Dallas Modern Quilt Guild

Bee Signups Through January 26th

2012-01-13T20:41:00.001-06:00

Don't miss out on your chance to join our round robin bee! Sign ups are open through January 21, 2012. To join, please contact our Bee Keeper, Jaime Moilanen. The fun starts when you bring your center block ~ 12 or 24 inch square or rectangle ~ to the February monthly meeting. All the details are posted on the Meetup website and are accessible to guild members.

Last Saturday Sew of 2011

2011-12-12T21:21:00.000-06:00

This is your last chance in 2011 to join us for a fun day of quilting with friends! We will have ironing & cutting stations set up; just bring your machine and project. The fee for this event is only $5.

The Weekend Sew space is on the 4th floor (Christus Conference Center) of the 6363 N. Hwy 161 in Las Colinas. It's a very nice space with a kitchen, large tables, plenty of outlets, lots of light and room to spread out.

This event lasts from 9 am to 4 pm. Please reserve your space via Facebook or Meetup. Hope to see you there!

December Meeting - Ornament & Cookie Swaps

2011-12-01T13:24:00.001-06:00

Our December meeting is just one week away! Come join us for a jolly good time. Celebrate the holidays with a an ornament swap and cookie exchange.

To participate in the swaps:

Bring one handmade ornament to swap {directions for the project would be welcome as the recipient might like to make some too}.
Also bring 2 dozen cookies to exchange and your own container to bring the yumminess home.

Also, the Community Outreach team will be accepting donations of wonky cross blocks {tutorial is here} or Road to Tennessee blocks {packets were provided at Nov. meeting} for our charity and community outreach projects.

Volunteers Needed to Piece Wonky Cross Blocks

2011-11-20T09:17:00.000-06:00

The community outreach team is currently asking for volunteers to help piece the wonky cross blocks for our Charitable Projects Initiative. If you are interested, please comment below or contact us via meetup so we can coordinate the effort.

Thanks to all members who have donated wonky cross blocks. Here's just a sample of what we've received so far:

November Meeting - Retreat & Market Recap

2011-11-02T19:56:00.001-05:00

Join us next Thursday {November 10th} for an exciting recap of our annual retreat! Michelle and Jaime will also be sharing the latest and greatest of their adventures at Market. Please remember to bring your wonky cross donations for Lovetta and the Charitable Projects Initiative.

Additionally, we'll be sharing all the details for our December ornament swap and tasty treat potluck! So bring your show and tell items and get ready for some fun.

Call for Wonky Cross Blocks, Fabric, & Batting

2011-10-27T15:12:00.006-05:00

Thanks to our Charitable Projects Initiative committee volunteers! Lovetta, the coordinator, is calling out for your help. Here's what the committee is requesting:

Wonky Cross Block Donations. For our first charitable project, we are requesting 8 1/2" x 8 1/2" (finished) Wonky Cross blocks from DMQG members. No rules or guidelines for fabrics or colorways - so go crazy creative and bust that stash! The tutorial for this block can be found here. Bring finished blocks to our November meeting, and we look forward to seeing your blocks.

Fabric Donations. We are accepting fabric donations for fabric cuts of fat quarter-size or larger; and pre-cuts such as jelly rolls, charm packs, and layer cakes.

Batting Donations. We are also accepting donations of packages of batting.

All items donated will go toward projects that will be given to community organizations and members that will benefit from the comfort of DMQG quilts.

Please contact Lovetta with any questions. And thanks in advance to all members for being so charitable!

August Applique Demo Wrap-Up

2011-09-12T17:09:00.000-05:00

Thanks to Tammy Fickel, our guest blogger this week! She was so impressed with all the demonstrations on our applique night, she wanted to share everything she saw. Take it away, Tammy...

Three applique techniques were presented at DMQG’s August 11th meeting - each demonstrated by a talented Guild member. I will say, they made it look oh-so-easy, and yes, anyone can do this!! I gave each technique a try in the following week, and found two much easier than, ahem, one.

Raw edge applique is a quick, fun way to applique, resulting in a textural, rather informal look. In a sound bite, you cut out the shapes, pin/hold/fuse to quilt-top, and sew about 1/8” (or whatever your preference is) from the edge of applique fabric. It’s a very forgiving type of applique, the raw edges easing slight discrepancies – so you can go the perfection route, and make a precise, eye-popping, colorful, textural quilt, or a, yeah-it’s-supposed-to-do-that eye-popping, colorful, textural quilt. Either way, it’s fun, and even if imprecise skills are used, you will still create a quilt anyone would love to have.

Sarah Huechtman demonstrated this technique by making circle pattern quilt blocks:

Sarah with examples of her raw edge applique.

