Greenville MQG
April Showers
That is "April Showers" of events and happenings overflowed at our meeting this past Saturday, April 15th and it's only the middle of the month!!!!
Let's start with the Wildacres Retreat Conference Center on April 7-9th. It was a huge success and enjoyed by all who attended. Sandy Helsel wrote and read us her poem that perfectly summarized the event. She had us all laughing with her funnies......
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| Left and Right: Sandy Helsel reading the poem so composed...then adding the humor that made us laugh (I blurred the photo laughing......sorry Sandy ;-0 ) |
For those of you who could not come this past Saturday, you have opportunity to read it below:
Wildacres Retreat
An exciting adventure for new friends to bind,
Breathtaking surroundings and trails to unwind.
Knowledge of character as well as techniques,
Warm tasty meals and cozy beds to seek.
Our workroom was roomy and well electrified;
Inspiration exploded as we sewed side by side.
The potters’ below us delighted by our designs,
And came for a visit at regular times!
Time lapsed so quickly as projects unveil;
Exciting discoveries completed our tale.
Our plans for next year are to retreat to Wildacres,
We hope more of you will join as partakers.
At the retreat, Faye Jones and Sandy coordinated a special sewing project called a Schlep Bag. You may ask what is a Schlep bag? Here are some of the finished ones to see from the retreat:
The scenery surrounding Wildacres was beautiful as captured in these photos taken by Elise Dunbar and Didi Salvatierra:
Bravo to Faye Jones and Sandy Helsel for planning out all the details of this event so that it could be enjoyed. And, did you read in the poem.....The dynamic duo are already hinting about a retreat next year!!!!
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| Schlep Bags made with fabric squares |
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| Bottom left: A quilt started at the retreat.....Can you guess where their inspiration came from? |
April Program Recap
The topic of our April Program brought to light not the black and white of how to copyright an original quilt design, but rather, focused on the many gray areas of copyright infringement. Cindy Lammon and Faye Jones provided us with some excellent research on the topic and then challenged us to a quiz.
Cindy separated us into three small groups to better discuss the quiz questions and determine what we thought was the right answer. As the quiz revealed, a lot of these situations are not black and white, but gray because more than one answer to many of the questions seemed right.
In addition to the quiz, for further insight on the subject, Cindy has provided below, the copyright sources used for Quilter's programs:
http://www.quilt.com/FAQS/CopyrightFAQ.html#An4
http://whileshenaps.com/2014/03/can-you-copyright-a-sewing-pattern.html
http://lostquilt.com/protecting-quilts/copyright-infringement/
http://fairuse.stanford.edu/overview/public-domain/welcome/
http://www.quiltweek.com/contest/
http://www.ohfransson.com/terms-and-conditions
Block Recycle Challenge
This month was the unveiling of the quilt projects made with our tucked away, hidden, unfinished quilt squares that someone else selected to take and reimagine anew. As you know, Faye's theory and challenge to us was a hidden away quilt square could be the inspiration to another. Our goal was to prove her right.
Our guest judge was Ms. Melinda Hoffman who is a contemporary artist in the Greenville, SC area. Melinda's three joys are printmaking,working with paper and oil painting. The Melinda Hoffman website showcases her work. Thank you Melinda for coming and participating in this fun challenge for our group.
As you will see, we had nine (9) entries. It never ceases to amaze me the boundless creativity of our group. Here are the results:
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| Dana Blasi-expanded upon her square and then capped it with a rectangle of flying animated Charley Harper-like birds |
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| Michele Blake- took her square and continued it outward building upon the light and dark |
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| Madeline Faner- She took February's BOM "Ellen's Snowball"and created an galactica effect |
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| Paige Alexander- took a Pineapple Log Cabin block and creatively enlarged it |
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| Darlene Sanford-(left) created symmetry with her squares and then added a light background color to make them pop (right) she created movement with fabric color by dividing one of her squares- it also provided her color continuity |
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| Pat Davies- took a hexagon patchwork and created a flower |
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| Valorie Kasten- took her square and made a stripe, then utilized different quilting patterns to create emphasis |
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| Faye Jones- took her square and made a nine patch quilt with a touch of whimsy |
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| Sandy Helsel- took her log cabin square and made a handbag |
Well, do you think we proved Faye Jones right!!! I think so. These nine ladies are the proof. Our challenge winners received a personal handmade bag by Faye Jones. Congratulations!
Additional items to note:
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| Left to right: Faye Jones-Challenger, Madeline Faner -4th place, Paige Alexander- 1st place, Valorie Kasten-2nd place, Michele Blake-3rd place, Melinda Hoffman-guest judge, Dana Blasi-5th place |
Additional items to note:
- Madeline Faner, represented GMQG in delivering this year's Charity Quilt to our local Greenville Habit for Humanities. She provided us with the best feedback we could ever wish for -- They loved it!!! ;-)
- We had a good turnout to our meeting Saturday, April 15th (for a holiday weekend). Paige Alexander reported a total of 30 in attendance. We had 28 members and 2 guests amongst us. Thank you all for coming and participating.
