Greenville Modern Quilt Quark Gallery, from Johnnie McKenzie

Doing some prep work for "after corona" classes. The three two traditional tops are for a Stash Buster class and the sunflower is for a beginning paper piecing class.

Then there's my obsession with circles, globes, spheres and such. Can you guess where I'm going with the Storm at Sea blocks?

#YeahThatQuiltGuild

This Special Exhibit to showcase the Greenville Modern Quilt Guild activities and its member’s creativity and skills will be part of QuiltFest Greenville SC Quilt Show, at the Greenville Convention Center, June 4- 6, 2020.

QUILT EXHIBIT CATEGORIES
1. Quilt created for a GMQGs Annual Guild Challenge:

• 2016 Guild Challenge: Black and White with a Pop of Color
• 2017 Guild Challenge: Birds in The Air Block
• 2018 Guild Challenge: My Name, My Block
• 2019 Guild Challenge: Three Crayons and Negative Space

2. Quilt created based on learnings and inspiration from the following workshop:

• Michelle Wilke Workshop “Modern Design, Everyday Inspiration” (May 2017)
• Cheryl Brickey Workshop “Subtracting for Minimalism” (2017 & 2018)
• Didi Salvatierra Workshop “Improv Piecing” (March 2018)
• Yvonne Fuchs Workshop “Triangle Transparency” (October 2018)
• Kitty Wilkin Workshop “English Paper Piecing” (June 2019)
• Kitty Wilkin Workshop “Tiny Piecing” (June 2019)

3. Quilt submitted to QuiltCon or national challenge (e.g. Michael Miller) and received
        award/ribbon.

NOTE: THE CURATION COMMITTEE HAS THE OPTION TO SELECT QUILTS DESIGNED AND EXECUTED BY OUR MEMBERS WHICH DO NOT FALL INTO THE CATEGORIES ABOVE IF NEEDED TO ROUND OUT THE EXHIBIT.

QUILT SELECTION CRITERIA
1. Only current members of Greenville Modern Quilt Guild are eligible to participate.
2. One quilt per member will be displayed, but in the event a category is not filled we may use
        more than one quilt from a member. Members are encouraged to submit multiple quilts that meet
        exhibit categories.
3. Original designs only - no commercial patterns (unless the quiltmaker is the designer or the quilt was constructed during a GMQG-sponsored class such as Fuchs or Wilkin workshops)
4. Maximum quilt dimensions 60” x 60”.
5. Quilts must reflect the key elements of Modern Quilt Design, specifically:

• Bright/Graphic Colors
• Negative Space
• Minimalism
• No Border
• Improvisational Piecing
• Asymmetry
• Alternate Gridwork
• Scale

IF YOUR QUILT IS SELECTED
1. You will be notified by email on or before May 1, 2020.
2. Quilt must have a 4” hanging sleeve on back.
3. Quilt must be labeled with your name, phone number/email and quilt title.

Retreat/Mini Retreat: Mystery Project 2.0 - Preparation and Supplies

While our Quilting Retreat and Mystery Retreat have been cancelled, we think it would be fun to still do our Mystery Project together.

We will be publishing the directions for our project here on the blog NEXT Friday, April 3.

But before you get the directions, here is a list of supplies that you will need to have on hand.

General Supplies

Typical sewing supplies - 

• sewing machine (straight stitch machine is ok), 
• thread, 
• cutting tools, 
• mat, 
• seam ripper, 
• pins or wonder clips, etc

Project supplies - 

• (2) - 9" squares quilting cotton. 1 for outside and 1 for inside. Can be the same or different. 
• Both fabrics will be visible. Choose fabric that makes you happy.
• 1 - 9" square woven fusible interfacing. I use Pellon SF-101, known as Shape-Flex.
• 1 - 9" square single-sided fusible fleece. I use Pellon 987F (low-loft) or Pellon Thermolam (extra-lofty).
• 1 - 5" square ultra firm single sided fusible stabilizer. I use Pellon Peltex 71F. 

The above interfacings may seem very specific, but this is what I have found to give the best results. However, if you don't have access to these products, use what you have and let us know how it goes. We are all learning from each other. 

• A press cloth to use with the interfacing. Ex. applique pressing sheet, teflon sheet or a piece of cotton fabric (muslin) that is larger than 9".
• Marking tool - I use a mechanical lead pencil or the marks can be ironed in.
• Hand sewing needle to bury threads.
• Contrasting or Complimentary thread for topstitching if desired.

Construction

This project should take about an hour. The longest part is fusing the interfacings.

My fusing technique using the products above is different than the Pellon directions. I use a dry iron (no steam) set to wool, spray water on the quilting cotton and place a fabric press cloth (muslin) over the unit and press for about 10-15 seconds. It is sometimes necessary to make another pass after the first fusing. Use the technique that works for you.

For this project, using fusible products, it is very important to  always make sure that the fusible product is glue side down on the wrong side of the fabric!

