Featured on the Modern Quilt Guild Blog...

Yesterday Elizabeth Hartman started posting some of the blocks received for the QuiltCon quilt block challenge on the Modern Quilt Guild website. She has divided the blocks into categories and is featuring a different selection each day.

Today she featured scrappy blocks, and I was delighted to see two blocks from PGH MQG's own Lauren J. and one from Gina K. Pittsburgh MQG represent! Click on the link above to see Lauren and Gina's blocks along with the other example scrappy blocks.

It's so exciting to see all of the different blocks created for the QuiltCon challenge. All of the ones I have seen so far are amazing. Deciding which ones to pick for the raffle quilt is going to be quite a challenge.

September General Meeting and Modern Triangle Workshop

One of Jodi's great, great grandmother's quilts

Hi all! I hope everyone is enjoying what remains of summer. I am still in Texas but wanted to touch base about the up-coming September meeting.

The next Pittsburgh Modern Quilt Guild meeting and workshop will take place Sunday, September 2, at the Pittsburgh Project from 1:00-4:00 PM. Gina, our Guild VP,  will be leading the workshop after a brief general meeting. 

September Workshop: The Modern Triangle
In this workshop we will take the fear out of creating blocks with triangles. We will focus on the traditional "Flying Geese" pattern and explore ways to use this pattern in a modern way!  Using both traditional construction methods and a "flip and stitch method", we will take triangles down the fresh, modern quilt path. With simple adjustments to proportion, placement and color/value/pattern choices, we will explore the endless possibilities of this method. By taking a looser, more improvised approach using triangles, we will set you on a path of creating a variety of dynamic combinations that are truly modern!
 
Supplies
Please bring: fabrics scraps, including some squares of fabrics large enough to cut into squares, rotary cutter & mat, sewing machine and iron! 

RSVP
Please post a comment below or shoot us an email to let us know if you plan to attend.

Meeting Fee or Guild Dues
We ask that all non-members pay a $5 meeting fee. You may do this as a guest of the guild for up to two meetings. If you have already attended two meetings as a non-member and wish to continue to attend guild meetings and workshops we ask that you join the guild as a member. 2012 dues are $25. If you have already attended two meetings your dues for the rest of the year is $15.

QuiltCon Registration
If you are one of the people who expressed interest in attending QuiltCon please send us an email. We have the discount registration code because the Guild is a Golden Needle Sponsor. Registration begins on August 31 at 9:00 AM EST.

Looking forward to seeing everyone on Sunday, September 2.

Improvised Success!

Leslie's first-ever quilt block!!!

Greetings, PGH modern quilters! 
(Jodi blogging her while Michelle is away enjoying a dye class.)

Yesterday we held the August general meeting and hosted our first-ever workshop, led by Treasurer, Lauren Jonkman. In total 20 people attended the meeting and there were a few new faces. We were happy to welcome Beth, Ella, Shannon, Leslie, and Ann Marie to the meeting and we hope to see them all again.

General Meeting
At the general meeting a few items were discussed and details will be made available when Lori finishes up her notes and we post them to the meeting section of the blog. First, July's meeting minutes were approved. Secondly, Lauren provided our first treasurer's report. We then discussed dues and becoming a sponsor for Quilt Con. We then brought a community outreach opportunity to the group's attention (For details go here.) It was a whiz-bang meeting finishing up in about 20 minutes so we could get on to Lauren's workshop.

Guild Dues
Guild due for the remainder of 2012 were unanimously approved and as follows:
Guild membership: $25.00
Student guild membership: $15.00
Founding guild membership: $50.00 (This is a special membership for those interested in helping build up the Guild's fund as we get started.)

As previously discussed the $5 meeting fee you have previously paid is deducted from your membership fee when you join. For example, if you have attended the first two meetings and paid a total of $10 you would only owe $15.00 for the remainder of your guild dues.

You can pay your guild dues starting at the September meeting, which is being held Sunday, September 2nd from 1:00-4:00 PM at the Pittsburgh Project.

Ella's first improvised slab

Lauren's Improvised Piecing Workshop
I cannot tell you how much fun I had participating in this workshop and being with each and everyone one of you that attended. In addition to it being our first-ever workshop, Leslie and Ella made their first-ever quilt blocks. They did a great job, and I certainly hope they continue to quilt- especially with the modern quilt guild.

