Molinari Quilt Challenge

Hello all,

As promised, last night we presented the latest quilt challenge. The inspiration is the oeuvres of Guido Molinari, a Montreal artist of the Plasticiens movement, and will draw from his focus on the perception of colour, as well as the precision of his lines / colour division.

For the aspect of colour perception, there is no need to limit to solids, if you have an idea of how to use prints, and or stitching, to explore the topic, go right ahead.

For the aspect of precision, take it as a chance for improving your techniques. I know I will!!!

I will have my copy of an exhibition catalogue from a retrospective at the MAC, which I will bring to each meeting, in case you want to take a look. However the Fondation Guido Moinari has some excellent images on their site (http://fondationguidomolinari.org/en/the-foundation/collection/), and a google image search is another good way to find inspiration.

The dimensions will be limited to 30" x 40", 40" x 30", or if you're desperate, or your design requires it, there is also the option of a square 40" x 40".

The quilt top will be expected for the June meeting, and the completed quilt for the September meeting, giving us all the summer to get things done. ;-)

So be creative, let your fear of colour go, and dive right in!
Happy stitching!
- Jo

Meeting reminder!

Happy 2016 to everyone! Just a quick reminder, our January meeting will be taking place this coming Tuesday evening at 7pm at the CRCS.

We will be having our Mug Bag swap (if you are participating, please make sure to bring your mug bag in a plain paper bag for the swap), as well as the presentation of the Molinari Challenge, and a few other fun surprises!

See you on Tuesday!

Long-arm quilters

As we have had a few inquiries about how to find a long-arm quilter to do a quilt, Francine was kind enough to put together a list of the long-arm quilters in the area that she knows of who are available 'for hire' :) If you know of any who aren't listed, feel free to add them in the comments!

• Stephanie Swartz - holystitch.ca
• Lynne McFern - lmcfern@videotron.ca
• Phyllis Moody - phyllishomedecor.com
• Karen Desparois - kdesparois.com
• Hélène Choquette - chez-helene.com
• Jocelyne Martel - piqueapoint@gmail.com
• Colleen Paul - colleenpaul@sympatico.ca
• Jacques Binette - jabin@videotron.ca
• Marina Segalovitch - msegalovitch@yahoo.ca
• The Big List of Canadian Long-Arm Quilters

Mug Bag Exchange

Since we're supposed to be bringing our own mugs to meetings of breaktime, this exchange will be following the suggestion from the September meeting - a mug bag. It will be for the January meeting, which will give us an excuse to escape the holiday madness.

Since there are mugs in all kinds of sizes, what with travel mugs, ceramic mugs with handles, etc., so there will be minimum dimensions:
- 5" diameter (if round) or 4.5" on a side (if square)
- 10" high
Since we are a quilt guild, please piece and quilt your project, at least a little. :-D

If you have any questions, or suggestions, feel free to respond here. We also have pics up on Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/montrealmqg/swap-mug-bags/

Happy holidays, and see you all in the new year!

The Board Basting method for basting a quilt

Following some discussion today at the sew-in regarding basting methods for quilts, I thought I would share this video that Cinzia shared with us a while back on Sharon Schamber's Board Basting method.

Personally, I have a small workspace and two cats so spreading a quilt out on a large table or the floor to baste it really isn't an option. I finally tried the board method and was so happy with the results, it is the only way I will do my basting now... it is very simple and especially good for someone with limited table/floor space.

The videos aren't great quality, but are worth a watch all the same. If anyone would like a demo of the method done at one of our meetings, just let us know and we can arrange it!

Part one

Part two

Meeting reminders!

Just a quick reminder, our December Sew-In takes place tomorrow, Saturday December 5th from 10am to 4pm at the CRCS St-Zotique.

This will be the last sew-in of 2015 (obviously) and the last one before the showcase quilts are due, so if you need to put those finishing touches (like a presentation sleeve or quilt label) on your quilt, bring it along and get it finished up! Also, make sure you give it a once-over for lint and stray threads before turning it in at the Tuesday meeting.

