October 2014 - Monthly Meeting Recap

The very first Philly MQG Meeting that I went to included a white elephant gift exchange so I went home with a bag of goodies.   At the second meeting I randomly won some Insul-Bright, snagged some fabric for the Riley Blake MQG challenge, and received my snazzy MGQ Pin (I still love it).   I remember thinking, "Whoa!  I just get free stuff whenever I go to Guild meetings."  I was hooked.  (I'm admittedly the same way with cake and cookies.  If you provide either, I'll be back next month.)

But not all meetings can be full of presents & freebies, though this meeting did have cake AND cookies (score!) and I did go home with some fabric (wicked!) for our charity QuiltCon quilt.  (See below.)  During October's guild meeting, we got down to business and hashed out... some things that needed hashing out.

First up!  It was election time and because we are mature adults (for the most part), we held elections in the second-grade format.  You know:  Close your eyes, hold up your hand, trust an honest person (who is also good with numbers) to count and write it down.  And no peeking.  Without further ado, our elected officers for the next term are:

President:  Michelle Kochan
Vice Prez:  Cathy Fry
Treasurer:  Jordyn Rush
Secretary:  Nicole Godshall

First Month of our Guild Bee Blocks:

Our Guild has two separate (and voluntary) bees in progress, with blocks due at the meeting each month.  The only real rule is that block patterns must be freebies.  Elizabeth Timmons and Michelle Kochan's blocks were first.  We love how they turned out!

Mid-Atlantic Mod - April 23-25, 2015: 

What's that you say?  It is "a modern quilting retreat is a modern quilting and sewing retreat organized by the Philadelphia MQG and the Central Jersey MQG.  The purpose of the retreat is primarily to bring modern quilting and sewing enthusiasts together for a weekend of sewing and socializing.  The retreat will include some (optional) workshops and activities, but will focus on open sewing time."  (From the Mid-Atlantic MOD website.)

The inaugural event was held in 2014 and it was a hit.  This year our Guild will be doing a lottery drawing for interested members who want one of the coveted spots.  So much goodness, not enough room!  This year it will be held April 23-25th in Lancaster.

Fall Fabric Frenzy: 

Photo Courtesy of The Quilt Block Inc. (Exton, PA)

It's back again this year!  The Fall Fabric Frenzy Shop-Hop is happening November 7-10th.   Passports are $5 and can be picked up at any of the participating shops.   I popped into The Quilt Block this past weekend (to pick up some Aurifil), and chatted to Cathy Lynch (Byrne Sewing Connection) at our meeting, and the shops are ready for action!   Each day during the Shop Hop, each of the seven participating shops will award door prizes to one lucky shopper (28 prizes in all!).  If you visit each shop (and get your passport stamped) you'll be in the drawing for some pretty sweet grand prizes.  (Are you feeling lucky?)  The passports include loads of coupons as well!

Support your LQS!  (And possibly win some fabulous door prizes in the process.)  Quite a few of the Philly MQG members will be hoping from shop to shop over the weekend.

Charity Quilt for QuiltCon:

As a Guild we decided that we wanted to go for a "liberated block" look for our quilt, inspired by Jackie Gering's style.   Many of our members attended her workshop in August and fell in love with her style of quilting.   We hope to get the quilt pieced at our Fall retreat in November.   Sarah Bond passed out a few prints from to get us all started.

A lovely collection from Sarah!

This Month's Challenge - Go Minimalist!

Pres Andrew says, "make whatever you want and interpret minimalist however you want!"  We'll be having a contest and a general show-and-tell session for our minimalist creations.  Now the question is, just how minimal are you gonna go?  I know I can't wait to see what everyone comes up with!

Show-Offs:

And we mean "show-offs" in the best possible way!

 Last, but not least, here are some of the quilts that were shared at October's meeting.

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