Brick blocks for Charleston MQG and Emanuel AME church to July meeting!

The Charleston Modern Quilt Guild is collecting blocks to be assembled into a quilt for the Emanuel AME church to show our love and support for their members.  Requested blocks are simple brick style and measure 3.5” tall by 6.5” wide (to finish at 3” x 6”).   Please make sure all text is inside the 3” x 6” area.  Each block should prominently show the maker’s city and state – or city and country! – and the maker’s name. Recommended pens for fabric are Sharpies and Micron, but most permanent markers would likely work.  Blocks should be a single piece of fabric and in a solid or print that reads as a solid.  The location and name of the maker should be clear and easy to read.

If you are wanting to participate, please bring your signed brick blocks to the July 18 meeting. We will send them all in as a group.

Original post on Charleston MQG page  here.

June 20 Meeting Notes!

The meeting on Saturday was GREAT, as usual.

Kelly started off the meeting with her Intro/Getting to know you question, which was: "What is your favorite thread?" Answers ranged from 'regular' to 'delightful':

• Aurifil
• Mettler
• whatever is in my machine ;-)
• light grey for piecing
• shades of grey
• whatever makes my machine happy
• cream for piecing
• Superior
• purple, sometimes pink
• green
• all beige
• whatever is on sale
• like to try all sorts of different cotton threads
• cotton
• Connecting Threads thread
• quilting poly
• Isacord
• whatever thread is manufactured in the same country as my machine
• whatever was int he Retreat gift bag.

Retreat
Rhonda gave a review of the Retreat, which was held on the weekend of June 12. The Retreat has been held the past 4 years and 24 people attended this year. Tote bags made by Gerre and Lynette were stuffed with goodies and given out to everyone. It is rumored that there were fabulous prizes as well. The goodies were solicited by Cynthia and she did a great job. Please take the time to mention your thanks when buying from these vendors. It will encourage them, as you can imagine, to donate next year.

Charity
The Charity Girls are hard at it.

The next Charity Sew Day is August 1, 2015, 11-7 at the Los Altos Library. The theme will be in line with the QuiltCon Charity colors.

Two tops were made at the quilt retreat. People made a block or two and the group ended up with 2 tops. They need to be quilted so see Michelle or Peggy if you can do it.

Angela gave a Hawaiian Quilt Update. Five quilts were delivered to the family last Friday. There are still 5 quilts that need to be finished. If you can help, please contact Angela.

Please bring back any quilt kits that you have outstanding. If life has intervened, please bring them back unmade.

Postage stamp pattern (16 patch of 2.5" squares) blocks are always welcome. Get a kit at the upcoming meeting.

We are currently donating charity quilts to:

• Stanford NICU
• Envision, an organization that sets homeless people up with the necessities of life as they transition to a home.
• A local battered women's shelter

Improv Workshop (May 30, 2015)
The Improv workshop was held at Always Quilting and was a packed house. Tina Michalik taught and people made good progress with their pieces. There was an excellent lunch and lots of laughter.

Quilty Happenings

• Alison Glass quilts up at hte Intrepid Thread through the end of next week
• Shop Hop by the Bay through tomorrow
• Fat quarter Shop- free panda pattern
• Quilting in Public Day is today
• Saturday July 25 - one of the members will have a 'test drive a long arm day' at her studio. Check the Ning forum
• Tuesday Sew Day at Twin Pines - 1-3:45. It is open sewing
• MQG has a judging webinar (audio only)
• You can sign up for free with Creative Bug

QuiltCon West is coming (Feb 18-21, 2016 in Pasadena, Calif.)

• Signups are next week - put your first choice class in your cart and check out immediately as there have been problems with classes being full and the entire cart being emptied when a user tried to check out. Patience is a virtue.
• Quilt entries start 7/1
• You have to register for the Keynote, Closing event and awards.

Guild Volunteering
The work of the guild happens because people volunteer. The guild will need officers starting in January. The group will also need 'advisory council' members such as swaps, challenges, blog/social media, Retreat coordinator and committee, etc. Check the Ning forum for a list of officers needed. If people don't volunteer, that activity will be dropped.

See you at the July meeting: July 18: Sherri Lynn Wood will be speaking. Pre-order her books and receive them at the meeting.

