August Meeting Minutes

We had a great meeting Saturday. The Board is doing a great job not only leading meetings, but planning for the future as well.

Calendar:
Aug. 29 - PIQF Entry Deadline (see online entry instructions and forms or register to attend the show)
Sept.2 - Sew Day at Grace - 3149 Waverly, Palo Alto
Sept. 16 -  BAM Meeting (Bring your friends!!)
Sept. 16 - Modern Hexie Swap due at meeting
Sept. 23 - Karen Foster (capitolaquilter) Workshop - curves and improv ($35)
Oct. 12-15 - PIQF Show at Santa Clara Convention Center
Nov. 11 - Sarah Goer Planned Improv Workshop - signups start at September Meeting ($35)

1. Question of the Day: What kind of workshops do you like / not like?
This question was directly from the Board presented not only as an icebreaker, but also to glean information about what interests members as the Board plans for workshops.

• techniques
• not projects or "buy this book and make this pattern"
• people wanted to leave with an almost finished item - not another UFO
• Improv
• want space with good lighting
• color 
• hands on
• circles, curves
• learn something hard to do by yourself
• Catherine Redford
• mixing block sizes
• big stitch
• bags, hard bags like the Cargo Duffel
• techniques and skills I can't figure out myself
• Cristina Camelli
• Design (Lorraine Torrence)
• Slash & Burn Quilts
• vale
• fabric painting
• NO hand applique'
• thought process, how quiltmakers get there
• something new I haven't done before
• FMQ - Melody Johnson or Sue Nickels including using monofilament
• Hard weird bags, Cargo Duffel 
• Skill building 
• making templates for curves
• Susan Cleveland - perfect binding
• must have good teaching skills, not all quiltmakers can teach
• Ashley Nickels
• new stuff, hard stuff
• thread painting - Melissa Averinos?
• Rami Kim - 3D techniques

Your ideas are still welcome. Contact Gerre, Amy or Mary if you have more ideas.

2. Membership
Nancy was at the meeting taking dues, workshop fees and Retreat fees. Please get in touch with Nancy if you owe money.

There are still two membership scholarships available. If you have financial difficulties talk to Gerre or Nancy.

3. Planning
The Executive Board is planning for the future. They want to get a plan in place that helps the guild and future Executive Boards. Their goal is to create continuity. To that end, they requested a member-at-large to join the Board. Alison volunteered, Claire moved to make it official and the vote carried. They also want someone to get the documents of the guild in order. Tim H volunteered to be Historian. He was approved as well.

If you have ideas or suggestions, please let Gerre, Amy or Mary C know.

4. Merit Hexies
Gerre gave us a presentation and some ideas about what to do with the merit hexies we are collecting. Gerre has a Pinterest Board, which she showed and you can look at as well. Along with the regular Grandmother's Flower Garden type layout, there was a hexie necklace, some hexie animals, a mug rug and many other inspirational images. Take a look! What will you make?

Bonus levels (like in a video game) are coming.

See the details on earning merit hexis in the January Meeting Minutes.

5.  Trunk Show
Erin gave a trunk show of her like in quilts. You can be the star of a meeting as well! Check with Gerre on putting your name into the hat.

Erin started sewing in about the 5th grade. She has been attending guild meetings since before she was born as her mom is one of the founding members of the Kansas City Quilt Guild. Erin has been in the guild for about 5 years. She is married with four kids (how does she find time to sew?????) She is thrifty, buying her fabric at a thrift store in Ann Arbor for $1/yard or from the Joann sale bin. She works mostly in solids, because she find they don't look dated.

The first quilt she made is still at her mom's house. She showed the second quilt she made, which she took to college. It is very modern looking and tied not quilted.

She took a break from sewing and quilting during college until after she was married. After college she found a paper pieced starburst pattern and made up a small piece, which got her back into the game.

She showed a high school and college t-shirt quilt which has  different sized and shaped blocks.

