April Meeting Recap

Our April guild meeting was a blast!

Announcements:
Quilt Shows:
Quilting in the Pines - Pine Mtn Club Scrappers; Saturday, May 18th from 10 am to 4 pm
International Quilt Market & Festival - In Houston, October 31 to November 3rd
Long Beach IQF August 2-4; Long Beach Convention Center
Hoffman Challenge - quilt entry deadline is July 19th; info at www.HoffmanChallenge.com
Heart of the Valley Shop Hop - May 3-5; 11 shops participating from Bakersfield to Turlock
Sew In - April 27th, 10 am to 4 pm at Strawberry Patches
May program - to be announced

 Zippered Pouch Swap:
We had 11 members participate in a zippered pouch swap. Everyone who participated brought a finished zippered pouch to the meeting in a paper bag, then got to choose a bag for themselves. There was quite a variety of pouches, from embellished pouches to wide mouth and triangular pouches. It was great to have such enthusiasm for this swap!

  Show and Tell:

Christy's Dr. Seuss quilt for charity

Jane with a lovely quilt made for a young lady who is graduating

Lois with two darling isolettes made from jelly rolls

Shelly with a super cute baby blanket...

and a great picnic blanket....

that zips up into it's own carrying bag!

(Yes, Shelly, you seriously need to write a pattern for this!)

Lynn with her framed Dresden Plates

(Great idea, Lynn!)

Sandy with lovely embroidered Chrstmas quilt

Pam with another stinkin' cute pillow

the back - just as cute as the front

Pam's lovely quilt in purples 

with a great pieced back featuring Kaffe Fassett fabric

The group showing off the pouches received in our pouch swap

(Amazing work ladies!)

Kara with a cute quilt

Jane hard at work, modeling the Modern Quilts Unlimited apron she won.

Program: QuiltCon Recap

     QuiltCon was held in Austin, back in February and we had 8 members attend. Christy, Lynn, Nicci, Pam and Sandy P. shared some of their QuiltCon experiences with the group. Pam shared a slideshow that included photos of many of the quilts on display, as well as a few shots from the '80's Dance Party.

Wrap Up:

     - Thanks to all who participated in the Zippered Pouch Swap

     - Sew In April 27th at Strawberry Patches

     - Shop Hop May 3-5

     - May program to be announced

Question of the Week

I thought this would be a good day to ask a question about recycling..

When making a quilt, have you ever used fabric that had a previous life as something else?

Would you use a bedsheet in your quilt blocks, or as a backing?

If not in a quilt, would you use it for a different sewing project?

What other "fabrics" might you use?

Where do you find them?

 

 

April Reminders

 

April Meeting - This month's meeting will be Saturday, April 20th from 2 to 4 pm at Strawberry Patches. We'll be seeing a slideshow of quilts that were displayed at QuiltCon and giving a recap of the Modern Quilt Guild's inaugural convention. We will also being having our Zippered Pouch Swap. If you would like to participate, please bring your finished, handmade, zippered pouch in a plain brown paper bag. 

April Sew In - This month's Sew In will be held next Saturday, April 27th from 10 am to 4 pm at Strawberry Patches. Bring a project to work on, and a snack to share if you'd like. Come join the fun!

Question of the Week

Let's talk about thread today

 What brand do you use?

Are you an Aurifil admirer? A Gutterman girl? A Mettler maniac? Or some other brand?

 Do you use the same brand for piecing as you do quilting?

Do you use different weights? 

What about color? Complimentary? Contrasting? Neutral?

Question of the Week

 

How would you finish this sentence......

"Nothing inspires me like..."?

*Boy have I been a slacker!I didn't realize that I've neglected to post Questions for the past two weeks. I'll have to blame it on springtime. It's got me very distracted....all the sunshine, gardening, and cleaning! :-)

~Christy

March Meeting

A lively group filled the classroom at Strawberry Patches for our monthly meeting. President Christy announced the dates for several events and quilt shows:

• Best of the Valley quilt show, April 12-14 in Lindsay: http://www.botvquilts.com/
• Home Machine Quilting Show, May 8-13 (deadline for entries April 13), and there is a new modern quilting category: http://www.hmqs.org/
• Hoffman Challenge (projects made with specific Hoffman fabrics), deadline July 19: http://www.hoffmanchallenge.com/
• Long Beach International Quilt Festival, August 2-4, Long Beach Convention Center: http://www.quilts.com/home/shows/viewer.php?page=SummerFestival
• International Quilt Market and Festival, October 31-November 3 (deadline for entries April 26, and a modern quilting category is included). Details at http://callforentriesmodernquilts.com/
• Bolts to Bindings All-Day Sew, Saturday, April 20, 2 p.m.-midnight; potluck; limited to 20 participants; call the shop for sign-ups, 873-4691.
• Heart of the Valley Shop Hop, May 3-5; 11 shops are participating from Bakersfield to Turlock: http://heartofthevalleyshophop.com/

Don't forget our sew-in on Saturday, March 23, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Bolts to Binding. Come for a little while or for the whole time! Bring whatever sewing project you'd like to work on, and a snack to share if you'd like.

Also next Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., BMQG Program Chair Pam Gavin is teaching the Science Fair quilt, from the pattern by Julie Herman (Jaybird Quilts) at Strawberry Patches. Call or visit the shop to sign up; 835-1738.

Laura led a game called, "What's in the Bag?" Twelve sewing-related items were placed in a tote bag, and players had to guess what they were by feeling the shapes inside the bag. Many creative techniques were demonstrated in trying to determine the answers.  :-)

We had an awesome show-and-tell session (see lovely projects and their lovely makers below).

Pouch-a-Palooza: Nicci demonstrated the making of a zippered pouch, offering lots of helpful hints and tricks to guide us to success. We'll have a pouch swap at the April meeting, along with a recap of QuiltCon, the inaugural conference of the Modern Quilt Guild, from our members who attended.

Wrap-Up:
Check out the free zone - sewing/quilting items that are no longer needed/wanted by their original owners may be claimed by whoever would like to adopt them. Unclaimed items should be taken home by the person who brought them.
We're accepting donations for our prize basket - sewing tools, fat quarters, etc.
Bring your finished zippered pouch in a brown paper bag to the April meeting for the swap.

Submitted by:
Laura Haywood
BMQG Vice President

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Question of the Week

 

On Saturday, I watched an episode of "Why Quilts Matter". It was Episode 5: Gee's Bend: "The Most Famous Quilts in America". It was interesting to learn about the history of Gee's Bend, the quilts, and the women who made/make them. It was also interesting to learn how the Gee's Bend Quilt exhibits came to be. You know, the whole art vs. craft debate. Anyway, all this got me thinking......

Why do quilts matter to you?

And where do you stand on the art vs. craft discussion?

Are quilt art? Are they craft?

Maybe a little of both.

(Yes, I know that is more than one question, but I'm curious to hear what others think about this.)