Member Spotlight: Adrianne Ove

Adrianne Ove

Name

Adrianne Ove

In what city do you live?

San Jose, Ca

How long have you been making quilts?

About 4 years

How and where did you learn to quilt?

I’m self taught through books, blogs, and tutorials.

Who inspired you to get started?

I was reading creative blogs like Wee Wonderfuls, House on Hill Road, the Mayfly, Hop Skip Jump, and Crazy Mom Quilts long before I started quilting. What lovely and inspiring women!

The one who actually inspired me to stop reading and get quilting was Dana from Old Red Barn Quilt Co. I joined a quilt along that Dana hosted in 2009. She is so much fun and she made the whole process seem very doable. I created a Flickr account, started a blog and I even tried free motion quilting. The support, inspiration and excitement that came from that group hooked me immediately. I continued on for two more rounds with the same group and made this quilt and this quilt.

Please describe your first quilt (Include a picture if you have it).

I don’t have a picture of my very first quilt, which was a baby quilt for a good family friend. I remember spending hours picking out just the right fabric. I do have a picture of my second quilt. This over-sized rail fence pattern was for the the original Old Red Barn Co. Quilt Along. This is by far the most used quilt in my house even though it's far from perfect.

"Old Red Barn Co."

Where do you find inspiration?

Everywhere! I carry a notebook and a camera with me most of the time. My Regatta quilt was inspired by the local sailboat races. I see quilt designs in product packaging, television shows, architecture, clothing, children's books and all kinds of magazines. I also love creative blogs, Flickr and Pinterest.

"Regatta"

Do you have a quilting "style"? If so, what is it?

I don’t know what my style is yet. Someone recently described my quilts as modern and vintage at the same time. Reading that made me smile. I would say experimental right now. I love to try everything, tweaking what already exists and making it my own.

"Modern Peel"

Favorite quilting blogs?

I love too many to count. Here are some of them

• Film In The Fridge
• Red Pepper Quilts
• One Flew Over
• Molly Flanders
• Little Miss Shabby
• Fussy Cut
• Hey Porkchop
• I Have To Say
• Tallgrass Prarie Studio
• One Shabby Chick
• Simplify
• Sew Katie Did
• a cuppa and a catch up
• Stolen Moments

Do you belong to other guilds besides BAMQG? If so, which ones and why?

Yes, the South Bay Modern Quilt Guild and the East Bay Modern Quilt Guild. I initially went to each one trying to find a guild to join. I met so many great people I had to go back for more. Since I became President of BAMQG, it has become my main guild.

Jaye and I at a BAMQG meeting

What guild job do you hold and why did you volunteer for that position?

I’m the guild’s President because I didn’t know what I was getting into! Ruth?! : )

Joking aside, the modern quilt guild movement is so exciting right now. I love sharing what I know and getting people involved. It's also a great way to meet the local quilters.

What do you generally do with the quilts you make? Give away? Keep? Sell? Show?

I give them to my friends and family with the expectation that they will be tossed around, loved and used up. I hold a special place in my heart for children’s charities, especially the local NICU, and I’ve made a few quilts for them.

"Born to Shine"

What is your favorite block pattern?

I like log cabins and stars.

"Happy Blocks"

In what room of the house do you sew? Tell us about your sewing/quilting/crafting space.

I sew at the kitchen table, usually with one or two kids working on crafty projects next to me. It’s definitely cozy and it needs to be cleared for mealtime. I recently added a cutting table and bookshelf to one side of the playroom and it's wonderful having a corner to call my own.

My Happy Corner

Do you create in any other areas of craft? Is quilting your main creative outlet?

My first love is photography. I've also dabbled in ceramics, knitting, and jewelry making.

On My Needles

What is your favorite fabric (line, designer, pattern are all ok) and why?

What day is it? : ) I confess, I am a total fabric junkie!! I cannot resist a good dot, stripe or paisley print. Some of my favorite designers are Amy Butler, Anna Maria Horner, Denyse Schmidt, Joel Dewberry, Heather Ross, Heather Bailey, and Aneela Hoey. Generally, I love bold patterns and happy colors. Echo by Lotta Jansdotter just came out and I am crushing on it big time.

Echo by Lotta Jansdotter

What is your favorite quilt book? Are there any quilt books you recommend?

