Meeting Recap (March 12, 2022)

We hope you were able to join us on Zoom or in person last Saturday. We had lots of laughs with the "ugly" quilt show and our committees got us excited for some of the activities planned for you this year. Take a moment to find out what we're up to!

Guild Business:

• Gail (Treasurer) went over the guild's finances. If you are interested to know more, please contact her or see her report on the group Facebook page.
• Octavia (Secretary) covered our current membership which is currently 159 members. If you're not a member yet, learn how to join HERE.
• Em (Vice President) went over a few local workshops taking place soon and encouraged members to share when they hear of something coming up. Em also recommend the many classes Perennial STL offers. Some might even be taught by a guild member. Details below:
• Intro to Embroidery - Saturday, March 19, 10 AM-1 PM at Perennial STL; LEARN MORE
• Blooming Star - Friday, March 18, 10:30 AM-2:30 PM at Jackman's Fabrics; LEARN MORE
• Quilt-Alongs: 
• "Beads" by Modern Handcraft. Begins March 16.
• "After the Rain" by Quilter's Candy. Begins April 4.

Items Covered:

• Hand (Home) Sew Happy Hour is March 15 from 6-9 PM. Bring some handwork, finish that binding, or just get to know a fellow guild member better. Come and go as you please throughout the night. The next one is April 19 so mark your calendars!

• Papper, Sax, Sten: Jenny Haynes is our guest speaker in May. There will be NO IN-PERSON meeting that weekend. All of these events will take place via Zoom. Please note the change in time. She will chat with the guild on May 14 from 9:30-10:15 AM CDT. Paid workshops will take place May 14 and 15 from 10:30 AM - 3:00 PM CDT. Sign ups for workshops will begin March 31 at 8PM for members. All members will receive a registration link by email. Details can be found HERE.

• Quilt Show 2022: The guild will put on it's first quilt show since 2019! The quilt show committee has procured several vendors for the show and has just one quilt registered at this time. Jessica Schunke went over many of the details to register so enter those quilts! 

"This Is Modern" will take place July 16-17 at the Kirkwood Community Center. Registration began March 1 and is open through April 16. We'd love to see your modern quilt in this show! All the details are HERE. 

• Block of the Month: Stretch your skills and make a sampler quilt with us! There's prizes to be won for joining in and sharing what you make. Kerry Caverly is our February winner! For all the info look HERE. It's not too late to jump in.

• March BOM: Moving right along into March, we are tackling 8 half rectangle triangles and quarter square triangles! Em assured us they are quick to make, so don't sweat the increase in blocks. Post to Instagram using #stlmqgbom or email a photo before our next meeting to be entered for a prize. Tutorial can be found HERE.  

• Committee Updates: 
• It's never too late to lend a hand. Please email the guild if you would like to help. If you have already signed up you should have received an email. Let us know if you didn't.
• The Sew-Me committee introduced it's large group of volunteers and went over what this event's all about for new members. 
• The Quilt Show committee went over the email they sent out March 1 and have asked members to start sharing this image on social media (HINT: Right click the image and select 'Save image as...' if using a desktop or tablet):
  
  
  
• The Swap committee initiated the "ugly" fabric swap and shared samples of the finished block to turn in. See the details HERE.
• The Swap and Challenge and the Programming committee have joined forces for April's meeting activity. They're throwing a mixer where you and another member will trade a fat quarter of fabric that inspires you. Details will be posted HERE.
• The Charity committee shared plans for the first charity the guild will assist this year. More details below.

• The Women's Safe House Project: Our charity committee gave a moving presentation on our newest collaboration. We will be working with the Women's Safe House Project Aftercare Graduates to provide them with a quilt that may be one of their only personal possessions since entering the Safe House. We will collect at the April meeting donations of a minimum 3/4 yards continuous cut of quilting cotton or cotton blend fabric to prepare kits that will be distributed to our members at a later meeting. You are welcome to contribute more according to these parameters. More details will be posted HERE.

