December Meeting/Holiday Party

Holiday Party

Our Annual Holiday Party meeting will be tomorrow (Sunday, December 7) at the Pittsburgh Project from 12-3.  You should have received an e-vite a while back (if you didn't, let us know and we will get you on this!).  Here are the details:

Join us for the PMQG End of the Year Celebration!!

We have enjoyed spending creative time together this year!  Let’s get together for good food, good company and a fun project! 

We will all share in the celebration by bringing a dish or drink.  Please reply to let us know what you will be bringing.  

We will be working on a fun, make-and-take project so please bring supplies and sewing machine with you.  Details for our project can be found at the link below:

http://www.downtownquilter.com/2013/12/modern-christmas-tree-mini-quilt.html

As part of our celebration we will be holding nominations for our 2015 leadership group.  Please respond to the nominations email being sent separately.  Please feel free to share your goals and project requests at the party!

We look forward to spending this time together!  See you in December! 

2015 Leadership Nominations

The year is almost over and it's time for us to select the guild's leadership team for 2015.  Please bring your nominations to the December meeting or send your nominations to pittsburghmqg@gmail.com.  You may nominate yourself or someone who you think would be great for any of the leadership positions in the guild.  If you are nominated by someone other than yourself, we will contact you to let you know so that you may accept or decline the nomination.

Voting will take place at the January meeting with the new officers installed as of the February meeting.

We have five leadership positions in the guild and need enthusiastic members to fill them! 

• President
  • The President shall organize and lead all general and special meetings.
  • The President is the voice of the Guild and is responsible for maintaining communication and correspondence including email.
  • The President shall create and dissolve all Committees and appoint all Committee Chairpersons as determined by the Guild Leadership.
• Vice President
  • The Vice-President shall serve as assistant to the President in all matters.
  • The Vice-President is responsible for the Guild’s policies and procedures as they are created based on the development of the Guild.
  • In the absence of the President, the Vice-President shall preside over general and special meetings.
• Treasurer
  • The Treasurer shall hold custody over the Guild’s funds, including book-keeping, collecting yearly dues, and maintain the membership roster.
  • The Treasurer shall pay all bills and sign checks. An additional signature from the President or Vice-President is required when the amount of the check is $100.00 or more.
  • The Treasurer shall prepare the books for audit no later than January 31st of the next year. She or he will provide them to the Guild President, who will in turn work with the rest of the Guild Leadership to approve.
  • The Treasurer shall preside over meetings in the absence of the President and Vice-President.
• Secretary
  • The Secretary shall take notes of all motions made and carried at each general or special meeting. General meeting minutes must be submitted to Guild Leadership for review within three days of the meeting date.
  • The Secretary shall also assist with any large scale correspondence, sending out e-vites for special events, managing RSVPs, etc.
• Social Media Coordinator
  • The Social Media Coordinator shall maintain all of the Guild’s social medial platforms including the website and any other social media tools.
  • The Social Media Coordinator will add social media functions as necessary and agreed upon by the Guild Leadership
  • The Social Media Coordinator shall maintain online photo groups.
  • The Social Media Coordinator will accept membership application if submitted through any of the Guild’s social media tools and forward the member information to the Treasurer to follow-up on dues.

We look forward to another great end of year party and another fun year of quilting to come!

November Meeting - Star Quilt Assembly

It's hard to believe October is almost over and we are approaching our November meeting.  We will meet, as usual, at the Pittsburgh Project from 1-4 on Sunday, November 2. 

At our October meeting, we worked on assembling our quilt for the Pittsburgh Project.  We learned a few lessons along the way and hope that assembling the Quilt Con quilt at the November meeting will be a little smoother!

If you would like to contribute to the Quilt Con quilt, please bring a wonky star block that fits the Quilt Con color scheme.  You can also whip one up quickly at the beginning of the meeting if you don't have time before then!

Quilt Con Color Scheme

Quilt Con Color Scheme

Quilt Con Color Scheme

We need more small blocks than anything, so please keep your stars on the smaller side.  They can be any even finished dimension up to six inches (2.5", 4.5", and 6.5" unfinished).

