Meeting Recap (September 10, 2022)

If you attended the meeting Saturday then you know our membership has grown to over 200 modern quilters! It's exciting to see so many people interested in quilt making and we're looking forward to getting to know all of you. Check out September's meeting highlights.

Guild Business

• Details of local and online events:

• City Sewing Room: T-shirt Quilt Class, Thurs. Oct. 13-Nov. 3 5:30-8:00pm

• PerennialSTL: T-shirt Totes + More, Thurs. Sept. 22, 6pm - 8pm

  Intro to Embroidery, Sat. Sept. 24, 10am - 1pm

• Jackman’s: Many upcoming quilting and quilting adjacent classes.

• Alison Glass/Giucy Giuce Mini Series SAL begins September 1.

• Quiltober 2022 with Nicholas Ball (@quiltsfromtheattic) begins October 3. Details on his Instagram page.

• Do you know of some quilty fun? Be sure to share it in our Facebook group or Instagram page.

• We went over the current guild balance. More details can be found in the member drive or speak to the treasurer.
• Our current membership numbers are 205 guildies. WOW!! If you're not a member yet, learn how to join HERE. We love hearing from members any ideas or suggestions for the guild. Please pass your thoughts along to the board.
• Announcements and Reminders:
• Cathy Jones has decided to step down as president at the end of December. We're grateful for her service to the guild.
• Octavia Pitts will step down as Secretary to run for the remainder of Cathy's term.
• All positions are therefore open and any member who has been in the guild at least one year is eligible to run for office.
• Board elections will be held at the November meeting. Candidates will be announced in October. Please contact Lilo if you are interested in running.
• Pam Weske and Annamaria Lu have formed an independent group to create a charity quilt for QuiltCon in the warm colorway. Let them know if you're interested in joining the fun.
• The folks at the Midwest Fiber Festival have invited our members to be a part of their event next spring. Look HERE for more details.
• NO GUILD MEETING IN OCTOBER!!

Activity: A Quilter's Guide to Graphic Design

Rebecca from Bryan House Quilts joined us on Saturday and walked us through the nine elements of graphic design and how we can use these concepts in our quilt designs. Using her own vibrant quilts as examples of each idea, members were given tangible visuals for the abstract aspects of graphic design. Bonus, she rejoined our guild so you can expect to see more of her in the future. Thank you Rebecca!

Committee Updates

• SewMe STL
• All current details can be found HERE. We will continue to update as information becomes available.
• We need volunteers to greet attendees. Sign up HERE.
• Raffle donations are appreciated and can be given to Jennifer Deck, Susan Muszynski, and Jessica Elliston.

• QuiltCon Charity Quilt
• Packets with fabric included were distributed during the meeting.
• Foundation Paper Piecing tutorials can be found HERE and HERE.
• Blocks can be returned as soon as you finish, at SewMe, or by November's meeting at the latest.
• Example of finished quilt:

• Swap and Challenge
• Fabric Placement blocks are due at the November meeting. 
• There may be some prizes, although this is not a contest.
• Official rules can be found HERE.
• Members can follow this path in the Google Drive to find instructions for the blocks: STLMQG Members > Swap/Challenge > 2022
• Charity Committee
• The committee has begun to collect charity quilts and will continue to do so through our November meeting and the SewMe retreat.
• Please attach "STL MQG Cares" label to each quilt.
• The committee has created a comprehensive document in the member drive full of pattern suggestions for those wanting to go a different route then the kit patterns. Quilt parameters are HERE.
• There is still time to complete a quilt for The Women's Safe House and invite you to help us reach our goal.
• Interesting volunteer opportunities have presented themselves at The Women's Safe House. Please see Tess or Candy for more details.

Other Items Covered

• Home Sew Happy Hour: Jump on Zoom September 20 from 6-9pm and get to know other guild members better. 
• This is a casual event where you can come and go as you please.
• Some members have expressed interest in doing this event in person again and are welcome to do so. Let the board know your plans and we'll publicize on social media.
• Block of the Month Winners: Have you joined in the Block of the Month sampler quilt party yet? It's been so fun seeing everyone's take on Instagram. For all the info look HERE. It's not too late to jump in.
• Christine Taour is our winner for August.
• September BOM: Speaking of the block of the month, the next tutorial is live on the blog and we're taking on improv curves. Em takes you through all the steps HERE. 
• Post to Instagram using #stlmqgbom or email a photo before our next meeting to be entered for a prize. 

