Ticket Raffle 2018

Our STLMQG Ticket Raffle is always a lot of fun, and the money we raise goes right back into our guild. This will be our 8th year hosting the raffle, and while many of our members are well aware of how it works, we want to make sure that everyone can get in on the fun. Plus, we're making a few changes this year to hopefully improve the process, so be sure to read through the full post.

How the Raffle Works:
Members donate fabulous items at the November and December meetings and are issued tickets in exchange for the retail value of their complete donation. Items are bundled, if necessary, and displayed at the December meeting. In December, members can purchase tickets or use those they were issued for their donation to take a chance at winning donated items.

What Should I Donate?
Donations should be things that your fellow members would like to win and should generally be modern, new, and unused. There are, of course, a few exceptions (for instance, books may be gently used). The key to donating is to ask yourself -- will others in the modern guild be excited about this item? If the answer's yes, bring it on! If not, leave it at home. Do not use this as an opportunity to unload your magazines from 1997, that box of items you were going to donate to Goodwill, or items that would otherwise be trashed. 

Acceptable Donation Items:

• Quilt-shop quality modern fabric (pre-cuts, yardage, gallon-size bags of modern fabric scraps, etc.)
• Patterns for totes/handbags, modern quilts, etc.
• Finished handmade items (modern quilts, handbags, wall hangings, pillows, etc.)
• Quality thread (quilting, applique, embroidery, etc.)
• Crafting supplies and sewing/quilting notions (English paper piecing supplies, embroidery kits, quilting rulers, etc.)
• Sewing-themed decor and art
• Quilting and sewing books
• Be creative! We've had donations of wine, chocolate, and restaurant gift certificates in the past, which are also fun.

Ticket-to-Donation Exchange Rate (November and December):

If the estimated retail value of your entire donation is…

$10 or less = 5 tickets

$11-30 = 10 tickets

$31-50 = 15 tickets

$51 and up = 25 tickets

Tickets for Purchase (December):
1 ticket for $1
25 tickets for $20

Ticket Raffle Directions (December meeting):
Buy your tickets, or use the ones you received in exchange for your donation. On each ticket, write your last name and first initial or your full name (tip! bring return address labels to use if you don't want to write it out). Find the item(s) you wish to take a chance on, place your ticket in the corresponding bag, and cross your fingers. There is no limit to the amount of tickets you can place in each bag, so if you really want an item, go ahead and put all your eggs in one basket. After the meeting break, winners will be randomly selected. There is no limit to the amount you can win.

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask!

NO MEETING this Saturday

Just a reminder that we will NOT have a meeting this Saturday, October 13 because of our annual retreat, which took place last weekend. You can read all about it here.

We look forward to seeing everyone at Hand-Sew Happy Hour on the 23rd or at November's meeting!

SewMeSTL 2018 Recap

This weekend, we celebrated our members at the 5th annual Sew Me St. Louis retreat. This year, we expanded the retreat to include a third day, which meant hours more sewing, laughs, and fun.

The SewMeSTL Committee worked hard over the past few months to ensure this was our best retreat yet. From collecting tons of raffle prizes to sewing and stuffing our awesome swag bags, they really took the retreat to the next level. Thank you so much to the committee!

The weekend included lots of bonuses, from massages to demos on accurate cutting, sewing skinny strips, machine quilting, and featherweights. Thank you to Lauren McMillan for the massages and Emily Amizich, Pam Hartig, Gretchen Watkin, and Cindi Templin for taking the time to share their knowledge in the demos.

We also got our hands on some beautiful fabric through the fat quarter swap organized by the Member Swap and Challenge Committee and the always raucous Scrap Dash.

One of the best parts of any retreat is seeing what everyone else is working on, and our members certainly had some beautiful projects to show off. Many members worked on their blocks for the guild QuiltCon charity quilt, and it was fun to see this one coming together. Check out the @stlmqg IG feed and #sewmestl for lots more pictures of everyone's projects and the nightly Show and Tells.

We're so glad that so many members were able to join us, and we're already dreaming of next year's fun. We hope you all had as much fun as we did!

Meeting Recap (September 8, 2018)

Thank you to everyone who came out to Saturday's meeting and trunk show and workshops with Latifah Saafir! It was great to see everyone and have some fun!

