In December, the Steering Committee got into high gear after the November meeting and decided to change things up a bit for CQFA.

First, we changed our meeting location and met at FabMo. We want to make a sewing mess and the church frowned upon threads and pins. Also, the church cleaners came during the meeting and we were often overcome by fumes created by their strong cleaning products. The gardeners were also there during our morning meetings with their blowers drowning out our discussions. Finally, we wanted to support the great organization that FabMo is. The room was smaller than we are used to, but I think it had good energy.

Next, the schedule was rearranged. Workshops and demos were getting short shrift, because they were last on the agenda. During this meeting the workshop was first, so that people who spent a lot of time preparing a presentation would have a full house. I think it worked beautifully, because when I got there there was a full house of humming sewing machines.

The schedule change was good for me, especially this time, because I had a hard week at work, the drive to CQFA is long and I was tired. I decided not to participate in the workshop this time, so I stayed in bed a little longer and went to the meeting a little later. It worked out fine.

The group was partway through a round robin in a day challenge when I arrived. Maureen was organizing and she was timing people. I think the intervals were about 15 minutes. People came up with great pieces.

Round Robin in a Day piece

Round Robin in a Day piece - detail

I don’t know who belongs to the piece above, but I really liked how someone did stitching using the programmed stitches on their machine. What an effective idea!

Sewing Round Robin in a Day pieces

One of the issues/challenges of this work is that the participants had very little time to add borders or other fabric. As a result, they were very creative in their efforts. I saw Nancy doing hand stitching on one piece and I saw someone else add birds to the birdcages that were already printed on the fabric.

Chris' Round Robin in a Day piece

One of the things I like about CQFA is how creative and fearless people are in their work. Why not? The photo far above is an excellent example. The use of the machine stitching in the turquoise, black and white piece is subtle, yet effective.  Above the birds really add a lot to the birdcage piece.

LIz Berg Journal Pages

As you know, I have been working on some journals similar to the Red Journal, so I was very pleased to see Liz Berg‘s work. She had Gessoed and painted the pages and was doing handstitching on them at the meeting. She was using something like Perl Cotton. While I have been in a hand work desert, I have been getting some good ideas for projects to do on the couch.

Dolores

Dolores is cracking the whip on show and tell. No more 20 minutes per person. We had to do this now that the group is growing. I wonder if we will need to start taking applications for membership?

I knew this would happen, so I only brought Kissy Fish. Lots of great work and Caroline brought a wonderful book on using thread. I love Caroline, because she actually reads the books and does what they tell her. She did a bunch of samples of stitches on her machine.

Dolores bought a midarm and has been testing on unquilted pieces in her closet. Lots of  friendly jealousy in the room.I wonder if she’ll loan it out?

Was glad to see everyone and get back int he quilty groove. Now I just have to get my worklife settled so I can participate in the workshops!

Thanks for your Service

2011 Officers with Gift Bags

The 2011 Officers did a great job. I kind of nudged people to get some gifts together. People really ran with the idea, which was great.

Kathleen's Gift Bag

Sara's Gift Bag

A few people made bags and everyone else added little bibs and bobs to create nice gift bags. It was nice not to make all the bags and I enjoyed seeing the different patterns and fabrics that the bag makers used.

I made the purple bag which ended up with Kathleen. The bits and pieces were nice to look at. Rhonda had put together the parts that we solicited from other members.

Some of the things in the bags were pins, fat quarters, needle cases, the Joen Wolfrom Design ratio tool, disappearing pen, grip dots, scarves, machine sewing needles, Invisigrip and many other fun things.

Ruth and Adrianne were really busy and I wasn’t able to get photos of their gift bags. Check the BAMQG blog and perhaps I will be able to post some photos there.

A-B-C Challenge

We have five participants who brought blocks for the A-B-C Challenge this time. Angela was too busy to make her Hawaiian versions, but I am sure she will bring some next time. 

Some people brought both G and H, others brought G, some of us brought all of our blocks. Kathleen and I have done a number of the same blocks and it is fun to see how different they look in the different sizes and fabrics.

January A-B-C Challenge Blocks

Glacier Bay

This is my G block for the A-B-C Challenge. It is called Glacier Bay and is from Around the Block Again by Judy Hopkins (pg.68). It is also a 6″ block and I cut nearly every piece a little bigger and then trimmed. It still came out a bit wonky, but I like the general effect. I think it would make a really cool secondary pattern if I put many of them together.

I don’t remember ever seeing this block before. Lynette has the 501 Rotary Cutting Blocks version of Around the Block, which I thought had ALL the blocks from the three books, but Glacier Bay was not in it.

Hovering Hawks

I am really like this challenge as it allows me to make one block rather than a whole something every month. Kathleen wants to speed the challenge up a bit, so we will be doing two letters each month for the rest of the year. Next month are I and J.

I am resolved to make the blocks sharpish rather than waiting. I have even thought of making the rest of the alphabet all at once and being done with it. I have a sashing idea that I got from Pam. I am thinking about starting adding the sashing as I go along so that I won’t have to do all the cutting at once. We’ll see.

Question of the Month

Rhonda creates the QotM and this month it was: “What are your quilt resolutions?” Most were normal resolutions about finishing and curbing buying, but some were really interesting. I wrote them out as people said. These aren’t my resolutions, necessarily.

• use more than I buy
• finish one project before starting another
• buy less fabric
• use scraps to make scrap quilts
• finish virtual swaps and bees projects
• teach
• quilt one per month on the longarm
• take sewing machine to be serviced
• end year with 5 fewer UFOs than the year started with
• improvise
• organize so sewing does not take over house
• make something from solids
• stop fearing binding
• make one charity quilt
• bring something to show and tell
• spend more time with real people than with sewing machine
• trust the experience I am feeling
• don’t buy fabric I don’t like
• make husband a quilt
• documenting quilts (labels and such)
• be liberated and wonky
• use orange and yellow
• start a quilt/craft blog
• make mom a quilt
• try curved piecing
• re-sort/organize fabric
• finish husband’s quilt
• plan less and do more

Charity Quilts

Art Gallery Fabrics offers a bag of scraps free for people who will be using the scraps to make charity/donation quilts. Contact Pat Bravo for details. I don’t have her email address, but Art Gallery has a page on FB so, perhaps, you can inquire there.