We envision the quilt having a lot of white space in one corner, grading to a more dense field of stars in the other corner, similar to the Bloom quilt by V and Co shown below.  Please keep this in mind when deciding what size to make your stars - we need lots of white space and are shooting for a twin-size.

The stars should float in a field of low-volume prints and solids in light grays, light neutrals, and white.  Please bring any extra fabrics that fit this description or fit the color scheme for use in assembling the top.

We hope to assemble the entire quilt top at the meeting - it would be nice if we could get the back assembled simultaneously and someone could make the binding.  Melissa has volunteered to quilt the finished product - it has to be completely finished and mailed to Austin before our January meeting, so hopefully you will get to see the finished product at our holiday party.

Bring sewing machines, coordinating thread, irons, ironing surfaces, cutting supplies, and your creativity!  See you next weekend!

PghMQG Charity Quilts!

At our September meeting, we discussed our upcoming charity quilt opportunities and finalized our vision for the quilts.  We are really excited to complete these projects together!

Pittsburgh Project Donation

We have decided that since the quilt for the Pittsburgh Project has to be completed for their fundraiser in early December, we should focus our efforts on it.

The palette is shown below - the corresponding Kona names are shown on last month's blog post, but you don't have to use Kona or solids at all!  Feel free to pull from your stash.

This quilt will be a modern sampler - make any modern quilt block you like!  All blocks shall match the palette selected above and the finished size shall be a multiple of two inches (i.e., unfinished sizes such as 2.5"x10.5", 6.5"x6.5, 8.5"x10.5", etc) up to about 12".

Please bring your completed blocks to the October meeting so we can begin piecing the quilt.  If you cannot make it to the October meeting, please arrange to send your blocks to the meeting with another member.  If you haven't had a chance to make your blocks by the October meeting, feel free to work on them first thing at the meeting as we begin arranging the finished blocks.  Please bring any leftover fabric matching the palette so that we can fill in the blanks between blocks.

We plan to piece the quilt top at the October meeting and hope to have it quilted by the November meeting, at which time we will bind the quilt and prepare to present it to the Pittsburgh Project!

Quilt Con Charity Quilt Challenge

The MQG has issued a challenge for guilds to complete a quilt for a charity of their choice (discussed in last month's post).  As this quilt must be completed by January 3, 2015, we realize that it may be ambitious to complete two charity quilts during the busy fall months and holiday season.  The guild has been registered to make one quilt that will be displayed at Quilt Con this spring and then returned to us for donation to a charity of our choice.

At the October meeting, we decided to make a modern star quilt using the Quilt Con Challenge palette shown here.  The background fabric should be the white/gray (light colors) and the stars should be made with the bolder colors.  Stars should be finished sizes in multiples of two inches (like the Pittsburgh Project quilt).

This quilt may require a little more time outside of the regular meetings for assembly as we are quickly running out of meeting time before the deadline.  Please consider helping out with this quilt, but we do understand that it may be difficult for everyone to participate due to the time crunch.

October Meeting Supplies

Please bring your sewing machine, leftover fabrics matching the color palette(s), and any ancillary sewing supplies you might need to help us piece to top or create additional blocks (iron, rotary cutter and mat, rulers, scissors, etc).  If you have an extension cord, please bring it, too as outlet space is at a premium.

As you finish up your blocks, don't forget to post them to our Flickr group!

September Meeting Announcement and Charity Quilt Update

Thanks to all PMQG members who attended the August Quilting Retreat!  12+ hours of piecing, sewing, quilting, collaborating and enjoying the company of quilting friends – it was a lot of fun!

The September meeting is our starting point for organizing and beginning to piece together blocks for our Outreach Quilt.  

Coinciding with our guild’s collaboration, the Modern Quilt Guild has also issued a “QuiltCon Charity Quilt Challenge”. Hmmmmm . . . this presents a great opportunity for the PMQG to collaborate on a bigger scale!  So, should we try it – two challenge quilts?

