what is a modern quilt?

What is modern quilting?

Modern quilting is a new and rapidly growing movement in the quilting world. A group of quilters applied their current tastes and points of view to this traditional craft and shared their work online. Their fresh approach and new designs attracted sewers and quilters and the modern quilting movement was born.

Modern quilting, like all art, changes, grows and adapts from quilter to quilter as they find their own voice. Modern quilts reflect each quilter’s personality and personal style, and as the movement has grown, a modern quilt aesthetic, a set of principles that define and guide the movement, is beginning to emerge.

Modern quilts and quilters:

* Make primarily functional rather than decorative quilts
* Use asymmetry in quilt design
* Rely less on repetition and on the interaction of quilt block motifs
* Contain reinterpreted traditional blocks
* Embrace simplicity and minimalism
* Utilize alternative block structures or lack of visible block structure
* Incorporate increased use of negative space
* Are inspired by modern art and architecture
* Frequently use improvisational piecing
* Contain bold colors, on trend color combinations and graphic prints
* Often use gray and white as neutrals
* Reflect an increased use of solid fabrics
* Focus on finishing quilts on home sewing machines

NNJMQG Profile... Rayna Gillman

Hi Guilders! Don't you just hate when life gets in the way of quilt stuff? I'm sorry to be late in posting another profile, this time of our own Rayna Gillman, author of Create Your Own Free Form Quilts and Create Your Own Hand-Printed Cloth. Please keep the submissions coming (email me at melintheattic(at)gmail(dot)com) -- they won't post until the new year, but we'll continue the process of getting to know one another.

--Melanie

Name and location
Rayna Gillman, West Orange, NJ


Me on Quilting Arts TV.

What do you do in your non-quilting life?
Do I have a non-quilting life??  If I’m not in the studio I’m blogging, marketing, developing workshops, sending out contracts and supply lists, getting on and off planes, teaching, and writing books or magazine articles.  Glamorous, it’s not!  I do manage to squeeze in a social life – believe it or not – and I find time for my kids and grands,.

When did you start quilting?
1974

How? 
Fell in love an antique quilt and couldn’t afford to buy it so I thought, “I can do that.”  In 1974 there was basically one book, 101 Patchwork Patterns (I still have it and it is the best) and no such thing as classes.  I found a teacher at the Montclair Art Museum who was a real quilter and was very relaxed about seams and matching. She always said “do the best you can” and that’s all I needed to hear.  If I had had one of those self-appointed quilt police teachers I would never have taken to it!  After that, I was self-taught and just experimented.  I never took another quilting class.

How would you describe your quilts?
Free-spirited and original.  I stopped using patterns in 1984.

Do you have favorite colors, fibers, designs, techniques?
No favorite colors, although I hate pink (but you probably already know that). These days I tend to use a lot of acid green, purple, and orange in with everything else – but generally I am not a primary color person. I love working with 100% cotton. Designs?  My own, which evolve as I work.  I never plan ahead.  As far as techniques – I love printing with thickened dyes and screen printing with textile paints – printing my own fabric or improving some of the ugly ones.

What inspires you?
 Anything and everything: a particular fabric (one I’ve printed) is a good starting place.  I love an urban feel – New York City’s grit, graffiti and old buildings feed my soul.

Do you have a favorite quilt, or one that you are most proud of?
Two favorites:  I think these are two of my best pieces.
Early Frost 2006


Harvest 2011


What are your favorite fabrics to work with?
Uh – my own handprinted fabrics and the gorgeous Indian batiks from  Usha of Handloom Batik.

Where do you sew?
Mostly in my small, cluttered sewing room but sometimes in my studio in East Orange.

What is your workspace like?
At home – did I say small and cluttered? An understatement.  My studio outside of the house is mostly a print studio – it is a happy place in an old industrial complex. High ceilings, southern exposure, great karma.  I am always happy there.

What kind of machine do you use? 
At home a Janome 6500 which I bought used from a friend. I love it.  In the studio, my wonderful old Bernina 1020 that I bought used about 15 years ago. It is a workhorse and sews like a dream.

What is your favorite part of the quilting process?
Designing on the wall, as I go along.

What is your least favorite?
The actual quilting, although since I don’t try to free motion any more I hate it less.

