Giving Back -- To Boston With Love

Our hearts are full this morning as we share with you the pennants that our members contributed to the "To Boston With Love" collaborative effort.

 

Several weeks ago our guild, along with countless other guilds and individuals signed on to help the Vancouver MQG collect pennants (flags) for Boston.  Words could not express the outpouring of support from the quilting/crafting community, and then to learn that the Boston Museum of Fine Arts would be exhibiting the pennants this coming Memorial Day weekend thru July 7th was a tribute no one would imagine.


Our members got a small taste of our contribution at last Saturay's meeting.  Yet, it wasn't until Lynne, our VP, finished the PEACE centerpiece and photographed them together (38 in all); that we saw the magnitude of love and support. 

Photographs below by Lynne (MissStashWould)

Meeting Recap (May 11th, 2013)

Thanks to everyone who came to our meeting yesterday, we had a full house; which always means a great time.

• Tonie C. and Lynne M. were announced as Co-Chairs of the Charity Committee.  You'll be hearing from them over the coming months as they look for your support and enthusiasm on future projects.
• While we are on the subject of charitable activities, a BIG Thank You to everyone who contributed blocks and pennants for Boston.  It's not too late to make a pennant, or send a block...check out this link for more info.  If you took a photo of your pennant, please make sure that you upload it to Flickr, so we can all see it's loveliness.  Before the pennants are mailed off, we'll be taking some photos to share with you all too.
• Our Handwork 101 mini-demo session was a big hit and we certainly could not have done this activity without our amazing Teachers (Yuko, Jessica and Jamie)...Thanks Ladies!!!!  Stay tuned for a reference post that includes some further information about handwork resources, tools, etc.
• The Members Swap/Challenge Committee organized another great swap and our members did not disappoint.  The Room-By-Room Swap was filled with items of all shapes, sizes and colors...you can see some of the items in our Flickr photopool.

Our next meeting is Saturday, June 8th...mark your calenders. 

Meeting #33 -- May 11th, 2013

Hello Modern Quilters,

We have some great things on the agenda this month and hope that you'll join us Saturday, let's keep our fingers crossed for some great Spring weather. 

New to our group, Welcome! Bring a friend, the more the merrier.

Date: May 11th, 2013
Time: 10am - 12:30pm
Location: The Heights

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Agenda:

-Welcome & Guild Business
   :: Membership #s for 2013
   :: Financial Information
   :: Special Announcements/Quilting News
-Monthly Fabric Raffle
-Support for Boston Pennants & Block collection
-Handwork 101 Mini-Demos (Embroidery, Hand-Quilting & English Paper Piecing)
-Room By Room Swap Reveal/Exchange
-Show & Tell
-Next Meeting Date (June 8th)
-Remaining Questions/Comments
-Mix & Mingle

***Don't forget that your Room By Room Swap project is due this month.  We've seen some pretty awesome stuff in the Flickr pool already and can't wait to see it all.

***If you are participating in the "To Boston with Love" Pennants or "Quilts for Boston" block collection, your items are due Saturday. If you want to participate; but missed the info, click here.

***Make sure that you wear your modern quilting nametag each and every month. Not only does it show your appreciation for your fellow member and the guild; but it's a simple way to enter yourself into our monthly DoorPrize drawing...and remember the new rules about nametags.

***We want to see your modern Show & Tell projects, fabric, books, etc. Let's limit this to 2 pieces/items a member please.  We should have enough time; but note that this event will be cancelled if we run over.

See you Saturday!!

Support for Boston

As you look out your window tomorrow morning, it's hard to imagine that just over a week ago, on a similarly beautiful day, thousands of lives were changed in an instant as a result of the violence at the Boston Marathon. 

We all respond to such tragedy in our own unique way.  For some, that means furtively checking the news for the latest developments in the investigation.  For others, avoiding the news, offering up a silent prayer, hugging our children close.  Despite these many differences, we think it's safe to say that at some point in the past few weeks, we've all felt a small tinge of helplessness.  That the thousand miles between Boston and the heart of the Midwest might prevent us from doing what we quilters naturally do:  comforting others by lending a hand.

Thankfully, there is something we can do to help.  The Boston and Vancouver Modern Quilt Guilds have each asked for our assistance in the recovery effort by contributing pennants or quilt blocks in support of those affected by this tragedy.  The Boston guild is also collecting coordinating fabrics to use as sashing, binding and backing in assembling these quilts for the victims and their families. 

