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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General Meeting Minutes - November 2019

Ede opens the meeting by welcoming members and guests.

Community Outreach

• Zebra CaolitionThe finished quilts for the Zebra Coalition  our year long Community Outreach drive, are paraded for everyone to admire.

Thank you very much to all who participate in making those beautiful quilts.  Our next Show’n’Tell for the Zebra Coalition quilts is in February.  Our goal is to deliver 25 quilts in total.

• Festival of TreeKate lead the effort behind this quilt.

Thank you for everyone who participated.  The quilt will be exhibited at the Museum of Art for the Festival of Trees event (November 15 to 24). It will be raffled and the money raised goes to support the Museum of Art programs and exhibitions.

• Quiltcon
  This year QuiltCon charity quilt initiative is lead by Kathy and Carla.  The theme of Quiltcon Charity Quilt Challenge 2020 is TEXT, and the color palette is black, white and grey.
  The quilt has a house at its centre which is surround by block with writing in different language including Morse and binary code. Once the quilt comes back from Austin, it will be donated to the Zebra Coalition.

In the meantime, member are ask to name the quilt.  Leave a comment on our blog, or other social network pages by December meeting (December 4th) with name ideas.  The winner will be selected during the meeting.

President Report - Ede

• Quilts and more has an open-house for our Guild on December 14th.  OrlandoMQG Members will receive a 20% discount on their purchases.
• Pincushion wrap up - Ede has a list of people who didn’t get their pincushion, please contact her if you have entered the swap but haven't received your pincushion in exchange.

• It is Election season - the Election Committee has been formed: Mary S, Aradria, Leslie G. will explain the process next month.  On the blog, you will find the description for each position (Article IV of the By Laws HERE).  Please start thinking about getting involved.

Vice President - Yanick

• December meeting is our Holiday meeting.  Members are encouraged to participate to the gift exchange challenge.  Following our sustainability theme, we challenge you to create an upcycled object (Guidelines HERE), place the item in a large paper bag with a note on how the object has been made.  There will be NO food or drink at the General meeting.
• Block of the Month

The winner is CC.  Remember that the instruction for each month are kept on the blog.

For this coming month, the BOM is a Block study from the MQG.  On our blog, you will find the link to the instructions plus additional tips.  The instructions are for MQG members only and you will need your login details, ie. the email address you gave us for your membership and your password.

• Road of Tennessee - call for blocksHaving brought the largest number of Road to Tennessee, CC is winning the gift card for the Sewing Studio.Please keep making block for our Call for Blocks drive, you can use either solid or prints that read as solid.Some quilts will be made out of those blocks during the retreat weekend

Also, thanks again for the placemat for Meals on Wheels, they are greatly appreciated.

Financial report - Ede (in Zonetta's absence)

Our finances are in good order.

Education - Alissa

2 teachers will coming in 2020:

• Timna Tarr is scheduled for April 25th, the class hasn’t chosen yet
• Amy Friend will potentially be coming in November (first week) with a brand new class which she is going to debut at Quiltcon.

Member at Large - Beth

• Sun printed class taught by Claudia will be on November 15 - only bring some bleached bright muslin (1/2 yard).  10 spaces.  It will be cancelled if it rains. Update - the class has now been cancelled
• B.eth will be organising a Quilty road trip in January.  Please sign up if you want to take part.  The plan is to stop at Quilt place in Rockledge, then at Quilt & Lace in Melbourne.
• Holiday parties - in addition to the Guift exchange party at our next general meeting, each SewDay location will have a holiday party.  The Guild is purchasing the main food.  Please sign up for each location so we know how much to get. Judy is the main contact for Casselberry (December 28th),  Mary S & Love for Maitland (December 9th) and Beth for Dr Philipps (December 7th).
• Retreat - everybody should have received 2 emails with all the details. Please make sure you do not bring any mini personal iron.  Access to the sewing/ball room from 4pm on Thursday night, then 6am to midnight the following days.Bring any orphan blocks bring so we can put them together.Debra and Beth will have demos.Thanks again to Marge, Beth and Alejandrina for the organisation.

Library Spotlight - Aradria
This month lets have a look at our free motion quilting books.  If you are interested in Free Motion Quilting, Angela Walters has a Facebook page and a newsletter full of information.

Door prizes and Quilty basket winners

The Quilty Basket was brought back by Betty and won by Mary S.  Pro-tip from Betty, use a pink eraser to clean and heal your cutting mat.

There were  54 people in attendance, 3 winner were randomly selected: Karol’s sister, Melissa's mother and Kathy.

Brainstorming

6 groups are formed and brainstorm on idea for next year programming.

If you have had new ideas since, then please send us an email orlandomodernquiltguild@gmail.com.

Also, we are looking for alternative place for our SewDay, if you have ideas, please make enquiry and pass the information to the Board.