Reverse applique takes its substance and color from the underlying fabric, the shape is created when the top fabric is cut and turned over to reveal the final applique - reverse applique has a distinctly different feel than not-reverse applique - gaining another dimension, visually and texturally. Lisa Calle demonstrated a simple reverse applique shape:

Lisa showing reverse applique sample

Back of reverse applique square

Needle-turn applique is the technique one often associates with Baltimore Album-style applique. Shapes are drawn onto the backside of a fabric, the shape is cut out leaving a small (about 3/16" to 1/4") seam allowance, then the fabric is turned over, placed onto foundation fabric, and the seam allowance is tucked/turned under, and applique is attached using an invisible stitch.

Of the three applique techniques, I found this one to be the most challenging. Michelle Kitto, our very expert demonstrator, made it look easy - though even while watching her, I kind of discerned that some mad needle skills might be needed to turn the applique as easily as she did. Michelle is making a beautiful heirloom quality quilt using this technique, and I believe that type of quilt is a brilliant application for needle turn applique.

Michelle smoothly showing DMQG members how to to do needle turn applique

A fresh twist to traditional applique can be seen in Sarah Fielke’s work. For a little bit of applique and patchwork quilt inspiration, you can view some pages from Quilting From Little Things here.

Whirligig quilt from Quilting from Little Things, reprinted with permission

And I'll leave you with an inspired modern, minimalist approach to hand applique, the pattern from Quilts Made Modern. (An interesting post asking "what is modern applique" and a little background about the Birds on Wire quilt can be found here.)

October Mug Rug Swap

2011-09-12T14:15:00.000-05:00

Fall is upon us (in spite of lingering 100+ days) and what better way to celebrate than with a mug rug swap! Mug rugs are just what the name implies - cute little "rugs" for your favorite hot fall beverage. The ideal size is around 8" square - it's big enough for an over-sized mug or a regular mug plus a sweet treat. Make the mug rug just as you would a mini quilt with binding or turn and finish the edges - just be sure to include batting to keep it hot-drink friendly. Rectangular shapes are okay, too! Just have fun with the design and make something you love. A project of this size is the perfect opportunity to try out a quilt block you've been dying to make.

How the swap works - make a mug rug and bring it to the October meeting (October 13). Everyone who brings a mug rug will participate in the swap and go home with an adorable handmade mug rug from another guild member. I encourage everyone to label their mug rugs so it can also be a nice keepsake from the guild. I've created a label that you can download and print on printable fabric to add to your mug rug. To find the label, go to the Meetup group page, click on More, and then click on Files. There are three different file types that you can experiment with. The PDF file will probably work the best for most people. Be sure and write your name on the label with a fabric pen (a fine Sharpie, pigment ink gel pen, or other pen made for marking on fabric).

Mug rugs have been extremely popular of late and there are many online resources for inspiration:

Mug Rug Swap on Flickr (lots of inspiring photos, this swap is NOT related to our guild swap)
What is Mug Rug?
Ziggity Mug Rug Tutorial
Scrappy Color Block Mug Rug Tutorial
Dresden Wedges Mug Rug Tutorial

Happy quilting,

Little Apples Mini Quilt Challenge

2011-08-29T15:39:00.005-05:00

We have our first sponsored challenge thanks to the generous folks at Moda! At the July meeting, we shared fabric from one of Moda's newest collections - Little Apples by Aneela Hoey. This is a fun and whimsical fabric collection with a modern, playful vibe that is perfect for fall. We challenged everyone who took fabric to make mini quilts to showcase the fun prints. Here is a reminder of the challenge details:

Use only Little Apples by Aneela Hoey fabric; you may add solids
The challenge is to create a mini quilt measuring anywhere from mug rug size (10" square) to wall hanging size (24" x 24")
Mini quilts are due at the September meeting (September 8)

Our September meeting is just two weeks away so there is still time to complete your mini quilt! We can't wait to see what this creative group of quilters comes up with.

Happy quilting,

August Meeting - Summer Workshop Night

2011-08-08T16:07:00.002-05:00

The monthly meeting this coming Thursday (August 11) is our Summer workshop night. We will have four stations set up to teach you various applique methods and techniques. We will break up into small groups and rotate from station to station in 10 or 15 minute increments. We are also having a potluck supper!

Many of you signed up at last month's meeting to bring food for the potluck supper. You can find the list on Meetup and if you weren't at the meeting last month and didn't sign up, feel free to bring your favorite dish, side, or dessert to share.

As always, don't forget your Show + Tell items. Looking forward to seeing everyone Thursday!

The Impatient Quilter

2011-08-03T08:18:00.000-05:00

This week we are so excited to have Laura Childs as our guest blogger!

She's been sewing all her life and got bitten by the quilt bug in the last couple of years. Her zest to continually learn and improve is always inspiring at our monthly meeting show-n-tells. Originally from the Chicago area, we are proud to have her in our Dallas guild.

Laura is currently working on lots of wonky projects, especially wonky log cabins with fussy cut centers! Some of her favorite fabric designers include Joel Dewberry, Aneela Hoey, Sarah Jane, Jay McCarroll, and Tina Givens.

Here are just a few of her projects, be sure to check out her Flicker photostream to see even more!

