Modern Hexagons

Looking to expand your modern quilting repertoire?  Our own fabulous Jen of A Quilting Jewel will be teaching how to make her amazing Modern Hexagons quilt.  This quilt is made using the Hex N More ruler developed by the adorable Julie of Jaybird Quilts.  The class will be held Sunday, March 10th from 12-5 at Quilter's Way.  You can register online but don't wait, this one is sure to fill up quickly!!!

A message from our President...

For those who were not able to attend last Saturday's meeting: As we approach the rollover of the fiscal year this April, I wanted to let you know that I am stepping down as the president. I am very grateful to have had this opportunity to lead within the guild and of course plan to continue my participation therein. 

Rebecca, Alice, and I have agreed that we would like to know who might be interested in joining the officer team instead of arbitrarily announcing the "open" positions. As a board member/officer - you have the opportunity to assist with swaps/exchanges, meeting programming, scheduling, retreat planning, communication tasks, member outreach, funds management, etc.

No special qualifications are required to join the board - we simply ask that you commit to attending the guild meetings as often as possible, attend officer meetings (generally held 2-4 times a year), and fulfill your duties for 12-18 months.

The timing of and full reorganization of the board will depend on the response to this announcement - please contact us at  bostonmqg@gmail.com ASAP if you are interested in becoming a BMQG officer.

Also don't forget that our January sew-in will be held on Monday, January 27th.  Please RSVP directly to Lia, lia.odonnell at gmail.com if you plan to attend.

New Kid on the Block

Twill, a new quilt shop carrying modern fabrics and yarn has opened in Nashua, NH.  In store now are fabrics from Denyse Schmidt, Art Gallery, Lotta Jansdotter (Bella), Kona Solids, and a new favorite is the "Timber and Leaf" collection by Sarah Watts for Blend fabrics.  Inventory is growing all the time and some new Alexander Henry and more Art Gallery will be arriving soon.

There are also a slew of classes being offered including the “Kitchen Window” quilt designed by the fabulous Elizabeth Hartman of Oh, Fransson in her book The Practical Guide to Patchwork (Stash Books 2010). This will be a 2 session quilt class Sat 2/9/13 and 2/23/13 led by Melissa Heys owner of The Completed Quilt professional quilting service.  To register contact Twill directly at 603-718-1454 or classes@twillnh.com.

Today is Visit your Local Quilt Shop day, as if you needed an excuse to buy more fabric:-)

January Meeting Recap

We had a fabulous turnout for our January meeting!  It was wonderful to see so many new faces joining our growing pool of members.

We started off our meeting distributing pincushions from the swap hosted by the KCMQG.  What a fun swap!!!  Here are our pincushions bagged up and ready to go.  If you participated in this swap but weren't able to make the January meeting please contact Rebecca at bostonmqg@gmail.com.
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A huge thanks to Hema for her wonderful FMQ demonstration!!!  Hema shared so many of her tips for FMQ.  I know everyone took away something new to improve their skills!

Show and tell is always a highlight of our meetings.  I am so inspired by the creativity of this group.  Click on the links below to learn more about each project.

1. Stephanie, 2. Janis, 3. Liz, 4. Liz 2, 5. Laurie, 6. Rebecca, 7. Jen, 8. Jane, 9. Beth, 10. Emily, 11. Gretchen, 12. Stacy, Harper, and Rachel, 13. Meli, 14. Janelle, 15. Trish, 16. Natalie2, 17. Natalie, 18. Patrice, 19. Alexis, 20. Zuzka, 21. Alice, 22. Julie, 23. Hema, 24. Hema 2

Just a reminder that we will be showing off our completed Madrona Rd. projects at the February meeting.  Hope you can join us!!!

Dip Your Toes in the Sand

Finally a Block of the Month for the modern quilter!  The adorable Julie Herman of Jaybird Quilts has just released her first BOM, Toes in the Sand.    This beautiful quilt uses the new PB&J collection by Basic Grey.  The program is set up to run for 12 months.  Each month will feature a new block using the Hex N More Ruler.  Even better, Quilter's Way in Acton is one of the participating shops and will feature monthly demonstrations and giveaways.  Contact them directly to join the fun!  

January Meeting: FMQ Frenzy

Photo Courtesy of My Quilting Journey

For our January meeting the incredibly talented Hema will be covering free motion quilting (FMQ).  While a relatively new quilter, Hema honed her FMQ skills last year participating in SewCalGirl's FMQ Challenge and Leah Day's Free Motion Quiltalong.  Hema will address the questions and concerns of beginners as well as those with a little more experience. Depending on what we are able to cover during this meeting, we may continue to cover more advanced designs/methods at our February meeting.

 For this meeting you should bring:

•  Your machine and all necessary cords, foot pedals... 
• Darning foot/open toe quilting foot (often comes with most machines) 
• Quilt Sandwich for practice. I generally use either solid color layer cake, fat quarter or half yard of fabric. 
• Topstitch needles - 80/12 for 50wt thread or 90/14 for 40wt thread 
• Quilting thread 
• Paper/Pen for practicing quilting designs 
• Supreme slider or any other teflon mat for quilting 
• Machingers quilting gloves 
• Water soluble marking pen or disappearing marking pen

This year Hema is running her own Boot Camp Sundays which are just getting started.  This is a wonderful way for us to continue building on the skills we learn!

The meeting will be held from 1-3, Saturday, January 19th at the LDS Church,  70 Concord Road in Billerica.  We will start with guild business, and show and tell followed by Hema's FMQ workshop. Members are invited to stay until 5:00 for open sewing and socializing.

P.S.  There seems to be some confusion about the Madrona Road Challenge.  Entries are due at the February Meeting.

Member of the Month: Emily Blatt

Meet Emily Blatt, one of the very first members of the BMQG.  

Emily's First Quilt, Marquee

How did you get into quilting? :  My friend Joan taught me a few years ago.  I first learned how to sew in home ec class in 7^th grade, and I made clothing through high school, but then I dropped sewing until I learned how to quilt.  I became hooked on quilting pretty much the minute I walked into the Cambridge Quilt Shop to pick out fabric for my first quilt.  I can’t believe I had forgotten how much I love playing with fabric!

Eli's Graduation Quilt

Since then Emily has completed more than 20 quilts many of which she gives away to friends and family.

Favorite color:  Burnt orange makes me happy, as do other shades of orange.  I also like red and pink and brown – I gravitate towards the warm colors. 

New Machine Celebration

What machine do you use:  I have a Janome 6600 – it’s wonderful.  Most of my pre-6600 sewing life was spent on tired old Singers, and it was a revelation how much more enjoyable it is to sew on a machine that works.  So far I have only quilted on my home machine, but I took the long arm class at Laurena’s this summer and I hope to try that again soon.  

Prints or Solids:  Prints.  But I love shot-cottons and semi-solids too.

Why you love to quilt:  Because it’s so much fun!   There’s so much of it that I love – playing with color, working with beautiful materials, learning new skills,….and I love my rotary cutter, which is surprising, since when I started quilting I was afraid I would lose a limb to that thing. 

I have always loved textiles and surface design – fabric, rugs, tiles – any kind of almost-flat, functional art.  

In addition to quilting, Emily knits almost every day and can often be seen wearing her own handmade sweaters.  It is always a treat to see her latest creative endeavor!!!