What is your favorite quilt-related reading source?
Catalogs from Quilt National and Visions – and my own two books, of course!  I don’t really use books.

Do you have a blog or online photo album of your work? 
Yes, my blog is http://studio78notes.blogspot.com  and my website, where you can see some of my work is http://www.studio78.net.

What are you working on now? 
Putting the facing on my latest quilt and getting another one ready to layer and stitch.  Never enough time.

What if the Mayans are right? just a litle over 3 weeks left!

So, I just wonder if you have been thinking if the world as we know it will come to an end on December 21, 2012?  I am not saying it will be the end of everything, but I do feel a huge change is on the horizon and have to ask, what are you doing to prepare, if anything? 

If it were really true, how would you spend your last 3 weeks?  What activities would you make mandatory and which ones would you skip because really what would be the point?  For example, would you quilt?  Would you sew?  Would you write?  Would you tell everyone that is important to you how much you love them?  Would you make amends with those that may have grown distant for any reason?  What is really important to you?

What quilting projects would you be sure to finish, in order to leave your legacy behind in case you don't survive the big change?  Have you in fact made a list of who should get each of your quilts or pieces or artful creations should you cease to exist?  I think we should all do this regardless of what the Mayan calendar may predict.  Label those quilts friends, just in case.

Are you stock piling canned goods and bottled water?  Are you holding onto your treadle sewing machine just in case the grid goes black and you still need to sew?  (I admit, I have one of these, still, just in case!) Was Superstorm Sandy just a dress rehearsal for what is to come in December? Perhaps, or hopefully not, but what if?

And with the Mega Millions Jackpot at Half a Billion Dollars tonite, what would you do with the money if you won?  Remember you have to play to win! 

Comments welcome!

Post Dec. meeting catch-up

Hi Everyone,

Jessica and Margy have volunteered to take notes at our meetings and between the two of them, alternate posting to the blog afterwards. That way, if you missed the meeting you'll know what went on and if you need reminders of what we did, they will be here.  In the meantime, I am posting because I don't want to bother them right before Christmas. 

A wonderful collection of fabrics came from Michael Mille, courtesy of the national MQG and they sent enough for 28 members to have a pile of fat quarters, which I spent a couple of days tearing and putting together.  Madrona Road is the collection and Michael Miller sent us 7 of the 12 fabrics in the blue collection (worth almost $23 each bundle of fat quarters you received).

Since it is up to each guild to decide what to do with it, we decided that each of you should have the fabric as a gift. The challenge is to see how creative you can be in making a quilted item with it. 

You can make a quilt, a quilted bag, a couple of pillows - whatever you want.  But it needs to be quilted and is due at the February meeting.  The only rule of this MQG challenge is that you can only add either  Michael Miller solids (which Beth has in the shop) or the other fabrics from this collection, available on line at various vendors.  Most of us opted for the solids for a more modern look but you can also use the other colorway (pinks and oranges, I think).

We will take photos to send to Michael Miller and post on the MQG flickr website.  

Sixteen bundles were given out at the meeting. I left the other 12 with Beth and the first dozen of you who stop at Rock Paper Scissors to pick up your bundle, will be able to participate in this challenge. Please leave your name with Beth so we know who has the bundles.

Here are a couple of show & tells -- Jessica with her Modern solids quilt and Sue with her very modern Modern Quilt -- both from the newbies class at Rock Paper Scissors. These don't look like Newbie quilts to me!

I spent the day attempting to clean up/organize my sewing room.  ARGH - don't ask!  Still not done, but a lot better.

This afternoon, I finally got around to wrestling the giant roll of batting out of the carton and rolling some of it out on my hallway floor.  Good grief, it is big.  I plan to cut some pieces to fit the two charity quilts that have been sitting in my sewing room and hopefully get them to the shop for the January meeting.  

I won't be at the meeting - I will be in Arizona that week, teaching Print Original Cloth-Create Original Quilts, as will Peggy.   But I hope that some of you will plan to get together on a Sunday afternoon, sew a backing together, and start stitching. 

Finally, the first four (Jan-April) meetings will be on the 4th Thursday instead of the 3rd Thursday. Beth either has a class on the 3rd Thursday or will not be here. In Feb, she and Aleeda will be at QuiltCon so we can look for an exciting report and lots of info at the March meeting.