• Gayle, our Treasurer, gave us the updated financial info.
• Krista, our Secretary, announced our membership numbers and passed out our new MQG membership cards and pins.
• Marie, our VP, announced several pieces of quilting news and happenings (more about these will be sent via email).
• Jessica, our President, covered several items:
• The hand-sew happy hours and location for the entire year have been posted to the blog. This month's meet-up will be on Tuesday, September 18.
• SewMeSTL is going to be three days of fun this year (October 5-7)! Info on activities and the schedule will be sent via email this week. You can find all the other details on the retreat in this post.
• As a reminder, we have lots of items due in November (our next monthly meeting):
• QuiltCon Charity Quilt Challenge blocks
• Final Nurses for Newborns quilts (Charity Committee). You can find all of the details here.
• 2018 Colors of the Year Challenge entries (Member Swap and Challenge Committee). You can find all of the details here.
• Final Rainbow BOM entries (be sure to finish your blocks for at least 9 of the 10 colors to receive your 5 bonus points). You can find all of the details here.
• Block Lotto#4 blocks. You can find all of the details here.
• Jessica announced the next Rainbow Block of the Month (BOM) Challenge color -- blue! You can find all of the details here.

• For this month's activity, we welcomed Latifah Saafir for a trunk show and lecture entitled "My Journey, My Vision, My Voice." You can read more about it and see lots of pictures in this blog post.

• We wrapped up the meeting with a great Show and Tell. Keep an eye on our Instagram page to see lots more pics of the meeting, show and tell, and our members' projects throughout the month.

Reminder: We will not have an October meeting because of SewMeSTL, our annual retreat, which will take place Oct. 5-7. Get excited, everyone! More details in this post.

Latifah Saafir's Visit to the STLMQG

This past weekend, the STLMQG was pleased to host Latifah Saafir, a quilter, pattern and fabric designer, creator of the Glam Clam clamshell technique, and co-founder of the Modern Quilt Guild. She hosted two workshops for our members, as well as a trunk show and lecture that was open to both members and the public.

The weekend started off with the trunk show and lecture -- titled "My Journey, My Vision, My Voice" -- in which Latifah showed off so many of her beautiful creations, led us through a journey of how she discovered her voice, and challenged us to be a bold with our own creative visions. Everyone definitely walked away inspired.

On Saturday afternoon, Latifah led a number of members in her signature Glam Clam workshop. Using her specially created templates, Latifah has perfected the method for creating this traditional -- but often difficult to piece -- shape. With her tips and guidance, our members were curve confident in no time!

On Sunday, we wrapped up the weekend with Latifah's more intermediate curves workshop focused on her Molehills quilt. She led participants through each step, helping to make sure they didn't turn their molehills into mountains.

It was so fun to see all the wonderful fabric combinations members came up with in both classes and to watch their curve confidence grow. Thank you for a wonderful weekend, Latifah!

Want to see more? You can find lots more pictures of the weekend on our Instagram page and the #latifahvisitsstlmqg hashtag.

Meeting #86 (September 8, 2018)

Hello modern quilters! Can you believe it's September already? Be honest -- who's already had their first (or 12th) pumpkin spice latte of the year? No judging here. This month, we're excited to be hosting Latifah Saafir, one of the founders of the Modern Quilt Guild, at our meeting. We hope you can join us!

Date: September 8, 2018
Time: 10 am-12:30 pm
Location: The Center of Clayton
50 Gay Ave.
Clayton, MO 63105
Meeting Rooms B&C (1st Floor)

***Please make special note of the location change for this month's meeting! We will NOT be meeting at our normal location at The Heights. Childcare is also not available for this meeting. We apologize for any inconvenience.***

***Important: Like all of our meetings, this monthly meeting is open to guests. However, due to the special trunk show presentation, there is a $5 entry fee for non-members, payable at the door. We think you'll find the presentation is well worth it. You can also choose to become a member for just $20! There is no cost for members.***

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

Agenda:

-Welcome & Guild Business
     :: Membership Information
     :: Financial Information
     :: Quilting News / Around Town
     :: Reminders

-Special Presentation: Lecture and Trunk Show by Latifah Saafir, "My Journey, My Vision, My Voice"
:: Note: Following the meeting, Latifah will be presenting two workshops, Glam Clam and Molehills, to members and non-members on Saturday and Sunday. More information on the workshops and links to register can be found in this post.

