Sew-In reminder and some FPP resources

Just a quick reminder that our first sew-in of the year is tomorrow, September 22nd from 10am to 4pm. We will be meeting at the CRCS St-Zotique, check the board at the entrance for our room number. There will be some road closures on Saturday due the construction (surprise surprise) and the Montreal Marathon, so check your route before heading out!

Quilt by Adaire Schlatter

We will begin work on the QuiltCon 2019 charity quilt, so if you were interested in helping out with the layout/design, now is your chance. We are still looking for fabric/scraps to use for the negative space in the quilt, so if you have some to donate, please bring them along. Solids and tone-on-tone prints in white or off-white are what we are looking for.

Stephanie will also be doing a Foundation Paper Piecing (FPP) demo for those of you who are curious and/or want to try it before the November workshop with Andrea Tsang Jackson. If you would like to sew along, please bring an FPP pattern of your choice, your sewing machine and some fabric scraps to work with.

If you can't make it but still want to try your hand at FPP, here are a few resources for getting started in foundation paper piecing:

Angela Walters tutorial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7Kx4Q7JSwQ

Beginner-friendly foundation paper piecing: https://weallsew.com/beginner-friendly-foundation-paper-piecing/

FPP for Beginners: https://www.craftsy.com/quilting/article/free-paper-piecing-patterns-for-beginners/

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! 

Sew-In Reminder!

Just a quick reminder, our last sew-in of the 2017-18 year will be this coming Saturday, May 26th from 10am to 4pm at the CRCS St-Zotique. The forecast for Saturday shows warm but rainy, a perfect afternoon to stay inside and do some sewing! Bring your projects along and join us for the last sew-in of the season.

For those that are interested, Izzy will be giving a demonstration on free-motion quilting and sharing some of her tips and tricks. If you would like to learn how to do it, or are just looking for some tips or inspiration, join us for her demo after lunch.

Hope to see you on Saturday!

Sew-In reminder

Just a quick reminder... our Sew-In is this coming Saturday, January 27th from 10am to 4pm.

Image courtesy of The Spruce

Remember we are back at the CRCS St-Zotique for the sew-ins. We should be in room 215, but please check the board at the entrance to be sure. Bring along your project and whatever you need to work on it, as well as a lunch or snack. We will have coffee, tea and hot chocolate available... please bring your travel mug if you'd like to partake.

For anyone interested in helping, we will be starting to put together quilt tops for the charity project. You just need to bring your sewing machine (or hand sewing toolkit if you prefer), some thread, and everything else will be provided.

See you on Saturday. :)

December 2017 Mtl MQG Meeting Minutes

December 2017 Mtl MQG Meeting Minutes
December 12, 2017 at 7pm SouthWest Mission, Verdun, QC

Quick points of business:

• Welcome - No new members this month 

Meeting topics:

• Snacks: The snacks provided by the Mission might not be enough for the crowd. We would need 5 volunteers to take care of bringing a snack in addition to the Guild paying for something every month. We sent a sign-up sheet and got our volunteers!
• Sew-Ins: We are moving our sew-ins back to the Centre in St-Henri starting with the January sew-in. The hours will also go back to 10 am to 4 pm.
• Club Tissus Modern Quilting Conference: Club Tissus would like to invite us to speak at their quilting week the weekend of January 20 and 21. If anyone is interested, contact Stephanie.
• Twist Festival: The Festival invited us to display some of our quilts. If you have a quilt lap size or bigger you would like to display, contact Stephanie as soon as possible.

Ornament Swap:  Some really cute and creative ornaments were swapped.

Show and Tell

• Tamara - cute small quilt in her fabric collection
• Jennifer - Baby quilt in pinks and greys
• Izzy - City Sampler quilt finished

Skill builder block of the month:

• Stephanie - HST Star blocks

Party!!

Sew-In this Saturday!

Just a quick reminder... we are having our Sew-In this Saturday, December 2nd from 12pm to 5pm in Verdun.

There will be space to work on handwork as well as space to work on machine sewing (you can bring your own machine or use one of the ones on site). There is a mid-arm quilting machine you can rent time on, as well! Craft de Ville will be open and there is a sewing machine repair service on site too, if your over-worked machine needs a little bit of love.

Come for a quick visit or for the whole afternoon... enjoy a hot drink and some quilty conversation.

In preparation for our December meeting ornament swap, Stacy will be demonstrating the method for making a folded star ornament. Bring along a few fat quarters of your favorite fabric and make a few to give as gifts (or to keep for yourself). See you on Saturday!

