July 2014 Meeting Photos!

Happy almost-end of Summer!  Here are some great photos from the July South Florida Mod meeting.

Show and Tell:








Blocks of the Month and Bee Blocks:



And an incredible quilt made by all of the talented members of the Guild!  Thank you so much!

August 2014 Meeting Topics:
--Zippers!
--Bring in projects relating to zippers and how to use them.  Bags, art quilts, wearables, etc.
--If you took zippers for our "zipper challenge," please bring in the results (or works in progress) for Show and Tell!

August Block of the Month:
For our August Block of the Month, we are using one of the Sew, Mama, Sew block of the month patterns! It's quick and allows you to try your hand at a bit of VERY easy paper piecing!

Please use colorful fabrics for the three stripes (prints or solids) and white for the background.  Here is the link to the pattern:

http://www.sewmamasew.com/2011/12/modern-block-of-the-month-bom-december-sew-along/



Our next meeting will be held on Saturday, August 16th, from 10am to 12pm at StitchCraft in Boca Raton.  See you soon!


June 2014 Meeting - Photos!

Happy Summer!  Here are some great photos from the June meeting of the South Florida Modern Quilt Guild.

Bee Blocks:



 Block of the Month:




Project Linus Lecture:



Project Linus Quilts:





 Unfortunately, I could not stay for Show and Tell, but I am sure that all of the quilts were beautiful!

Reminder:  Our next meeting will be held on July 19th, 2014, from 10am to 12pm, at StitchCraft in Boca Raton.  See you soon!

Block of The Month - April, May and June 2014!

Here are the Blocks of the Month for April and May/June!

April 2014:  Charm Square Butterflies.
In honor of springtime, our April Block of the Month is the Charm Square Butterfly block! These are small, wonky and quick to create, so make a bunch!

http://fourwisemonkeys.blogspot.com/2011/01/tutorial-how-to-make-charm-square.html

May/June 2014:  Big Polaroid Block.
Our May/June Block of the Month is a big polaroid block! Please use white around the edges to make the focus fabric look like an old-school polaroid. This is perfect for using novelty fabrics!

Note: we will be having a charity sewing day in lieu of the May meeting (more information to follow), so this block is for both the May and June meetings.  We will have the drawing in June; if you bring in your block for May but do not plan to attend the June meeting, please pin your name to the block so we know who to contact if you win.

http://www.charmaboutyou.com/2012/04/big-polaroid-picture-and-tiny-pattern.html

Photos from February's Meeting!

Happy almost-spring!  Charlotte graciously hosted the February guild meeting in Boca, and it sounds like it was a fabulous time!  Here are some photos and a quick recap:

Charlotte discussed the ins-and-outs of entering quilt competitions.  These are great opportunities to exhibit your beautiful quilts, enjoy some friendly competition and stretch your quilting skills.  She also distributed two handouts, which we will send around with the upcoming newsletter.





The Bee blocks (shown on the left side of the photo below) turned out beautifully!  Love the colors and random placements of the triangles.


The Block of the Month was the "Scrappy Trip Around the World."  They look great all together!



The finished Riley Blake challenge items were displayed, and it was so much fun to see how everyone used the colors, patterns and designs.  A great job for all the participants.  If you are still working on your Riley Blake challenge, please bring it in when you've completed it!






Check out the incredible Round Robin quilts that will go to local girls and boys in need! 
 





 And to wrap it up, here are some beautiful show and tell photos (including button-shaped cookies...yum)!











We look forward to seeing everyone at the next meeting on Saturday, March 15th, from 10am to 12 noon at StitchCraft in Boca Raton!

New from the Mailbag!

Here are some great new shows and updates from our mailbag!

1.  Treasure Coast Quilt Guild:  Quilt Beach! 
--The Treasure Coast Modern Quilt Guild is hosting a big Modern Quilting show, called Quilt Beach!
--Saturday, February 22, 2014.
--Located at the First Presbyterian Church, 520 Royal Palm Boulevard, Vero Beach, FL.
--Luke Haynes and Victoria Findlay Wolfe will be speaking (by digital uplink) to the participants.
--There are optional workshops as well.
--Modern quilts from all over the state are being exhibited, there are vendor tables and other MQGs from the state will be present.
--You can submit your quilt for exhibition!
-- Details are on the website: http://www.quiltbeach.com