A Yellow Brick Road quilt is her wedding quilt. It was mostly made a a wedding shower with her family. People brought fabric to the shower, cut pieces, sewed, arranged blocks and pressed. They completed about half the quilt that day. Erin finished it and then her aunt had it quilted by an Amish friend who hand quilted it as a wedding gift.

The group thought her aesthetic was consistent.

Thanks, Erin. Next trunk show will be by Jaye.

6. Charity
The guild has donated at least 160 quilts this year to various charities including the NICU at Stanford.

The charity girls have a lot of fabric from recent donations. They will hold a raffle at the next meeting. For a $1 per ticket, you can get some fabulous fabric pieces.

They will also put packets of fabric together so that you can make quilt tops and not just blocks. Bring quilt tops!!!

There were a number of packages of tops, backs and batting to quilt.

Patti heads up the Days for Girls aspect of the guild's charity efforts. 600 liners were distributed to the DfG representative in Beijing for distribution in southeast Asia (not China, however). There was corporate sponsorship of this donation. The company of the SE Asia rep's husband underwrote all the shipping and distribution costs.

7. Sew Day at Grace
3149 Waverly, Palo Alto on September 2. Mary appreciates the help setting up and cleaning up. When the help is no longer forthcoming, no more Sew Days will beheld at Grace.

8. Retreat Update
Retreat is September 29- October 1.

All fees were due at the meeting. If you own money, get in touch with Nancy immediately. Check for spots available. There may be one commuter spot available.

Check the Ning for opportunities to get a massage.

9. Meet Your Neighbor
Alison S interviewed Nicki M.

Nicki was born in Portland, Maine, but grew up in Cupertino and now lives in San Jose. Her dad was accepted at Stanford in a Master's program and was offered a job at Lockheed when she was five weeks old, thus the move West. Her first job was stringing necklaces for her mom's beading business.

She has been married to Bob for 33 years. She has two sons, Michael and Sam. as well as a cat. Her cat will sit on any quilt. If your lap has no quilt, she won't sit in it, but put a quilt on it and she will join you. Nicki has tested this theory.

Nicki does all crafts - embroidery, crewel, crochet, beading, etc. She started quiltmaking when her kids were little because she needed to find something she could do in small snatches of time in her lap. She learned to quilt from a hand piecing class at Whiffle Tree Quilts in about 1990. Her first quilt was purple and green and the shop ladies tried hard to dissuade her from using those colors.

Nicki knits when she is not quilting. She also enjoys hiking, gardening, museums. She goes to visit her favorite pieces when she goes to certain museums.

Her favorite trips were to Japan, where she visited with former exchange students, and Fiji, where her parents had a sail boat rental company for several years.

Come to the next meeting and meet next month's neighbor, LeeAnn.

10. Challenges
Triangle Challenge was due at the meeting.

11. Color My Quilt - Amy
Everyone turned in their color my quilt shards for Amy. Joelle distributed sheets for her month. Joelle's shards are due at the September meeting.

12. Special Show and Tell
George (7YO) and Rebecca (5YO0 Goer showed us quilts that they have made.

13. Giveaway
YAY Diana! She won this month.

Check out July's minutes.

Patti's Playhouse

Patti made this gorgeous playhouse for her granddaughter. She bought the pattern from 

missprettypretty on Etsy. Patti worked really long and hard on this project.

Patti used some of the applique' dies from Accuquilt to embellish the flower pots and windowboxes.

If she had any questions she was able to email the seller. I like to think this is about 60% missprettypretty's design and certainly missprettypretty's concept. Butterflies, ladybugs, bunnies, interior, back wall, little flowers…all Patti's.

 Patti reports that this project was not hard but took a long, long time.

Member Spotlight - Ruth

by Ruth

1. Who are you, where do you live, and who with? Tell us about your family and/or the important people (pets are GREAT!) in your life and how they feel about your quiltmaking?

My name is Ruth B., and I live in Mountain View with my husband Steve and our dog, Koni. Steve is very supportive of my quilting, including fabric buying. At least budget-wise... it doesn't extend to actually shopping with me.  
Koni gives his own brand of support.  When I use the sewing machine, he frequently comes around and tries to climb into my lap. Sewing is difficult with a doggie head in front of your face, just so you know.

