We have a NEW website!!!

WOO! HOO!!!

We are so excited to report our new, FABULOUS Website is up and running. 

We will no longer update this site, therefore we urge you to add our NEW address to your contacts...

www.jerseyshoremqg.com

COME JOIN THE PARTY!

Lessons Learned from Our Sister Guilds...

Lessons Learned... by Deb Hathaway Hunter

    In the spirit of friendship… and just being curious, I thought it would be fun to visit our sister modern quilt guilds and see what they were up to. Bonny and Kat decided to join me on my adventure.

First off… when I originally thought of this I didn’t check the calendar. I had no clue that the 3^rd week of each month was so popular for quilters! Philly Guild meets on the 3^rd Tuesday, we meet on the 3^rd Wednesday, and North Jersey is the 3^rd Thursday. So yes… that meant 3 nights in a row we attended a guild meeting. I don’t know about you all… but I’m getting to an age where one outing at night a week does me in! Three in a row was a bit much. However… I enjoyed every minute!

Philly Modern Quilt Guild was first on the hit list. I attended a meeting of theirs about 6 years ago when they were meeting in a youth group recreation hall. Jan (owner of Pennington Quilt Works) and I were considering the idea of forming a Modern Quilt Guild based out of her shop and went to see what all the hoopla was about. That trip was the seed that started the Central Jersey Modern Quilt Guild.

Anticipating the drive to be about an hour and a half, we left early enough to allow stopping for dinner along the way. Bonny spotted an Italian place along the route which ended up being pretty good.

Wow! The Philly Guild has certainly GROWN in the past 6 years!!! There were over 40 members in attendance and now meet in a spacious classroom on the Salus University Campus in Elkins Park, PA.

There were quilters of all levels and styles. They run 2 Bees… one for beginning quilters, who showed off their positive/negative churn dash blocks, and the other for more advanced sewers sharing their Snail Trail blocks which were either paper pieced or patched depending on the choice of the maker. The most important lessons we took from this were the ‘rules’ to joining the Bee. Only 12 members per Bee were allowed… and each member was committed to participating in all 12 months by making 2 blocks each month. It’s a solid commitment… with a completion check off list to hold everyone accountable.

This guild has a Block of the (every other) Month Lottery. This month’s selection was “Be Good to Your Heart” by Amy Smart (www.diaryofaquilter.com). Our travel group was told of this before hand in case we wanted to participate. You write your name on a slip of paper, one for each block you made. A name is drawn and the winner gets them all! This month’s winner received 13 blocks to make into an adorable Valentine quilt. Both Kat and I donated our blocks… Bonny finished hers into a mini quilt and donated it to Rebecca’s Reel Quilters as an auction item for their upcoming Quilt Show in May. The rest of the year is already planned out… here is the link if you want to see what they are: http://www.phillymodernquiltguild.com/p/bi-monthly-block-raffle.html

Their governing style is the same as most guilds… President, Vice President, etc… However they have added one more little tweak, for the sake of continuity (and smooth transition) only 2 executive board positions are on the ballot each year. Food for thought.

After a 10 minute snack break the meeting resumes with their scheduled program. Usually they divide up into 2 demo groups for instruction on some exciting technique or program, and switch after 20 minutes. Both groups get the full value of each program. The night we attended however was not ‘usual’. Instead, they swapped their Holiday gifts.

It was explained to me that November and December are super crazy months, so they decided to swap their holiday gifts each January instead. Using an online App named Elfster, whoever chooses to participate goes online and fills in the questionnaire. Elfster assigns each participant with a receiver’s name and preferred ‘likes’. You may then ask your receiver specific questions anonymously. The parameters the guild set up were… 1. Do not spend more than $35 and 2. One item must be handmade. Each gift was absolutely AMAZING… and received with such gratitude and appreciation. The entire process was heart warming! Personally I drooled over a Kaffe Fassett scarf that was handmade from Rayon. I have been searching the Internet for a source, but so far have come up empty handed.

Show and Tell ended the night… and OH what a sight! Speak about inspiration!!!! Everything from adorable baby quilts to magnificent masterpieces, held up for all to see. Our little brains were reeling with future quilt ideas!

The drive home was un-eventful… until Kat realized she was locked out of her house!!! Uh-oh! Her trusty police department sent a cute officer to the rescue. All in all in was an adventure.