2.  Coral Springs Quilt Guild:  Cheryl Lynch guest speaker and workshop!
--Friday, February 28th, 2014 at 7:00pm at Cypress Hall at Cypress Hammond Park; 1300 Coral Springs Drive. 
--Cheryl is know for her art quilts, pattern designing &has written a book called, "¡Quilt Fiesta!." 
--The lecture will be on "South of the Border".  Cheryl's interest in Mexican folk art, where it began and how she transformed Mexican folk art tiles into quilt designs.
--The Workshop is now open to non-Coral Springs Quilt guild members.  The workshop will be on "Surprising Designs from Mexican Tiles".  Cheryl will be using her book  ¡Quilt Fiesta! as the base for this workshop.  You will create your own block that will create a secondary design formed where the 4 block corners meet.  No kit fee.  Pattern include in workshop.  
--Workshop is on Saturday, March 1st, 2014 at Saint Mary Magdalene Church - Parish Hall; 1400 Riverside Drive; Coral Springs, FL
--Lecture fee:  $5.00, Workshop fee: $45.00 
 
3.  West Pasco Quilters' Guild:  Biennial Quilt Show
--March 14, 15 and 16, 2014 (Friday, Saturday and Sunday)
--Recreation and Aquatic Center of New Port Richey on Van Buren St.  between Massachusetts St. and Main Street.
--A live large quilt auction and a silent small quilt auction, a wonderful boutique of hand made items, free lectures and demonstrations, childrens' activities, lots and lots of vendors and yes, quilts, quilts, quilts!  Over 400 quilts!  --Admission is $7 per day or $10 multi-day 
 
4.  Venice Area Quilters Guild:  Quilting by the Gulf Show--March 8 and 9, 2014 (Saturday and Sunday).
--Venice Community Center, 326 S. Nokomis Avenue, Venice, Florida.
--For more information, check out:  www.VAQG.org
 


January Photos and Recap!

The winter is flying by!  Here is a quick recap of our January meeting and some great photos.

1.  Topic of the Month:  Beth, one of our very talented members who is also a longarmer, taught us how to create a striped chevron quilt!  The project was interesting to learn about, and the results are fabulous!



2.  Round Robin Quilts:  we have a lot of beautiful Round Robin quilts in progress!  They will all be made into beautiful quilts for children in need.







3.  Antique Block Challenge:  Beth's amazing antique Pennsylvania Dutch friendship blocks were turned into a bunch of "modern" quilt blocks!  They all came out very differently but looked great together!  One of our lucky members won all of the blocks!


4.  Riley Blake Challenge:  our Riley Blake challenge is due in February, but some of our talented members got a head start on their projects.  Here are the great results!



 5.  Show and Tell:  check out the beautiful quilts that our members recently completed!














Reminder:  our next meeting is Saturday, February 15th, from 10am to 12pm at StitchCraft in Boca Raton!  See you soon!

Quilt Shows and Competitions - From the Mailbag!

Here is some information we've recently received in our mailbag regarding upcoming quilt shows and competitions.  Enjoy!

1.  Florida Modern Quilt Retreat!
--The Sarasota Modern Quilt Guild is organizing the first Florida Modern Quilt Retreat!
--It will take place on May 15th to 18th, 2014, at the Kenilworth Lodge in Sebring, Florida.
--The retreat lasts for three nights and includes optional workshops, breakfasts, some dinners, door prizes, etc.
--The cost is $250 for double occupancy for $350 for single occupancy.
--For more information, go to:

http://www.floridamodernquiltretreat.com/

2.  Suncoast Quilt Expo:
--The Suncoast Quilt Expo will be held on Friday and Saturday, March 7th and 8th, 2014.  It will be held at the Bradenton Area Convention Center (1 Haben Boulevard, Palmetto, Florida).
--For information regarding the show and quilt entry forms, go to:

http://www.manateepatchworkers.org/QuiltShow2014.html

3.  Jewish-Themed Quilt Show - Call for Entries
--The Chase Family Gallery of The Mandell Jewish Community Center will present, "Connecting Threads Quilt Show - Quilting as part of Jewish Life,"a quilt show for its summer art exhibition.
--It will be held from July 8th to August 31st, 2014 in West Hartford, CT.
--The exhibition will demonstrate how Jewish women with a simple piece of fabric and a length of thread has had the ability to connect Jewish traditions from one generation to another.  Quilts that meet these criteria are welcome.
--Quilt entries are open until April 4th.
--For more information, please contact southfloridamod@gmail.com for the flyer.




4.  Belleview Busy Bee Quilters Show
--The Belleview Busy Bee Quilters will host a quilt show on Friday and Saturday, February 14th and 15th, 2014.
--The show will be held at Silver Springs Shores Presbyterian Church, 674 Silver Road, Ocala, Florida.
--For more information, please contact southfloridamod@gmail.com for the flyer.


