June Wrap-up

Hey all, Jessica here with a wrap-up of our last meeting, which was pretty exciting.

Big things are in the works for the North Jersey Modern Quilt Guild!  As you all know by now, we voted overwhelmingly to join the national MQG. Our officer campaign went so smoothly that every candidate ran uncontested and was nominated and seconded without a hitch.  So, in case you missed it, without further ado, here is our new leadership team:

President: Melanie T.
Vice President: Peggy K.
Program Coordinator: Beth R.
Secretary: Ashley H.
Treasurer: Jessica F.

We were much more excited than we look in the picture...I swear.  Oh, and Beth is missing because she was already out trying to get some programs for us! (Now, that is dedication to the job!)

Aleeda shared some pretty interesting stats from our survey.  81% of us consider ourselves "modern" quilters.  25% consider ourselves advanced beginners with 44% as intermediate.  As you will see in the  following pictures, I would say we have a modest bunch!  We hope to share the rest of the survey with you soon.

In other news, Margy highly recommends the Brooklyn Museum of Arts exhibit "Workt by Hand": Hidden Labor and Historical Quilts.  If you are in the area, be sure to stop in.  You can find more info here http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/exhibitions/quilts/

As always, its time for a special shout out to our visitors : Janet, Francine, Sally, Nancy, Diane, Rory and Alex!  We hope you enjoyed your visit with us!

There was lots to show and tell at this meeting...gorgeous stuff folks.  Enjoy!

Melanie showed off one of our lonely crayon quilts that is being sent to victims of the Oklahoma tornadoes.  How adorable is the backing!? That's just one piece of fabric!

 

Rachel's daughter spent some time teaching in an American school in Gambia.  She is now getting married, and her mom made this amazing wall hanging for her out of all Gambian fabric as fabric is a traditional wedding gift.

JoAnn showed a wall hanging from her craft room.  All of the flowers were free cut, fused and stay put by the quilting.  Isn't it cheerful?

JoAnn also showed us a quilt made for a challenge from Hoffman fabrics.

Sally's granddaughter will be a receiving a handmade quilt that tells all about her.  She has wanted to be a nurse since she was 6 years old, so Sally is incorporating Lorelai Designs panels of nurses.  She is using other fabrics and designs that tell all about her granddaughter.  What a sweet, personal, meaningful gift!

Nancy showed off some beaded sunbonnet sue blocks. A classic!

Lorraine made her very first quilt in Melanie's beginners quilt class at RPS.  Lorraine was very excited, and Melanie very proud.  Great job, Lorraine!

Sue showed off an absolutely adorable dress she made for her friend's 2 year old daughter with Olivia the pig fabric.  Sew sweet!

Ok, hold on to your hats for this one...this is Courtney's first quilt. FIRST quilt people!  The first floor of her mom's beach house was destroyed in Sandy, and Courtney chose all nautical themed fabrics to decorate the rebuilt room.  I just love it!

Since also taking Melanie's class, Ashley has been on a roll!  Although she has made several quilt tops, this is her very first finished quilt.  Can't you just see how excited she is?  This quilt is called "mine", as Ashley doesn't plan on giving it away.

Ashley made the Lilly Quilt for a cousin's baby.  The straight line quilting on this was outstanding.  Nobody would ever believe that Ashley is new to this.

Melanie has finished her Pop Strong quilt.  I'm sure the recipient is going to love it.  It is an extremely thoughtful work of art.

Betsy always has something amazing to show.  This quilt is called Summer Sorbet and it was displayed in the Garden State Quilt Show.  It was created for a McCalls challenge.

Judy had three different pieces to show us.  I particularly like the first which was inspired by a Kleenex tissue box!  Judy used Madrona Road to recreate the design which she faced with mitered corners.  It just goes to show that inspiration is everywhere!

Judy's second piece was from a class that Rayna did with the Warwick guild.

Her last was a slash block that used black and white half square triangles, and if I remember correctly, the purple was from an old bathing suit!

Mary showed off some cheerful pillows: one from Rayna's class about slashing up an ugly less desirable block and making it into something better and one that was liberated log cabins.

Mary also showed off this bag she made.

Josie showed off her twisted sister quilt.  It is just so happy!

Janet showed off some art quilts: Seeing My Journey,  a quilt inspired by a beach photo in sepia, Mixed Laundry (I'm not 100% certain that is the correct name) and Florida Rain.

Our meeting ended with a reminder from Aleeda that we all need to stop being so hard on ourselves and pointing out the flaws in our quilts. While not about quilting, a video by Dove called Real Beauty Sketches helps reinforce this idea.  Nobody will see the flaws unless you point them out.  Here is the video:

Keep your eyes peeled for exciting news and upcoming events as the new leadership team gets to work!  Reminder next meeting July 25th!  Until then, stay stitchin'!