Madrona Road Challenge Update

We hope you are all working on creating something fun with your bundle of Madrona Road fabrics! The challenge is to use the fat 1/8th bundles, combined with solid fabrics of your choosing, to create anything you'd like. You may also use any colorway or combination of the Madrona Road line. The Modern Quilt Guild has requested that you post pictures of your progress and your finished projects to the flickr group set up for the challenge. Michael Miller will be checking the flickr group pictures, and they may select some of the projects for display in their booth at Quiltcon. 

QUESTION OF THE WEEK

We had a great tutorial at our Saturday meeting! We learned how to use prairie points to add a little pizzazz to tea towels. I'm going to be making some for Christmas and hostess gifts! What quick gifts are you making for Christmas this year?

Curve It Up Quilt Along

Nicci shared her curved churn dash block at our meeting today. Some of you asked me to post the information about the Curve It Up Quilt Along with the Quick Curve Ruler. The instructions for the block can be found on the blog, Sew Kind of Wonderful. Every two weeks, Jenny will post a new block made with her Quick Curve Ruler. If you want to get in on the quilt along, you can order the ruler on the Sew Kind of Wonderful website. You'll receive the ruler in just a few days! You can also check out the Flickr group for the Curve It Up Quilt Along. It's great to see how different the blocks look, depending on the fabrics used! 

Question of the Week

When our quilt guild got started almost two years ago, the most readily available line of solid cottons was Kona by Robert Kaufman. Since then, many more companies have released their own solid lines. Chime in and tell us what solid line you like to use! Please include "textured" solids like cross weaves, linen, etc. 

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

Cheers For Our Members!

The last couple of months have been busy for the BMQG! As the president of this group, I get a lot of joy from watching our group grow and expand their quilting horizons. I would like to acknowledge a few of our members, and let you know what they have been up to:

Liz, Pam, and Nicci, all participated in making blocks for the MQG QuiltCon Challenge. As each of their blocks was displayed on the Modern Quilt Guild homepage, our BMQG family rejoiced for them! It was quite exciting, I tell ya! 

Pam continues to be our Swap Queen, participating in a variety of swaps and bees this year. It has been fun to see what she makes and also receives in these swaps! Pam posts her projects, and the things she receives from fellow swappers, on our guild's Flickr page. If you don't yet know about Flickr, you can join by creating a Yahoo account. It's free, it's easy, and Flickr will open up a whole new world of inspiration for you! Go to flickr.com to get started. If you have trouble maneuvering through getting an account set up, e-mail me at LongarmLynn@aol.com. I'm happy to help walk you through it!

The online swap groups are a huge part of the modern quilting movement, and I encourage you to get involved in one. Meg, who has also participated in several swaps and bees, wrote a great blog post about how to get involved in online swaps. Dip your toe into that water, and see how you like it!

The Kern County Fair was last week, and Nicci won a 3rd place ribbon on a quilt of her own design! She used a variety of Tula Pink Fabrics in the quilt, so she named it Tula Zig. Inspired by the style of Angela Walters, I had the pleasure of quilting it. We both enjoyed seeing it hang at the fair with a ribbon on it! Congratulations, Nicci! You did a beautiful job! (We'll all get to see it next month!)

Christy has completed several projects this past year, and I am always encouraged by her generous spirit when making quilts for charity. I missed our last meeting, because I was on vacation, so I didn't get to see her Polaroid quilt. I did, however, see pictures of it. It's adorable! She is donating the quilt for a fundraiser. Thank you for leading by example, and encouraging others to give, Christy! 

More exciting news for our group, is that we will be the featured guild in the premier issue of Modern Quilts Unlimited! I was thrilled beyond words when Vicki Anderson called me to say that she wanted to feature our guild! I got to write the article, and I sent Vicki no less than a dozen pictures to choose from. I have no idea which ones she chose, so it'll be a surprise for everyone! I also talked with Vicki, at length, about her vision for the magazine and what to expect. I was so danged excited after that conversation, I was bouncing off the walls for the rest of the day! I know of her other magazine, Machine Quilting Unlimited, so I know the quality of magazine that her company puts out. This one is going to be fabulous! If you haven't yet subscribed, I suggest you get on with it! The premier issue will be out next month! FYI, Machine Quilting Unlimited is geared for longarm and domestic machine quilters, so there's something for everyone in that magazine, too! If you want to check it out, Barnes and Noble carries it. 

Pacific International Quilt Festival in Santa Clara, is October 11 - 14. This is a fabulous show! It features quilts of all styles, and you'll be inspired more than you can imagine! The vendors are fabulous, and the classes always get rave reviews! If you have the chance to attend, go for it! 