Wishing you all a wonderful Christmas and New Year and please post and participate in this blog!
hugs to all,
Rayna

Hurricane Sandy Sew-A-Thon needs your help!

Hello quilt friends!  

I need your help! 

This Saturday, Nov. 17th from 2pm-5pm I am hosting a Sew-A-Thon in the basement of the Reformed Church of Highland Park!  

We will be making hats and mittens for those impacted by Hurricane Sandy that need warm things.  The church itself has partnered with groups in hard-hit areas like Keyport and Union Beach and they are driving down twice a week to directly deliver supplies.     

I need sewers (and cutters and kid watchers)!!  But, I also need fleece and stretchy knits to make the hats.  I hosted this event once before, two weeks ago, and we made a total of 32 hats, 4 neck warmers and a blanket.  This time, I want to make EVEN MORE! And, I think we can do it.  Our neighbors need it.

But, I need your help.  Can you donate fleece or jersey?  Can you suggest  a good mitten pattern and donate it?   Can you help out???  Please email me ahappystitch[at]gmail[dot]com if you can.

Any and all assistance is welcome! It's a great time and a great cause!  

Introducing.... Us! NNJMQG Profiles

Hi there, North Jersey Guild! It's time to get to know one another. This profile feature's goal is to showcase a member, her (or his) work, quilting history and philosophy. It's also a handy way to suggest some of your favorite links and resources and contribute to the blog. To kick things off, I took the questionnaire for a test drive. I feel like I could ramble about quilting forever so I kept things brief, but feel free to use the comments to continue the conversation. And be sure to contact me to share your own answers.

Name: 
Melanie Tuazon

Where do you live? 

Livingston, New Jersey



What do you do in your non-quilting life? 

I'm a stay-at-home-mom to Eli, 4, and Miles, 2 (pictured above). I sew when they are asleep, but if I have any free time, I read fiction (I just finished True Believers by Kurt Andersen), practice yoga and write essays. In other phases of my life, I have been a marketing trade journalist, a ballet teacher, a copywriter and an advice columnist.



my first quilt

When did you start quilting? 
How did you learn?
I took a sewing class in October 2011 at Rock Paper Scissors and have been quilting non stop ever since.

 I started by asking lots of questions of Beth and studying patterns and tutorials online. I jumped in and made a 36x36 mini quilt, making lots of mistakes along the way. But that's the best way for me to learn.

How would you describe your quilts?

I like to walk the line of elegant simplicity and interest. When things are too simple or perfect, they are often times not interesting (at least to me). I try to find those one or two elements that really give a quilt character. I definitely find crazy quilts interesting, but my style is naturally a little bit more understated. I don't have any signatures to my quilts yet-- I'm new enough that I'm trying new techniques with each quilt.



What inspires you?

It's very random, and I almost never see inspiration coming. Sometimes shapes and patterns just pop out of a piece of art or some bathroom tile. Right now there is a brick pattern on a wall that I see every day that I'm dying to try to replicate in a quilt.

 I've been getting a lot of inspiration from interior design lately.

Do you have a favorite quilt, or one that you are most proud of?

Definitely my skyline quilt. It was the first quilt that I designed that didn't feature just squares or rectangles. And besides loving the fabric and the results, it had a meaningful connection to the recipient. It was made for my only sister, who shares my love of New York, and her newborn daughter. 

It sounds ridiculously cheesy, but quilts take on a whole new level of magic when they're made with love.

What are your favorite fabrics to work with? (This can be designers, colors, fibers)

I really like to work with what I call "in between" colors-- shades that are hard to describe. I love deep greenish blues, brownish yellows and every shade of purple. I would have never considered yellow one of my favorite colors, but it keeps pulling me in and sneaking into a lot of my favorite quilts. I use quilting cotton almost exclusively, but I really enjoyed adding linen to one of my quilts.



Where do you sew? What is your workspace like? What kind of machine do you use?

 I just moved into a new house, and feel so lucky to have a devoted sewing space (in our old house I used the dining room and had to pack everything up after each sewing session). I use a table that was used in the kitchen of the old house for my fairly standard Kenmore machine. I use a tabletop ironing board and store my stash in plastic bins. I'm hoping to set up a design wall so that I don't have to lay things out on the floor, but that 's still just a plan in my head right now.



