Saturday, September 22, 2012

A-B-C Challenge: Y & Z Blocks

The A-B-C Challenge is still going strong! Y & Z are our last block before we start sashing, setting, quilting and getting these quilts ready for the Fair. You can still join us, but you have to hurry! Bring your Y and Z blocks to the October meeting. The names of these blocks should start with Y & Z

Y blocks:

Some examples of Z blocks are:
  • Zanizibar by Weeks Ringle & Bill Kerr from their book, The Quiltmaker's Color Workshop. You can see an example of this block made into a quilt here
  • Z Cross, 10" block from Quilter's Cache
  • Zig Zag, 20" block from Quilter's Cache (would make a nice medallion

    Below are a few of the many block resources available to inspire you:
    • 1000 Great Quilt Blocks by Maggi McCormick Gordon
    • Around the Block with Judy Hopkins: 200 Rotary Cut Blocks in 6 Sizes by Judy Hopkins
    • Around the Block Again: More Rotary Cut Blocks from Judy Hopkins by Judy Hopkins
    • The Civil War Love Letter Quilt: 121Quilt Blocks Inspired by Love and War by Rosemary Youngs
    • The Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt: 55 letters and the 111 Blocks they Inspired by Laurie Hird
    • Japanese Quilt Blocks to Mix & Match by Susan Briscoe
    • Judy Martin's Ultimate Book of Quilt Block Patterns by Judy Martin
    • Modern Quilt Blocks: 99 Quilt Blocks from your Favorite Designers by Susanne Woods
    • Once More Around the Block by Judy Hopkins
    • The Quilter's Album of Blocks and Borders by Jinny Beyer (out of print)
    • The Quilter's Album of Patchwork Patterns: 4044 Pieced Blocks for Quilters by Jinny Beyer (2009) - you NEED this book if you don't have it.
    • Quilter's Cache website
    So, go forth and make blocks. You can do it. Have fun, use great fabric. Enjoy!

    Monday, September 10, 2012

    September Meeting Notes

    The meeting was held in the community room at the main branch, as usual. There were a ton of announcements. Now people are coming from other guilds to get us to be a part of their activities! That means we are on the quiltmaking map!
    • SFQG came to invite us to their show, which will be held in March 2013.
    • The SCVQA wants to give us a spot in their show to exhibit modern quilts.
    • Adrianne mentioned the Alden Lane Quilt Show, which will be held September 22-23 I Livermore, CA
    We have such an active and fun group!

    Charity
    We are up to 72 or 73 finished quilts to give to charity this year. Some competitive types (names unmentioned) want to get us up to 100. Many turned in quilts that were finished, but a few need to be quilted and bound. if you can help, see the Charity Girls.

    Amanda asked that cat beds be filled full, rather than 3/4s full, but not overstuffed.

    Demo
    September '12 MeetingRuth demoed several different types of machine quilting. One of the designs was a pattern called Cathedral Window. It looks like the piecing, but is quilting. The way she marked and quilted the piece made her process look so easy.

    Show & Tell
    Show and Tell was fairly amazing. Below is a slideshow and the list of quilts that Amanda (secretary) provided to me. The number of quilts and amount of work that were shown today was stunning.