Wonky 9 patch in sunny yellow

Pink and brown pinwheel pattern with striped sashing & trim
and 4 attached toys at corners

53"x53" quilt using Central Park fabric by Kate Spain for Moda
w/ Amy Butler border

Fabler fabric from Ikea; Slideshow pattern

I don't have a blog, but if I did, I'd like to name it The Impatient Quilter, which is kind of an oxymoron since we all know patience is a necessity when quilting, but it best describes my hurriedness to want to finish what I'm working on and start something new. I'm not very loyal to the current project!

I can never be satisfied with enjoying the moment and the process. This brings me to the to the topic of this guest blog: patience and enjoying the moment.

Raise your hand if the following situation describes you...someone is sharing a quilt they just made (whether at a guild meeting, show-n-tell, blog, or home). The first thing you do is go 'ooh' and 'aahh' right? But then your mind takes over and you start to analyze the quilt, sometimes out loud, sometimes just in your head.

"Look at those seams...wow, those are perfect matching points...isn't that the fabric from the so and so collection?...I wonder what that pattern is...how long did it take her?...did she quilt it herself?...what if it was done in different colors?...could I create something that difficult?" And so on and so forth.

Is your hand raised? Mine certainly is! I recently discovered that I was missing the opportunity to simply enjoy the end result--a beautiful quilt--of a lot of hard work, creativity, and love. I scolded myself. Enjoy the moment! Enjoy the spirit of the craft. Enjoy the choices made. Enjoy the person's effort. Just enjoy the quilt!

It's hard to turn off an analytical mind, but I believe there is a benefit to directing your mind to see--to really see--what's right in front of your eyes and to observe the totality of it before deconstructing it. Tell your mind to be patient. There is plenty of time to explore it later. But allow yourself to absorb the quilt.

So please join me in the challenge of taking a deep breath, looking and seeing the quilt...and purely enjoying it! You know the expression "stop and smell the roses"? Alter it a bit, and just stop and see the quilt.

Patient sewing!
Laura

July Guild Meeting- Recap

2011-07-16T07:49:00.005-05:00

Hey guys! We had an AWESOME July meeting! The room was packed! I've never seen so many people in that classroom! We had several new members, first timers, and guests.

After Lisa welcomed everyone, she reminded us of all the upcoming events, including Saturday Sew (every month), the Guild Retreat in November, and our upcoming Quilts & Cocktails photo shoot in White Rock Lake.

On Saturday, July 23rd, we will have a photo shoot at the Bath House Cultural Center at White Rock Lake. Monica McNeill (our historian) will take posed pictures of any project you would like, and at the end of the year, we (and by we I mean she :) ) will put together an inspiration book that we can all have! The event is open to the first nine people who RSVP on MeetUp. Right now, there are only 2 people signed up, and if the interest doesn't increase, we will postpone it. We will try to do a shoot once a quarter, so if you know of a pretty location in your area, let Monica know, and we work on making it happen!

We also have a few challenges in the works. The first one is for a new Moda line. One of the rules is that we cannot share pictures or blog about it until the line is released. Strips of the fabric were given out at the end of the meeting, and the mini quilts are due in September. Remember, you can only add solids to the quilt, so showcase that fabric!

Our guild is also participating in a challenge from Freespirit Fabrics with Jay McCarroll's new Habitat line. There is enough fabric for 30 people to participate (we all get fat eighths). Again, you can add solids, but that is all. It's all about showcasing the fabric! Your creations are due in February, and Michelle is working on cutting the fabric for us!!! :)

Then, everyone showed their Ugly Fat Quarter creations from last meeting! We have some crazy talented ladies in the guild! Most of the ugliness was unrecognizable! And I wanted a quilt out of some of the blocks that came in.

As usual, we had a stupendous show and tell. We are so lucky to have such talent in our group! Finally, Cheryl Isbell won the door prize from Bernina! We had a great time! I can't wait until next month! :) Remember, next meeting is our workshop, so we will be having a pot-luck!

See ya!

Ellen

PS: The actual meeting minutes are on the MeetUp site!

July Meeting

2011-07-07T07:08:00.001-05:00

Please join us on Thursday, July 14 for our monthly meeting. It's the big reveal for our ugly fat quarter challenge. You guys really answered the call for ugly fabric and I can't wait to see how you transform it. If you can't make it this month, be sure and bring your made-over fat quarter back in August so we can admire your work.

This month we will have an update on some more upcoming challenges (free fabric!!!). Our quarterly workshop is scheduled for the August meeting, and we will have potluck sign-ups this month. The workshop topic is applique.

We look forward to seeing you this month!

Happy quilting,

June Guild Meeting

2011-07-06T10:12:00.001-05:00

Hey guys!

We had a great June Guild Meeting at the Bernina Sewing Center of Dallas. Lisa Calle (President) welcomed everyone to the meeting and introduced all of the new 2011/2012 Officers. They are Lisa Calle - President, Michelle Kitto - Vice President, Sarah Huecheman - Treasurer, Ellen Lamb - Secretary, Sarah Bogle - Communications, Monica McNeill - Historian, Angie D'Amore - Program Coordinator, Gina Weems - Event Coordinator, Lovetta Ferrante - Charity Coordinator, and Jamie Moilanen - Bee Keeper. There will be a blog post later on to introduce each in a little more depth!

