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?

What's in Store for the BMQG Future?

In answer to that question, a lot of fun! The new Board met for the first time last night, and we spent almost 3 hours working on a calendar of programs, challenges, swaps, road trips, quilt shows, and more, oh my! Upcoming demos/classes include: paper piecing, embellishing with crayons, reverse applique by machine, modern block tutorials, and sew much more! We are also gathering used books to build our library. I have several books that I no longer use, and I've been known to buy the same book twice. Anyone ever do that? If you have a book you'd like to donate, bring it to the next meeting. Also, if you have extra fat quarters, charm packs, patterns, etc. that you'd like to donate, we'd appreciate it! We will be using donated items for door prizes and philanthropic projects. Since we don't collect dues, we are counting on our members to help make this guild a success. After all, we wouldn't have a guild without all of you!

Join us for our next meeting on Saturday, February 18, 2:00 - 4:00, at Strawberry Patches, 6433 Ming Avenue. Our scheduled program is all about the Sewing Summit. Christy and Meg attended last year, and Christy is going to tell us what it's all about! Bring a friend, and join us for the fun!

Mark your calendars for our monthly sew-in: Saturday, February 25th, 10:00 - 4:00 at Strawberry Patches.

Until next we meet,

Lynn, Christy and Laura

Congratulations, Norma!

So happy to see a quilt from one of our members, included in the 100 Days of Modern Quilting! Norma first showed us this quilt when we had our meet and greet a year ago. We all loved it, and we love having Norma involved with our guild! Congratulations, Norma!

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

Sew-In Saturday

Saturday is almost here! Woohoo! I look forward to our BMQG sew-ins, almost more than anything else I do! I always enjoy the chatting, sewing, sharing, and snacking we do. I hope everyone can make it down to Bolts to Binding on Saturday, between 10:00 - 4:00, to join us for a lovely day!

Lynn

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