2. Do you want people to look at your blog? website? Flickr stream? If so, please provide links?

I blog at PippinSequim .  I am ircabbit on both Flickr and Pinterest, if those are your jam.

3. How long have you been making quilts/ How and where did you learn to quilt/Who inspired you to get started?/Describe your first quilt
   My Mom was a sewer and quilter, and I was fascinated with it, as far back as I can remember.

   

   Me watching my Mom lay out squares

   I started “helping” with her quilts when I was about 12... cutting pieces for her (with a 12-yr old's precision)... piecing (I was always forgetting to hold the threads when I started, which made a big bird's nest of thread in her machine). By high school, I was mostly doing the tops for her quilts, and then leaving her to quilt them. (Nice arrangement for me, ya?) I took a break when I left for college, and then came back to quilting in 2009, when I started my first solo project:

   

   The first project that I started on my own

   My four sisters each contributed embroidered squares that I used to make a quilt for my oldest niece. It's my favorite of the quilts I've made so far.
4. What is your style and where do you find inspiration?
   My inspiration is probably evenly divided between Flickr, blogs, the guild, and things that I see - like buildings, beaches, vineyards, etc. My quilting style would probably be considered modern, but I don't feel a strong need to fit my quilting under some label or banner. I make what seems pretty or interesting to me.
5. Do you belong to other guilds besides BAM? If so, which ones and why?
   Bay Area Modern is my baby! When I started quilting again three years ago, I looked around for a quilting group, but I didn't really find anything that seemed like a good fit. I was so jealous when I started hearing about the meetings of the LA Modern Quilt Guild. Alissa put up a post inviting people to start their own local MQGs, and I kept checking back over and over, waiting for someone to take action in the Bay Area. Then, one day I was looking at the post, and I remember thinking “Well, all I really have to do is click right there and send an email, and then I will have started one!”
6. What guild job do you hold and why did you volunteer for that position?
   My job in the guild is Challenge Coordinator (and General Interferer in Everyone's Business, haha). It was easy picking my job - before we had coordinators, I did a little bit of almost all the positions we have now, so I knew just what I liked best! Editor's note: Ruth was also the first president.
7. Favorite quilting blogs?  (mainly because Joelle wants some new blogs to read ;-)  )
   I read a lot of blogs, but the majority of them are related to garment sewing, home decorating, or just humorous/random writing.  I do follow some of the big ones like Film in the Fridge, Tallgrass Prairie Studio, Oh Fransson, and Crazy Mom Quilts. I also follow some of our guild members who have blogs.
8. What do you generally do with the quilts you make?  Give away? Keep? Sell? Show?
   I have given away all of the quilts that I've finished so far. Of the six quilts that I have in progress right now, 3 are destined to stay with me (it's about time!), and the other six will be given away.
9. What is your favorite block pattern?
   When I'm asked for my favorite color, I usually say a different one every time because it takes too long to explain that I don't really have one and the colors are all lovely in different contexts. It's the same with block patterns, so for today I will say the Storm at Sea block. It's lovely, creates beautiful secondary patterns, and has such an excellent  name.

   

   Storm at Sea in Neptune by Tula Pink

10. In what room of the house do you sew? Tell us about your sewing/quilting/crafting space.
    I have a semi-permanent setup on the dining room table. It only gets put away for company. Some company. My tools and scraps are in a set of plastic drawers to the left of my sewing chair, and my ironing board is to the right. My fabric stash doesn't fit in the dining room, so it is in the office. I thought it was a little cramped (the danger of reading too many “my sewing space” blog posts from quilters who have a whole room to themselves) but I have a lot more room than some of the other people in the guild. 
    