May's Meeting Notes

Saturday offered up another great meeting!

Kelly started off the meeting, after her fabulous welcome, with the Intro question. This time it had to do with favorite fabric designers. Again, we are a diverse group and we don't adhere to the rules very well. ;-) Answers were fun and varied:

• Tula Pink, of course
• batiks was a very popular answer, even though batiks are not a fabric designer
• Carolyn Friedlander (your editor loves her text and word designs!)
• solids
• Bonnie & Camille
• Lotta Jansdotter
• tone-on-tones
• According to Peggy, there are no ugly fabrics

QuiltCon West
QuiltCon West will be held February 15-21, 2016 in Pasadena, California at the convention center. It is the ComiCon for quiltmakers. You can volunteer at one of two levels, super, which gives you lots of free stuff or regular. The deadline for regular volunteers is September 1 and you have to sign up by 6/15 to be a super volunteer.

Entering quilts will be from July 1-November 30.

If you check the Quiltcon west website you will see classes and lectures starting to appear. The full course catalog is coming with registration for classes opening on June 25. Non-member registration opens July 1. If you are a member of BAMQG, then you are a member of MQG and can sign up as a member during the member timeframe. Non-member registration opens July 1.

Thanks to Angela for compiling the dates and keeping us informed.

Retreat
The Retreat is imminent. Your registration should be fully paid by now. The improv activity has been sent out. Contact Rhonda if you did not receive it.

Charity
Due to changes at the Los Altos Library, we will only be having Sew Days once a quarter. New block is the bow tie block. August 1 is the next charity sew day at the Los Altos Library, 11-7. We will be doing the MQG challenge: Improv with Intent.

May's Charity Sew Day had a good turn out.

Recently 4 quilts were taken to the JW House at Kaiser.

Exhibition
In December 2015 there will be another exhibition of our modern quilts at the Los Altos Library. Stay tuned for details.

Quilty Happenings

• Anderson Museum at Stanford is now open. Take a docent tour of their modern art collection for inspiration.
• SJ Museum of Quilts and Textiles has an exhibit by Margaret Fabrizio - June 14, 2-4pm, she will be speaking on embroidery. There are Bedouin textiles in the smaller gallery.
• San Mateo County Fair June 6-14. See Lynette if you want your quilt dropped off or picked up.
• Sonoma Valley Museum of Art: Unconventional exhibit closed yesterday
• Sherri Lynn wood will speak July 18 at our meeting. She wrote The Improv Handbook for Modern Quilters
• Stacy Sharman will be speaking the BAMQG September meeting
• The Reno quilt show is in the first week of June. It is reported that they have good workshops and good speakers
• BAMQG Improve Workshop: May 30, 10-4 with Tina Michalik at Always Quilting. $40 per person including lunch. See Angela about space.

Discussion Topic: How to Up Our Own Modern Game
Aside from classes, inspiration and blogs, how can we make our quilts more modern or think about modern design aesthetic. That was the topic we discussed on Saturday. Some ideas that came up were:

• rearrange blocks
• turn blocks in different directions
• let go of preconceived notions of what is going to happen
• take a workshop (see above!!!)
• just sew
• meditate - get into yourself
• purge your stash - we do evolve and our tastes change
• rearrange your stash
• use the backside of a fabric. It can turn into a low volume print, it can be a softer version or subtler
• do challenges
• look at stuff - galleries, flowers. Ask yourself "what would I do with that idea?"
• see your fabrics

Just for fun. We will be taking a look at other member's stashes. Post before and after picture of your stash on the Ning site as you implement some of these ideas.

Modern Elements/Alternate Grid Challenge
Results were shown. Check out Flickr.

Opportunity Quilt

• We will be selling tickets at the San Mateo County Fair. There are 4.5 hour shifts on Saturday June 6 and Sunday June 7, 11:30-3:30 and 3:30-8pm. See Amanda.

Meeting TOMORROW!!! See you there!

A quick reminder about our meeting TOMORROW!

Saturday, May 16, starting at 1:00 pm -- we'll be meeting at the Redwood City Library, in the upstairs community room. 

Things to bring:

*Show 'n Tell

*Your name tag

*Finished Hawaiian quilts!!

