September 2018 Meeting Minutes

September 2018 Mtl MQG Meeting Agenda
Tuesday, September 11 at 7pm, SouthWest Mission Verdun

Quick points of business:

• Welcome back! Exec team for the 2018-19 year are: 
• President - Stephanie 
• Vice-president - Izzy 
• Treasurer - Claudia 
• Secretary - Fiona 
• Registrar - Josee 
• Programming - Joanna, Stacy, Cinzia 
• Assisting - Patti
• Dues for 2018-19 = $40, see Josee to complete registration
• Snack volunteers, send around sign up sheet (list complete)
• We will continue to collect donations for the mid-year raffle (December) and end of year raffle (June) like we did last year. If you have something you would like to contribute, bring it to a meeting. To participate in the raffle, you simply need to wear your name tag during our regular meetings and see Izzy to get your raffle ticket at the break.
• LDH (https://shopldh.com/) had donated some scissors which we will be raffling off at the December meeting
• Collect Palliacco quilts -
• Total of 15 quilts being donated, Debby has them and will be delivering them soon. 
• Thank you to everyone who contributed!!! This was a great turnout for a great cause.
• Collect QuiltCon challenge blocks, we may have enough for more than one quilt
• Next steps: design/layout will begin at the September 22 sew-in, you can bring more star blocks to the sew-in if you still wish to contribute
• Volunteers for finishing: Patti, Shannon S., Josee, Izzy and Nicole (quilting), Michele (backing), Cinzia and Stephanie (binding).
• Our deadline for finishing the quilt is December so it can be shipped in time for QuiltCon
• MQG released new version of website, be sure to set up your new profile and join the Montreal MQG Circle. If you have any difficulty, there is a 'Help' section specifically for new website 

Reminder - Charity Sew-In August 11th

Just a quick reminder, we have our final Sew-In for the QuiltCon 2019 Charity Challenge coming up next Saturday, August 11th from 3pm to 7pm at Craft de Ville (2065 rue Parthenais, buzzer #557).

Block and photo by Diane Cote

Materials and refreshments will be provided, or you can bring something to share. This is a great scrap-buster project, so raid those scrap bins! Remember, the theme is small piecing, so no scrap is too small to be included.

It will be a fun afternoon of socializing and sewing for a good cause. You can check the Facebook event for more details, to RSVP to the event, or to ask questions. Hope to see you there!

QuiltCon 2019 Charity Quilt Challenge

At our June meeting the other night, we had a lively discussion regarding next year's charity project and what we wanted to do for it. After much debate, we agreed we would be participating in the MQG QuiltCon Charity Challenge in 2019!

The theme this year is Small Piecing, and we thought that might suit us well as it would allow the participants to work on their contributions over the summer break, rather than having to hustle when we reconvene in September to try and complete the whole process by January for the QuiltCon deadline. So instead, we ask that those who wish to participate make one or more blocks following the guidelines listed below. The small nature of the blocks allows members to either shop from their stash or purchase fabric (please keep to the chosen color palette) without needing to use a large amount of fabric. This is a great scrap-buster project!

BLOCK: The block we will be making for this quilt is the Wonky Star block, which is an improvisational version of the Sawtooth or Eight-point Star block. It is approachable, forgiving and open to a very wide array of creative variations:  

Wonky star block by Wombat Quilts

FABRICS: The color palette for this challenge is set by the MQG and the palette they have chosen this year is as follows -  

Click to enlarge

For our block, we decided that the background of the blocks should be white or off-white with the stars being any combination of the remaining five colors. You do not have to use all of the colors in the palette! Careful choice of color can be used to make your small piecing really pop. 

Either solids or prints (or a combination of both) are perfectly acceptable. For the background fabrics, we encourage you to choose very low volume or tone-on-tone prints in white or off-white that will lend the finished product a scrappy but harmonious feel.

If you need a fabric-based point of reference, the coordinating solids would be:

• Kona Cotton : White, Bone, Pool, Honeydew, Petunia, Violet, Purple 
• Michael Miller Cotton Couture : Bright White, Soft White, Sea Foam, Limeade, Rose,  Lavender, Hyacinth
• Moda Bella : White, Eggshell, Seaglass, Kiwi, Petal Pink, Amelia Purple, Purple

SIZE: You may choose from a 3 1/2", 6 1/2" or 12 1/2" block. Your block may contain a single star or multiple stars, the star can be centred or offset, it can be laid out horizontally or on point. Regardless of the layout you choose, you must incorporate fabric of less than 1" width as an integral part of your design. Yes, you read that right, less than 1"... the theme is small piecing, after all! The MQG post summarizes it nicely: "Let’s say that small piecing would incorporate fabric pieces that are smaller than 1” in either width or length. So you might picture long, skinny strips, or little tiny squares, for example. [...] Small piecing must be an integral part of the design."

