Tuesday, December 3, 2013

November Meeting Recap

This month we had a great group.  At the beginning of the meeting we had a guest stop by who was de-stashing her sewing space and she had some great steals and deals for us.  I think we all walked out with some new items.  We also had two new visitors to our group.  Love to see new people joining our fun bunch.

Diane shared her Swoon quilt that she completed (yay!) and talked about the quilt as you go (QAYG) method she used when creating her beautiful quilt.
QAYG:
Need - 1" strip for front of quilt, 1.5" strip for back
-Iron back strip in half, like for binding, using starch or best press.
-Take the front and back bindings and line them up with one block of the QAYG section on their respective sides.  Make sure the raw edges all line up. Stitch in place using a .25" seam allowance.
-Next, take the next block and stitch it to the front binding, lining up the un-sewn binding edge with the raw edge of the other block, right sides together.  Make sure to use a .25" seam allowance.
-Lay the block flat and then fold the back binding piece down.  Top stitch it in place, it should line up nicely with the front seam.  You could also hand stitch it down if you did not want to see any stitches.


{1/19/14  Check out this video by Susan Claire ~ she does a great job showing how it's done.  There are a couple of differences from my technique:

First - She puts the 1" strip on the back of the block, I like to use it on the front for a cleaner look.
Second -  My wider strip is 1 1/2" whereas hers is 2".  I think I'm going to start making mine 2" also.}

 (If you need a refresher I am sure Diane would be willing to help :) )

Diane also brought in to show us her stitch in the ditch binding foot and tool, Martelli Seam Guide.

We chatted as a group about a guild quilt along starting in January.  We decided that we will use the 100 Modern Quilt Blocks (Amazon link) book by Tula Pink for our QAL.  There are both paper back and kindle editions of the book.  We will pick 3 blocks each month.  You can make as many as you would like.  These blocks are great for scraps since they are made with such small pieces, finishing at 6" square.

Bonnie is our Queen Bee this month.  She asked for patriotic string blocks.  Link here.

Last month our Queen Bee was Kat.  SHe recieved such pretty blocks for her quilt.

Now for the fun part... Sew and Share!


Joani, one of our new visitors, shared with us a quilt of photos of her puppy.  Super cute! And a turkey quilt she created, perfect for this time of year.  She stitched her name into the turkey, great way to label it.

Brandy is working on this pretty quilt of 9 patch blocks.


Michelle brought a few items to the meeting.  She created this pretty leaf quilt with concentric quilting.  Then she shared with us her awesome bag (patter from Robin Quilts) that we all loved.


And Michelle brought us the mystery quilt that she created for a group of her friends.  It turned out so pretty!

Kat brought to share a quilt she created from a class where they swapped blocks.


Eileenmade this pretty circle of geese as a gift.  I love this paper piecing pattern.


Jackie brought this quilt top she just whipped up to share with us.  She is creating this quilt for her daughter.  It is  nice big size and great for baby playtime.


Carolyn brought this baby quilt she is donating to Hopeful Threads November NICU Project.  She also brought two Christmas Tree quilts that she is working on.



Carolyn also brought the completed group quilt that she finished.  All the girls in the group donated these wonky monochromatic log cabin blocks for the quilt.  Carolyn joined them together and did a fabulous job quilting it.  Each block was quilted individually.  This quilt was donated to the Jersey Shore Arts Center where it will be on display.


Diane made this gorgeous quilt that she used her QAYG method on.  I love the granny square block.  Diane also donated this quilt to the Jersey Shore Arts Center.  We are so thankful that they give us a space to meet.

 Look how pretty the back is!  It is like a second quilt!  And check on the quilting on the black blocks, so pretty!

Rose had a great month.  She brought to share her first ever completed project (larger than a pot holder!).  She used her blocks from her queen bee month and created this extremely long table runner for her dining room table.


Mary brought this really fun circle dot quilt.  It totally reminds me of twister!


Natalie brought to share her feather quilt that she just started.  The colors are so pretty!


