To Jacob’s Heart – Made with Love

Posted on May 10, 2013 by Tina

Never underestimate the power of love (or a quilter for that matter

When members Susan Raineri, Mariah Flanagan and Pat Goulet decided to spearhead a charity quilt committee, none of us had any idea how much our guild could do in such a short time-frame. The first project for our committee; make enough quilts to create a quilt for all the kids served by Jacob’s Heart in Santa Cruz who are fighting cancer.

“Jacob’s Heart Children’s Cancer Support Services mission is to improve the quality of life for children with cancer and support their families in the challenges they face.”

We then learned that 31 kids are currently being helped by Jacob’s Heart. Was it really possible for our guild to made that many quilts in as many days? Despite the wild enthusiastic response at our meeting, we were concerned that we could meet the deadline. Leaving out even one child was not an option. We had our list of ages, and gender of each child and we got to work. We started seeing progress on our Flickr page. Oh, maybe we could make one more for an older boy, someone asked. We got together and pieced and quilted in our homes and at Mariah’s restaurant Woodfire Woodie. We emailed, texted and checked in with each other throughout the month. Some of us made one or even several more than originally promised.

And at the May meeting, we all brought the quilts we had finished, and this is what it looked like:

We had actually exceeded our goal and the grand total ended up at an incredible 36 quilts!!

During the meeting, members sat and attached labels to the backs of the quilts and we shared what we had made with each other. The happiness in the room was evident on everyone’s faces.

It was decided that the extra 5 quilts will be donated for the auction that will be held at “Mama’s Night Out” an annual fundraiser that benefits Jacob’s Heart that will be held this Saturday in Santa Cruz.

Our guild plans on many more projects to Pay it Forward, but our first project will always hold a special place for us as when we remember how we were able to stitch 36 quilts with love. Here are some more examples of the quilts…

Quilts for Boston

Posted on May 7, 2013 by Tina

The community of Boston has been changed by recent acts of violence. There are hundreds of people who are not only suffering from bodily harm and physical loss, but also invisible wounds from witnessing and hearing what occurred. Quilters are always quick to respond in situations where comfort is needed and in this difficult time, naturally we want to respond.

The Boston Modern Quilt Guild has put a call out for blocks.

From their blog:

“As a guild we plan to make and distribute quilts to those who would benefit from a show of support, and we need your help. We are asking the modern quilt community to support our efforts by sending us blocks for these quilts. Additionally, we will accept donations of fabric to be used for binding, sashing, and quilt backs. We would like to have the quilts ready to deliver to those in need as soon as possible, so we ask that you send your blocks to us within a month, by May 24th, 2013.

Blocks sent to the Boston Modern Quilt Guild should be blue, yellow, gray, and white. All blocks should be 12½” tall x the width of your choice. That could mean 12½” x 7”, 12½” x 12½”, or anything wider, more narrow, or in between. Please machine piece your blocks in any style you would like. Please use only “quilt shop quality” 100% cotton or cotton/linen fabrics. Both print and solid fabrics are welcome. Our preference is white or light gray 100% cotton thread, but any coordinating thread of good quality will do.”

Do you have an hour or so to make a block for our sister guild? Show your support and dive into your scraps and your stash and send a block off to Boston!!

From their blog:

“Our goal is to make bright and modern quilts that will bring cheer to those who need it most! We chose this color scheme as these are the colors of the Boston Marathon, and have become the colors representing the One Fund, an organization formed to accept monetary donations for the victims, as well as the tribute tees sold to benefit the One Fund. Be creative with your blocks, and make any pattern or design that inspires you!”

Please mail all blocks and fabric to:
Quilts for Boston
P. O. Box 79225
Belmont, MA 02479

A Little Sparkle, a Lot of Punch!

Posted on April 17, 2013 by Tina

Have you all chosen your fabrics for our Sparkle Punch Quilt-Along? The more of us who play along, the more fun we’ll have! Remember, this pattern can be adapted to something as small as a pillow or a table runner. There is so much that you can do with this simple star pattern; from fabric choices, different background colors, star size and more. (Do you have a few charm packs you’ve been saving for a special project? Here it is!) Check out this version using Flea Market Fancy fabrics…

Karen has assembled lots of inspiration on her Pinterest board of different sparkle punch quilts. They can be found HERE.