We also looked ahead for the next 6 months. Next month (July) we will reveal the results of our Ugly Fat Quarter Challenge, so don't forget your projects! We will also have a FreeSpirit Habitat Challenge, a retreat, and a summer workshop coming up. On July 23rd at 7PM in White Rock Lake, Monica McNeill will have our first quarterly Quilts & Cocktails, where she will be taking amazing photos of any project you would like for our Guild Yearbook! An announcement will be put up on MeetUp. We will also be starting a Foundations of Quiltings Series next month; each month 5 people will demonstrate/explain a particular quilting term to the guild.

Next, Teri DeBolt of Bernina showed us an amazing demonstration of Zentangles (also known as doodle stitching or thread painting).

We had an amazing Show & Tell (as usual!) and then had door-prizes from Angie @ Retromama (for her 1 year Blog/sewing anniversary), Quilt Asylum and Bernina.

Just a reminder, we need volunteers for the Charity Committee, Bee Leaders, and the 501(c)3 committee. If you would like to help out with any of these, please let an officer know!

Dues for the year are due by July 1. You can pay by PayPal or write a check (you can give it to Sarah, the treasurer, or mail it to the guild PO Box.)

-Ellen:)

PS - the actual meeting minutes are uploaded to the MeetUp site! Thanks!

New Look for DMQG

2011-06-16T06:58:00.000-05:00

By now you've probably noticed a brand new look for our Meetup website as well as on our blog! One of my goals this year is to introduce a graphic format that can be easily maintained by myself as well as future communications chairs. Aren't you enjoying how much more user-friendly Meetup is for our needs? It has incredible tools for use and we're so glad to have a powerful new site that will grow with us!

In the next week or two, the templates for our website/ social media outlets will be fine tuned. If you have any input or suggestions of how you'd like to see our sites evolve, please contact me at communications {at} dallasmqg.org.

Happy quilting! Sarah Marie

Ugly FQ Swap!

2011-05-21T14:00:00.001-05:00

June is ugly fat quarter month in Dallas. The challenge for July is to give an ugly fat quarter an extreme makeover. To make the challenge a bit more interesting, we're asking everyone to bring their ugliest fat quarters to the June meeting to swap. You will get to take home someone else's ugly fat quarter and bring it back as something beautiful for the July meeting.

There will be a special prize for the quilter with the ugliest fat quarter!

(If you're dying to get your hands on some of the possum fabric shown above, it is called Backyard Bandits Oppossum by Fabriquilt)

DMQG is Moving to Meetup

2011-05-20T16:05:00.003-05:00

After almost a year on Big Tent, we have come to the conclusion that it is not meeting our needs. This is based on our own problems maintaining the site and feedback from Guild members. Over the next few weeks, we will be moving to Meetup.com. It will provide a lot of the functionality we currently have with easier-to-use features. You will be able to link your Flickr photos, Facebook page, and Twitter feed to your profile. RSVPing for events will be simpler and require fewer clicks. We will retain the ability to maintain Bee groups, forum discussions, and share event photos and DMQG files.

We expect to complete the move by June 30. If you receive a notice from Big Tent to renew your membership, please ignore it. We will be sending all current members an invoice via PayPal and an invitation to join our Meetup group. If you joined DMQG within the last 90 days, you will receive a pro-rated invoice for the 2011/12 year.

If you have questions, please email president@dallasmodernquiltguild.org. We thank you for your patience and look forward to seeing you on Meetup!

Announcing: Earth Day Challenge

2011-04-15T13:56:00.000-05:00

Earth Day is on April 22 and to mark the occasion, we are issuing a challenge. Use non-traditional materials to create a quilt block or mini quilt and bring it to Show + Tell at the May meeting. Of course, feel free to add in new fabric and batting needed to complete your vision.

Non-traditional materials can be anything from old clothing to paper goods and everything in between. There are a couple of great examples from guild members. Juanita Johnson shared a very unique mini quilt at a recent guild meeting. She used Shout color catchers to create a very cool and modern mini quilt. You can read about it on her blog. Melanie Sullivan used vintage quilt scraps to make this adorable mini quilt:

[photo via Texas Freckles by Melanie Sullivan]

You can see more photos and read about Melanie's mini quilt here. For the really non-traditional, check out Angie's blog post about some unique quilts that were shown at the Dallas Quilt Celebration in March. The bottle cap quilt and the Lay's potato chip bag quilt are definitely Earth Day friendly!

I can't wait to see what you all come up with.

Happy quilting,

April Meeting

2011-04-13T12:15:00.000-05:00

Wow! I can't believe it's already time for another meeting. We are back at Bernina this month. (Yeah!, we missed the wonderful gals last month as they were all getting ready for the Dallas Quilt Show). If you haven't attended a meeting at Bernina of Dallas you can find them here. They recently celebrated 28 years in business. One visit to their store and you will understand why they have been open that long!

