Upcoming Challenges and Exhibits

At Tuesday's meeting we introduced a new Mini Quilt Challenge that ties into our Quilt Knit Stitch! exhibit, as well as a second way to enter the exhibit. Also this week you may have heard about the newest MQG Challenge that is coming up. I know that's a lot of information to throw at you all at once, so here's further explanation for all of these things:

Michael Miller Glitz Modern Mini Quilt Challenge

Source

The challenge: Make a modern mini quilt with your Glitz fabrics that has dimensions that are in between 12" x 12" and 24" x 24." So, any single side is at least 12 and up to 24. It can be rectangular or round or any other shape as long it is smaller or equal to 24" x 24."

The sponsor: Michael Miller Fabrics

The fabrics: Michael Miller Glitz fat eighth fabrics you received at Tuesday's meeting. You may also add in any Michael Miller Cotton Couture solids. No other fabrics allowed. If you missed that meeting we have a limited number you may pick up at the upcoming Open Sew days at Fabric Depot or March's meeting. First come, first serve.

Who can enter: Any PMQG 2014 member who receives a fabric pack

Entry Details: Enter the challenge by bringing your mini quilt to the PMQG April meeting. If you cannot make the meting, please make arrangements for a friend to take it for you. Quilts that are not chosen to appear in the Quilt Knit Stitch! exhibit will be returned at May's meeting. 

• All quilts must be labeled: A cloth label with the title of the quilt and your name, address, and telephone number must be sewn on the back of the quilt. The information on the label can be applied with embroidery or any other permanent means.  Do not use a water-soluble pen.
• Quilts must have a hanging sleeve. Find information on how to add a hanging sleeve here.
• Please take pictures of your quilt before you submit them to PMQG. If your quilt is chosen, you will then need to fill out an online form with info about you/your quilt and include a picture of the quilt.

Remember, these quilts are due at the April PMQG meeting. Please DO NOT bring them to the March meeting, we will not be accepting them yet.

The tags:  If tagging your pics on FB, IG, Twitter, etc these are some tags you can use: #pmqg #pmqgglitzchallenge Also please be sure to tag @MichaelMillerFabrics

The Exhibit: PMQG Modern Mini Quilts


PNW Modern Metallic Exhibit at Quilt Knit Stitch

 

Robert Kaufman Quilter's Linen Metallics, courtesy Michelle Freedman

The challenge: Create a quilt that is maximum size 48" x 48" that features metallics: in fabric, thread, theme, etc. Interpret the metallic challenge as you see fit!

The sponsor: Robert Kaufman Fabrics

The fabrics: Members can receive 3 Fat Quarters of Robert Kaufman metallics fabrics. However, you may make a quilt that does not include these fabrics to enter into the exhibit. Fabrics will be passed out at an upcoming meeting after they are received by the officers.


Who can enter: Members of PNW guilds and MQG individual members who live in the PNW

Entry Details: Quilts must be submitted to the Quilt Knit Stitch staff for consideration in this exhibit by May 2, 2014. Please see the exhibit page for full details on how to submit and other dates.


The tags: If tagging your pics on FB, IG, Twitter, etc these are some tags you can use: #pnwmodernmetallic #‎quilterslinen‬ ‪#‎quilterstussah‬ ‪#‎quiltersburlap‬
 Also be sure to tag @RobertKaufman


The Exhibit: PNW Modern Metallics Exhibit at Quilt Knit Stitch, which takes place in Portland August 14th-16th.


MQG Fabric Challenge

Source

 


The challenge: TBA


The sponsor: Michael Miller Fabrics

The fabrics: Michael Miller fabrics that will be handed out at a meeting after they are received by the officers. (But you don't have to use all of the fabrics)You may also add in any other Michael Miller print or solid fabrics.


Who can enter: This challenge is MQG-wide. PMQG members who receive a fabric pack may enter, and MQGs all over will be doing similar challenges


Entry details: Entries will be uploaded to the MQG site between March 2014 and June 23, 2014. More details TBA


The tags:  If tagging your pics on FB, IG, Twitter, etc these are some tags you can use: #mqgfabricchallenge Also please be sure to tag @MichaelMillerFabrics

The prizes: 3 winners  will each receive a posting on the Michael Miller blog and “A year of Free Fabric.” Every month for a year winners will receive a “Goody Box”  filled with fabric from Michael Miller's newest collections.

PMQG Quilt Documentation Day

Call for 21st Century Quilts! 

 Our PMQG Graphic quilt is likely the first large modern quilt ever documented for the Quilt Index, in April 2013!

PMQG is hosting our second Quilt Documentation Day at the Museum of Contemporary Craft in the 2nd floor Lab Space.

Saturday, November 2nd 2013

12-5pm

Cost: $15 per quilt

Fee includes photography, quilt registration, evaluation  and assessment. Please register below using the form on this page! We will contact you the week before the event to finalize the schedule and answer any questions. 

We are so excited to partner with the wonderful Museum of Contemporary Craft for this quilt documentation event, particularly since it will be during their fiber art Common Threads exhibit. Their New Embroidery Tablecloth, a community artwork in progress since 2006, will be part of the event as well.

