Friday, September 22, 2017

September Sew-In

Despite today being the first day of autumn, it seems summer is not done with us yet and tomorrow is going to be a warm one. Where was this weather two months ago??


While the meeting space will hopefully stay cool and we do have a few fans we can use, you may also want to bring a cold drink with you. There is also a crèmerie across the street... if things get too warm, we can break for an ice cream! ;)

Also, we have not yet set up storage space in our new location so we will not have the iron and ironing board available as we usually do. If you plan on working on something that requires an iron, please bring one along with you. 

See you tomorrow at the SouthWest Mission (corner of Verdun and Melrose) from 12pm to 5pm! 

Friday, September 15, 2017

Skill Builder 2017-18 - Rail Fence by Stacy Pomerleau

Rail Fence is one of the simplest blocks. Made from sewing strips together (known as strip piecing) then cutting them into squares then are sewn back together to create a block.

The traditional layout alternates the stripes horizontally and vertically. Depending on the colour placement this can give either a zigzag, pinwheel or woven appearance.


(Image Source : Generations Quilt Patterns)

Being a simple block, there are loads of ways to modernize!
  • Colour choices! Pick bright solids, mix solids with prints, etc.
  • Scale! Make bigger, bolder blocks. Pair with smaller blocks. Mix up strip widths. When cutting strip, cut longer rectangles.
  • Add negative space!
  • Not everything need to by symmetrical!
Some of the sample blocks I created using the charity palette
3 sets of strips became 1 block (pinwheel layout)

 

Playing with the size of the cut strips (squares and rectangles) 
Looking at a variety of layout possibilities
 
  
 

Maybe your background don't need to the the lightest colour...


Some other examples:
Simple yet effective, mostly neutrals (upcycled men's shirts!) with pops of solid colours.
(Source: this & that by Pasqualina)

This table runner plays with varying strip widths and the blocks are rectangles!
(Source Pinterest Paula Woolston)

Varying the strip widths works wonders with this lovely fabric (Allison Glass Handcrafted, in case you were wondering!) Plus keeping the strips in the same direction is a nice change.
(Source: Thick and Thin by Blue Underground Studio)

This Faux-Weave block is quite lovely. Using a bold red and added the negative space is a great way to freshen this block up!
(Source: Faux Weave Block by Mathew Boudreaux)

This last one isn't technically modern, however I often find that some of the older quilts (Amish, Gee's Bend, etc) are often striking and bold and don't read as "traditional" quilts. This one was made circa 1880.
(Source: Pinterest)
While researching (scouring the internet for inspiration) I set up a Pinterest board. Most of the interesting ones, I've shared here, but just in case you want to take a look.

Wednesday, September 13, 2017

September 2017 Mtl MQG Meeting Minutes

September 2017 Mtl MQG Meeting Minutes
September 12, 2017 at 7pm South West Mission, Verdun, QC

Quick points of business:  Welcome
                                    New Space - honour system for the food pantry.
                                    Donation to the clothing swap at the coming up at the mission
                                    MQG - Exec team
                                                      - Steph - Prez
                                                      - Izzy - Vice Prez
                                                      - Claudia - Treasurer
                                                      - Stacy - Programmer
                                                      - Fiona - Secretary and social media Coordinator
                                                      - Josee - registrar
Raffle at the end of year - based on wearing a tag to meetings. Get your tickets from Izzy. 
                                    - We can set you up with partners to swag name tags if interested. 

We are a bilingual guild, we will help with translations when needed.

Monday, September 11, 2017

Meeting reminder!

Tomorrow, September 12th, is our first meeting of the 2017-18 year! Come join us at 7pm as we kick off a new year full of modern quilty goodness! Remember, we are meeting at our *new* location in the basement of the Verdun Elementary school. The entrance is on the corner of Verdun and Melrose.


We will be kicking off the Skillbuilder Challenge with a presentation by Stacy, catching up on what everyone has been doing over the summer, going over what is in store for us in the coming year, and we might even have a surprise or two to raffle off.

Also, for anyone who was interested in donating some fabric for Michele's fidget quilt project (you can read the full details in her forum post), she will be collecting fabric at the meeting.

Looking forward to seeing both old and new faces... see you tomorrow!