Upcoming Blocks of the Month

For the Boca chapter, here is the upcoming information for the Blocks of the Month!

JANUARY:  Half-square Triangle block, in 12.5 inches square.  Please use a white background and any colors for the triangles.  Here is the tutorial:

http://blog.spoonflower.com/2013/11/modern-half-square-triangle-quilt-block-tutorial.html

FEBRUARY:  Scrappy Trip Around the World block, 12.5 inches square.  Please use as many colors and scraps as you like!

 http://portlandmodernquiltguild.blogspot.com/2013/01/january-bom-2013.html
or
http://quiltville.blogspot.com/2005/06/scrappy-trips-around-world.html

MARCH:  Glimma Crosses Block (make one or more), 7 inches square unfinished.  Use any colors you like!

http://filminthefridge.com/2014/01/15/glimma-crosses-a-free-pattern/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+FilmInTheFridge+%28Film+in+the+Fridge%29

  

December Meeting Photos!

Happy 2014!  Here is a quick photo recap of the December guild meeting.  Enjoy the photos!


The December Bee block was this beautiful modern mosaic block!



Here is December's Block of the Month.  The block was easy and fun, and the colors were great!  Members also brought in some older Blocks of the Month and Bee Blocks.



Here are two Round Robin quilts in progress.  The completed baby quilts will go to children in need, thanks to Project Linus!




After a quick recap of the latest news and events, we pushed the tables together and learned how to English Paper Piece!  It was fabulous seeing our members sewing together and learning a new technique.



A little show and tell ended the meeting.  Beautiful quilts!






Finally, here is a photo of the amazing quilt that was exhibited at the Mancuso show in West Palm Beach in December.  Charlotte and the rest of the Bee members created this beautiful design.  Congratulations to all!



REMINDER:  Our next meeting is Saturday, January 18th, from 10am to 12pm at StitchCraft in Boca Raton.  See you there!

Kumquat Quilt Challenge

East Pasco Quilters and Greater Dade City Chamber of Commerce January Quilt show in Dade City.
 
The 2014 Kumquat Festival will be held January 25, 2014 in Dade City Florida, and includes the Kumquat Quilt Challenge.  Participation is open to all, and there is no entry fee.  

The 2014 theme is "THE ORANGE DIMENSION ".  Prominent and creative use of orange is required. There are six categories, including a Junior Quilter category for quilters age 17 and under. Adults have a choice of five categories, including Small Quilts, Large Quilts, Wearables, Miniature Quilts and Miscellaneous items.
Entries should be submitted to the Greater Dade City Chamber of Commerce office between 8am and 5pm beginning January 13 and January 17, 2014.
Our guild has the entry forms. If interested, email southfloridamod@gmail.com

Amelia Island Quilt show

The Amelia Island Quilt Guild announces the 12th Triennial Quilt Show "Quilts By the Sea" to be held February 21 and 22, 2014 at the Peck Center Gym, S. 10th Street and Elm Street, Fernandina Beach, FL from 9:00 - 5:00. 
 
The show will feature over 200 beautifully displayed quilts, a raffle quilt, craft and quilt boutique items, vendor mall, silent auction, and more. 
 
Amelia Island is home to many beautiful bed and breakfasts, inns and resorts.  Wonderful restaurants offer everything from 5-star cuisine to fresh shrimp and fish from local boats.  Downtown Fernandina Beach is filled with historic homes and buildings and is perfect for shopping, browsing, or just taking a stroll.
 
More information and directions can be found on our website AIQuilters.com.

SewDown Nashville

Registration starts this Monday, 11/11 for SewDown Nashville, a weekend conference for the Modern Quilt Guild. Who wants to go?

http://www.themodernquiltguild.com/content/sewdown-nashville

About the Event

SewDown Nashville is an all-inclusive weekend quilting getaway in the beautiful luxury Loews Vanderbuilt Hotel. Hotel, meals and all workshops are included in the attendance fee. Live it up from Friday through Sunday with a full load of workshops and tons of sewing fun! Learn from superstar workshop instructors Carolyn Friedlander, Anna Maria Horner, Angela Walters, and Victoria Findlay Wolfe. Get inspired with lectures from Alexia Marcelle Abegg and Elizabeth Dackson.
 
Attendees will also be invited to join Anna Maria Horner in her Nashville home studio for an exclusive tour and cocktails! Transportation will be provided.
 