Diane Gilleland embroidering the tablecloth in 2006

PMQG members and participants are welcome to contribute their own original hand-embroidery or stitching to it, or of course work on their own hand-sewing projects in the lab space. We would love to have volunteer help at any time throughout the day so please email portlandmodernquiltguild at gmail.com if you're interested in spending part of the afternoon sewing and documenting with us! Note: Participating PMQG members may visit the event without paying the regular individual admission charge (the guild will make a general donation to the museum).

The Oregon Quilt Project started in 2009. The Portland Modern Quilt Guild participated in training in the Spring of 2012. We hosted our first Documentation Day on April 12, 2013.

What kind of quilts are documented?

All quilts made in Oregon, quilts brought to Oregon, and quilts of any age, condition, or style

What is the process?

The basic process of documenting a quilt is twofold - written information is recorded and photos are taken. All quilts documented in Oregon will eventually become part of the Quilt Index.

What is the Quilt Index?

The Quilt Index represents years of research and development to bring together quilt information in a centralized online tool for education, research, and public access. The Quilt Index is a joint project of The Alliance for American Quilts, MATRIX: The Center for Humane Arts, Letters and Social Sciences Online at Michigan State University and the Michigan State University Museum.

PMQG Neon Quilt at Quilt Market

Congrats PMQG for getting the opportunity to show this quilt in the Michael Miller booth at Quilt Market last weekend! It looks wonderful next to Elizabeth Hartman's Neon Honey Quilt!

Amber Wilson, your illustrious PMQG secretary pieced the top and the back, Kim Lumapas, your dedicated PMQG programs director attached the binding, and PMQG Business member and 2012 PMQG treasurer, Nancy Stoval of Just Quilting quilted it!

PMQG Neon Quilt #1

We want to know which block is yours. Here is what we have so far:

a Lisa O'Conner

b  Susan Paris

c April Alden

d

e Kim Lumapas

f

g Petra Anderson

h Gail Weiss

i April Alden

j Jaime Young

k Katie Sciarrino

l Cath Hall

And look who we ran into at market -- PMQG members #149 (Ellen Colburn, left) and #150 (Ruth Dirkson, middle). Those are some awesome numbers ladies! PMQG member Karen Branchnoffer (right) didn't know her number, so we will just have to call her numero uno...

We have two more neon quilts in progress and can't wait to bring them to show and tell. You should all be VERY proud of your work! This was a challenge that was a bit daunting for most of us and we did good! The Michael Miller crew was delighted and asked us to participate in another challenge. Stay tuned for more info on that!

--Michelle

April Meeting Recap: Announcements

What a fun PMQG meeting we had on April 18th! The room was packed, the energy was high and there were many new faces. About halfway through the meeting, Anne, our treasurer, whispered to me that we had just signed up our 150th member. 150! How cool is that! 

PMQG member's blocks for the Michael Miller Neon & Neutral challenge

Here is a recap of our committee reports and announcements. 

Community Events:
Our next PMQG Sew Day will be held on Saturday, May 4th at Fabric Depot from 9am - 9pm. PMQG Members are free, Guests are $10.
Our first Charity Sewcial is on Friday, May 10th at Modern Domestic from 5-8pm hosted by Rachel Kerley. PMQG Members can participate in a free charity pillow sewing event (all supplies provided) or sew their own projects for $10 (machines and tools provided). 

Quilt Shows: 
Thank you to everyone who submitted quilts for the PMQG special exhibit at Sisters. Notification letters were sent out on April 9th. The deadline to submit a quilt to the general Sisters show is June 1st.

The deadline for HMQS has been extended through April 26th. 

Historian Report:
Our first PMQG Quilt Documentation Day was held on April 12th from 1-4pm. We documented ten quilts, several of which were the first modern quilts to be documented for this project. Thank you to Susan Beal and Bill Volkening for spear heading these efforts.

Bylaws
We held a bylaw meeting on April 12th and reviewed the bylaw surveys and a working draft of bylaws for our guild. The next bylaw meeting will be announced. Please email us with Bylaw in the subject line if you would like a pdf of the document that we reviewed. A comment form is available on the Bylaw page of this blog.

MQG Membership
Allisa Haight Carlton will host a presentation on MQG membership at our May Meeting. Please send any questions about MQG membership to portlandmodernquiltguild (at) gmail (dot) com with the subject line MQG Membership in advance of this meeting.

Before and After [Quilt] Market with Modern Domestic
We raffled off a class at Modern Domestic and will donate the proceeds to the Leiomyosarcoma Direct Research Foundation in honor of Heather Grant.
We are planning a Meet and Greet on Friday May 17th at Modern Domestic. Stay tuned for more details about that.
There are still spots available in Carolyn Friedlander's Ariel Wall Hanging and Olive Wall Hanging classes on Monday May 20th and Jacquie Gering's Slice and Insert Improv class on Wednesday May 15th. PMQG members get a 10% discount.