For this months meeting we will be discussing our charity quilt drive, upcoming officer elections, and my personal favorite....show and tell! Come join us and show everyone what you have been up to since last month's meeting. Bring along ideas for topics for next years meetings, nominations for officers, and if you have made "just one star" for the Quilts of Valor, bring it along as well.

This Saturday is the April Saturday Sew, so make plans now to join us for that as well!

March Meeting + Quilt Show

2011-03-01T14:24:00.000-06:00

This month's guild meeting is going to focus on workshops. We will be teaching several modern blocks and having a free motion quilting demo. Dinner will be provided so please RSVP on Big Tent to reserve your spot.
Please take note of our temporary location switch for this month's meeting. Instead of at the Bernina store, the March meeting will be held at the Las Colinas Corporate Center, which is where we meet for Saturday Sew. Click here for a Google map. We are asking that everyone bring a 10"x10" scrap of fabric to donate to our guild's first charity quilt project.

I also wanted to remind you all that the Dallas Guild is having their annual quilt show this month. This is a great event with lots of inspiring quilts and tempting vendors. You can see a list of vendors on their site. A group of us are meeting on Friday, March 11 when the doors open at 10 am. I highly recommend buying your tickets in advance. You will save a dollar and you won't have to wait in the ticket line on the day of the show. I have set up a forum topic on Big Tent to share meetup details.

Hope to see you at one of our March events!

Friendship Groups

2011-02-16T09:59:00.005-06:00

Have you met with your friendship group yet? DFW is such a big area that we know it's difficult for a lot of you to make meetings and Saturday Sews. This is exactly why we came up with the friendship groups.

The Plano/Allen/McKinney group has not only met several times, they've already had a mini quilt swap! You can read about it on Joellen's blog, Just Say Sew.

Here are a few of the swapped quilts:

Check out the rest of them here. If you would like to organize a meeting with quilters in your area, reach out to them on Big Tent or let us know and we will help you.

Local Quilt Shops

2011-01-18T14:27:00.003-06:00

We've added an interactive map to show all of the local quilt shops in DFW. If you know of any shops that aren't included, please email president [at] dallasmodernquiltguild [dot] org so we can add it to the list.

View DFW Quilt Shops in a larger map

January Meeting

2011-01-13T15:17:00.001-06:00

I am so excited to kick off a new year with the guild! We've come a long way since our first meeting nearly a year ago. This month we are going to talk about the future of our guild, and map out a plan to complete some important first year goals: establishing our by-laws and applying for 501(c)(3) non-profit status. The officers will take on the major requirements for completing these tasks, but the input of our members is extremely important. The content of our by-laws will affect how the guild functions for years to come, and we need your help to ensure that these guidelines lay a strong foundation. I will be passing out copies of the current draft of our by-laws. If you cannot make the meeting but would like a copy, please email me: president [at] dallasmodernquiltguild [dot] org.

January is also a time for new beginnings so we will be sharing our favorite tips for getting your projects and scraps organized. We will also be choosing the winner of the December WIP challenge. Bring your list of completed projects (or the projects themselves) and you may be crowned the WIP queen!

Looking forward to seeing you all tonight,

Handmade Holidays

2010-11-12T11:04:00.002-06:00

At our November meeting last night, we shared handmade gift ideas for the holidays. I thought I'd compile some of them here so you can all get a jump-start on your holiday sewing.

[photo by lavender's blue]

Fabric bird - free pattern here [here is another cute one]

Wine bag - tutorials here, here, and here (this one has a cute handle)

Origami bag - tutorial here.

Composition notebook cover - tutorial here

Fabric postcards - we all decided these would be great for Christmas cards! Instructions and examples here.

Pillowcases make a great gift! Juanita has a great tutorial on her blog.

Have any other handmade gift ideas? Share them in the comments.

Retreat Recap

2010-11-09T10:15:00.000-06:00

The guild's first annual retreat took place last weekend and it was so much fun that we're considering making it a biannual event. We spent four days (three for some) at the Compass Centre. Owner Melissa has really thought of everything. Everyone had plenty of room to spread out, there were cutting and ironing stations, designs walls, and even a small shop with fabric and notions. We were also very well-fed - there were cookies as big as your head!

If you'd like to see more photos or share your own, check out the DMQG Flickr group.

Don't forget that our monthly meeting is this Thursday. Laura Kay of Happiness is Quilting very generously provided us with some door prizes at the retreat and we will be giving them away on Thursday. See you there!

First Annual Retreat

2010-09-20T12:19:00.000-05:00

Our First Annual Retreat is fast approaching! Now is the time to register and mail those deposit checks.

COST: $80/per night (plus Big Tent and/or PayPal fees if you choose not to pay via cash or check); all meals are included

DATES: Thursday, November 4 - Sunday November 7 (Thursday night is optional)

LOCATION: The Compass Centre in Mount Calm, TX. Be sure and check out their website for details about accommodations.

