A quick update and a few reminders

Thanks to all for your patience as we transition the blog into new hands. Still looking for more volunteers to assist with photos and write-ups at events. Please contact me directly if you’re interested (sandie@sleepyowlstudio.com).

Also, if you have photos from the Island Quilter Modern Solstice opening (or any other event), please post them in our Flickr group. Descriptions and comments help. Check that privacy is set to  “Public” so photos can be shared.

Reminders:

  • No June General Meeting. (Next meeting is July 10th).
  • Sew-in at The Quilting Loft on Friday, June 14th.
  • Island Quilter Sew-in on Saturday, June 15th.
  • Please RSVP (on Big Tent) for sew-ins and events as soon as possible. 

If you’re on Facebook, be sure to follow our page (Seattle Modern Quilt Guild). Debbie Jeske does a terrific job of keeping information flowing there.

 

 

Are you headed to Folklife?

The Seattle Modern Quilt Guild is very excited to participate in the Northwest Folklife Festival May 24th – 27th.

For over 40 years Northwest Folklife has produced the annual Northwest Folklife Festival, a celebration of musical and artistic traditions at Seattle Center that is now the nation’s largest free community arts festival.

Come visit our exhibit in the courtyard of Intiman Theater. The link below is a tour guide for the quilts on display.

Seattle Modern Quilt Guild Folklife Blog Tour

Want more information about modern quilting? Check out Chandra’s post on the Folklife blog from earlier this month.

Jacquie Gering and Katie Pedersen – Classes Still Available!

The guild is pleased to welcome Jacquie Gering of Tallgrass Prairie Studio for 3 classes at Island Quilter.  Jacquie is an inspired quilter and teacher with a passion for modern design. She is also, luckily for us, the co-author of the book Quilting Modern: Techniques and Projects for Improvisational Quilts. Written with our guild president Katie Pedersen, the book is a great example of how beautiful things can come from long distance relationships.

Jacquie makes her home in Chicago, so the chance to take a class taught by these two teachers together is not to be missed.

Sponsored by Island Quilter, and located on beautiful Vashon Island, WA, the classes are as follows:

  • Monday, May 20th (10am to 5pm) – Slice and Dice Workshop/Slice and Insert Technique and Projects: Join authors Jacquie Gering and Katie Pedersen for a full day workshop focusing on the improvisational Slice and Insert piecing technique from their book Quilting Modern: Techniques and Projects for Improvisational Quilts.
  • Tuesday, May 21st (12pm to 6pm) – All Hexagons All the Time Workshop: Love hexagons, but dread hand piecing? Love sewing hexagons by machine, but find marking tedious? Be prepared to love machine-piecing hexagons and master the dreaded Y-seam with ease.
  • Wednesday, May 22nd (10am to 5pm) – Going Crazy Workshop/Modern Crazy Piecing: Step into the present with this modern version of crazy piecing from the Going Crazy Chapter in Quilting Modern: Techniques and Projects for Improvisational Quilts.

All classes are $99, with lunch and/or snacks included (no lunch Wednesday). Accommodations are available on Vashon Island. See the Island Quilter class page for information and to register.

Modern Quilting and the Northwest Folklife Festival

Check out Chandra’s guest post on the Northwest Folklife blog:

http://www.nwfolklife.org/2013/04/what-to-see-at-folklife-144-the-seattle-modern-quilt-guild/

For those participating, or interested in participating (there’s still room!), watch for updates via email and Big Tent.

To Boston with Love (from the Seattle MQG)

I’m sure many of you have seen the “To Boston with Love” project started by the Vancouver MQG. If you’d like to participate, I’ll be collecting flags and sending them on behalf of the Seattle MQG.

The flags are so easy to make, but it’s important you follow the instructions as written. All the info can be found here:


http://vancouvermodernquiltguild.ca/blog/2013/04/to-boston-with-love/

There are additional links, tutorials and inspiration to be found on their blog:


http://vancouvermodernquiltguild.ca/blog/

A Flickr group (of course!):
http://www.flickr.com/groups/tobostonwithlove/

And an IG hashtag: #tobostonwithlove

The deadline for all the flags to BE in Boston is 5/21. To be safe, and keep things simple, please have your flags to me by 5/13. I’ll be at the sew-in on the 11th (late in the day, so feel free to leave it if you’re coming earlier), and at the meeting on the 13th.

If you do plan to participate, drop me a response here or on the BigTent discussion board so I can get a general number to Berene for their planning.

Thank you!

Sandie

Scenes from a sew-in

There was a great turn out at the sew in at QuiltWorks NW last Sunday. Thank you to everyone who could make it. If you couldn’t make it out, here are a few pictures from the day.

All pictures courtesy of Andi.

SMQGAprilSewIn_people 1

SMQGAprilSewIn_fabric 4

SMQGAprilSewIn_challenge 2

SMQGAprilSewIn_challenge 1

SMQGAprilSewIn_progress 8

SMQGAprilSewIn_progress 6

SMQGAprilSewIn_hands 3

SMQGAprilSewIn_handquilt 3

 

Oh boy, there are so many great pictures. Check out our flickr page for even more photos.

THANK YOU, THANK YOU to Andi for the beautiful photos and for taking time out of the sew in to take them.

Clothworks Organic Solids Modern Block Challenge

Cutting, folding, and bundling 32 stacks of fabric for the #seattlemqg #clothworks challenge was more work than I thought. It sure is pretty, though.

For our newest challenge, announced at our April general meeting, we are partnering with Clothworks, who generously donated fabric from their new line of organic solids. The blocks will be used to make one or two charity quilts, depending on how many finished blocks we receive, for the Genesis Project, a Seattle-based organization that provides outreach to victims of sex trafficking.

Each member is challenged to create one block (or more, if materials allow) using only the fabrics in the bundle. You can as few or as many of the colors in any combination you choose. Block size can be a square or rectangle, anywhere between 6.5″ square to 12.5″ square. The only other parameter is that the block be modern in design, based on your interpretation of the MQG’s definition of modern quilting:

“Modern quilts are primarily functional and inspired by modern design. Modern quilters work in different styles and define modern quilting in different ways, but several characteristics often appear which may help identify a modern quilt. These include, but are not limited to: the use of bold colors and prints, high contrast and graphic areas of solid color, improvisational piecing, minimalism, expansive negative space, and alternate grid work. ‘Modern traditionalism’ or the updating of classic quilt designs is also often seen in modern quilting.”

I started this with zero inspiration (and, in fact, a bit begrudgingly) but I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out.

Ara Jane’s (amazing) example

Blocks are due at the July general meeting. Please be sure that if you take a bundle that you are able to return a finished block. And if there are any large pieces of unused fabric, please return them with your finished block as we may be able to use these in constructing the quilt top. Most of the 32 blocks were distributed at the last meeting, but there are still several bundles left and will be available at the next few sew-ins and the May general meeting (as long as supplies last).

Thank you to Clothworks for the generous donation and to those who are participating. We can’t wait to see what you will do with these beautiful fabrics!