    
11. Do you create in any other areas of craft? Is quilting your main creative outlet?
    I do all kinds of crafts. I have quilted, sewed garments, housewares, and softies, knitted, crocheted, mod-podged, stamped, upholstered, refinished a chair, done woodworking, machined metal, and made bracelets, earrings, and yarn poodles. Lately my crafting time is mostly devoted to quilting and garment sewing.
12. Are there any must have quilting tools?  
    I really love my Chaco liner. It's a chalk marking device sold by Clover, and it's magical. I almost always mark my tops for quilting because I've learned that my quilting is straighter if I mark my quilt where my needle needs to go, rather than using the side of my foot against the piecing lines. The Chaco liner is definitely the best marking device that I've used, and it's just chalk on the surface, so I don't worry that sometime it won't come out.
13. What are your favorite shops either online or in the neighborhood?
    I have a bad addiction to Julie's shop (Intrepid Thread). I follow her blog, so I'm constantly being tempted by the new fabric coming in. She always invites me to pick up my fabric if I don't want to wait for the next guild meeting, and of course once I'm there, a few more things usually end up in my stack (Julie – that's preying on the weak!).
14. 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?
    My favorite part of the quilting process is definitely design, but it's a bit empty if I never actually do anything! The very best part is picking fabrics. My stash (and the room it's in) is always a crazy mess because I pull fabric combinations frequently and enthusiastically.
15. Do you have a favorite sewing tip or trick?

I have a great technique for placing your next fabric when paper piecing, but it's a bit hard to just describe. Hit me up next time you are paper piecing and I will gladly show you.

Member Spotlight: Terri Thayer

Terri will be doing a reading at the meeting on Saturday. Read on to learn more about her. Thanks to Terri for whipping this questionaire up so quickly. ~editor

1. Name: Terri Thayer                         
2. In what city do you live? San Jose   
3. Do you want people to look at your blog? website? http://www.territhayer.com
4. How long have you been making quilts? 24 yrs.      
5. How and where did you learn to quilt? I took a hand quilting class at a local dept. store. Once I learned about the rotary cutter, I was hooked.
6. Who inspired you to get started? Reading 1982-83 Quilters Newsletter Magazine. Also, the need for a quilt for my son’s bed.
7. Please describe your first quilt (Include a picture if you have it). Ugly, ugly rail fence (I will bring it to the meeting)
8. Where do you find inspiration? Nature, books, fabric
9. What do you generally do with the quilts you make?  Give away? Keep? Sell? Show? Give away. I love the feeling of thinking about a friend or family member as I pick out fabrics, design a quilt and sew. That’s the best!        
10. What is your favorite block pattern? I am partial to Monkey Wrench, not just because it is the name of my latest book. Another name for it is Hole in the Barn Door. My grandmother’s barn had a hole in it, so it holds a special meaning for me.
11. In what room of the house do you sew? Tell us about your sewing/quilting/crafting space. For many years, I sewed in the dining room. My family ate with the machine next to them. Now I have a spare bedroom. It’s not huge but has a closet with shelving and built in drawers. I have two design walls, which are always in use. My favorite piece of furniture in it is my cutting table. I love being at the correct height when I cut. Also love my Bernina.
12. Do you create in any other areas of craft? Is quilting your main creative outlet? Mostly quilting
13. What is your favorite fabric (line, designer, pattern are all ok) and why? I couldn’t chose. Each year fabric gets prettier and prettier.
14. What is your favorite quilt book? Are there any quilt books you recommend?  I really love books by Joen Wolfrom. One of my favorites is Color Play. And to feed my landscape addiction, Luminous Landscapes by Gloria Loughman.
15. Are there any must have quilting tools?  I’ve really been utilizing my 4 in 1 Essential Sewing Tool. http://www.ctpub.com/productdetails.cfm?PC=1390

It’s seam ripper, stiletto, presser and poking tool. I never lose it and use it every day.  Which may say more about me than the tool.

16. What are your favorite shops either online or in the neighborhood? The Granary in Sunnyvale
17. Is there an area of quilting you feel you would like to learn more about and why? I’m always drawn to landscape quilts at the quilt shows. Someday I’ll make a beautiful landscape of the Monterey coast.
18. Is there an area of quilting at which you feel you excel? Being really good at quilting is great, but not required to have a wonderful experience. I don’t excel at anything. I’m a so-so technician, I don’t have a great artist’s eye and my color choices sometimes baffle my friends. So I keep studying and sewing with my friends. That’s where I excel.