Here are the details:

1.  Color palette for QuiltCon:

2.  Color palette for PMQG (all referenced to Kona Solids - you don't have to use Kona though!):

Pewter - 1470	Graphite - 295	Medium Gray - 1223
Windsor - 1389	Cadet - 1058	Blue - 1028
Sage - 1321	Peridot - 317	Tarragon - 316
Deep Rose - 1099	Punch - 447	Zucchini - 354
Buttercup - 1056	Canary - 26	Snow - 1339

3.  We will use our September, October and November meetings to collaborate, design and sew our quilts.

4.  One quilt will go to QuiltCon and one will be auctioned off at The Pittsburgh Project.

Take time to read the Modern Quilt Guild’s posting  for more details.  There have been a few posts about alternate gridwork and where to get bundles of the colors for the quilt if you don't already have them in your stash.

For the September meeting, attendees should plan on bringing the following:

• fabric that fits the color palette(s) provided – solids AND prints
• ideas for quilt design(s)

We will discuss the challenges as a Guild at the September meeting.  Looking forward to seeing you all!

July Meeting Notes

At our last meeting on July 13, 2014, we spent time hand sewing hexies outside at the Pittsburgh Project.  Some people worked on projects they had already started and others learning english paper piecing for the very first time!  We also discussed the following business items:

• The Pittsburgh Modern Quilt Guild's 2014 outreach project will be a guild quilt to be donated to the Pittsburgh Project for their annual holiday party silent auction.  There is no design theme to follow, but we ask that your finished size is a multiple of four (4"x4", 4"x8", 8"x12", etc.)  The Color theme is Pittsburgh: gray skies, green space, trails, blue/green rivers, industrial past, mixed nationalities, yellow bridges, home.  Color palette to be posted soon!
• The rest of the year is looks as follows:
• August is our all-day sewing retreat.  We will spend a bit of time brainstorming about our outreach quilt.  
• September's meeting is piecing our outreach quilt squares.
• October we will piece together our outreach quilt top.
• November we are making a bag together.  Do you have a tote that you have been wanting to try?  Let us know.
• December will be our Holiday Party!  Location TBD.  Come with your leadership team nominees!
• Dues are due!  $35 up tip the retreat on August 9th.  After August 10th, the dues amount increases to $40.
• PghMQG Retreat will be held August 2nd from 9:00 am to 9:00 pm at St. John's in the North Hills.  Free to members, $10 for non-members, and bring money to buy lunch.  Feel free to pack a lunch and/or snacks for the day!
• We received a $50 gift from the Spectrum Charter School for our help with their student quilt!  Pictures to come soon.
• We are looking for a location for a 2015 quilt show.  Do you have any ideas?  Let us know!

July Meeting Reminder

We hope you are having a wonderful summer so far!  Thanks to all who attended June’s PMQG meeting.  We would love to see what you made in Lauren's workshop, so please bring projects, completed or not, to our July meeting.

July’s meeting will be held on Sunday July 13th from 1-4pm to avoid conflict with the 4th of July holiday.

We are planning a fun, relaxing outdoor sewing project for our next meeting.  Bring a cool drink and join us in the Pittsburgh Project Courtyard for a few hours of hand sewing!  Our focus will be English Paper Piecing.  If you haven’t tried this yet, you will soon be hooked!!  You will just need a few basic supplies and some fabric scraps and you will be ready to go.  Following is a supply list and some great links to look at before our session.

EPP Basic Supplies

• fabric scraps            
• needles
• templates            
• thread        
• scissors
• glue stick

You can purchase templates online for EPP or you can generate and print your own.  These websites are helpful:

• To purchase, this is a good source:
• http://www.paperpieces.com

• To print your own, any of these will work:
  
  • http://incompetech.com/graphpaper/hexagonal/
  • http://www.lovepatchworkandquilting.com/free/free-hexagon-template-download
  • http://www.patchworkposse.com/2013/06/printable-hexagon-template-for-quilting/

Printing either on card stock or regular printer paper works great! We will be demonstratinging EPP using 1” hexagons (these are 1” on each side).  If you want to follow along, you’ll need to cut your fabric scraps to 2.5” square.  PLEASE BRING TEMPLATES WITH YOU!

