of quilts on display and will come away inspired and excited about the industry we love so much! The show runs January 19 - 22. You can get more information at http://www.road2ca.com. If you are interested in attending the show but don't want to go alone, post your interest here to see if anyone else is going. You can also put a note on our Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/bakersfieldmodernquiltguild.

The Cotton Patch Quilt Guild of Kern County is hosting it's bi-annual quilt show, January 28 - 29, at the Kern County Fairgrounds. Two years ago, there were approximately 200 quilts on display, and the show had some awesome vendors! You will see a variety of quilt styles at this show, including traditional, modern, and art. It's a great opportunity to see some fabulous work, right here in our own back yard!

The BMQG sew-in is scheduled for Saturday, January 28th, 10:00 - 4:00, at Bolts to Binding. It's not required that you show up at 10:00 and stay until 4:00, so join us throughout the day. There is a frig and microwave available for our use, and there are places nearby to grab a bite to eat.

LOCAL SHOP NEWS:

Bolts to Binding has just remodeled their shop, and they are hosting a color challenge club. You can visit the website at www.btobqq.com and click on "Events" to get more information.

Strawberry Patches has the new line, Half Moon Modern, in stock, and it's quite yummy! If you want some of it, you'd better not wait. It's going fast! BMQG member, Pam Gavin, is teaching the freezer paper starch method of hand applique at the shop. Her first class of the quarter starts today at 1:00. If you can't make it on such short notice, she'll be teaching it again on Monday, January 16, beginning at 1:00. You can find a listing of the shop's classes at http://www.strawberry-patches.com.

I hope this weekend finds you enjoying some quilting fun!

Lynn & Nicci

100 Days of Modern Quilting

If you want to know more about modern quilting, check out The Modern Quilt Guild blog, where they are doing 100 days of modern quilting. Lots of great information and fabulous pictures!

Happy New Year!

It all began when three friends, acquainted through the internet, decided to join together to start the Bakersfield branch of the Modern Quilt Guild. Meg had been participating in online modern quilt guild swaps, Terri had attended a few meetings of the Portland Modern Quilt Guild, and Jen had attended the Los Angeles Modern Quilt Guild, where the Modern Quilt Guild movement began. These women all enjoyed this new trend in quilting and handwork and decided to see if they could get a group started here. At our first meet and greet last January, we filled the classroom at Strawberry Patches! Since that time, we have become an energetic, productive, enthusiastic, wonderful group of quilters, who make up the heart of The Bakersfield Modern Quilt Guild. Thank you, Meg, Terri, and Jen, for getting it all started!

Over the past year, we have formed friendships, learned new techniques, held some fun swaps, and hosted our first guest teacher. The class was a huge success, and the teacher, Nancy Rink, said that we were one of the nicest groups of quilters that she'd ever had the pleasure of teaching. What a compliment!

As we move into the new year, the first order of business at our January 21st meeting, will be to elect new officers. We have nominees for the positions of President, Vice-President, and Secretary, but we still need nominees for the positions of Treasurer and Program Director. The term is for one year, February to January. Descriptions of the positions can be found here.

The program for the January meeting will be to share and talk about our goal boards. Lynn shared her goal board at the November meeting and asked members to create their own goal boards for the new year. Get those boards made, and lets cheer each other on in our quilting adventures for the new year!

Mark your calendars for these upcoming events: Saturday, January 21st, BMQG meeting at Strawberry Patches, 2:00-4:00. Saturday, January 28th, sew-in at Bolts to Binding, 10:00-4:00.

Happy stitching,

Lynn and Nicci

And A Good Time Was Had By All!

Last Saturday, the BMQG hosted a color theory class taught by Nancy Rink, of Nancy Rink Designs. I'm happy to report that it was a smashing success! We had 17 students in the class, and we filled the classroom at Strawberry Patches!

Nancy started the class by sharing some of her award-winning quilts and explaining the color scheme involved in the creation of each one. She does amazing work, so getting a mini trunk show was an extra treat for the class! After enjoying all of her quilts, she set about teaching us how to use the 3-in-1 Color Tool by Joen Wolfrom. Many of us already owned the color tool, but we had no idea how to use it. Finally learning how to use the tool and gain confidence in choosing fabrics for quilts, was worth the cost of the class! Everyone brought a variety of fabrics for the class, and it was great fun to stand back and watch everyone digging, sorting, sharing, and thoroughly enjoying the entire process of creating blocks to fit each color scheme. Nancy was great about getting to each student, giving everyone one-on-one help and encouragement.

Part of Nancy's instruction included going through the quilt shop and pulling bolts of fabrics. Nancy asked students to use their color tools to choose coordinating fabrics for the print chosen. What a great exercise! Everyone, from the beginning quilter to the advanced quilter, learned something new! There were several comments about how great the class was, and Nancy said she thoroughly enjoyed teaching such a warm and enthusiastic group! Thank you, Nancy, for such a great class! Thank you also to Christiane' Marzi, for being a great 'Vanna White' and making sure that everyone got to see each quilt up close.

Thank you to Strawberry Patches, and their awesome staff! They went out of their way to help pull everything together, and they were very patient about us wandering the store and pulling all of those bolts of fabric. Becky, Kara, Marissa, and Andie... you ladies rock! Thank you, Suzanne, for always being so supportive of our group and hosting us in your shop!

May you all be enjoying some wonderful holiday sewing,

Lynn and Nicci

Officer Elections for 2012

This past year has been one of both challenges and growth, as we all worked to establish our young guild. We tried meeting on a couple of different days of the week, which also meant changing meeting times. We lost our sew-in location, so we had to find a new one. We also had some changes on the Board. All of these "bumps" are normal when forming a new group, and we are thankful that all of you continue to support such a wonderful group of quilters and sewing enthusiasts! As we approach our second year, we feel that there won't be too many more changes, as far as locations and times are concerned. Now it's time to elect a new Board for the 2012 calendar year! If you are considering serving on the Board, be assured that there will be plenty of help and support from past Board members. We also have a tentative program schedule for the first couple of months, to help get the year started. Below, you will find descriptions for each Board position:

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, Google Docs, 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.

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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 Treasurer

-Maintain bank account including preparing monthly/quarterly statements for BMQG, pay any bills that may incur, including reimbursements to members.

-Collect membership dues, collect new membership forms, maintain membership spreadsheet, collect teacher/speaker fees, and keep financial records updated. Membership information is to be shared with all BMQG Board members.

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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.

This is an exciting time for the Modern Quilt Guild movement, and we are so thankful to be a part of this fun and supportive group of quilters. We think that 2012 will prove to be a very successful year for the BMQG! If you are interested in serving, or if you have any questions regarding any of the positions, please contact Nicci at nino9969@gmail.com.

In stitches,

Lynn and Nicci