February Meeting

The February Meeting of the ChattMQG is this Saturday, February 8th, 10:00 a.m. at Christ United Methodist Church.

Remember to bring your "Modern Dresden Plate" lottery blocks. In case you haven't had time to make any yet, here are a few links to inspire you.

www.craftsy.com/blog/2013/09/dymanic-dresden-plates/

www.sewmamasew.com/2010/04/dresden-plate-block-sew-along/

www.lurlineg.blogspot.com/2009/12/dresden-plate-tutorial.html

www.swimbikequilt.com/2012/06/dresden-squares-tutorial-ez-dresden.html

Our program this month will focus on two characteristics of the "Modern Aesthetic", expansive negative space and modern traditionalism. I think you will find this very informative and inspiring. It may even help answer the question, "What is Modern Quilting?".

As always, bring your Show and Tell. Hope to see you there.

Make it Modern~Pam

Member Monday—Ava Moore

Today's Member Monday is Ava Moore and here is her story…

"I feel like I have been sewing all my life. It started when I was young—by sixth grade I had sewn my father a down vest from a kit one used to be able to buy, feathers and all! I do recall feathers all over my room before I figured out how to get them from the plastic baggies to the vest. I learned to sew on my mother's 1950's Singer machine, which was a tank, even back in the day. But it is a great machine and would stitch anything! I learned tailoring and pattern making in high school and made a lot of my clothes, even into college. I made my first production order for a friend that was starting a line of "dog" clothes—remember, this was 30 years ago—and made 500 dog rain jackets as one of my summer jobs between my junior and senior year in high school. 

Two of my favorite projects were making my sisters and best friend's wedding dresses, as well as numerous bride maid dresses. And yes, I made my own wedding dress as well.

I was always intrigued with quilting, but felt like I would do it "one day when I had the room". At that time we were living east of San Francisco in an 800 square foot house…and yet, that is where I ended up starting my quilting adventure. I felt so lucky to be in an area with such creative quilting inspiration all around me, from the "quilt artists" to those gals who were never afraid of color! I took my first quilting class in Berkeley and never looked back. I took just about every class I could fit into my schedule—a unique Winding Road, even using design boards back then to visiting quilt teacher's at the East Bay Heritage Quilters. I can remember laying out the Winding Road quilt in the living room, from edge to edge and then running to the back room to stitch the blocks together in order.  Who says you need room? 

Since then I have loved being a part of the quilting community—both the alone time stitching and creating in my own space and coming together with other quilters to share ideas whether on the web, at a guild or a road trip to a quilt show near or far. I love finding a local quilt store in a town where I am traveling to see what other quilters are up to. The latest stop was the Treadle Yard Shop in St. Paul, MN this weekend. And in addition, it was a "real fabric store" which are disappearing from the landscape. Lots of gorgeous wools and flannels to go with the colder weather. 

So as I head home, I look forward to quilting my Kaffe Diamonds quilts in the room once considered the dining room and creating new projects for the winter ahead!"

I love reading these stories! It is so interesting to find out what brought our members to quilting. Thanks for sharing Ava.

Ava's logo block is featured in the ChattMQG header.

~Pam

January Meeting Recap

What a great start to a new year of the ChattMQG! Janet opened the meeting with a few notes of business. She informed the members that the Board of Directors had approved the Guild’s by-laws. Everyone on our e-mail list should have received a copy of those last week. She discussed an invitation we received from the Tennessee Aquarium to exhibit “nature-inspired” quilts during AQS QuiltWeek in September. The members voted to participate in this event and it was agreed that a committee would be formed. Membership applications were distributed during the meeting and dues were collected. We have 27 ChattMQG members!