• Fabric Raffle: Thanks to Cotton Cuts we gave away two FQ bundles of Sublime Summer from Free Spirit fabrics to  Ann Philiph and Kristina Olson. Hooray!
• Hotel Room Raffle: Angie Terry and Carol Taylor each won a one night stay at the Marriott during our Sew Me retreat. Congratulations!
• Show and Share: Our meeting and presentation ran long and we were sorry to miss show and share this month. We will post photos of Rebecca Bryan's quilts this month and hope you will bring your beautiful pieces to the next meeting. Pics are being 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!

2022 Block of the Month Sampler - September

 

Welcome to Month Nine of the St. Louis Modern Quilt Guild 2022 Block of the Month Sampler! Only 2 months to go (including this one) until we have all the blocks to finish our quilts! I plan to have the last tutorial posted early, by the time we're at SewMe STL in October. I'll also be at the retreat in person if you need to as me (Em Komiskey) any questions. 

Remember to post your block to Instagram with the hashtag #stlmqgbom before the usual October meeting date (no meeting in October) 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, we will be making TWO 12.5-inch (unfinished) string blocks! If you've been looking ahead, I originally planned a different block with a similar look, but I didn't like how it was coming out, so I pivoted at the last minute. As a result, the graphic looks slightly different than the block. I'm writing this tutorial with specific widths for the strings, but if you're familiar with this block, you can totally improv it!

CUTTING DIRECTIONS: 

These directions are for ONE 12-inch string x-block. We will need 2 for the final layout of the quilt, so you will need to double the number of cut pieces here, though you may want to make each block a different color. As I mentioned in the intro, you can totally improv this block. 

If you choose to improv, I suggest choosing a constant background color of the same width and then building your strips out from there. Be sure that each section extends beyond a 6.5 inch square. Each of the 2 blocks will be comprised of four (4) 6.5 inch sub-units. 

If you are choosing to make the matched/measured version, here are the measurements I used (reminder: double this for 2 blocks needed): 

Background: (4) 2½ x 9½

Color 1: (8) 1½ x 7½

Color 2: (8) 1¼ x 5¾

Color 3: (8) 2½ x 4¼

SEWING DIRECTIONS: 

1. You will be making 4 identical 6.5 inch sections for each block. Each of the 4 sections will use one background pieces in the center and 2 of each of the 3 different fabrics, decreasing from longest to shortest out from the background. 

Fold each strip in half and either press or finger crease so that you can see the midline. 

2. Lining up the pressed or creased midline of each strip, sew the block together using a scant ¼ inch seam allowance. You will sew the longest strip closest to the center of the sub-unit, and the shortest strip to the outside. 

3. Trim the sub-unit to 6.5 inches. Line up the center of your block with the center of your ruler and use your pressed/creased lines as guidelines to keep your sub-unit square. 

4. Repeat for a total of 4 sub-units. Decided on either an x layout or a diamond layout. Sew the 4 quadrants together. 

5. Repeat all steps to create a second block. 

You're done! Just one month to go!!

Meeting #123 (September 10, 2022)

Summer is winding down. Pumpkin spice is gearing up for it's annual takeover, and National Jelly Roll day is on the horizon. It's the season of the quilter. Here's what to expect at our September meeting.

Date: September 10, 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
• Sew Me: Retreat updates
• QuiltCon Charity Quilt: Instructions for participation
• Charity: Reminders
• Swap/Challenge: reminders
• Election announcement: Election is held in November. Submit your name before October meeting. This is a great opportunity to help keep the guild running smoothly.

---Break---

• Pick up QuiltCon Charity Quilt packets
• Ask questions about board positions
• Drop off your charity quilts
• Buy raffle tickets
• Check out library books
• Sign in
• Visit free table

-September Activity - Rebecca Bryan Trunk Show and Presentation

This trunk show will introduce you to the field of graphic design and how you can use ideas from graphic design in your own quilts.  During the trunk show you’ll see the quilts from Rebecca's book Modern Triangle Quilts and how they relate to the field of graphic design. We’ll answer questions like: What is Graphic Design? And discuss common graphic design vocab. You’ll leave the trunk show with fresh ideas to apply to your own work.

-Meeting Wrap-up

• Hotel raffle winner announcement
• Fabric raffle winner announcement - Thank you Cotton Cuts!
• August Block of the Month winner announcement
• Attendance Prizes
• Show & Tell (time permitting)

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

• Drop off your completed charity quilts.
• Post your BOM entries by 11:59 PM this Friday. #stlmqgbom
• Swap/Challenge blocks can be posted with #stlmqgswap22.
• Buy raffle tickets online HERE.
• Wear your name tags.
• Free table items.
• Bring your Show and Share goodies!