*Charity blocks and quilts

*Small Group projects (Tula blocks, Hand Quilting)

*Checkbook -- pay the balance of your retreat fee, or if you haven't paid your dues yet, now's your chance! 

*Calendar: there are lots of BAM happenings and your talents are needed

*Information about local/national quilty happenings

*Non-messy snacks

*Enthusiasm and a positive attitude! 

There are a few spots left for the Improv Workshop.Tina Michalik (her site is Little Blue Cottage), one of the founders of and previous President of the South Bay Modern Quilt Guild will be teaching us how to make our own versions of her gorgeous quilt design. When:  Saturday, May 30th, 10am-4pm
Where:  Always Quilting, 4230 Olympic Ave., San Mateo, CA 94403, 650-458-8580
How Much:  $40 per person for members, including lunch
See Angela ASAP

Please note: this list is not necessarily all-inclusive. It's quite likely there's something important that's been left off, so if you think of something that should be added, please speak up! 

There will be lots of time to visit, too, especially after the meeting. So plan to stick around and have some fun! Meet new friends, chat with old friends, and eat some yummy snacks!

If you have any questions, please reply here, or see an officer at the meeting. 

Members can visit BA Modern at: http://bamodernquiltguild.ning.com/?xg_source=msg_mes_network

Meeting Saturday May 16

Hello!

A quick reminder about our meeting on Saturday!

Saturday, May 16, starting at 1:00 pm -- we'll be meeting at the Redwood City Library, in the upstairs community room. 

Things to bring:

*Show 'n Tell

*Your name tag

*Finished Hawaiian quilts!!

*Charity blocks and quilts

*Small Group projects (Tula blocks, Hand Quilting)

*Checkbook -- pay the balance of your retreat fee, or if you haven't paid your dues yet, now's your chance! 

*Calendar: there are lots of BAM happenings and your talents are needed

*Information about local/national quilty happenings

*Non-messy snacks

*Enthusiasm and a positive attitude! 

There are a few spots left for the Improv Workshop.Tina Michalik (her site is Little Blue Cottage), one of the founders of and previous President of the South Bay Modern Quilt Guild, will be teaching us how to make our own versions of her gorgeous quilt design.
When:  Saturday, May 30th, 10am-4pm
Where:  Always Quilting, 4230 Olympic Ave., San Mateo, CA 94403, 650-458-8580
How Much:  $40 per person for members, including lunch
See Angela ASAP

Please note: this list is not necessarily all-inclusive. It's quite likely there's something important that's been left off, so if you think of something that should be added, please speak up! 

There will be lots of time to visit, too, especially after the meeting. So plan to stick around and have some fun! Meet new friends, chat with old friends, and eat some yummy snacks!

If you have any questions, please reply here, or see me at the meeting. 

Members can visit BA Modern at: http://bamodernquiltguild.ning.com/?xg_source=msg_mes_network

MQG: Michael Miller Fabric Challenge

Check your email account and/or the MQG website for information about the QuiltCon 2016 Michael Miller fabric challenge. Register now, and if you sign up while there's still challenge fabric available, you could receive a bundle of the challenge fabric! Go! Now! Hope to see you at next week's meeting!!

Meeting tomorrow!!!

Hello! A quick reminder about our meeting on tomorrow: Saturday, April 18, starting at 1:00 pm -- we'll be meeting at the Redwood City Library, in the upstairs community room.  Things to bring: *Show 'n Tell *Your name tag *Finished Hawaiian quilts!! *Modern Elements Challenge quilts/blocks/tops *Charity blocks and quilts *Small Group projects (Tula blocks, Hand Quilting) *Checkbook -- pay the balance of your retreat fee, or if you haven't paid your dues yet, now's your chance! *Information about local/national quilty happenings *Non-messy snacks *Enthusiasm and a positive attitude!  Please note: this list is not necessarily all-inclusive. It's quite likely there's something important that's been left off, so if you think of something that should be added, please speak up!  There will be lots of time to visit, too, especially after the meeting. So plan to stick around and have some fun!. Meet new friends, chat with old friends, and eat some yummy snacks! We've got some special goings on, as well as an exciting announcement -- you won't want to miss this meeting! If you have any questions, please reply here, or see me at the meeting.

Visit BA Modern at: http://bamodernquiltguild.ning.com/?xg_source=msg_mes_network