- Three opportunities for GMQG members to hone your quilting skills with Johnnie McKenzie:
- Ready, Set, Quilt
- Quilt Making/Sewing Basics (upcoming: Walking Foot Quilting Session)
- Mentoring Programs
- Susan Rink is coordinating a carpool for the upcoming Western NC Quilters Show coming up the first weekend in May in Flat Rock, NC at the Bonclarken Conference Center. If you are interested or would like more information contact Susan at srink1000@yahoo.com
- Congratulations to the Door prizes recipients. We had four (4) lucky winners to win beautiful two multi-colored finishing thread sets and two quilting magazines. And, many thanks to the ladies who donated the prizes.
- August Quilt Challenge announced!!!!! Here are the criteria for this year's prize-winning challenge:
- Quilt size - not to exceed 36" on one side
- Pattern name: Birds in the Air: http://mamalovequilts.com/2013/01/tutorial-birds-in-air-quilt-block.html . Note: the interpretation of this pattern is "open" to your imagination
- Use at least three (3) of the 8 elements in modern quilt design listed below:
- bright/graphic color palette
- negative space
- minimalism
- no borders
- improvisational piecing
- alternate grid work
- asymmetry
- exaggerated scale
- Did you know - MQG has quilting episodes called "Fresh Quilting" available on online. Check it out!
- May 12 & 13th -
Michelle Wilkie Workshop - Modern Quilt Design-Every Day Inspiration. Look for the workshop details on our website. For the Friday night opener, all are invited to the social and lecture by Michelle on "The Skill of Quilt Design". It will begin at 6:30pm. The charge is $5. And, if you were one of the lucky ones to reserve a spot for the Saturday workshop entitled Modern Quilt Design-Every Day Inspiration, your supplies list are available with Dana Blasi at danabird57@bellsouth.net
Michelle Wilkie - Modern Quilt Design
Upcoming Outside Quilting Events:
- Riley Blake Challenge with Creative Rockstar Fabric 2017
- The deadline for submissions is April 30th
- May 5 & 6-Western NC Quilters Guild-2017 Quilt Show. The location of the show is in Flat Rock, NC at the Bonclarken Conference Center
Modern Skill Builder - Block of the Month
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| Submitted quilt squares for X Marks the Improv Block |
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| X Marks the Improv Block |
Look at what we received on Saturday.....what visual energy. Good job.
Cheryl Brickey has challenged us for April with:
Block name: Half Square Triangle {Scrappy Strings Style} by Designer: Karen from Blooming Poppies
Block size: 8" x 8" unfinished, (7 1/2" x 7 1/2" finished)
Skills this block builds: Strings, use of prints in modern blocks
Fabrics/Colors: White background and brightly colored print strips, all colors.
Variation on the Tutorial: In Step 6 of the tutorial, instead of aligning the drawn line on the white background fabric so that it is parallel to the seam lines of the strip block, align it perpendicular to the seam lines.
As Karen suggests, Cheryl recommends starting with muslin of about 8 3/4" to 9" square.
Each set of one strip unit and one background unit will yield 2 blocks.
Philanthropy
Last month, Faye Jones along with Cindy Lammon and Dana Blasi had opportunity to deliver GMQG charity quilts to the Julie Valentine Center. They were also given a tour of the facilities where the staff shared how much comfort the quilts bring to children when they are being examined. Follow this link to learn more about the Julie Valentine Center. We are making a difference.
Faye also shared she has ordered and received GMQG labels that can be sewed on your donated quilt. They will be available to members at our monthly meetings. This is a great personal added touch.
In addition, if you would like to be a part of the quilt deliveries to the Julie Valentine Center, please contact Faye birdie1345@aol.com.
Show & Share
Visual delight is how I would describe this month's Show & Share. Sometimes a photo does not do the quilt's justice. The fabric colors, design and the quilting were really exciting on each of the these pieces. Thank you.
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| Michele Blake |
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| Carol Kreson |
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| Sarah Bookspan |
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| Ruth Freyer |
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| Faye Jones |
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| Marcia Given |
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| Valerie Kaston |
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| Cindy Lammon |
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| Sarah Snider |
See what I mean.....we had an "April Shower" of events and happenings so far this month and there is still more going on and into May. Lots to inspire....Enjoy!
Next Month
Our May meeting is the Michelle Wilkie two-part workshop on May 12th - 13th. Mark your calendars now....to come and join us Friday evening, May 12th at 6:30pm and then those who signed up for the workshop Saturday, May 13th from 10:00a.m. - 4:00pm at:
2310 East North Street, Suite A
Greenville, SC 29607
864-235-5031
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