Thursday, August 27, 2020

Quilt Quark Gallery - Sandy Helsel


I made quilted table linens as a shower gift for my Granddaughter, Katie, who will be married in November.  I had to create my own pattern from an ad photo in a quilt magazine.  After making the runner from the photo, I then designed the eight placemats and then added eight napkins to finish the set.  It was a great hit at the shower in St. Charles, MO!

Sandy Helsel  

Thursday, August 20, 2020

Quilt Quark Gallery by Cynthia Steward


2019 BOM Baby Quilt by Cynthia Steward

This is my latest completed UFO - a 44” x 44” quilt made from 2019 blocks of the month.  Just quilted quick and easy with no marking, free-hand lines and then ovals with a ruler.  Perfect for baby.

Cynthia

Wednesday, August 19, 2020

Sew-in This Friday (August 21)

A Sew-in is scheduled at Bernina this Friday, Aug. 21st from 10:15 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at:

Bernina - We’re in Stitches

2310 East North St. Suite A

Greenville, SC


Any questions call or text:

Sandy Helsel

864-640-7437

Wednesday, August 12, 2020

Linen Improv Scarf by Elise Dunbar

Hello,

I lost my sew-jo early on in the pandemic and struggled to find the mental energy to be creative.  There were many other important issues that needed my time and energy.  Lately, however, I’ve been able to devote some time to sewing and this linen scrap improv scarf was what brought it all back!  Such a fun and fast make for a dear friend’s birthday (Hi, Sara!).  I used scraps from other quilts and garments I’ve sewn in the last year or so and had fun with the random in-the-ditch quilting.  Too bad it’s still way too hot for Sara to wear this now.  Look for it at a meeting this fall!

Quiltingly yours,

Elise Dunbar

Monday, August 10, 2020

Quilt Quark Gallery by Cindy Lange

I’ve read a lot of people are crafting through the pandemic.  Lots of ‘finished my Covid quilt’-type comments.  And I thought, why not make a virus-spread quilt?

Here are my angry, reddish blocks intruding on soft blue, socially-distant blocks. 


"Covid Quilt" by Cindy Lange

If the back doesn’t look like coronas on the move, I don’t know what does.

I may be cracking.


~Cindy Lange

Friday, August 7, 2020

August 1, 2020 - Meeting Highlights

Thanks to the Modern Quilt Guild for allowing us to use their Zoom account for this month’s meeting.  If you would like a recording of today's meeting, please contact greenvillemqg@gmail.com within 14 days and we will email it to you.


PROGRAM:  GMQG 2020 ANNUAL CHALLENGE, “RE-PURPOSED”:


Faye reported we had nine participants in the Challenge.  The quilts were impressive and demonstrated an abundance of work and thought.  Many thanks to judges Carol Alperin and Delia Dorn, who felt the same and spent an hour judging and completing their judging sheets.  


First Place went to Paige Alexander for her “51 x 60” Metropolis quilt inspired by a photo she took of a building with staggered lines in Los Angeles.  It is made of several assorted colors of men’s chambray shirts that she started collecting from various thrift stores before the pandemic began as soon as the challenge was announced.  Two of the blue background shirts were Polo by Ralph Lauren, a miniature, embroidered nod to which may be found at the bottom right of her quilt.  It took a long time to piece because the slender, dark strips creating shadows required partial and Y seams; otherwise it was made of 2 ½” strips. 


Second Place went to Cynthia Steward for her 24”x 39” Up Till Now quilt.  The triangles and binding were made from an old dress in black and white rayon, which required interfacing for stability, bed linens and a red silk swatch.  She incorporated straight-line and sashiko stitching, and stitched several French knots over the black triangles in a one-inch grid.  


Third Place went to Faye Jones for her 42” x 56” Yankee Thrift.  As a big fan of Gees Bend improv and the improv approach of using what you have, Faye’s piece was made from family garments including her brother-in-law’s painting shirt, complete with paint, and patches of her late brother’s blue jeans, which made it a memory quilt.  The background fabric came from our “Free-to-a-Good-Home” table.  


