Monday, January 30, 2012

Pincushion Swap- Sign Ups!


Pin Cushion Swap

Our next swap will be PIN CUSHIONS - something beautiful and useful!  Karen will do a random drawing of participants and email everyone next week.  If you DID NOT sign the sheet at last week’s meeting and would like to participate, please email Karen no later than this Friday, February 3.   

This is shaping up to be a fun swap since we already have 14 members participating!


Pincushions will be due at the March meeting (not February!) 

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Zip Pouches and January Meeting Recap

Hey Friends!

What a fun meeting tonight. I so enjoyed seeing all of you and was so happy to see so many new faces too! It is a great feeling having our Modern Quilt Guild grow and thrive!

First off, if you are taking part in our Modern Star Block Challenge, 
be sure to make your modern star block with the following requirements:

  • 2 blocks finished at a 12.5" x 12.5"  size. 
  • Background fabric: white
  • Create a modern star block using any pattern you like. 
  • Bring your finished block to the February Meeting.


We will put each participant's name in a hat and two winners will each take home 17 blocks plus three fat quarters of Echo to finish out their quilts.

Be creative, be modern and have fun!


SEW-IN SATURDAY! 
Carmel Presbyterian Church Ligon Hall
2048 Carmel Road  Charlotte, NC 28226-5098
(704) 366-5114

Park by the playground. The building is on your left. 


February 18, 12:00-4:00.

Come for all of it or some of it. We would love to have you join us. If you didn't RSVP at the meeting, please let me know if you can make it. I want to have adequate sewing space. Bring your own project, sewing machine, extension cord and power strip. If someone could bring an iron and ironing board, so we have 2 that would be great. Also, another cutting mat and rotary cutter would be nice too.

Let's plan on finishing those Habitat charity quilts!

We'll have prizes and snacks and lots of fun. Hopefully we'll get some sewing done too! :)

Thanks Karen for a great and creative swap! It was super fun. If you would like to participate in the pin cushion swap in March, please email Karen so she can add you to the list. She will email you your secret partner. It would be most helpful for you to create a mosaic in Flickr of your pincushion favorites for your partner's inspiration. You can find out how to do that HERE.

Now, thanks for all of the kind words about the zip pouch tutorial. I am so glad you enjoyed it. Here are a few tips from tonight's demonstration:

4 pieces of fabric (6" x 8") 2 for lining, 2 for outer
2 pieces of batting or medium-weight interfacing
2 pieces of outer fabric cut 2" x 2.5" to make tabs (folded and pressed so edges meet to give you a finished edge)

  • cut your zipper so that it is about 1/2" shorter than your fabric (on both ends) 
  • place your fabric lining and outer fabric, right sides together with the zipper in between to make your sandwich when you sew the zipper on. 
  • when you sew your pouch closed, right sides together, UNZIP your zipper first! 
  • leave about a 2.5" - 3"  opening in the lining (backstitch at the beginning and end of your opening) when sewing your right sides of the pouch together. 
  • when you sew the right sides together, fold your zipper on itself towards the outer fabric (this makes more sense when you actually do it) 
  • when you sew your right sides together, sew right next to your tabs but not through them! You won't be able to see them but you'll be able to feel them. 
  • Use a 1/2" seam to sew your lining (right sides together) and about a 1/4" seam for the outer fabric (right sides together.) 
  • Press your fabric before you turn it right side out. 
OK, hope those tips help! I will post them in the CLTMQG Flickr group too for easy reference. 
Be sure to check out Anna Graham of Noodleheads' gathered clutch tutorial for more information and instructions. 

Good luck! Email me if you have questions. :) 


Looking forward to a great meeting in February and hope to see you at the sew-in day. 

Friday, January 20, 2012

January Meeting and Modern Star Challenge

Hello All! 
I hope you are getting excited for our January meeting next week. We have lots of great things in store for you. 


We'll roll out our plans for the year and have some great ideas up our sleeves. Fun swaps, challenges and workshops. Our guild is only as good as its members, and lucky for us we have such an amazing collective of talent! We need to share what we know! 


Sign ups for teaching mini workshops and demonstrations will be held at the January meeting.  You can sign up with a friend and team up to teach the demos together if you would like. 


We need you! Our workshop topics for this year are: 


Piecing Curves
Specialty blocks: Y Seams, Disappearing 9 patch, Wonky & Improv Blocks
Machine Binding
Hexagons (English Paper Piecing) 
Words on Quilts
Thread School


Please give some thought to what you would like to teach our group. 


So, ready for the next challenge? We have this fabulous stack of modern fabric ready and waiting. 




