General Meeting Minutes - December 4th, 2019

Beth welcomes guests, and asks members who joined within the last 6 months to stand.

She reminds members that the Maitland SewDay, on December 9th is the holiday party.  There won't be any gift exchange but Beth will bring a main dish and asks members who will participate to bring some food to share.  The Casselberry Holiday Party will be on December 28, and Judy is in charge of the main dish.

Ede asks attendees to sign the presence sheet, grab a Bingo sheet for the game, and reminds members that the Quilt & More has an appreciation day for the Orlando MQG members on December 14th.  Lastly, for those who have participated in the pincushion exchange and haven't received one yet you may want to have a chat with Ede. 

Block of the Month

Instructions for the BOM are on the blog, we hope that members are keeping one block each month and will make a full quilt with them.
Beth wins last month's BOM.

Diana presents the next block, Icky Thump Block by Julie Hirt.  It is a paid pattern but Diana has received the authorization from the designer to use it for our Guild.  Diana has made copies of the paper-piecing block.  If you haven't got one, please contact her via email.
For this block, the background is white and a solid color for for the rest: using solid on paper-piecing will make it easier as there is no wrong side or right side. 
Diana has some tips on the construction, see her blogpost HERE.

Other matters
Lake Mary Museum Annual Quilting and Art Exhibit - we have been invited to take part in this event again.  There's a sign up sheet for this.  Quilts will have to be dropped off between December 19 and 21.  Jeanne A. is the point of contact.  The exhibition will be open from January 12th to February 9th.

Debra is offering a free class on January 25.  She can host 7 people.  Contact her if you are interested, priority is given to Board members, former Board members, and then committee  members.

Retreat
Everyone had a superb time.  THANK YOU to Marge and the retreat committee for a great organization.  A second retreat in the Spring will possible, however we need a committee to take the lead.

Election committee - Leslie, Aradria, Mary
The deadline to send your application to any position on the Board is December 20th.  You can contact any of the Election committee members in person, email, or phone.  Being a Board member is a great opportunity to take part in the development of our Guild.

Library
Aradria presents 2 new books that have just been added to the Library: Why we quilt and English Paper Piecing.

Quilty basket
A few of the goodies which were in the basket: Ikea fabric, books, charms packs, chocolate, Flamingo decoration, 505 spray...  Betty is the lucky winner.

Community outreach

The first round of quilts were dropped at the Zebra Coalition.  We will have another drop off in February/March and we are only 12 quilts away from our promise of 25.

Festival of trees - it was beautifully displayed at the Orlando Museum of Art.  We don’t know yet how much money it has helped to raise.

So far we have delivered 450 placemats to Meals on Wheels.

Call for block - Connie, Julie and  Laurie report that 2 whole quilts were sewn together during the retreat, 6 quilts are ready for biding.  There's a bundle of leftover HSTs to pick up to make more placemats.  Please keep making blocks (instructions on the blog).  They are also looking for people to quilt tops.  So far the Guild has sent quilts to El Paso, Australia, New Zealand...

Financial report - Zonetta

Last month, we generated income from the Quilty Basket.  And our expenses were related to the Retreat and the acquisition of books.

Zonetta reminds members that it will soon be time to renew their membership and that it could be a nice gift idea.

Upcycling gift exchange

This year we challenge members to create a gift out of upcycling material to keep up with our sustainability theme.  Here are a few of the gifts which were exchanged.  #Orlandomqgmembershavetalent.

And finally, after some Bingo, memory game, scavenger challenge, it is time for our last Show'n'Tell of 2019.  Click on the rectangle at the bottom right of the image below for a wide screen video.

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December BOM

Happy December!

For this month’s BOM, I’m hoping to challenge some of you to sew outside of your comfort zone. I love the precision of paper piecing so for this month we’re going to make the Icky Thump block from 627 Handworks. If you didn’t receive a copy of the pattern at our December guild meeting or need more copies, please email me. For our design aesthetic this year, the background should pieces should be white(#1 & #6 on the pattern) and the other fabrics should be solids. It really makes this block feel modern.

If you are not new to paper piecing, feel free to just jump right in! For those of you who are new to this, there are many great tutorials online, but here is a link to a video that shows how I paper piece. I highly recommend that you watch it. I will also walk you through it below with some tips and tricks along the way. 

First and foremost, if you are printing out your own copies you always want to make sure that your printer settings are set to print at 100% (not scale to fit). Otherwise your block won’t finish at the correct size. You will need to print out 4 copies of the pattern to make 1 complete block. In the photo below you’ll see that I labeled which fabrics are to be used for each number. I find that very helpful so you don’t accidentally place a fabric in the wrong spot.

Okay, let’s start piecing. The first thing that you do, is use a straight edge (a bookmark in the photo below) to make a crease on the line between piece #1 and #2. This helps you to know where you should place your fabric on the other side.

Remember, you’ll be sewing directly on the solid lines so your fabrics are placed on the BACK of the printout. Also, when you place your fabric for these first pieces you want to make sure your piece is big enough all the way around to account for the ¼” seam allowance. 

In the photo below, you can see that I’ve placed the white fabric down over the #1 piece, making sure that it’s completely covering it. (Tip: you can use a dab of stick glue to hold the first piece in place on the paper). Next, lay your 2nd fabric over it, making sure that it’s big enough that once you’ve sewn and ironed it open, it completely covers piece #2. (Tip: hold it up to the light just a bit so you can see through the paper). Pin the fabrics directly to the paper.

