Meeting Recap (April 9th, 2011)

What a wonderful group of quilters we are!  I hope everyone enjoyed April's meeting and is already looking forward to May!

Thanks to everyone for putting up with my not-so-formal style, flushed face, and jabber in Kristy's absence.  =)

Gotta shout out a huge thanks to our Who's Who volunteers (Laura, JuliAnn, Tracy, Jamie, Cindy, Linda, Rene, and Cara)!

Here's a quick re-cap of our meeting:

• Make sure to stop and take a look at Nancy's Member Spotlight.  You can scroll down to the next post or click here.  If you'd like to be a part of our ongoing Member Spotlight just let us know!

• We had over 35 members attend May's meeting, including four new members!  Welcome!!  We are now up to 58 due paying members!

• Remember to mark your calendar for our guild's 1st Sew-In Saturday (May 7th, 9am-6pm at Brown Shoe Company in Clayton, MO).  This is an opportunity for due-paying members to get together, work on an unfinished project, start something new, and be inspired by what your fellow guild members are making. 
• Sign-ups will begin online, Saturday April 16th and will be open through Saturday April 30th.  Reminders will be sent out to everyone so you don't forget about this fun opportunity!

• The Modern Quilt Guild has announced their 3rd Challenge!  Click here to check it out!!

• Our awesome guild members made 28 star blocks for Moda's Just One Star  effort!  Way to go ladies; I am so thrilled with the turnout for this great cause!  I'll be mailing our blocks off on Monday.  If you didn't have a chance to make a block, there is still time; details can be found at the Just One Star link above! 

• I know I learned a lot during our Who's Who of Modern Fabric Designer's presentation.  Our volunteers did a great job and we had lots of fabric eye candy to drool over!  If you'd like to look at our presentation again or easily access all the link's, please click here to download!
• A special thanks to Patty Young for generously sending along Hummingbird Quilt patterns for everyone and thanks to Cindy for contacting her!
• Here are the questions and answers I asked Denyse Schmidt (that she kindly answered) but didn't include in the presentation document:
• Why a resurgence in quilting and sewing these days?
• I think these things are very cyclical, and after the overall slickness and high design of the 90's and early 2000's, it doesn't surprise me that we are in the midst of an interest in handcraft. I think it has to do generally with a reaction to the nature of our culture. Everything seems to change and evolve so quickly these days, and much of what we experience today happens remotely. Making something with your hands is  a direct, slow experience that is counter to our drive-through, virtual, fast-paced environment. To be involved in the origins of objects we use every day, and bring a personal connection and authenticity to the things that surround us, is an antidote to the shortcomings of the world we live in today. 
• Some of my favorite fabric designers?
• I love Anna Maria Horner's designs and color sense. She has lead the way for the rest of us designers in utilizing new substrates – it can take an enormous amount of energy to push the manufacturers to explore new products, and she's been tireless and consistently positive.  Heather Ross is a great friend and I love her fabrics. They tell an entire story and I love her sense of humor. Fabrics from Kokka are consistently fabulous, and I love using many of the reproduction fabrics (such as Barbara Brackman's civil war prints).
• What is inspiring me to create right now?
• Besides deadlines? I went to see the Red & White quilt show that was on view at at the Park Avenue Amory in NYC recently. The exhibition, organized by the Folk Art Museum, featured 651 red and white quilts collected by Joanna Rose. Her husband organized the show for her as an 80th birthday celebration. I've always loved the graphic simplicity of two-color quilts, so this show was like candy.
• Anything we need to be looking forward to from you?
• I've just about completed work on a new book, due out next spring with STC Craft. It features twenty traditional quilt patterns. This might be surprising to my MQG fans, but my designs have always been rooted in traditional patchwork. In fact, part of what inspired me to start my business in 1996 was that the antique quilts I felt drawn to – quilts the seemed very modern to me though they were over a hundred years old – were not being made by contemporary quilters. Books and patterns featured traditional designs, but they didn't have the simplicity or austerity of the originals. I wanted to show that quilts – especially traditional designs – could feel very modern.
• I'm also looking forward to getting back on track with our own DSQ patterns this year, releasing more patterns for McCall's, and continuing to design more fabric! 

• I think everyone loved the mug rugs we exchanged and I encourage everyone to take a picture of your new goodie and add it to our Flickr group! 

• Show and Tell was awesome, as usual!  Here are some links to patterns or quilt-a-longs that were mentioned or shown today!
• June Bug by Thimble Blossoms 
• Amy Butler Gum Drop Pillows
• Amy Butler Stash and Dash Bags
• Colorbrick Quilt
• One source for printable hexagons (there are many more)
• Jelly Roll 1600 Quilt

• The Noodle Fabric Swap Game is coming to our May Meeting!  Remember to bring FIVE 5 inch by the width of fabric strips (selvage to selvage) with you in May to participate in a fun swap!  You can bring five of the same strips or five different ones; it's up to you!  We'd love to see some fresh modern fabrics so bring the types of fabrics you'd love to receive!

• Our next meeting is Saturday May 14th at Bindings, Borders, and Squares Quilt Shop!  Hope to see you there!