Modern Meet-Up Part 1

Are you guys as tired as we are? Whew! What a Meet Up!! Now that the furor has died down, the first thing we want to do is thank all the fabulous sponsors who made this event possible.

Prize table

Prize table - some of the large prize giveaways

First up: The Kansas City Modern Quilt Guild and the Saint Louis Modern Quilt Guild for all the work that went into planning and all the volunteers who made the event run smoothly. Special thanks to: Mary Anne Williams, Sarah Mosher, Kristy Daum, Lynne, Marilyn, Tammie, Carol, Paula, Nancy, Melissa, Marsha, Monica, Kristin, Jenny, Sharon, Denise, Linda, and Stephanie! (if your name is not here and you helped out, we apologize for the omission and we appreciated your help!)

Second: HUGE SHOUT OUT to QuiltCon, who secured the ballroom that we held the Meet Up in. Without them, we probably would have been milling around in the streets instead. Special thanks to Heather Grant, who did all the phone tag legwork!

And finally (though definitely not least): ALL OUR SPONSORS!

Donated a GO! Baby, flower die, and cutting mat.

Donated an entire set of shot cotton fat quarters, a charm pack, and a color card.

Donated $250 worth of gift certificates.

Donated a large basket prize including 1 Essential solids fat quarter, 1 essentials design roll, 2, 6" charm packs, 1 Anna Maria Horner Pearl cotton set, 1 fabric covered journal, 1 Tanya Whelan Sew What you Love book.

Donated a large basket prize including 2 Kaffe Classic Fat Quarter bundles, 1 Kaffe Classic Design Roll, 1 Box Rowan Thread, Stone, 1 fabric covered journal, Kaffe book: Quilts in Sweden.

Donated fat quarter bundles of organic fabric lines.

Donated Fat Quarter Set of Stars & Stripes, Apple of My Eye, and Cotton Chevron; 3 Charm Packs, 2 cards of Crochet Accessories/Ornaments, and 10 cards of varying buttons.

Donated gift bag including Work Apron from Modern Quilts Unlimited Magazine,
1 Certificate for a one-Year Charter Subscription to Modern Quilts Unlimited Magazine, 4 one-half yard cuts of Moda Fabric, designed by Malka Dubrawsky, Snippets scissors by Martelli, Ergonomic Rotary Cutter by Martelli, 5 ½ inch Curved Embroidery scissors by Havel’s.

Donated 50 copies of their new magazine.

Donated $250 worth of gift certificates.

Donated two complete sets of fat quarters of their cotton couture line and 35 charm packs of the same line.

Amy Butler Designs (sewing patterns and a book)

Angela Walters (Free motion quilting book)
Aurifil (lots of thread)

Bernina (tote bags)

Bon Bon Atelier (fat quarter set of fabric)
Cluck. Cluck. Sew. (patterns)
Denyse Schmidt Quilts (travel-sized sewing kits)
Empty Bobbin Sewing Studio (patterns)
Fabricworm (fat quarter set of fabric)
Fresh Lemons Quilts (pattern certificates)
Fresh Modern Fabric (fat quarter set of fabric)
Fresh-Squeezed Fabric (fat quarter set of fabric)
Gears for Guys by Emily Herrick (three copies)
Gütermann of America, Inc. (thread)
Interweave (Quilting Modern book)
Jaybird Quilts (patterns)
Kristy Daum (patterns)
Marmalade Fabrics (half-yard QuiltCon fabric stack)
Martingale Publishers (lots of books)
Melissa Stramel (patterns)
Missouri Star Quilt Co. (set of rulers and fabric bundles)
Moda Fabrics (notions bag and cake layer gift bundles)
Modern Patchwork by Elizabeth Hartman (three copies)
Modern Quilt Studio (copies of their new magazine)
Pink Castle Fabrics (fat quarter set of fabric)
Pink Chalk Fabrics (one-yard QuiltCon fabric stack)
Quilt Sticks (rulers)
Robert Kaufman (charm packs and fat quarter sets)
Sew Fresh Fabrics (fat quarter set of fabric)
Sew, Mama, Sew! (gift certificate)
Sew Sweet Quilt Shop (two gift bundles of fabric, rulers, and more)
Spoonflower (two gift certificates)
Stash Books (lots of books)
Sunflower Quilts (patterns)
Swell Cloth (fat quarter set of fabric)
Quilter's Dream Batting (several rolls of miscellaneous batting)
Zipit (large bag of assorted zippers and zipper pulls)

These sponsors were fabulous. They really made our Meet Up awesome! We'll do a Part 2 blog post that includes pictures from the Meet Up and some of the prize winners. Look for it soon.

Ready for the Weekend

This weekend is the big Modern Meet-Up that we (STLMQG) are co-hosting with the KCMQG.  All the details can be found here, we hope to see you there!