Now it’s time to sew. NOTE: reduce your stitch length to make it easier to remove the paper later.(My normal stitch length is 2mm and I shorten mine to 1.2mm). Stitch directly on the line between 1 and 2, making sure to stop where the line intersects another line. Iron piece #2 back and turn over to make sure it’s covering all of the #2 on the paper. 

Next you’re going to repeat the process. Use your straight edge to fold back the paper on line #3. You should have excess fabric that needs to be trimmed. Here is where you can create your ¼” seam allowance. In the photo below you’ll see the yellow ruler that I’m using. It’s called the “Add-A-Quarter” ruler and it’s awesome for paper piecing! You just place it against the folded paper and trim. Don’t worry if you don’t have one though, you can just use a regular ruler and trim ¼” away from the edge of the paper. 

Once your edges are trimmed it’s time to add piece #3. Take a piece of fabric that is bigger all around (remember those seam allowances!). Line it up along the straight edge that you just trimmed. Pin it in place to keep it from shifting. 

 it over and sew directly on the line between 2 and 3.

Just like before, you iron the newly added piece, use a straight edge to fold back the paper at the #4 line, trim the excess fabric to a ¼”, add the next piece of fabric, and sew. Keep doing this until you’ve added all 6 pieces. Trim along the dotted line around the entire block and you end up with this:

You’ve made the first of four smaller blocks. Once you make the other three blocks you’re ready to sew them all together. It is a matter of preference whether or not you decide to keep the paper on while you sew the 4 blocks together. For me, I find it easier for this block to remove all of the papers and then sew the 4 blocks together. At the end, you should have a block that looks something like this:

I hope that you found this helpful and can’t wait to see the blocks you made!

~ Diana 

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December Newsletter

A newsletter designed with OrlandoMQG members in mind! View this email in your browser

Issue 46 December 1st, 2019 Dear Guildies, I know it is hard to believe, but Wednesday, December 4th will be our last Guild meeting of 2019.  We will celebrate with some Gift exchanges and other surprises.  You still have a couple of days to create an item out of recycled materials (check the guidelines in the Programming section below) for the gift exchange.  In addition, we will have some games, to participate bring a Holiday Fat Quarter, rolled and secured with a rubber band. We will have two more opportunities to celebrate with Quiltie friends before the end of the year: the Maitland SewDay on December 9th, and the Casselberry SewDay on December 28th.  Make sure you confirm your attendance for these so we can bring enough food for all. I hope you get to carve out some time for creativity, quiet reflection and sharing. Happy stitching, Caroline Garnier Janny Secretary PS: One of our members has lost a 6” x 24” Creative Grids Ruler during the retreat.  If you have found it, please let us know. Questions, comments, or suggestions regarding the newsletter are welcome, please email me. I would also love to hear of any quilty news or ideas for content you'd like to share.  Constructive feedback is always welcome.     MEETING REMINDERS If you've borrowed a Library Book, it is time to bring it back.  We hope you have enjoyed it.  Go the our blog and check the list of books available to borrow and/or look at Aradria's Library Spotlight in the Minutes Section.  If you can't find what you want, make a recommendation to our Wish List. Next General meeting is on December 4th, at The Sewing Studio at 10am (No drink, No food in the room). Board meeting will follow our General meeting. December SewDays are: Dr Phillips Library - CANCELLED Maitland Library -  December 7th Casselberry Library - December 28th, 10am to 3pm. Our first meeting of 2020 will be on January 8th. Block of the Month (current and past) instructions, meeting minutes, Calendar dates, and more can be found on the guild blog. COMMUNITY OUTREACH Kelly Eskin   Big Thank You to everyone that donated a quilt to the Zebra Coalition. We donated 15 quilts and are now over half way to our goal. Well done! The Festival of Trees quilt was donated. I saw a picture of it hanging and it sure is beautiful. The QuiltCon quilt is well on it's way. I can't wait to see it. Please continue to keep the placemats for Meals on Wheels and Road to Tennessee blocks during the holiday season.   PROGRAMMING Yanick Booz December is our holiday celebration meeting and it is gift giving time. Remember this year, the goal is to create a gift that incorporates sustainability in your unique way. You can create an art piece or a functional quilted item. Keep in mind: Max size of 12 by 12. Great creative! At least 50% should contain:  Re-purposed, rescued fabrics Renewable, sustainable new fabrics Scraps and otherwise trashed pieces of fabric Unusual materials Place your complete project in a large grocery paper bag and include a note inside explaining the materials used. Please contact Ede or Yanick for any programming ideas, or send an email to orlandomodernquiltguild@gmail.com.

QUILTY HAPPENINGS Locally, Globally, and on the Web   Quilts & More quilt store (11061 South Orange Blossom Trail in Orlando) has generously offered our guild a special open house to thank us for helping their business get established!  On Dec 14, all members will be welcome at the store, where there will be snacks and demos--and 20% off all regularly priced merchandise!  Don't miss it!  Please bring your guild ID card to get your discount. The Modern Quilt Guild is 10!  And there's a enamel pin to celebrate this mile stone.  Check the MQG shop if you want to get yours. Bonnie Hunter's annual scrappy quilt along has started on Friday, November 29th.  I always wanted to join.  I do like to follow the instructions as they are full of very interesting technical tips, and Bonnie's patterns are always such scrap buster projects. If you are planning to attend more quilt shows in 2020, you can find a list of the upcoming Floridian events HERE.

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