I think everyone takes away something different from books. I would recommend looking at anything and everything that peaks your interest because you never know what you will learn or be inspired by.

My Crafty Books

Are there any must have quilting tools?

I need a pen and paper to jot down ideas. I love my Olfa rotary cutter, my Omnigrid 8”x12” ruler and my fabric. The rest is nice to have, but I’m not that picky.

Garbage Bowl for Quilters

What are your favorite shops either online or in the neighborhood?

I’m a busy Mama and I usually shop online late at night. I love The Intrepid Thread, of course!! : ) I also like Fabricworm and Fresh Squeezed Fabrics. Julie, Cynthia and Randi all have a great selection of modern fabrics and excellent customer service. They've become my friends over the years and I love supporting them.

Is there an area of quilting you feel you would like to learn more about and why?
There are so many techniques I haven’t even tried yet. I’d love to use a long arm quilting machine next.

Is there an area of quilting at which you feel you excel? Tell us about it. Do you prefer the process of designing, piecing, or quilting?

I love, love, love designing quilts. Piecing and quilting is just a way to make the quilts in my head come to life. Some of my quilts are pushier to be made than others. Sometimes I wish I had a stunt quilter.

Big Zig Design Page

You have to evacuate your home quickly due to a natural disaster. What 3 things would you grab from your sewing room/space?

If I could, I would grab all the homemade goodies that my friends have made me. They are my treasures.

Apple Pincushion by Georgia

Do you have a favorite sewing tip or trick?

I strip piece my bindings.

You can find me at www.littlebluebell.com, flickr, twitter and pinterest.

Charity Project Update

Wow!

We are so excited about the amount of interest we received for our new charity quilting program!

Thank you for all who donated orphan blocks, scraps, batting and yardage at Saturday’s meeting. All of it is greatly appreciated and will be used to, hopefully, brighten the day of someone in need. We will have a bin at the monthly meetings for on-going collection.

We are planning to have the first quilt(s) go to Lucile Packard Neonatal unit.

When Deborah and I had our 1^st brain-storming session, she mentioned that a postage stamp quilt might be a good idea. Our first block inspiration came from none other than Amanda Jean at Crazy Mom Quilts. I thought it would be nice to have each block stand out and remembered the quilt-a-long that Amanda Jean hosted this summer. She has, kindly, given us permission to post her images. You can find more information in her post about the quilt-a-long.

Here is her beautiful finished quilt:

Photo Credit: Amanda Jean of Crazy Mom Quilts

For our purposes, we knew we wanted to start with preemie baby blankets about 30ish” square so we needed smaller blocks. It also needed to have one element to tie the various squares together to make a cohesive quilt (the white fabric) since the blocks would be made scrappy.

Amanda Jean's quilt is made from 36 “36-patch” squares. Ours will be made with 16 “16-patch” squares! Thus our 8” 4x4 sample block was created:



Here are the specifics for your blocks:
-monochromatic block, any color of your choosing
-8.5" unfinished
-alternating 2.5" white squares and 2.5" scrappy squares (in your chosen color palette)
-bring blocks to the next meeting

Like Amanda Jean's each finished block will be a different color (mixed with white) to make a bright and cheerful quilt. Many of the pre-cut postage stamp block kits were taken home from the meeting. We can't wait to see them come back at the January meeting!! Feel free to use your own fabric if you feel so inspired. I know there has been some confusion so I hope this helps explain a little better.

If you have any questions, please feel free to post them here or on Ning.

We were also thinking of making some quilts for Project Night Night as well and a few of you had suggestions about where or to whom to donate quilts. Keep those suggestions coming! We want to make this a meaningful experience for all, so any personal causes are greatly appreciated.

We would appreciate any feedback on the organization of the current projects.

• Do you like the kits?
  
• Do you want simple, complicated, or free form blocks?
  
• Should we do one block a month, every other month, or every quarter?
  
• Have several options running at once?
  

Any feedback would help us focus our efforts to make this a successful and meaningful experience for all.

We're off to a great start to 2012! Thank you!

~Jennifer and Deborah, your Charity Coordinators

December Meeting Notes

Elections
The "new" officers are:
President: Adrianne
VP: Kathleen
Secretary: Amanda
Treasurer: Sara

Thank you very much to Ruth, founder and 2011 Secretary, who will be leaving the board and taking over the challenge coordinator position.