Cheryl Brickey’s 21” x 21” Two T-Shirts quilt was made solely of two t-shirts from her and her husband’s almae matres, Purdue and Carnegie Mellon.  After making the attempt to hand quilt her piece (which Cheryl now does not recommend doing on knit fabric), it was machine quilted.


Ruth Freyer made a 100% repurposed, 12” x 12” abstract block from an old, rayon housedress for the background, which had been ruined while cleaning with bleach; couched leftover yarn from crocheting shawls; pieces of marbled fabric (from the paint leftover from the marbling fabric process); and a binding made from another piece of marbled fabric.


Valorie Kasten made her 36” x 30” Navarre in January from 2 bed sheets and a pair of jeans.  The blue sheet was for the backing and binding, while the gray comprised most of the negative space.  She overdyed/hand-dyed the middle section, used slashed improv piecing, and quilted it with ruler work and pebbling.


Sybil Radius’ 48” x 48” quilt was made of antique, wool samples gifted by her cousin whose grandfather was a tailor in Chicago in the early 1900s, aptly named Tailor Made.  She used the Braided Quick Step pattern by Carol C. Britt to piece the many samples of wool, arranged the braids diagonally, and incorporated purchased red wool.


Dagmar Theodore tendered a 50” x 50” quilt named Pique-nique.  Her top fabric was comprised of three shirts, three pairs of jeans, one hand-dyed purple pillowcase, and a fussy cut tea towel featuring cats.  An old sofa cover was used for the backing and an old flannel sheet for the batting.  She used improv, curved piecing to make blocks the width of which were governed by the width of each jean leg, incorporating the pockets for picnic tableware.


Didi Salvatierra’s 54” x 54” Indigo Salvage was created using a cloth napkin for the center medallion, cut-up placemats for cornerstones and strips, a gifted skirt, men’s shirt fabric, and vintage 9-patch blocks.  She used a minimal amount of purchased fabric to supplement the 9-patches around the borders and then hand quilted it.  


Faye suggested that for those who may have been reticent to create a quilt for the challenge, there is no reason for not getting together to form a Repurpose Bee and create one together.  In observance of distancing, each part could be made individually and then ultimately delivered to one or two people to put together.  


A big thank you goes out to Paige Alexander for photographing the quilts (and helpers, Valorie Kasten and Cheryl Brickey) and to Cindy Lange for creating the presentation.  We also want to thank Faye for producing the challenge idea of Repurposing.


GMQG 2020 BLOCK OF THE MONTH:  LINE AND COLOR BY YOSHIKO JIZENJI 


The Modern Influencer for the August BOM presented by Cynthia Steward is Yoshiko Jizenji, the foremost contemporary quilt artist in Japan and a natural dyer focused on distinctive bamboo coloring from Bali.  She is a master of minimalism (one of the most recognizable elements of modern quilts), pioneering it long before we were calling it that.  Her quilt, Hieroglyphics II, is one such stunning example.  Her quilts often contain a great deal of mini piecing and negative space.  In 1970 while living in Canada, her discovery of Amish and Mennonite quilts inspired her to start quilting.  When she returned to Japan, she began incorporating Japanese patchwork techniques.  She later lived in Bali where she learned and began incorporating local weaving and dying traditions.  In 2002 she published a book, Quilting Artistry:  Inspired Designs from the East, which to a great extent garnered the attention of modern quilters in the U.S.  The book highlighted her ability to evoke serenity and spiritualism with her minimalistic designs and muted color palette using whites and creams.  Her quilts have travelled all over the world and many may be found in permanent museum installations. 


In 2011 she published her book, Quilting Line & Color, which celebrates white with a splash of color.  Her minimalist design, alternative grid work, and muted palette caught the attention of modern quilters at the time. 


The Line and Color BOM is fairly simple; for PDF instructions click herehttp://modernblockofmonth.home.blog/2020/08/01/august-yoshiko-jinzenji-line-color-block/.  

Email Cynthia at belleekster<AT>gmail<DOT>com with any questions.