In case you missed Jenny’s demo at the April meeting, Tina put together a photo tutorial on how to easily make the star tips. That tutorial can be found HERE.

And remember, this quilt-along has NO deadline! Just bring your progress throughout the year for sew and tell. So….go sew!!!

April Showers Bring Spring Quilts

Posted on April 4, 2013 by Julia

Another month, another batch of quilts!

The March 22 Sew Day was another great success! The next Sew Day will be on April 26th from 9m-5pm at the usual location, the Community Foundation of SC County in Aptos. We hope to see you there!

Susan Raineri has officially stepped up to head the SBAMQG’s charity committee, which she has named PIF – Pay it Forward. The Pay it Forward committee plans to rotate through charities with new charity goals/deadlines every other month or so. Susan sent around a sign-up sheet for a PIF project due in May which is to make a 36″ x 45″ quilt for Jacob’s Heart. They need about 31 children’s blankets; if everyone makes one or two we can come very close and even exceed this goal. These blankets do not have to be complex. Simple quilts, even quilts with no batting and minimal quilting are great. The goal is to provide these children with something bright and comforting in their hospital rooms. The goal is to have something to show and share at the upcoming Mama’s Night Out event on May 11. If you have signed up, please bring a blanket to the May meeting, or arrange to get your blanket to Susan by May 10th.

If you have any questions about this PIF project, contact one of the guild officers or Susan through out Google Group.

After the business portion of the meeting, Jenny gave us all a very detailed tutorial on the Sparkle Punch quilt (our current guild QAL). Thank you Jenny! Those of us who have not started piecing ours are now very excited to start.

And then there was Sew and Tell:

: Susan’s restored Cathedral Window

: Rebecca’s “healings”

: Big, graphic blocks

: Anne’s Hand Stitched Class sampler

: Rebecca’s stunning lone star

: Tina makes old sheets look new again

And a huge “Thank You” to Amber, Lori and Chris who brought some seriously amazing pastries this month.

Sew long friends! See you at Sew Day!

March Meeting Recap

Posted on March 10, 2013 by Julia

What a full and fun meeting! Welcome Michelle, Micky and Erlene to the SBAMQG! We hope to see you again in the coming months!

We began the meeting discussing charity efforts that the SBAMQG could participate in, a subject we’ve all been thinking about that has become more prominent after the recent tragedies in the Santa Cruz community. The guild is looking for a committee to head our charity efforts. If you are interested, please contact Tina or any guild officer.

Two of our officers (Tina and Anne) as well as some of our members (Emily, Carol and Suzy) were lucky enough to attend the inaugural QuiltCon in February and regailed us with tales of the amazing workshops that they attended and quilts that were on display. Our very own fearless leader Tina even won a Judges Choice ribbon!

It was great to see how invigorated all of the attendees seemed upon their return. QuiltCon 2015 will be an event not to be missed! Plus, new changes to the Modern Quilt Guild were announced, which will mean easier access to retreat destinations for our chapter plus an easier membership process and lots of perks. These chances will require a small increase in yearly dues or some sort of fundraising effort, but the cost per member should be fairly minimal.

And as for exciting new developments, our first ever Quilt Along was announced: The Sparkle Punch by Elizabeth Hartman! There is no specific due-date for this project, the idea is to be collectively working on a single design together in order to explore our modern quilting creative instincts. We hope that everyone can complete a Sparkle Punch project in some way, be it a pillow, baby quilt or bed-size quilt. Whatever you have time for and the inspiration to do!

Then of course, there were the totes! March was the due date for our Secret Partner Tote Swap, and it was FABULOUS! TO many amazing totes were exchanged, and there were so many happy faces! Each swap gets better and better!

And if that weren’t enough, there were some fabulous projects at Sew and Tell as well.

We hope to see many people at the March 22nd Sew Day at the Community Foundation of SC County.

And the BAMQG has opened up registration for their upcoming retreat to all guilds, so here’s an excellent opportunity to bond with one of our amazing sister guilds!

Phew, see you in April!