Next up, The North Jersey Quilt Guild whose meetings are held in Cedar Grove, NJ. Kat was familiar with the area, so volunteered to drive this time.  Originally this group met in a local store, Rock, Paper, Scissors… and have since outgrown the space and recently re-located.  Welllllll…. Once I heard there was a cute quilt shop to visit, I just HAD to add that to our itinerary. Yes, of course I found some yardage I couldn’t live without… AND at 40% off!!! Kat joined me in the thrill of the hunt, while Bonny showed masterful restraint.

What’s New Jersey without a diner??? Kat remembered eating at Park West Diner for lunch many times, so for old memory’s sake we agreed to go there for dinner. Yum!!! There’s nothing like diner food!!! It was difficult to select from the vast menu… but Bonny and I made quick decisions and put the menu aside. Kat however wanted something specific, which apparently is only on the lunch menu. A quick call to a friend of hers… who happened by coincidence to be eating at the same diner that exact moment, got her what she wanted.

Needless to say… we were a little late getting to the meeting.

I was warned by their President, Daniela to expect a bit of confusion as they were meeting for the very first time in their new location. Following the phone GPS directions we drove ‘in’ the ‘out’ driveway of the parking lot, then we walked through the back door instead of the front door to the church. Eventually we made it to our seats and were warmly welcomed. So in the end, we seemed to be the ones who were confused.

The meeting began with Old Business, New Business, Membership, and announcements. The mention of the Mighty Lucky Quilting Club a few members had joined interested me, so I did some research when I got home. For $5 a month you get an in-depth quilting technique taught by top instructors. There’s an option of paying $50 for the entire year in addition to picking and choosing your months. It’s kind of awesome and I think I might try it. Check it out… http://luckyspool.com/products/mighty-lucky-quilting-club

I was impressed with the Charity Committee. A local man had contacted the guild explaining his wife, Myra had passed away and he would like to donate her fabric (4 carloads full!) to be used for Charity work. The Committee created bundles of co-ordinating fabrics as best they could for guild members to take and make into quilt tops. If you didn’t want to quilt it, or bind it, you were encouraged to return it for someone else to do the next step. As long as a finished quilt resulted, they didn’t care how many people worked on it. During Show and Tell a few members talked about how they ‘channeled’ Myra while using her fabric. Very cool!

During break you could take a look at the FREE table. The rules here were… place on the table anything you no longer wanted/needed. Any member was invited to give it a new home. At the end of the night, if it was still there, you needed to take it back. Kat picked up some yardage of heavyweight burgundy felt (which the previous owner was so thrilled she was taking that she went out to her car in the freezing cold parking lot to retrieve more to give her)… and I scored a quilt book with TWO quilts that inspired me.

The program for the evening was a trunk show… of a guild member! It’s something new this guild is trying. There are so many wonderfully talented quilters they thought it would be nice if each did a truck show of their own things. Andrea was the very first presentation. She was originally from Austria and began quilting here in the US in 2005. Her stuff was AWESOME!!! She began her truck show with the very first project she ever made… a paper pieced pillow… with instructions to the group NOT to tug on the top aggressively, as she didn’t know anything about ¼” seams… and believed hers were 1/8^” if she was lucky. Her creativity and talent were awe inspiring, but it was her humor that stole the show.

A tough act to follow… was Show and Tell. Four guild members stood together and shared their own Holiday Swap. Each were instructed to use the same reversible tote bag pattern, and fill it with 3 to 4 gifts. Ahem… one member we learned never follows the rules, and put in 6 items. Again, just as the Philly Guild proved, these gifts were just as special and amazing. One recipient even received 2 pair of hand knit socks. Show and Tell continued with not only the display of many beautiful quilts… but the heart-warming stories behind them. Ohs and ahs could be heard throughout the room.

During our own meeting, sandwiched between these two, we discussed the issue of whether our Facebook page should be public or private. This guild solved the problem by having two pages… one of each! What a simple solution to a new generation problem.

I personally enjoyed these trips immensely. Not only for meeting and sharing with like minded quilters and experiencing sister guilds, but also to get to know two of our very own guild members a little bit better. The time shared in the car gabbing about our lives and views, and taking the time to eat together is so rewarding.  I have learned that Kat could use some help setting up her Grace Frame and putting together an IKEA unit to get her sewing space in order (I’ll make an all points bulletin for these tasks in the near future) and that Bonny loves to count down the distance before you have to make a turn (600 feet, 500 feet, 50, 10, 5, NOW!). I wouldn’t know these things any other way.

