Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Many Thanks!


The Orlando chapter of the Modern Quilt Guild would not exist without the perseverance and hard work of the founding member, Rene Martinez. She has served as our guild president for two years and as she transfers her leadership role to the next president we want to take this moment to acknowledge Rene.

You know that Rene is ready to share the responsibilities when you see that her OMQG cubby is nearly empty.  Many many thanks to you, Rene!





Sunday, February 26, 2012

February 2012, Sew Day Sew fun






As usual we were busy quilting, eating and talking. And we talked about everything under the sun. What a great time.  I am sew glad I was there! (Sorry for being sew corny.)


QuiltCon


The Modern Quilt Guild was founded in Los Angeles in October 2009. Through blogs and the Internet, word spread quickly and in less than three years, modern quilt guilds can be found all over the world. There are over 1,000 members and 100 guilds worldwide.

Our guild, the Orlando Modern Quilt Guild (OMQG) was founded in March of 2010 by Rene' and has over 25 members. We enjoy monthly meetings, member demonstrations, show-and-tell, BOMs, challenges, monthly Sew Days, field trips, workshops, trunk shows, fabric shop discounts, and also participate in community charity projects. All levels of quilters are welcome and we enjoy the camaraderie and talent our members are so willing to share.



The Modern Quilt Guild, which Rene' affectionately calls "the mother ship" has announced its inaugural conference and show, QuiltCon, being held February 21-25, 2013 in Austin, Texas. QuiltCon will be the first modern quilt show and conference of its kind. There will be a juried quilt show (with cash prizes), vendors, lectures and workshops from top modern quilters, including Denyse Schmidt, Anna Maria Horner, Elizabeth Hartman, Malka Dubrowsky, Weeks Ringle and Bill Kerr.

Conference registration opens August 30, 2012. For more information and updates, sign up for the Modern Quilt Guild's newsletter.

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

February Sew Day

Saturday, February 25th is our next Sew Day.  We will meet at the Dr. Phillips/Southwest Branch of the Orlando Public Library from 10am to 4:45pm.  Beth will give a paper-piecing demonstration; bring coordinating fabric scraps if you are interested in participating.   

If you've never been to an OMQG event, Sew Day is a great way to start.  Bring your sewing machine and sewing projects and join us in a great big room for an afternoon of sewing. It is a great time to make some headway into that long list of projects that you have and get to know the members of the OMQG. As always, your first meeting is free.

It is helpful to leave a comment if you plan to attend and what shared item (extension cord, cutting mat, food, iron, ironing board, etc.) you will bring.  

Thursday, February 2, 2012

February 1, 2012 Meeting Minutes

Orlando Modern Quilt Guild Meeting
February 1, 2012
10 AM to 12 Noon
Sewing Studio in Maitland, Florida

I.       Sign in, Meet and Greet
22 members and guests were in attendance.

II.     Build Basket Raffle
The winner was Alejandrina.


III.    Blocks of the Month


Terry won the spool blocks.


Rene presented the March string Block of the Month for which directions are posted on the OMQG website. The color scheme is spring colors on a white background.


IV.     Parade of Priority: Alzheimer's Quilts Made for Crayon Challenge
Members made 15 quilts to donate to AAQI. The colors used were based on two crayon colors selected by each quilter in a blind drawing at an earlier meeting.














V.      Other Guild Business
New Officers effective March 2012
President: Beth
Vice President: LInda
Secretary: Kathryn
Treasurer: Michele
Program Coordinator: Alejandrina
Charity Chair:  Jodi

Information to Share:  "Faces of Color",  portraits by 19 national artists, will be held at Mary Mcleod Bethune Performing Arts Center from February 3 - March 30, 2012.  6 or 7 of the artists work in fabric. The curator is quilter, Juanita Yeager. Opening reception is Feb. 3 from 6 to 8 pm.

Beth has initiated after meeting lunches.  8 attended the Feb. 1st lunch.

VI.     Show and Tell












Wednesday, February 1, 2012

March 2012 Block of the Month

March's block is a 12.5" string block to finish at 12" square.  Use white for the background fabric and bright, cheery fabrics for the strings.  Following is a brief rundown on how I made the sample block.  More detailed instructions can be found on Leigh's blog for making the string X block.


This is basically a four patch block.  For each section, you will need a bunch of strips and a 4" square of white fabric.  My strips varied in width between 1.5 and 2.5 inches wide and were 5 to 6 inches long.  Sew the strips together into one long strip until it is about 11 inches long.


Press and trim the long strip to 4.5" wide and 9.25" long.


For one 12.5" block, you will need four 4" squares of white fabric.


For each section, cut your 4" square in half diagonally.


Find the center of the long strip by folding it in half and either marking with a pin or by creasing.  Center a triangle on either side of the long strip and sew right sides together.  It should look like this.


Press open the white triangles to the side.  Your block should now look like this.


Trim your block to a 6.5" square.


Repeat three more times until you have four 6.5" square blocks.


Sew your blocks together carefully matching the corners where the strip meets the background fabric.


You can sew your blocks using the X block layout shown above or the O block layout shown below.


Have fun!  Be sure to bring your block(s) to the March guild meeting.