#QuiltsforQC wrap-up

Thanks to a lot of hard work from our various members and contributors, the #QuiltsforQC project is finally complete! We will be delivering 50 quilts to the Ste-Foy mosque at the end of the month and they will be distributed to the members and families that were impacted by the shooting in January. We hope that these quilts provide them with some comfort and let them know that we love and support them. 

All in all, we received contributions from 3 continents, 5 different countries, all 10 Canadian provinces and 25 States. We received blocks from modern quilters, traditional quilters and every shade in between... we received intricately appliqued blocks from expert quilters and simple but heart-felt blocks from brand new quilters. A very sincere thank you to each and every one of you who helped us out in some way... whether you sent us a completed quilt, a few house blocks, donated time or money, or simply passed along our blog post to a friend who you thought might like to help, you helped make these 50 beautiful quilts. 

It was wonderful to see the response to this project, and many of you included notes of love and support with your blocks that we will be passing on to the mosque. Our hope in taking on this project was to express our love and support to our neighbours following the attack, and also to hopefully spark an important conversation about diversity and inclusion around the dinner table or in the work place of those who participated. Seeing quilt labels like the one below on a quilt sent in by the teachers of the Peel district school board in Ontario makes us very happy indeed! :) 

We have photographed all 50 of the quilts, and rather than try to cram them all into an image-heavy blog post, you are welcome to browse them on Google Drive, or on our Facebook page (if see your block, feel free to tag yourself!). It has been a privilege to work on such a project with you all... thank you for making our quilting community such a wonderful community, and continue showing the world your love and inclusiveness! 

2017-18 Skillbuilder Challenge

Starting in September, we will present a traditional quilt block, demonstrate its construction and offer examples of modern variations of it at each meeting. Along with the 15-20 minute meeting demo/discussion, we will also post tutorials and inspiration for each block on the blog and our social media accounts. Members will then be challenged to make their own modern version of the traditional quilt blocks at home and to share their results on social media. The goal of the project is to explore aspects of modern quilt design and creative expression while also improving basic techniques and skills.

We will also be collecting extra blocks to make into charity quilts as the year progresses. As discussed in the spring, the recipient of our charity quilts for the 2017-18 year will be the Palliacco palliative care centre in the Laurentians. Members are invited to contribute blocks or completed quilts to be donated (charity guidelines below).

During this project, we will be touching on three different groups of blocks:

• Square/strip-based blocks (Sept, Oct, Nov)
• Presenters: Stacy, Cinzia, and Izzy

• Half-square triangle-based blocks (Dec, Jan, Feb)
• Presenters: Stephanie, Nathalie, and Josee

• Curve-based blocks (Mar, Apr, May)
• Presenters: Fiona, Shannon F, and Isabelle D.

Perhaps it goes without saying, but the emphasis for this project will be modern quilting. We are, after all, a modern quilt guild and our whole purpose is to explore and encourage modern quilting. If you plan to participate in this project, be prepared to push your boundaries a bit and experiment with some of the aspects that define modern quilting, such as asymmetry, negative space, alternate gridwork, improvisation, minimalism and scale. If you don’t feel you have a good grasp on what is considered modern, or simply want to brush up a bit, we recommend browsing some of the below resources over the summer:

• Gallery of QuiltCon quilts (filterable by category)
• MQG article: What is modern quilting?
• Webinar: Definition: Modern quilt
• Webinar: Making traditional modern
• Gee's Bend Quiltmakers
• Modern Quilts, Traditional Inspiration by Denyse Schmidt
• The Quilt Block Cookbook by Amy Gibson

For those planning to contribute to the charity project, please follow these guidelines: 

• For members wishing to donate a completed quilt, you are welcome to use any pattern or color palette you wish. Finished quilts should be a minimum of 54"x54" (lap quilt size) and be able to withstand normal laundering. The deadline for completed quilts is the June 2018 meeting.
• For members wishing to donate quilt blocks, we ask that all blocks be 12.5" square and only use colors from the below color palette, based on the guild's logo:  

Kona solids -

• White (1387)
• School bus orange (1482)
• Bubble gum pink (261)
• Sprout green (254)
• Teal blue (1373)
• Jade green (1183)
• Pale blue (1028)
• Ash grey (1007) (this isn’t technically part of our logo, but an extra neutral is nice to have)

Craft de Ville is stocking all of these colors specifically for this project. Don't forget to use your MMQG member discount!

You are not, however, required to purchase the Kona solids for the charity blocks. If you prefer to shop from your stash, or want to use prints instead of solids, you are welcome to do so. You simply need to keep in the same general color palette as above. For example you could use:

1. Carolyn Friedlander Architextures Crosshatch in White
2. Ann Kelle Remix Summer Plus
3. Maywood Classic Dot in Soft Pink
4. Grunge Hits the Spot in Decadent
5. Batik teal mustard plus
6. Dowry Cracking Codes in Jade
7. Dear Stella Chroma in Lagoon
8. Cotton + Steel Basics Sprinkle in Stardust

Blocks will be collected at each meeting (October-May) so that the quilts can be worked on throughout the year. If you would like to help with the construction or quilting of the charity quilts, please let us know.