RSVP: Reserve your spot by RSVPing in the Big Tent group and filling out a registration form (registration form is available here). Please mail your deposit check to:

Dallas Modern Quilt Guild
P.O. Box 190122
Dallas, TX 75219

Oct 28 is the last day to RSVP or cancel. All money is due Nov 4 or 5 at the retreat.

We will have a raffle where 2 lucky quilters will each win 1 free night. If you pay in full on or before October 28, you will get 2 extra entries in the raffle.

August Guild Meeting

2010-08-11T13:09:00.000-05:00

Can you believe it has been a month since the last meeting?? I can't. Although, I find myself wishing it was any month other than August! I am not a fan of this Texas heat. Never have been, never will be! But.....we have something great to look forward to......The DMQG meeting is Thursday, August 12! I hope to see all of you there. We are going to have updates on the November retreat, some challenges that will be issued, updates on the first annual Fall Shop Hop, door prizes and my personal favorite; Show and Tell. Also, we will be collecting school supplies and backpacks for the Back To School Drive benefiting the Community Partners of Dallas. We will be in our new meeting home, Bernina of Dallas. If you didn't make it last month, you are in for a treat. The meeting space is fantastic, lots of room, video set up for demonstrations, they even put on a pot of coffee for us! And of course shopping!

July Guild Meeting

2010-07-07T22:27:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow night is the July meeting and we are meeting in a new location. We will be at the Bernina Dallas store at 635 & Midway. The meeting starts at 7:00 and we will have hexagon demonstrations! If you haven't given these little beauties a try, I'll warn you....they are addicting! You will see a couple of different methods for doing "hexies".

We are very excited to be meeting at Bernina and want to issue a big Thank You to them for opening their store for us. I was in the store yesterday and they are very excited to have us. Everyone, bring your show and tell and come ready to have some fun!

Friendship Groups

2010-06-18T22:17:00.000-05:00

Hey ya'll! The guild is growing like wildfire and we are spread out all over the metroplex. We are trying to put together some Friendship Groups in order to make it a little easier to connect with people a little closer to home and also as a way to "connect" with each other. The way it works is this: send an email to membership@dallasmodernquiltguild.org and mention that you'd like to join a Friendship Group. State what city you live in (or near), a way to contact you (email, phone, smoke signals, etc) and whether or not daytime or evening get togethers work best for you. We will "assemble" everyone interested into local groups. The group can then pick a time and place and begin to meet up for little "stitch-ins". When I have belonged to these in the past, we usually met once or twice a month at someones house and talked, sewed, ate, whatever. It is just a fun way to spread out the fun between guild meetings and to make new friends who like to spend time doing what we all love to do! The board members will be happy to help get these groups going in whatever way we can. So, just shoot an email to the above address and we'll get you hooked up with a new group of quilty buddies!

June Meeting

2010-06-09T17:30:00.000-05:00

I hope everyone is planning on coming to the June Meeting of the DMQG. It's next Monday, June 14th at 7:00. It will be held in our usual meeting place at City Craft. We have a special treat in store for us.....Callie is going to share some of the great stuff she saw at Quilt Market in Minneapolis. From what I hear, there are some amazing new fabric lines coming out in the next couple of months...Yeah! I am quite excited to see and hear what she has to say. See you there! Bring a friend!!!!

I am just amazed at the great new friendships I have developed in the few short months we have been meeting. I also hope you will all consider joining us at the next Saturday Sew on June 26th. We have so much fun and it is where I have truly begun to develop the new friendships. It makes me really happy to think that in November we have a full 4 day quilt retreat planned for the guild. Talk about time to develop new friendships! (and maybe get a few UFO's done!) Put it on your calendar and plan to join the fun.

An Inside Peek

2010-05-10T07:00:00.002-05:00

at a Dallas Modern Quilt Guild Meeting.

Our next guild meeting is tonight Monday, May 10 from 7pm to 9pm at City Craft in Dallas. We would love to have you join us!

Are you curious as to what we do at a meeting? Well, here's a peek!

Last month's meeting was the second meeting of the guild & we were excited to see both some familiar faces and new ones.

The officer's were introduced and are as follows:

Lisa Calle, President
Amanda Wray, Vice president
Michelle Kitto, Treasurer
Monica McNeill, Historian
Jenny Garland, Weekend Sew Coordinator
Gina Weems, Weekend Sew Coordinator
Ellen Lamb, Secretary

It was announced that the officers are planning a retreat for members in November. For more information please visit the topic, DMQG Annual Quilt Retreat - Save the Date, on the Ning Site. You are able to access the site by clicking on the main tab at the top of this blog.

We are also working on obtaining 501(c)status which means that we will be recognized as a tax exempt, non-profit organization. This will allow us to raise donations for charitable causes.

