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

September meeting

My apologies for the late post on our BMQG September meeting. Life at the Haywood home has been fast-paced!

Vice president Christy kicked off September's meeting with a test of our members' coordination, as we played a game of "pick up the buttons in the glass jar with chopsticks." We played in teams, and had a great time chasing those slippery buttons and occasionally catching one!

Announcements: Nicci (and possibly others) have quilts on display at the Kern County Fair (Nicci got third place for one of her quilts!). The Pacific International Quilt Festival is coming up Oct. 11-14, and the Modern Quilt Guild's QuiltCon is Feb. 21-24. Our sew-in this month is at Bolts to Bindings. Please support our local quilt shops that allow us to use their classrooms for our sew-ins. (We had good attendance and a great time at Bolts to Binding this month - gave me a great reason to bring Smith's cookies!)

And in some very exciting news, a new magazine, Modern Quilts Unlimited, will feature the Bakersfield Modern Quilt Guild in its premiere issue! Check out their website at mqumag.com.

Elections for new officers will be held at the January meeting. Our president, Lynn, will post the duties for each office soon on the blog.

Our October meeting will feature a tutorial by Nicci on prairie points and how to feature them in your quilting projects.

Show and tell featured the awesome work of several of our members (see photos below). It's always amazing to get an up-close look at the talent and skills of our members.

Christy demonstrated the spiderweb block with Halloween-themed fabrics and gave us a detailed handout so we don't forget any of the steps. Great job, Christy!

Our next meeting will be October 20, 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. at Strawberry Patches. See you there!

Laura
BMQG Secretary

Spider Web Block Tutorial

 At our September meeting, I did a demonstration of the Spider Web Quilt Block. It is a simple string quilt block with several variations. I chose Halloween fabrics and a black background to make a Halloween table quilt. (Not sure if it'll be done for Halloween this year or not though!)

For the demo, I made a tutorial handout showing some of the steps involved in making this block. There have been a few people who couldn't make it to the meeting that wanted to see how the block is made, so I thought I'd share the tutorial here. At the bottom of this post, I've listed a few other online tutorials for the Spider Web Block.

If you make something using this tutorial, I'd love to see it!

~Christy

Spider Web Block Tutorial

1.   Cut a variety of strips from the fabrics chosen to make the spider webs. Varying widths from 1 ¼” to 2” work best. (You can use yardage or scraps for these strings.)

2.   To create a “kite” template, cut a paper square 8.5” by 8.5” and then cut it diagonally into two triangles. 

 

3. Using one triangle to create your kite, draw a line ¼” above the long side of the triangle. Find the center of this line and then make a hash mark ¼” away on each side. From the tip of the triangle, measure 2.5” on each side and make a mark. Make a diagonal line from the mark on the triangle sides to the appropriate mark along the bottom line. Cut along the diagonal lines to make your kite template. (I traced this paper template onto a piece of plastic from a food container to have a more durable template.)

4.   Trace kite template onto your background fabric and cut out kites.

5.   Cut your paper foundation into an 8.5” by 8.5” square, and then cut it diagonally into two triangles. Cut an appropriate number of foundation squares for whatever size finished quilt you would like. (These blocks finish at 8”x8”.)

6.   Using a small amount of washable glue stick, attach a fabric kite to each paper triangle.

7. Lay your first strip, facedown, on top of your fabric kite, lining up the raw edges. Make sure that this strip extends far enough beyond the paper foundation to cover it once it is flipped.

8. Stitch using ¼” seam allowance.

9.   Flip the strip right side up and press.

10. Add your second strip facedown, on top of the first strip. Align raw edges and stitch with 1/4” seam allowance.

11. Continue the stitch and flip method until you have covered both sides of the triangle.

12. Flip your finished triangle over on your cutting mat. Line up your ruler with the edges of your paper foundation and use your rotary cutter to trim off the excess strips.

13.       Remove the paper foundation. (This can be messy, so have a trash can handy! I found it easiest to complete several triangles and then remove all the paper.)

 14.       To create a quilt with the spider webs in an off set pattern, you will join two triangles together along the long side. Line up the kite points and anywhere else along the seam that you wish. Stitch with a ¼” seam allowance.

15. Press seam open to reduce bulk. (There are a lot of seams to deal with while pressing. I recommend starting in the center and pressing out towards the corners.)

16. Square up your blocks. Join your blocks in rows and then join the rows to complete your quilt top.

Tips and advice:

• Use a walking foot when using a paper foundation for your blocks.

• Using a shorter stitch length and a larger needle size will make the paper foundation easier to remove. 
• Try to use a larger strip as your last one on the triangle. The skinnier strips are harder to deal with at the ends when you put the triangles together. 
• When removing the paper, try not to stretch or distort your block.   
•  Use your thumbnail to hold the first few stitches in place when removing the paper foundation. 
• Make sure to PRESS, not IRON, to avoid distorting your block. 
• Cut LOTS of strips. You’ll need more than you think.

 Other online tutorials

http://alamodefabric.blogspot.com/2010/06/spider-web-quilt-block-tutorial.html

http://quilt-it.blogspot.com/2009/01/tutorial-spiderweb.html

http://sewmamasew.com/blog2/2010/04/spiderweb-block-sew-along/

http://tallgrassprairiestudio.blogspot.com/2010/04/spiderweb-tutorial-for-selvages.html

http://www.jaybirdquilts.com/2010/07/spiderweb-potholders-tutorial.html

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

Registration for QuiltCon Opens Tomorrow!

Just a quick reminder that registration for QuiltCon opens tomorrow morning. Details are on the website at http://www.quiltcon.com under the heading of Conference. 

August BMQG Meeting

President Lynn started the meeting by announcing that the Kern County Fair is September 19-30, and a couple of our members have entered quilts. We know they'll do well!

Lynn also announced that the guild will soon be accepting volunteers for the positions of President, Vice President, Secretary and Program Chair. We are a small but enthusiastic group, and we'll need people to step up and help out in these positions if we want to survive as a guild.

Lynn shared several books about modern quilting, and some modern magazines as well.

Several members had completed projects for show and tell (see photos below).

Jane demonstrated the Hickory Nut ruler/template set. These tools work well for mug rugs, or to sew the "nuts" into a larger item.

A door prize was drawn, and Gwen was the lucky winner!

Pam showed some great uses for the Polaroid blocks that have become so popular lately, such as a pillow with regular binding and an envelope closure. Blocks can be set at an angle for more interest and movement. Several members brought bags with a number of Polaroid blocks in them, and each person drew a block from each bag. Lynn suggested that each participants make whatever they like with the blocks and bring that item back for show and tell at the September meeting.

Lynn reminded everyone of the monthly sew-in at Strawberry Patches on Saturday, Aug. 25.

Next meeting: Saturday, September 15, 2-4 p.m. at Strawberry Patches.

 

A Monday Morning Question

BMQG member, Nicci, asked a question on our Facebook page, and I thought I'd share it with you. Chime in and tell us what you do!

When you make a snuggle quilt for someone, do you wash it before giving it to the recipient?