The next road trip is planned for Saturday, February 6^th to the Michener Museum in Doylestown, PA. Please join us if you can.

I’m hoping to plan more ‘road trips’ in the future. Perhaps a ‘Shop with Me’ to Pennington Quilt Works, or a longer trip to the Amish Country in Lancaster to spend the day fabric shopping will be announced. Is there some place YOU want to go?? Let me know, and we will get a group together! We take turns driving so not any one person bares the expense… however, if too many want to come along I am not opposed to hiring a bus.

Woo! Hoo! Quilters on the go!!!

Breaking News!!!!

Breaking News!!!

Jersey Shore Modern Quilt Guild has a NEW email address!!!

Attention all members... please swap this new address with the old one in your contacts:

jsmodernqg@gmail.com

Thank you!

Upcoming Meeting!

Are you all excited to begin another fun filled year with the Jersey Shore Modern Quilt Guild???

Woo! Hoo! Let's get this party started!

Our next meeting:

THIS Wednesday, January 20, 2016 from 7pm to 9pm in the Jersey Shore Arts Center Building. If you are new to us... it is located at 66 Main St in Ocean Grove, NJ 07756.

As of this posting the Agenda has not been made public as yet, but I'm sure Carolyn has something wonderful in mind for us!

Don't forget to bring along a 'Show and Tell'! That's the most fun of each meeting, and why we take time out of our busy lives to gather... and get our 'quilt fix'!

Road Trip:

There's still room for anyone who would like to join in on the car ride to the Michener Art Museum in  Doylestown, PA to view Blanket Statements... a display of new quilts by Kaffe Fassett, as well as Historical quilts from the collection provided be The Quilt Museum and Gallery in York, UK. The date has been set for Saturday February 6, 2016... no exact time has been decided upon as yet, but rumor has it there's an awesome quilt shop near by. Plan on an all day excursion!

If you prefer to 'go it alone'... then do your best to visit this Thursday, Jan 21st.  Meg Cox, Liza Lucy, and Mark Lipinski will be there doing hand stitching demos from 1pm to 3pm.

Last Meeting:

AND... if you were unable to make it to December's meeting, here's what you missed!

JSMQG December 16 2015

MINUTES:
In attendance:
Debbie L Bonny C Lara G Phyllis G Sherre M Carolyn B June P Brandy B Helen F Rose B Michelle L Kat Q Debbie H Eilen D Joani B

1. Dues were voted on to be $40 a month, and a number of people turned in checks to Sherre as our new Treasurer Shannon Silver was not in attendance. Make checks out to JSMQG and bring to the January meeting. We had enough in our treasure to pay for our membership in the National Guild at the 16-25 member level
   
2. Nominations for offices were voted on and the suggested slate was elected: President Sherre MacClellan
   Vice President Brandy Borden
   Secretary Bonny Collins
   Treasurer Shannon Silver
   

3. Confirmed offices/appointments:
Charity Eileen DiPietro, Natalie Syracuse, Helen Foster
Program Carolyn Braun (who will work off the surveys we completed of our
interests and skills)
4. Location: We have discussed changing our venue several ties. Tonight we voted to meet as follows:
Monthly business meetings will be held at the Ocean Grove Arts Center, with possible changes of venue in the hottest months of the summer when there is no AC.Cost is $25
Sew-ins will be held monthly at the Reform Church in Colts Neck, which Sherre belongs to. We can probably move there for the hot months. They will guarantee availability of space for the sew-ins. Those attending sew-ins should be prepared to pay $5 for the time—any additional funds will be supplied by JSMQG. Sherre will check into whether we can keep some items there, like an ironing board and iron, table risers
Looking at a map with all our homes marked on it, the locations are both accessible as easily by most of the members.
An advantage of remaining connected to the Arts Center is its focus on the ARTS, the potential for quilt shows to be held there, and the beneficial outreach in connection with the town —such as “quilt-ins” on the boardwalk to help publicize our existence.