Even though we do not have our 501(c) status yet, we are still looking for ways to give back to the community. We will be collecting 8" blocks for various charity projects at both guild meetings & Saturday sews. If you have any fabric that you would like to donate for use in these charity blocks, please donate at either the guild meetings or Saturday sews. Please share all suggestions for charities with Jenny Garland.

As a guild we have held two fun weekend sews so far. We are using a great space that is an office building conference room in Irving. We have ironing, cutting & an education station set up. The next Saturday Sew is on May 29th, for more details please see the topic, May Saturday Sew, on the Ning Site.

We are also in process of building a guild library. This will be a compilation of books and magazines donated by members for others to check out and use at their leisure. If you have donations, please bring them to Saturday sew or the monthly meeting.

We discussed a contest for a design for our guild name tags. We would love for members to submit designs for the guild to vote on. We will have a door prize for the winning design.

If you haven't filled out a membership form please do so at tonight's meeting or the Saturday Sew. The dues are set at $20. We will also have the form posted on the Ning site shortly.

We are so excited that the Ning group has grown to 136 members! This shows what an interest there is in the DFW metroplex for Modern Quilting.

Going forward, the Ning group will be one of the benefits of membership of the guild. We plan to make this a vibrant resource for sharing of projects, tutorials & tips. We would also like to have the group be a learning resource drawing upon the wealth of knowledge & experience that resides within the group.

If you are unsure about Modern Quilting we will be using this blog as a place to share more about this new movement, the Ning group & the activities of the guild. If you have any suggestions as to what you would find valuable both on the Ning site & the blog please reach out to Monica McNeill.

We ended our meeting with two door prizes & show and tell. Thank you to Jenny Garland & Lara Kay of Happiness is . . . Quilting for their donations.

Here are some shots of our show & tell.

As always, a big thank you to Callie for letting us use the City Craft space for our meeting. You can see we cover alot of ground in our meetings & would love to have you join us tonight.

Monica

Bee Season

2010-04-29T15:34:00.000-05:00

It's bee season!

Quilting bees are a fun way to learn new techniques. Many of you have probably participated in online quilting bees, and now you will have a chance to do one with people you actually know! We are going to try a couple of different bee types this year. Sign ups will occur throughout May (at our Monthly Meeting and Saturday Sew). The first round of Bees will kick off in June. Depending on the interest level, we may start a second round in July (with sign ups at the June meetings, dates TBA)

If you would like to participate, please carefully review the rules and evaluate the time commitment required.

Monthly Block Swap
Participants: Anyone who attends monthly meetings or Saturday Sew.

Rules: Make 2 blocks in the style and/or color scheme chosen for the month and bring one to the meeting. Swap with other participants.

Commitment: All you have to do is make 2 blocks! This will be an ongoing swap and participants can join or opt out at any time.

x2 Bee
Participants: 6 quilters over 6 months

Rules: Each quilter provides fabric and instructions to make blocks of her choice. All quilters exchange fabric during month 1 and have 6 months to complete 2 blocks for each member (plus 2 blocks for you). One bee member will act as facilitator (Bee Keeper). At the end of the bee, each member will have 12 completed blocks, which she can sew together to make a completed quilt top.

Commitment: You will provide fabric for 10 blocks and you will need to make 10 total blocks (plus the two you'll make for yourself) for the other members over a 6-month period.

Round Robin
Participants: 6 maximum, lasts as many months as we have members, i.e. 6 members = 6 months

Rules: Each quilter makes her own center block during month 1. During months 2 to 6, the center blocks rotate among the bee members who will add borders to the center block. One bee member will act as facilitator (Bee Keeper). At the end of the Round Robin, each member will have a completed quilt top.

Commitment: Fabric to be provided or members can use fabric from their stash. You will need to complete your border on time each month so that you don't slow down the pace of the bee for the other members.

If you are a new quilter or new to bees, don't be afraid to join! It's going to be a lot of fun.

Personal Ironing Stand

2010-04-20T19:10:00.009-05:00

Hey guys! With our second Saturday Sew coming up this weekend, I thought I would show you a quick tutorial on making a personal ironing stand! I've seen this around on the web several places, but I cannot remember exactly where (if you know, please let me know in the comments). I also saw it done during a demonstration at the Garland Quilt Guild. I think it's really quick and easy, and should help cut down on the lines at the ironing board on Saturday!

First, you need this little fella.

I got this TV tray for $9 at Target.

You will also need some extra batting, fabric, scissors and a staple gun. I used leftover batting and some cheap muslin laying around in my stash. You can use any type of fabric you want, just make sure you have a large enough piece to cover the top of the TV tray plus a few inches extra. If you are using a colored fabric, I would recommend washing it first, especially if it is dark. I'm not sure if this helps, but better safe than sorry!

I laid out my muslin (doubled because it is cheap and thin) and then laid my batting on top of it. I doubled it because I don't have high loft batting, so it was pretty thin as well. Then I placed my tray upside-down on top of the batting, making sure there were a few inches showing on each side.

Then trim your fabric/batting to the desired length!

I obviously had to trim mine so it stopped short of the pieces of wood sticking out of the bottom. I then started to staple!