From Pellon website - https://pellonprojects.wordpress.com/2012/08/01/which-side-is-fusible/
1. Generally speaking, the fusible side is usually the rough or shiny side of the interfacing.
2. Most Pellon® fusibles have an adhesive dot on them. While a little difficult to see on the white products, you can normally feel them. Run your fingers over both sides of the interfacing. The side that feels a little rough, or raised, is the fusible side.

This list is also available as a pdf download here. 

The Three Amigos, Faye Jones

Three Amigos, Faye Jones

The Three Amigos is an improv quilt based on modern design interpretation of photos of the El Thrifty Mexican Restaurant in Greenville, SC.

I am a member of Modern Quilt Lab, a group of artists who explore creating modern quilt designs based on specified inspirations, and this quilt was a recent MDL challenge.

I began by making 3 different but related large medallions utilizing the 6 minute circle technique, basic shapes found in the photo and high contrast black, gold and grey fabrics. Different configurations were auditioned on the design wall and black stripes to connect the elements were tried until the design seemed balanced.

The top was assembled filling in with grey fabric. That was the easy part!!!  

I took it out several times and could not come up with a quilting plan. Finally I got the nerve to "just do it" and started outlining the medallions and connectors with walking foot quilting lines. When there seemed to be enough linear work, I switched to a variation of Baptist fan free motion quilting taught to me by Lynne Harrill. There are 3 different sizes of fmq to provide some variety in the quilting design. It was a difficult decision whether to bind or face as each strongly altered the look of the quilt.

Finishing this quilt help alleviate some of the tedium we all are experiencing due to the corona virus crisis.        

Introducing Greenville Modern Quilt Quark Gallery

During these trying times of self-imposed isolation, we would like to offer our fellow quilters and sewists a space to interact by coming together for a virtual show-and-tell.  We encourage you to reach out and share what you’ve been working on, and take a moment during this downtime to enjoy seeing what your colleagues are doing. 

But what is a quark?  A quark is a fundamental unit of matter, but due to a phenomenon known as color confinement, they are never directly observed or found in isolation; they can be found only when combined with other quarks.

It's one thing to be confined, but color-confined?  Never!  Isolated?  Forget about it!  Join us by posting your latest work here where it can be found and seen by others, because fundamentally, you and your quilts matter!

To share to our QuiltyQuarky Gallery, simply email your photo (size doesn't matter) and a write up about your quilt to greenvillemqg@gmail.com. 

Our first Gallery submission (from Faye Jones) will follow in another post. You may use that as a loose example of what to write. 

Local Call for FaceMask Makers

Dear Quilters,

A representative from Hospice of the Upstate (https://hospiceoftheupstate.com/) has contacted us
with an urgent request for our help. Their 70 employees caring for around 125 end-of-life patients,
both at home and at the organization’s Rainey Hospice facility, are in critical need of reusable
masks since supplies of standard paper masks are running low, and have asked if our members
would be willing to sew and donate masks to them.

Please note that these masks are to be used by staff providing general patient care; they are
not intended to replace the N95 masks and other Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) being
used by health care professionals treating patients with coronavirus disease.

Can you help?

from Erica Arndt

If you are interested in pitching in, please,

• Refer to this article (https://smartairfilters.com/en/blog/best-materials-make-diy-face-mask-virus/) which details the best fabrics to use for filtering moisture and other particles (tightly woven fabrics like high-quality 100% cotton tee shirts and pillowcases/sheets). 

• Follow a tutorial to construct the masks. Here is one from Jenny Doan of Missouri Star (https://www.instagram.com/tv/B9-JZF9nK3T/?igshid=1we6gpai7c1bl) and another from Erica Arndt (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4FB--BOyTiU), both using elastic. If you cannot find elastic, you can make a face mask with ties using this tutorial (https://jennifermaker.com/face-mask-patterns-cricut/).

• Wash the finished masks in hot water and iron. (Note that masks will be sanitized by Hospice of the Upstate before using in patient care.)

Once you have completed your masks, you can donate by:

• Dropping off at the Hospice of the Upstate office (1835 Rogers Road, Anderson, SC 29621)

• Contacting Hospice of the Upstate to request pick-up (Phone: 864-224-3358 or 800-261-8636 email: office@hospicehouse.net), or

• Dropping off at Greenville Modern Quilt Guild member Susan Rink’s house (email greenvillemqg@gmail.com with "subject: Facemask" for contact information); Susan will turn them in to her neighbor who works for Hospice of the Upstate.

Thank you for any assistance you can offer Hospice of the Upstate, their staff and their patients
during this critical shortage. 

Greenville Modern Quilt Guild

Quilting, Sewing, Crafting and Good Humor will not be cancelled!

But until further notice, any events planned by the Greenville Modern Quilt Guild will be postponed at least through April. 

This includes our March Sew-in Day, our mini-retreat/April meeting, and our Spring Retreat at Wildacres. We will consider our May meetings and plans in a few weeks and keep you posted as best as we can via our blog, Instagram, and Facebook accounts. 

If you have any questions, please direct them to greenvillemqg@gmail.com and we will do our best to respond in a timely manner.