PNCA + PMQG team up
We have partnered with PNCA on two fantastic weekend workshops June 29-30. PMQG members get priority registration and a $100 discount off the cost of these classes. Links for our members to sign up are on our new PMQG member page on this blog. You will need a password to access it which we will send to members in an email. 
Learn more about the instructors here: Eliza Fernand check out her work here 
Cherry House Read Cherry's blog here

PNW MQG meet up
Pencil it in! August 15th - 18th in Portland, Or.

Neon and Neutrals Challenge
Our latest challenge was a Neons and Neutrals sponsored by Michael Miller Fabrics. Each member got 10 fat eights of Michael Miller solid neons, neon dots and Cotton Couture neutrals and was challenged to make a 
block or accessory. Members showed their pieces at our meeting (see photo above the blocks!) Stay tuned for next steps.

BOM
PMQG member Heather Davidson hosted our BOM this month. We will be making her 'Spring Mod' block along with the Bay Area Modern Quilt Guild. She did a wonderful tutorial on her blog. Thank you Heather!

Member Announcements
Violet is teaching her Herringbone Block Class at Quilting Delights on April 27th
WestSide Modern meets next Wednesday April 24th at the Pine Needle
Threadbias is hosting a Briar Rose quilt design contest now through May 5th
Please leave a comment if we missed anything.
Northwest Quilters next general meeting is May 13th at 9:30am

Stay tuned for the Presentation and Show and Tell recaps.
Thanks everyone!

-- Michelle

October Guild Meeting

Our October meeting was bursting at the seams as usual! Petra was able to catch a few photos of the crowd, so many friendly faces! :) 

Susan sharing announcements. 

Everyone shared their beautiful & innovative use of stripes and chevrons for our Michael Miller challenge. Such an impressive showcase of amazingness! Thanks of giving us this unique challenge, Michael Miller! A few of these projects are on their way to Quilt Market, too! 

Also, we've seen these before, but it's fun to see them all together! We will have a poll on this blog soon, asking everyone to vote for which quilt should be entered in the QuiltCon collaborative quilt category. If you don't know what I'm talking about, click here for all the details! You don't want to miss the opportunity to submit your own quilt! 

Special Speaker: Angela Walters! 

We were so pleased to be able to share Angela Walters with MQX this weekend. She shared with us many of her stunning quilts and gave us pointers for our own quilts. 

Show & Tell

Petra's quilt that she made for her son, Avery. 

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Petra's scrappy quilt from Scrap Republic. Quilted by Rachel Kerley

Cherri Langley "I hope you love birds too" Design from Ashley at Film in the Frig - I finally collected all four color ways of the paint by number birds, an "older" fabric line. The last colorway I found in Austrailia! 

Gail Weiss - Dragon Hexie Quilt top - 3,942 1/2" hexie top - took one full year to piece together - so excited to share with everyone! 

Close up of the back

Christina - Nighttime Group Quilt - Eight quilters contributed a square and scraps for the border, it always works out perfectly! 

Brittany Scott - "Pixelated Love" Quilt made from a photo, 7,500 one inch squares (pixels)!

Joy Ruplinger - Batik Square in a Square 

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Jen Carlton-Bailly - Melody Miller Show Quilt 

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Weekender for Melody Miller

Citrus Wedge

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Kory Keller - Hexi Pouch - first hexi project! 

City Park

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Jolene Knight - big blocks

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Michelle Freedman - "Doll Quilt Revisited" - Inspired by an antique doll quilt

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Chris Ervin - "Berry Pickin'" - Embroidered blocks gift for her niece 

Kelly Cole - Long Star Dahlia - Mini quilt with lone star pattern  and rainbow colors

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Kimberly L. - "Cosmic Burst" Quilt-along on Distant Pickles (flickr: perfection not included)

Nikki Pavesi - sharing her first quilt! Hooray! Blue ombre quilt

plan for the back

Claire Alexander - gender neutral quilt - blue/pink center - yellow/blue/green/ pink border with stars

Chelle Casey Stevenson - Ron Swanson Quilt

Ale Kloch - "Little Leaves" A wedding gift for a friend. 

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AnnMarie Cowley - "Diade los Muertos" 

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Monica's Halloween Block

Two "quiltini's"! Monica's new name for mug rug. :) 

Thanks everyone for a great meeting! See you next month! 

:) Heather

October Meeting Announcements

For those of you who couldn't make it, or want to mark your calendars or donate to this months charity...Here are the October Announcements!

All-Day Sew Oct. 20! Fabric Depot - 9am - 9pm - Stop on by any time throughout the day! Bring your machine and projects! 

Call for 2013 Officers! Click here for details on each position. Deadline for applying is November 1.

October charity: Treats 4 Troops, supporting the 697th Engineer Corp. out of Fort Hood, currently deployed to Afghanistan. Shauna McCain of St. Helens is requesting gifts of small quilts, one for each of the 40 members of her husband’s platoon – any donations greatly appreciated. The shipping deadline is the second week of November.

Cotton Couture Challenge
As part of Quilt Con, we will be entering one of the three Michael Miller quilts into the collaborative quilt category of the quilt show. We will have a poll on the blog soon, to see which one we should send! There are many more categories with amazing prizes - click here to check it out!