Loving the Unlovable - An "Ugly Quilt" Quilt Show: It was so much fun to see our participants' interpretation of what an "ugly" quilt might look like. Hearing the members booing in jest at the quilts they didn't find ugly enough was a laugh riot. Thank you to everyone who shared a quilt, judged the entries, and kept the atmosphere light. These members took home ribbons for their entries:

Susan Muszynski - Worst Example of an "Ugly" Quilt

Tess McMahon - Best Example of an "Ugly" Quilt

Cathy Jones - People's Choice Award

• Fabric Raffle: Thanks to another very generous donation from our sponsor Cotton Cuts. Christine Taour and Gail MacCartney won a colorful fat quarter bundle of Alison Glass fabric and goodies!

• Show and Share: We wrapped up the meeting with another great Show and Tell. Pics have been posted to our Instagram and Facebook pages. Join us there to see pictures of quilts that were shared, and to stay up to date on what's to come this year!

Women's Safe House Project Charity Quilts

 2022 St. Louis Modern Quilt Guild Charity Project

The Women’s Safe House

The Women’s Safe House mission is to empower women and families to rebuild their lives free of domestic and sexual abuse through emergency services, education and advocacy. Mary Ann Owens, Director, will speak with our guild at the April meeting. If you would like information on the organization, please consider their website:  www.twsh.org

The STLMQG will be creating quilts for women and children who complete the residential

Program and advance into the Aftercare Program. These quilts will be given as a gift of their

individual accomplishments.   

 

The finished quilt sizes are as follows:

Adults: 48” x 48” and 48” x 60”

The adult size will include young men (10-18 years of age), gender neutral or masculine fabric

choices will be encouraged.

Children (including infants & toddler): 36” x 36” and 40” x 40” 

 

Call to Action:

• Members are encouraged to make any size quilt from the above size guidelines.
• Members can donate quilt shop quality cotton/cotton blends from your stash with a minimum of ¾ continuous yards.
• If possible, please measure your fabric and put a piece of blue/green painters tape with the yardage.
• Kits, including patterns, will be made from donated fabrics to make the Children’s sized quilts.
• Kits will be distributed at the June 11^th meeting
• Completed quilts will be collected throughout the entire year.

 

**Use the hashtags #stlmqg and #stlmqgcares on Instagram and Facebook to share your fabric donations and finished quilts.**

Don’t delay, starting sewing today!!!  

2022 Block of the Month Sampler - March

  

Welcome to Month Three of the St. Louis Modern Quilt Guild 2022 Block of the Month Sampler!

Remember to post your block to Instagram with the hashtag #stlmqgbom before the April meeting to be entered to win this month's prize. If you don't use Instagram, you may email a photo to the guild email. 

This month, you will finish EIGHT blocks! We will make four 9-inch half rectangle triangle blocks (8 total HRTs) and four 6-inch quarter square triangle blocks (QSTs). 

Coincidentally, if you are a member of the Modern Quilt Guild (and if you are a member of STLMQG, you are, by extension, also a member of the national organization), there is a full downloadable article about HRTs in your latest issue of MQG Journal, so go check that out if you want to learn more. 

If you still haven't had enough, here is a great resource for HRTs from Swim, Bike, Quilt. 

Now that you have all the info, let's go ahead and get started with our HRT blocks! We'll continue with the QSTs below. 

HALF RECTANGLE TRIANGLE BLOCKS

Make 8 HRTs that will finish at 4.5 x 9 inches (5 x 9.5 inches unfinished) for a total of (4) 9-inch blocks (9.5 inches, unfinished). 

CUTTING DIRECTIONS

Since we want our HRTs to finish at 4.5 x 9 inches, we are just going to cut 8 rectangles that are 1.5 inches wider and 2 inches longer than our finished size: 6" x 11". 

I used 4 background color blocks and 4 foreground color blocks, but you could mix it up and skip the background here, or use a print as your background instead. 

