Call for Blocks - Road to Tennessee

The Call for Blocks committee was created a few years ago in response to the outpour of generosity of the International Quilting Community to our Quilts for Pulse drive.  Our Guild Board felt that we needed to have a stash of quilts ready to be sent whenever the need to bring comfort after a tragedy occurs.

Since the committee has been launched, we have sent quilts to Vegas, North Carolina, Colorado, Nebraska, Christchurch...

This year, Connie, Julie and Laurie have stepped up to be the Call for Blocks chairs and have selected a simple block for our drive: Road to Tennessee.  The block is straight forward, but creates a myriad of design possibilities... We particularly love the fact that it could be arranged in X and Os, creating a 'Hugs and Kisses' pattern.

The directions to make the Road of Tennessee blocks are HERE.

The specifics we are asking for are:

• cut the large square 7 1/2 inches using red or grey; fabric can be a print but should be mostly grey or red;
• cut the two small squares 4 1/2 inches using white or tone-on-tone white.

So let's get sewing and bring your blocks to any meeting.

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Programming - Scrappy QAL, Bees and Interest Groups sign-in

Here is the Programming presentation, click on it and it will take you to the slideshow.

Now, you have until April 26th to registered for the closed up groups.  For the sign-in form follow the link:

 HERE 

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April General Meeting Minutes

GENERAL MEETING

April 3, 2019 10 A.M.

THE SEWING STUDIO CLASSROOM

Welcome and Introduction of Guests/Ice Breaker

Ede N. opens the meeting by welcoming all members and guests.  She also announces that Ashley has given birth to Violet Ruth on March 30th.

Beth S., Member at Large, invites new members to join for lunch in order to get to know each other and ask question about our Guild.  She then follows with the Icebreaker asking members 'How do you quilt? On a long arm, at your home machine, hand quilt, quilt by check, just collect tops?  Surprisingly we do have quite a significant cohort of hand-quilters.

OFFICER REPORTS

PRESIDENT

Riley Blake Fabric for the Riley Blake challenge fabric for those who have registered has been delivered.

Retreat committees needed

We are looking for people to share the effort of organising the fall retreat, look into Spring and 12-h retreat.  You don't have to make the effort all by yourself, but those events won't happen by themselves.

VICE PRESIDENT

Block of the Month

This month BOM has been won by Rosary L.  We can't wait to see what she will be making with these blocks.  Also, Debra J. has brought her finished quilt.  Have you noticed that when you place a 'rectangle' block next to a 'square' one, you get the number 10?!  Very clever.

Sarah and Sharleen present next BOM.  May Block of the Month is Carnation Petal in honour of Mother's Day.

TREASURER

Zonetta G. presents the financial report.

The Directory will be ready soon.  Zonetta reminds members that the directory is for personal use only and should not be shared with anyone outside the Guild.  

COMMUNITY OUTREACH

Call for Blocks committee

Kelly E.  announces that Laurie, Julie, Connie (not present at the meeting) have stepped up and will be chairing the Call for Blocks committee.

Laurie and Julie are thanking all the members who contributed blocks for the Heart for Christchurch drive.  One full quilt had been made during the latest Oviedo SewDay, quilted by Dar, and another one has been donated by Mary S.

In addition, some quilt have been sent in response to the flooding in Nebraska.

Laurie and Julie also introduce the new block that is going to be used for Call for Blocks: Road to Tennessee with with background and red or grey for the centre.  The block is very versatile and can create O and X (hugs and kisses).  The choice for this block has been inspired by Teresa Mairal Barreu from Sewn Up Teresa DownUnder.

The committee is still accepting top and finished quilts.

Placemats

Kelly E.  confirms that we are still collecting placemats for Meal on Wheels.  So far 384 placemats have been donated.  Meals On Wheels has only 3 left, so new donations are more than welcome.

Zebra Coalition

Our year-wide charity drive this year is concentrating on making quilts for the Zebra Coalition.  They do need tween-size quilts.  Next month, Heather from the Zebra Coalition will come and present the services the organisation provides to the community. We will then start getting organised and work in teams.

EDUCATION

Michele Willkie is teaching Improv to the Guild on April 6th.

Giucy Giuce will be coming for a workshop on EPP on June 9th.  It is not only a workshop on technique, he will also be speaking about colour placement.  The registrations are starting now:  for members the price is $45 for the class, plus $56 for pattern.

LIBRARY SPOTLIGHT

Aradria presents the 2 books she has selected for this month's spotlight related to the upcoming clubs.