Lauren, who again, has only been quilting since January of this year is both a natural modern quilter and teacher. She easily led the entire group through two improvised exercises. We first made slabs and then turned our attention to wonky log cabin blocks.

I tried to get at least one photo of a block for everyone who attended. These photos can be viewed here: Photos from Improvised Workshop. I encourage everyone to keep working on your blocks and 1. add them to the PGH MQG group on Flickr and 2. bring them to the September meeting to show off your finished products.

A special thanks to Lauren for being the bravest one of all and taking the plunge as leader of our first group workshop. She did an amazing job, and I encourage her to do more teaching in the future.

Next up- September Workshop
Gina has graciously volunteered to led the next workshop, which will really get a conversation started about "What is modern quilting?". For this workshop we will take a traditional quilt block and turn it on its head. It's a fun exercise in making the old seem new-whether it be with fresh, modern fabrics, playing with scale or negative space, or whatever happens to speak to you. Please stay tuned for details... until then as previously mentioned the next meeting is Sunday, September 2, 2012 at the Pittsburgh Project.

Please contact us with any questions or comments in the comments section below or by email. Until next time, ya'll, and happy quilting! - Jodi

August 12 Meeting Reminder

Meeting Reminder
This is a reminder we will be having our August General Meeting and Improv Piecing Workshop on Sunday, August 12, 2012 at the Pittsburgh Project from 1:00-4:00 PM. As with the last meeting there is a $5 meeting fee, which will be deducted from your dues should you decide to become an official member of the Pittsburgh Modern Quilt Guild. 

We will be meeting in the same space as last time, which is located at the back of the church adjacent to the PP main building, and we will put up better directional signage.

We will spend the first 30-45 minutes of the meeting discussing guild business such as approving July's meeting minutes, reviewing the treasurer's report, and discussing dues for the remaining of 2012. After a very short break we will begin our exciting workshop with Lauren. 

Improv Piecing with Lauren Jonkman
In our first PghMQG workshop, participants will have the opportunity to get "out of the box," release their fears of improvisation, and learn and practice 2 methods for improvised block piecing.  First, we will learn how to create improvised "slabs" similar to this (I have to make one and send to you to post).  Bring your scraps, which should be at least 1" square.  Any shape or size of scrap is perfect for creating a slab!  Second, we will learn how to make wonky, improvised log cabins similar to this (again have to make something).  For this, bring strips that are at least 1" wide (but can be any width) by any length you want.   

Supplies: Bring your scraps, sewing machine, cutting board, and rotary cutter and let's have fun!

Please feel free to bring a snack and beverage for yourself.

Quilton Quilt Blocks are due on Sunday!
For those of you who participated in the Quiltcon quilt block challenge please be sure to bring your completed blocks to the meeting on Sunday. Lori has volunteered to mail off all of our blocks on Monday, August 13. They must be postmarked by August 15 and this is our opportunity to submit our handiwork as a guild.

We will have some of the block submission applications on hand at the meeting, but you can also go to here and print off the form for each of your blocks. (It is one form per block submitted.)

Let us know you are coming
Please note: We didn't set up an evite for this meeting. Instead we would appreciate it if you would respond in Comments to let us know if you plan on attending this Sunday. We would like a general idea of how many to expect so we can set up accordingly.

As always please feel free to drop us a line with questions, suggestions, and hellos. We love hearing from all of you, and we look forward to seeing as many of you as possible on Sunday, August 12!

Best,
The PGH MQG Leadership Team
(Gina, Jodi, Lauren, Lori, and Michelle)

Next Meeting and Things to Come!

Next Meeting Date

Hi all! Due to a scheduling project with the Pittsburgh Project, our next meeting will be August 12, 2012, from 1 to 4. Otherwise, we will meet the first Sunday of every month. Don't worry, we'll keep you posted.

This meeting will start with some brief business, and then a fabric scrap swap! Bring a gallon size freezer bag full of scraps to trade with everyone!
  