Deborah made a version of Elizabeth Hartman’s Mod Mosaic quilt with scraps (quite large scraps, actually) from Pat Bravo. What a nice idea.

Postage stamp-type block

Two quilts were finished. A very large number of the postage stamp kits from the December meeting were turned into blocks and returned. I only took one kit last time, but took several during this meeting.

Schnibbles for Cat Beds

Sadly, Amanda has too many scraps and will hold off taking any more until she has made more cat beds. She said that her garage is being overrun. She really needs help making the actual cat beds.

Angela and I were able to spend a few minutes chatting. I spent a lot of the sewing time chatting and looking at what other people were doing. I couldn’t be bothered putting up a table to work on my own projects, an action I will regret later.

Flock of Geese

This is my ‘F’ block for the A-B-C challenge. There were a number of blocks with names beginning with F that were appealing, so it was hard to choose. I might do another one.

I really like that blue. It comes out a little darker on my screen than in real life, but is a very calming color.

Kathleen did the same block, but in black and white. It it always fun for me to see the same blocks done in different colors and sizes. As I have said many, many times, that is one of my joys in making blocks.

Electric Fan

I saw Kathleen’s Electric Fan at the last meeting. Even though ‘E’ blocks were due last month, I really liked this block, so I decided to make one. It gave me the opportunity to try and figure out how to use the triangle technique for a block from Around the Block.  I didn’t make the Flower Pot that I posted, but am seriously tempted. You can just have one basket block in a sampler quilt!

I like to use fabrics at least three times in a quilt and preferably in odd numbers, if I use them more than three times. I looked at the total fabrics I had used in the previous blocks and used some I hadn’t yet used as much. I used the Empire Gold in another project so it was out, so I used that. I also had only used the yellow-green in the Basement Window block.

Heirloom Challenge

4 Log Cabin Block

These are the log cabin blocks I made for the Heirloom challenge. I added the Empire yellow solid from the Pat Bravo Art Gallery line. I think it goes well with these fabrics. I think the one flower fabric with the pink and burgundy reminds me of the Flea Market Fancy line.

I meant not to do this challenge as I don’t like making log cabin blocks. They are a bit too…fiddly for me. I am not sure if fiddly is the right term, but not a lot of bang for my buck, I guess. Still, I signed up so I stepped up. I tried using the technique that TFQ uses, which is to cut the strips the width they need to be rather than cutting a longer strip and trimming later. That worked ok.

Heirloom Challenge Blocks

Zoom in to see the variety of log cabin blocks that people came up with within the log cabin format. Amazing!

Heirloom block detail

Heirloom Doorway

There were a few blocks that I particularly liked. The wave one (far left) would look great in a quilt with a variety of its fellows. I wouldn’t make it, but I would admire a quilt made with such blocks quite a lot.

The block on the bottom left has lovely graphic quality. The block ont he right looks like a doorway and I really like the fussy cutting.

December Secret Swap

Ribbon detail

This is a small detail of one of the ribbons on one of the gifts. I love the idea, but would never make it-at least to put on a package.

Secret Swappers

Above are the members who participated in the Secret Swap. I just couldn’t commit to the time to make a gift and boy am I glad I didn’t participate, because these ladies are a hard act to follow! Everyone really did their best work. I was impressed and pleased to see such care.

Kathleen's Secret Swap Pillow 2011

Kathleen received this gorgeous pillow. The thing I like about it was how full it is. No matter how many pillows I make, I feel like they aren’t very full.

Show and Tell

Show & Tell

There was a lot to tell and many quilts and projects to show. Sewing Time, despite all the other business was quite productive as well.

Elections
The “new” officers are:
President: Adrianne
VP: Kathleen
Secretary: Amanda
Treasurer: Sara

Thank you very much to Ruth, founder and 2011 Secretary, who will be leaving the board and taking over the challenge coordinator position.

This was our end of the year long, organizational type meeting. While long, it was a good one.The end of the year means we needed to plan for 2012. Now we have the start of a plan.

Belly Dancing Belt

Show and Tell was great as usual. I love seeing what other people make. Bron brought a gorgeous belly dancing belt to show us, which she bought at the FabMo sale. It was made by an artist who used FabMo materials.

Marie, the President of the San Jose Museum Quilt & Textiles Board, talked about the various events coming up on the SJMQT calendar. We decided to donate some money to the Museum to support the upcoming Quilt National 2011 exhibit, which will be held in 2011.

Gingko Monoprint

Marie brought monoprints she worked on in a class.

Marie's Monoprint Quilt

Of course, I liked this one with all the turquoise.

Squares Monoprint

I purport not to like grey that much, especially the grey and yellow combination that seems to be so popular with the modern quiltmakers right now, but I really liked this monoprint.

Diane's City

I know that Diane calls this series something different, but I think it has the look of a city center from overhead. Diane is a silk painter and has been using FabMo fabrics to mount and as mats for her pieces.

Rhonda's Habitat Challenge

I know Rhonda from BAMQG. She brought this piece to CQFA as well. I hope she will join CQFA.

Carolyn's Notebook Cover

Carolyn's Notebook Cover

Caroline found an interesting piece of fabric that looked like an Edward Gorey painting. She wanted to use the entire piece of fabric, the back of which had some interesting characters knitting, which is why she made her journal cover the size it is. I really admire Caroline’s finishing skills. Her products look professional..

The cool thing about this cover is that it holds an artists sketchbook. I don’t know how she did the edging (a regular binding?), but I think it looks really nice.