JSMQG December 16 2015

5. Our Improv with Intent blocks were sewn into a quilt top at the last meeting, and Sherre took it home to sandwich and long-arm quilt, It looks good, and each person’s contribution melds in well with all the others.Sherre put two extra blocks on the back, and the quilting looks great. Carolyn will make binding form the scraps and bind it. Then it is to be used for charity, so Eileen is on the alert for an appropriate recipient.
6. We declared an intermission while everyone helped themselves to the holiday feats—a combination of fresh fruit, dips and veggies, dips and corn chips, whiskey cake made with rum, cookies, fudge, and banana blueberry cake. And more!
7. Kat surprised us all with earrings she had purchased on eBay. Nice ones!
8. We exchanged pin cushions and Bonny took pictures of each person with the pin cushion she received. Should we create a directory of pictures to identify the members? Several attend- ing were at a loss as to many names and felt this would be helpful. Along with name tags written LARGE.
9. Queen Bee—Carolyn collected several of the striped triangles she asked for at the last meet- ing. Brady is Queen Been for January.
10 Sharing:
Phyllis showed a dramatic red, white, and black quilt for charity about 5’ square
Phyllis showed several mini quilts made form orphans donated to RRQ which will be put in the Small Quilt Raffle for their spring show May 13-14 at Poricy Park. One had tiny pinwheels, and another had sixteen-square blocks about one inch each.
Helen showed a wonky midsize quilt about 5’ square in orange, and shades of blue for charity.
Helen showed us a 2’ x 2’ rug she knit from strips of leftover fabric scraps. Thick and cozy. We need a class in this!
Kat showed a black velvet purse she made with Christmas themes embroidered on the back and the flap, The gold shoulder chain set it off as a formal bag.
Brandy showed a light and dark blue and white seafaring quilt top about 6x6’ with ap- pliqued anchors on white squares.
Carolyn showed a Winnie the Pooh charity quilt about 4x4’ square; a red, pink, and white mini quilt in log cabin pattern; a mini quilt with orange balls in random sizes and patterns on a yellow background; a black and white, silver and gold with swirls and dots about 3 x 3’ for charity; several pillow cases for pillow forms, each with a central Christmas motif, sf s 5 x 5’ coverlet in a large V patterns using pinks, greens and blues. This one would be good for a class!
Sherre showed a black and white with squares and rectangles she donated for charity; a closely quilted mini quilt with vintage sampler patterns; A while background with mini-pinwheels and squares on the front, and the back used clocks of the supplied fabrics in a grid; and a dis- appearing 9-patch with charity fabric in dark blue and wild colors.
11. Phyllis mentioned an online challenge that comes up weekly with Moda fabrics, “Little Shop” whose patterns can be downloaded
12. Eileen mentioned a Riley Blake fabric challenge for a modern quilt which cones available at 10AM Saturdays. The fabric is shipped to the quilt, not the individuals

JSMQG December 16 2015

13. Sherre closed the meeting with a discussion of us needing some substance at our meet- ings. Business, sharing, and then a learning segment each month. We have many talents and skills among us which if we had a focused session, we could learn from. Many of the sharing projects are teachable!
Our next meeting will be January 20. Queen Bee Brandy?
Do we have a line-up of Queen Bees or is it time to set one up?
We need to come up with a list of programs scheduled for the next several months so the mem- bership can be prepared.
Bonny Collins, Secretary 

FaceBook:

Don't forget to check out our Facebook Group... Jersey Shore Modern Quilt Guild. Lot's of fun sharing is going on there.

New Year! New news!!!

Are you all ready to dust off your sewing machines, gather your rotary cutter, and get down to the business of creating AWESOME quilts??? Great! Let's start off with a SEW-IN in a NEW LOCATION!!!

Sew-Ins

Sew-Ins will be held the 2nd Saturday of the month... EVERY MONTH, without fail... from 10:00am to 6:00pm.
NEW LOCATION is... Colts Neck Reformed Church located at 72 County Rd 537 in Colts Neck, NJ (not far from Delicious Orchards... YUM!)
The cost is $5... payable each time you attend.  In the past, sew-in attendees pulled money together and purchased a pizza for sustenance. We aren't quite sure how this is going to play out yet in the new location so it might be wise to pack a snack... with plenty to share :-)
So... gather your machine and supplies, pack a snack, put $5 in your pocket... and join fellow members for a full day of quilting fun.

Road Trip/s

From time to time a few of us decide to jump in a car and do something fun. It's a great way to enjoy each other's company outside of the monthly meetings and sew-ins. Fabric sales, quilt shows, and Girl's Night Out at Laurita Winery have been a few 'last minute' excursions.
An email blast was sent to all members with details of our most current escape/s... visiting sister guilds at their monthly meetings. To date... Kat, Bonny, and Deb H are planning to visit the Philly Guild on Monday the 19th... and the North Jersey Guild on Thursday the 21st (yes, our very own meeting is sandwiched in-between). There is still room in the car for a few more. Please let one of us know if you'd like to join us. *Please note, the Philly Guild has invited us to join their block swap that night. If you would like to join us and participate, please let one of us know and we will email you the block directions.