Our first workshop will be improvisational, or "improv" piecing

In our first PghMQG workshop, participants will have the opportunity to get "out of the box," release their fears of improvisation, and learn and practice 2 methods for improvised block piecing.  First, Lauren will teach you how to create improvised "slabs."  Bring your scraps, which should be at least 1" square.  Any shape or size of scrap is perfect for creating a slab!  Second, you will learn how to make wonky, improvised log cabins.  For this, bring strips that are at least 1" wide (but can be any width) by any length you want.  Bring your scraps, sewing machine, cutting board, iron (?), and rotary cutter and let's have fun! 


Things to Come


A Flickr account has been set up, and also a Facebook page is coming soon. Feel free to sign up and start posting! Please note that it is free to join both groups. Anyone can join the Flickr page, but only members can post photos. Membership will be discussed at the next meeting, as we all have one more meeting that we can attend before becoming members. Membership dues will also be discussed. Stay tuned for more, and keep following the blog for more details.

July 8th Meeting and Our Official Guild!!

We have a guild!! Hi, I'm Michelle, the new Social Media Coordinator for the Pittsburgh Modern Quilt Guild. We had our second meeting; but really it was milestone. Today we set bylaws into place as well as elected Guild Leadership. Jodi, of course, is our president, Gina the VP, Lauren is the Treasurer, and Lori is our Secretary. Go girls!

During the business meeting, names and introductions were given, and we recapped the first meeting (at Loom). From there, Jodi discussed plans made since that meeting. Items such as the writing of the bylaws were revealed, as well as its ability to grow and adapt with the Guild. Suggested changes were proposed to "loosen" up the  national branch of the Modern Quilt Guild's definition of modern quilting by a few words. Elections were held (obviously), and next steps were detailed.

We, the leadership, will begin coordinating monthly meetings. We are hoping to alternate Guild-taught workshops with follow-up workshops that hold a related sew in. Stay posted for details...... okay, okay, a sneak peak: (!) In August: a scrap swap and scrap-improvised piecing workshop with Lauren. This will help us to get to know one another, as well as build our stash! Bring a gallon sized plastic bag of scraps to swap. More information, and that exact date to follow. September will be a scrap-improvised piece sew in. October: hand and machine applique with myself and Lori, and a follow up to that will be in November with the Tote Bag Project. The tote bag may or may not have applique as part of its construction.

Membership dues will be determined by leadership and voted on at the August meeting. Until dues are set, meetings will cost $5. (This complies with the bylaws.) The total amount that you have paid to date will be deducted from your total membership dues. These dues will likely be prorated anyway, since it is half way through the year.

Lastly, I have one more bit of information,  a side note, and some photos from our Quiltcon Block Challenge Sew in... I hope you have been paying attention to past posts by Jodi, but if you missed something, you can find more information about the Quiltcon Block Challenge here. Or check out some photos here. Please bear with me as I learn to be the new Social Media Coordinator! (THAT was my side note.)  And now, some photos!

 Our collective blocks made so far.... and some ladies working.... and working...... and Lauren, our Treasurer!

QuiltCon quilt blocks from Jodi

Deconstructed Prayer Flags

I have hung prayer flags in or around the places I have lived for a number of years. They are both beautiful and fascinating to me and bring me immense joy. They were the inspiration for my first QuiltCon quilt block.

Sketch Sketch Sketch

It started as a drawing, which I scanned and dumped into Photoshop for tweaking and scaling.

Pattern Pattern Pattern

A loose pattern emerged, and I built in quarter inch seam allowance.

Completed block

After some fussing about with the pattern and the curves the above 12.5"X 6" block was created.

Current WIP

Above is my current work-in-progress (WIP) for the block challenge. The pins holding it together on one of my design boards says it all. I have limited prints in my stash that contain the colors within the QuiltCon logo, but I am making the best of it. As well, I have long-since been intrigued with the little details in the Michael Miller Peacock Lane print; therefore, I decided to play with it and see what I can get out of it. I don't consider myself an improvised piecer so I am challenging myself all over the place.

Hopefully the blocks posted by myself, Lauren, and Michelle have inspired you to attend the next meeting on Sunday, July 8 from 1:00-400 PM at the Pittsburgh Project.  Please email for details if you are just now finding out about the PGH MQG or scroll down for past blog posts for details.

Lastly, if you have already created a quilt block or three please forward us pictures and a short write-up about your work at the email above. We will post them to the blog to share with your local modern quilting community.

Cheers and see many of you on Sunday- Jodi