What is your favorite part of the quilting process? What is your least favorite?

I adore the planning process and picking out fabrics, but I can't stand cutting and piecing. When I'm cutting I always think, "why am I chopping this up just to sew it back together again?" And piecing can take so long that it's easy to get frustrated. But when a top comes together, I get motivated again, and enjoy basting, quilting and binding. I've really enjoyed free motion quilting lately, which I learned by obsessively watching videos on YouTube. For me, there's nothing like the satisfaction of hours of work coming together to make something beautiful. I've actually had trouble falling asleep after a free motion quilting session because I get such a rush of happiness and pride.



What are your favorite quilt-related websites? Books?

I have a major quilter's crush on Elizabeth Hartman. She blogs at www.ohfransson.com and wrote two great books, both of which I've read cover to cover. Her work is so modern and fun. She has so many beautiful quilts on her site, but the Space Invaders one really won over my geeky side. When I was starting out, I also learned a lot from cluckclucksew.com. I bought her Off Track pattern and studied it to understand the basics. Her tutorials are also really helpful.



Do you have a blog or online photo album of your work?

I post pictures of all of my quilts on my Flickr account and blog about each one (though not as much since the move) at melintheattic.wordpress.com



What are you working on right now?

I'm making a quilt with only solids, which is definitely out of my comfort zone. It's one of Elizabeth Hartman's patterns from Modern Patchwork-- Glam Garlands. I'm also finishing up a patchwork chevron quilt for Miles (above) and planning a throw to give to my mom for Christmas. It feels like a lot, but it's good to have quilts in different phases so that I can bounce around depending on the mood I'm in.



Would you like to take the questionnaire? Ask some more questions of your own? Suggest questions you'd like to see answered by our members? Send Melanie an email: melintheattic AT gmail DOT com.

I don't know about all of you but I am really looking forward to this Thursday's meeting!  Between hurricanes and snow, no heat or power, no internet or cable at the store ... I am ready for some fun with great people!!!

This month, we are welcoming Linda Lum DeBono, quilt designer, textile designer, and author. Linda recently published her new book, "Sew Merry and Bright", a wonderful collection of all things festive and creative, with every project reflecting Linda's bright and colorful trademark style!

Linda will share with us all about the projects in the book (with samples), as well as chat about the publishing process, how projects were chosen, or whatever else we would like to talk about.   There will be some time to purchase her book and get it signed!

Look forward to seeing you all there to give Linda a warm welcome from the North Jersey chapter of the Modern Quilt Guild!!!

 

See you on Thursday at 7:00pm!

 

Beth

Corrected link for EQuilter Quilt Relief program

Oops - the correct address for info re quilt relief effort is:
http://www.equilter.com/cgi-bin/webc.cgi/quiltrelief.html
Thanks to Diane in the Jersey Short Modern Quilt Guild for pointing out my error. Sorry, everyone.

Want to make some quilts for hurricane victims?

Hi all,

In keeping with the idea of organizing smaller groups for special projects, I was wondering if any of you would like to help make quilts for some of the hardest hit victims of Sandy. Equilter.com has organized major quilt drives for past disasters (911, Katrina, Japanese tsunami, etc.) and is spearheading a drive for 5,000 quilts for the Sandy victims. They have contacts and experience and have enlisted the help of RJR fabrics who will provide storage space and help with delivery.

Here is the link explaining the process:
http://northjerseymodernquilt.blogspot.com/

I am definitely interested in this and suspect that many of you will be as well. I know I've been feeling that I should be DOING something to help (in addition to monetary contribution of course). So, I'm thinking we could discuss this at the next meeting, make some plans and put the project in motion....Time is of the essence!

Start thinking about ways to organize such a project - and if anyone has experience in doing something like this we'd love to have your input.

Peggy Kelleher

A Michael Miller MQG Challenge!!

 I've already put in a request for this challenge, so hopefully we will receive enough fabric for everyone who is planning to participate!  Stay tuned!

 

Announcing Fall 2012 Fabric Challenge Madrona Road by Michael Miller

 

 

 

We know how much you loved the Robert Kaufman Kona Challenge and the Jay McCarroll Habitat Challenge. We are happy to announce this year's Winter challenge, Madrona Road by Portland Modern Quilt Guild Member, Violet Craft.