Holiday swap!

Fill a sandwich size bag with your favorite fabric to be used in a gift made especially for you! Bring your filled bag to the November meeting with the following information attached to it. 

Your name: 

Blog/Flickr: 

Ideas: 

At the November meeting we will switch bags and then bring your gift to the December meeting! 

Michael Miller Challenge!

Everyone's projects were jaw-dropping and inspiring!! More pics coming soon to the meeting re-cap! 

As always, if there are any questions, please email us: portlandmodernquiltguild at gmail dot com

Thanks!

September Meeting Recap

There was a lot to share at this month's meeting so we have a whole separate post for you with details about upcoming events and what this fabric is all about for our paid members. 

Cathy Fowler brought in a lot of fun dresses, pants, and bags she made at a Pho for Three sewing party she hosted for 2 little girls wanting to give back. I am sorry I don't have a photo of this one. Thank you to all the members that made items and Theresa will still be accepting donations through the new year.

 We had a wonderful demo on a quick easy machine binding method from Judy Livingston guild member and E.E. Schanks buyer. She's putting a video together for E.E. Schanks and we'll post it for you when it's ready. 

We are also taking submissions for next year's Board if you are interested send us an email. We will have a post soon with all of the postions and their duties. 

Show and Tell

Anne Whiting's ??My Chaotic Quilt?? a quilt for her so she broke all the rules.

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Chris Carlson's Cupcakes for Olivia an Irish Chain top with cupcakes.

Juline Bajada's Beach Baby a custom quilt for a friend. Juline is Juline B on flickr.

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Kate Sharaf's Lone Star mini.

Barbara Sanders shared 3 Pencil Bags for Pho for Three.

Jolene Knight shared two quilts made from corduroy scraps.

Ale Kloch's vintage Granny square quilt top. This was hand pieced by her Grandmother and Ale is hoping to finish it.

Joy Ruplinger's red and white. 

Terry Blevins Paparazzi.

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Susan Paris's Quilt, she's Susancp on Flickr.

Susan was the winner of a Craftsy giveaway and she's won a free class from Craftsy!

Crissy Roth's Swoon Pillow a hand quilted Swoon block turned pillow.

Peggy Noto's Kate and Nate quilt. From a Modern Quilt Relish pattern Cheddar No Crackers.

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Heather Lott's Nautical Lone Star a quilt she's always wanted to make

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Katie Sclarrino's Bennet quilt.

Amber Garrison had multiple quilts first 9 patch.

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Big Log Cabin.

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And 3 Chevron Quilts

Veronica B's Basket Weave and Diamonds top.

Erin Olson's Blue Scrap quilt.

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Chelle Casey-Stevenson's Quilt for her son's new cousin.

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And Improve quilt top from Elizabeth Hartman pattern.

Michelle Freedman's Go-Retro Quilt made with Pendleton Eco-Wool featured in Stitch Winter Wool issue.

Also Fast Fun Flannel made with Maywood Studio Flowers in the Forest Flannels featured in McCalls Quick Quilt Oct/Nov issue.

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What a fun meeting we'll see you next month!
Pétra

September Announcements Details!

NW Quilting Expo

Our special exhibit & meet-up - Come join us Saturday morning at 10am, main entrance! We've made a facebook event if you'd like to RSVP there!

Pennar Ash Winery Trip

Thursday, September 27 - meet at Pennar Ash Winery at 11 am for wine tasting, picnic, and the change to photograph quilts in a beautiful setting! Thank you to Anne Woodman for arranging this lovely outing! 

Sew, Swap, & Sell! 

We are excited to announce that we're bringing back Sew, Swap, & Sell! We'd love to have you bring any fabrics you've fallen out of love with to swap or sell. Need to de-stash? We want your fabrics! If you would like to sell, please make sure you have marked and assigned a value to your fabrics to avoid confusion. Got a project you no longer love? Bring it and swap it? Maybe someone else will be the fresh eye to get it finished.  

Details: 

Who? All PMQG Friends!

When? Sunday, October 7th 11am - 4pm

What? To sew, swap, sell, or if you just want to come by and chat, that's great too! 

Where? Staver Locomotive 2537 NW 29th Ave. Portland, OR 97210 

How? Because we will be limited on space, you must reserve your space by simply filling out the form below. Sewing machine space is limited, I'll make a note here on this post when sewing spaces are full, it's first come first serve on the google doc. Feel free to bring a quilt to bind! 

What to bring: 

- Finger food/small dish to share for lunch

- Fabric to swap/sell

- All sewing supplies that you'll need for your sewing project (please rsvp ahead of time!) Irons & ironing boards stations will be provided by board members. 

Any questions, please email us at portlandmodernquiltguild at gmail dot com! 

Michael Miller Stripe Challenge

Following the success of our last challenge, the PMQG will again be teaming with Michael Miller Fabrics to showcase their new Stripes Collection. 

“Stripes” is a collection of large and small-scale stripes and chevrons. MM signature rich colors and an unusual blend of scale make these essential stash fabrics worthy of stealing the show!

