January Meeting (Minutes)

The January meeting was held on January 9, 2016.  Natalie called the meeting to order at 10:10 and welcomed visitors and new members.

We will be participating in the Chautauqua Quilt Show on February 12 and 13.  Three guests from the Chautauqua guild came to show us how to prepare our quilts for the show.

Each quilt should be in a pillowcase to keep it clean and help ensure all quilts are returned in good condition to their owners.  The pillowcase should have a label with  the owner's name and the quilt size on it.

The quilt must have a quilt sleeve on the back for hanging.  There are many online tutorials explaining how to add a hanging sleeve to your quilts.

The quilt needs a label.  The label can be as simple as just the maker's name and date, or more elaborate showing the pattern, pattern designer, fabric designer, who it was made for, and a story about the quilt.

Please help advertise the quilt show.  These yellow coupons are good for $1 off admission - and they're good reminders so people don't forget.

Members wishing to submit quilts need to complete the submission form (ECMQG has its own form) and send forms and photos of the quilt to Cindy by January 15.

We will need members to work the show to set up, take down, as hostesses, and to work our booth at the show.  Members can consign items for the show.  The guild will take a 10% commission.

Because the quilt show takes place on the weekend of our next meeting, the February meeting is being moved to February 6.  Members submitting quilts can bring them to the February meeting.  Cindy will take the quilts to the show. 

The quilt we submitted for display at QuiltCon 2015 will be our Opportunity Quilt for the Chautauqua Quilt Show.  We will sell raffle tickets at the show and online and give the funds raised to a local charity.

Natalie then asked guild members to tell what they were most proud of as a guild in 2015.  Some responses were:

Sew Modern Quilt Lab

2 completed Quilts of Honor

Several charity quilts made by the guild and by members

Members then talked about their personal accomplishments, which ranged from making their first quilt, sewing a binding, inserting a zipper, trying new styles of quilting, trying a new quilt style - such as improv - or even participating in the block lottery.

Elaine presented the January block lottery block, Modern Windows.  Seventeen blocks were submitted.

And we have a winner!

Susan presented the February "Arrow" Block.  A link to the instructions will be on the blog.

Kira presented our program, "The Care and Feeding of Your Baby," - sewing machine, that is.  The most important thing you can do for your machine is keep it clean.

A representative of the Flying Needles Quilt Guild presented information on their Quilt Retreat which will be held at Northwest Florida State College on February 26 and 27. Pat Sloan is their guest quilter.  Information about the retreat is here.


Fourteen members shared quilts and projects in Show and Tell.

Market Street Bag made from Hello Darling fabric (Bonnie & Camille)

Pattern is Simplicity #1080

Mary showed her amazingly spacious Scissor and Notions Cozy

Confetti quilt (this mini has a story - see Mary for details)

Adorable clothes for granddaughter

Donna's "Up!" quilt

Donna completed her Block Lottery quilt top

Lois showed her Mondo Bag

Another mondo bag (Star Wars this time)

Eliana made this phone case at the last Sew Day

Beverly has been making geese - or are they prarie points?

Jane showed her Tula quilt (pattern by Sew Kind of Wonderful)

Wendi's "Ugly Quilt"

Carol has been making {pretty} kerchiefs

Lunch and Sew Day followed.

Pixelated Heart QAL

Did you join?

This is officially week two, but as Kelly wrote Monday, "This is definitely a work at your own pace kinda thing."

After seeing the IG post the day after our January meeting, and knowing one of Kira's goals for 2016 was a QAL, Cindy asked who might be interested.  .

The pattern is free and can be found here.

Cindy's using her Heather Ross stash; Suzie and Kim are cutting their Bonnie & Camille stashes; Debbie's cut into a stack of Color Me Retro, Jenni Baker's first fabric collection; Wendi utilized her scrap bins; Candace chose solids; Whitney cut into a pile of purples and pinks.  Betty's still deciding, and Bobbi said she'd pull out her batiks.

All in all, there are going to be some pretty quilts coming from our guild!  

It's Good to Have Goals

We asked, you answered.  

This is the list of individual and group goals for 2016.  Now to plan and implement these ideas.  We'll need your help.  

Some could be short presentations.  Some will be months long projects.   Others will could be done as sew-a-thons or sew-ins.  We are open to ideas and suggestions about how and when to make these goals reality.  