Any good standing members can check up to 2 books at meeting, the books need to be returned at the following meeting.

QUILTY BASKET

Eleanor, last month's winner, has brought an Easter Adult Quilty basket.  She also calls it  "Rip it and Sip it", it is full of quilty goodies, chocolate, wine and a recipe for an adult beverage.  We all expect some feedback on the recipe from Laura B.  who is the lucky winner.

DOOR PRIZES

73 people attended the meeting, and we have 3 winners for our door prizes: Sarah, Kam, Diane (guest).

INTEREST GROUPS WRAP UP

It is the final Show'n'Tell for the Paper Piecing group.

The CreActive Club has also wrapped up for 2018-19.  Yanick has been finished 4 out of the 6 projects she chose   A new UFO club will be rolled out next month.

PROGRAMMING 

Yanick introduces the Small Groups and Interest Groups for 2019-20.  A survey will be sent at the shortly for signings.

From left to right and top to bottom

Melissa H. - A Year of Scrappy Triangles, Alissa L. - Round Robin Quilt Bee, René M. - EPP Sewcial,

Deb Z. and Judi T. - Scan'n'Cut, Sarah L. - Improv Study

Not pictured: Mary S. - Queen Bee Swap, Alejandrina P. - Improv Study, Judy S. - Appliqué, 

Closed groups

Melissa H. will lead the Year of Scrappy Triangles quilt-along.  If you want to participate you will need to sign for Leila Gardunia newsletter.  Melissa will send a monthly email with all the details for the next 10 months.

Alissa L. introduces the Round Robin Quilt Bee.  Don't miss the signings as it is a closed group.

Mary S. is running the Queen Bee Swap.  Again, this is a closed group and it won't be possible to join after it has started. If you sign for the Queen Bee group, you commit to sew a block for each member of the group, to use a free pattern, and to request a block no bigger than 14".

Special interest groups

You can join at any time.  Those groups will meet at SewDays, or will socialise at different times and locations around Orlando.

René M. will be running the EPP Social Club.  She is aiming for a monthly meeting in the Dr Philipps area.  Anyone who would like to organise EPP get together meeting in other part of Orlando is welcome.

Improv study - with Sarah L. you will choose an inspiration source and work from it.  Where as with Alejandrina P., you will focus on a scrap buster project, making small blocks of colour.

Appliqué - Judy S.' preference is hand-appliqué, she will  help you with techniques and tips.  You'll meet at either SewDays and or anywhere else around town.

Paper piecing - Bring your own project to Oviedo or Maitland SewDays and Love S. will be here to guide you.  It's a great group to work on the Year of Scrappy Triangles.

Scan’n’Cut - Debbie Z. and Judi T. will continue their Scan'n'Cut group at Maitland Sew Days and at Judi's home.

The presentation will be on the blog soon with a link for sign-ins.

Thank you very much for Yanick for organising this fantastic programming.

And now

SHOW'N'TELL

Click on the video, then enter full screen mode (button at the right end side of the screen)

for a better view!

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April Block of the Month - Improv Carnation Petal

This month Sarah and Sharleen have designed a special block for us in honour of Mother's Day.

Carnation Petal can be done with a white background and red petals or the other way round, with red background and white petals.  All the details on how Sarah and Sharleen came up with this block, and how to build it are HERE.

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Show us a winning quilt!

Leftovers #7 - Debra J won 1st place for Improvisation at Quiltcon 2018

How the idea of the quilt came to you? Leftovers #7 is from a series of quills that began with the intent of using leftover fabric pieces from previously completed quilts and using tiny piecing. I have 13 'Leftovers' quilts now of various sizes.

What was your inspiration? I always want to use as much of my fabric as possible without too much waste.  I like to keep a very small stash and use what I have. I think I'm a thrifty quilter too and that influences my work sometimes.

I didn't intend for this quilt to enter the show, I thought it was too scrappy and not very modern. I really just made it for myself. My daughter insisted I enter because she liked it, so I followed her suggestion. Two other quilts in this series were juried into Quiltcon in 2017 and 2019. This quilt was in Quiltcon 2018. 

What steps were involved in the submission of the quilt? The MQG has a form with detailed instructions on entering your quilts, if you follow it step by step, and just take your time, it's not too nerve racking. The MQG is also very good at answering questions you may have about filling out the form. Most times when I send in a question, I receive a reply in a day or two.

Taking a good photo of your quilt takes a bit of practice. The ideal picture will show your quilt as square and flat as possible. If the quilt is small enough, I take a picture of the quilt laying on the ground instead of hanging. I take a LOT of pictures, outside in early morning sunlight to try to get the photo showing just the right color and definition. Afterwards I go through them all to find the best one. 