The possibilities are limited only by your imagination, but here are a few examples to get your creative juices flowing:

Multi wonky star by the Running Thimble

Wonky 9 patch by Nido Quilters

 

On point wonky star by Melissa Loves Color

If you need a bit more detailed instruction, here are a few tutorials that may be helpful:

• Wonky star block with random multiple stars
• Wonky star block with linear multiple stars
• Scrappy background, offset wonky star 
• Missouri Star Quilt Co tiny wonky stars (video)
• Missouri Star Quilt Co wonky stars (video)
• Scrappy wonky star (video - great for incorporating small pieces!) 

If you have a favorite wonky star tutorial or video, feel free to share it in the comments below!

CONSTRUCTION AND DEADLINE: If you wish to contribute a block (or more) to the project, we ask that you make your blocks over the summer break and bring them to the September meeting. We will be collecting the individual blocks at that time so we can move on to design and construction of the finished quilt top so that we have time to get it quilted and finished in time for QuiltCon. 

For those who would like to make use of fabric supplied by the guild for the project, or who would rather work as a group, Craft de Ville will be hosting two 'Crafternoons' specifically for this project, one on July 7th and one on August 11th. You are invited to come by and spend a bit of time socializing and sewing up some wonky star blocks. Supplies will be provided, but you are also welcome to bring along your machine and/or scraps to share with others. 

So there is your homework for the summer break! Raid the scrap bin for the colors the MQG chose and throw together a wonderfully wonky star block. If you'd like to share your blocks on Facebook or Instagram, please tag us so we can see and share your lovely work! 

#QuiltsforQC at QuiltCon

It's official! The organizers of QuiltCon East have very kindly offered to help us out by having a drop-off location for #QuiltsforQC blocks at QuiltCon! The drop-off box will be at the registration area, so if you have some blocks to send us you can drop them off there from Thursday Feb 23rd through Sunday Feb 26th.

Matching threads for the Luxe fabric challenge

For those of you who are participating in the Michael Miller Luxe fabric challenge for QuiltCon 2017, remember that the entry deadline is November 30th.

I just spent ages at Fabricville looking for just the right shade of coral thread for mine, and thought I'd share the matching colors for the fabrics in this challenge.

Since the print fabrics in this line have a few different shades in them, you have some flexibility with the navy, teal and grey, but these are the ones I've gone with :

Gutermann
Coral - 4860 (cotton)
Navy - 266 (polyester)
Turquoise - 610 (polyester)
Grey - 110 (polyester)

And for those who prefer Aurifil, the below shades are the closest* :

Aurifil
Coral - 2225
Navy - 2745
Turquoise - 2810
Grey - 2606

If you have found other matches, please share them in the comments below!

*under natural light, the match is slightly different under artificial light

QuiltCon 2017 Charity Challenge - Part 3: Design

For the challenge, Michele and I have been collaborating to move it forward. It’s been rather fun fitting things in with our summer activities. Now comes time to take stock of our progress and our plan how to move forward with the help of other guild members.

The theme is Scale. We took the original design suggestions from Josée and Cinzia and decided to create a big flower from pieced blocks of different dimensions using improvised curve piecing.

Josée did a sketch and after some discussions among the four of us, we ended up with the outline sketch with the block numbers as indicated. This sketch defines the basic grid for the quilt top. The finished dimension of the top will be 72” x 92”.

Next, I elaborated the design by rendering this idea into a scaled mockup on paper on top of the defined grid in pastel, taking into consideration the colour palette we must conform to for the project. At this point, I made small a design change by replacing the top row of rectangular blocks by 2 rows of complete and partial 16” blocks. We now work with complete or partial square blocks of dimensions are 8”, 12” and 16”. There are 42 blocks in total.

Superimposed on the pastel mockup, we drew in curve lines that became the guides for the improvised curve piecing used to construct each of the blocks.

To take the proof of concept one step further, I decided to make an actual scaled mock up using my stash of scraps into a wall hanging 27” x 35”. I picked through my stash for scraps in a palette similar to that of the project and pieced away.

The technique I used is a version of foundation piecing using the ‘stitch and flip’ method. In this case, I use paper as the foundation. First, I prepared a complete set of paper blocks from the drawing, adding seam allowance around each block. The paper blocks are numbered, adding curve guide lines and colour/value information. I then construct each block by pulling fabric spontaneously from the selected collection of fabric pieces and stitching the pieces directly onto the paper. (A discussion giving details of this technique will be described separately.)

I think this technique lends itself well for this project for several reasons:

• The project is divided into self-contained work units with the essential information encoded on the paper block. 
• Each block is made with the freedom to improvise and adapt. 
• The paper stays on as the block is made, facilitating the handling of the blocks and the final assembly of the blocks into the whole top. 

It is by design that curve lines do not have to match across blocks and curve guidelines need not be followed exactly. As show in my finished wall hanging sized mock up, the way the blocks come together gives a rather organic charm to it.

Once the fabric selection for our project was finalized, Michele and I worked to prepare for the actual project. Learning from the experience of the mock up and working with the full scale of the final quilt top, we made simplification and fabric assignment to come up with our final design drawing. We are getting ready for the October Sew-in. We want to invite as many of you as possible to share this fun and worthwhile learning experience. Believe me, it’s easier than it looks and a great way to built confidence working with curves.