Some will be easier than others, just as some will interest you and some won't.  As a group, we'll learn together.  

ECMQG 2016 Goals 

 - label ALL donated quilts (Mary and Natalie)

 - make more collaborative quilts (Cindy)

 - donate quilts to chemo centers (Dee)

 - make a quilt for Sacred Heart Children's Hospital (Whitney)

 - make the Emerald Coast Hospice Memorial quilt (Natalie)

 - participate in the Million Pillowcase Challenge (Elaine)

 - start a guild-only quilting bee (Wendi)

 - host a QAL (Kira)

 - swap mug rugs or mini quilts (Whitney)

 - continue swapping fabrics and small items (Donna)

 - keep ECMQG Anniversary Swap (Kira)

Individual 2016 Goals

 - Improv play.  Complete 10 scores from Sherri Lynn Wood's book (Natalie)

 - learn bindings, paper piecing, and how to cut (Eliana)

 - make a Double Wedding Ring quilt (Nona) 

 - make ayliN-Nilya's bubble blocks (Donna)

 - learn/improve FMQ (Anne Marie)

 - learn/improve hand quilting (Betty)

 - learn/improve AMH Quilting/Improv Hand Quiliting (Kira)

 - learn EPP (Susan)

 - make drawstring backpacks (Pam)

 - complete Elizabeth Hartman's Patchwork City quilt (Kira)

 - make a Patchwork Death Star (Cindy)

It's going to be a great year!

Natalie, Cindy, Wendi, & Nona

ECMQG Board 2016

Project Honor x + Quilt

Too bad Cindy's camera decided to act up the day these photos were taken, focusing on the raindrops instead of the quilt.  Even blurry and out of focus, you can't miss how stunning this Japanese x + block quilt is. 

After pulling less than half of these 30 blocks from our growing QOV/Project Honor block pile, we focused our efforts in May to finish this quilt.  We knew it would make a modern patriotic statement when displayed at a LQS over Memorial Day weekend and through the middle of June to Flag Day.  More importantly, we knew it needed to do what it was intended to do - honor a member of the US armed forces.

It took less than two weeks to sew the remaining blocks, purchase backing fabrics, design the quilt back, decide on the layout for the quilt top, quilt it, and bind it.  

  

  

So many people helped turn this idea into a quilt.  I know with each fabric selection and decision, each stitch, and every thought about why we were making these blocks, this quilt, this project, meant we were saying our private thank you(s) to someone who doesn't think they do anything special.   We know they do, however.  That's why we sew for Project Honor.   

   

Thank you for helping.  Thank you for being generous with your resources and skills.   Ask Susan about the outpouring of emotions when she gifts one of our quilts.      

Cindy and Susan
ECMQG Charity and Community Outreach 2015

Revisiting December (Meeting Minutes)

Now that the holiday festivities are well and truly finished and we settle into the January doldrums, its a perfect opportunity to revisit our December guild meeting.  Many of our members took time out of their holiday busy-ness to join guild members for some fun!

Our December meeting was held on December 12.

Nona and Kira had been unable to get together so Nona could give Kira her Anniversary Scrap Swap creation.  Nona made Kira a hexie table runner.  It's pretty clear it was perfect.

Kira and Elaine were also unable to catch up with one another, and while we don't have Elaine's reaction, I think it's safe to say she was thrilled with the machine cover Kira made her.

Kira welcomed new members and visitors, and explained the benefits of membership in the guild and in MQG.  We celebrated two member birthdays with "Happy Birthday" and a Fat Quarter lollipop.

I think it's safe to say that the block lottery blocks were fabulous this month.  Betty Bell was the lucky winner of the 16 house blocks, plus a tree.

Next month's block will be Modern Windows.  The block should be 10.5 inches unfinished and use tone-on-tone white, beige or text for the background and cool colors for the windows.

Elaine explained our ongoing charity Quilts of Honor.  We are always collecting blocks.  One good idea is to make an honor block every time we make a Block Lottery block.  She thanked Jennifer for her consistent support of Quilts of Honor.

With the business of the meeting concluded, members swapped a wonderful collection of handmade ornaments with one another, and several members showed their beautiful handiwork - many of them destined to be Christmas gifts, no doubt.