Have a wonderful summer, hope you squeeze in a little quilting between all the sun (if we ever get any) and fun, and we look forward to seeing everyone in September! :) 

#QuiltsforQC delivery

We have been in touch with the Ste-Foy mosque and we will be delivering the finished quilts to them at the end of the month. If you are a guild member and were interested in coming with us to deliver them (and did not already receive an email from me about it), please send us an email (mtlmqg@gmail.com) right away. We will be organizing the carpool and finalizing details soon.

I have also had a number of inquiries about pictures of the finished quilts. I was hoping for a sunny weekend day to get them out on the clothesline and photographed, but as the weather has not been cooperative, I will have to move to Plan B and do it indoors. I will have all 50 of the quilts documented and posted here to the blog by the end of the month, so watch this space (and thank you for your patience!). :)

June Meeting minute

June 2017 Montreal MQG Meeting Minutes

Tuesday June 13, 2017 at 7pm at CRCS St-Zotique

Points of business:

·         Welcome to all members

·         Reminder about raffle tickets

·         Plans for next year

·         Executive for 2017/2018

§  President – Stephanie Baldwin

§  Vice President – Izzy Jean

§  Treasurer – Claudia Pedroso

§  Programming Coordinator – Stacy Pomerleau

§  assisted by Joanna Lemon

§  Social Media and Secretary – Fiona Nanson

·         Discussion on location for 2017/2018:

§  Issues

§  CRCS - will continue to get the smaller rooms, hot in fall and spring, free, room varies and maybe upstairs.

§  Verdun Mission - larger space, will include coffee cart, basement so cooler, has a cost of $250 per year, will necessitate an increase in fees from $35 to $40

§  Three options presented

§  Stay as is

§  Move to Verdun and increase fees

§  Have a combo, Verdun for meetings and St. Zotique for sew-ins.  -concern about confusion over where to go when.

§  Discussion about the fee increase.

§  Cover new costs

§  Create a reserve for future workshops, cover the exchange rate when paying for MQG fees or other expenses in the future. 

§  Vote taken on location

§  Majority decision move to Verdun for all events for the 2017/1028 year

§  Majority decision to increase fees to $40.

§  Stephanie will make arrangements and send a membership email out with the details.

·         Skillbuilder/charity challenge:

§  Each month we will be presented with the instructions for a traditional block and examples of how it could be modernized. 

§  Participants may choose to compete blocks for them selves or for the charity quilts. 

§  The charity quilts will go Palliacco, the hospice up in the Laurentians - participants can contribute blocks or completed quilts.

§  Palette for charity blocks: guild’s colors (Craftdeville (Stacy) has the Kona solids in stock), details will be posted on blog for solids or prints options.  Colours are:

·         School Bus (1482)

·         Bubble Gum (261)

·         Sprout (254)

·         Teal (1373)

·         Jade Green (1183)

·         White (1387)

·         Blue (1028)

§  Over the summer: recommend people go through past MQG webinars on “what is modern quilting”, brush up on alternative gridwork, asymmetry, negative space, scale, etc.

§  https://community.themodernquiltguild.com/resources

·         Quits for QC project:

§  Total number of quilts is about 50. WOW!

§  Thank you to everyone who helped out!

§  Next steps: Fiona will contact the Mosque to arrange delivery of the quilts in July. Will email information as soon as it is available. 

§  We will be driving to Ste-Foy to deliver the quilts in person, if anyone is interested in going with email the guild at mtlmqg@gmail.com

§  We have a database for all the names and addresses of those who donated.  We will look at sending some thank you notes either by email of by post.  Although, not everyone by mail as the cost is prohibitive.

§  A round-up blog post will also be done with photos of all the quilts.

·         Annual report from treasurer

o    Accounts have a balance going forward for Next year. 

o    Detailed accounting can be requested via email

·         Show and Tell

·         Raffle Six prize packages given out

·         Potluck – wow what great food.

·         Next meeting: September! Everyone have a great summer!

Final meeting reminder

I'm not entirely sure how we got here so quickly, but the final meeting of the 2016-17 year is this coming Tuesday June 13th at 7pm at the CRCS St-Zotique.

We will be wrapping up the year and discussing plans for next year. Claudia will give the treasurer's report and we will discuss final steps of the #QuiltsforQC project. We will also be raffling off some goodies from Craft de Ville, QuiltCon and Quilt Market, so make sure you wear your name tag for one last entry in the draw.

It will also be a potluck, so if you will be bringing something to share, make sure you put your name and what you're bringing on the sign-up sheet. We will wrap up the year with a nice, relaxed meeting and start off summer vacation in style! Look forward to seeing you there!

UPDATE! June Sew-In

Due to the cool and rainy weather, we will be holding our last Sew-In of the year at Atelier Fiber Arts (3993 rue Wellington, Verdun) tomorrow June 3rd from 10am to 4pm. 

Everything else stays the same for the sew-in, just the location has changed. And the fact that you won't need sunscreen. ;)

Remember, if you'd like to help with the #QuiltsforQC binding, please either join us tomorrow to work on it, or swing by to pick up a quilt and some binding to work on at home. This is your last chance to help out before we wrap up the project at the June 13th meeting! Hope to see you tomorrow!