 

Although the information has been available on Flickr and Facebook for the past several days, we wanted to make sure the call went out to all of our generous members in time for everyone to get involved and make a difference.   

 

   

 

If you are interested in participating in either of these charitable projects, you can find all of the guidelines and inspiration you need by visiting the websites listed below.  The due dates for the pennants and the quilt blocks to arrive in Boston are May 21st and 24th respectively, so Lynne (our VP) will be collecting pennants and quilt blocks at our May 11th meeting.

 

Although this is a relatively short turnaround time (and we're already busy working on our Room-by-Room swap), we hope you'll consider sharing a small piece of your time and talent to help comfort those affected by this terrible tragedy.  Help us fill the world with beauty 'till there's room for nothing else.  

 

To Boston with love, from the heart of the Midwest.

 

---The St. Louis Modern Quilt Guild

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Flag Bunting as organized by the Vancouver MQG

Details:

http://vancouvermodernquiltguild.ca/blog/2013/04/to-boston-with-love/

Flickr Group:

http://www.flickr.com/groups/tobostonwithlove/

Due Date: May 21st, 2013    (Mailing address in the USA if you wish to send separately)

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Quilts for Boston organized by Boston MQG

Details:

http://bostonmqg.blogspot.com/2013/04/quilts-for-boston.html

Flickr Group:

http://www.flickr.com/groups/quiltsforboston/

Due Date: May 24th, 2013 

**We will be collecting both the pennants and quilt blocks during our May 11th meeting; yet you can also mail them directly.  Info can be found on the above links **

 

Thanks to Lynne for coordinating this effort and writing the above post.

Meeting Recap (April 13th, 2013)

We want to thank everyone for a great meeting yesterday.  Here's a recap in case you missed any of it.

• We now have 70 due-paying members, as a few "new to us" visitors joined yesterday...WELCOME!
• If you missed the Sew In Saturday that was a few weekends ago, you have another opportunity to get together with you fellow quilters this coming Saturday, April 20th in a much smaller and low-key event held at the Webster Groves Library.  Space is limited, so if you would like more info or want to sign up, please visit our Flickr page.
• The Photography 101 presentation is on hold until further notice.
• The Batting 101 discussion was a jolly good time and we hope that you learned alot about the options that are available to quilters.  Thanks to Quilter's Dream Batting and The Warm Company for providing samples for today's events, and a big Thanks to our members who kept the discussion lively, informative and even brought samples of their own.
• The Member's Swap/Challenge committee announced it's first swap which is called "Room by Room".  All items are due at the May Meeting and we encourage you to create an inspiration mosaic using BigHugeLabs, add some items to your Flickr Favs, etc.
• We made our first big speaker announcement at the meeting and will do an Official Blog Post here later in the week in case you missed it...stay tuned.

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

• Are you up for the challenge?  Consider participating in the Modern Quilt Challenge sponsored by AQS (American Quilter's Society).  There are $6000 worth of cash and prizes up for grabs.  Check out this link for more information and the deadline is August 2nd.
• It's not too late to enter the HMQS Modern Quilt Contest either.  The deadline has been "secretly" extended to April 20th, as they are trying to seek out lots of wonderful modern quilts.  To learn more, check out this link on the Modern Quilt Guild homepage. 

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Finally, our last bit of housekeeping for this month's recap is a final reminder that each member who wants to participate in the monthly Door Prize raffle needs to have a uniquely handmade nametag.  We have been lenient for way too long allowing work namebadges, other quilt guild badges or even random scraps of paper pinned to one's shoulder now and again.  This will no longer be the case.  You will hear the words "Sorry, try again next month" if you wear any of the above.

While you might be questioning why something so trivial matters, it actually matters quite alot.  It shows pride in our guild, and friendship with your fellow member.  It's about being part of the community and being excited each and every month when you walk through those doors. 

We want you to be an active member, the kind that would be missed...

not just another name on the list.

There are no restrictions on the size or shape of your namebadge, and we definately encourage creativity.  Your name can be embroidered, cross-stitched, stamped, paper-pieced, or cleverly made using all sorts of things.  Just keep it fresh, funky and uniquely you. 