Read more about Yoshiko’s remarkable quilts and the Block Of the Month on the blog at greenvillemodernquiltguild.com.  Find out more about Yoshiko herself at www.yoshikoquilt.com.


Please post or email photos of your completed BOMs for the Quilt Quark Gallery (“QQG”) to be shared at the following meeting.  We’d love to see your work!


SEW-IN:


Sandy Helsel reported our Sew-In at the Bernina shop scheduled for Fri., August 21 from 10-4 is still a Go.  Buy a ½ yd. of fabric as a thank-you to Leslie White (Bernina) to place in a drawing (winner gets all the fabric).  The drawing takes place between 1:30 – 2:00 p.m. and you do not need to be present to win.


NOTE:  Upon arrival at the Bernina store, should you wish employees to wear masks, you need only ask and they will happily comply.


MEMBERSHIP and DIRECTORY:  


We welcomed 33 members in our Zoom meeting this month.  To date we have a total of 79 members.


The final digital Membership Directory was distributed on July 21.  Please review your information in the Directory and email any discrepancies, changes or additions to Dagmar Theodore at dagmar_theodore<AT>yahoo<DOT>com.  We will publish such revisions to the membership and ask that people make the changes in their respective Directories. 


WILDACRES RETREAT – 2021:


Sandy Helsel reported Wildacres knows we are interested in having our next Retreat there (hopefully) during one of the last two weekends in April 2021.  We typically receive our assigned dates late October/early November.  Registration begins in January 2021.


PHILANTHROPY:


Faye delivered 12 quilts to the Julie Valentine Center.  They do not need any masks at the moment since they are not seeing as many patients due to Covid 19.


Quilts-for-Kids quilts are still needed and are being collected offsite.  Please upload or email photos of your quilts prior to passing them on to Faye to share with the Guild.  Questions concerning the program and drop off/pickup may be directed to Faye Jones at birdie1345<AT>aol<DOT>com.


GMQG 2020 WORKSHOPS:


All 2020 workshops are cancelled.  Cheryl has torn up members’ checks given to her for workshop reservations; Cindy Lange will be sending reimbursements by check to those who paid in cash.


If you would like to join in on Cheryl’s quilt along, go to


QUILT QUARK GALLERY / SHOW AND SHARE:


The Zoom version of Show and Share took place courtesy of QQG submissions.  We saw a work-in-progress, play exercise/art quilt by Johnnie McKenzie; a Covid quilt by Cindy Lange punctuated by hot reds and oranges to represent Covid trying to invade the healthy, cool blue space; Dagmar Theodore’s No One Fights Alone based on a photo of a Lego version of boxing gloves, made for auction at a leukemia and lymphoma charity event; and a scarf by Elise Dunbar made for a birthday gift.  Please go to the QQG page on the blog to see more. 


Please post photos of your quilts (including Quilts for Kids), BOMs and other projects to the QQG page of our blog at greenvillemodernquiltquild.com, or email them to greenvillemqg@gmail.com .  We will share them during the following month’s meeting.


SEPTEMBER MEETING:


We will conduct the September 5th meeting via Zoom.  It will be open from 12:30 p.m.– 3:30 p.m. to give members a half-hour prior to, and a half-hour after the standard (1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.) meeting time for socializing.  To attend, sign on using the link and passcode provided by email during the week before.


OTHER NEWS:

 

QuiltCon Together: 2021 registration opens to non-members on Monday, August 3.

The GMQG has a Facebook page for sharing photos, links, and information open solely to GMQG members.  No official business will be conducted, since not every member subscribes to FB.  

If members come across a link they would like to share, they may forward it to Dagmar by email at dagmar_theodore<AT>yahoo<DOT>com to be shared at the next meeting.

Carolina Shop Hop is scheduled for September 11-26, 2020.  Click on the link for more information.

For an interesting look at Yvonne Fuchs’ Curved Piecing method, Beyond the Drunkard’s Path, see her webinar through the Modern Quilt Guild’s website (originally posted via the MQG newsletter on July 8).  Dagmar reported it was well worth it.