We had a nice ATC exchange. People do such creative work. I would like to start on my ATCs for the next meeting right now, so that my pieces are as great as other people’s. It has been a week and I haven’t started in yet.

I really would like to make some ATCs using the Tsukineko inks. I think it would be a good way to practice with the inks. Sonja did some great paintings when she came to her first meeting where she painted on a piece of fabric and then cut the piece up into ATC sized works. That is on my mind as a possibility.

Maureen & my ATCs

Virginia & Sue's ATCs

Diane & Reva's ATCs

Sue & Nancy's ATCs

I was sad I had to leave early to make BAMQG, because I missed Dolores’ presentation. This is what made me start thinking about just attending one meeting or going to BAMQG late on days where CQFA also meets. We’ll have to see. I can’t do everything and I just can’t exhaust myself. Last week was particularly difficult, because I was single parenting and, while I have a wonderful, helpful Young Man, I still have double the chores and no backup. I’ll have to play it my ear in January.

Nota bene: my camera battery died and I forgot to bring the spare, so all the photos are taken with my phone. Sorry about that!

We had a lot of business to do – officers for next year, events for next year, challenges for next year, the Habitat challenge, show and tell, etc.

Eva's Delight

For the A-B-C (A-Z) Challenge, this month’s letter was ‘E’. I think I have said that I am really enjoying this challenge and chose a block I found in Around the Block Again. It was also in EQ7, which I used to resize it.

I don’t remember ever seeing this block before, but I liked the vertical lines created by the squares. This block has 37 pieces. I know it is lunacy to make such a small block with so many pieces, but with 26 blocks the size of the quilt will be much more manageable than a quilt with 26 12″ blocks.

Kathleen's A-B-C Challenge Blocks

Kathleen brought all of her A-B-C Challenge blocks. As you can see, she is using blacks and whites with a bit of red. I think she has done a lovely job of choosing blocks. The black and white really work well together with the variety of blocks.

Not many people brought their A-B-C blocks this time. I think there were a number of people working on the challenge who couldn’t make the meeting. I am really liking this challenge and the way my blocks are looking together.

There was a big presentation surrounding the Jay McCarroll Habitat Challenge. I did not participate in this challenge. I was, once again, impressed by the talent in this group. There was a lot of frustration surrounding the type and variety of prints, but people came up with wonderful ways to use it. My thought during the entire discussion was that this fabric was a really challenge.

Habitat Challenge Group

All of the quilts are so creative. I was pleased to see how much collaboration there was during the meeting on the quilts that weren’t quite finished.

Lynnette’s quilt, ‘Love Beads’(far left, bottom), is one of my favorites.  I thought it was the Chinese Lanterns patterns. It certainly looks like Chinese Lanterns, but the pieces are a slightly different shape – a nice, elongated shape. I also think that the connector between the two is a little different.

Rhonda's Habitat

Rhonda’s top from the Habitat Challenge has wonderful vertical lines.

One of the things I noticed was that people said as they cut the pieces of Habitat fabric up, the fabric became easier to work with. I think that some fabric works better in smaller pieces. This thought seems to be adverse to the idea of a Modern Quilt. At least I didn’t think that Modern Quilts used lots of small pieces. I suppose it depends, just like every other type of quilt.

I spent some of the sewing time cutting up another Jane Market tote. Perhaps I’ll make it tomorrow. I had a talk with a longarm quilter who is willing to try and work with me. she seems like she might be a good person to work with and I got the impression that she would try hard. I’ll think about it. I don’t want quilt tops to stack up, but I don’t know how I feel about working with a new quilter.

BAMQG October Block Exchange #1

I have mixed feelings about 12″ blocks. They are big. I don’t like making them, because they take up so much fabric. I can’t use scraps, in general for them. However, I seem to be making a lot of them lately. I can use up a lot of fabric making 12″ blocks. I can also use these large expanses of patchwork to showcase the luscious large prints that I adore.

The latest batch of 12″ squares are 9 patch blocks for BAMQG. Not only are the 12″ finished, but they are also Halloween colors. Not my favorite, but not brown and beige either. I was kind of hoping I didn’t win the blocks (I didn’t), but then I remembered the Disappearing 9 Patch. I thought that this group wouldn’t be as controlled as the Food Quilt, but using the Disappearing 9 Patch pattern would also alleviate the large expanse of fabric problem.

Any size 9 Patches are so easy to make that they are like candy. I don’t seem to be able to make just one.

2 9 Patches

Adrianne's Lozenge 9 Patch

It turned out that we were able to use any 9 patch grid pattern not just the regular simple 9 patch. I am not sure why I didn’t know that.

I had a problem with my camera and didn’t take many photos, but people did some really great blocks and wonderful color combinations. I have that lozenge shape on my mind, so Adrianne’s block (left) really appealed to me. I think that it is more Fall than Halloweenish, but still a very nice block, and one I might want to try sometime. My blocks looked a little sad in comparison.

Angela's Rose

Local quilt work is really good and the BAMQGers work is no exception. Angela, in particular, is really taking off in terms of work. Kathleen asked me to write down the names and descriptions of the quilts as she took photos, so I didn’t hear all the details about this quilt. I do know that she took a class in reverse applique and that this technique was different from traditional reverse applique’. I really am excited that Angela is trying new things and really pushing herself in her quilt work.

Her Kona Challenge quilt was accepted into the New Quilts for Northern California along with the Zig Zaggy quilt.

The next challenge will be with a line called Heirloom. I am not familiar with it, but what I saw of it I liked. This is a guild sponsored challenge. Adrianne was going to hand out fabric, but the block the group voted on required some solids, which people wanted to coordinate, so there was a little back and forth about that. The Board decided to decide what to do about the solid and hand out fabric next month. I am not going to do that challenge, because I don’t want to do a challenge where the fabric and block are dictated to me. I like the Roman strip block, but not enough to take time away from my own projects.