Thank you to everyone who ran for office.

December Secret Swap

Secret Swappers really did a nice job on the gifts they made. Very high quality sewing, gorgeous wrapping and inspired fabric choices.

Nota bene: the ribbon at the top of the post is a detail shot from one of the packages. Awesome work!

Heirloom Challenge


Zoom in to see the variety of log cabin blocks that people created within the log cabin format. Amazing!

Claire and Lizzie won the blocks. You can win blocks, too by joining the group and participating in challenges!


A-B-C Challenge

Next month is 'G' so get your G blocks on!

Show and Tell!
Everyone does such great work. When there is a large group there are a lot of projects to show and it is a great source of inspiration.

UPDATE: Dec. 3rd Meeting Info

Hi, Adrianne here.  Just popping in with the latest meeting information.  For those of you bringing your sewing projects, please keep in mind that the meeting half is quite full.  There will be time to sew, but it will be less than the usual two hours.


We've added signups for the first annual BAMQG Retreat to the agenda.  Bring your $25 deposit to the meeting and save a spot for February's retreat.  You can read about the retreat on the guild's ning site.


Also, as Ruth commented in the previous post, you do not need to bring snacks.  The guild is sponsoring all the snacks for an end of the year party.


Here is a quick cut and paste from the latest email that was sent out.

Not only are we swapping presents, revealing our challenge blocks, and voting for the 2012 officers we are having an end of year party!!! The guild will be providing all the snacks so you don't need to bring a thing. Just come and enjoy. Everyone is welcome to stay, visit, sew and snack until 5pm. 

The first half of our afternoon is jam packed with activities and we will go a little beyond the usual 2 hour meeting slot. Like always, we have the community room reserved for 4 hours in total, so there will still be time to sew and work on projects.

WHEN: Saturday, December 3rd, 2011 

TIME: 1pm-5pm 

WHERE: Redwood City Public Library, Community Room 

1044 Middlefield Road Redwood City, CA 94063

• Guild Business

• Secret Swap

• Heirloom Block Challenge

• ABC Challenge

• Show & Tell

• Vote for 2012 Officers

I hope to see everyone there.  : ) 

-Adrianne

Last 2011 Meeting

What a great year for the our group! The Executive Team did a fabulous job growing our group and designing programs. We are starting to develop traditions and friendships. We are looking forward to a great year in 2012.

As usual, the agenda for tomorrow's meeting is full:

Date: 12/3/2011
Time: 1pm-5pm
Where: Redwood City Public Library: 1044 Middlefield Rd. Redwood City, Ca 94063 Upstairs Community Room (the elevators are on the far left of the entrance)
Cost: Free for the first meeting, $5/meeting after or reduced membership fee for remainder of the year (yes, I am vague about this; please see Sara M, the treasurer. She knows)

We will have a business meeting, show and tell and sewing time.

The Heirloom challenge blocks are due. The Heirloom challenge blocks should be made in any variation of the log cabin patternThis challenge is sponsored by the guild and you must be a member. However, if you are not a member, but want to participate, feel free to buy your own fabric and bring the log cabin blocks.

We are all waiting with bated breath for Rhonda's monthly ice breaker question.

Please bring your December Secret Swap gifts if you are participating. Contact Kathleen.

Bring yourself, your projects to share or projects with which you need help. Bring your A-B-C Challenge blocks, some snacks or drinks and a project on which you want to work. Bring a friend!!!

A-Z (A-B-C) Challenge News:

Make a block that starts with the letter 'F'. Some blocks which start with 'F' are:

• Fifty-Four Forty or Fight! (Quilter's Cache)
  
• Flight of Swallows (Around the Block)
• Flock of Geese (Around the Block)
• Flower Pot (Around the Block) (directions posted at Artquiltmaker.com)
  
• Flying Geese (Around the Block)

There are also a number of paper pieced blocks at Quilter's Cache.

Remember to bring your schnibbles for Amanda's cat bed project. She posted a photo ont he Ning site and the kitties look very happy!

Your 'To Bring' List (in an easy to read format!)