Since we’ll take any excuse to play with new fabric, we’re happy to announce the STRIPES!!!! Home Dec Challenge.

The Juicy Details:

1) Paid members will be able to choose between the warm or cool colorway and a bundle of coordinating solids. You can mix in additional cotton couture solids, but please, no additional prints. The stripes should be the focus of your design.

2) When you’ve picked your bundle, get to brainstorming! We’ve decided to ask that you create something in the home dec category, and the more creative your use of the stripes, the better! We’d love to see what new patterns and designs emerge once you start slicing and dicing! For example, bags, mug rugs, wall hangings, table runners, pillows, storage bins, cozies, etc.

3) Once all of the items are finished, we’ll collect them at the October meeting or drop them off at Nancy's Studio before hand. Then, we'll photograph them and he folks at Michael Miller will select their favorite pictures (and possibly some of their favorite items!!) to showcase in their booth at the Fall Quilt Market.

If you weren't able to come to the meeting tonight and would like to pick up your fabric, please contact Nancy at portlandmodernquiltguild at gmail dot com, to arrange to pick up at her studio! 

Here are a few interesting and different ways to play with stripes! Thanks again so much to Michael Miller for generously donating so much fabric!  

Big Stripe Hexagon

Mighty Stripe

Stripes and Squares

Furrowed Fields by Rosemary Cromer

Bev's Quilt by Drury Girl

Home Dec Ideas & Tutorials:

Travel Handmade Pinterest Page - Assembled by Sewing Summit - Tutorials made by many bloggers

Fabric Scrap Basket by The Sometimes Crafter

Open Wide Zipper Pouch by Noodlehead

Patchwork Tote Bags by Susan Beal

Let's Have Cake! by Ellison Lane Quilts

We need your vote!

Happy Thursday Everyone! I hope you're getting lots of quilting accomplished during this crummy week of rain! Here's a couple of projects that you could work on:

• If you've signed up for the VMQG pouch swap, please bring your pouch to this month's meeting on June 21st. 
• If you have any leftover Michael Miller Cotton Couture fabric left from the previous challenge. Feel free to make an improv block of any size. We will continue to collect these and make a quilt for charity. 

Also, don't forget that we have an All Day Sew at Fabric Depot on June 2nd from 9am to 9pm. At last week's meeting we asked members if anyone would like to teach a skill/block idea at the All Day Sew, would anyone be willing to lead a little skill share at June's All Day Sew? If so, email portlandmodernquiltguild@gmail.com

Finally, as we are in the process of finishing the two quilts from the MM Cotton Couture challenge. We need your help. Each of these quilts will be shown at a quilt show: one at the Sisters Outdoor Show, the other one at Pacific Northwest Quilt Show. I've put up a poll on the sidebar of the blog (it's on the very top of the sidebar to your right, when viewing the site), please vote for which quilt you think should be shown first at Sisters. 

Improv Quilt (to be sashed with tangerine)

Linear Quilt (to be sashed with fog)

Poll will remain open until May 31, place your votes now! :) 

Cotton Couture Quilt

The quilt top is together and ready to go to Nancy!! The blocks in this one are by Bonnie, Linda, Kimberly, Heather, Rachel, Nancy, Melanie, Barbara, Katie, Jill, Monica, Anne, Cathy, Susan, and Michelle. 

When we collected all of the blocks last month we had 48 and they were all so impressive we wondered how Kathy could even choose? After sending her all of the photos it turns out she couldn't! She wanted us to choose instead. We didn't really feel like we could either and it put us in a difficult position but Susan and Heather came up with a great solution. The board met and we arranged the blocks into three different groups of 16 guided by style they are Improv, Graphic, and Linear. Next we photographed the groups and sent those to Kathy. She picked her favorite, Graphic, for Quilt Market. What has worked out so well is the other groups will be made into quilts of which one will be shown at the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show and the other will be shown at the Northwest Quilting Expo! As the other two quilts are finished we will share them with you as well so you can see your blocks in their finished quilts. All of the quilts will be sashed and binded by a group effort of Susan, Heather, Ale, Linda, myself and quilted by Nancy. Before Violet takes the quilt off to Market I'll get final photos to share on flickr. 
Thank you to everyone that contributed blocks they look so amazing together and I think they've inspired quiet a few new projects for people. 
Pétra

April Meeting Recap

Our wonderful President Susan starting out the meeting.

 From now on I am going to leave out the part where I tell you this was a big meeting with lots to share and lots of photos. We pack a lot into our meetings every month because we are so excited to be together from now on these posts are big! Susan shared these classes and announcements with the group. 

Improv blocks from our All Day Sew being made into a quilt for Quilts of Valor.

Jen did a 10 min tute on making zipper pouches her way.

Jen did a great 10 minute tute on a making a zipper wristlet pouch and I shared a tutorial on snaps. This is all to help prep for a pouch swap we'll be doing with the Vancouver BC Guild.

There was announcement by the panel that will be choosing the quilts to be in our PMQG special exhibit at the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show. You can find info on that under the Sisters tab above. 