C&T Goodies

The awesome, Lisa, at C&T sent us a prize pack. We did a giveaway and I handed out all the postcards. I asked her for the Studio Color Wheel postcards to hand out and she sent me a giant box of goodies, including a copy of the Studio Color Wheel, which Deborah won, and an Ultimate Color Tool.

There was a lot of business and I felt the generational gap hit me. I like to have some privacy online (I know I am walking the line having a  blog and a big online presence) and that view isn’t shared by some of the younger crowd at the meeting. I felt old.

Adrianne Quilt for Japan

Show and Tell is my favorite part. I love seeing what other people are doing. I love the variety of levels of work and the variety of fabrics. Most of the work is very bright and cheerful, which is great.

Adrianne has been working on this quilt for awhile and is done with the top. It is gorgeous! I really like the way it came out. I have those fabrics and was having some buyers remorse, but this gives me some ideas. I love the way the dots turned out. There is a lot of movement in the various blocks.

We also displayed blocks from the A-B-C Challenge and various other works. There were a lot of new people at the meeting, so there was a wide variety of blocks to show — not just the challenge blocks.

BAMQG Blocks

As you know, my block is the Cake Stand block. Angela is also working on the A-B-C Challenge and she did a Courthouse Step block (middle top). Adrianne is working on a different project and she did a Ribbon Star (might also be called Odd Fellow’s Cross, Jinny Beyer, The Quilter’s Album of Patchwork Patterns, pg.64 #4). A new member (or, perhaps, visitor did the X block and the raw edge applique French Roses).

Joy-Lily work

Joy-Lily has a lot of irons in the fire. She is now teaching at a new place on Bayshore called the Sewing and Quilting Collaborative. Apparently, they have longarms they will let people use and the owner buys up stock from quilt stores going out of business and has the stock for discount prices in one part of the place.

Joy-Lily’s blocks are really interesting. The top one, as you can see, is knitting needles and yarn. The yarn looked like it was made from bias tubes. I didn’t get to look at it closely, but the fabric had a slight shimmery look to it. The bottom block/mini quilt was made from fabric printed on fabric sheets, cut up and then sewed together again.

A number of members who usually participate in the block challenge were absent (long weekend and all) so they weren’t as many this time as last. I was helping Adrianne with notetaking, so I didn’t have to hold the quilts, but I also didn’t get photos of any.

Intrepid Thread Fabrics

Julie brought my order of a couple of dots, some aqua and the Terrain charm squares. I really like the Terrain. Something about it is very appealing. The colors together aren’t as bright as I normally like, but they aren’t really muted either except for a bit of the green, I think. This pack makes me think of Chinese Coins. I may cut the charms in half and make a Chinese Coins quilt. I need to look through some ideas for quilts using charms. Again, I ask you how many Chubby Charmers does a girl need?

Christmas Bags

Christmas Bags #2

I had no quilts to show this time, so I showed the bags I have been working on. They are all bags for Christmas, except one. Nobody thought I was a lunatic for making the same bag over and over. I passed them all around and was pleased that people commented on the decorative stitches I used around the top of the bag. One of the new women asked about the pattern. It felt good to have people ask for my advice.

I was also thrilled to find out that Angela is saving selvedges for a selvedge quilt. YAY! I have that bag of selvedges I have been saving for something. I am really pleased I can give them to her.

During sewing time, I cut out two more bags – the outside pieces only and cut apart some more t-shirts for The Young Man’s t-shirt quilt. That chore is done except for one sweatshirt and I am not sure how I am going to work that.

I brought the Stars for San Bruno #1 quilt, which is almost finished (stay tuned for the unveiling). I have about a foot of binding left to sew before it is finished. I usually like to only show finished quilts, though I do show finished tops sometimes, but this quilt might be off to Tim and Rose before the next meeting. I hope so anyway.

The Board is doing such a great job with the meetings. We talked about the retreat. People showed their Farmer’s Wife and Alphabet Guild Challenge blocks. I made neither, but would like to catch up and try to do the Alphabet Guild Challenge blocks.

Queen Street

It occurred to me on Sunday morning while I was doing my morning exercises (great time to think) that I could use the Queen Street fabrics for that project. I was looking for a project for that fabric. Not sure as the prints are quite large. I could also use Sugar and Spice. That would be cheerful where Queen Street would be elegant.

I want to get through some of the sewing I have on my immediate to do list before I start more Sampler blocks.

There was some frustration with the Farmer’s Wife Sampler blocks. There seem to be a couple of problems: 1) color selection and 2) lack of rotary cutting directions. I also see a related problem to #2, which is that the author seems to have renamed the blocks, which makes them difficult to find in a standard block dictionary or program. I did see an EQ companion software product with all of the blocks drawn out, but it seems like not many of the members have or know how to use EQ7. Adrianne was particularly discouraged, so I offered to draw the next blocks for her. It will give me the incentive to draw them for myself and help a peep!

There was a lot of discussion of fabrics and I felt a bit out of my element. TFQ has really helped me wrap my head around lines of fabric and I can hold my own, but a lot of the fabrics discussed I had never seen. I only had a vague notion of some of the designers as well. Some more study is required, I guess.

I brought a bunch of my block dictionaries for people to look at. A number of people had bought the 501 Rotary Cut Blocks by Judy Hopkins, which I was pleased to see. A number of people are struggling with the Farmer’s Wife because of the math and I think this book will help. I can see that I had a very good quilt education. I admire the Modern Quiltmakers for learning on their own, but also think that learning in a group has value.

Mug Rug Challenge

There was also a mug rug challenge. I did not participate…mostly, because I didn’t have a spare second this past month to sew.

Fave Mug Rugs

Love the aqua!

I spent some time on Sunday drawing or finding the blocks for the Farmer’s Wife in EQ. I was able to put a project together of about 20 blocks. I sent them on to Adrianne so she could focus on the fun rather than struggling with templates. Don’t get me wrong. Templates have their uses, but most of these blocks are easy to rotary cut. I haven’t done all of them, but will get to it later this week.