• Heirloom challenge blocks
• December Secret Swap gifts
• A-Z (A-B-C) Challenge Blocks
• Schnibbles for Amanda's cat bed project
• Charity quilt supplies such as fabric, batting, orphan blocks (detailed info on 11/26 post)
  

See you there!

Election on December 3 - REPOST

[I am reposting this for those of you who were busy and missed it last week due to Thanksgiving festivities]

We're going to vote for our 2012 officers during the December 3rd meeting. Mark your calendars now for Saturday, December 3rd. Don't miss out on this very special meeting.

The list of potential officers will remain open up until we vote. If you're interested in being an officer, please contact Adrianne. The only requirement is that you are a paid member.

Here is the slate of candidates for Executive officers so far:

• President: Adrianne Ove
• Vice President: Alison Schmidt, Kathleen Robertson
• Treasurer: Sara Musko
  
• Secretary: Alison Schmidt, Amanda Materne

Please email Adrianne if there are changes or additions.

In related news, we have filled ALL of the coordinator positions (and even added one)! Here is our All-Star team of coordinators for 2012!!!

• Swap Coordinator: Amanda Materne
• Demo Coordinator: Rhonda Ludwico
• Challenge Coordinator: Ruth Costa
• Speaker Coordinator: Cynthia Marshall
• Charity Coordinator: Deborah Aspuria, Jennifer Altman
• Sew Day Coordinator: Diana Lubliner
• New Member Coordinator: Sara Musko
• Photographer: Julie Dueck
• Social Media Coordinator: Diana Lubliner
• Special Events Coordinator: Angela Obeso

Have another coordinator position that you want to lead? As always, if you have any questions or suggestions, send Adrianne an email.

Heirloom Challenge

The log cabin blocks for the Heirloom (Joel Dewberry) Challenge are due on December 3. Parameters are:

• 12.5" blocks
• Any log cabin pattern
• Heirloom int he Ruby colorway by Joel Dewberry fabric
• Zen grey from Moda Bella
  
• Add any other fabrics you want

Paid members picked up fabric at the last meeting, but you can still participate by buying your own fabric and making some blocks.

There will be a drawing or two for all the blocks brought in. We look forward to seeing what you make!

Charity Coordination

Deborah and Jennifer are the new Charity Coordinators for 2012. They are starting their work early with the following message:

Hi fellow guild members- Deborah and Jennifer here!

We are excited to be the guild's Charity Coordinators. Our mission is to raise awareness about the different charitable organizations in the Bay Area that are in need of donation quilts, and to increase participation in charity quilting within the guild.

At the moment, we're still in the planning stage of challenges and projects for the coming year, but we've already got some fun ideas kicking around. We'd also love to have your input.

• Have a favorite charity?
  
• Ideas for challenges or activities?
  
• Patterns that work well for charity? Please let us know!

We know there's a lot going on in December- the Secret Swap, the Heirloom Challenge, and personal projects you may have for the holidays. Because of this, we're waiting to officially kick things off in January at the regular meeting and at Sew Day.

That said, we are always in need of fabric and batting for the charity quilts we'll be making this year as a guild. If you have any of the following, please bring them to the December meeting, where we'll have a collection bin:

• orphan block
• fabric scraps 2.5" x 2.5"or larger
• large pieces of unwanted fabric for quilt backing
• batting scraps 5" x 10" or larger ("Warm & White" or "Warm & Natural" only as these will be pieced together)
  
• new bags of batting
• quilt tops or partially completed projects
  

Remember: Amanda also takes scraps, no matter how small, to fill the cat beds that she makes and donates, so bring whatever scraps you have laying around.

Hope you had a safe and happy Thanksgiving,

Deborah and Jennifer

________________________________________

The blog will be happy to feature, or link to, charity quiltmaking projects that you are working on individually or with other groups. ~Jaye

A-Z (A-B-C) Challenge

Make a block that starts with the letter 'F'. Some blocks which start with 'F' are:

• Fifty-Four Forty or Fight! (Quilter's Cache)
  
• Flight of Swallows (Around the Block)
• Flock of Geese (Around the Block)
• Flower Pot (Around the Block) - PDF Rotary Cutting Directions are available at: Artquiltmaker.com/blog
  
• Flying Geese (Around the Block)

There are also a number of paper pieced blocks at Quilter's Cache.