Yes, I will submit more quilts, I love how the MQG showcases modern quilts and I feel like I fit right in. I already feel like a winner when I have a quilt juried in. The extra surprise of winning a ribbon was just icing on a delicious cake. 

Unmoderm made modern Challenge - Kate E.
I made the quilt for a Guild Challenge (#unmodernmademodern) and decided to enter it as it was original and I was very proud of how it came out.

I have  entered quilts into the Cabin Fever Quilt Guild shows when I was a member.  Many many years ago, I also entered a quilt into a  Quiltmaker contest for “my cup of tea” and it hung in their gallery for a month or 2.

To submit this I only had to do an online entry form and send it on with the quilt. Very easy. They sent me an email letting me know I won, I was surprised and proud.  I did call several friends to let them know right away.

I would probably enter other quilts as long as I felt they were special.. I think that is what motivates me, creating something that feels special.

Water Fall - Sarah L. won Handi Quilter Excellence Award at Quiltcon 2019
How the idea of the quilt came to you?  Glad you asked!  It was the product of our very own Orlando MQG improv bee.  The prompt we were working on was black and white high contrast with black as the negative space.  I saw the photograph by artist Minor White called “Watkins Glen, New York”.  That was my inspiration point.  When I made the small block for the bee quilt, it became this abstract moonlit waterfall with a mid-century modern vibe.  Immediately after that study I knew I wanted to make it bigger.  The bigger one added another dimension by using the golden ratio to calculate proportions.  Fun fact, the other one that got in this year was also a product of an Orlando MQG challenge.  Just sayin’.  You can see some progress pics at www.sarahjlauzon.com

Did you make this quilt specifically for a show?  Yeah, kind of.  I made it knowing I wanted to give it a try for Quiltcon, but I also made it knowing I just needed to and wanted to.  If it didn’t get in, I was going to love it anyway.   Actually, I have a friend who is an art collector who said he was really into it. (P.S.  This friend liking this quilt is as much of, if not more than, an honor to me as the ribbon it received.  I was just going to give it to him, but now I might have to finish the study for him.)

Was it the first time you entered a quilt to show?  No.  First time was Quiltcon 2018.

What steps were involved in the submission of the quilt?  I knew from the get go I need a really good straight on full shot, so I used my backyard ivy wall on a not too sunny day to get good contrast and tone.  I also needed a detail shot so I tried to get one that showed the most amount of detail in one frame while still giving reference to the overall quilt.  Then I needed to fill out the MQG’s submission form which includes writing a blub about the quilt (tried to be detailed, yet concise).  You can view that form even if you don’t intend to enter.  It’s kind of interesting.  I also went a step further.  After all the talk about derivative work in the MQG in the past, I still have some lingering anxiety about it even though I’m really clear on how I feel about it.  So I checked in with a professional in the fine art world to get an opinion since I used a photograph as an inspiration point. That just helped me push the submit button.

How did it feel?  See video

 

Will you submit other quilts?  Yes.  I’d like to try for some other shows too.  I think it’s a good motivator for myself as an artist to be working on something that I could enter into a show each year.

Would you like to share anything else?  So there’s this thing called imposter syndrome.  Let me tell you, it’s real.  In my professional life I’ve had a lot of training and experience in dealing with situations where I am under the microscope, including highly competitive environments, presenting ideas to those who may, well, tear you apart, and speaking to groups from executives to a crowds of 16,000 people.  All this didn’t prepare me to have my artwork front and center on the Winners Row.
I learned two big lessons from this:
1) Just about every artist feels this way.  When I opened up to other artists, they had stories of similar experiences.  There is a great podcast episode that Hillary Goodwin (@entropyalwayswins) posted about after QuiltCon. Link is here.  I needed to hear that.
2) There were a series of events, and some conscious decisions, that led me to put the quilt in the box and mail it not feeling it was the absolute best work I could do.   This was very much against my nature.  I mean, it was ready to go, and it was good work, but there are details I wish I could have had the bandwidth to fix in retrospect.  I’m not going to go into detail about what, why, or pick myself apart.  But I now know this, having confidence that it was my very very best product would have helped a bit with the aforementioned syndrome. 