The question of the month was: what part of the quiltmaking process do you struggle with?

The business meeting part of the meeting was pretty long, but it included show and tell. I forgot to bring my show and tell (Frosted Stars), so I played the role of quilt holder.

People brought their Robert Kaufman Kona challenge quilts and they are awesome! Not everyone was done, but pieces that people showed were wonderful. Angela showed an awesome colorwash type of piece that I really want to get a photo of her piece so you can see it. Patti didn’t want to do a quilt, so she painted a canvas black, made yo-yos and glued them in color order to the canvas. It is really a fabulous piece.

I brought my friend, Carol. It was fun to have someone to chat with on the long drive to and fro. She started a quilt a long time ago. When I saw the pieces at her house, I encouraged her to come. I am pretty sure she had fun, since she picked out another quilt she wants to start on.

Chris made more door prizes. She made a piece that was comprised of some blocks stretched over canvas. The person who won them was over the moon. I didn’t win anything, but she has figured out the dimensions for a composition book journal cover. To save me some time, I asked her to send me the dimensions. I’d like to make some journal covers for composition books to give as gifts as composition books are easier to find than the Miquelrius journals.

I have been wanting to recycle old fabric or clothes that are too worn to donate and Amanda came to the rescue. She is making cat beds and wants to use the trimmings from quiltmaking to stuff them. I couldn’t stop thinking about that the whole time I was trimming blocks today. I have to figure out a temporary storage solution to hold the stuff until the next BAMQG.

Julie told us about Market. It was her first time. She talked about how big Market was, meeting with fabric reps, seeing the famous quilters. She brought back leaflets of new fabrics as well as some actual unreleased fabrics. She brought Ruby! I was so glad to see it in person, because I found that I will not be buying the whole line as planned. The greys are really not my style. I might buy the swirly grey, will probably buy some of the aquas and the reds. We’ll have to see about the others. Julie called them warm greys, but, to me, they have too much beige. There are some true calicoes in the line as well, which makes me wonder if calicoes are coming back?

After the meeting is sewing time. I unsewed some blocks that I had sewed together by accident, but mostly chatted with people. Everyone else did, too. I think many of us were tired. It is a tired time of year with graduations and all.

Every other month, the meetings fall on the same day, which can be awesome and can be exhausting. I love being immersed in the quilting. I adore both groups, too.

CQFA was really small this time. It is a small group to start with and May always begins the end of school/graduation/nice weather demands on people’s time. Still, it was a great meeting with awesome show and tell. We rehashed the Primal Green outing and panel discussion. I got a lot of kudos for my contribution, which was really nice and made me feel good. Nancy had set up demo, which Sue gave after a brief break.

Sue's Piece

Sue makes fabric paper. She found the recipe in the book Stitch Alchemy and has been making gorgeous cards and gifts ever since. Sue’s piece for Primal Green was made from the fabric paper (above). She also sent me some gifts made from her paper. I especially liked the cards.

My Cards

Sue's Card - detail

Don’t you love the stitching and how it highlights and adds interest to the flower?

If I ever send you one of these cards, you had better not throw it out! I’ll have to think who will really appreciate one of them. I may frame one as well.

The thing about Sue is that she is fearless and will try anything. She really does great work and I always look forward to her show and tell.

Sue applying paper to fabric

In the photo above Sue is applying tissue paper to the fabric she has cut. I don’t remember what kind of fabric it is, but something fairly benign and not very expensive, I think.She used a water and glue mixture to apply the paper to the fabric.

Sue is a really good teacher. She was well prepared and as she talked us through the different steps, she also talked about supplies she liked (Starbuck’s tissue and colored tissue paper are the best).

Painting Fabric Paper

After the paper is dry (this was a second piece, because we didn’t have time to let the one she worked on dry), then you paint and embellish it. That stamp in the front is made from bunion foam. Great idea, huh? Again, Sue talked about things she liked and things that didn’t work out as planned for embellishing.

Painting Fabric Paper

We talked about doing this all together in August and then following up with a workshop to embellish it at A Work of Heart. We’ll see how it goes.

BAMQG is always a fun time, too. This time I brought my camera. I still didn’t take any photos except of the blocks I was cutting. DUH! I took the fabric for the Teacher Pillows and used the time I wasn’t chatting to cut pieces. I was able to cut two blocks out during the sewing time, which was great.

The meeting was good, too. It is fun to see what people are making. I had a lot to show – the FOTY 2010 (sans sleeve, so you’ll get to see when it is completely finished), the Frosted Stars Leftovers and the Purple Quilt. People really liked them and it is gratifying to get positive feedback. I was able to show the quilts at both groups and get double the amount of strokes. Thanks, everyone.

A few people finished their Robert Kaufman challenges. I brought mine, which does not have a border. Look out for a post on that coming soon to a blog near you. It was interesting to hear what challenged people about the project.

Front

Chris won the blocks from the February block strip challenge. She made a table runner and she also made some gifts to give away. I won a folder that she made using a manila folder as a pattern and Timtex as the base. Very clever.

Back

Inside

The outside of the folder is made from blocks. Can you see parts of one of my blocks? The inside has two pockets. Where the green meets the multi-colored print is where the pocket is.

Joel Dewberry Modern Meadow Blocks

The Bay Area Modern Quilt Guild met on Saturday and I had a great time. That is just a fun group. One of the things we did was show off all of the blocks we made for the Joel Dewberry Modern Meadow block swap. these are the final blocks I ended up making. I thought I made a lot, but almost everyone made at least four and several people made 6-8! There were a total of 42 blocks, so the leadership did two drawings for blocks, which meant two winners. I didn’t win, but that was ok. I have plenty of projects to work on.

Be Square Blocks

The challenge was to make blocks using squares. I described some of my process in other posts. Nobody else really talked about struggling against the desire to use triangles or other shapes.