Election on December 3

We're going to vote for our 2012 officers during the December 3rd meeting. Mark your calendars now for Saturday, December 3rd. Don't miss out on this very special meeting.

The list of potential officers will remain open up until we vote. If you're interested in being an officer, please contact Adrianne. The only requirement is that you are a paid member.

Here is the slate of candidates for Executive officers so far:

• President: Adrianne Ove
• Vice President: Alison Schmidt, Kathleen Robertson
• Treasurer: Sara Musko
  
• Secretary: Alison Schmidt, Amanda Materne

Please email Adrianne if there are changes or additions.

In related news, we have filled ALL of the coordinator positions (and even added one)! Here is our All-Star team of coordinators for 2012!!!

• Swap Coordinator: Amanda Materne
• Demo Coordinator: Rhonda Ludwico
• Challenge Coordinator: Ruth Costa
• Speaker Coordinator: Cynthia Marshall
• Charity Coordinator: Deborah Aspuria, Jennifer Altman
• Sew Day Coordinator: Diana Lubliner
• New Member Coordinator: Sara Musko
• Photographer: Julie Dueck
• Social Media Coordinator: Diana Lubliner
• Special Events Coordinator: Angela Obeso

Have another coordinator position that you want to lead? As always, if you have any questions or suggestions, send Adrianne an email.

I'm Sew New Here!

Hi, Bay Area MQG'ers! 

I am Alison Schmidt, and I've been living in the Bay area for 3 months and a day now.  I moved to Oakland for a new job (a dream job for me - I edit quilting books!) in the East Bay in August.  I am new to the Bay Area MQG, but not the Modern Quilt Guild overall. Just two years prior, I became the third member of the Los Angeles Modern Quilt Guild, after the founders Alissa Haight Carlton and LatifahSaafir, back when we were still just a bunch of online folks who had found each other through Flickr, setting up a site on Ning to help us get to know each other. By the fall we had our first meeting, at an adorable shop called 'Home Ec' in Silverlake, and I was totally hooked and blown away at the same time.  There were only 20 of us at that first meeting (I got there late, due to crazy-long working hours in my former career as a costumer in the film & television industry.)  Two hours later, we had 4 officers: President Latifah,VP Alissa, a secretary, and a treasurer; a Media/PR person; and a full slate of ideas. We knew we wanted to meet one weeknight a month for business and non-sewing (speakers, demos, and my personal fave, show’n’tell). We started right off scheduling a fabric swap and show’n’tell for the next meeting. We were also charged with finding a location to sew regularly on weekend days once a month.

The first Los Angeles Modern Quilt Guild meeting, 10/14/2009
by handmadebyalissa
 © All rights reserved

I came home that night and I could barely sleep, I was so full of ideas & inspiration. 

We started sewing at a rented space in a church on the Westside of Los Angeles soon after, and the extended hours together (usually 1pm to 6 or 7pm) really allowed us all to become friends. I have other friends who sew & craft, but haven’t spent hours on shared activities like this since college (I was a theatre major, so I spent many hours stitching costumes together with classmates.)  I was surprised at how much I loved that time, and my goal on moving to the Bay area was to find another group of folks with whom I could enjoy those productive (or not ;) afternoons sewing. When I pulled into the Redwood City library for my first meeting, and saw other women lugging in their sewing machines and bags of fabric and supplies, I felt like I had found a new home!

In the time since the guild started, we have had speakers, swaps, and demos, made 2 charity/fund-raiser quilts, planned group trips to fabric stores and quilt shows, and had a three-day quilting retreat to snowy Big Bear.  Denyse Schmidt even came out for a talk and to teach two workshops!  The Guild has had some moves, some unplanned (when the brick&mortar shop where we met Monday nights closed and went online-only), and some planned (to another member’s new fabric shop, Sew Modern).  We have switched our weekend sews from various Saturdays and Sundays throughout the month on the Westside to the same Saturday every month at a new location on the east side of Los Angeles (Hollywood, to be specific). One of the biggest challenges has been finding large, affordable meeting space with enough tables and electrical outlets for the growing group of quilters (The Redwood City library is a great location! Elevator. ‘Nuff said).  The Modern Quilt Guild has grown right along with Los Angeles  - there are guilds up and down this state, around the country (two started by LA guild members who have moved on), and even overseas. Quilt Market has seen official (and unofficial) meetups of Modern Quilt Guild members who also work in the quilting industry….some as pattern and fabric designers, some authors, shop owners – more and more, traditional quilting business are trying to learn how to attract the modern quilters’ dollars.  I for one am happy to let them know what I want, whether through the images I pin on Pinterest, favorite on Flickr (where I go by the handle 'msalleycat', an old,old nickname), stitch and show on my blog, www.theoccasionalpin.com, or talk about on our – the Bay Area’s – Modern Quilt Guild website. 