The Modern Star Challenge kicks off this meeting. Each participant will receive some of this beautiful Echo fabric by Lotta Jansdotter.  More details on Thursday! 


Our next sew-in day is Saturday, February 18. We'll complete the Habitat fabric charity quilts and work on individual projects. Sew-In is from noon to 4:00, and we'll sign up to bring snacks. 
The sew-in will be in Ligon Hall at Carmel Presbyterian Church.  It is a beautiful church hall, at the intersection of Carmel Road and Sharon View Road, not far from Morrison Regional Library.  
The address is: 

2048 Carmel Road  Charlotte, NC 28226-5098
(704) 366-5114

Pull around to the back of the church and park by the playground.


And finally, we are sharing the love with a fat quarter swap on Thursday. 



Valentine’s Day  is on the horizon so why don’t we “SHARE THE LOVE”

Description: C:\Users\Karen\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Temporary Internet Files\Content.IE5\9YRVNEHT\MC900410651[1].wmf


WHAT:          A fun, easy fat quarter swap

WHEN:           Our January meeting

HOW:         Bring 2 fat quarters that have PINK or RED somewhere in the fabric
(FQs may be washed or unwashed quilt shop quality fabric)


Turn in your fat quarters at the beginning of the meeting and they will be mixed and paired in twos.



At the end of the meeting each person will then have a turn to select the pair they would like to take home.


Please note the time change for this meeting: 6:30 at Morrison Regional Library! See you next week!  
PS: A big congrats to Amanda Murphy! Her quilt is on the cover of Fons and Porter's Love of Quilting

Monday, January 9, 2012

Which One Speaks to You?

Does this group of fabric speak to you?




OR

Does this one? 





Chime, in... it could be worth your while! 

TIME CHANGE Jan. Meeting

Please note that there is a time change for the January meeting. We will meet at 6:30 instead of 6:00! Thanks!!

Sunday, January 8, 2012

January Meeting

Hey Friends!

We are planning ahead for the new year and want to hear from you about what topics you would like to learn more about.

A few suggestions I've received are:

  • hexies (english paper piecing) 
  • machine binding
  • zippered pouches
  • thread school (exploring the various types, brands and uses) 
  • quilt block demos (Y seams, 10 minute blocks, disappearing 9 patch) 
  • challenge modern BOM
  • pattern workshop
  • EQ / Quilt Pro lesson
  • basting techniques
We are looking for someone to teach a mini lesson on hand quilting for our January meeting. If you can hand quilt and would like to share your knowledge,  please contact me ASAP!

If you have other suggestions or just want to chime in on the ones above, please let your voice be heard! I would love to know what you are interested in. Sign ups for teaching the mini workshops and topics above will be available at the January meeting.

Have you picked out your pink OR red fabric for the fat quarter swap in January? Bring your two fat quarters to our next meeting for some fun swapping. Modern, quilt-shop quality fabric please.

Mark your calendar for our next Sew-In Saturday, February 18 from noon-4:00. We will be bringing our machines, snacks and projects to complete. We'll also put together our two charity quilts using the habitat blocks. I hope everyone will join us!

See you soon!

Thursday, January 5, 2012

Elizabeth is in the paper!

Our very own Elizabeth Phillippi was featured in a Charlotte Observer article recently spotlighting her jewelry bags for the Autism Society of North Carolina.

To read the story, CLICK HERE.

Way to go Elizabeth!

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

January Meeting- Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012

Happy New Year everyone!

I hope you all had a wonderful, restful holiday season.

Our next meeting is January 26, at 6:00 at Morrison Regional Library. More details about our workshop/10 minute tip coming soon.

Our swap for January information is below. What a great idea Karen has put together for us!

Mark your calendars for Saturday, Feb 18 from 12:00-4:00 for our next Sew-In day. I've found a great location for us in South Park and will let you know more details soon. We need to get a move on our Habitat fabric charity quilt. Sign ups to help quilt the two tops will be at our January meeting.

If you have suggestions or ideas for our guild, please let me know. Looking forward to seeing you all in a few weeks! Let's make 2012 great for the CLT MQG!



Valentine’s Day  is on the horizon so why don’t we “SHARE THE LOVE”

Description: C:\Users\Karen\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Temporary Internet Files\Content.IE5\9YRVNEHT\MC900410651[1].wmf

WHAT:          A fun, easy fat quarter swap

WHEN:           Our January meeting

HOW:         Bring 2 fat quarters that have PINK or RED somewhere in the fabric
(FQs may be washed or unwashed quilt shop quality fabric)


Turn in your fat quarters at the beginning of the meeting and they will be mixed and paired in twos.
 At the end of the meeting each person will then have a turn to select the pair they would like to take home.