September Sew-In

Despite today being the first day of autumn, it seems summer is not done with us yet and tomorrow is going to be a warm one. Where was this weather two months ago??

While the meeting space will hopefully stay cool and we do have a few fans we can use, you may also want to bring a cold drink with you. There is also a crèmerie across the street... if things get too warm, we can break for an ice cream! ;)

Also, we have not yet set up storage space in our new location so we will not have the iron and ironing board available as we usually do. If you plan on working on something that requires an iron, please bring one along with you. 

See you tomorrow at the SouthWest Mission (corner of Verdun and Melrose) from 12pm to 5pm! 

UPDATE! June Sew-In

Due to the cool and rainy weather, we will be holding our last Sew-In of the year at AFA 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 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.

#QuiltsforQC - progress report

We had our first sew-in for the #QuiltsforQC project this past Sunday and it was a great afternoon! So far we've received more than 400 house blocks, one completed quilt, and various other supplies (batting, backing fabric, binding, etc) from people near and far. We have had kind-hearted locals show up with donations and we have received amazing packages from as far away as Germany, Italy and Australia! We've had blocks from people who have never sewn a quilt block before, and from people who have been quilting for decades. The response to this project has been truly incredible... thank you to everyone who has participated so far.

Many of the packages have included lovely notes, such as this one from @winkowl :

Our helpers spent a little time visiting...

Smiling helpers and a peek at Craft de Ville's new space

And then got down to work! In total, we put together 4 complete quilt tops and another 4 went with people to be finished up at home. We are awaiting the blocks collected at QuiltCon, and a few other guilds are putting together quilt tops or completed quilts to send!

One of the finished quilt tops

The quilt tops are amazing... they are sweet little villages with hearts everywhere you look! We will, of course, continue to post updates and photos of our progress.

Our next steps will be another sew-in to put together the next batch of quilt tops and once we get the quilting done, we will have a get together to do some of the binding. If you are local and would be interested in attending one of the sew-ins, keep an eye on our blog and/or our Facebook events page where we will post details.

February meeting reminder

Just a quick reminder on what's coming up, as we have a lot going on in the last half of February... 

Our next monthly meeting takes place on Tuesday February 14th at 7pm at the CRCS St-Zotique. We will be having our Ugly Fat Quarter Swap, we will be celebrating Hari-Kuyo so remember to bring your worn out and broken pins and needles, and we will be starting to collect blocks for the #QuiltsforQC project. Our demonstration this month will be a handwork demo by Cinzia. If you would like to participate, please bring the following with you:

• quilt sandwich (two fat quarters and batting) 
• quilting/embroidery hoop 
• Perle cotton embroidery thread (size 8) 
• Embroidery needle: size 6, 7 or 8 
• thimble to fit middle finger of dominant hand 
• fabric marking tool (optional) 

Our February Sew-In will be taking place on Saturday February 18th from 10am to 4pm at the Maplewood Presbyterian Church, 215 McLeod, in Chateauguay. We will be having an inter-guild meet-up with the Chateauguay Valley Quilters Guild; we will be working on slab blocks to donate to the CQA's Big Quilt Bee, house blocks for the #QuiltsforQC project, or you can bring your own project to work on. We will be arranging carpools at Tuesday night's meeting, so if you need a ride but can't make it to the meeting, please get in touch via email. The usual sew-in rules apply, please bring anything you need to work on your project of choice (sewing machine, cutting/marking tools, etc), as well as your lunch and a coffee mug (coffee will be available there). 

And finally, on Sunday February 26th from 12 to 5pm we will be hosting a sew-in for the #QuiltsforQC project at AFA. There will be snacks and drinks available, and this event is open to all. We will have sewing machines and materials on hand for anyone who wants to sew some blocks (patterns and assistance are available if you need them), and if you have completed blocks or other materials to donate, you are welcome to drop them by. 

I think that's everything... see you Tuesday evening!

#QuiltsforQC Sew-In

On Sunday February 26th from 12 noon to 5pm, AFA will be hosting us for a sew-in afternoon for the #QuiltsforQC project.

Photo courtesy of Julie

We will spend the afternoon making house blocks for the project and starting construction on the quilt tops. There will be drinks, snacks and a lot of good company.

If you have completed blocks you are welcome to drop them by. If you'd like to make a block but don't know how or need a machine or fabric to work with, we've got you covered. We will have everything you need to make a block available, including help for those who are new to sewing. If you know how to make your block but just want to do it in the company of some fellow quilters, come join us! :) Also, if you have scrap fabric you'd like to donate, bring it on by and we'll put it to good use.