Likewise, our last regular meeting of 2015 will be on Tuesday December 8th at 7pm. All showcase quilts are due at this meeting, so please remember to bring yours along if you are participating. We will be having M. Kamel as a guest speaker to discuss the cleaning and maintenance of your sewing machine. There will also be discussion of challenges and swaps and some other exciting news, so make sure you're there!

If you'd like to bring along a festive treat to share (even if you're not on snack duty this month), please feel free to do so! Look forward to seeing you all!

Wall to wall color and inspiration

I really should be working on the back of my showcase quilt, but it's fighting me at the moment so I've put it in the "time out" pile for a bit. So, I thought I'd take a moment to post a few photos from last night's visit to the Fondation Guido Molinari. 

For those of you who braved the rainy weather to join us, thank you! And for those of you who couldn't make it, please try to find some time to visit the gallery on your own, it is *well* worth the trip! We were welcomed very warmly by Gilles, the executive director, and Lisa, his assistant... they gave us a great little introduction to Molinari's life and work before guiding us through both the main gallery space on the main floor and the rooms upstairs, as well as even allowing us a sneak peek into the basement storage space! They were both very enthusiastic about sharing and discussing Molinari's work and it was a really lovely visit. 

 M. Daigneault in front of a few of the works on display

Stacy and Tamara listening intently to our guides

REMINDER: Fondation Molinari field trip

Just a quick reminder, tomorrow night we have the Fondation Molinari field trip! We will be meeting at the gallery space at 6:30pm, please make sure you are on time so we can have as much time exploring the works as possible.

If you find you are in need of transportation, a few of us who work downtown will be driving to the gallery and have room in our cars... send an email to mtlmqg@gmail.com and we will get you sorted out.

Otherwise, look forward to seeing you all there tomorrow night!!!

Fondation Guido Molinari field trip - Thurs Nov 19th

As promised, here are the details for our upcoming Fondation Molinari field trip. It will take place on Thursday November 19th... we will be meeting at 6:30pm at the Fondation Molinari which is located at 3290 rue Sainte-Catherine Est.

Guido Molinari Equilibrium 1959 / photo Guy l’Heureux

Admission to the exhibition is free and the foundation has kindly agreed to give us a guided tour which will take approximately one hour. Please make sure you are on time so we can start promptly. While you can get there by metro (Station Prefontaine), it seems to be a significant walk from the metro to the gallery. A number of us will be driving so if you find yourself without means of transport, send us an email no later than the night before the visit and we can arrange a carpool.

If you cannot make it on Thursday, the foundation is open to the public Thursdays through Sundays from 1pm to 5pm so you are always welcome to visit the gallery on your own. We also have a small Pinterest board featuring some of Molinari's works you may want to browse, and both the MAC and the MFA have pieces of his in their permanent collections. Joanna will be presenting a Molinari-inspired challenge for us at the January meeting, so however you choose to do it, we highly encourage you to spend some time with his works. :) Hope to see you on Thursday!

November meeting reminder

Just a quick reminder, our November meeting is tomorrow night!

All of the pick-up sticks blocks for the charity challenge are due, so make sure you've got your seams pressed and your blocks cut down to size tonight! Please bring along any fabric scraps you didn't use so we can incorporate them into the finished quilt.

Cinzia will be giving a demonstration on how to attach a sleeve to your quilt for hanging (handy for the showcase quilts, QuiltCon entries or just a favorite piece you want to display at home). If you aren't able to make it tomorrow (or just want to go over the steps later), her step by step instructions will be posted in the Member's Only Area.

We will also be finalizing the details of our Molinari Foundation field trip, and Joanna has some interesting details to share with us... *cue suspenseful music* ;)

We are in need of a volunteer for this month's meeting secretary... no experience needed! You just need to jot down the details of what we discuss so that the minutes can be updated for anyone who is unable to attend the meeting. If you are able to give us a hand with it this time around, please let us know at the start of the meeting.

This month's meeting snuck up on me so I don't yet have the agenda typed up, but I will get it done and posted this evening, should you want a copy. See you all tomorrow!