Next, let us not forget about the Blogger's Quilt Festival starting Friday, May 18th through June 1st.  If you are a Blogger, it's not too late to start a post to participate.  For those that love to read blogs, this is a great opportunity to find some new-to-you Bloggers and check out some amazing quilts.  Check out all of the details here and Amy from Amy's Creative Side will be certainly posting more info as it becomes available, so don't miss a single blog post.


Our Member's Swap/Challenge Committee announced the Inspiration Challenge details at our May meeting.  All of the information you need to participate can be found under the Challenge tab in the header of our blog, or on our Flickr page under the discussion tab.  We hope everyone enjoys the Inspirational journey, can't wait to see what comes of it in August.

Finally, the Sew,Mama,Sew! Giveaway Day fun starts on Monday.  No matter if you are a Blogger or just like to read Blogs, this kicks off a great week of excitement.

Meeting Recap (May 12th, 2012)

Although yesterday's meeting was a little short, it was jam packed with lots of information about upcoming events, swaps, challenges, etc.  So sit back and let's start, shall we.

• Lynne, our Secretary, announced that we now have 66 due-paying and active members. 
• Rene, our Treasurer, provided the financials.
• The Modern Meet-Up, our guild is co-hosting with the KCMQG, is this coming Saturday, May 19th.  All the information you need can be found here, including the ever-growing list of Sponsors.  Hope to see you there!
• Sew, Mama, Sew! Giveaway Day begins May 21st through May 25th.  If you are a Blogger it's a great opportunity to reach hundreds of new readers and potential subscribers.  If you just like to read Blogs and possibly win free stuff, it's great too.  The details can be found here.

• The Blogger's Quilt Festival begins May 18th and runs through June 1st.  It's alot of fun to participate in this event and tell the whole story of a quilt that you have made.  Check out the details here.

• Thanks to our Members's Swap/Challenge Committee for keeping us guessing during our Polka-Dot Swap.  We hope everyone was excited about the 2 FQs they got to take home and add to their stash.
• We mixed up Show & Tell a little differently this time, allowing people the opportunity to look more closely at each piece during a mid-meeting break.  There was soooo much inspiration and loveliness around, thanks to everyone who participated including our newest members and guests too.
• The Member's Swap/Challenge Committee introduced our 1st Challenge for this year titled "Inspiration".  They have provided specific inspiration we all are to use (a piece of Art, a Song, a Book and a Photo) in a quilt. The quilt is due August 11th.  For more information, complete rules and links to the actual pieces of work visit our blog in the next 2 weeks. 
• We discussed a handful of events planned for the latter portion of the year including a block swap, Photography 101, Using White Space in Quilts, Improv Sewing and a presentation by Aby Garvey.  As always if you have suggestions, please let us know.
• Finally, we discussed another quick Fabric Swap for next month that focuses us Charm Squares; which most of you know measures 5" x 5".  More details coming soon.

Here's some links to things that were discussed during the meeting:

• Pretty Pleats Reversible Tote by Michelle of  I Like Orange.
• Jelly Roll Dreams, the book Mary Claire's "Sense of Direction" quilt is published in.
• Visit Nancy or Kelly's blog for your chance to win a MAZED pattern.
• If you'd like a bag of Sun-Painted Fabric to use towards a Charitable Quilt, please contact Charlene.
• Metro Messenger Bag Tutorial

Meeting #21 - May 12th, 2012

Hello Modern Quilters,

It's May!  We hope you are as excited for our meeting this coming weekend, as we are.  It's filled with some upcoming events happening in the blogosphere, as well a Fabric Swap and the announcement of our first 2012 Guild Challenge.  Stay tuned...you won't want to miss it.

Date: May 12th, 2012
Time: 10am - 12:30pm
Location: The Heights

==================================================================

Agenda:
-Welcome & Guild Business
      :: Membership #s for 2012
      :: Financial Information
      :: Special Announcements/Quilting News
-Modern Meet-Up Reminder
-SewMamaSew! Giveaway Day
-Blogger's Quilt Festival
-Notions/Gadgets Monthly Segment
-Member's Swap/Challenge Committee
      ::Polka Dot Swap Activity
      ::Inspiration Challenge Announcement
-Show & Tell
-Next Meeting Date (June 9th)
      ::Discuss upcoming activities
-Remaining Questions/Comments
-Mix & Mingle

   **Don't forget if you want to participate in the Polka Dot Swap Activity, you need to bring 2 bright and cheery FQ (Fat Quarters) of a dotted fabric.  It bears repeating that the fabric should be Quilt-Shop quality...remember swap onto others as you hope to have swapped onto you :-)

   **Also, let's not forget Show & Tell.  There are so many talented quilters in our group, we want to see your amazing stuff...just keep it to 3 items or less.

We'll see you Saturday!!!

QuiltCon Activities

By now you have likely heard of QuiltCon, it's the first event of it's kind for Modern Quilting, taking place next February 21st-24th in Austin, TX. 