Optional Swap

We will also conduct a 2.5” square fabric swap for all those interested!  Sharing small scraps is a fun way to try a variety of combinations and a great way to use up our scraps!  If you want to participate, bring as many as you wish to swap! 

Membership Dues

We are approaching another great year for the PMQG.  Dues are being collected at the July meeting.  Membership fee is $35 for returning members if paid before our August meeting.  Fee for returning members is $40 if paid after the August meeting date.  New members will remain at $35.  Please bring cash or checks made out to our treasurer, Lauren Jonkman.  Thanks again for being a part of our guild! 

Looking Ahead

Just a reminder that in lieu of an August meeting we will be holding our first annual retreat at St. John’s Lutheran Church on Saturday August 2nd (311 Cumberland Road, Pittsburgh PA  15237 - right across from Northland Library; accessible from McKnight Road or Perry Highway).  This will be a FULL day of sewing and idea sharing with our group! Our sewing retreat will begin at 9 am and sew on until 9 pm.  Bring a project, your sewing machine, and iron.  We hope you are as excited as we are to have a full day to sew!!!  The retreat is FREE for members and $20 for non-members.  If you would like to order lunch and dinner, please bring cash ($10-15 per meal) or you are welcome to pack a lunch and drink as well!  NON-MEMBERS NEED TO RSVP

English Paper Piecing Information

If you want to read ahead… To begin English Paper Piecing (EPP), it is helpful to find a good tutorial online and read/watch:

EPP TUTORIALS

• http://flossieteacakes.blogspot.com/2012/07/english-paper-piecing-where-to-begin.html
• http://www.sewmamasew.com/2009/08/paper-piecing-hexagons/
• http://www.buttonsandbutterflies.com/2013/03/english-paper-piecing-tutorial.html
• http://www.thezenofmaking.com/2013/06/tutorial-english-paper-piecing-hexies-part-1.html
• http://www.thezenofmaking.com/2013/07/tutorial-english-paper-piecing-hexies-part-2.html
• http://beeinmybonnetco.blogspot.com/2010/04/part-2-of-hexie-tutorial-flowers.html

There are many different patterns for EPP.  Hexagons are the most common, but there are others . . . :)

Hexagons

• http://lilysquilts.blogspot.com/2011/07/hexalong-starts-here.html

Lozenge

• http://kechquilts.blogspot.com/2012/09/lazy-day-sunday.html

Diamonds, Kites, and Stars

• http://nelliesniceties.blogspot.com/p/diamondskites-and-stars-pattern-by.html 
• http://www.bijoulovelydesigns.com/2012/06/english-paper-piecing.html

Star Blossoms

• http://www.stitchedincolor.com/2011/12/star-blossoms-tutorial.html 
• http://www.sewmamasew.com/2014/01/star-hexies-tutorial-english-paper-piecing/

A clever, non-traditional way to finish your quilt:

Finishing Your Hexagon Quilt:

• http://badskirt.blogspot.com/2010/05/tutorial-finishing-you-hexie-quilts.html

Free Patterns:

• http://www.connectingthreads.com/Patterns/Free_English_Paper_Piecing_patterns__L60101114.html

June Meeting

Join the Pittsburgh Modern Quilt Guild on Sunday, June 1, 2014, from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm at the Pittsburgh Project for our June Guild Meeting!  We had an exciting May (including the amazing workshop) and are looking forward to continuing the momentum into the summer!

Lauren will be guiding the group through making a needlebook for those portable summer projects.  Supplies are listed below.