Member Spotlight: Cheryl

Bay Area Modern Quilt Guild Member Spotlight

Please contact Cheryl by leaving a comment below.

1. Name: Cheryl
2. Place: Santa Clara
3. Cheryl's Weblink: http://www.flickr.com/photos/strongcheryl/
4. Family and important people, pets and how they feel about your quiltmaking: My dog is not impressed. My cat, on the other hand enjoys many aspects of this hobby. He especially enjoys the basting part when he gets to sit in the middle of the quilt in progress and generally make a mess of things. My husband is supportive, although I am certain he thinks I am a bit obsessed even though he hasn’t said that out loud yet. My daughter has been learning to use the sewing machine so now we “get” to share.
5. How long have you been making quilts? About 3 years.
6. How and where did you learn to quilt? I learned to sew in a Beginning Girls class in 4-H when I was in fourth grade. Mostly I am a self-taught quilter, but I have taken a few classes to help figure out some of the harder parts.
7. First quilt: My first quilt started off as a potholder, but I realized that was really just a little quilt so I might as well put 9 potholders together. This was before I had fully embraced the stash idea so I used fabrics on hand. It was very pink so I gave it to my extra-girly niece.
8. Where do you find inspiration? Architecture, tiled flooring, gates, trees. My daughter rolls her eyes when I say “that makes me think of a quilt” since I say it quite a lot.
9. Describe your quilting "style"?  I like to think of myself as Modern, but I am really drawn to traditional styles as well.
10. Do you belong to other guilds besides BAMQG? If so, which ones and why? No. The rest of my allotted sewing time I try to spend sewing.
11. Favorite quilting blogs?  

• http://badskirt.blogspot.com
• http://lilysquilts.blogspot.com/ 
• http://sweetdieseldesigns.com/
• http://www.freshlemonsquilts.com/
• http://kechquilts.blogspot.com/

13. What guild job do you hold and why did you volunteer for that position? Sometimes I take the coffee pot home with me and bring it back to the next meeting.
14. What do you generally do with the quilts you make?  Give away? Keep? Sell? Show? Give away to family, friends, new babies, and charities. I keep a few.
15. What is your favorite block pattern? I have not made very many blocks. I like log cabins, wonky and otherwise.
16. In what room of the house do you sew? Tell us about your sewing/quilting/crafting space: The dining room. Everything is stored in a large pantry/closet, sharing space with the blender and rice cooker. I take out the sewing machine, cutting mat, and ironing when required.
17. Do you create in any other areas of craft? Is quilting your main creative outlet? Do kids crafts count? My daughter loves a craft project- anything with glue, pipe cleaners, and pompoms.
18. What is your favorite fabric and why? Pretty much anything by Denyse Schmidt, Lotta Jansdotter, Sweetwater.
19. What is your favorite quilt book? Are there any quilt books you recommend?  I have both Denyse Schmidt books, which I love even if I don’t ever make most of them. Material Obsession and Modern Patchwork also. I get ideas from all of these, even if I don’t really follow patterns very well.
20. Are there any must have quilting tools?  Sewing machine, rotary cutter, etc. Also, I got these seam rippers for Christmas from my husband that look like small, curved razor blades and work really well.
21. What are your favorite shops either online or in the neighborhood? I buy fabric mostly on-line: Sew Fresh Fabrics (Etsy), Fat Quarter Shop, and of course Intrepid Thread! I hope Julie opens a neighborhood shop soon. I like fondling the fabric sometimes before I buy it.
22. Is there an area of quilting you feel you would like to learn more about and why? Paper piecing and free motion quilting.
23. Is there an area of quilting at which you feel you excel? Do you prefer the process of designing, piecing, or quilting? I don’t feel like I really excel at any of this. But I am pretty good at figuring out how to make something without a pattern. Perhaps because of my science background, I nerdily enjoy figuring out the math. I like to use pencil and notebook since I spend most of my work day on a computer already. I prefer the designing and piecing far more than the quilting.