Once upon a time in the windy lands of the Old West a baby girl was born to a rooted father and a gypsy mother. And so begins the story of Madrona Road, a modern, sophisticated fabric collection of crisp florals, monochromatic textures and text prints.

The challenge begins December 1 and ends January 31. 

Rayna

More meeting news and notes re dues

Hi everyone -

I hope you've come through Sandy safely. I've been very lucky so far but my heart goes out to those who were less fortunate.

November meeting: Thurs, 11/15/12. I believe this is the meeting when Linda Lum DeBono will be presenting. If I'm wrong about the meeting, someone please let us all know! Check out her web site: http://www.lindalumdebono.com/

December meeting: Changed from Thurs, 12/20/12 to Thurs, 12/13/12.


I'm having so much fun working on the block from the Scrap Bag Exchange! The block should be 10 1/2" when done, and is due at the December meeting. The storm has given me some unexpected quality quilting time!

I agree totally with Rayna that the October meeting was very exciting, with lots of terrific program ideas and plans discussed! For example, Beth spoke briefly about one possibility for a guild/small group challenge: the 1,000,000 Pillows Challenge project (see allpeoplequilt.com).

Finally, Since the group voted for membership dues, we now have an "official" membership list which so far lists only those who were at the October meeting and have either paid or committed to pay the dues.


If you were not at the meeting and wish to become a member, you can either email me (peggy.kelleher@gmail.com) with your name, phone # and email address or just sign up at any meeting. I will be sending out an updated list to all members after each meeting.

The dues will be used for various things: batting and backing for quilts made by the group or small groups, programs, membership cards, etc. At this point, dues can only be paid either in cash (preferred) or by check made out to "Cash". Rayna will be handling the money and I will maintain the list. If paying the dues is a hardship for you, please just tell Rayna and they will be waived. Of course, this will be totally confidential.

Stay safe - and see you all next month!

Peggy

October meeting was lively!

Lots of discussion about business items, projects in the works, and show and tell from antique to modern!  

Dues, a necessary evil if we are to function as a group, will be $25 for a year. We started officially meeting in June, so it seems sensible to have dues be renewable in June.  Once you have paid (and gotten the first four months for free - LOL) you will be official and Peggy

will inscribe you in the list on her computer. She has kindly volunteered to keep the membership list - thanks, Peggy!! We also decided that new people can come to two meetings without paying but then have to join if they want to come again and be part of our NNJMQ.

So - bring checks or cash to the November meeting and you'll be official till June 2013. 

Other things:

• We need batting for the quilts we are making (Lonely Crayons) and other group activities. Fairfield was having a sale on their roll batting 100% cotton - 90" x 20 yds that retails for around $250. I was able to get it wholesale and on sale for the guild's use for $99.95 plus around $9 shipping. Yay!  It is now standing in my front hall. I'll bring it to the next meeting so we can cut what we need and then if anybody wants to volunteer to be Royal Keeper of the Batting, that would be great.

• Kelli is spearheading the QuiltCon charity quilt project, so if you want to make blocks and work on the quilt, let her know.

1. Small, informal "bees" are a great way to get acquainted. If you want to make a quilt with negative space or a quilt in purple, orange, and green; or exchange wonky blocks and make quilts with them (or anything else that sounds like fun) and a few people want to do the same thing - get together to make your quilts en groupe and then bring them to show and tell!  We'd love to see them.

• Melanie volunteered to profile different members on this blog so that we can all find out something about everybody. Great! Looking forward to it.

•  Please sign up as an author on the blog and share with us between meetings.  Let me know and I'll send you an invitation.

• On another subject -- we are a "Modern Quilt Guild" chapter and it would be nice to focus more on the modern sensibility.  More about this, next month.  In the meantime, you'll get a great feel of what Modern is about if you subscribe to updates on the National MQG blog - http://themodernquiltguild.com. Lots of info and great ideas, plus visuals.

Finally -- Show & Tell

Dawn brought in this wonderful old top to show us.  We decided that the postage-stamp Trip Around the World, probably from the 1940's, was too cool  to languish without somebody having it to love, so we decided to rescue it and finish it.  It's old but has a very graphic sensibility, despite its lack of - uh - negative space.

Here are a few more...

Next two meeting dates

Thursday, November 15

Thursday, December 13 (the 2nd Thurs)

Cheers,

Rayna

Weeks Ringle in New Jersey!

