April Meeting Recap

A huge thank you to Janice and the rest of the Fabric Place Basement gang for hosting our April Meeting.  It's always handy to get to do some fabric shopping after so much quilty inspiration:-)

This month we offered a demo/review of several of the popular rulers out there.  Jen kicked things off with a fabulous demonstration of the Add-A-Quarter ruler.  Jen finds this one invaluable for doing paper piecing and credits it for her perfect points.

Next up Karen showed us the Bloc Loc rulers.  This acrylic rulers make it easy to accurately square up half-square triangle and flying geese blocks.  The rulers have a raised edge which nests in the seam line to make perfect shapes.  The verdict: worth the price tag!

Alice shared the Hex N More ruler that is used to create all the blocks in this Toes in the Sand BOM.  The ruler can be used to make triangles, hexagons, and jewel shapes in multiple sizes.  Alice finds it a bit fiddly with all the flipping and twisting you need to do but it does making these complex blocks easy.

To go along with the Hex N More, Gretchen showed off the Sidekick.  This ruler makes multiple sized diamonds, triangles, and half-triangles.  It is designed as a complement to the Hex N More and expands your options.  It's used for the Park Bench BOM and eliminates all those pesky Y-seams:-)

Announcements:

May Meeting:  Our May Meeting will be from 1-5 on Saturday the 17th at Gather Here in Cambridge.  We will start the meeting with our Sewing Room Swap and then devote the rest of the time to wrapping up Quilts for Boston.  We have a number of blocks left.  Some of these are "challenge" blocks that don't quite match our specifications but many are simply leftover blocks that didn't get used when people were assembling tops.  I feel we have a responsibility to use (almost) all of the blocks that were donated to us.  These quilters deserve to be part of our effort.  We will try to have everything as organized and ready to go as possible.  Sewing machines and supplies will be provided.  Come ready to sew, our goal is to finish it all!!!

Sewing Room Swap:  We will be exchanging our Sewing Room Swap items at the May meeting.  If you signed up but can not attend please make arrangements to get your item to the meeting for your partner.

MQG Michael Miller Challenge:  Fabric was distributed to those who signed up for this challenge.  If you have not received yours please contact Jen at JenSorenson05@gmail.com.

Quilts and Color at the MFA:  We are working on organizing a group field trip (and possibly guided tour) to the MFA to see the Quilts and Color exhibit.  Please email alice@alidiza.com if this is something you are interested in attending and if you would prefer a weeknight or weekend.  We are trying to get rough numbers to give the MFA.  The exhibit runs from April 7-July 27th so we will most likely try to visit in May/June.  The To Boston with Love flags have also been rehung for the month of April with free admission on April 19th.

Charmed:  A new exhibit of charm quilts is on display at the New England Quilt Museum until July 7th.

Stay tuned for show and tell.  Coming soon, I promise:-)