Meeting reminder!

Our final sew-in of the year will be a Sew-Out! Weather permitting, we will be holding our sew-out this coming Saturday, June 3rd from 10am to 4pm at Parc Du Square Sir-George-Etienne-Cartier, the park directly in front of the CRCS St-Zotique where we normally meet.

Parc Du Square Sir-George-Etienne-Cartier

Please bring with you a picnic lunch, something to sit on and a project to work on that does not require electricity. If you don't have a project to work on, you are welcome to help do some binding on the #QuiltsforQC quilts. The forecast currently shows sunny weather for Saturday (here's hoping), but if for some reason it rains, Amanda has kindly offered to host us at Atelier Fiber Arts in Verdun. If that happens, I will post both here and on the Facebook event page about the change of venue.

If you want to help with the binding but can't stay for the sew-in, I will have all of the quilts and supplies with me, so you are welcome to swing by and pick up some to work on at home. Just remember that we need them all back at the meeting on June 13th. We will also take the opportunity to photograph some of the finished quilts, so if you have any that are ready please bring them by so we can document them. All of the quilts for #QuiltsforQC must be turned in by the June 13th meeting... no exceptions! We will be making plans to deliver all of the quilts in late June or early July, and of course we will post photos of all the finished quilts here once we are done. :)

And finally, our last meeting of the 2016-17 year will be on Tuesday June 13th from 7-9pm at the CRCS St-Zotique. We will be having a potluck, so if you would like to bring something to share, please add your name and what you'll be bringing to the sign up sheet in the Members Only section of the blog. We will be wrapping up the year, discussing plans for next year, and we will be raffling off some goodie bags! Hope to see you there.

Metro Challenge - Complete!

So at our May meeting, we finally had the presentation of the Metro Challenge quilts! It's been a long time coming, and while some of them were still in the process of being finished up, it was lovely to finally see them all together.

If you want to know more about the challenge itself, you can read the original blog post here. And with no further ado... the quilts!

Marlise tackled Lucien-L'Allier station. She did a beautiful job of capturing the monumental interior spaces of the station and depicted them using material from men's shirts. 

Member Spotlight: Nathalie Forget

Pour le mois de mai, notre membre vedette est Nathalie Forget.

1. Vos coordonnées de médias sociaux (blog/site web, Facebook, Instagram, etc):

Je n'ai pas de blog et je ne me sers pas beaucoup des médias sociaux pour publier ou communiquer. Je les utilise plutôt pour m'inspirer. Mes adresses:
https://www.pinterest.com/forget0440/
https://www.instagram.com/forget.me.knit/
http://www.ravelry.com/projects/forget-me-knit

2. Qu'avez-vous étudié à l'école et/ou que faites vous comme travail?

J'ai complété un baccalauréat en sciences informatiques en 1984. J'ai travaillé par la suite au développement et à la gestion de solutions informatiques pour plusieurs entreprises, mais surtout pour une institution financière. J'ai pris ma retraite et suis revenue à Montréal en mai 2015 après 29 ans d'exil à Toronto.

Canadian modern quilting resources

We get a lot of questions about where to shop for fabric or quilting supplies here in Montreal, both from visitors and locals, but sadly, there aren't many local options for us. We have two chain fabric stores, Club Tissus and Fabricville, and a few independent shops like Craft de Ville and Effiloché, and even Atelier Fiber Arts and La Société Textile which are maker spaces for sewists/quilters.

Beyond those few though, options for Montreal-area modern quilters are rather sparse and most of us end up shopping online. Luckily, there are a number of online Canadian shops (woohoo, no exorbitant shipping costs, exchange rates or duties!) sprinkled across the country. Below is a list of the Canadian modern quilt (or at least modern-adjacent) shops I have come across online... if you know of one that isn't included, feel free to share it in the comments!

• Craft de Ville (Montreal, QC)
• Effiloché (Montreal, QC)
• Atelier Fiber Arts (Verdun, QC)
• La Société Textile (Montreal, QC)
• Phyllis Home Decor (Pincourt, QC)
• Mad About Patchwork (Stittsville, ON)
• Fabric Spark (Toronto, ON)
• My Fabric Spot (Markham, ON)
• Fridays Off Fabrics (Toronto, ON)
• Sew Sisters (Toronto, ON)
• The Workroom (Toronto, ON)
• Canadian National Fabric (Melancthon, ON)
• Flare Fabrics (Perth, ON)
• Fabric Please! (New Dundee, ON)
• Spool & Spindle (Waterloo, ON)
• Modern Bee (Niagra-on-the-Lake, ON)
• L'Oiseau Fabrics (Calgary, AB)
• Dragonfly Fabric (Hinton, AB)
• Sparrow Quilt Co (Edmonton, AB)
• Hamels Fabrics (Chilliwack, BC)
• Dinkydoo Fabrics (Pitt Meadows, BC)
• A Great Notion Sewing Supply (Surrey, BC)
• Clothesline Quilts (Hawke's Bay, NL)
• The Big List of Canadian Fabric Shops (various)