UP-COMING trip...

An exhibit titled 'Blanket Statements'... New Quilts by Kaffe Fassett, and Historical Quilts from the collection of The Quilt Historical Museum and Gallery in York, England are on display until February 21st at the Michener Art Museum in Doylsetown, PA. This display will only be in TWO museums in the US!!!!
Further details click HERE.
A date has not yet been set for this trip. The idea is to gather all interested members, then decide on a date that works for everyone. If interested please message Deb H at: deb(at)debhathaway(dot)com.

Blogs

It's time to update our website with all of our personal and business websites and blogs. Taking a look around the sites I've noticed some blogs haven't been updated in MONTHS. Please let me know if you no longer wish to have us link to your postings. In addition... if you have a website or blog that doesn't show up on our site, and you would like to be linked... please let us know!!

Pinterest

Our PINTEREST boards are now available for ALL to view. No more 'needing an invitation'... just FOLLOW the boards the same as anyone else. If you choose to follow, then please add a board to your personal account titled JSMQG and pin things you think should be on our boards. Once a week they will be grabbed and put over there for all to see.

Website

Is there anything you would like to see on our website that isn't already there? How often do you go to the site? Why are you going there? What are you hoping to find??? Speak up and let us know how we can make this form of communication better for you. After all... this is YOUR guild. YOU and your opinions are important. Let's make this an AWESOME site and a hub for all things JSMQG!!!

Congratulations!!!!

Congratulations...

Our new slate of Board Members were unanimously voted into office!!!
They are:

President :         Sherre MacClellan
Vice President: Brandy Borden
Secretary:         Bonny Collins
Treasurer:         Shannon Silver

Other filled positions are:

Charity:            Eileen DiPietro, Natalie Syracuse,  and Helen Foster

Program:          Carolyn Braun

Welcome aboard!!!

Meeting Location... 

Over the past few meetings there has been much discussion about our current meeting location... in the Arts Council Building in Ocean Grove. Major concerns have been the monthly fee of $25, lack of air-conditioning in hot summer months, parking issues during certain times of the year, and no availability for sew-ins.

Natalie did a stellar job of working with the VFW to gain a FREE space, but the street side parking and meters made this a less desirable location.

Sherre secured permission for the guild to meet at her church... Colts Neck Reformed Church (by Delicious Orchards) which has plenty of free parking, a large space for us to spread our sewing out, and is climate controlled.

After a bit more discussion the guild members present at the last meeting voted on and passed a motion to keep our monthly meetings in Ocean Grove... and hold our sew-ins in Colts Neck.

An advantage of remaining connected to the Arts Center is its focus on the ARTS, the potential for quilt shows to be held there, and the beneficial outreach in connection with the town—such as “quilt-ins” on the boardwalk to help publicize our existence.

2016 Queen Bees...

Keep your eyes peeled on your email inbox. A requests for monthly Queen Bees will  be arriving soon. Maybe you would like to choose your birthday month? Don't be shy!! If you aren't interested in making a quilt for yourself... think about being a Queen Bee and donating it to charity. 

THANK YOU...

A HUGE, heartfelt THANK YOU to all the out-going board members. We wouldn't be a guild at all without your 'vision' and hard work. You gathered us together, found a space, and frankly 'made it happen'! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

Wishing you all a wonderful Holiday Season... and a FABULOUS and CREATIVE 

NEW YEAR!

Busy Meeting Coming Up!!

Monthly Meeting...

It's the time of year we are all running around putting the final touches on the Holiday Season... but don't forget to leave Wednesday free to attend the monthly guild meeting.

Par-Tay...

This meeting will also serve as a Holiday Party! Woo! Hoo! If you haven't signed up to bring a goodie... it's not too late! Here's the FORM. Yum!!! And if you want to know what others are bringing... you can check out the responses on this SPREADSHEET.

Whiskey Cake, Fudge, Veggies, Cookies, Crab Dip are just a few of the expect and delicious treats. Please remember to bring a beverage.

Pincushion... 