Can't make the entire weekend? Lecture packages will be available too!

 

Workshops

Classes are 3-hours each. When you register, you will be enrolled in all four of the provided workshops. We will provide your schedule upon check-in onsite. Workshop teachers for SewDown Nashville are:  

 
Lectures

Lectures occur during meals and approximately 45 minutes each. Lecturers for SewDown Nashville include:

 
Full Package 
Shared room: $935 non-members/$750 MQG members
Single room: $1200 non-members/$960 MQG members
Includes:
All four workshops
Studio tour with Anna Maria Horner
All meals (2 breakfasts, 2 lunches, 2 dinners)
Hotel stay for the duration of the SewDown
All lectures
All open sews
 
Local Package
$600 non-members/$480 MQG members
Includes:
All four workshops
Studio tour with Anna Maria Horner
All lunch and dinner meals (2 lunches, 2 dinners)
All lectures
All open sews
 
We have a limited number of local packages available. 
 
Want to come for part of the event?
 
Lecture Package: $190/each
Provides entrance to all lectures for SewDown Nashville and meals that accompany lectures 
 
Registration opens November 11, 2013.
 

Frequently Asked Questions

Date: 
04/11/2014 to 04/13/2014
Location: 
Loews Vanderbuilt Hotel in Nashville
2100 West End Ave.

South Florida Mod - Jupiter Sat, Sept 21, 2013


Four new attendees were welcomed to the group:  Linda M., Kathy J. and sisters Alaine & Claire.



Door Prize winners
Donna, Kathy , Patti, Patty, Marty, Marta, Alaine, Claire and Joan.

Sharing
Barbara Kahn announced the passing of two beloved well know quilters who helped shape the industry.  Mary Ellen Hopkins had a zany yet relaxed way of creating quilts and was also a fabric designer and shop owner.   Jeffrey Gutcheon, fabric designer and author,  created a wonderful line of quilter’s solids and prints along with writing a column for the Quilter’s Newsletter Magazine.












September Discussion Topic – What is Modern Fabric?
It’s usually not florals, dots or traditional fabrics.  It’s geometric, simple designs and simple patterns.  It can be clear colors or grey tones in the colors.  Fabric that is or reads as solid, has a crisp look and clean lines.  Most everyone brought great examples.
 




September Program presented by Marta
What is Flikr and Pinterest?  These are internet sites that allow us to post and copy images of quilts and fabrics and a whole lot more.  Flikr also has “groups” with whom to swap fabric or blocks.  Pinterest has a broader spectrum of boards including recipes, fashion, crafts, illustrations, sports, words, etc.  Both are used for inspiration, education with tutorials and links to YouTube.  Marta showed us how to go to the websites and how to get started with creating our own accounts.


The Circle Block Swap was won by Joann J.  Next month the block swap will be hexagons, cream background and bright colors.  Alaine and Claire will be joining this group.




Patty Rybolt was the recipient of this month’s Block Party blocks focusing on asterisks.  She had given each person fabric to use in the blocks with a size requirement of 16 ½” x 18 ½”.  Patty Rue will get the blocks next month asking for “Wonky Stars” using her background fabric and our own “sherbert” color prints.  Due to one person no longer able to participate, Debbie K. will be added to this group. 
  





October program will be presented by Alaine & Clare who will talk to us about the “Craftsy” website.
Reminders to bring:  name tags, door prizes, and fabric you may have collected from other parts of the country/world.


November program will be presented by Joan and the topic will be Hexagons.
December will be a sew-in on the 7th,  just working on our own projects and being companionable.  Members should bring a handmade gift to swap and something for all of us to knosh on.  Come for all or part of the day.

Modern Quilt Tutorials

If you want to try a new modern quilt block, go to our Modern Quilt Tutorials page where we have links to instructions for many modern quilt blocks. If you see other tutorials on the Internet that you think other members would like to try, please comment on this post and include the link.
Here is the tutorial page. Or you can find it on the menu at the top.
Modern Quilt Tutorials

