The Saskatoon MQG met on November 26 for a sew day at Home Inn & Suites in Stonebridge. We started the meeting with the ice breaker of “What kind of chair do you use for sewing?” This was inspired by Roxanne’s wobble cushion (balance disc). I know I am going to buy one to see if this strengthens my core muscles while sewing. I fear that I may fall off my chair though.

We held our annual elections. I will finish out my final year as co-chair with Anne, Margaret will continue as treasurer, and Sherry will continue in the social role. Plus!!!! Roxanne will take over education, Laura will lead swaps and challenges, Bonnie will do the retreat, and Nancy will help with these posts. Thanks everyone!

Wanda from Serendipity Quilts was a guest today. Since the 1990’s, this group has donated approximately 350 quilts per year throughout Saskatoon. They require a new leader, people to sew, donations of fabric and batting, donated quilt tops, help piecing quilt tops with fabric packages they can provide, quilting services, and sewing of bindings. If you are looking to volunteer in any way, please reach out to saskatoonmqg@gmail.com and we will connect you to this group.

Laura did a very inspirational talk about improv quilting. She shared how her impatience for following patterns turned into a love of improv quilting. Her style is abstract, geometric and minimalist, and she likes to use solids. She pieces both quilt fronts and backs so both sides looked great. And she has experimented with quilting rulers too. A few quilters in improv are: Josef Albers, Sherri Lynn Wood, Nicholas Ball, and Cindy Grisdela. A design wall is a must for quilters as these designs may take some thinking and playing with. She encouraged us to try on-line resources such as the 30 day improv quilt-a-long with Shannon Fraser and Broadcloth studios. Check out #30DaysOfImprovQAL on instagram. Or just search on “improv” and so many resources will appear. A colour wheel can be a huge help. Also, try to get rid of using rulers except for squaring up your final projects. Other sources of inspiration can be multi-colour prints, tiles, and so on. There are no mistakes. Don’t be afraid to play an if you don’t like what you make, walk away and think on it, or just cut it up and keep playing!

Next we did our share around the circle. Patterns included Scrappy Trip around the World, Diamonds by Krista Moser, Busy Bee by Laura Heine and Crooked Christmas Tree paper piecing by Jittery Wings. Sadly Linda’s white bag got cut off in the photo. It is made with shelf liner from Dollarama! What a great suggestion.

There are only 2 weeks until we meet for our sew day and holiday party. This will be a sew day at Home Inn & Suites too. It is optional to participate in the gift exchange that will happen at 1 p.m. Please bring sweets to share at 1 p.m. too. There will be no formal meeting, just holiday fun!