Saturday, December 31, 2016

2016 President's Mini Quilt Challenge


Back in October I challenged our guild members to make small quilts inspired by any program or workshop our guild presented this year. Quilts made for the programs would be acceptable (we have a lot of member-led programs here—it’s a great concept) as long as they met the 24” maximum size requirement. Quilts would be on display during our December meeting.

Who doesn’t want a guild show at the end of the year?

Our Steering Committee was completely on board and got busy rounding up gift certificates from area fabric shops for prizes, just to spice things up.

When the members came into our room that Saturday morning the quilts were hanging on the wall and designated with numbers, not names. Everyone present was asked to select the three they liked most, in order*. Viewers used their own criteria and wrote down three numbers. 

In the first slideshow you can see the quilts as they appeared on the wall. For the most part, people couldn’t be sure who made what. You can look at them now and choose your own three favorites.

*I had decided to go for simple majority unless we had a tie. If that had been the case I would have weighted the votes by rank, but that wasn’t necessary.


After people had a chance to vote, I gave each artist a chance to tell us about her quilt: inspiration, colors, design—and the stories were so much fun! Some made us laugh and some made us cry.


I made some ribbons just for fun and pinned them on the quilts as I awarded the prizes. Our top three vote-getters were:

1st Place: Jean Larson 


2nd Place: Gerry Haywood 


3rd Place: Denise Ohlman


However, clearly everyone who participated was a winner. Thanks to everyone who played along with the idea and made our show a reality! I hope you enjoy viewing the galleries and I wish you a 2017 rich with quilty friends and experiences.


Audrey

Sunday, December 18, 2016

December Meeting Recap

Annual Christmas Party



We were delighted to welcome six guests to our meeting where we shared fun and food and exchanged some gifts.

Announcements

Sandi invited us to a nearby double stash fabric sale taking place right after the meeting.

Veronica brought in a collection bag for stockings and toys for the children of Gatlinburg families that were affected by the recent fires. Items could also be brought to Bernina Sew 'N' Quilt Studio or Sew Notions in Jasper TN by Thursday, December 15.


2016 Highlights

  • Jean reported that we've completed 8 or 9 quilts and presented them to new Habitat for Humanity families this year. 
Vanessa King (right) presents a quilt to homeowner Torri Scott.
  • We participated in the first Tennessee Modern Mini Quilt Swap, organized by MemphisMQG. Knoxville MQG and Music City MQG also joined in the fun. (See photos of some of our quilts for that in the May Meeting Recap.)

ChattMQG members show the quilts they made for the Tennessee Modern Mini Quilt Swap.

ChattMQG members and the quilts they received from their swap partners.

  • In June, Camille organized us to make heart blocks for Quilts for Pulse. She used those to make a quilt and shipped it to Orlando in September. She also collected blue heart blocks for police and shared those with guilds in Baton Rouge and Houston.
A heart block made by Kelly Spell for #quiltsforpulse.
  • We hosted a workshop with Michelle Wilkie of North Carolina's Triangle MQG in July and learned how to design modern quilts inspired by architecture, street signs, and modern art.
Michelle Wilkie workshop participants
  • Kelly accepted an invitation and we were featured in an issue of the online Make Modern Magazine published in Australia.
  • For the third and final year of AQS QuiltWeek Chattanooga, we had the most volunteer hours.

Thanks to all of you who helped our guild accomplish so much in 2016!

2017 Dues and Directory

If you have not already done so, please write your dues check for $35 payable to ChattMQG and get it to Jean Larson ASAP. Jean must receive your dues by the January 14 meeting if you want to be included in next year's directory.

2017 Workshops

Mary Keasler, our workshop liaison, updated us on our upcoming offerings.
  • Mary Kerr will be with us the weekend of April 7-8. The workshop, "Traditional Blocks to Modern," will probably be on Saturday afternoon following our monthly meeting. Mary will also offer a lecture and trunk show. We expect that to be on Friday evening (April 7). Mark your calendars now and we will share times and places when those decisions are made.
  • Sherri Lynn Wood will work with our guild August 26-27. We are choosing between one two-day or two single-day workshops. We'll share more information as our plans develop.
Mary will also be investigating options for more workshops with local or regional quilters.

2017 Programs

In January we will have a program on Accurate Cutting. Karen Downer will be leading us in this exercise where we will learn good techniques and cut fabric for Habitat blocks. Karen's had two emergency room visits for rotary cutting accidents so she's learned her safety tips the hard way! You will need to bring a mat, ruler and cutter, and we'll let you know if you'll need anything else.

For February, we've planned a Panel Discussion. Veronica Hofman-Ortega, Joan Thornbury, Carolyn Ripee and Jackie Cory will be sharing information, tips and tricks about all things quilt-making. 

We will offer five member-led programs. These are:
1.  Curves
2.  Foundation Paper Piecing
3.  Modern Applique
4.  Fussy Cutting for Modern Quilts
5.  Computer Software for Modern Quiltmakers and Designers

We hope to have five members per team, with at least one of those being experienced. Feel free to sign up for more than one. (Some of the sheets are already full! Come to the January meeting to see where we still need help.)

2017 Swap

Camille has offered to organize another swap because the first one was so much fun! Karen is in touch with former member Beth Sellers, now in Tucson, and their guild wants to swap with ours.

Show and Tell