Gayle presented the Lottery block for February, the Dresden Plate. We want everyone to get their “modern mojo” on and create a dresden plate-inspired block. There are no color or size restrictions. Here is the link Gayle provided for the paper pieced pattern.
www.christaquiltsblog.com/2013/01/31/do-you-dare-to-dresden-free-paper-pieced-pattern/

Here are a few more links to inspire you.
www.craftsy.com/blog/2013/09/dymanic-dresden-plates/
www.sewmamasew.com/2010/04/dresden-plate-block-sew-along/
www.lurlineg.blogspot.com/2009/12/dresden-plate-tutorial.html
www.swimbikequilt.com/2012/06/dresden-squares-tutorial-ez-dresden.html

This month our program was Improvisational Piecing. We divided into four teams and with the help of our great team leaders, everyone got their hands on a wide variety of scraps and created their own, one-of-a-kind fabric pieces. What a great time everyone had while learning such a diverse technique.

If you are interested in exploring improvisation further, you may want to check out some of these quilters.

Denyse Schmidt - www.dsquilts.com

Gwen Marston - www.gwenmarston.com

Jean Wells - www.jeanwellsquilts.com

Sherri Lynn Wood - www.daintytime.net

Bonnie Hunter - www.quiltville.com

Victoria Findlay-Wolfe - www.bumblebeansinc.com

Certainly, this is not a complete list, but will be a good start.

…and it wouldn’t be a ChattMQG meeting without Show and Tell.

1. Gerry Haywood  2. Gerry Haywood  3. Gerry Haywood

5. Sandi Suggs  6. Marcia Taschenberger  7. Denise Ohlman  8. Susan Lawson

9. Josie Dinwiddie  10. Josie Dinwiddie  11. Josie Dinwiddie  12. Josie Dinwiddie

13. Vista Mahan  14. Jackie Cory  15. Jackie Cory  16. Jackie Cory

17. Linda Smith  18. Linda Smith  19. Linda Smith  20. Mary Keasler

21. Melody Johnson  22. Melody Johnson  23. Vanessa King

It was a great meeting! 

~Pam

January Meeting

Our first meeting of 2014 is this Saturday, January 11 at 10:00 a.m. in our new meeting place, Christ United Methodist Church. We are very excited about our new space. It is huge and will accommodate us very well with plenty of room to grow and to sew! 

We are also excited about the activities we have planned for the year. Our program this month is Improvisational Piecing and will be interactive. I don't want to say too much, but think you will find it both fun and enlightening; an experience you won't want to miss.  

Be sure to bring your Show and Tell and get ready for a great year with the ChattMQG!

~Pam

Member Monday—Gerry Haywood

I was so excited that Gerry chose to share her creative journey with us—I couldn't wait to get it posted! Here is what she shared…

"I have been exposed to fiber, in various forms, all of my life. My Mother was an excellent seamstress, knitter, crocheter and tatter. She did it all!!

I started knitting (k2p2) at a very early age of 8 or 9 and would knit practice squares which usually ended up as shoe shinning cloths or bedding for my dog. Oh well, it was a start.

My formal introduction to garment making was in high school home economics class. I passed apron but flunked pajamas. Sewed the crotch seam in the wrong direction and quickly learned how to pick out a seam. I did pursue this new discipline and received my first sewing machine when I was in college. From that time on garment making was my passion and still is. 

Always one to try something new and off the wall, I found myself exploring another medium-weaving but with a contemporary flair. Purchased a floor loom and that was the beginning of a new experience. Into these pieces I incorporated clay beads, feathers, ultra suede  and plastic tubing. Didn’t know how this new concept would be received, so I started exhibiting my work at numerous art shows in Louisville and soon had myself well established in this new art form. Several of my pieces are in Louisville offices but most were commissioned for private homes. In the meantime, I was approached by ChiChi’s (Mexican restaurant) to do some pieces for them. I worked with their interior designer for two years and have pieces in several cities in the United States as well as in Canada.

In the meantime, I was taking advanced sewing and design classes at Baer Fabrics in Louisville as well as attending tailoring class. Always trying to improve my sewing techniques and design principles. Baer Fabrics was a 5 floor store that stocked everything your heart desired from silks to upholstery fabrics. They brought in nationally known instructors for their classes, so I was exposed to the very best in the garment making industry. A style show was held occasionally to showcase some of the outstanding garments made in classes. One of my jackets and silk slacks were selected for the style show. Quite a compliment. After moving to Chattanooga five years ago, I was very disappointed to learn that there was not a really good fabric store. Bummer!!!!  That more or less has ended my garment making.