Woo hoo! I love to staple things!

I used at least 3 staples on each side.

Once you have the first side stapled, I recommend stapling the opposite side next, instead of the next one. This helps keep things nice and straight. You will want to pull the second side as tight as possible while stapling.

Then do the third and fourth sides. The corners required additional staples, but I just folded them over and stapled them down. Those staple guns are pretty handy!

Flip it over, and there you have it! A 5 minute project for under $10 . . . who could resist!

I'll bring mine for Saturday Sew this weekend, in case you have any questions.

Also, this is my first tutorial, so any comments you have would be greatly appreciated!

See ya!

Ellen

A Call for Chairs

2010-04-08T10:14:00.000-05:00

Good morning everyone! I have a small request from City Craft.....if you have a spare folding chair lying around, can you throw it in your car and bring it to the meeting tonight. She is busy moving things around in the shop to make room for us, but as we saw last meeting, we may need a few additional chairs. Looking forward to seeing everyone!

Michelle

April Meeting

2010-04-07T22:55:00.000-05:00

I hope everyone is planning to come to the April meeting of the Guild tomorrow night! We are going to be talking about future happenings with the Guild and introducing the officers. We will also be collecting dues ($20), and there will be Show & Tell! Bring your projects and share with us all! We would LOVE to see them! The meeting starts at 7:00 at City Craft. You can get directions here. Hope to see everyone!

Quilt Class at City Craft

2010-03-26T10:20:00.000-05:00

I am so excited to tell you all that I will be teaching a "Learn to Quilt" class at City Craft in Dallas. You can check out her store and the class schedule here. It is a two session class starting April 25 at 2:00. We will be making a quilted pillow.

So, if you know anyone that is dying to learn to quilt, or want a refresher, go check out Callie's website. You can even sign up for the class right online!

Announcing...Saturday Sew

2010-03-18T21:16:00.000-05:00

We will have a door prize & a fat quarter swap! The fee for this event is $5 to cover the venue costs. Bring your machine and project; we will provide ironing and cutting centers. Hope to see you there!

RSVP here. Questions? Email us at dallasmodernquiltguild[a]yahoo.com.

QuiltFab for iPhone

2010-03-12T11:04:00.002-06:00

If you are anything like me, you've found yourself in the middle of a fabric store having realized that you have no idea how much fabric you need to start or complete a quilt.

QuiltFab for iPhone is a free app that allows you to specify your quilt's width and height, fabric width and shrinkage % and many other settings to compute how much fabric you need for your quilt, including borders, sashing and binding.

If you are a quilter with an iPhone, this app is a must-have!

Get QuiltFab on iTunes!

Enjoy!

Getting to Know Our Members

2010-03-10T11:55:00.001-06:00

Can you believe that in just two short months the Dallas Modern Quilt Guild has grown to 92 members? It's pretty amazing! In an effort to get to know more about each other, I've added a member blogroll to this blog. It displays the 25 most recent posts from our members. If you included a blog url on your Ning profile page, it's already on the list. If you didn't and you would like to share it with us, please email dallasmodernquiltguild[at]yahoo[dot]com.

Dallas Modern Quilt Guild is now on Twitter! Follow us to stay up to date on events and other fun stuff.

How to Make a Quilter's Knot

2010-02-23T16:13:00.000-06:00

Hi modern quilters! I'm Jenny and so excited about this new quilt guild in Dallas. I thought I would post a tutorial on something we all need to know how to do.

I prefer to do all sewing on the machine. It's fast and efficient. However, there are some instances when I simply have to sew by hand (bleh, I know).

Anyway, before you sew specific stitches, you need to know how to make a sturdy knot that will stay put. I know, you're thinking "a knot?" I totally know how to make a knot. If you do, awesome! If you don't, I'll show ya in this super quick video tutorial. Please excuse the slight blurriness and ridiculously short nails. Um, I still bite my nails. Been trying to stop for like 28 years. Nervous habit. Don't even realize I'm doing it.

Moving on… this knot is really easy once you practice it once or twice. It's great if you have to sew on a button, hand stitch binding, or slip-stitch something closed. It will keep your stitches really secure and you can bury it in the fabric so it won't be seen.

Our First Meeting

2010-02-05T14:57:00.000-06:00

Thanks to all of you who came out in the rain to our first meeting! It was a great turnout and a lot of fun to meet all of you. A special thank you to Callie of CityCraft for hosting in her beautiful shop!

I received a lot of great feedback and offers for help last night and believe me, I will be taking you up on it! This is a great group of women and I am really excited about the possibilities. For those of you who could not make it last night, I've posted the questionnaire here. Be sure and nominate yourself and others for officer positions! If you see a need for a position that is not listed, feel free to suggest it in the comments.

Welcome!

2010-02-05T14:55:00.000-06:00

Welcome to the blog of the Dallas Modern Quilt Guild. Would you like to be a guest blogger? Email dallasmodernquiltguild@yahoo.com for information.