Meeting #32 - April 13th, 2013

Hello Modern Quilters,

It looks like Spring is finally here to stay and while that generally means less time inside your house quilting, we hope that you'll still continue to find time to visit us each and every month as our calendar just keeps getting better. 

New to our group, Welcome! Bring a friend, the more the merrier.

Date: April 13th, 2013
Time: 10am - 12:30pm
Location: The Heights

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Agenda:

-Welcome & Guild Business
   :: Membership #s for 2013
   :: Financial Information
   :: Special Announcements/Quilting News
-Monthly Fabric Raffle
-SewInSaturday FQ Winners to be chosen
-Photography 101 Presentation
-Member's Swap/Challenge Committee (Swap Announcement)
-Batting 101 Discussion
-Lecture/Workshop Announcement
-Show & Tell
-Next Meeting Date (May 11th)
-Remaining Questions/Comments
-Mix & Mingle

***Please be sure to bring a few extra $$ if you want to take a chance at winning this month's Fabric Raffle.  This is what is up for grabs:

10 piece FQ bundle of Color Me Retro by Jeni Baker

***Make sure that you wear your modern quilting nametag each and every month.  Not only does it show your appreciation for your fellow member and the guild; but it's a simple way to enter yourself into our monthly DoorPrize drawing.

***We want to see your modern Show & Tell projects, fabric, books, etc. Let's limit this to 3 pieces/items a member please.

See you Saturday!!

Meeting Recap (March 9th, 2013)

Thanks to everyone for braving the miserable rainy conditions to visit our meeting yesterday, we were glad to see that by the time our meeting was over the skies cleared and the sun was shining.

Second, we want to Thank You for an AMAZING meeting.  While we create the programming, it's not the same without audience participation and you all definately made this one a great one. 

Now onto the day's events, things you may have missed, links and dates you need to know:

• We now have 67 due-paying members, as 4 "new to us" members joined yesterday...WELCOME! 
• All due-paying members should have received an email from Kelly, our Secretary, about our 1st Sew-In Saturday (March 30th, 9am-9pm).  This is now "Sold Out" and there is a waitlist already.  Please mark your calendars for the other Sew-In Saturday dates (June 29th, August 31st and November 30th)...all of which will have corresponding workshops as well.
• The Thimble & Thread bi-annual Quilt Show is next weekend (March 16th-17th) in Queeny Park.  Check out this link for more information.
• The Modern Quilt Guild Call for Quilts is now open.  If you have ever considered entering one of your modern quilts in a show, now's a great time to do it.  You have until April 26th to enter.
• The STLMQG Charity Committee is looking for feedback from the membership.  Head on over to Flickr if you haven't already done so and leave your thoughts/comments.  Link Here.

• Big round of applause for our VP, Lynne, who created the Name This (*) game; which showed how classic traditional blocks can be "modernized" thanks to fabric, color and placement choices.  Remember folks, it's not all about Improv and Wonky Blocks...sometimes it's the little choices one makes that determines whether or not a quilt is Modern, Contemporary or Traditional.  If you would like to see ALOT of really inspiring modern quilts, head on over to Fresh Modern Quilts for a dose of inspiration.
• We hope you enjoyed the QuiltCon Recap led by Casey York and Kristy Daum.  To watch the Craftsy's QuiltCon Lecture Series just click on the previous link.

• Have you seen the Modern Quilt Guild's brand new website which launched a few weeks ago, it's super clean, easy to navigate and includes lots of information including the dates and venues for the SewDowns (all inclusive weekends) if you are interested in learning more about them.

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Finally, just a few words about our programming, as many of you know we are in our 3rd year here in the STLMQG.  We continue to listen to our members who told us that in Year One we did way too much, in Year Two we overcompensated and did too little; now that we are in Year Three, we have a great assortment of activities which include; but are not limited to the following:

• Members Swap/Challenge Committee (2 Swaps and 1 Challenge)
• Discussions & Presentations (Batting 101, All About Binding, Modern Handwork and much more)
• Speaker & Corresponding Workshop (Dates and More Info to Come)
• Quarterly Sew-In Saturdays w/Workshops, along with smaller and more intimate sewing opporunitites throughout the year
• Bigger & Better Ticket Raffle
• And Much Much More

 

Don't forget that the fun doesn't have to end once you leave our meetings, you can keep the conversations going and inspiration streaming by visiting us on social media.