January Meeting

Due to the first Tuesday of January falling on New Year's Day, our January meeting will be held on Wednesday, January 2 at 7pm. It's at our regular meeting location--A Quilting Place (11019 I Street). Items on the agenda include:

• Show & tell--bring your finished items or WIPs to share.
• Fabric for the Madrona Road Challenge will be handed out to those members who signed up to participate.
• There will be a quick demo on how to make converging corners quilt blocks. These are a modern take on traditional log cabin blocks. If you have any quilting examples of modern log cabin, please bring those to share.
• You can also see our completed Austin Children's Shelter quilt top!

Hope to see you there!

December meeting recap

The December meeting was a lot of fun and it was nice to see more new faces!

First up was show and tell:

We had a white elephant ugly fabric exchange.  (Of course I didn't get any pictures of this.) Members are encouraged to make something with the fabric they ended up with. There was a drawing with some great prizes donated by The Warm Company and Moda. We also had time to socialize and enjoy some wonderful holiday treats provided by Lori and Robin.

And a few announcements:

For those that signed up for the Madrona Road challenge, we expect to receive the fabric in December and it will be handed out at the January meeting. Participating members will have January and February to make their challenge projects.  There is a Madrona Road flickr group you can join and share pictures of your projects.

For those members interested in helping out with the Austin Children's Shelter charity quilt, we will be meeting on Saturday, December 29 at 10am at A Quilting Place (11019 I Street) to make the quilt top and back.  If you have fabric in the QuiltCon colors (plus white and gray) you would be willing to donate, please bring it along.

Since the first Tuesday in January falls on New Year's Day, we will be holding our January meeting on another day. When available, meeting information will be posted here on our blog and on our facebook page.

don't miss the December meeting!

Don't forget about our December meeting:

Tuesday, December 4 at 7pm

A Quilting Place (11019 I Street)

The agenda includes:

• Show-and-tell (of course!)--Bring your finished projects or WIPs to share
• Ugly fabric exchange--Bring one-half yard equivalent of your ugliest cotton quilting fabric to exchange.  Try to have no more than 3 to 4 pieces (that add up to one-half yard) and package it so nobody can see it!
• Time to relax and socialize

The group that is making the Austin Children's Shelter quilt will be getting started on this project very soon.  If you have any fabric scraps (solids or prints) or larger pieces in the QuiltCon colors (plus gray and white) you would be willing to donate, please bring them to the December meeting.

Hope to see you there!

QuiltCon quilt blocks

We received a set of 10 quilt blocks from The Modern Quilt Guild and they are beautiful!

Our job is to turn these 10 quilt blocks into a twin size quilt which will be donated to the Austin Children's Shelter.  We can do this by making additional quilt blocks, adding negative space, or a combination of the two.  The quilt must be machine quilted, bound, washed, and shipped to Austin before QuiltCon--the due date is February 1, 2013.

How can you help?

• Be a part of the group that will be piecing the top and backing.
• Donate your fabric scraps!  We need to provide all the materials to complete the quilt.  If you have solid scraps in the colors of the QuiltCon logo (plus gray and white) or larger pieces for the backing, we would love to put them to good use.

• Share your ideas for piecing the top by leaving a comment on this post, in our facebook group, or in our flickr group.  Nine of the blocks measure 12.5" square and one block is 12.5" x 5.75".  The completed quilt will need to be no smaller than 68" x 88" and no larger than 72" x 92".

In playing with some possible layouts I realized how bad I am at this!

Help us out with your suggestions!

November meeting recap!

Our November meeting was held Tuesday, November 6 at the new location of A Quilting Place (11019 I St).  There were some new faces so continue to spread the word about our group!

The meeting started off with show and tell.  It's always nice to see what everybody has been working on and it's a great way to get feedback and advice on our projects.  While pictures may have already been posted on member blogs, on our facebook page, and in our flickr group, it's nice to see these quilts and other projects up close and in person.

Michele presented two upcoming quilting opportunities:

1. Our guild will be making a twin-size quilt for the Austin Children's Shelter using quilt blocks we have received from The Modern Quilt Guild's QuiltCon Block Challenge. As a way of giving something back to QuiltCon’s host city of Austin, Texas, The Modern Quilt Guild is going to use the blocks that were not selected for the raffle quilt to make quilts for each of the 46 beds at the Austin Children’s Shelter. If you're interested in helping make our quilt, please comment on this post, comment on our facebook page, or send an e-mail to info.omqg@gmail.com.  (More info will be coming shortly including pictures of the amazing blocks we received.)
2. The Modern Quilt Guild is having a Winter 2012 Fabric Challenge with fabric from Modrona Road by Violet Craft for Michael Miller.  We don't have a lot of details now (more info will be given by The Modern Quilt Guild on December 1) but we have to turn in the number of people participating by November 23.  If you're interested in participating in this challenge, please comment on this post, on our facebook page, or send an email to info.omqg@gmail.com.