I thought the blocks made a relatively cohesive group. there were a number of off center log cabins (which I think might be called quarter square log cabins). There were a few prints that were conducive to fussy cutting, and people took advantage of those prints to highlight certain motifs. People described their process and I really enjoyed hearing how people worked through the constraints of the challenge.

Photo by Adrianne

Robert Kaufman donated charm packs to our group. We received 5″ charm squares of the Kona Solids in the Bright Palette. The challenge is to make a quilt top or something (I asked about a bag and was enthusiastically told that that would be ok) by the June meeting. My immediate thought was to make the quilt I saw at the Manteca show. I could easily make a Chubby Charmer, but my mind is working through the math on the Fun with Scraps quilt. I wouldn’t do the border, just the center. I like the way the hourglass block adds to the postage stamp block. I wonder how many Postage stamp blocks I could make with the charm pack?

We also got a group gift together for Ruth who started the guild. I made her a Jane Market tote, which I forgot to photograph. and people brought treats to put in it (thread, FQs, etc). It is a nice way to thank someone.

Kathleen did a demo on how to make the Oh Fransson! Crazy 9patch blocks. She is doing a swap via Flickr of these blocks, so she used the opportunity of making extra blocks to show everyone how to do the technique. Kathleen is a very good teacher.

Julie opened her shop, which was exciting!

Fabricworm Custom Bundle Starling Cherry/Aqua/Black 12 Total

I did, mostly, socializing, but cut a few patches for a quilt I want to make from a group of fabric I bought from the Fabricworm. The pack I am using is a Fabricworm Custom Bundle and is called Starling Cherry/Aqua/Black.

It was a fun meeting. I left wanting more and feeling good about spending time away from the sewing machine at a meeting.

Thanks to Adrianne for letting use the Kona charm pack photo and the group photo of the Be Square block challenge.

BAMQG Logo

This past weekend, I spent all weekend doing fun quilt stuff,. None of it, really was sewing, but all of it was inspirational.

The Bay Area Modern Guild met on Saturday for a meeting and sew day. Don’t you love the new logo? I do!

The Manteca Quilt Show was all weekend, but I went with Mom on Sunday. Look for a post about the show soon. My camera acted up, so I need to get some of the photos from mom. I’ll also put a Flickr stream.

I really like the Bay Area Modern Quilt Guild people. I really didn’t know what to expect or what I was expecting, but everyone is great: cheerful, fun, easy to talk to and doing fun projects. Even though I missed sewing on my own projects at home, it was worth the effort to go. Although I feel like I have a lot of deadlines (self imposed, of course) and I am not going to meet them, I need some sewing companionship and I am not going to get it at home alone.

The meeting was really fun. We had a bit of a business meeting and then show and tell. Show and tell was great: my favorite part. I love seeing what everyone is doing. I feel like I am getting some fresh ideas. I have been sewing, but I really had nothing to show. I haven’t finished much and need to get to work.

Amanda's Placemats

Amanda got some fabric from Urban Burp and combine the vintage fabric with some modern fabric to create some placemats. Everyone was very enthusiastic.

Kathleen's Square in a Square

Kathleen brought this square in a square piece. She used a pattern. Someone said that there is also a Kaffe Fassett pattern in one of his early books that looks similar. If I have time, I’ll look for it and let you know. I like the color and the different sized blocks used in one quilt. I also enjoy Kathleen’s work, because she uses similar colors to the colors I use.

I brought the Black Jane Market Tote and everyone admired it, but I was busy doing something else while Kathleen was taking photos, so no photo. You have seen it anyway!

Adrianne's Hexagons

Adrianne’s hexagons are quite large. She used a special cutting technique by Kay Wood, which is described on her (Adrianne’s) blog. I tried this and had some problems. Adrianne and I worked together at the meeting to figure out the problem. What we surmise is that you must have a 60 degree triangle with the tip. I was using my new favorite ruler, the Fons and Porter Pyramid ruler. I love that ruler, but the top is blunted and, while,  it works great for the Twirling Triangles, but creates oblongs instead of hexagons when using Adrianne’s/Kay’s technique.

Adrianne used Innocent Crush in her piece and machine pieced the hexagons in rows. I am not sure if the Innocent Crush is in a particular colorway. I saw a number of different colors of the various designs.

Julie‘s show and tell was her cool beginner sampler. It is so fresh and fun! I haven’t counted up my requirements for techniques to learn when doing a beginning class, but Julie’s piece hits most of the high points. Her really good news was that she is opening an LQS!!! I was so excited until I heard it will be in San Jose. She will have an online store as well, though, so I can buy from there. She is planning to open after Spring Market.

I am really hoping that an LQS will open in my neighborhood. I am in an LQS wasteland! I’ll keep you posted on Julie’s store developments.

Kathleen's String Blocks

Kathleen has been busy. She is making string blocks as well as well as the Square in a Square and the Mod Mosaics. They remind me, a bit, of Pineapples. I believe this is also a swap on Flickr. Again, I love her colors. I am so glad someone else is working in brights and dots. Kathleen said that she is working on so many swaps that she hasn’t had a chance to work on her own projects!

It is interesting to see these swaps going on. I remember back in the quiltmaking dark ages when people did swaps and they went awry or people received blocks that were less than stellar in workmanship. I am glad there are people who aren’t as jaded as I am.

February Block Challenge

Everyone brought their blocks from the 2.5″ strip swap. I was amazed at the variety of blocks. I think they will go nicely together. Adrianne and Kathleen put names into a bag to draw for all of the blocks. Chris of Quilt Bits won! I can’t wait to see what she makes.

Block Swap

For this month’s challenge, Adrianne and Kathleen brought Joel Dewberry’s Modern Meadow fat quarters. The idea is that  people took the FQs and will bring back blocks to the next meeting. The theme is to make blocks with squares: log cabin, 9patch, 4patch, etc. Like last month, we will either make a quilt and someone who worked on it will win or we will draw for the blocks. Almost everyone wanted to participate, which I thought was great! I guess this is me sticking my toe back into the swap waters.

