Announcing ECMQG's First Inter-Guild Swap!!

Nosegay Pin Cushion by ACraftyFox_Amanda/Westwood Acres Fabrics and is available free for a short time from this link

Hey ECMQG Members!  I'm so excited!!!

Just a little patchwork pin cushion

The Houston MQG has invited us to swap pin cushions with them.  This will be a make one/take one swap, so no partners will be assigned.  We will sign up here in the comments, on the post on the guild FB page, OR at the May 10 meeting (please only sign up once - also indicate if you would be willing to be an "angel" if we need more pinnies).  Everyone is invited to participate if they are a member of the guild in good standing.

Henrietta Turtle pin cushion by Heather Bailey

Bring your finished pinnie to the JULY ECMQG meeting.  (Be sure to put a label on your pinnie with your name, and city.)

We will box them up and send them off to Houston, and they will collect theirs and send them to us.

Wild Flower Pin Cushion by Anna Maria Horner for Better Homes and Gardens

Then, everyone who makes a pinnie will receive one in exchange at our AUGUST guild meeting.

This is gonna be AWESOME!

Wonky Stars Charity Quilt

We will be making a wonky star charity quilt for Fisher House, which provides "comfort homes" at Eglin AFB for the families of our wounded service men and women while they are undergoing medical treatment.  Some of you may have received fabric at our A&E field trip last Saturday.  If you didn't receive fabric then, there may be a limited number of block kits available at the May meeting.

All blocks should be returned to Susan McDuffie not later than the June 7 meeting.

Marcy Gallagher made our sample block and took pictures so we would have a tutorial.  Thanks, Marcy!

Take your gray background square which should be at least a 14" square and cut it twice vertically and twice horizontally into a wonky 9-patch.

Take the piece you intend to use for your block center and using the center of the background fabric as the pattern, cut an identical piece.

Using the small pieces of fabric, make your wonky star points.  Be sure that the fabric will entirely cover the corner of the background fabric before you sew.  Also, make sure the star points are at least 1/4-inch from the outside edge of the background so they are not cut off when the pieces are stitched together.

Marcy used her iron to mark a sewing line before she stitched to make sure the background was completely covered by the star points.

Check again.  Then stitch.

Trim off the excess star point fabric 1/4 inch from the seam.

Trim the excess from the star points to match the background fabric.  Then trim away the excess background fabric 1/4 inch from the seam.

Press your seams.  This is what it will look like from the back.

Repeat for each of the points of the star.  Then sew your 9-patch block together.  Press.

Now, square up your block to 12-1/2 inches.


Pat yourself on the back.  You've just completed one of the blocks we need to make our charity quilt.

Be sure to get your block to Susan by the June 7th Meeting!

Field Trip!

The Emerald Coast Modern Quilt Guild held it's 3rd annual Field Trip to A&E Fabrics in Pensacola on Saturday, April 12, 2014.  More than 25 members attended the meeting.

In a lucky coincidence, the meeting coincided with the Pensacola Quilter's Guild Quilt Show, so A&E had a wonderful sale for the event. 

A&E provided a delicious lunch for us catered by Sonny's Barbeque.

Gina Curtis made this delicious cake for us to celebrate our field trip adventure.  Thanks, Gina.

And yes, it tasted as wonderful as it looked.  Gina promised to share the recipe!

We had a short meeting and Marcy Gallagher and Kelly Spear passed out the fabrics for the MQG Michael Miller Challenge.  If you signed up and weren't at the field trip or just didn't receive your Michael Miller challenge fabrics, they will be available at the next meeting or contact Marcy or Kelly.  Projects will be due for the ECMQG at the June meeting and must be uploaded to the MQG website by June 23.  You may add any solid or Michael Miller printed fabric , and you may make anything you wish as long as it is quilted.  For additional rules, here is a link to the official guidelines to the challenge from the MQG website.

We also had a short show and tell.  Marcy showed her improv curves quilt from Diane's lesson at the March meeting.

She chose a fun print for the back.

Wendi Mihalik showed her recently finished (and long neglected) Breath of Avignon quilt - the first quilt she made after a long quilting hiatus (also her first quilt using modern fabrics, first quilt using precuts, and first introduction to Moda Bake Shop).  The pattern is called Avignon Picnic.  The fabric is Breath of Avignon by American Jane.

She also showed her Faux String quilt.  The blocks are made from a stripe FQ bundle from Westwood Acres.  The pattern is a variation of Heximetry by Alexandra Winston.

The back is random pieces left from other quilts.

Wendi also showed her finished Modern Maples Quilt from last fall's ECMQG Modern Maples quilt along.

The back is scraps in a Tumbling Maple leaf design.