Finished book is 5"x4” or 6"x4.25”

Fabric:

1. Outer cover – 6x8.5” OR 6.5x9.25”: This can be one single piece of fabric or you can piece something ahead of time. Be creative!
2. Lining fabric – 6x8.5” OR 6.5x9.25”: I would suggest just a single piece of fabric.
3. Pocket fabric – 6x10” OR 6.5x10”: this will make a lined pocket
4. Accent fabric – 2x6” OR 2x 6.5”: this covers the exposed seam from the pocket

Other supplies:

1. Batting scrap – 7x9.5” OR 8x10”
2. Zipper – at least 8” long
3. Your closure of choice:
1. Snap
2. Hook and eye
3. Button and thin elastic hair band or 3" long thin elastic
4. Felt– 4.5x7.5” OR 5x8” (need 1 or 2 piece depending on your desire, these are the "pages" of your book)

Equipment:

1. Materials for machine quilting – free motion foot or
2. General sewing materials: machine, scissors, thread, iron/pressing board, pins, etc
3. Hand sewing needle for closing opening + thread to match the exterior fabric
4. Hemming gauge (optional, but useful if you can’t guestimate ¼”
5. Rotary cutter, mat, and ruler walking foot, pins or spray baste, thread, etc.

GREAT ONLINE TUTORIALS

http://sewshesews.wordpress.com/2011/02/03/quilted-needle-case-tutorial/

http://nanacompany.typepad.com/nanacompany/2011/10/needlebook-tutorial-by-nanacompany.html

http://m.instructables.com/id/how-to-sew-a-needle-book/

http://domesticdoozie.blogspot.com/2013/01/needle-book-tutorialwith-free-template.html?m=1

May Meeting Announcement

This month, The Pittsburgh Modern Quilt Guild will be making a scrap buster mini-quilt!  Join us on Sunday, May 4 from 1-4pm at the Pittsburgh Project to make the “Starburst” mini-quilt (18”x18”).  Our meeting will also explore how to hide knots when quilting and techniques for binding your quilt.  Materials are listed below.  Directions for cutting are also included so that you can cut the pieces at home (if you would like to) and be ready to sew at the meeting!   Looking forward to seeing everyone in May!

http://www.canoeridgecreations.com

Materials:
- Sewing machine (w/quilting feet), scissors, cutting mat, rotary cutter, iron, ruler, needle(s) (for binding)
- Thread for piecing and quilting, pins, basting and marking materials
Please bring whatever additional tools you use when piecing and quilting

- Four fabrics (or however many you decide to use – be CREATIVE and MODERN) cut the following:
1. Fabric A – 4 rectangles, 3 ½” x 6 ½”
2. Fabric B – 4 rectangles, 3 ½” x 6 ½”
3. Fabric C – 2 squares 4”x4”; 2 squares 3 ½”x 3 ½”
4. Fabric D - 2 squares 4”x4”; 2 squares 3 ½”x 3 ½”
5. Background:  20 squares, 3 ½” x 3 ½”; 4 squares 4”x4”; 1 square 6 ½” x 6 ½”

Also:
- 2/3 yard (or a bunch of scraps to piece together) for backing (at least 21”x21”)(*** if you would like to pre-sew the backing at home as well, go for it:)
- 21”x21” cotton batting
- ¼ yard for binding

Reminder: Sign Up for the Modern Wedge Workshop

The upcoming Modern Wedge Workshop with Kathy Doughty of Material Obsession is nearly sold out!  Sign up before the workshop fills up - click here to reserve your space now!

If you have any questions, please contact us at pittsburghmqg@gmail.com.

The Modern Wedge Workshop with Kathy Doughty of Material Obsession

Join us for an exciting day of quilting with Kathy Doughty of Material Obsession!!

We will be taking reservations online - please click here to view the event page and reserve your place.  Please keep in mind that we are not accepting online payment - please bring your check to the April meeting or contact us for an address if you wish to mail payment.

Space is reserved for members only through April 6; following our April meeting, we will begin accepting registration from non-members. 

We are very excited for this event and look forward to seeing you there!

Workshop: The Modern Wedge
Date:  Saturday, May 10th
Time: 10:00- 4:00
Fee:  $40 for members, $60 for members
Lunch will be provided or feel free to pack

Supplies required:

• Book:  Making Quilts or Adding Layers by Kathy Doughty
• A selection of fabrics at least 10-12" wide
• A wedge ruler: 10, 15, 18 or 22 1/2 degrees
• Basic sewing supplies such as scissors, pins, sewing machine
• Applique supplies: chalk pencils, needle size 9-11, applique pins
• If you have an iron and portable board please bring them.