    Amanda's quilt
    Amanda's quilt
    1.      Amanda – 3 quilts:  Yellow & Dog/cat print coin quilt; Dark brown and blue/greens wildlife quilt; Cream and purple and muted color quilt. One of the things I like about Amanda's quilt (right) is the cheddarish color around the edge. It isn't as bright as cheddar, but is very effective. I think the cheddar is reacting with the browns to soften the quilt a little bit.
    I also like the Chinese Coins pattern. This quilt was amazingly flat.
    Deborah A's Quilt
    Deborah A's Quilt
    2. Deborah A. – 3 quilts: 1) Vibrant multicolored houses on black background; 2) Kaffe Fasset quilt in pastels; 3) Vibrant batik quilt with the back of Kaffe Fasset fabrics. First of all, using the back of the Kaffe fabrics is a stroke of genius. Mostly what I thought of when I saw this quilt was that it would be a great showcase for my Philip Jacobs fabrics. The blocks are large enough to show a piece of the fabric, but the sashing and cornerstones keep it
    3.      Cheryl S – 1) vibrant colored baby quilt in squares; 2) Yellow, orange and red and pink zig-zag quilt.
    4.      Jen A (one of the Charity Girls) – 1)Yellow and blue Out To Sea Quilt; 2) Indie quilt in multi colors
    5.      Chris C – 1) Handbag in brown and red, blue, yellow, green batiks; 2) Green and white and brown and blue/purple quilt, very modern blocks
    6.      Claire F – Little bag for her daughter at college and for her roommates.
    Peggy's Jelly Roll quilt
    Peggy's Jelly Roll quilt
    7.      Peggy – Charity Quilt Blocks; 2) Jelly Roll Quilt – Amy Butler Fabrics and white; 3) Back of quilt (black and white); 3) Jelly Roll Race she tried on her own in rows with white borders; 4) back in green and yellow for jelly roll race; 5) Final jelly roll  quilt in strip blocks with white sashing; 6) Yellow & white & blue backing. Peggy has been quietly working through her stash. This quilt (right) is her Jelly Roll quilt. She also didn't like the way it come out, so cut it up and set it differently. I think it looks very Hawaiian. I want to try another Jelly Roll Race quilt. Perhaps I will do it with the new Marmalade line from Bonnie and Camille? We'll see. I am not sure I am ready to make another diamond quilt if it doesn't look good.
    8.      Heather K. – 1) 2 dolls – shy girl in blue and green, and then Zombenstein boy doll; 2) Out to Sea maps
    9.      Kelly O – 1) Ice dyeing, scarf-sized, 6 pieces; 2) Cover for her tablet in Dr. Who fabric; 3) Doctor Who bag; 4) Dragonfly quilt back and front from Dan Rouse’s class
    10.  Deborah A (the other Charity Girl) – Converging corners in blue and red and yellow and grey
    11.  Joe – 1) Winter twister in black and white; 2)  Antique Japanese fabric and African fabrics “Patchwork Quilt” in yellows, oranges, blues and maroons; 3) 1871 (House with tree in front, all quilted, black on white).
    12.  Joy-Lily – Placemats – 1) Pair of Olive Green and mint green; 2) Pair of Gingko leaf surrounding brights; 3) Pair of bright green and pink with gingko leaves
    13.  Diana L – Pink & Brown roses with green leaves on white background 2) Blocks for the ABC Variable star, underground railroad, wagon tracks (Green, white and black)
    14.  Lynette – 1) Charity quilt string strips (pieced, quilted and bound it!); 2) Stars in teal and red and white and grey; 3) Pinwheels in red and brown and blue and green on white background, did long arming herself; 4) Blue and purple and grey and bright green stars and hexes 5) ABC blocks Waterwheel, Xs and squares (grey, green and blue)
    15.  Sara M – Joel Dewberry quilt in pinks and blues and purple
    16.  Ruth B – 1) Made from patchwork squares that were her mom’s in blues and pinks and teals, 2) Quilt as old as the guild, pieces from the upholstery shop in greens, blues, yellows and browns
    17.  Jaye – 1) Charity Quilt in pinks with backing in pinks; 2) Jelly roll race cut into diamond, got accepted into New Quilts of Northern California 3) ABC blocks – Rambler; xquartet; Japanese x block; variable star, wampum and underground railroad (in pinks, greens, teals and sashing
    18.  Michelle – 1) Orange snowball pattern; 2) Green quilt with squares in blue and yellow 4) Placemats in  5) Blocks Union square, windblown square, xquartet, yankee puzzle (in blue and white)
    19.  Colleen – Charity Quilt in tulips and butterflies – going to a group that gives quilts to kids in foster care
    20.  Rhonda – two blocks Wyoming valley & X marks the spot (greys, blues and whites
    21.  Kathleen - Windmill two and the X block (black and white and red)
    22.  Mary – 1) Tulip charity quilt in retro fabrics 2) Oh Fransson clothesline quilt in oranges and grey; 3) Jelly Roll Race quilt in polka dots
    23.  Erin – Whole Cloth challenge, hand-quilted, with several different colors of threads on taupe on one side, green on the other.
    24.  Mallory – 1) Tula Pink birds and bees quilt in plus pattern 2) Zig Zag quilt with brown, pinks, white and maroons; 3) Plume quilt on white for a baby; 4)  Momo quilt on white; 5) Art Gallery picnic quilt in greys, teals, pinks and purples; 6) Plus blocks with wide mint-green expanse of solid with white circles on it

    Thanks to everyone who attended. Hope to see you next time!

    Friday, September 7, 2012

    Meeting Tomorrow! Sept. 8

    We have a meeting tomorrow, Saturday September 8, and we hope to see you there!


    MEETING & SEWCIAL
    Saturday, September 8th 1-5pm
    Redwood City Library,
    Community Room (upstairs)
    1044 Middlefield Rd
    Redwood City  

    AGENDA (subject to change)-1-3pm
    • Welcome & Announcements
    • Quilting Demo - Rhonda has cooked up an awesome quilting demo. Ruth will demonstrate machine quilting with a walking foot (FMQing will be demoed at a later time)
    • Show & Tell


    3-5pm (or earlier if we speed through the demos!)
    • Sew Time

    What to Bring:
    • Name Tags
    • Quilts and projects to show
    • ABC Blocks (W & X)
    • Snacks to share
    • Charity blocks, tops and finished quilts
    • batting for charity
    • Cat beds

    Thursday, September 6, 2012

    Dyeing Workshop Report

    by Angela

     It was another successful first for BAMQG when 11 members joined Joy-Lily on Saturday, July 28th, for a fabric dyeing workshop. All of us had done little to no fabric dyeing in the past, so we were all eager and excited to jump in. We tried our hands at many different types of dyeing thanks to Joy-Lily’s guidance and expertise. We made some solids, clipped all sorts of items to fabric to make patterns and did some shibori, parfait and gradient dyeing. At the end of the day, we used the leftover dyes to make jar dyed fabrics which came out as surprises to us later at home. Joy-Lily packed in so many techniques and fun into one day and we all came out with so much beautiful fabric. Most of all, we all had “buckets” of fun and are “dyeing” to do it again!






    Tuesday, September 4, 2012

    September Meeting: September 8

    We have a meeting on Saturday September 8, and we hope to see you there!


    MEETING & SEWCIAL
    Saturday, September 8th 1-5pm
    Redwood City Library,
    Community Room (upstairs)
    1044 Middlefield Rd
    Redwood City  

    AGENDA (subject to change)-1-3pm
    • Welcome & Announcements
    • Quilting Demo - Rhonda has cooked up an awesome quilting demo. Ruth will demonstrate machine quilting with a walking foot (FMQing will be demoed at a later date)
    • Show & Tell


    3-5pm (or earlier if we speed through the demos!)
    Sew Time

    What to Bring:
    • Name Tags
    • Quilts and projects to show
    • ABC Blocks (W & X)
    • Snacks to share
    • Charity blocks, tops and finished quilts
    • batting for charity
    • Cat beds