Show'n'tell

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November Newsletter

Issue 45 November 3rd, 2019 Dear Guildies, It is November already, Where Has the Time Gone?  Did you know that according to some research, the perception of time is proportional to our age?  To the 4-year old, excitingly waiting for its next birthday, one year is literally a life time away (or a quarter of it), but as years pass everything seems to accelerate. Here are some key dates for our Guild, for the next coming months: November 16 to 24 - Festival of Trees, go and admire our quilt. December 4th - Holiday celebration, check the Programming section below for the details on our Annual Gift Exchange. December 14th: Open house at Quilts & More quilt store (11061 South Orange Blossom Trail in Orlando) for OrlandoMQG members, see details below in the Quilty Happening section. January 8th - first meeting of 2020. February - election month and final donation to the Zebra coalition In the mean time, try to slow down, enjoy the moment (and the cooler weather if you're in Florida) and take some time to sit and sew for yourself. Happy stitching, Caroline Garnier Janny Secretary 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 November 6th, at The Sewing Studio at 10am (No drink, No food in the room). November SewDays are: Dr Phillips Library - November 30th Maitland Library -  November 11th Casselberry Library - November 16th, 12:30 t0 5:00. Mark your calendars, 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. MEMBER at LARGE Beth Schmidt   Welcome to November… Beginning of the Holiday months!!!  I hope you are attending the Retreat in Daytona. It is always lots of fun and in a beautiful setting right on the beach. Nice to walk on the sand if you aren’t in the huge ballroom doing some sewing and enjoying great company. On November 15th we will be doing another Latex Sun Painting day in Mims, Florida. There will be a sign up sheet at the meeting. The day will be dependent on having sun, or at least not rain. You will need to bring pre-washed white muslin. (1/4 yd. lengths should be good). Also some bottle tops or stencils for drawing out the design on the painted fabrics. Paints etc. will be provided. We will have lunch together at a restaurant in Titusville. For all new, or relatively new members…if you have any questions about our Guild and all the ways to meet others, join groups, or how to find out what’s happening and when, please contact me via email or text.  Try to attend one of the lunches following the meeting.  Each SewDay location will have a Holiday luncheon. The guild will purchase a main food item for each location. (To be handled by an organizer at each location). I will take care of the Dr. Phillips SewDay. Judy Sanders will coordinate the Cassleberry SewDay. Mary Smart will coordinate the Maitland SewDay. There will be sign up sheets for each SewDay location at the meeting. Please sign if you will be attending one of the SewDays for the Holiday luncheon so we have an idea what we will need.  I hope you are enjoying your Orlando MQG membership, and have explored the benefits of membership in the “Mothership”, also known as “THE MQG”.  The MQG has also a quarterly virtual magazine, Modern Monthly, which can be enjoyed HERE. COMMUNITY OUTREACH Kelly Eskin   November is a big month for Community Outreach.  We will be having a big show and tell for our first donation for the Zebra Coalition.  They provides LGBTQ+ youth ages 18-24 who are homeless and have been rejected by their families with short-term living.  Our goal is to give them 25 twin size quilts by February 2020. We will also be showing the Festival of Trees quilt that the committee has been working so hard to finish for their big event.  I can't wait to see it! Just wanted to give a big thank you to Wendy Yates for her quilt donation for the Access Charter school.  The Access Charter school was having a fundraising event and asked for a quilt to be donated.  Wendy had a quilt that wasn't quite twin size and I asked her if we could donate it.  Sorry the quilt isn't right side up in the picture, but they were so happy and appreciative to receive it. Don't forget the Road to TN block for our Call for Blocks.  We are still having a give away for the person that completes the most blocks.  We are hoping to put together a number of tops during the retreat so please let Julie, Connie, and Lori know if you can help.   PROGRAMMING Yanick Booz November Meeting Bring your thinking caps! We want to hear your ideas about upcoming events, programming, education, etc. for 2020-2021. As part of our November meeting, we will have our annual brainstorming session to gather up member ideas for the guild. We need to hear from you so next year's board can plan activities that you are interested in. December Meeting Our holiday celebration meeting will include our annual gift exchange! 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 Sewist, in Sarasota, has a fun class coming up with Mandy Murray from Sew Quirky.  You might still have a chance to snap a spot.  Link to registration HERE. The Modern Quilt Guild is 10!  Check this press release.  Starting on November 4th, there will 10 days of Q&A on IG and Facebook.  Also, November 9th is the MQG virtual Sew Day, you can follow along and participate with the hashtags #mqgsewday and #showusyourmqg. Entries for Austin 2020 QuiltCon are due by November 30th.  Who is entering one/several quilts?  You know how much we love cheerleading our members. After reading this article, you might consider that 1/4" seam allowance is a fairly attainable goal.  Could you imaging sewing 21 layers of fabric with 1/64" of margin error while knowing someone life depend on it?

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