April Meeting - Quilt Journal and an Outreach Project

Please join us at 1:00 pm on April 6, 2014, at the Pittsburgh Project for our monthly meeting.  The Pittsburgh Project is located at 2801 North Charles Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15214.  At the April meeting, we will be introduced to the Quilt Journal.  Following the presentation, all are welcome to stay and help piece a special project.

Quilt Journal

In this first session we will lossen up and use found images to inspire sketches and design exploration emphasizing shapes, patten and compoistion.  This fun exercise will allow us to fill the first few pages of our journal and may just lead to new quilt ideas!

Supplies:

• Sketchbook (size can be 6 x 8, 7 x10, 9 x 12) 
• examples:
• Fabriano soft back 5.8" x 8.25" blank sketchbook (available in art section at Michael's)
• Moleskin blank journal (not lines)
• Any spiral or soft back sketchbook (Amazon) 
• Blank journal 
• Sketching pens 
• examples: 
• Sharpie ultra fine point (note: these will bleed through paper)  or "no bleed" sharpies (any office supply store) 
• Faber Castell Pitt Pen (try different point sizes to see what you are most comfortable with) 
• Micron pens (Michael's) 
• 1-2 pencils 
• Colored pencils or markers 
• basic set of 12-24 pencils (Michael's, Local Art Store, Amazon have student grade sets ...nothing fancy required) 
• Markers can even be Crayola (i.e. Supertip set of 20); Michael's, Target or any art store also have well priced sets
• 1-2 glue sticks
• 1-5 images from magazines, catalogues, personal photos, online images showing design, shape, color combination or compositions that is pleasing to you.  (These will be used for the first exercise on exploring shape and composition) 

Color Exploration 
Time permitting, we will begin to explore this exercise at the first workshop session.  The journal/sketchbook work will be an ongoing series of prompts and ideas so we will continue color in the following month.

Supplies above along with:

• 1-5 scraps of fabric or images of color combinations that you would like to explore in a quilt  (can be actual fabric scraps or:  patterned paper, even print outs of fabrics you like but have not purchased yet, magazine or catalogue cuts that show interesting color schemes, a photo of nature...any thing goes here) 
• Once you have some color inspiration, take a trip to Lowe's or Home Depot and grab some paint chips that match your inspiration image(s).  TRy to find chips that match your colors and also pastel and shade versions of the palette....also, select a range of whites and gray chips!  

A note from Gina: I sometimes sew paper and/or fabric scraps into my journal.  I save a machine needle for this purpose (when dull or ready to be changed for regular fabric sewing).  If you would like to try this at our first session, please bring your machine and needle that can serve for all paper sewing.  Any color thread is fine.  It helps if your sketchbook/blank journal is flexible enough and not overly large to be able to sew directly onto a page.

Spectrum Quilt

Pam M. is working with a  special education school in Monroeville (Spectrum) that is in the process of creating a quilt to hang in the entrance to their school. A group of about 40 students between the ages of 17 and 21 who are on the autism spectrum with widely differing abilities and interests have been working hard to get the quilt in the works!

The school received a small grant to fund the project and bought digital cameras for students to take pictures of things related to the school. The photos have been taken and printed on fabric. Now the quilt is ready to be assembled!

The PMQG is helping Pam with this wonderful endeavor! During our April meeting, anyone interested in helping piece a portion of the quilt can jump right in!!

We look forward to seeing all of you for an afternoon of happy sewing!!

March Meeting Canceled

Due to the snowstorm, today's meeting has been cancelled. Stay safe and warm and we will see you in April!

March Meeting Announcement

Our next meeting will be held on Sunday, March 2, at the Pittsburgh Project from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm.  We will have a free sew meeting (possibly with a few demonstrations).  The Pittsburgh Project is located at 2801 North Charles Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15214. 

As always, we will have a show-and-tell session, so be sure to bring along your latest projects, including those from the scrap swap and Riley Blake challenge!

If you have any questions, please contact us at pittsburghmqg@gmail.com.