If you would like to be the subject of the member spotlight, please comment on this post. Thanks!

Member Spotlight: Joy-Lily

We are pleased to announce that Joy-Lily will be speaking at the guild's February Meeting on February 4, 2012, 1-5 at Redwood City Library. The address is: 1044 Middlefield Rd., Redwood City, Ca 94063. We meet upstairs Community Room (the elevators are on the far left of the entrance). To get you ready for the meeting, here in a Member Spotlight with Joy-Lily!!!

1. Name:

• Joy-Lily

2. In what city do you live?

• San Francisco

3. How long have you been making quilts? 

• Since 1985

4.  How and where did you learn to quilt?

• SF City College class with Caroline Libermann and through the SF Quilt Guild's various classes and by reading books.

5. Who inspired you to get started?

• A woman for whom I sewed piecework squares into potholders. The patterns intrigued me.

6. Please describe your first quilt:

• It was a log cabin in turquoise, violet and red.

7. Where do you find inspiration?

• I like to manipulate traditional quilt patterns to create new ones.

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

• Carefree and mismatched.

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

• San Francisco Quilters Guild is my local guild. It has many resources like a lending library lectures with well known quilters and workshops. I have lots of friends there.

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

• Mostly show them. I rotate the large ones on my bed to enjoy them. I give away baby quilts.

11. What is your favorite block pattern? 

• This week I'm messing around with King's Crown, so it's my current favorite.

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

• My humongous bedroom is a quilt studio with a corner for sleeping and clothes. The rest is taken up by shelves of fabrics and books. There is a large sewing/cutting table in the middle. Sometimes even the bed doubles for laying out blocks.

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

• I also dye, paint and print on fabric, sometimes all on the same piece. These fabrics are often for my quilts. My latest passion is for felting I make felt pictures and objects. Felt pieces are starting to wander into quilts too. 

 

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

• Naturally I recommend my book: Carefree Quilts – A Freestyle Twist on Classic Designs.  It takes you through the basics of quilting in a stress-free way. Joen Wolfram's  books are a great resource  for learning about color.

Editor's comment: Joy-Lily has recently authored Carefree Quilts and it is available through a variety of bookstores and Amazon. 
15. Are there any must have quilting tools? 

• I couldn't work without rotary cutting tools.

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

• The SF Sewing & Quilting Collaborative. I love working and teaching at the Quilting Collaborative because it is total immersion in everything quilting. Linda, who runs the foundation is a " yes and" person, up for most every new idea. Volunteers drop in and work together in a very collegial way. You've got to see this place to understand why I call it "quilt heaven".The SF Sewing and Quilting Collaborative, called the Quilting Collaborative for short, is at 2189 Bayshore Blvd. in the very southeastern part of SF - right near the Brisbane line. Their website is www.sfsqc.org. It is a non-profit organization whose mission is to make "warm hugs" for the community and to educate quilters. It is open Tuesday - Saturday about 11- 6 PM. One part is a longarm studio (topstitching available by donation and occasional classes that allow you to then use the machines.) Behind that is a classroom with a bunch of electronic Brother machines and every quilt tool one needs. The walls are lined with bolts of fabric used for the donation quilts. I teach a 6 session class there where students can do their own projects, in exchange for volunteering for 3 hours a session (+ my fee of $48). Next door is a fabric shop where the most expensive quilt yardage is $7!

17. Is there an area of quilting you feel you would like to learn more about and why?

•  Free motion quilting on a home machine is a challenge for me.

18. 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 to design piecework and to stitch freehand with a long arm machine.

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

• My laptop, as many quilts as I could carry.

20. Do you have a favorite sewing tip or trick? 

• Check ¼ inch below the edge to match seams. If they don't line up, flip the seam allowances in the opposite directions.  Twisted seams on the inside are invisible.

23.What else do you want your fellow members to know that we have not asked? 

• I am a quilting instructor with 23 years experience.

Check out more of Joy-Lily's work at her website : www.joy-lily.com

Take a look at our other Member Spotlights.

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.