Adrianne Represents BAMQG Well!!!

Adrianne of Little Bluebell, and our esteemed president, is being featured TODAY on the Modern Day Quilts blog.

Adrianne created her quilt using the Jay McCarroll Habitat fabrics from the guild's recent Habitat challenge. This challenge was unveiled to wonderful reviews at our recent meeting. You can see photos of the meeting and read a bit about the quilts on this blog in the November 2011 meeting notes.

Really great job, Adrianne! Keep up the good work!

You, too, can be featured on this blog. Please email Jaye.

November BAMQG Meeting Notes

We had a lot of business to do - discussion about officers for next year, ideas for events for next year, challenges for next year, the Habitat challenge, show and tell, etc. There will be a Sew Day in January. We have gotten the same time and location for our meetings for 2012.

Mark your calendars for the following dates.

• Saturday, 1/7/12 from 1:00pm-5:00pm
• Saturday, 2/4/12 from 1:00pm-5:00pm
• Saturday, 4/7/12 from 1:00pm-5:00pm
• Saturday, 5/5/12 from 1:00pm-5:00pm
• Saturday, 6/2/12 from 1:00pm-5:00pm
• Saturday, 7/7/12 from 1:00pm-5:00pm
• Saturday, 8/4/12 from 1:00pm-5:00pm
• Saturday, 9/8/12 from 1:00pm-5:00pm
• Saturday, 10/6/12 from 1:00pm-5:00pm
• Saturday, 11/3/12 from 1:00pm-5:00pm
• Saturday, 12/1/12 from 1:00pm-5:00pm

If you look carefully at the list above you will notice two changes from 2011.

1) There is no scheduled meeting in March (the room was booked)

2) In September we opted for the week after Labor Day weekend, instead of the first Saturday of the month.

No question from Rhonda this month, perhaps next time.

Habitat Challenge Presentation

The group had a special show and tell presentation of the Jay McCarroll Habitat Challenge quilts. I was, once again, impressed by the talent in this group. There was a lot of frustration surrounding the type and variety of prints, but people came up with wonderful ways to use it. My thought during the entire discussion was that this fabric was a really challenge.

Habitat Challenge Group

All of the quilts were so creative. A number of people didn't like what they had come up with and I was impressed to see that they had persevered and not given up. I was pleased to see how much collaboration there was during the meeting on the quilts that weren't quite finished.

Lynnette's quilt, 'Love Beads'(far left, bottom), is one of my favorites. I thought it was the Chinese Lanterns pattern. It certainly looks like Chinese Lanterns, but the pieces are a slightly different shape - a nice, elongated shape. Someone said that the connector between the two circle shapes is a little different.

Rhonda's Habitat

Rhonda's top from the Habitat Challenge has wonderful vertical lines.

One of the things I noticed was that people said as they cut the pieces of Habitat fabric up, the fabric became easier to work with. I think that some fabric works better in smaller pieces. This thought seems to be adverse to the idea of a Modern Quilt. At least I didn't think that Modern Quilts used lots of small pieces. I suppose it depends, just like every other type of quilt.

Ongoing Challenges

Eva's Delight

For the A-B-C (A-Z) Challenge, this month's letter was 'E'.

Kathleen's A-B-C Challenge Blocks

Kathleen brought all of her A-B-C Challenge blocks. She made two 'E' Blocks, Eccentric Star (second from the bottom row, 1st block on the left) and Electric Fan (bottom row, middle) As you can see, she is using blacks and whites with a bit of red. I think she has done a lovely job of choosing blocks. Also, the black and white really work well together with the variety of blocks.

Next meeting is December 3. Be there or be square. If you would like to know more about Modern Quilting see our FAQ.