November Block Lottery



The November block will be spool blocks, ANY kind of spool blocks, let your imagination run wild! Size will be from 6in to max of 16 inches. There are so many varieties out there that we didn’t want to restrict it to just one. The rules remain the same, modern fabrics are to be used & the color scheme is fall colors with Kona snow as the background.

The example I did for the meeting came from MSQC’s tutorials 

Another tutorial that Cindy found was using paper piecing at Fresh Lemons Modern quilting

another one from the Fat Quarter Quilt shop using precuts:



There are many on the web that are free & we think everyone will have fun with this!

Elaine & Susan

It's Time to Renew Your ECMQG Membership!



It's time to renew your membership in the Emerald Coast Modern Quilt Guild!  Our national dues are due in January, and since December is a PARTY, it's time to renew.  Dues paid now will be good through 2016.

If you wish to renew online, complete this Google form, then go to PayPal and pay your dues.  Dues are still only $25 which includes all the benefits of the local guild (meetings, events, programs, swaps, block lottery, friendship), PLUS all the benefits of the national guild (fabric challenges, free patterns of the month, webinars, QuiltCon, etc.)


October Minutes


Twenty-eight members gathered at Crestview Baptist Church for our October Meeting and Sew Day on October 10, 2015.  Natalie called the meeting to order at 10:00 am.  She began for asking for a moment of silence for those who needed strength and comfort.  She then welcomed everyone and introduced one visitor and four new members - Crystal, Roxy, Laurie and Jane introduced themselves.


There was a lovely display of quilts at our Sew Modern Quilt Lab in September
Marcy reported on our first-ever Sew Modern Quilt Lab (and Quilt Show), held at Crestview Baptist Church on September 11 and 12, 2015.  We had 25-30 students take part in Friday's classes and more than 50 students attend Saturday's classes.  A "Sew-cial" was held on Friday evening.  Feedback from the event was overwhelmingly positive.  Members thanked Marcy for organizing such a wonderful event.

Three quilters received a rousing rendition of Happy Birthday and their birthday lollipop to celebrate their special day.

Wendi presented the proposed changes to the by-laws which included adding Past President as a position on the Executive Board, elimination of a position of "Co-Presidents" on the Executive Board, and elimination of the requirement for the guild to maintain liability and Directors and Officers Insurance.  After a motion and second, changes to the by-laws were unanimously approved by the members.

Wendi announced that the Executive Board was accepting nominations for officers to serve for the 2016 year.  Forms are provided for members to nominate themselves or others to serve the guild in this capacity.  Elections will be held in November.

Susan sharing October Block Lottery blocks (at the August meeting)
Elaine reminded everyone that the Block Lottery is both a skill building and a fund-raising event held monthly in ECMQG.   The committee tries to choose fun blocks of varying difficulty to help members move out of their comfort zone.  Those submitting blocks donate $1 to the guild for each block and one lucky member goes home with an "insta-quilt."

Pam won the 9 woven chevron blocks.

Jennifer won the Halloween blocks.



November's block will be a spool block.  Use any pattern of any size 6" to 18" to create a spool block.  The variations in size and pattern should make for a very modern quilt.  More details will be on the blog.

Kristy and Deb presented the plans for St. Simon's Craft Fair which will be held November 6 and 7 at St. Simon's on the Sound Episcopal Church in Ft. Walton Beach.  Donations of craft items and commission items are being accepted through the end of the month.  Kristy will attend the craft show all day on Friday and Deb will be in charge on Saturday.  Our booth will be upstairs in the church.  Members were asked to commit to shifts on both days, and particularly to help clean up on Saturday.  Members were asked to be sure consigned items were labeled with their name and sale price, keeping in mind that the guild receives 10 percent and that we must pay sales tax on the items, which is to be included in the asking price.
 
Natalie reminded members that dues are due in November for the 2016 year so that we will have the funds to pay our national dues on time.  Dues are still $25 and include membership in the national guild in addition to all the benefits of our local guild - door prizes, block lottery, programs, and association with one another.

From the archives:  Kira's hexi quilt was displayed at the Flying Needles Quilt Show in 2013.
 Cindy reminded members to think about quilts they can display at the Chautauqua Quilt Show.  Any quilt is eligible for display at the show.  We would love to have a wonderful selection of modern quilts to show.  All sizes of quilts are eligible and there is no restriction on when it was made.  This is not a judged show, but there will be Viewer's Choice awards presented in 3 categories.  In addition, we will be making a group quilt to raffle/auction at the show, and we will have a craft booth to sell handmade items.  We will also be accepting handmade items for consignment.  Cindy challenged every member to submit a quilt.

Bev's new sewinging machine, made by her partner, Elaine

Members presented their gifts to their partners in the Anniversary scrap swap.  This is the 4th anniversary of our guild.  In August, participants each took home a bag of scraps and created something wonderful for their partners.