My fabric: Acorn Chain in a Lake

The photo to the left shows the fabric I chose. The colorway is Pond. It is called Acorn Chain in a Lake, which I find very entertaining. I have been trying to think of what block to make and, especially, how far I can stretch the definition of ‘square.’ At the moment the top contender is Block # 9 from the Layer Cake Quilt Challenge. I am pretty in love with 4 patches right now, though and am trying to think of something interesting to do with a 4patch (e.g. 9patch with 4patch corners??) . Adrianne posted some fun options from Flickr. I am reserving judgment as I have not yet looked through any of my block dictionaries. I am sure I can make more than one block from the fabric I have. I just hope I find some time to sew!

I chose this fabric because it looks like dots. Also, that lighter blue looks like aqua and I think I might use some of the aqua dandelion fabric I got from FabricWorm/Birch Fabrics. It is called Dandelion by Michael Miller.

Dandelion by Michael Miller

It looks like they would go together. We are also supposed to use Kona white if we plan to use a white in the block. I have Kona Snow, but not Kona White, so I will have to get some or not use white. I keep thinking that a bit of orange would be nice, but I’ll have to see when I lay out the block.

What is your favorite square block?

I only brought projects to cut out: Jane Market Totes from Martha Negley fabric, Multi-tasker Tote from Michael Miller’s Ironwork fabric, another quilt like Michaela’s quilt, but using fabrics from one of the Birch Bundles I got last summer. I thought I would get a lot of cutting done. It turns out that I was Miss Social Butterfly, As I mentioned, I really enjoy the women there and took advantage of the opportunity to talk quilts, guild activities and life. Who knew I wouldn’t just stand in the corner by myself?

Jane Market Totes to be

The left photo shows all I got done; cut out 2 Jane Market totes. That’s it. C’est tout. I am happy I got these pieces cut as the table was nice and big, but I really wish I had gotten more done. I blame Adrianne and Kathleen for doing such a great job organizing the meeting and being such nice people.

Kathleen prepared the demo. The demo was the Mod Mosaic technique by Elizabeth Hartman of Oh Fransson fame. She has a pattern for a floor pillow using the technique. She talks about the blocks here and shows different ideas for settings.

Kathleen is in a swap group and they are swapping these types of blocks so a tutorial/demo on how to make the blocks seemed a good idea. It was a huge success!

Mod Mosaic Tutorial

Kathleen’s blocks are gorgeous! I watched and listened as I did my own stuff. I looked at the pattern later and I get it. I think this would make good use of scraps. Just what I need: another project in process!

Peggy's Mod Mosaic

Peggy got on board right away. She came with fabrics for a bargello quilt and, instead, used them to make Mod Mosaic blocks!

Lisa's Mod Mosaic

Lisa’s blocks (right) looked like circus blocks. I loved their bright cheerfulness. Kathleen also showed some of her blocks in detail.

Kathleen's Mod Mosaic

Looking at the black and red blocks makes me think of my new scrap organization system and how that system would lend itself to be picking scraps out of the drawer and sewing them into these types of blocks.

On my way home from the meeting, I wondered about my interest in the Modern Quilt Movement and it occurred to me that I have been, at least mentally or intellectually, struggling with categorizing my own style of quiltmaking.

What style of quilts do I make?

They aren’t really traditional, though have classic elements and are often block based. I don’t really dye or paint or engage much in surface design, so  they aren’t art quilts, really, either. Perhaps I am exploring modern quilts to determine whether these types of designs are that fine line between the art and classic quilts?

I really enjoyed the meeting and can’t wait to go again….even if I don’t get anything done.

Want to come to a meeting or join? Take a look at the:

• Bay Area Modern Quilt Guild blog
• Bay Area Modern Quilt Guild Flickr Group
• Super Cool Facebook Page

Thanks to Kathleen for allowing me to use her photos!

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3/10/2011 Update: Kathleen said that Square in a Square pattern to which I referred above is called Outside the Box by Rose Mason of Wilsonville, Oregon.

BAMQG Strip Exchange Blocks

Here are the blocks I made from the strips we exchanged at the Bay Area Modern Quilt Guild Meeting last time. I am not a big fan of the colors I picked. You know I don’t like working with lumpy colors. I think the blocks turned out well. I did my best sewing.

I headed down to CQFA after performing some family duties at the crack of dawn. I was a bit early so I stopped at Starbuck’s and caught up on a few things. The meeting wasn’t as serious and busy as the last one, which was nice. We organized the meetings for the year and will have a social/big show and tell in July. We were able to spend a lot more time on Show and Tell, too, which is my favorite part. People at CQFA do the most unbelievable work. I wish I had taken a picture of Dolores’ quilt as it was GORGEOUS. She made a sun out of silk tie fabric. The sun was yellow, but then the piecing was a colorwash from green to purple radiating out from the sun. It was beautiful from close up and far away. A real stunner.

This was but one of a number of gorgeous quilts. I brought the Zig Zaggy top  and the Flea Market Bag since I haven’t really finished anything else that wasn’t given away. I was also really busy last week and even though I started getting ready early I was still racing around at the last minute trying to get stuff together.

I didn’t get to go to lunch with everyone, because I wanted to attend the Bay Area Modern Quilt Guild Meeting. Yesterday was the first time the meeting was on Saturday. The President jumped through whatever hoops she needed to jump through to get the community room for us on weekend days, so we were able to have a sew day. It is a nice room – big, has power, good lighting and some space for food items.

I didn’t want to bring my sewing machine, but I brought my FOTY 2010 project so that I could work on the side and bottom/top triangles. Sadly, I forgot the actual diamonds, so I had to improvise with a paper pattern.  I’ll write a separate blog post about cutting the triangles.

It was very informal so people walked around and looked at what everyone else’s projects. The projects are really different than the CQFA projects and it was good to see a different side of quiltmaking.

