July 28, 2015 Minutes

In attendance: Linda, Susan, Sandy, Carol, Phoebe, Tamie, Alice, Jackie, Keri, Kim, Amy, Gloria and new member Cathy

Guests: Carrie, Lynn and Matt

Welcome

Kelly, our president, welcomed everyone and asked the guests to introduce themselves. Mark is visiting from NJ and is a quilter and friend of Kelly’s.  Lynn recently started to quilt again and wanted to see what our meetings were like to consider joining.  Carrie, Phoebe’s mom, is visiting from CA, and while she is not a quilter, she is a terrifically talented wood turner!

Business

Massdrop generously sent some extra fabric to the guild, so three bundles of fat quarters were given as door prizes.  Tamie, Amy and one other member each went home with a bundle. Thank you Massdrop!  If you are unfamiliar with Massdrop check out their website at https://massdrop.com . They have great offers for quilters, for instance, there is a offer now for 9 half yards and 2 panels of the new Alison Glass Handcrafted fabric line. 

There was no sew day in July and will not be one in August due to Quilt Camp (Aug 7-9) and the Lizzy House workshops(Aug 28-30). There are still some spaces available in the Lizzy House workshops. Please see http://charlestonmodernquiltguild.blogspot.com/p/upcoming-classes.html for details or email charlestonmodernquiltguild@gmail.com if you have any questions.

The next meeting is August 25^th from 6:30-8:30. Doors open at 6pm.

Someone contacted guild to see if anyone would like to give beginning quilting classes.  If you are interested, see Kelly.  Another person contacted the guild to say that they are cleaning out a house and found lots of quilting supplies.  If you are interested in this, please see Kelly. 

Committee Updates

Phoebe told the group that so far, 1484 blocks have been received for the quilt for the Mother Emanuel church quilt.  Almost all of the states are represented as well as 14 countries. Those states that we are still hoping to get blocks from are: Alaska, Louisiana, Montana, N. Dakota, W. Virginia and Wyoming…. Stitch magazine interviewed Phoebe about the quilt and it will be in the October Issue.  Phoebe has been keeping a database of all of the blocks received and a box with all of the correspondence.  Many people have asked to receive updates and this will help with that in the future. Phoebe shared a few letters from those sending the blocks with the guild. Amy will contact  the  church to discuss the preferred size of the quilts before we begin sewing.

Program

Online swaps: Amy gave a great presentation about swaps and showed some of the minis and other items she has received from swaps.  She told the group that if they are interested to go to the Kerri of Berries blog (www.kerriofberries.com) for tips on being a good swapper.  There are helpful hints on what not to do… as well as some warnings about what can go wrong.  This is a good place to start. Amy said that she started swapping as a way to stay motivated to quilt and learn new things.  Every swap, she tries a new pattern or technique.  It is also a great way to meet new people and has met several of them in person now.  One of the biggest swaps on Instagram is the Schnitzel and Boo swap and signups for the fourth round of this swap begin August 1^st.  If you are interested in finding out about swaps, Amy said she mostly learns about them through Instagram and people she follows.  There is an Instagram account that posts data on these swaps if you are interested it is @openquiltswaps. 

Swap: The Christmas in July swap of ornaments took place and Phoebe won the door prize of Christmas fat quarters.

Stillettos: Kim and Jackie held and arts and crafts session where they showed the group how to make a stiletto.  These were made with turkey lacers, beads and glue.  Very quick, easy and useful project.  And FUN!

Show and Tell: 

Jackie shared the mini she made for the Broadway Swap- a Grease inspired mini.  She also brought the mini she received for the Superhero swap and it was amazing- Wonder Woman stepping in gum.

Alice shared the new Simply Modern magazine that she found at PPQ and a quilt top she made with abandoned blocks from Keri.

Kim and Jackie showed off their latest t-shirt quilt. 

Lynn brought her favorite new apparel book called She Wears the Pants (http://www.amazon.com/She-Wears-Pants-Sew---Yourself/dp/4805313269/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1438369701&sr=1-1&keywords=she+wears+the+pants ).

She also brought the quilt her family made on their annual vacation together and shared this year’s idea for the family quilt. We all want to go on a family vacation with her!