Michael Miller Fabric Challenge Sign Ups

If you are interested in signing up for the latest MQG fabric challenge, please e-mail us at pittsburghmqg@gmail.com by Wednesday, February 26, at noon. 

The challenge will run from March through June 23.  You could win a free year of fabric!  Good luck and let us know if you are interested!

February Meeting Reminder - Free Motion Quilting Workshop Part II

Our February meeting will be held on Sunday, February 2, from 1:00 to 4:00 pm.  The meeting will be held at the Pittsburgh Project - 2801 North Charles Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15214.

If you attended the first workshop, please bring your folder and handouts you received.  There will be extra folders and handouts for anyone who did not attend first session.  At this session  we will be exploring the design aspect of free motion quilting and looking at some of the  ways to fill the space of our quilts.  At the first session there was a request for more easy-to-learn patterns, so Ginger will have more handouts of some of her favorite quick fillers.  If you want to try stitching the designs, bring your machine and a few quilt sandwiches.

Ginger will have handouts of pictures of quilt tops to use for an exercise on how to audition designs - if you have a quilt top or picture to share, please bring it.

There will be  a lot of drawing and doodling at this session so if you have  scrap paper you want to use up, please bring it.  We will also have plenty to share.

Bring your favorite drawing/doodling tool - some like pencil others like markers or even crayons.  Ginger will be providing the dry erase markers for designing on the acetate on your folder.

As usual, we will have show and tell...and if you made anything with your scraps from our Scrap Swap last month, bring it to share!

If you have any questions, please contact us at pittsburghmqg@gmail.com.  See you on Sunday!

January Meeting Recap

The Pittsburgh Modern Quilt Guild began the first meeting of the New Year by welcoming Gina as the new President of the Guild.  Gina welcomed all Guild members and guest, Michelle, and introduced a draft calendar of events for 2014.  The Guild reviewed the calendar month-by-month and members were encouraged to share their thoughts or ask any questions about proposed programs/workshops:

• The Guild will be exploring venues for a fall quilt show – more information will be coming in the next few months.  Jodi will be coordinating the Outreach Quilt project – more details to come and opportunities for members to volunteer to help.
• Gina was asked to elaborate on her “quilt journal” workshop.  In addition to providing instruction on how to journal, Gina may also include a monthly blog post encouraging exploration outside of Guild meetings and giving direction on such topics as design, pattern, texture, contrast and composition.
• The Guild has a Flickr page and members were encouraged to visit the page and share photos of WIP’s and completed works on a more regular basis and in conjunction with lecture and workshop projects.  Lauren provided a short tutorial on how to join the Guild’s Flickr page at the meeting.
• Guild members were interested in exploring modern quilting ideas and possibly having a workshop devoted to a discussion on modernism in quilting.
• Members are always asking each other about quilting basics, which led to a great idea – introducing short, 15 minute demos at each meeting on quilting basics, such as binding, labeling, hiding stitches, d-sleeves, y-seams, insets, and more.
• The Guild continues to agree on holding meetings that are short on business and primarily focused on time spent creating, sewing, collaborating and learning!
• The Guild would like the option of adding an extra hour onto meetings based upon the program/workshop for a particular month.  Leadership will look into this option.

As the calendar discussion ended, the scrap swap began!  A huge pile of fabric scraps was set out and one by one members sorted through the lovely fabric to select pieces that caught their eye or were perfect for a WIP or future project.  Now the challenge is to create something incorporating those scraps and bring that creation to the February meeting.  Have fun!

At the conclusion of the meeting, members brought out their items for Show-n-Tell.  Members showed beautiful swoon quilts, scrap quilts, mini twister quilt, Riley Blake challenge quilts, modern wall hangings and one-block-wonder quilts.  Can’t wait to see more next time!  Photos from this month have been uploaded to the Guild's Flickr page.

Next meeting:
 February 2, 2014 from 1-4pm, Free Motion Quilting Part II, Show-n-Tell Scrap Swap Projects

Keep an eye out for a post and e-mail with details on how to join our Flickr group and post your photos!  We will also be letting you know about some upcoming local quilt shows you can enter.