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!!