July meeting recap

We had a great turnout at our July meeting!  It was nice to see some old faces as well as meet some new friends.

• We have exciting news! Details have been finalized for our upcoming workshop with Sherri Lynn Wood on October 4th, to be held at the Pittsburgh Project from 12-7 PM. We are very fortunate to secure this national speaker. More details will be available shortly. Members will have the first opportunity to register and at a lower membership rate. The workshop will focus on improv and will not require any special materials.
• Annual dues were collected for the 2015/2016 fiscal year. If you were unable to attend please email the guild to make arrangements for mailing your payment.
• Amanda presented her ideas for the QuiltCon charity quilt challenge. The color scheme this year lends itself well to really representing Pittsburgh. The guild will purchase the main fabrics, and members will be given an image along with a fabric bundle to improv piece the portion of the bridge that they have been assigned. The fabric bundles and block print outs will be available at the September meeting. Some members have already claimed their blocks!

• Kathy announced the final details for our August meeting. Since the Pittsburgh Project is not available to us on August 2, the Quilter’s Corner has kindly offered to host our meeting. Mary Beth, the shop owner, will discuss what she saw at the Quilt Market in May. She will share with us the trends and new fabrics and patterns that are coming out. Quilter's Corner has some fabulous modern fabrics and great patterns! The shop will be open for our members so be prepared to shop! This is a special treat for our members so we are asking those attending to make a pillowcase to contribute to the charity that the Quilter’s Corner supports. We are also asking members to “strut their stuff” and bring some projects for show and tell.  Mary Beth would like to get a feel for our group and interests. The meeting is 1-4 PM and Quilter’s Corner 6101 Rt 88, Finleyville. More details to come soon!
• Show and tell (our favorite part of the meeting) was full of some lovely projects by our members:

Gerry Benton discussing this captivating paper pieced mini

Gerri Bobnar showed an applique project

Cheralee showed a fun little quilt that she had made for a swap

Sandy asked for ideas on her quilt, although the general agreement was that it looked great the way it was. 

Michelle finished the EPP project she was working on last month

• Fat Quarter Club: Mona and Stephanie will choose the fabric for September. The $12 fee to participate is due at the August meeting.
• Pittsburgh Project Charity Quilt: Every year the guild donates a quilt to the Pittsburgh Project Auction. This is the major fundraising event for TPP, and they are very generous with space for our meetings. Sarah is collecting 12 ½” by 18 ½ “ blocks in green, blue and grey. This quilt needs to be completed by the end of November, so consider making a block. Only a handful more are needed!
  
  

The skill builder for this meeting was foundation paper piecing with Amanda. Amanda began by showing us some blocks that she has been working on for her Polaroid quilt project. These little six inch blocks are quite detailed and really show off the power of paper piecing. 

Amanda's Polaroid paper pieced blocks

She began with a discussion about different papers that can be used and tips on how to accurately print the patterns. An exciting innovation is the use of freezer paper that comes in sheets and can be used in an ink jet printer. It can be ironed to the fabric, peeled off when finished, and then reused. No more picking paper from a piece! Amanda recommends a small stitch length, lots of spray starch, and the “add-a-quarter” ruler with the lip.  She demonstrated several ways to make the block of the month. Amanda's instructions for standard paper piecing and freezer paper piecing can be downloaded here and here.

The paper pieced blocks constructed at the meeting. Check out those smiles!

Look for the August meeting announcement to be up soon!

Happy sewing,

PghMQG