The saga continues. I made my first quilt in 1990 which was a baby quilt for my first grandchild. Hand quilted this one. My next quilt was “Trip Around the World” and is presently hanging at  Spool. After moving here and discovering “ Sew Bee It” I knew then I could make wall quilts for my new house. Through the years my quilting style has changed dramatically-more modern. I love the simplicity, the bright colors and the negative space. The Modern Quilt Guild has so encouraged me to think outside the box. At this juncture in my life, I hope I am not too bold in saying, last but not least, I am also a Modern Quilter."

Gerry's talent, tireless energy, charitable and creative spirit, have been an inspiration to me. I always look forward to see what she brings to our meetings. Thanks for sharing your story Gerry!

Gerry participated in the Logo Block challenge and submitted two, yes two blocks. One is featured in the ChattMQG header and the other is shown here to the right.

—Pam

October Meeting Recap

Our Saturday started with an enthusiastic social time, followed with a warm welcome from Sandi. Announcements were made regarding our November Holiday Party. This will be our last meeting of the year and will take place on Thursday evening, November 14th from 6:00–7:30 p.m. at SPOOL. Light refreshments will be served. We have three activities planned for the evening; a Gift Swap, a Door Prize Drawing and of course, Show and Tell. If you would like to participate in any or all of these activities, here's what you need to bring:

1. For the Gift Swap: a small handmade gift. Everyone who brings a gift, goes home with a gift.
2. For the Door Prize Drawing:  Favorite sewing item(s) {ex.: (2) fat quarters, or (1) charm pack or, (2) mini charm packs, notions; pin cushion, or seam ripper, or snips, etc.} These items will go into the Door Prize basket. Everyone who brings an item(s) will have a chance to win!
3. Show and Tell.

Our October meeting marks the end of this year's Lottery Block challenge. Eighteen blocks were collected and two winners were drawn, giving each winner nine blocks—Vista and Nancy were the lucky winners of those "Urban Chicken" blocks.
We need to thank Gayle for bringing this challenge to our monthly meetings. She has done a fantastic job.

Janet updated us on the progress made to join the National MQG. It looks like we are on track to become an official affiliate member in January 2014. More information with regard to membership and dues will be sent through the remainder of the year via email and the blog. 

We had a two-part program this month. Debra started the first part of the program with Chapter 11, Embrace Your Curves, from Quilting Modern. She shared her experience with these gentle curves, showed several samples and offered some really great tips:

• Starch your fabric before cutting. She likes to starch lightly on the right side of her fabric with a little heavier starch on the wrong side.
• Sew slowly and adjust your fabric as necessary to move around the curves.
• Don't skip through any of the steps—you will regret it!

Melissa continued the program by sharing her experience from Bernina University 2013 in San Francisco. She showed several new products and software from Bernina, along with their newest machine. More impressive than that, were all the projects she made while there!

I thought I would end this post with a pictorial of the October Show and Tell. I think it speaks for itself.

~Pam

October Meeting

The Chattanooga Modern Quilt Guild will hold it's regularly scheduled meeting this Saturday, October 12th at Bernina Sew-N-Quilt at 10:00 a.m.

Debra N. will present this month's program from the book, Quilting Modern, Chapter 11, Embrace your Curves, Improvisational Curves Techniques and Projects. Melissa K. will be sharing her experiences from Bernina University 2013.

Please don't forget to bring your "Urban Chicken" lottery blocks. Here is the link to the online tutorial designcamppdx.blogspot.com/2013/08/urban-chicken-block.html.

Also, please bring your fabric scraps so we will be ready for our January 2014 program, Improvisational Piecing. Your scraps should be at least 1.5 x 2 inches or larger and can be prints or solids.

And of course, bring your Show and Tell.

It looks to be another fun and exciting meeting!

Hope to see you there--Pam