And it was a big month for Natalie, too.  She also finished her first quilt!  Her triangle quilt turned out so good and her diagonal quilting looks so pretty.



Natalie also brought this pretty antique quilt that she was gifted by her mother in law.  The colors are so pretty and modern.  It is all hand pieced.



Bonnie showed us her string block that is an example of what she will be doing with the blocks we create for her.


One more piece of business.  At out meeting in December we will be having a swap of a small item made from fabric, quilting optional.  It can be anything you like so get creative.  We also talked about bringing cookies or something small to snack on since it will be right before Christmas.  Don't forget to bring a drink.

Hope everyone is having a great month!  See you all on December  11!


November Queen Bee Block - Bonnie

Bonnie is our lucky Queen Bee this month.  She came up with a great idea of creating a Quilt of Valor with her blocks.  She handed out at the meeting instructions and fabrics to start us all off with.



What we will be making is a string quilt block which is foundation pieced to a piece of muslin.



Place white string face up diagonally across the the muslin.
Add a red strip right side down on top of white strip.  Sew along one edge and pres flat.  Continue adding red to that side until you cover the square.
Lay a blue strip on top of the white strip.  Sew along edge and press flat.  Continue the same with the blue side.

Turn block over and trim to 6.5" square.

Link to string block tutorial.

If you have any questions just let me know!
Thanks!

Saturday, November 9, 2013

October Meeting Re-Cap

Hello Ladies!

Can you believe it, our little guild has turned 1!  It has been such a great year.  Not only did we come together as a group, but we joined the mama guild and became official members of the Modern Quilt Guild.  I don't know about you, but I think it has been a great year and I can't wait to see how we grow over this next year.



Kat is our Queen Bee this month.  Check out the post to see what she asked us to create for her this month.  

Mid-Atlantic MOD is having a quilt retreat April 3-6.  It is being held at the Doubletree by Hilton in Lancaster, PA.   There is a cite for information here.  I am going to try and go so I hope that a group of us will be able to go together.  How fun would a weekend of sewing together be!

If you are participating in the Double Wedding Ring Challenge by the NY Metro Mod Quilters it is due December 1.  Can't wait to see what you all are making for it.

The Riley Blake fabrics have come for the Riley Blake Challenge.   They have changed the due date to February 17 and there will be prizes if you are participating.  Remember, you can add any Riley Blake fabric or any solid to you project.  In order for it to be entered in the challenge, it has to be fully completed and quilted.  It can be anything though so go crazy with your projects!

Now for what we all are waiting for each month....  Show and Share!!!!

 Natalie made another hexagon for Carolyn's Queen Bee quilt.  Love the swirling effect of it!  And the lobster peeing out in the one section!

Rose brought her block for Carolyn since she was away on a cruise last month (lucky her!).


Kat brought us this Single Irish Chain quilt to share.  She said it was only a queen size (but still pretty big, haha)  Love the quilting on it and the back.  Just looks so awesome!



Kat also brought some smaller projects to share this month.  She has an ice/heat pillow here made with rice that she added cinnamon and cloves to for a soothing smell as you ice or warm a sore area.  It is a great boo boo pillow.   And then she shared with us this great travel tic-tac-toe board that she made with a simple 9 patch and some shapes she picked up at the store for pieces.  So great for the kid in the car!  I can see this with other types of games or things for entertainment in the car.



Rose brought a pineapple block to share with us made with some bright batik fabrics.  

 Since it is almost Halloween, Carolyn brought her haunted house to share with us.  THe shutters on the house open up with a surprise inside.  She also brought a hand stitching project that she had been working on as a wedding gift.


Natalie has been working on her Swoon quilt.  She went with a grey background that really brings a modern twist to the other fabrics she has chosen.  The look awesome!  Can't wait to see more as it comes together.

Eileen has jumped on board the Jelly Roll Jam quilt craze by the Fat Quarter Shop.  Her quilt looks great in the pretty Moda fabrics,

 

 
 
 And here are the log cabin blocks that were brought for Rose's Queen Bee month.  They all look great!


That is all I have for this month.  I hope to see you all at our meeting on November 13.