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.

Heirloom Block Challenge

Image Source: Joel Dewberry

Our last challenge of the year is the Heirloom Block Challenge. Create as many blocks as you want and we will raffle them to a lucky member (or two) during the December 3rd meeting. Maybe you will be the lucky winner!!   : )

One block = one entry. There is no limit on the number of blocks.

STARTS: November 5th, 2011

ENDS: December 3rd, 2011

BLOCK: 12.5" (unfinished) Log Cabin

FABRIC: Heirloom by Joel Dewberry in the Ruby colorway, Moda Bella in Zen Grey and anything from your own stash (solids, prints, blenders)

Ready, set, go!

Many Hands Make Light Work

2011 was a huge year of growth for the Bay Area Modern Quilt Guild. We grew from nine members to over forty members, many of whom are active. We now average 5 new members every month!! Our president is so proud and excited of the guild we are building for modern quilters in the Bay Area.

Looking forward, we would love to continue hosting challenges, swaps and hopefully bring in some speakers for 2012. There is a lot of organization happening behind the scenes to make each month fun and inspiring. We need more volunteers to help keep this great momentum going. What can you contribute? Many hands make light work.

Most importantly we need to fill the roles of President, Vice President and Secretary for 2012. Sara has agreed to stay on as Treasurer and based on the way the banking is set up this makes for a very easy transition. Thanks Sara!!! Below Adrianne has added some additional roles. These are loosely based on the work we've been doing (or would have liked to do, ha!) this year. Suggestions are welcome.


Guild Positions:

• Treasurer (Sara): collect dues, manage expenses, bank account and PayPal account.
• Secretary: take notes at each meeting and post to group, manage the member contact sheet, manage the guild calendar.
• Bloggers(Jaye, Julie, Alison): post content to the blog.
• Swap Coordinator: Oversee organization and arrangements for a variety of different swaps. This person can form a committee to assist, or get volunteers to organize specific swaps. Some of the swaps we did this year were, fat quarter swap, mug rug swap, and the upcoming secret swap.
• Demo Coordinator: prepare or get help preparing a demo for each, or almost every meeting. Organize the vast talent within the guild and the offers to demos. Let's schedule it and make it happen.
• Challenge Coordinator: Oversee organization and arrangements for a variety of different. This person can form a committee to assist, or get volunteers to organize specific challenges. This coordinator will also oversee the ongoing challenges, such as the A-B-C (A-Z) challenge. Adrianne loves our challenges, and wants to keep it going.
• Speaker Coordinator: let's schedule some speakers for 2012!!
• Charity Coordinator: find opportunities to contribute to our community and organize the guild to participate. There has been a lot of interest in charity quilts. This can be an ongoing group project, but someone needs to organize it.
• Sew Day Coordinator: arrange sewing room, snack sign ups, iron & ironing board sign ups, design wall (batting).
  
• New Member Coordinator: greet new members, answer questions, create name tags and membership cards. Experience with Adobe Illustrator helpful, but other programs could be used.
• Photographer: take photos at meetings and events, post to Ning, Flickr, Facebook and make available to bloggers.
  
• Social Media Coordinator oversee Ning, Facebook, Flickr & Blog
  

If you would like to volunteer, please email Adrianne and let her know. She will be at the November 5th and December 3rd meetings if you have any questions.

You can volunteer for more than one job! For example, Secretary and Photographer. You can send Adrianne a list of possibilities in order of preference. For example, I'm interested in being, (1) President, (2) Demo Coordinator or (3) Charity Coordinator.

If you have any questions, or interest, now is the time to speak up. Adrianne will be emailing and organizing everyone throughout November and December. The only requirement is that you are a current guild member (in other words, you've paid your membership dues). New officers will be announced at the BAMQG meeting, January 7th.


***Special Note from Adrianne. Some of you have encouraged me to be President for another year. I have loved being President and I still plan on being very active with the guild. I can't make the same kind of time commitment for 2012. I am terrible at asking for help. This list is me asking for help. : ) If we can fill out this list, it might be possible for me to stay on for 2012. That being said, if someone else would like to be President that would be great too. ***

Are You Ready?

The Meeting is Soon!!!

Date: 11/5/2011
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 will start. This challenge is sponsored by the guild and you must be a member.

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

People will reveal their Habitat challenge quilts (tops, bags, etc are all GREAT!)

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 'e'. Some blocks which start with 'E' are:

• Eccentric Star (Around the Block)
• Economy Patch (Around the Block)
• Eddystone Light (Around the Block)
• Eight Pointed Star (see tutorial)
  
• Envelope (Around the Block)
• Electric Fan (Around the Block)

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

Remember to bring your schnibbles for Amanda's cat bed project.