A reminder that Quilt Con is next February, and they are calling for quilt entries. I know of a couple of members who are considering entering quilts. There's still time to get your entry in, so give it a go! You'll find all the details on the Quilt Con website. 

I want to give a shout out and a big thank you to our local quilt shops for all of their support! Strawberry Patches and Bolts to Binding have been instrumental in our growth! They provide space for our meetings and sew-ins, and they are both great about ordering the things we need for our various projects. You'll find a variety of modern fabrics in these shops, as well as traditional fabrics, books and patterns, for those of you who prefer that style. Suzanne and Jeri, we couldn't do this without you! 

To all of our members, visitors, and fellow board members, you all inspire me to do more, make more, give more, and laugh more. I appreciate your involvement and your encouragement, not only to me, but to each other. This is a great group, and I'm proud to be a part of it! 

Until next we meet,

Lynn

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? 

Meeting Wrap Up

Last Saturday's meeting was all about adding Piping Hot Binding to your projects. Susan Cleveland has an awesome ruler for measuring and trimming your piping, and it's well worth having in your basket of nifty gadgets! Susan has also created a couple of great video tutorials on YouTube. Be sure to watch both tutorials to learn the tips and tricks of adding this fun trim to your quilts! 

As always, we also had a great show 'n tell! Cindy made an opportunity quilt for Relay for Life. She used all of the soothing colors of water and added some appliqued water lilies to it. On the back, she added a panel that lists all of the things that cancer cannot do! What a great, encouraging piece of art!

Nicci shared her Daisies and Bubblegum quilt. It's a beautiful girly quilt! The tutorial for this quilt can be found on the blog of Cluck Cluck Sew. 

Liz is expecting a little boy in July, and he was more than happy to serve as mama's design wall! Liz drafted the block pattern and is using luscious Kaffe Fassett fabrics. 

Mark your calendars for next Saturday, April 28th, for our monthly sew-in. We will be meeting from 10:00 - 4:00 at Strawberry Patches. Bring a project, something to snack on, and join us for a day of fun! 

Until next we meet,

Lynn

President, BMQG

Book Review - Quilts from the House of Tula Pink

Two days ago I received a wonderful surprise. My signed copy of “Quilts from The House of Tula Pink” had arrived! I am in love with the colorful and delightful whimsy of Tula Pink’s fabrics and this book is just more of the same ….. The cover is beautiful and there are full page photos of her newest quilts. The photography took my breath away! The book features ten quilts, along with ten “companion” projects for each quilt.

The projects vary from the expected pillows to a lampshade and even a shower curtain. Personal notes are sprinkled throughout. Included are various techniques in quilting, such as half-square triangles, fussy cutting, scrappy fusing as well as the basics of squaring up, binding and color selection. After attending the BMQG class “Color Play” taught by Nancy Rink, I can really appreciate Tula’s explanation of color and pattern combinations. She encourages the reader to design their own quilt and discusses her own design process. The importance of choosing the right quilting is emphasized as a key to creating “the voice” of each quilt.

“To the quilter, fabric is art.” p. 35. My very favorite thing about this book is that I felt like I was sitting down with Tula herself. She is an artist and encourages the artists in each of us to make these projects our own – to allow ourselves to break the rules and have fun!

This book review was written by BMQG member, Lana Elfstrom. You can read more about Lana at her blog: http://www.elfqueenof5.com

Sew-In Saturday

Sixteen BMQG members and friends shared quality sewing, chatting, shopping and pizza-eating time at our February sew-in at Strawberry Patches. It was great to have 3 new people join us for the fun! The room was full of creative energy and lots of laughter! Thanks go to Strawberry Patches for hosting, and Pam, Bob and Nicci for providing food and drink. We're already looking forward to the next one!

Sew-In Saturday

It's time for Sew-In Saturday! Woot woot! If you've been wondering what the Bakersfield Modern Quilt Guild is all about, pop into the sew-in and find out! Bring something to work on, or just drop by to visit. We are a very relaxed and friendly group, and we welcome sewers and quilters of all levels and styles. Tomorrow's sew-in is at Strawberry Patches, 6433 Ming Avenue, from 10:00 - 4:00. Be there or be square! ;-)

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

Color Play Class With Nancy Rink

Award-winning quilter, author, designer and teacher, Nancy Rink, will be teaching a color theory class for our guild on Saturday, December 10, 10:00 - 3:00, at Strawberry Patches.

