Tuesday, August 15, 2017

Highlights from August 2017 Meeting


Flying Birds: Open to Interpretation & Imagination



This years GMQG's annual quilt challenge was inspired by a pattern called "Birds in the Air" from Nicole Neblett's blog Mama Love Quilts.

Our challenge was to interpret the pattern with a modern twist. As you know, there were few required criteria for this challenge, so that we could be guided by our imagination. 


......Drum roll, please.....

Here are the results.....We had eight (8) members who joined in the challenge and as you can tell there are no two alike.


Eight members submitted their interpretation of "Birds in the Air" for the Annual Quilt Challenge

Left to Right  Valerie Fitzgerald and Valorie Kasten
Left to Right:  Sandy Helsel and Carol Alperin
Left to Right:  Cindy Lammon and Faye Jones (3rd Place Winner)
Left to Right:  Cheryl Brickey (1st Place Winner) and Paige Alexander (2nd Place Winner)

The design, the colors and the quilting detail were all wonderful to see up close. The hard part was voting. We all had opportunity to vote on our favorites. We thank each of you for your participation in the fun. And, this year's challenge winners were: Cheryl Brickey, Paige Alexander and Faye Jones. They received gift certificates to our favorite store, Bernina Sewing Center. Congratulations!!!

It was good to see each of you this past Saturday. Paige Alexander reported we had 27 in attendance with 24 members and 3 guests.

GMQG celebrated last month our 2nd year as part of the national Modern Quilt Guild (MQG) organization.

Announcements
  • Anderson Area Quilt Show - A Celebration of Quilts is next weekend August 18th & 19th
  • Aunt Het Quilt Show, October 7-8, 2017 has a new category for modern quilts. The hosts of the show, Nimble Thimble Quilt Guild, has invited GMQG members to consider entering quilts in this category. The registration form and deadline for the show is September 1, 2017.  For those that enter the show, Faye Jones has volunteered to take our quilts to the show as well as bring them back.
  • Asheville Quilt Guild has their 35th Quilt Show coming up September 29th - October 1st.
  • Foothills Piecemakers Quilt Guild is hosting Liz Florom for a workshop on using your scraps on Friday, September 8th from 9am - 3pm. The fee is $45. For registration form, email Cindy Lammon at cindy@hyacinthquiltdesigns.com
  • MQG items to note:
    • Quilt entries and registration are now open for QuiltCon 2018 coming up February 22-25th
    • For the upcoming QuiltCon, there will be a webinar on August 31st regarding Jurying and Judging information
    • MQG- QuiltCon 2018: Check out the two challenges both with deadlines November 30, 2017:
      • Michael Miller - Our Yard Fabric Challenge. 
      • American Patchwork & Quilting Flying Geese. 
    • In addition, individuals can sign up for the QuiltCon Charity Quilt 
    • Other news:
      • Be looking for Paige Alexander's quilt to be featured on MQG Quilt of the Month. It should be posted soon.  Congratulations, Paige.
      • QuiltCon Magazine is currently accepting submissions for both quilt patterns and articles. 
      • "Fresh Quilting", the MQG show is airing on our local PBS channel on Fridays at 6 am and noon
  • Cobblestone Quilt Guild is hosting a workshop for "Introduction to Quilt Judging". It will by taught by certified judges Lorraine Covington & Kate Eelkema of the National Association of Certified Quilt Judging on November 10th and 11th. 

Modern Skill Builder - Block of the Month (BOM)

Whimsical stripes.....fun, fun, fun.... 
Cheryl's August Block of the Month is just that Improv Stripes.  Here is the information:

Block name: Improv Stripes Block

Designer: Debbie of A Quilter's Table

Block size: no defined size, any width and height

Skills this block builds: improvisational piecing

Fabrics/Colors: Any fabrics, any colors

As Cheryl described to us, this pattern is so versatile that creativity is limitless.

Cindy Lammon liked the pattern, so she tested it out this week to bring and show us her version of Improv Stripes. First, she cut and sewed improv stripe squares, then cut them in varying bandwidths, stacked them to make vertical stripes. 

Cindy Lammon- Improv stripe charity quilt
Look at July BOM results!!!!!! 
July's Block name: Modern Beauty Block

Designer: Alyssa of Pile O'Fabric

Thank you to our particpants. 




Philanthropy

We had a total of four (4) quilts submitted this month for GHS and Julie Valentine Center. I think we all secretly would love to be a recipient of one of these quilts, so what a neat blessing and hug they will be to the kids coming out of distraught situations.  

Show & Share

Darlene Sanford - a cheerful, spry quilt for charity
Didi Salvatierra - Zippy-do-dah quilt inspired by things in the garden

Didi Salvatierra - Left: Improv quilt using fabric with Words  Right: Table runner for Henderson County Open Studio Tour

Debbie Graves: Rainbow heart quilt for a friend's child in France
Lynne Harrill:  Two quilt projects "in the works" for the upcoming Asheville Quilt Show using fabrics she dyed
Michele Blake- Transformed GMQG's Block of the Month (April/May) into the stunning Star quilt on the left for charity 

Johnnie McKenzie- beautiful art series of quilt squares utilizing Fibonacci Sequence 
Johnnie McKenzie - Left: Vibrant baby's room wall hanging using Log Cabin pattern  Right: Blue Flower using batik fabric

Paige Alexander: Christmas pillow with family member hands & their initial  Right: MQG September Quilt of the Month
*Note:  Zipper tutorial Paige used for pillow

Christina Strickland - did her version of Cheryl Brickey's pattern called "State of Being" 

Cindy Lammon:  Left: vibrant triangles quilt for Charity   Right: Quilt using her stash of Bonnie & Camille fabrics

Next Month

We look forward to hosting Miriam and Emily Coffey. These ladies are modern quilters bringing their knowledge and creativity to us. We hope you will Save-the-Date and join us on Saturday, September 9th from 1pm - 3pm at:

2310 East North Street, Suite A
Greenville, SC 29607

864-235-5031

Sunday, August 6, 2017

Come see the Birds in the Air -- August 12th


Yes, that's right we hope to have Birds in the Air all around Bernina Sewing Center because.......



This Saturday, August 12th is the day to bring your "Birds in the Air" Challenge Reveal quilting projects. 


GMQG Challenge this year was a pattern called "Birds in the Air" shown on Nicole Neblett's blog called Mama Love Quilts.

You still have a few days to prepare and create your imaginative interpretation with this quilt pattern.

As a reminder, 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
    • 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

This will be a fun time for all whether participating in the challenge or not. We hope you will come to enjoy the creativity of this annual event.

We also invite each of you to bring your quilt and sewing projects because we plan to enjoy seeing your Show & Share, Philanthropy projects and Block of the Month.

August is a hot month, so join us for a cool afternoon this Saturday, August 12th from 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm at:

2310 East North Street, Suite A
Greenville, SC 29607

864-235-5031

See you soon.....