This is SOOO exciting!

In case you haven't yet heard, Weeks Ringle will be at Pennington Quilt Works on Nov. 15th, 16th and 17th. There will be a trunk show and 2 one-day workshops. Unfortunately, the trunk show on the 15th conflicts with our next guild meeting, but I am signed up for both of the workshops and I can't wait!

If you aren't familiar with Weeks, she and her husband (Bill Kerr) are two very talented modern quilt designers. You have probably seen some of their very inspiring books, including The Modern Quilt Workshop, Quilts Made Modern, and Transparency Quilts. I recently read a description of their work that I think is apt - they create "heirloom quality modern quilts". Their work is just beautiful.

They are a hot commodity these days and, looking at the teaching schedule posted on their web site (www.funquilts.com), it seems the next workshop scheduled for  anywhere on the east coast isn't until May of 2014 (in VA). If you get the chance to go see her in Pennington, I think it's going to be worth your while!

Here's the quilt shop's web site: www.penningtonquilts.com. FYI, without traffic Pennington is not too far from Princeton and is a little over an hour's drive from Montclair.

Hope you can work it out!

Peggy

MEETING Thursday, OCT 18!!

Just a quick reminder about Thursday night's meeting.  Bring your brown bag of scraps and something to share.

We have the Lonely Crayon quilt tops and are moving right along with them!  Kelli will talk about the QuiltCon charity quilts and we'll be talking about some business items.

PLUS - I have a giveaway for everybody!!

See you Thursday, Oct 18 (tomorrow) at 7 at Rock Paper Scissors!

QUILTCON-Community Service Opportunity

Several meetings ago, we discussed an opportunity to participate in a community service project in conjunction with QUILTCON, the inaugural quilt show presented by the Modern Quilt Guild.

from the Quiltcon specifications: As a way of giving something back to QuiltCon’s host city of Austin, Texas, we’re going to use the blocks that aren’t selected for the raffle quilt to make quilts for each of the 46 beds at the Austin Children’s Shelter. This will be MQG’s first large-scale charity project and we look forward to both using the many beautiful blocks we received for the challenge and getting as many guilds as possible involved in the process!  The quilts will be due to be delivered by, February 1, 2013.

So, I have registered our chapter as interested in completing a block, and we should expect our bundle of seven (7) blocks in the coming weeks.

I have the following members as interested as follows:

Jessica Fabula

Cortney Flores

Peggy Kelleher

Amy Kiger-Williams

Debbie Krajkowski

Amy Rehbein
Melanie Tuazon

Once the blocks come in, we will meet to review them and to begin our creative process. 

If you are interested in adding your name to the list, please email me at k puryear AT gmail DOT com (remove the spaces). ~ksp

Arts in the Park Festival in Highland Park!

Inspired by Rayna's call for more sharing I thought I would send out a 'better late than never' notice that I will have a booth at tomorrow's Arts in the Park Festival in Highland Park.  So, if you are looking for some art, music and festival food come out.  And be sure say hi to me at my booth...I'm 'a happy stitch'.

Hope I see you!
-Melissa

My new DVD from Quilting Arts is out!!

My copies of the "no rules" DVD, Free-Form Fabric Art, arrived today and I haven't opened them yet.  I'm not that eager to watch myself - LOL.

You can't tell from the clip on Quilting Arts' website, but I really had fun making this video. It's really an hour workshop of process - from printing to slicing to designing on the wall, if I remember correctly<g>.

Quilting Arts TV runs on Public Television but unfortunately we don't receive it in this area of the country.  I was a guest on the show and they asked me to film a workshop DVD afterwards, so this is it.  It's my second DVD for Quilting Arts - the first one was on gelatin printing. But honestly, this one is better -- and longer.

I really wish more of you would post on the blog and share your work between meetings.  Remember - OCTOBER 18TH is the next meeting!

Bring your scrap lunch-bag, something to share, and your ideas for actiivities/challenges you'd love to do. See you soon.

Lonely crayon blocks

On Sunday, four of us gathered at Rock Paper Scissors, Lonely Crayon blocks in hand, prepared to do something with them.  We had a great afternoon, and the results were entirely different than we had anticipated.