Please bring a WRAPPED pincushion to participate in a game of swap! How fun is that???

New Officers...

It is also the time of year to vote for officers for the upcoming year. As mentioned last month, our By-Laws clearly state no officer can remain on the board for more than 2 terms. A slate of new officers was approved last meeting... and now needs to be voted on to be official.

Here are the self-nominated members for our 2016 Executive Board:

President:  Sherre MacClellan

Vice Pres:  Brandy Borden

Treasurer:  Shannon Silver

Secretary:  Bonny Collins

Charity Committee Co-chairs: Eileen DiPietro + Natalie Syracuse

Program/Project Committee Chair:  Carolyn Braun

Dues...

We also have been discussing moving the meetings and sew-ins to a new venue. No matter what decision is made... increased expenses will be incurred. Therefore, dues will have to increase. No final decision had been made at the last meeting... so, please bring a check to be filled out at the meeting.

See You Wednesday!

Next Meeting This Wednesday!

Just a quick reminder the next meeting of The Jersey Shore Quilt Guild is THIS Wednesday... and it's a busy one.

Nominations...

According to our By-Laws, Board members must be elected once a year and can serve no more than 2 consecutive terms. Not only is it 'that time of year' for nominations, but our board has served for the allotted time and must step down. They have all done a wonderful job, and I'm sure if we all had our way we would like them to continue in their positions, but that's not how the system works.

I hope you have been giving some thought about a position YOU might like to fill.  Elections will be at the December meeting.

Charity Quilt...

If you are participating in The Modern Quilt Guild Charity Quilt Challenge, please bring your completed Improv block to the meeting. We will be laying out the blocks and, as a team completing the top.

Check out the MQG website and peek at how other guilds from around the world interpreted the rules of the challenge. Given the same set of directions and fabric selection guidelines, it's crazy how different each quilt is. It only goes to prove how unique we all are... not only as individuals, but as a cohesive guild as well.

New Location...

There has been a lot of discussion off and on about a new location. The subject was broached quite a while ago because our host has initiated a use fee of $25 a month, plus an additional fee for sew-ins. It had been suggested we seek out other alternatives. Time moved on, and the discussion was dropped. As this year comes to a close we need to seriously have a conversation about this and decide what we would like to do. If you have any ideas of meeting places, and are willing to check them out and provide information at this meeting, that would be WONDERFUL!!

And there's MORE...

There are a few more items on the agenda for this meeting, and we really need your input. Please make every effort to attend. If you simply CAN'T make it, please email a board member with your thoughts so you can still be represented.

Cookies...

As you can see we have a lot on our plate this month... soooooo... Deb will bring a plate of home baked chocolate chip cookies for a kick of extra energy! BYOB (bring your own beverage).

Minutes from last month's meeting...

Meeting of 10/21/15

Queen Bee: A couple of Blocks were brought for Rose, our September Queen, and many members have some catching up to do. The blue and white star blocks that did come in for Rose were really nice! Our October Queen Kat was unfortunately unable to attend.

Patchwork City Quilt-A-Long: Phyllis, Mary, & Eileen had lovely blocks to show - Eileen is working in a colorful range of cotton and steel fabrics, Mary in neutrals and blues, and Phyllis in a range of blues, pinks, whites and greys! We applaud their efforts!

QuiltCon Charity Quilt: A few finished improv blocks for the Quiltcon Charity Quilt were shown! They are colorful and coming together wonderfully!!!!  Scraps were returned and can be used to piece the final quilt if necessary.

Charity Update: Deb Loeb brought a placemat for our charity project and Sherre donated a placemat and quilt.We need 21 quilts for our donation to HABCORE in Red Bank. HABCORE is a group which assists military and displaced people with transitional housing. Placemats are still needed for our next donation. Batting is available and stored at the Art Center for charity quilts... Ask Diane if you need it.

Business: Deb H. has taken over as WebMistress and is doing an excellent job of writing lively content and engaging our members with news and inspiration throughout the month!

At the November meeting we will be accepting self-nominations for officer positions in the guild and officers will be voted in at the December meeting and those elected shall take office in January.

The Sew-ins for November and December have been cancelled by the Arts Center. We need to find an alternate location to sew. We also discussed the fact that we are still requiring 6 participants to hold a sew-in.

The guild has started a Pinterest page. Anyone who wishes to be invited to join must email Deb or Diane and they will add them. If any members would like to add a board titled JSMQG on their own Pinterest pages Deb will find pins and move them over to the group page.