Modern Quilt Tutorials

The Modern Quilt GuildModern Quilt Guild Tutorials
Quilt JaneThe Desperate Housewife's Quilt - 50 Modern Blocks
Heather JonesWonky Log Cabin
Charlotte NewlandRefraction Block
Charlotte NewlandFractured Pervalong
Josee CarrierWonky Kite Stripe Block
Teaginny DesignsAlex
Elizabeth HartmanPaintbox Quilt-Along
Elizabeth HartmanBillboard Quilt-Along
The Silly BoodillyWonky Star
Film in the FridgeConverging Corners Log Cabin
Scissor Fob Tutorials:
Pocket Scissor CasePocket Scissor Case
Pocket Scissor CasePocket Scissor Case
Triangle Scissor CaseTriangle Scissor Case
Hanging Folded Fabric Scissor PouchHanging Folded Scissor Pouch
Little Scissor CaseLittle Scissor Pouch
Scissor PouchScissor Pouch
Wrist pincushion tutorials:
All People QuiltPincushion Patterns
Sew Stylish PincushionSew Stylish Pincushion
The Long ThreadPincushion
Wrist Pin CushionWrist Pincushion
Wrist Pin CushionWrist Pin Cushion
Dolls and DaydreamsWrist and Ring Doll Pin Cushions
Lucy Kate CraftsPin Cushion

July Meeting - Recap and Show and Tell Photos

Here is a brief recap and some fun photos from our July meeting!  Enjoy!

Bee and Challenge blocks:

Wonky log cabin blocks and some "put a bird on it blocks" from the Virtual Bee.

The Block Swap completed blocks!

The Sunbonnet Sue challenge blocks.  11 vintage hand-sewn blocks were given to volunteers, who will "modernize" the blocks to "Save Sunbonnet Sue!"
Recap:
--We discussed delegating responsibilities in the guild, such as bringing snacks, updating the website, taking photos, etc.  A few members have volunteered, and it will be fun to have everyone participate!
--We discussed about how to focus the guild on more "modern" topics.  Accordingly, each meeting for the next few months will focus on a specific modern quilting topic.  The August meeting will focus on "what is modern fabric."
--We mentioned the various challenges, contests, retreats and news in the quilt world.
--We talked about each member creating a sewn/quilted nametag for the guild meetings each month.  There are some beautiful examples of nametags on Pinterest and the internet for inspiration!

Show and Tell!
























We look forward to seeing everyone at our next meeting on Saturday, August 17th, from 10am to 12pm at StitchCraft in Boca Raton!

Jupiter Chapter - July Meeting Recap!

Happy summer!  Here is a great recap of our Jupiter chapter's July meeting.  Enjoy:
Joan opened the meeting to 20 attendees, several of whom were already sporting name badges (see photos).
 


















News in the Modern quilt world included the first sewdown in Philadelphia Sept 6-8, and the Portland Meetup August 15-18 hosted by 9 modern guilds.  Marta also gave us an update on the blog world.  She’ll do something more specific for our September meeting.  Several members brought books and articles to share with the group.
Patty  R. provided our first member presentation.  She spoke extensively about her experiences designing fabric, from preparing or selecting artwork, to translating these into images, to actually creating fabric, wallpaper, decals, even gift wrap.  She uses  Spoonflower.com for the creation part and also has a blog there where she can sell to the public.  Her experiences generated tremendous excitement and dozens of questions.  
We continued our discussion of a “community” quilting activity.   The Block Party group is limited to 12 members and is full.  The Block Swap group still has room; anyone who didn’t attend the July meeting is welcome to bring the block as specified below.
·           Block Swap:  Four members  will do the block swap with the theme of “Shapes”.  Each person will make two (2) 16 ½” blocks a month – one to keep and one for the “Raffle”.  The “Raffle” block will be given each month to one of the Swap members at random until all of the members have received a “Raffle”.  Guidelines for the blocks for August:  Make (2) 16 ½” blocks, cream-colored background, Any “Bright” color(s) you like as secondary color.  The “Shape”  to incorporate is “Squares” – any number of squares you would like.
·         Block Party:  Each month one member will specify a block(s)  which she would like to receive from the other 11 members.  Joan took the first month,    asking for 2 – 16 ½ “ blocks.  The first block must be an “X” with a red background and a cream letter.  The second block must be an  “O” with a cream background and a red letter.  Letters can be any size, any design and any quilter’s cotton fabric.
Most liked the idea of a  local sewdown (the modern term for sew in) where members can get together and work on their individual sewing projects.  Since more space might be needed to accommodate 20+ machines, etc.  Joan will investigate possible use of the Jupiter Community Center.   This also might be an opportunity to offer sewing guidance to members of the community expressing interest.
Upcoming
·         Meeting August 17th, 1:30 pm  Quilter’s Choice in Jupiter.  Remember to bring a door prize (a pattern or other sewing item – could be repurposed) and work on those name tags.
·         Nan to present Modern Applique in August and Marta to acquaint us with Pinterest in September.