We've been talking off and on about the QuiltCon Block Challenge happening thru August 15th.  It's an opportunity for you to stretch your imagination and create an interesting composition that reflects what Modern Quilting means to you, using the QuiltCon logo colors.  You can read all about the Challenge rules here.  The good news is if you don't have the above colors in your fabric stash, several Sponsoring Shops have graciously created bundles for you.  You can find them listed in the previous link.  Some blocks have already showing up on the QuiltCon Block Challenge Flickr Group, found here.

Additionally, for those who want a bigger challenge.  There is a juried Quilt Show held in conjunction with the conference.  Entries open on July 1st and close on Oct 31st.  There are several categories in which to enter, so no matter your expertise...I'm sure there is something for you.  Check out the categories here.

We, as the STLMQG, are proud to be guild sponsors of this conference.  If you are attending the conference, participating in the block challenge, submitting something for the juried show, etc...just know that the membership of the STLMQG will be cheering right along with you.

Randomness #7

It's about time that we did another Randomness post, as there are a handful of things happening around town, around the blogosphere, etc. that you might want to know about.

• It's not too late to sign-up for our 2nd Sew-In Saturday; which is this coming Saturday, April 28th from 9am-9pm.  Even if you can't stay for all 12 hours, we have 1/2 days sessions still available too. 
• Did you hear, our very own VP, Mary Claire is published...YAY!  She has 3, count 'em, 3 projects in the Modern Patchwork special edition magazine out now. 
• Have you heard that the next installment of the Blogger's Quilt Festival is going to be starting up in a few weeks.  Don't know what this is?  Hop on over to Amy's Creative Side and check it out.  The fun starts May 18th and runs through June 1st. 
• Have you heard about Design Seeds?  It's a site "For All Who Love Color".  Everyday Jessica, the creator, uploads several inspirational color palettes that are great for not only quilting; but art, home design and even wedding ideas.
• What does Modern Quilting mean to you?  That's what the people from QuiltCon want to know, and they are asking for modern quilters to make a block as part of their QuiltCon Block Challenge.  The deadline is August 15th, so you still have more then enough time to express yourself.  More information available here.

If you have suggestions for future Randomness posts, send us an email.

Meeting Recap (April 14th, 2012)

Thanks to everyone who braved the rain to attend our meeting this past Saturday.  I hope you felt that it was worthwhile as we discussed some upcoming events, ran through some Flickr How-To's and did a little bit of Show & Tell.  Here are some things you might want to know about or missed.

• Lynne, our Secretary, announced that we had one new member sign-up at this month's meeting.  Welcome!!
• Rene, our Treasurer, gave us a brief statement about our finances
• We have included a link to the 100 Days of Modern Quilting recap.  It can be found under the About Us/Contact tab of our blog.
• Sew-In Saturday was a big success last month and we hope that you are ready to do it allover again as our next Sew-In is April 28th from 9am-9pm.  Sign-Ups are now open and capped at 25 attendees. 
• As co-host of the Modern Meet-Up, we hope that you'll consider taking a roadtrip to Kansas City to meet fellow modern quilters, artists, and designers of this growing community.  Additionally, KC has some great fabric shops, attractions, and everything that would make for a lovely Saturday.  Everything you'd like to know about the Modern Meet-Up is available here. 
• Weeks Ringle is giving a presentation in Kansas City on Monday, May 21st from 7-9pm.  The cost is only $5.  More info found here.
• Our guild sponsorship of QuiltCon has been received and our guild name/link is included amongst the others.  This is a great opportunity for our guild.  If you'd like more info about QuiltCon, click here.
• As part of our "You Oughta Know" segment, Margie introduced us to QuiltSticks.  Kyndra reminded us of how much can be found at out local library.
• Lynne walked us through Flickr, showing the advantages and community that is found there.  We advised that over the next month, we'll be providing those members that need it, with step-by-step information.  Until then, if you visit our About Us/Contact tab above and scroll down about a 1/3rd of the way, you'll find a presentation Jamie Mueller did in 2011 that is useful in the meantime.
• Juli Ann introduced our next Member's Swap/Challenge committee activity.  It's a Polka-Dot Swap.  Each member who wishes to play along, needs to bring 2 FQs of a dotted fabric to the May meeting.
• Next month, the same committee, will be introducing our 1st Challenge.
• Show & Tell closed out the meeting

Here are some links to activities, products, etc. that you might have missed

• Cathedral-Window Sew-A-Long hosted by our very own, Jamie Mueller.  There are lots of great projects, tutorials and even the chance at some prizes
• The Central Oklahoma Quilters Guild, Inc is hosting a Quilt Show next June, 2013.  They have invited all quilters the oppotunity to show at the event, by participating in one of their challenges.  More info can be found here. 
• QuiltSticks
• MAZED Quilt