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April Newsletter

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

Issue 40 March 31st, 2019 Dear Guildies, This is the month we are rolling out all the fun stuff, and we hope you will get excited by all the activities coming to you: bees, social groups, round robin...  Get ready to register and sew into action. You still have time to renew your Membership!  The renewal form can be found HERE.  Being an OrlandoMQG Member comes with some very special perks: in addition to having priority access to our Guild workshops, retreats and all the other activities, you also belong to the Modern Quilt Guild.  Have a look at the MQG website and all the resources open to you: patterns, webinars, fabric challenges, swaps...  If you can't make it to the meeting, please send your dues, by check ($55) by March 31st at OrlandoMQG, 8815 Conroy Windermere Rd, #335 - Orlando, FL 32835. If you have questions, comments, or suggestions regarding the newsletter, 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. Happy stitching, Caroline Garnier Secretary MEETING REMINDERS Wednesday, April 3rd is our Guild meeting at The Sewing Studio : 10-11:45. Overflow parking is permitted at the gas station next door when The Sewing Studio lot is full. NO food or drinks other than water are allowed in The Sewing Studio Classroom. Bring your Block Lotto block(s). Each block made earns you one ticket in the raffle of ALL blocks. The more blocks you make, the better your chance of winning! Here are the block's details.  Also, we hope that you are making an extra block for you to keep. We all love a good Show'n'tell! Bring your pretty quilts.  And if you have participated to the Cre-Active Challenge, it is time to bring your last finished project to show and tell. All books checked out from the Guild library need to be returned by Wednesday's meeting. If you checked out a book but will not attend the meeting, please make arrangements to give the book to someone who will. Check the link on our blog to see what books are in our inventory and to add books to the ongoing wish list. April SewDays are: Maitland - April 8th (10am-3pm) Oviedo - April 27th (9am-3pm) Members receive a 15% discount at The Sewing Studio on guild meeting days and a 10% discount on non-meeting days.  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 For all members who have "newly" joined within the last 6 months:  I invite you to go to lunch with me following our April meeting (Dutch Treat). I would like to meet each of you, and answer any questions you may have about our guild "Welcome Letter". If you have any questions about how to meet other members, where to find guild activities, what are our special interest groups, etc., this will the time to ask. If you would like to have a "mentor" to help you get comfortable in the guild, or just someone you can call/text/email, to ask questions, this is where you let me know. I will try to find a restaurant with a nice variety of foods to provide something for everyone. If you are a new member and cannot make the lunch, email any questions you have to me. For the rest of our members, Debbie Zopp will be arranging a place where you can go eat together, following the meetings. This seems to be a function that has been enjoyed by many members, so we will try to continue it. Beth Schmidt bschmidt1877@gmail.com COMMUNITY OUTREACH Kelly Eskin Thank you for all the quilts that have been donated this past year.  Our guild is so generous with their time and talents and we just want to say thank you again! Please continue to make the place mats for Meals on Wheels.  They are down to three and love them.  To date, we have given over 300 place mats.  Well done! We will be partnering with the Zebra Coalition for this next year. We will be making twin size beds for their youth housing program. You can find more about them at: https://www.zebrayouth.org/ We are very thankful for Connie, Laurie and Julie who have stepped up and will be leading our Call for Block committee.  They will be collecting any blocks made for the  Angels in Gumboots (#angelsingumboots) who are making quilts for the grieving families in Christchurch.  If you want to make blocks, you can follow the Heart Block Pattern tutorial from Cluck Cluck Sew, but remember NOT to use any red fabric, animal prints or prints with people/face/figures.  The green and white, 6.5" blocks will be sent to Quilters Healing Harts for Christchurch in New Zealand after Wednesday's meeting. Thanks! Kelly EDUCATION Alissa Lapinsky OrlandoMQG members have received an email regarding the opportunity to bring Giucy Giuce to the guild.  Check your email for details, and send your feedback to Alissa if you haven't done so yet.   PROGRAMMING Yannick Booz We are looking for members to chair or work on various committees:  Sunshine member, in charge of sending Thank you cards, Get well cards, Congratulations cards... to our members, sponsors... Interest groups, and Bee Leaders.  Hopefully you have taken the survey and replied to Yanick.  If not there's still time and it is HERE. Retreat(s): our past retreats have been very successful, but as everything is need some organising.  We are looking for members to help with the planning of this year's retreat (or possibly retreatS). We are looking into returning to the Wyndham Ocean Walk in the Fall, but we are also investigating possibilities for a Spring retreat.  And how about a 12-hour sew-in in addition to our longer retreats?  It's all a possibility--but we need help to make it happen. Please let Ede or Yanick know if you can help.  Also, if you've attended a retreat with another guild or group and you can recommend some alternative locations for retreats, we'd love to hear about them!

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