Now, cut half of your rectangles on the diagonal from top left to bottom right. Cut the other half of your rectangles on the diagonal from top right to bottom left. 

Side note: You can cut them all in the same direction diagonally, but if you want a diamond or elongated pinwheel in your finished blocks, you must pay attention to the direction of your diagonal cuts. 

SEWING DIRECTIONS

Match up two halves of a HRT, and line up right sides together along the diagonal cut. There will be a bit of the point that will hang over the edge at the ¼ inch mark. 

Sew along the diagonal to connect each pair. 

Correct trimming is important in achieving an accurate HRT block!!

We are trimming our HRTs to 5x9.5 inches. I used a dry erase marker to make a dot ¼" in from each corner. When trimming, this is the mark you will use to line up with the diagonal line of you HRT. Your ruler most likely will not line up squarely with the HRT when trimming. It will be slightly askew, but you are using your diagonal as a guideline for trimming. 

Now, pair up your individual HRTs and sew them into 9-inch blocks. In the final quilt, you might choose a triangle, diamond, or elongated pinwheel arrangement. 

   

QUARTER SQUARE TRIANGLE BLOCKS

We will make four 6-inch (6.5 inch, unfinished) QSTs.

CUTTING DIRECTIONS

Cut 4 squares at 7¼". 

SEWING DIRECTIONS

Start by making half square triangles. If you're new to HSTs and you just jumped in to this Block of the Month, you can head back to the January block for more detailed directions. Line up two squares, right sides together. Draw a diagonal line on the back. Sew a scant ¼" to each side of the drawn line. Cut apart on the line. Iron open. 

Now, repeat the process, using two different half square triangles that you just completed. 

Place two HSTs right sides together. Be sure to line up the seams on the top and bottom blocks. Draw a diagonal line from corner to corner so that it crosses perpendicular to the seam in the HST. 

Again, sew a scant ¼" to each side of the drawn line, cut apart on the drawn line. 

Iron open. Trim to 6.5". 

Meeting #118 (March 12, 2022)

Happy almost springtime quilters! We hope you can join us this weekend, either on Zoom or in person,  for a swapping good time and honoring the quilts of "alternative" beauty.

Date: March 12, 2022
Time: 10 am-12:30 pm
Location: Shrewsbury Center - 5200 Shrewsbury Ave, St. Louis, MO 63119

Agenda:

-Welcome & Guild Business

• Zoom etiquette
• Financial Information
• Membership Information
• Quilting News/Around Town
• Reminders
• BOM updates
• Committee updates
• Ugly fabric swap

---Break--- 

-March Activity - Love the Unlovable: An 'Ugly Quilt' Quilt Show

    

'Ugly Quilt' Quilt Show Info: Sure, sometimes crap is crap, but perception is everything and pulling back the curtain on some of these things can be so enlightening to others. We might learn that even the most ‘talented’ among us have made some truly terrible things. And we might learn that what we think is our worst is really quite beautiful to those around us. And hey, even if crap truly is crap, what good is it if you can’t laugh and cringe about it with those who will understand it the most?

So dig out that project that you swore you would never share with anyone, EVER, and get ready to commiserate in the most positive and jovial way possible with your fellow quilt makers. Ribbons will be awarded to some of the ‘Best.' We can’t wait to see what you bring!

**Quilts and quilt tops are preferred; other projects that fit our guild are welcome.**

- Fabric raffle winner announcement - Thank you Cotton Cuts!

-Block of the Month February winner announcement

-Attendance Prizes

- Show & Tell (time permitting)

-------------------------- Reminders ------------------------------

• The guild will be adhering to CDC mask guidelines for St. Louis County at this meeting. Please join us on Zoom if you are not feeling well.
• Wear your name tag for a chance to win a prize!
• Don't forget to bring an ugly fabric to trade.
• Bring your 'ugly' quilt for the quilt show.
• Remember your goodies for the free table.