Where Does Your Rainbow Lead? - Meeting Minutes March 10, 2018

Our meeting began promptly at 10 am with the clanking of the bell by our junior member Ava.

Old Business

*  Our zippy pouch swap from February “Bring Two, Take One” added 8 new items to our upcoming online auction inventory.

*  The Tiger Lily challenge was discussed.  A bag or tote using a pattern (or not) that the maker is comfortable with.  Tiger Lily fabric was on hand for purchase.  (We bought ours at A Quilter's Place) 

*  Members were reminded to use the guilds Pinterest boards for ideas. Boards have been created with specific programs in mind.

*  Mary will be heading back home with beachy “Bits of Friendship” for her modern group at The Pine Tree Quilters of Muskoka.

*  Hospice quilt deadline is March 22.

New Business

*  We looked at and discussed the category winners from QuiltCon.

*  Members discussed the purchase of a roll of batting for charity quilts, members voted, all agreed to the purchase.

*  Laraine will be presenting the April program “Something Pillowy”.

*  The March program was presented by Natalie on Modern Blenders.

Design, color and motifs were discussed.  A card with a side by side fabric swatch was passed around to each member, then discussed why the fabric was either modern or traditional.

*  Members wanting to participate in the Modern Blender F8 Fabric Swap were asked to sign up for warm, cool or neutral fabrics. 

F8’s are due at the April meeting.  Instructions for cutting are in the blog March 2016.  Members were reminded to shop locally.

*  Natalie will be on hand at Sit and Sew to help members that started their Strip Piecing project work toward completion at the April meeting.

*  Mary won the Knee Socks Block Lottery. 

*  Pat presented the April Block Lottery, 3/4 Log Cabin by Ara Jane Olufson using bright saturated colors.

*  Door prizes were won by Linda, Lisa, Natalie, Loree, Laraine and Jill.

*  Natalie won the drawing for the Pot of Gold!

Knee Socks - March 2018 Block Lottery Info

We are going way back (2012) for this months block lottery, one Elizabeth Hartman originally created for the Modern Quilt Guild's website.  (Thanks for being patient while we waited for permission to link to her post.)  It is a tutorial for the Knee Socks Quilt Block, and in the version we're making, it is one of the 12.5" quadrants. 

Whether you've been a modern quilter forever or a few short months, you've probably seen a tutorial, book, pattern, or fabric line by Elizabeth.

She is talented.  

She is prolific.  She is known for her use of color and her meticulously detailed pattern writing. 

She is one of the first bloggers I followed when I started quilting.  I can't tell you the number of blocks and quilts I made using the ideas and techniques she shared.  

In choosing Knee Socks for the March Block Lottery, the skill set to master is the scant .25" seam allowance.  There are VERY GOOD tutorials online about how to do this, including tools you can buy or methods that use simple materials that might already be in your house.  Type into your search engine .25" scant seam allowance and thousands of results will populate.

Elizabeth's Knee Socks Quilt Block tutorial and pattern, a seven page PDF (I told you she was meticulous!), can be found here.  It is AMAZINGLY detailed and easy-to-follow. 

The background fabric is Kona White.  Warm colored solids (no prints) from ANY quality fabric line make up the stripes.

Please choose three colors for each 12.5" block.

The most accurate blocks I sewed for this post are the ones where I took the time to prepare my fabrics before I cut.  I pressed.  I used starch.  Even with my scraps!  It made a noticeable difference.  I really, really, really, practiced sewing with a scant .25" seam.

Both of those steps made every block after the first, the one where I used my seam ripper multiple times, easy and accurate.   

As with all of our block lottery drawings, someone is going to own a gorgeous stack of modern quilt blocks for the project of their choosing.  Is March going to be your month?  I hope so!  

Cindy