For our mixer this month we displayed our blocks for the Michael Miller Cotton Couture Challenge. Forty Four blocks in all I am not sure how Kathy Miller is going to choose just 16! The remaining blocks will be made into quilts for charity and one to be displayed at Sisters. We were struck by the diversity and beauty of each block they all turned out amazing.

Violet Craft shared a peak of her new fabric line Madrona Road! I can't wait to sew with it. 

Heather our vice president did a great talk on dynamic blogging. She has created a wonderful resource page above for everyone to use Update: 1/13 Follow the Dynamic Blogging link highlighted above (for the information that used to live on the page) to find links to blog design resources and a great how to for making those cute little buttons you see on the sides of blogs. 

Show and Tell

 Matthew shared his quilt top Glimpse of Future Dimensions. 

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 Susan shared her entry for the Sisters exhibit. The design is based on a sign she saw three years ago at Oceanside Oregon.

Lara shared some things she's made from the Zakka Style book.

 Rachel shared her English Strippy Quilt. 

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Cris brought her Amish Stained Glass quilt. It was inspired by a quilt in the book Amish Abstractions.

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Kate's Half Square Triangle Peeps quilt.

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Anne W. shared Rainbow Baby Quilt. This was inspired by the "Gumdrops" quilt in volume 2 of Sew Scrappy. 

Also from Anne Forever Black & White. This is Elizabeth Hartman's Birdbath pattern from her book Guide to Modern Patchwork. Quilted on Modern Domestic's quilt frame.

Cheryl E. brought Not on the Quilt,dude! "Which came first-the quilt or the Lebowski adoration robe? You be the judge! Sewing is good for the soul, "Careful Man!"

Lebowski adoration robe!

 Dee shared her Bug Jar quilt made for her 4 year old Granddaughter whose parents call her "Bug".

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Jill shared Moons of Many Colors.

 Jane shared a quilt top from her "Civil War" block swap.

Detail

Heather L. shared two quilts her "Plus" Quilt

and Happy Squares.

Anne brought two quilts Ode to Kaffe

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 and her Baby Quilt made with Peacock Lane fabric.

Amanda shared her quilt top from a Modern Minimal Pattern.

 Amorette shared her Sparkle Punch Taza quilt. This is also a pattern from Elizabeth Hartman and a quilt along.

Bonnie made this for her Mother for Mother's Day. This is a Thomas Kinkade panel she did using a creative stitching technique learned from a Craftsy course.

 Back with her first label.

Judy shared her Harmony and Friendship quilt. It was made with Japanese taupe's in response to the Tsunami last year and was inspired by a fund-raiser concert.

Gail shared Orange Stripe and Improv quilt inspired by our last meeting.

Ale shared her Zig Zag quilt top and 

her Granny Square quilt. 

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Erin shared two quilts.

This was made with fabric from old sheets, clothes and stash.

Thank you for visiting the Portland Modern Quilt Guild!
Pétra

Sew Day Reminder!

Hello Quilting Friends! I hope to see lots of you at Fabric Depot this Saturday! 

If possible, bring a snack to share too! 

Also, have you seen these amazing blocks for the MM challenge? I'm so amazed by everyone's creativity and ingenuity! Keep it up! :) 

Can you guess who made each one? To see if you're right, check out the flickr pool! Also, if you've made your block add a photo to the flickr pool so that we can see. 

My Michael Miller challenge block

I had so much fun sewing my PMQG challenge block using all the lovely solids Michael Miller sent us! I have always wanted to try string quilting and this felt like the perfect chance to work on something new. Love all the colors together! I wanted to share how I made my block, so if you're interested, you can read on for a simple tutorial.



We were so lucky to have Kathy Miller speak at our February meeting, and she brought Cotton Couture cards for each of us with swatches of all 80+ colors in their new solids line. (Fabric Depot is now carrying every single Cotton Couture color, if you are local!)



So Heather, Nancy, Petra, Ale and I met up and chose 8 colors we loved from the collection for a PMQG challenge, and Michael Miller generously sent us a bolt of each one. We had an all-evening cutting party at Nancy's studio, and ended up with this beautiful box full of fat eighths to share with everyone at the March meeting...



I stitched up a little pennant of the eight challenge colors - Fog, Meadow, Clementine, Luna, Charcoal, Kryptonite, Tangerine, and Aqua.



Heather and Petra each sewed improv blocks in the challenge colors in honor of Michelle's wonderful presentation.



So, the challenge details are all on the blog, and I was so excited to work with these colors, but the specific block size requirements (15.5" x 18.5") threw me a bit at first. I usually piece square blocks, and rarely anywhere near 18 inches across. But doing a little math, I realized that if I pieced five 8" square blocks and cut one into 2" x 8" strips to sew on both the horizontal sides (using a 1/4" seam allowance throughout), it would magically translate into the correct finished size!