If you have signed up for the Color Play class and don't yet have your supply list, please e-mail me at LongarmLynn@aol.com, and I'll e-mail it to you. The Ultimate 3 in 1 Color Tool by Joen Wolfrom, is required for the class. The Joen Wolfrom book, Color Play, is recommended, but not required. As of this morning, Strawberry Patches had 8 of the color tools and one copy of the book left. The class is a half day, hands-on workshop, and lunch will be provided. (The class is full) *Please bring small/medium cutting boards, as we will be sitting 4 to each table. If you don't have one small enough, there will be a few extras available.*

I look forward to spending time with my BMQG friends, learning skills that we can all use in our future quilting adventures!

Lynn

Your Friendly Neighborhood Program Coordinator

October Meeting Habitat Challenge Reveal!

We all started with a project that most of us thought " what do we do with this".  Watching the transformations of this "out of our element fabric", forming into quilt projects has been quite an amazing journey for our guild. Creative genius came out of each member with an interpretation of what this fabric spoke to them, and resulted in the best eye candy a quilter could ask for.

Our next meeting Saturday October 15th from 2pm to 4pm over at Strawberry Patches quilt shop will be just that. The long awaited reveal of this several month long project. We are very excited for everyone to share the story of their journey making these quilts.

We also have a new swap reveal planned so come on down for a bit of fun, and bring a snack if you'd like to. We can't wait to see everyone on Saturday!

Sew - In Saturday

If you missed the last Sew-In over at the Quilt and Sew, here is your chance to come have some fun with the group. Bring your machine, hand projects (even hexies) or whatever project your working on. I won't name names, but I saw someone hemming pants last time. *wink* *wink*

That is what this day is for! Mingle with the group, get to know one another, and sew anything you want!

Robin our hostess is awesome, she has all the tables set up, 3 irons with boards for you to use as well as a cutting table large enough to accommodate us all. She has also let me know that many bolts of Kona came in last week for us to play with as well as a few new prints to.

March 12th 2011 10am -4 pm  Saturday Open Sewing Mingle
Location :: Quilt and Sew
3510 Allen Road #102
Bakersfield, CA 93314
(661) 589-8863

Hope to see you there

Our next BMQG meeting will be on Learning Improv and will be held March 19th at the Strawberry Patch.

As always, please email me if you have any questions or simply leave a comment.

Upcoming Events

Excitement is growing I have received another box of great goodies for you all. I am excited to meet everyone. Here is a list of the schedule so far.

January 22nd 2011 Saturday Meet and Greet. 2-4 pm
Location :: Strawberry Patches
6439 Ming Ave # C
Bakersfield, CA 93309-6713
(661) 835-1738

See the link for details on this event

February 19th 2011 Saturday First Meeting. 2-4 pm
Location :: Strawberry Patches
6439 Ming Ave # C
Bakersfield, CA 93309-6713
(661) 835-1738

The first meeting will open topics that relate to you as the meeting attendee. We will be sharing quilts, discussing topics and laughing lots.

We hope to see everyone there.



February 26th 2011 10am -4 pm  Saturday Open Sewing Mingle
Location :: Quilt and Sew
3510 Allen Road #102
Bakersfield, CA 93314
(661) 589-8863

This will be our opportunity for a chance to bring your sewing machines down to teach, learn, and watch. We also plan on doing lots of sharing and chatting. Great chance to mingle with other fellow modern quilters. Robin has a spacious studio room that she is donating for this event.

All in all there will be one meeting per month, and one day for open sewing. you have a chance to get together with everyone twice a month. We will see you there.

Mark Your Calendars

 (quilt By:: Elizabeth Hartman of Oh Fransson)

It's that time.... The New Year brings new adventures to Bakersfield. The most anticipated wait is almost over. Our first meetings have been scheduled and we have all been planning some wonderful things for you in 2011.

The Bakersfield Chapter of the Modern quilt guild will be holding a Meet and Greet January 22nd from 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm at the Strawberry Patches Fabric Shoppe. Please visit the sidebar add for the address if you are not familiar with the shop, or you can email me directly at sewfantasticblog@yahoo.com for directions and information.

The Plan::

This meeting is to get to know everyone who is interested in modern quilting. Weather your a seasoned quilter or new to quilting. We have some great samples of fabrics provided by sponsors to share with everyone as well as some sharing of quilts. Please feel free to invite your family and friends to the meet and greet. This is a FREE meeting for everyone and will be loaded with modern inspiration.

We would also like to ask that you bring in quilts or projects that you are working on whether they are finished or not, traditional or modern, to share with the group. Small refreshments will be provided and this meeting is intended to be fun and inspirational to everyone.

If you have never quilted before, but want to learn. This is your chance to learn through our new Modern Guild meetings.

There will be lots to talk about, and much to share. We are asking that you try to RSVP so we can get a good estimate of seats that are needed. Please email me at sewfantasticblog@yahoo.com or RSVP by leaving a comment that you are attending.

We look forward to meeting everyone, and sharing our love of quilting.