Members were able to vote for the November demo and the winner was machine applique. Robin gave an excellent explanation/demo of machine applique.  Thanks Robin!

We are planning the December meeting now and look forward to seeing everybody on Tuesday, December 4!

New Meeting Space!

Our current meeting location, A Quilting Place will be moving to a new, larger location & will be in their new space in time for our meeting next Tuesday, 11/6/12!

The new address is: 11019 I Street, Omaha, Nebraska
 

View Larger Map


We can't wait to see everyone Tuesday evening at 7pm- be sure to bring a "show & tell" piece!- whether it's a Work In Progress (WIP) or Finished Object (FO), we'd love to you've been up to!

it's time to vote!

For our next meeting on Tuesday, November 6, the topic/demo will be member's choice!  Please vote now on our Facebook page.  If you aren't on Facebook, you can vote here by leaving a comment on this post.  The 4 choices are:

1. Hexagons:  Several techniques for piecing with hexis plus great project ideas.
2. Fabric Flowers:  A great accent to many sewing projects.
3. Machine Applique:  Tips and tricks to make the process easier.
4. Half Square Triangles:  Half a dozen ways to make and use this versatile block.

The topic with the most votes by Wednesday, October 31 will be presented at our November meeting!

October meeting recap

We were glad to see some new faces at our October meeting--thanks to everybody who attended.  The meeting started off with some show and tell. . .

We had a small enough group that we were able to have a good discussion about our favorite part of quilting, how long everyone had been quilting, and what drew us to modern quilting.

After everyone had a chance to show off their projects, I gave a presentation on internet/social media and modern quilting. (I am not a huge fan of public speaking so I really appreciate everybody's support!)  If you were unable to make it to the meeting, you can see the power point here.

The challenge for October is to create a flickr account (if you don't already have one), find the Omaha Modern Quilt Guild on flickr, and upload a picture of your convergence challenge piece (or another photo) to the group page.  In case you missed the meeting or forgot how to do this, I will be back with another blog post later this week with step by step instructions.

October Meeting

Don't miss our October meeting!

Tuesday, October 2 @ 7pm

A Quilting Place

10841 Q Street

The front door will be locked so please park on the back (south side) of the building and enter through the door connected to the meeting room.  Thanks!

There will be a presentation on quilting and the internet/social media.  Come learn more about blogs, flickr, Pinterest and more.  Bring works in progress or completed projects to share.  If you've started working on your convergence challenge project, bring it along, too. We hope to see you there! 

AQS Quilt Show - Des Moines, Iowa

If you're looking for something to do next weekend, the American Quilter's Society Quilt Show will be in Des Moines, Iowa.

AQS Quilt Show

October 3 - 6, 2012

Iowa Events Center

Des Moines, Iowa

The registration deadline has been extended and you can register online.  There is a special exhibit of Japanese quilts, workshops, and a Merchant Mall where you will find the latest in quiltmaking supplies, new and antique quilts, and quilt-related gifts.

on-line fabric swaps

Looking for a way to build your fabric stash? Fabric swaps are a fun way to do just that. Most involve swapping 5 inch charm squares but others swap 10 inch squares, fat quarters, or any number of other sizes. After you find and join a swap that interests you, you purchase and cut the assigned amount of fabric (usually one yard) into the assigned size, and ship them and a pre-paid return envelope to the swap hostess. The hostess then sorts the fabric and mails it back to you.  If you're looking for a swap to join, there is a Fabric Swap Finder flickr group where people post swap ideas and links to sign-ups.  Some of the swaps that have occurred are polka dot, stripes, I spy, rainbow, neutrals, solids, Christmas, and modern designer fabrics.

I participated in my first fabric swap on flickr this past spring and I've been hooked every since.  We swapped 5 inch charms of polka dot fabrics.  I used mine to make this polka dot pinwheels quilt top.

(I've been working on it forever but I'm almost done quilting it.  My goal is to have it finished to share at the October meeting.)

If you don't find the swap you want, you can always host your own.  I was looking for an I spy swap but there were none going on, so I jumped in and hosted one in March.  There's some great instructions on how to host a swap here.