A few new years updates

First of all, happy new year to everyone! I wish you all a wonderful and creative 2017! :)

Our next meeting is this coming Tuesday, January 10th at 7pm at the CRCS St-Zotique. We will be raffling off a few goodies, Francine will be leading a discussion on long-arm quilting and we will be seeing the finished charity challenge quilt before it gets shipped off to QuiltCon.

Later this month we will be hosting a 5 à 7 at Benelux on Wellington in Verdun on Saturday January 28th from 5pm onwards. You can bring handwork to work on if you wish, but really it's just an excuse to get together over a few drinks and socialize! :)

Also, be advised that the February Sew-In will be taking place on Saturday February 18th at the Maplewood Presbyterian Church, 215 McLeod, in Chateauguay. We are being hosted by the Chateauguay Valley Quilters Guild for an inter-guild sew-in. We will be giving a demonstration of Cheryl Arkison's slab block technique and making up some blocks to send to the CQA's Big Quilt Bee in celebration of Canada's 150th anniversary. We will provide some charm squares to get the blocks started, we just need you to bring along some scraps to finish the 12 1/2" blocks.

Scraps in black, cream, grey, red or turquoise are preferred as that is the palette of the charm squares, but honestly any fabric is welcome to finish the blocks. This is, of course, 100% voluntary and you are absolutely welcome to bring along any other projects you wish to work on.

Hope to see you on Tuesday!

December Sew-In

Just a friendly reminder, our December Sew-In will be taking place this Saturday, December 3rd (seriously, how is it December already?!?) from 10am to 4pm at the CRCS St-Zotique.

It'll be a great time to get started on all those gifts that you told yourself in July you'd have plenty of time to get done! ;) Josee is kindly bringing her rotary blade sharpener, so if you have some blades that could use sharpening, bring them along. Don't forget your fuzzy slippers and a mug if you'd like something warm to drink - we'll have coffee, tea and hot chocolate on hand.

If you're new to the guild and haven't attended a sew-in before, refer to the FAQ page (scroll to the bottom) for what to expect and what to bring with you. See you then!

Curves tutorial by Lily

Tomorrow we are meeting for our October Sew-In to start work on the QuiltCon charity challenge quilt. If you aren't able to make it to the meeting for the demonstration but still want to help out and try your hand at sewing curves, Lily has kindly put together a detailed tutorial on how to create the blocks that will make up our finished quilt.

You can find both parts of the tutorial in the Members Only / Membres Seulement section of this blog (password required, see your Welcome Packet email for the current members' password), under the section: 2016-17 Challenges and Swaps / Défis et échanges 2016-17.

Remember we are using specific fabrics donated for this project and each participant will choose a specific block to make, so if you have to miss the Sew-In, please speak with Michele at the October meeting for more info.

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

Reminder - October Sew-In

Our first Sew-In of the year will be taking place on Saturday October 1st! We meet between 10am and 4pm at the CRCS St-Zotique... please bring along a project to work on, your sewing machine (if necessary), and a snack or lunch of your choice. We will have hot drinks available, just bring your travel mug!

Quilting bee in Central Park in June of 1973.

This month we will be starting work on the QuiltCon 2017 charity challenge quilt (presented by Michele and Lily at the September meeting). This challenge is a collaboration by the whole guild, so if you would like to participate please join us on the 1st for a demo of the techniques involved and to get started on making a block!

Reminder: June Sew-Out

Just a quick reminder... our usual location was not available today, so we have decided to take advantage of the nice weather and change our Sew-In to a Sew-Out! This will be our last Sew-In before the summer break, so why not make it a fun one.

We will be having a Sew-Out/picnic at Parc Angrignon today, Saturday June 4th, from 10am until... well, whenever! We will be meeting at the picnic area near the parking lot at Boulevard de la Vérendrye and Chemin du Parc Angrignon (map:https://goo.gl/maps/mrEzCKKBsgw).

You will need to bring:
- Your lunch and drink
- Something to share (snacks, dessert, drinks, etc)
- A blanket or chair (optional: picnic tables are available, though space may be limited)
- Your work (we will be unplugged and enjoying the outdoors, so bring something relaxing to work on that does not require electricity)
- A hat, umbrella, and/or sunblock... bonnets optional.

As we will be at the park, you are also welcome to bring along children and/or significant others :)