---Break--- 

- Distribute block packets and collect blocks for QuiltCon Charity Quilt (QuiltCon Charity Quilt Committee)
- Collect Block Lotto #4 blocks (due in November)
- Announce next Rainbow BOM color
- Show & Tell (time permitting)
- Mix & Mingle

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

:: Don't forget we're still accepting dues for 2018. Because we're halfway through the year, dues are now half price ($20) and can be paid by cash, check, or credit card. You can pay at the meeting or online through our Paypal link.
:: You must post your August (red) Rainbow BOM blocks to Instagram with the #stlmqgrainbowbom before the start of the September meeting to get your points for the month (you can email them to stlmqg@gmail.com if you're not on IG). We'd love to see your blocks at Show & Tell as well!
:: You still have lots of time to participate in the Colors of the Year Challenge, as the deadline has been moved to November. See this blog post for all of the details.

Meeting Recap (August 11, 2018)

Thank you to everyone who came out to Saturday's meeting! It was great to see everyone and have some fun!

• Gayle, our Treasurer, gave us the updated financial info.
• Krista, our Secretary, announced our membership numbers and passed out our new MQG membership cards and pins.
• Marie, our VP, announced several pieces of quilting news and happenings (more about these will be sent via email).
• Jessica, our President, covered several items:
• The hand-sew happy hours and location for the entire year have been posted to the blog. This month's meet-up will be on Tuesday, August 21.
• SewMeSTL is going to be three days of fun this year (October 5-7)! Info on hotel rates and how to reserve a room, as well as registration info, will be sent via email this week. You can find all the details on the retreat in this new post.
• Updates on our upcoming workshops with Latifah Saafir and visit from Beth Snyder of 1 Canoe 2 were announced. Latifah will now be visiting in September, and Beth has been moved to November. More information has been sent via email. Updated information about Latifah's trunk show and workshops can be found in this post.
• The Member Swap and Challenge Committee's 2018 Colors of the Year Challenge, celebrating Pantone Ultra Violet and Kona Tiger Lily, is still going on, due in November. You can find all of the details here.
• Our Nurses for Newborns charity project is still going strong as well. The final collection will be in November. You can find all of the details here.
• Lilo and Leila announced the plan for our QuiltCon Charity Quilt Challenge, a fabulous design called Confluence, and distributed the first round of blocks. The remaining blocks will be distributed at future meetings, and all finished blocks are due in November.
• Jessica announced the next Rainbow Block of the Month (BOM) Challenge color -- red, easy peasy. You can find all of the details here.

• For this month's activity, six of our wonderful members presented demos of eight specialty rulers. They provided plenty of inspiration and courage for us to go home and use those rulers we know are collecting dust in our sewing rooms. Thank you to our demonstrators, Heather, Robyn, Marie, Jolene, Barb, and Pam! And in case their demos inspired you to purchase one of the rulers for your own collection, here are some easy Amazon links to find them: Pineapple Trim Tool, Quick Curve, Add a Quarter, Add an Eighth, Bloc Loc Half Square Triangle, Easy Angle, Companion Angle, and Stripology.

• Marie raffled off the blocks for our third Block Lotto round to two lucky winners. She also announced the details for our final Block Lotto of the year, a fun and easy holiday tree block. You can find all of the details here. These blocks will be due in November, so you've got lots of time.

• The Member Swap and Challenge Committee announced the final swap of the year, which will take place at SewMeSTL. Those who wish to participate should bring four fat quarters in shades of a color chosen from one spoke of the color wheel (see image). You can use the same shade in multiple FQs, but try to vary your grouping overall. 
  
  
  You may choose any combination of modern prints and solids. This will be a blind swap, so bring your FQs in a brown paper bag (we’ll have extras in case you forget). The swap will take place on Saturday of SewMeSTL.

• We wrapped up the meeting with a great Show and Tell, including these lovelies from Em and Bobbie. Keep an eye on our Instagram page to see lots more pics of the meeting, show and tell, and our members' projects throughout the month.

Remember that Latifah Saafir will be presenting a wonderful trunk show and lecture at next month's meeting, so you won't want to miss out. IMPORTANT REMINDER: The September meeting will take place at The Center of Clayton, 50 Gay Ave., Clayton, MO 63105, Meeting Rooms B and C (First Floor), not at The Heights. The meeting info page has been updated here.