Melissa Jennings showed her project based on the Gold Fish Crackers block from our March Block Lottery.  This will be a Fish-in-Bags wall hanging, and the bags will show more once it is quilted.

Olivia showed the Airplane quilt she made for her son when he was a baby.

She even added airplanes in the quilting.

She also showed the I-Spy quilt she made for her other son, This one is special because she collaborated on it with her mom.

She chose a fun hot air balloon print for the back.

Cindy Marvel showed a cute little scrappy baby quilt made from scraps she found while cleaning her sewing room using Elizabeth Hartmann's tutorial.  She intends to finish this quilt for  Project Linus.

She has also been making Scrappy Trip Along blocks for a Flickr Swap.  She showed some that she made to send to others and some that she had received in her "beachy" colors.

She also showed a cute little drawstring bag she made from a Scrappy Trip block that she plans to use to wrap a birthday gift.

We all had a wonderful time.  Many thanks to those who attended and especially to A&E for hosting us and providing lunch.

May 2014 Block Lottery - Polaroid 4x4 Block

Welcome to the ECMQG May 2014 Block Lottery!

If you are new to the group, or our blog, you can read the general Block Lottery information here, as well as see previous blocks (with instructions or tutorials) and past winners.  As always, please read through the entire instructions before cutting and sewing.

The rules are simple:

• The Lottery is open to all ECMQG members in good standing.
• Please use only quilt shop quality fabric (no Hobby Lobby or JoAnn's fabric with the exception of designer lines).
• The aesthetic is ALWAYS MODERN.
• Take your time and effort to construct your block well, and use 1/4" seam allowances (unless the tutorial states otherwise). 
• Blocks should be the correct size, within about a quarter of an inch.
• Each block + $1 is one entry in the drawing.  You may submit as many entries as you would like.
• Please label your block with you name, either within the seam allowance on the back, or, with an address label stuck to the back.
• Past winners can still contribute, but please understand until we see a finished quilt from your win, allow someone else the thrill of winning.
• If you have any questions please contact me - Kira - or comment below.

Our May lottery block is a version of the Polaroid Block.  Not just one, but 4 Polaroids set in a 12.5" x 12.5" (unfinished) block.  This fun block is great for fussy cutting fabrics!   There are many published tutorials, but we are going to make a slightly different sized Polaroid.

Here are some blocks and quilts you can find by using a google search of ''Polaroid Quilt Block".

See how fun this mini Polaroid block quilt looks by Fabric Mutt?

Cute mini tops by Maureen Cracknell

The fabric we will be using for the Polaroid edges is Kona White; the background is Kona Coal, a medium to dark gray (not Charcoal, which is an almost black gray). 

You will be pulling from your stash to find fabrics to fussy cut into 3.5 inch squares.  Look for fabrics with picture-like qualities. 

Polaroid 4x4 Block

Fabric Requirements:

• 4 - 3.5" x 3.5" fussy cut squares
• Kona White 1/8 yard
• Kona Coal 1/4 yard

Cutting your fabric:

• 4 - 3.5" x 3.5" fussy cut squares
• 2 - Kona White WOF x 1" strips (Polaroid sides and top)
• 1 - Kona White WOF x 1.5" strip (Polaroid bottom)
• 3 - Kona Coal WOF x 2" strip 
• Sub cut 1 strip into 2" x 4.5", you need 8 total
• Sub cut 2 strips into 2" x 8.5", you need 8 total

Sewing:
   

With right sides together, line up the side edge of the fussy cut square to the 1" white strip.  Stitch, using a 1/4" seam allowance.  Leaving a 1/4" to 1/2" space, place another fussy cut square (again, right sides together) on the strip and sew.  Continue until all four fussy cut squares have been sewn to the 1" strip.

Press the seam allowance towards the strip. Trim the side pieces even with the fussy cut squares.

Repeat for the opposite side, and the TOP of each square.

Finishing framing the bottom of the fussy cut centers using the 1.5" white strip in the same manner as above.  Again, press your seam allowance towards the white and trim.

Adding the Background:

Using the 4.5" gray strips and with right sides together, sew one to the top and bottom of your Polaroids.  Press your seam outwards, towards the gray. 

Attach the 8.5" gray strips to each side.  Press seams towards the gray.  

Trim each of these to 6.5" square.  You can make them wonky if you wish.

Join the smaller four blocks together to make one 12.5" Polaroid 4x4 block, this time, pressing seams open to reduce bulk.  

I hope you enjoy this block!  I can't wait to see your 4x4 Polaroid blocks at our meeting in May.

Kira Bell

ECMQG Block Lottery Coordinator 

ETA: Jennifer's quilt top made from the blocks she won.