We laid out all of the blocks and it became obvious that there were vast differences in color and style to such a degree that there was no way to make a cohesive quilt no matter what we did, how we arranged the blocks, or what color we tried to pull it together with. 

While the original intent was to send it to QuiltCon, this would not be anything close to a modern quilt, despite the use of white in most of the blocks. So...the put-it-together committee decided that we should plan ahead for next year and think differently about the parameters if we are going to submit a quilt to QuiltCon.

Meantime, we had a collection of 35 or so blocks. So - we decided to divide up the blocks that would work together and use 24 of them to make two terrific charity quilts for children.  What fun!  Once we got started, we put together the puzzle pieces, trimmed them all to the same size, picked out sashing and border colors, and  cut/sewed.

Margy contemplating the arrangement.

Peggy about to sew.

These looked so contemporary together that we decided they didn't want sashing -- just a border.

We auditioned a bunch of fabrics and decided to be playful with the border. Here's Courtney, slicing away.

                                           Isn't this fun? It will look fabulous once it's backed and quilted!

The other quilt will have sashing; Margy took it home to finish the top, but here are the blocks laid out.

We'll bring the tops to the October 18th meeting and will need fabric for backing.  Along with your scrap bags, if you have any yards, half-or quarter yards you want to donate for backing, we'd be delighted.

Honestly, the whole collaborative project was so much fun and the afternoon just flew!  The four of us got to know each other and it was a great bonding experience.  We'll talk about it in October.  See you then!

September miscellaneous

Hi everybody,

Reminder for those who missed the last meeting: next meeting is Thursday, Sept 20th.

A few other things...

• If you have redone a UFO block, please bring it.  We're collecting them for a future charity quilt. 

• Kelli Puryear is spearheading the QuiltCon charity project -- which will happen we we receive the 7 leftover QuiltCon blocks we signed up for.  If you want to add yourself to the group who is contributing extra blocks and helping on this, let her know at the meeting or email her so she can put you on the list.

• If you want some ideas and a gorgeous eyeful of modern blocks, go to the MQG site  or the QuiltCon Block Challenge Flickr site and scroll down to see all the incredible and varied blocks they have received as entries for the QuiltCon quilt.  The link to the MQG blog is on our sidebar, just to make it easy.    

• If you have a book or tool to share, or something you want to get rid of (like magazines, UFOs or (heaven forbid) fabric or blocks you are tired of, why not bring it here to exchange?? It is amazing what somebody else can do with your old, tired, "what was I thinking?" stuff! Maybe even we could have a group challenge using your unwanted stuff:-)  Or - use your rejects in a charity quilt.  Hoarders - here's your chance to start cleaning up! LOL

Look what you can do with reject blocks and a little bit of spare fabric!

Looking forward to seeing you all on Thursday night next week, Sept 20.

Southern Jersey Quilt Exhibit

I noticed a little blurb for a quilt exhibit in Southern Jersey and thought I would share it, in case anyone was interested.  It's called 101 Quilts and it's at the African American Heritage Museum of Southern Jersey through December 15th.  The museum looks to have pretty restricted hours, especially on the weekend, but it sounds like it could be a very inspiring visit!

-Melissa

August meeting recap

We had a great meeting tonight - lots of items to talk about, lots of show and tell, lots of participation!  Here are just a few.

 Everybody (well, almost everybody) brought in their Lonely Crayon blocks - we have 30 of them with another two promised from Jeanine and Debbie. I brought them home with me tonight and couldn't resist taking pictures of some of them.  The range of color and design is wonderful and they should make a lively quilt.  We are getting together on Sunday, Sept 23 at Rock Paper Scissors, 12:noon to lay out the blocks and hopefully, get the top put together.  So far, we have 8 or 9 volunteers.  Here are some of the blocks I pulled out randomly.  Tip of the iceberg!

We are planning a quilt retreat,possibly for March.  People signed up for further info; if you did not, please email us nnjmodquilts@gmail.com and we'll put you on the list.

Kelli Puryear is in charge of the shelter quilt project we're going to do in conjunction with QuiltCon. More on this at next meeting, which is September 20th.

Also due at next meeting, your before and after blocks.  Some of them came in tonight and were fun to see. 

Don't forget - if you want to post anything at all to the blog, let me know and I will send you an invitation to be a contributor.  How about it??

Till next time.