September meeting recap

Okay, it's a little late, but how about a recap of our September meeting?  If you missed the meeting or want to review what we talked about, the minutes are here.

Some members brought projects to share:

Exec member Carey demonstrated convergence quilting:

You can find a link to Carey's handout here.

Members are challenged to make their own convergence quilt and bring it (or you work in progress) to the October or November meetings to share.  The October meeting will be about the internet and social media.  Come learn more about flickr, instagram, blogging, and more!

it's almost time for our September meeting!

August flew by and it's almost time for our next meeting:

Tuesday, September 4, 2012 @ 7pm

A Quilting Place

10841 Q Street

Omaha, NE 68137

The agenda includes:

recap of the August meeting

show and tell (bring finished projects or works in progress)

agenda for future meetings

a demonstration of convergence quilting

our first guild challenge

The executive committee wants your ideas:

What are your expectations of the OMQG?

What activities / demonstrations do you want to see?

Stay connected!

join us on flickr

visit us on facebook

Tell your friends, spread the word and we'll see you on September 4th!

QuiltCon Registration Videos

QuiltCon registration open August 30 at 10am EST!

 

In order to help make the registration process smooth as possible, they've created some great video tutorials!

 

Learn how to:

• How to register for show passes
• How to register for lecture passes & workshops
• How to add lecture passes & workshops to your registration

Have other questions?  Check out their frequency asked questions.

So are you planning on attending?  What workshops or lectures are you hoping to get into?  Please share!
We'd love to hear from you!

the modern quilting bee

With the development of modern quilting, the quilting bee has also taken on a modern twist. There are numerous online quilting bees and one that I'm a part of is do. Good Stitches {a Charity Bee}. There are several different circles and each member contributes quilt blocks each month to be made into a quilt for a charitable group.  My group, the WISH circle, makes quilts for Project Linus. We've only been working on blocks since June but already have one completed quilt to donate. I'm amazed that 11 members from across the country can combine their unique blocks to make a beautiful quilt. It's a quilting bee gone modern!

In June, our group admin Erica decided our first blocks would be these scrappy kaleidoscopes from Don't Call Me Betsy. We were given instructions to make two 12.5 inch blocks using bright pinks, purples, and oranges with some light to medium grays/neutrals. The goal is to work from your stash and for my blocks I came up with these:

(This was my first attempt at a pieced block, and I was pretty happy with the results.) I was blown away when I saw a picture of the completed quilt:

It's wonderful what a group of quilters can come up with whether they "meet" online or get together in person as a guild or group. It's a great way to try new blocks and techniques, meet new people who share similar interests, and sometimes even benefit an organization in need. 

quilting and the internet

When it comes to quilting, where do you find your inspiration? In the modern quilting movement, the internet seems to play a large role in how quilters communicate and share ideas. Much of my inspiration comes from other quilters I have "met" through blogs, flickr, and online fabric swaps and bees. (And I admit that I would probably get a lot more actual quilting done if I spent a little less time on the internet!) While there are numerous places on the web you can find and share what inspires you, today I'll talk about Pinterest and flickr.

Pinterest

Pinterest is a virtual pinboard that lets you "pin" almost anything you can find on the internet. To me, it's a better way of "bookmarking" something because you have a visual reminder of what you pinned. Once you open an account, you create various categories of boards and start pinning! On my Pinterest account, I've created boards for quilts to make, quilt blocks, quilt tips and techniques, and my quilts. Just looking through some of my quilting boards is often enough to motivate me to get going on a project. The drawback of Pinterest is potential problems with copyright infringement.

Flickr is a website that allows you to organize and share your photos. You can create an account for free, but there are limits to the number of photos you can have and groups you can post in.  Upgrading to a paid account avoids a lot of those limits.  You can also create and join groups and there are over a thousand groups centered around modern quilting.  Did you know the Omaha Modern Quilting Group is on flickr?  Come join us and add photos of your projects to our group pool!

QUILTCON Countdown

27 days! Registration for the conference opens August 30th.  For more on QUILTCON (a quilt conference presented by The Modern Quilt Guild), visit their page.

First Meeting!!

A big Thank YOU to everyone who attended our first meeting!  We are thrilled with the interest we have received in the guild and can't wait to see what the future holds!

Our next meeting will be Tuesday, August 7th at 7:00pm. Bring any projects, books, or patterns that convey your idea of modern quilting.  We will discuss the ideas and themes we see.

If you haven't yet, join us on Facebook!
Omaha Modern Quilt Guild

Happy Quilting!!