Next, I will write about what you will be working with and more details on the ‘spontaneous paper piecing’ technique that I mentioned earlier. Please stay tuned.

- Lily

QuiltCon Charity Challenge 2017, part 2

As outlined in our first Charity 2017 blog post, Michèle and I are trying to motivate as many of you as possible to participate in whichever way you choose in this project. Together, we will create a memorable quilting experience together.

You can see in this year’s challenge rules that the color palette is predominantly blue, ranging from teal to indigo, with its complementary colours in yellow and shades of golden yellow, possibly accented with pink. The only neutrals permitted are snow white and silver gray.

The design challenge is to play with scale. A few examples of directions to explore on design include going very big to very small, or mixing several scales of a chosen design motif, as well as going for pixelation.

I suggested to Michèle to look at Ruth McDowell’s book ‘Pattern on Pattern’ as an interesting way of manipulating scale. Michèle will be bringing her copy of the book to the May meeting. Unfortunately I will not be able to attend, but my sketches and suggestions for an approach will be present. So bring your ideas and help map out our basic choice for motif. Each person can then develop her block or section individually into contributing components for our quilt top.

Then, in order to keep the creative juice for the project simmering over the summer, we are proposing two follow-up challenges to you:

Challenge 1  Color Play: Go through your stash and pull out prints that coordinate with the colours in this year’s palette in preparation for our first sew-in this fall. The posting QuiltConCharity Challenge: COLOR! for last year's challenge gives a very good tutorial on how to go about doing this.

Challenge 2  Design Exercise: Based on the scale and shapes decisions reached at the May 10th meeting, try your hand at sketching some possible overall quilt designs that could highlight the notion of scale by combining the different blocks or sections: try interlocking large and small scales of the selected motif and placing them using Alternative Gridwork. Get inspiration from the McDowell book, and take another look at this posting QuiltCon Charity Quilt: Alternative Gridwork for a refresher on gridwork.

May to August will be our Brainstorming phase:

• Tell us what inspires you and what you have discovered. (All members) 
• Tell us what expertise you like to contribute or new skill you like to learn by doing it for this project. (All members) 
• Solicit vendors for material donation. (Anyone with good connection) 
• Pick out prints from your stash that might work well with the palette of this year. (All members) 

Let’s have fun together!

- Lily

QuiltCon Charity Challenge 2017

We want your opinions for making this Quiltcon 2017 Charity Challenge fun! No sewing is needed before the fall, but a lot of thinking needed now...

The theme for this year's challenge is Scale; the approach for Mtl MQG might be Pattern on Pattern and we are thinking we could use HST's (half-square triangles) within rectangles or another proposed shape, depending on your suggestions. We thought you might want to pick a buddy to work with and inspire you.

Read the rules at the QuiltCon 2017 Charity Challenge website, and rummage through your stash for some prints that coordinate with the challenge's palette:

Then think, think, think and bring your ideas to the May 10th meeting (or post them below in comments). Tell us what you might want to learn, contribute or help us provide for this challenge.  

- Lily and Michèle

MQG Charity Challenge

As discussed at last night's meeting, we will be participating in the Modern Quilt Guild Member Charity Challenge for QuiltCon West 2016.

Jessica and Tamara are our project managers for this challenge and as the theme for this challenge is "Improv with Intent", they have chosen a 'Pick-Up Sticks' quilt block as the pattern we will be using for our entry. If you are not familiar with this block, or would like some inspiration, check out the Pinterest board they have set up for the challenge: Pick Up Sticks Quilts 

Everyone participating in the challenge will receive a bundle of fabric (generously donated by Michael Miller Fabrics) that uses the colour palette set out in the challenge guidelines. We will be handing out the fabric at the October 3rd Sew-In as well as going over how to make a improvisational Pick Up Sticks quilt block. While we encourage everyone participating to attend the Sew-In, if you are not able to be there, we will have your fabric bundles available at the October 13th meeting as well.

Our timeline for this project is somewhat tight, but luckily Jessica and Tamara have chosen a block that is incredibly easy to make while still offering almost limitless improvisational potential! Whether you complete your block at the October Sew-In or at home, you will need to have it ready to turn in at the November 10th meeting. We will need time to get the quilt top pieced, quilted and bound in time for it to be sent off to QuiltCon at the end of January.

The finished quilt will be submitted to QuiltCon as part of the challenge, after which it will be returned to us and we will be donating it to Auberge Shalom, a Montreal shelter for women and children dealing with domestic violence. If anyone would like to make an extra quilt (child, lap or bed sized) to donate along with the challenge quilt, you are most welcome to do so! Just let Jessica and/or Tamara know so we can coordinate all of the items to be donated when the time comes. 

We have a volunteer to do the binding on the finished quilt, but are still looking for someone interested in doing the piecing and/or quilting (the finished quilt will be a twin size)... if you are interested, please let us know! :)