I started by cutting five eight-inch fabric squares for foundation piecing, using an extra piece of Luna (the pale blue solid in the range), and then cut two varied-width strips from each of the 8 colors the length of the fat eighths (22"). I cut each strip randomly between 1 and 3 inches wide, without thinking about it too much. I made and photographed this block very quickly during one naptime, so I didn't take step-by-step photos of my piecing - for the basics of string quilting, I'll send you to this excellent film in the fridge tutorial. The differences with mine are that I pieced on fabric instead of paper (so don't adjust the stitch length at all, you won't be tearing the back away), and instead of using a glue stick, I just pinned my first diagonal strip in place and stitched the second one on to it, removing the pin afterward, and continuing the same way to fill the square. You'll press and trim the same way as on paper, but you'll have a nice sturdy fabric foundation layer underneath. I loved how much calmness the double layer gave a larger block - Cotton Couture is silky and wonderful to sew with, so it is not heavy or bulky at all.



After I made five 8-inch blocks, I stitched four together to form a big, colorful diamond pattern. Then I sliced the 5th block into four 8" tall, 2" wide strips, thinking they would be perfect for adding to the sides to yield that magical 15.5" x 18.5" dimension!



...but I figured out that while they are exactly right size-wise, to continue the diamond pattern, you need two strips with the diagonal going one way, and two with it going the opposite way. Whoops! So I stitched up one more 8" x 4" opposite-diagonal section with the scraps (the one on the left - I had just enough time and fabric left, yay) and cut that one into two strips to use instead. And ended up with this!



If you don't want to try string piecing, maybe imagining four 8-inch blocks of any style, with an extra one sliced and diced for the sides, will help you plan something fun to build out to 15.5" x 18.5". I think that it would be fabulous to use log cabin, improvisational patchwork, paper piecing, or any other block style you're into this way...



If you are a PMQG member and haven't gotten your challenge fabric yet, you can pick it up from Nancy at her Just Quilting studio, Monday through Friday. Just give her a call first (503.234.0403). And if you're working on your challenge block, please share photos in the PMQG flickr pool, we'd love to see them! You can bring your challenge blocks to our April meeting (Thursday the 19th at 7 pm, PNCA) or email us at portlandmodernquiltguild at gmail.com so we can collect them and take photos. Kathy Miller will choose 16 of our blocks to create a special Cotton Couture quilt for the Michael Miller booth at Spring Quilt Market! We'll make a PMQG-collective quilt with the others plus any improv blocks using your scraps you'd like to bring in May, and hope to show it in Sisters.



Yay!

March Meeting Recap

We had another full house this month! Our meeting started out with a wonderful presentation by Michelle Freedman on Improv quilting or as she calls it "Think Outside the block". Here is a little taste of her presentation. 

no rules

no rulers

NO WAY!

"You can't use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have."

Maya Angelou 

photo by Michelle Freedman

The Quilts of Gees Bend

http://www.quiltsofgeesbend.com/index.shtml

Blocks from Improv challenge

Her presentation concluded with a mini tutorial on making an improv block and confetti block. Here are some links to tutorials and articles courtesy of Michelle.

Design Camp Flickr Swap, Michelle's swap.

Improv tutorial by Theresa Down Under

Confetti block tutorial by Lady Harvatine

Article on Denyse Schmidt in the Wall Street Journal

What is Improv Quilting Sherri Lynn Wood of Dainty Time
Improv Monday (tags)

Project Improv Tallgrass Prairie Studio

Laxy Gal QuiltingTanya Ricucci

Gwen Marston

Nancy Crow

Some improv blocks by Heather and I.

We also revealed the fabric colors for our Cotton Couture Challenge and passed out fabric to our paid members. The fabric colors from left to right are Fog, Meadow, Clementine, Luna, Charcoal, Kryptonite, Tangerine, and Aqua. If you were unable to attend the meeting and would like to participate in the challenge you can pick your fabric up from Nancy at her studio just call 503-234-0403.

Giveaways

Nancy shared her quilt from her Sweetwater Simple Home book review. We gave away the book and pillow made by Nancy. Also in the giveaway this month were 4 $10 gc to Cool Cottons!

Show and Tell

 Quilt my me (Pétra) made for our school auction this year and it was quilted by Nancy.

Back

Quilt by Katie. She found a hand sewn quilt at a yard sale for $20 took it apart and made this. The stars are from the original quilt.

The back is a vintage sheet. Katie also shared a nice bag but the photo didn't turn out, sorry Katie send me one if you have it. 

Cathy made this zig zag quilt for herself. She used wool batting.

Back

I don't have a show and tell sheet for this one please send your info and or a better photo and I'll update.

Quilt by Jill. This quilt was inspired by spring flowers blooming in her neighborhood. 

Quilt by Rachel

Second quilt by Rachel testing out a templet by Jill.

Quilt top by Michelle using Pendleton Wool fat quarters.

Else shared containers,

Little Pips baby quilt from Monica's Taking Turns pattern,

and 930 hexagon quilt top!!

Wavy Gingham quilt by Cheryl. Cheryl made this by hand dying ginghams from Colette Fenske. She bought the fabric in 2004 and waited for the right inspiration she found it in a Civil War quilt book, "the old is new again".

Back

Megan shared her Trajectory quilt which was inspired by mid-century modern boomerang design motif.