The possibility of moving our meetings and sew-ins was discussed and Natalie intends to talk to the VFW Commander soon.

A sunshine committee was discussed and appropriate gift amount. We should establish a committee to send cards and gifts when our members are in need.

Bonny and Deb went to South Shore Stitcher's quilt show and have pictures to post.

Carolyn and Rose recently went to see Pat Sloan at Quilting Possibilities

Pincushion Swap: We are planning to have a Pin Cushion Swap in December. Deb brought nut shells and passed them out for filling the cushions. Anyone who wishes to participate should sew a modern pin cushion in any size and shape, wrap it, and bring it to the meeting in December. We will distribute the gifts in a manner similar to what we did for the Tote Swap except we will leave them wrapped til the end!  We will have a party and food sign-up sheet will be emailed so we have an idea of what everyone is bringing.

Coming Events: Central Jersey Retreat - November 13-15 - Shannon announced that she has a room and intends to use it well and enjoy her sewing time and has welcomed others to join her!

Show and Tell:

Joani showed her "On the Road" quilt. She put together a bright and beautiful quilt top using cuties and fat 1/8's of batiks on a sunny light background that she put together on her extended road trip - adventures of which were relayed at the meeting. She was also inspired by the speaker at the Camaco meeting this summer, Jessica Skultety who took the fear out of Modern Quilting and opened Joani's mind to see that the definition of "Modern Quilting" was broader than she originally thought... With this inspiration along with that of Diane's improv queen bee block Joani created her Morse Code Masterpiece... The background is an improv pieced area of blocks in various light neutral fabrics with a colorful message in morse code which reads... "When life gives you scraps make a quilt." 

Brandy brought 2 economy blocks in greys and pinks made from the adorable Michael Miller Alpaca fabric that was donated via Eileen's efforts for charity... Brandy is two cute blocks closer to a charity quilt....

Michelle has been busy with her modern projects! She brought 2 quilts and a student to the meeting! One quilt is a baby quilt for her husband's niece Skylar who is two weeks old and has a colorful and beautiful quilt with her name on it... literally! It has a white background with bright Michael Miller fabrics leftover from the Michael Miller challenge! They are colorful appliqued circles in pinks, yellows, oranges, greens and turquoise! She also brought a quilt that she constructed from her Tula Pink City Blocks primarily bright greens on a vibrant blue background.

Shannon has been slow stitching away working to hand quilt and embellish her hand dyed mermaid panel.

Mary had a sparkling lap quilt to show in black, white and silver with varying polka dots pieced together in a really cool pattern of stripes and squares from Michael Miller Glitz fabric and she also brought a Charity Quilt top in blues and purples that she put together using more of Eileen's charity procurement fabrics in Michael Miller Fairy Frost!

Phyllis has been super busy as usual piecing together a bunch of oversize improv blocks from her scraps.... she is working with many variations of improv blocks in various colors, shapes and sizes.She also brought a large colorful quilt top in a rainbow of colors moving across the quilt. She pieced multiple colors of butterfly blocks onto a background of white moving across the quilt and in a diagonal from top to bottom and covering the entire color spectrum.

Carolyn has been working on more projects for Project Quilting. She showed a mini-quilt made of flying geese pieced on curves in various shades of turquoise and blue moving across a neutral background of cream on cream patterns of.... you'll never guess... flying geese.... she is committed to her flock of geese and exceptionally skilled at her craft. She was playing with free motion quilting of a feathering pattern which was executed wonderfully!

Carolyn also brought a quilt of interlocking squares pieced from triangles of silver and pewter on a white background that she made for her sister's upcoming wedding. She embroidered their names and wedding date into the quilt and was forced to gift it early and unbound at her sister's wedding! I'm sure it was as greatly appreciated unfinished as it will be finished!!!

Sherre brought a full bag as usual.. Her Mary Poppins bag was brimming with beautiful projects both finished and in-progress. She brought a modern quilt of colorful squares pieced to appear in 3D on a white background. She also brought a "mystery" quilt top in apricot, white and turquoise in a star pattern as well as a multicolored quilt of white squares framed in multicolor strips which move across the quilt on a diagonal... Also in her bag of tricks was a shop sample for Needles and Pins and a Pat Sloan Mystery Quilt in pinks and greys pieced in a pattern of various blocks featuring various triangles and stars.

Happy sewing!

Brandy