Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Tuesday's Tips and Tricks

Welcome to another edition of Tuesday's Tips and Tricks.


Member Jackie sent in these useful tips for marking quilts: 


  • Plain white chalkboard chalk works well in marking quilts. The colored chalk has chemicals in it that might stain the fabric, so don't use that. Crayola is recommended.  A fabric lint brush brushes it off.
  • I tried washable markers to mark a quilt. The first time I tested them I left them on for a couple of minutes and I washed the fabric in warm water. Came right out.  Next I tested them further by leaving them on the fabric for an hour. The light colors came right out. The darker ones took a little soap and left a faint line. 
  • Tape Regular vinyl to a quilt top. Mark your quilting test designs on the vinyl with a dry erase marker. Erase with a square of batting. There, now you have auditioned your quilting design on the quilt before machine quilting it. 
From our Pinterest board:
We want to hear from you.  Have a tip or technique you'd like to share?  Email us, and we will include your suggestion in a future post. Thanks and happy stitching!



Monday, May 20, 2013

Saturday Sew Day





Saturday, May 18 was Sew Day at the library. There were plenty of pretty projects being worked on.

And also plenty of delicious food to eat. Marge brought cinnamon cheesecake bars, which were a big hit. You can find the easy recipe here.

Yanick brought her AccuCut die cutting machine and taught us how to make a braid with half hexagons.


Beth experimented with shaving cream fabric painting.

And Susan rigged her free motion quilting foot to work more efficiently.

There were plenty of little quilts for our charity project. The animals are going to love these.

A few of June's BOM were created. Our next Sew Day is Saturday, June 15, but there is talk of having an extra Sew Day each month. Stay tuned for details.

Thursday, May 2, 2013

May 1, 2013 Meeting Minutes

MEETING MINUTES
MAY 1, 2013
10:00 AM TIL 12:00 NOON
SEWING STUDIO
MAITLAND, FLORIDA

26 Members and Guests in Attendance

I.       Meet and Greet

II.      Introduction of Guests

III.     Raffle Basket
Debra presented the items in the new basket.

It was won by Judy.




IV.    Orphan Block Project
Jodi reviewed the donation quilts to be inspired by the donated/traded orphan blocks.

The quilts are to be donated to Harbor House for the pets that come with the families seeking safe shelter. Please bring the pet quilts of any size to the June Meeting.



V.     Jacquie Gering Classes
Members are asked to vote (on facebook on the OMQG website) or by email by Friday (May 3) as to which two Jacquie Gering classes they would like to take on August 23 and 24.  Please vote only if you plan on attending. Seven different class options are listed on Jacquie's website.

Members who plan to attend Gering classes are expected to pay for the classes by the June 5th meeting as that will allow the OMQG to open the classes to other guilds if there are any remaining openings. The cost per each one day class is $40.00 for members and $60.00 per class for non-members. There is a maximum of 20 people per class and the classes will be held at Wandering Stitches.

VI.    Budget
Treasurer, Michele, reviewed the OMQG Budget with membership.

VIII.  MQG Questions
There was general discussion about the upcoming decision to be made about whether or not to officially join the Modern Quilt Guild "mothership."

IX.    BOM
The May blocks were won by Zonetta.

Alejandrina and Debra introduced the June Block of the Month which was suggested by Debra. Instructions are posted online.



X.     Survey Results
Secretary, Kathryn, reviewed the trends found in the March Membership Survey. Challenges and Classes were the favorite guild activities listed followed by Meetings and Sew Days. The most commonly stated interest was the desire to learn or improve machine quilting skills.  Another items which generated discussion was that in answer to "What other suggestions do you have to make the OMQG work best for members" a number of people indicated they wanted activities that would make it easier to get to know other members better. Beth welcomed any suggested to help achieve this and she asked members to make name badges that would more prominently display their names.

XI.  To Boston With Love and Quilts for Boston
There is a short turn around time if you are interested in participating in either of these projects.  There is info posted on the OMQG website.  Contact Beth to make arrangements for pick up or delivery of completed items.

XI.    Demo
Yanick presented the monthly demo on how to make a braided quilt section as well as on several other similar techniques. She will repeat the demo at Sew Day (May 18) so that attendees can try out the techniques after the demo.







XII.   Show and Tell













XIII.  Wish I Had Made That was won by Guest, Christine.





June 2013 Block of the Month

This ultra-easy block comes to us thanks to Debra Jalbert. Here is her version:


Cheerful and fresh, no?

Here is my version and how I put it together. First, select a white or black background. The block will be 12 1/2 inches but it's safer to start with a larger piece so you can be sure there is enough background around the color pieces.

Next, pick the smallest bits from your scrap heap in bright colors, cut them (NO RULER!) into rough squares or rectangles:



You want to cut between 2 and 4 squares out of the same material. Group them loosely until you like the arrangement:





Before sewing, I pinned them all to the background so the arrangement was preserved:



Make sure there is an inch or more of background all around before heading to the sewing machine, where you will just sew them around the edges:




I sewed about 1/8 inch from the edge with a neutral thread and a 1.5 mm length, but I'm not sure anyone will notice... When you are done, square to 12 1/2 inches. That's it.

Debra's pieces are an inch or less around and her version is less structured than mine...It all fits together so do whatever feels good to you. Also, the quilt would be more interesting if some blocks had more background  (say 2 inches or even 3 inches) all around. This means putting less squares on the block.

Remember, if you have an idea for a block, or you've seen an interesting one on the web or a magazine or whatever, please let us know!!!