Back

Anne's W. Vintage Nation quilt. Quilt made for her best friend using all vintage and 30's reproduction fabrics. Free-motion quilted on the new quilt frame at Modern Domestic!

Jolene shared 3 fairy quilts.

Gabrien had 2 Plain Spoken quilts one for her son...

and one for her daughter.

Back

Kate shared half square triangle placemats.

Lara had 2 baby quilts for co-workers.

Christina has been working on english paper piecing making some Sprockets.

Violet shared her Light Cycles quilt inspired by Tron and using her Peacock Lane fabric.

Back

Anne W. shared her Tayamasie quilt also made with Peacock Lane.

AnnMarie's quilt from the Made in Cherry Quilt Along.

Gail shared this king size quilt made for her in-laws Anniversary.

Kelly made a Queen sized man quilt made for a friend; Valve quilt offset with "Summer Sampler Series 2011" blocks set in randomly.

Back

Anne M. shared Cherrywood Improv made with old scraps used for playing.

Name tags

If you're still here I have a few more name tags to share.

Thank you for another fun meeting! Stay tuned this month for Member interview's and another book review.

Pétra

March Meeting Reminder & Two Quilting Events!

This Thursday, is our March meeting and it's going to be a fun one! We will be meeting again in the Illustration Studio  - S1 - in the stagecraft building from 7 - 9pm. The door into the building faces NW13th street, if you come after 7:15, knock or call the number on the door and we will run down and open it for ya! Click on our New Room Info page for a map.

You won't want to miss this meeting as we are launching a new challenge sponsored by Michael Miller using their new Cotton Couture fabric! Paid members get to walk away with eight fat eighths of yummy Cotton Couture. If you haven't paid your dues yet, it's not too late! You can renew online by clicking the membership button or in person at the meeting.

Your challenge is to make a patchwork quilt block. Here's the basics we'll have more details at the meeting.

• Finished blocks should measure 15½” wide x 18½” high.

• Blocks should be machine pieced. Any piecing technique is welcome, but please avoid applique, embroidery or other embellishments.

• Blocks should be made using only the Cotton Couture solids received at the meeting. Please do not add any additional fabrics.

• Have fun! We want to see a block that shows your unique voice.

• Blocks will be due at the April meeting.

Kathy Miller herself will select 16 blocks to be included in a quilt that will be featured in Michael Miller’s booth at Spring Quilt Market 2012 in Kansas City!

Please note that the quilt displayed at market will become the property of Portland Modern Quilt Guild. If your block is included in this quilt it will, by extension, become the property of Portland Modern Quilt Guild and may be displayed on PMQG or Michael Miller’s website or other promotional material.

Did you know that this Saturday is National Quilting Day! We couldn't let it pass by without doing something special! Come join us for some shopping and quilting. Meet up at Bolt at 3pm, this Saturday, March 17th for some yummy shopping. Then hop over to Modern Domestic for some sewing/quilting from 4 -7pm. This is a special event just for PMQG! To sign up in advance for the Modern Domestic Sew-In ($10) click here to reserve your spot. Come join us!

Finally, PNCA is offering a fabric care and preservation class on March 24 10am - 12pm ! It's only $20, quite a few members have already signed up, but there are a few spots left! Don't miss this opportunity to learn how to best restore and take care of your quilts! Click here to sign up. 

PMQG February Meeting Act 1

This was one jam packed meeting this month so we're dividing the post into 3 acts.

Act 1

We had the pleasure of having Kathy Miller speak at our meeting this month. Kathy is half of Michael Miller along with Michael Steiner together they created Michael Miller Fabrics in 1999.

Photo by Rachel K.

Kathy was in town to judge AM Northwests Design Challenge. The Design Challenge was created by AM Northwest and Fabric Depot along with The Art Institute of Portland, and Montavilla Sewing Centers. You can see previous episodes here and check out Fabric Depots blog to see photos and summaries. It's the Project Runway of Portland! The challenge last week was to make a cocktail dress out of Michael Miller's new Cotton Couture line of solids. Have you seen/touched them yet? They are buttery soft and have such a nice drape. Kathy said when they created the Cotton Couture line they were going for a fabric that could be used in clothing but also for quilters, something that had a softer hand but was durable as well. With our prodding Kathy went into more detail about weft and warp. The quality of this fabric is achieved by using a finer thread and higher thread count per square inch. There are so many colors to choose from 87 on this card and more coming! Julie the Buyer from Fabric Depot joined us as well and was happy to announce that they will be carrying the full line of colors at Fabric Depot!

Photo by Pétra

The big surprise of the night, Kathy brought a Cotton Couture Color card for everyone at the meeting!! We estimated 90 people in attendance so there was lots of cheering and as I heard one person say from behind me "it's like Oprah!". 

Besides Vanilla and Cream there's Soft White and Bright White. Photo by Rachel K.

I've never had a color card before and I'm so excited to have it as a reference when I'm planning my next quilt. 
Thank you Kathy for sharing your story and love of fabric. At next month's meeting we'll be revealing a Cotton Couture challenge for our guild members!