Executive Elections
Bev (finances) and Jana (communications) have agreed to stay on the executive. We also have a few people who have volunteered to help where they can with swaps, etc. even though they are unable to make a full commitment at this time.
This leaves two co-chair positions and a social co-ordinator position still wanting for volunteers. Please consider volunteering your time to this great guild!
Education Topic: Free Motion Quilting
Nicole and Barb did a great presentation on free motion quilting.
Barb had a process of ten steps that she thinks about for her free motion quilting (FMQ) projects:
- What design will look best for my quilt or which quilt top will look best for my FMQ goals
- Thread choice – colour, weight, needle choice
- Stitch in the ditch to secure your quilt before starting the FMQ
- Resources – lots of great books, websites, etc. out there
- Look to your fabric choices for inspiration
- Practice – draw out your designs until you get comfortable
- Take breaks and relax to enjoy the process
- Marking – choose a product/method based on your needs
- Consider signing your quilt/project with FMQ, much like a painter would sign a painting, especially if you don’t use a label
- Keep a journal of your quilting escapades for future reference – stitches used, settings used, etc.
Barb showed us a quilt that she made as a gift for her niece’s wedding.
She did the FMQ on her domestic machine and took us through her creative process.
She decided on metallic and shiny thread to give the quilt a more elegant look. She took inspiration from the swirl design in some of the fabric to FMQ a swirly pattern over most of the quilt.
She also made a heart template with paper to mark out and quilt some hearts for interest. She talked about how she marked out the string loops at 2″ intervals with chalk to give herself distance targets.
Barb showed us a dry erase board that she uses to practice and plan her designs on:
Bev likes to keep quilted design samples for reference:
Nicole gave great encouragement to those of us intimidated by FMQ. She recommended starting with more natural shapes. She suggested to choose within your ability to avoid discouragement (and disaster) but to continue to challenge and advance your FMQ skills.
She showed a mini quit she did with FMQ made to look like the wind:
Nicole talked about shape by shape FMQ and choosing quilting patterns based on the shapes within your quilt top. For example: different designs to use specifically in triangles, hexagons, etc.
She recommended the book Shape by Shape Free-Motion Quilting with Angela Walters:
Our 2017 QuiltCon Charity quilt has some great examples of this:
It is also a great example of combining FMQ and straight line quilting – you don’t need to choose just one!:
We were reminded that sometimes a really simple backing can show off beautiful quilting (the back of our 2017 QuiltCon Charity Quilt):
Kudos again to Saskatoon Longarm Studio for doing a great job!
Be sure to check out this quilt on display at the Saskatoon Quilters’ Guild Quilt Show Oct 27/28!
Nicole showed us her gorgeous Gravity Quilt – look for this one at the quilt show as well!:
She used a water-soluble marker for some of her FMQ:
She also found her own ‘shape by shape’ creativity and made some super cute peacocks:
Bev sent along a great quilt example called Charlie’s Journey.
It is FMQ with the story of her father’s life. What an amazing family heirloom!:
Some other great resources:
Barb likes Free-Motion Quilting with Angela Walters and Sherry showed us Free-motion Quilting Idea book by Amanda Murphy:
There are lots of great websites, online videos/workshops, and blogs to look at.
Lori Kennedy’s The Inbox Jaunt is a great one to check out.
We followed with a group discussion about tools, such as gloves and supreme sliders, and table placement strategies to hold the weight of the quilt while quilting it.
A lot of great information to think about! Thanks again Nicole and Barb!
Other Business
The Mad About Patchwork bundle curated by the SaskatoonMQG, “Frozen Berries”, was shown. It proved to be popular and sold out quickly. What a great bundle (good work Nicole). Our guild was generously given a bundle for free – thanks Mad About Patchwork!
Members worked on the 2018 QuiltCon Charity Quilt at the last Sewcial (Oct. 14th). It’s really coming along nicely. Sherry took on the task of piecing the back. She didn’t have a plan, just went with the flow, and this gorgeous design emerged:
Awesome work Sherry!
2017 Christmas Sewcial
The annual Christmas Sewcial is an event that members always look forward to!
Sat. Dec 2nd at Home Inn & Suites from 8am – 8pm, come and go.
Members only, No Charge. Lunch will be provided (buns, lunch meat, veggie tray, etc.), attendees are invited to bring potluck snacks/goodies and your own beverages.
Handmade Gift Exchange – bring a wrapped handmade gift for a chinese gift exchange. Handmade items (along the lines of something you would see in an instagram swap) such as a mini quilt, small bag, etc.
Block Lotto – the Christmas Sewcial will kick off our first Block Lotto, see below for details! We are thinking about doing the draw around noon. Be sure to submit your blocks before then – contact us if you want to participate but can’t come until later in the day.
Block Lotto
We are excited to introduce the fun of Block Lotto to our guild!
Simple explanation: Bring a block, get an entry, and the winner takes home all the blocks!
We are currently planning to hold a block lotto four times per year (March, June, September, December). The details will be listed two months before each lotto outlining that lotto’s unique guidelines.
The rules for participation are as follows:
- Must be a guild member
- Be present at the meeting or event to win
- Use modern fabrics
- Follow the guidelines for that particular lotto
Block Lotto – December 2017
Sat Dec 2nd – Christmas Sewcial
Block Theme: Christmas
Colour Theme: Reds and/or greens. Can use whites, low volume, etc. Other colours can appear but the overall colour should read red and/or green.
Block Size: ANY – to encourage creativity!
However: One entry will equate to 12″ of block length.
Examples of one entry would be:
- one 12×12″ block
- one 6×12″ block
- two 6×6″ blocks
- three 4×4″ blocks
Feel free to enter as many times as you would like! If you don’t wish to win the lotto, but want to participate, donation blocks are gratefully accepted.
Book/Blog/Bolt — Show&Tell
Darla attended a Libs Elliot workshop. This is her completed Embrace the Chaos quilt top:
Libs signed some fabric for her project, what a great idea:
She was also sure to get a signature on one of the bottles that Libs designed for Absolut Vodka:
She also showed off some patterns/fabric:
Sherry brought some Alison Glass Chroma fabric that she purchased from Clinton Modern Creative:
Nicole showed us a quilt top also using the Alison Glass Chroma fabric (happy coincidence) and shot cotton for the background. She used the luminary pattern, which she describes as a take on a modern lonestar:
Sherry was working on this quilt top, using her blocks from last year’s guild quilt bee, at the October Sewcial. It’s a drunkard’s path design and she brought in the finished top to show us:
Charlene showed us some great Jingle Jangle Christmas flannels that she picked up at Prairie Chicks:
Jeannette made a memory quilt using fabric from her husband’s sleep pants. She plans to give it as a baby quilt. The top has embroidery saying “Frogs Snails and Puppy Dog Tails, That’s What Little Boys Are Made Of”:
Donna made a quilt using up a bunch of scraps:
Barb made a Halloween table runner, she also made coordinating mug rugs (not pictured):
Jana showed off some more low-volume fabric she got from Clinton Modern Creative:
And her latest Sew Sampler subscription box:
Next Meeting
Our next meeting will be:
Saturday November 26th at 2pm
at Saskatoon Home Inn & Suites in Stonebridge.
Sheila will be presenting on Ergonomics for Sewing!
Saskatoon Modern Quilt Guild 