Bev sewed for Donna

Cindy sewed for Christy

Kristy presented the item Eliana sewed for Mandy

Natalie presented the item Faye sewed for Eliana

Kristy sewed for Laraine

Laraine sewed for Suzie

Mandy sewed for Pam

Susan sewed for Natalie

Pam sewed for Cindy



Natalie sewed for Betty
Betty sewed for Wendi

Wendi sewed for Nona







 Natalie and Cindy presented a the program, "15 Minutes of Play," based on the book of that name by Victoria Findlay Wolfe.  Natalie prepared a wonderful powerpoint presentation and lots of gorgeous samples.  Next month's program will be on raw-edge applique.


 They presented lots of ideas for "made fabric" to be used in making. 










Several members presented handmade items for Show and Tell.

Our lunch was a baked potato bar. Sew Day followed.

{Getting Ready for} St. Simon's Craft Fair

The St. Simon's Craft Fair is almost upon us, and with all the excitement over our AWESOME Sew Modern Quilt Lab, and all the demands of autumn - school starting, new routines, and the countdown to the holidays - let's make sure this event fall is just as successful!

The St. Simon's Craft Fair will be held on November 6 - 7 at St. Simon's on the Sound Episcopal Church in Ft. Walton Beach.

If you have handmade items - or even have unfinished items - please remember to bring them to the October 10 meeting!

We are asking each member to bring 2 handmade items to sell at St. Simon's.


Stuck for ideas?  Not much time to create something handmade?  We've gotcha covered!  Check out our Pinterest board for some fun, quick ideas for handmade items that will sell!




Running out of time?  Maybe you can use our Sew Day to make a few items!


Maybe you have some orphan blocks lying around that just need some finishing to create a wonderful bazaar item!  Orphan blocks could make great pillow covers for example.  Sew Day would be a great time to turn a couple of orphan blocks into great handmade items for St. Simon's.

Maybe you started something and haven't had time to get back to it...  Sew Day would be a great time to finish up those items - or even get some help finishing them up.  There are always willing hands and hearts at Sew Day.

Kristy and Deb will have a booth mock up at our October 10th meeting, and it is always fun to see it come together as people add their contributions to the booth.  Please bring yours and help make our booth a success!

Don't forget to sign up to work a shift!  Kristy and Deb will need everyone's help to man the booth.

Working together we can make this event a success!


October Meeting




Our October meeting will be held Saturday, October 10, at 10:00 am at our usual meeting location at the First Baptist Church of Crestview.  We hope you can join us for our meeting.  Since we had our AMAZING Sew Modern Quilt Lab in September, there is quite a lot of business to cover in October and your voice is important. 

Our luncheon will be a baked potato bar, so Kristy would like us to use Facebook to sign up to bring a salad, topping for the potatoes, or a dessert. Some ideas for toppings are chili, white chicken chili, cheese, sour cream, bacon, and chives.

We will be holding nominations for officers for the 2015-2016 year.  If you are interested in nominating someone to serve on the Executive Board next year, be sure to come and have your voice heard.  We will also need 2 volunteers to serve on the election committee to count ballots in November.  Please let a board member know if you are interested in serving the guild in that capacity.  In addition, we will need volunteers to staff the many Committee positions that help our guild run smoothly next year.  If you wish to serve on a committee next year, please let a board member know before our November meeting.

We will be voting on a few important changes to the By-Laws.  You received an email a couple of weeks ago outlining those changes. Please review the email prior to the meeting.

We will be participating in the St. Simon's Craft Fair on November 6 and 7 at St. Simon's on the Sound Episcopal Church.  Please bring any items you have made to sell at the event.  Kristy and Deb will be doing a mock up of the booth at our meeting.  We are asking each member to bring at least handmade 2 items to sell.   If you haven't had much time to craft amazing handmade items for this event, may we suggest that you use the Sew Day portion of our meeting to fulfill this request?  We have loads of bazaar ideas on our Pinterest page.



We have 2 block lottery blocks for this month.


The September block is the Woven Chevron block in aqua and coral/salmon with Kona or Bella white as the background.



The October block is the Zig Zag block, in Halloween prints/solids with a black background.  Please remember to make some of these in red/white/blue for our QOV blocks.  Instructions for both blocks are here.










This meeting will also be the big reveal for the Anniversary Scrap Swap.  Be sure to bring your partner's item to the meeting.  I suggest putting your item in a gift bag to maintain the suspense until the big moment. =)







Naturally, we will have a recap of our Sew Modern Quilt Lab and introduce the new members who joined the guild as a result of that event.  Welcome!  We are so excited to have you join us!   And many thanks to Marcy and all those who made the event such a success. 








Our program for the meeting will be 15 Minutes of Play by Natalie and Cindy. 

It's sure to be a busy and fun-filled meeting!  We look forward to seeing you there!









The End of an Era

 Hello Modern Quilters! Thank you for visiting our blog. Sadly, ECMQG is no longer meeting on a regular basis. Feel free to browse the blog,...