I brought the Stars for San Bruno to show everyone and people pledged to make some. They were also interested in my FOTY project so I talked to people who stopped by my table.

Angela's Shoulder Bag

Angela had a nice bag. She made it from a pattern in the book from That Patchwork Place,The New Handmade.

New Handmade Book

I have a vague memory of hearing about this book, but don’t remember seeing it. I looked through it briefly and found the bag pattern Angela made to be best one. There were a few others that were interesting, but wouldn’t be on the top of my radar. They don’t have it at my  Library, so I will have to see if I can find it at another one. I am interested in making a bag like Angela made.

Angela's Bag - detail

Angela's Bag - detail

First, it is a good size.

Second, the pockets are great. Angela had her actual small, leather purse in the top, large pocket, but her cell phone and other devices are in the front pockets for easy access.

Third, I like the way it stands up.

Fourth, the design had a long enough strap to wear across her body.

Fifth, I really like the shape, because it is a useful shape! While I still want to remake the leather, saddlebag style handbag I curently, this pattern has some possibilities for interim hauling.

Finally, Angela used a great combination of fabrics. This has nothing to do with the pattern, but I think that is part of the reason I looked at it twice.

There were a lot of other projects going on. Lynnette was making whirligig blocks and I got a little lesson in how she was doing that. Angela was in the process of getting ready to quilt a 9 patch she had just finished basting, so we chatted about quilting it. She had also made a Little Wallet, but she put a loop with a clip on the outside so it could be clipped to a larger bag. GREAT idea! Joylily was working on samples for a book. Julie had a Sizzix machine and was telling us about the variations between the Sizzix, Go and one other brand of cutting machines. Ruth was combining some embroideries she and her sisters had done with some quarter log cabins she had gotten from a swap. She found some out of copyright designs on Flickr. Another great idea! Someone was basting a table runner. People brought books so others could look at them. Lynette did a 10 minute demo on the tube method of making bias binding. She made me want to try it again.

One great thing about watching these folks work is that they use all sorts of tools I haven’t used. Ruth was using one of those square rulers with the slices in it to make strips. I had never seen anyone use it, though I have looked at it in shops numerous times. Julie uses the Sizzix to cut appliques and other shapes quickly.

Aside from feeling like a complete geezer at the meeting, that group is a real working group with a nice feel to it. And nobody calls me a geezer!

We did show and tell. The quilts were very modern, for the most part, and there was a wide range of experience and styles. I should have brought the Zig Zaggy top. It would have fit right in. I want to quilt it or get it quilted before I drag it out into the world. I don’t want people to be sick of seeing it. I brought It’s a Merry & Bright Wrap, because I wanted to work on the sleeve. I think I put in about 2 stitches. People admired it.

Mostly, the members seemed like people who had just started sewing again after a hiatus or were new to sewing/quiltmaking. There was some discussion of the tube method of binding and various shops – two I hadn’t heard of! One is along my beaten path, so I will have to check it out and take TFQ there when she visits again. It was a great group. I really enjoyed the people.

Someone brought some great books. I was able to take a look at the new Amy Butler bag book, Style Stitches, which is a beautiful book. There were two bags in it that sorely tempt me, though I am a bit scared to take on another Amy Butler pattern after the Sweet Harmony bag. I was also able to look at Elizabeth Hartman’s new book, The Practical Guide to Patchwork: New Basics for the Modern Quiltmaker (yay! quiltmaker in a title!). I liked the look of it and found some tips and tricks that might make it worth a purchase. I also took a quick look at I {heart} Patchwork, which I had never heard of. There was so much going on that I really only had a minute to look at it. I don’t know what Zakka is, but what I saw was interesting and worth another look.

Everyone was really friendly and welcoming. One person, Adrianne of Little Bluebell, went to Quilt Market! She has great pictures on her blog about the experience. I can’t believe that they accept bloggers as press! You have to show some effort at a business, but she said it wasn’t that hard to register. WOW! A whole new door has opened to me!

I saw Chris, again, and still didn’t get much of a chance to talk with her in person! I hope to see her again!

There was a guy there! George magically appeared at the beginning of the fabric exercise. I don’t know if I just didn’t see him or if he came in late. I liked hearing his perspective, partially because of all the press about guys and lately, but also because I am never around quiltmaking guys. He talked about his experiences in fabric stores. As a result, we asked him what fabrics he gravitated towards, which spawned an interesting discussion.

We did a GREAT fabric exercise. Ruth, who is the owner/convener/president/quilt maven of the group asked everyone to bring 20 pieces of fabric. She promised we would get them all back unscathed. I was reluctant, but threw a stack of reds and aquas into the bag just before I left.

BAMQG Fabric Selection

There were a huge variety of fabrics. Laying on the tables, a lot of the fabrics looked like the old Hoffmans. As people started digging around, I could see that they were what people consider to be modern. Without the Kona Snow, they look really different.

The first exercise was to pick one fabric, get together with someone (great ice breaker as well) and pick 6-8 additional fabrics for a quilt. Subsequent versions of the exercise ensued.

There were a number of great things about these exercises:

• no cutting = no fear. We weren’t actually going to make the quilt.
• working with fabrics that weren’t mine opened my eyes to different possibilities.
• working with someone gave me different ways to look at fabric combinations and learn from them.
• reminded me that a fabric avalanche might be an opportunity to see fabrics in a new way.
• there is always more fabric, so put the fabrics together in interesting ways.

Fabric Combo

Above is the last group I put together with another quiltmaker. The grey is something I never would have added, but the exercise was to pick two fabrics and they had to be touching each other. I picked that lovely turquoise/aqua and white in the upper right hand corner next to the red/white plaid. It was touching a grey. I picked a couple of other greys and more red and aqua and I think the group works.

I think this is a group I could really feel comfortable with. The meetings are not convenient, which is a real shame. I am going to try and go again and see where my attendance and participation on the Ning part of the guild lead.