Sandy brought a paper-pieced Trout block she started with a Row by Row pattern from The Quilted Corner in Cheyenne, Wyoming.

Jennifer told us about going to Patrick’s in Covington, GA.  In this shop you can purchase Wolverine boots, candy, and fabric. 

Keri brought in a quilt top that she made using abandoned quilt blocks made by her great grandmother from family members clothes. This will be gifted to her mother.

Mark, our guest showed off a quilt he made for his friend, our president, Kelly.  The pattern is called Lava meets the Sea and is by Sara Cooper http://coopcrafts.com/2013/08/05/lava-meets-sea-half-square-triangle-quilt-with-tips-to-make-your-own/. This was the 4^th quilt he made.

Kelly shared a Noodlehead Road Trip case (https://www.noodle-head.com/product/road-trip-case-pdf-pattern-2 )that she made. She also showed her Meadow Quilt for those who are planning fabric for the upcoming Lizzy House workshop this month. 

Carol brought in a baby quilt she finished in a few short hours and told that this would have taken days in the past.  She also showed off her publisher husband’s birthday quilt made with newsprint fabric.

Phoebe brought in copies of the Portfolio magazine for members because of an article on Quiltcon. Then she showed us her Small World WIP from the Jen Kingwell pattern.  This pattern already has some tiny pieces, but Phoebe reduced the pattern by 25% to fit a specific spot in her house.  She also let everyone know that there are some errata pages for the errors in the pattern available.

Kelly closed the meeting and started the Executive session. 

June 23, 2015 Minutes

Committees were asked to meet prior to the meeting.  Following committee meetings, the general meeting was called to order.  Door prizes were given to Cathy (a pattern) and to Jackie (a fat quarter), generously donated by The Cloth Pocket. 

Business

• Quiltcon registration begins June 25^th
• Members can view any past MQG webinars, as well as previous quilt patterns of the month on the MQG site here.
• Please remember to wear your name tags; if you have not made one, please make one!
• The next meeting (July 28, 2015) will be a shorter meeting because the executive board will meet immediately after the meeting. The full membership is welcome to attend the executive board meeting.
• Eleven members attended sew day and 5 quilts were started for charity projects.  
• There will be no sew day in July or August.  
• Stitch and Sew will have a big 25% off sale on July 17^th and 18^th.

Committee Updates

• Programming: There are still spots available for Lizzy House classes; members, please help get the word out.  As time gets closer, programming will be asking for members to help with specific items.  Lizzy House class supplies lists will go out shortly (UPDATE: sent on 7/1/15).
• Swaps—Scrap bags were exchanged for Holiday Party swap; several empty bags were swapped for members not present who wanted to participate (please ask Kim for your partner's name if you weren't at the meeting and asked to participate).  Next month's swap be Christmas
• Community Service— The Cobblestone Guild will be making and collecting quilts for the families who lost someone in the AME church shooting; they are asking for blocks or completed quilts in the church colors of evergreen, cranberry, black and white.  Our guild will be creating a signature quilt for the church. We'd love quilters from around the world to send in a siggie block for the quilt. Phoebe has written a post with all details.
• Geri asked members start to make square in a square blocks in any size and bring those in for ongoing charity quilt projects (this is a square with sashing, not an economy block). 

Demonstration

Alice did a demo on big stitch quilting. She uses pearl cotton or 12 weight thread for this.  She pointed out that the shorter your needle is the shorter your stitch will be; look for the biggest eye you can.  She also recommended using John James self threading needles.  She showed how to do a quilters knot for those who didn’t know.

Show and Tell

The following quilts were all made using "Score 5" from Sherry Lynn Wood's book The Improv Handbook for Modern Quilters during the June Sew Day. All will be finished and donated to a charitable organization.

Phoebe's ball jar koozie!

Alice's drunkard's path Eye Spy quilt

Alice's "Score 5" Heather Ross quilt

Jackie's "I Love the '80s" zipper pouch swap item

Jackie's mini for the Superhero Swap

Kerri's amazing in-progress crochet project

Lynn's "Score 1" improv quilt

Lynn's "Score 5" double gauze quilt

Lynn's Scrappy Flag Quilt

Our next meeting will be Tuesday, July 28, 2015. There is no Sew Day in July. For directions or more information, email charlestonmodernquiltguild@gmail.com.