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
