• September 2016 Meeting Recap

    Tonight’s meeting marks an important date for the South Bay Area Modern Quilt Guild. It is our 5th anniversary! It’s hard to believe that it has been five years already. Though we are constantly evolving, we are still going strong. A special thank-you goes out to guild founder and ever-loyal meeting attendee, Tina Michalik, for instinctively knowing we were all out here waiting to find each other. And look at us now!
    Processed with Snapseed.

    We owe another thank you to our hosts at Hart’s Fabric, who have generously tolerated us for the past few years. We love you, Harts!

    A few announcements: The Modern Quilt Guild is working on its first book about Modern Quilting. As if that is not exciting enough, a call has been put out for quilt entries. Please submit your best modern quilts to be considered for publication. We would LOVE to have the SBAMQG represented in the book! Read all about this opportunity here: mqgcallforquilts

    Another MQG opportunity to think about is the QuiltCon East Nine-Patch Challenge. Do you have a great idea for a modernized nine-patch? Make it into a quilt and maybe your design will be shown at QuiltCon: ninepatchchallenge

    The MQG is planning a swap and they are seeking feedback from membership about our desires. Please take the survey and help plan the swap or sign up as a volunteer swap fairy: fallswap

    Guild member Carole Rossi was our special “Member Spotlight” speaker tonight. Carole presented a trunk show showing her journey as a quilter from her early works to the present. Carole’s interests in architecture, improvisational piecing, and improvisational machine quilting along with her extensive participation in workshops have come together into a unique and interesting style. We were in awe of Carole’s work and it was really nice getting to know her a bit better! Here are just a few of the quilts Carole shared tonight:

    img_4368 img_4375 img_4374img_4396 img_4357

    After a break for birthday cake, we had a terrific sew and tell.

    Carole brought her 1/4-log cabin:

    img_4394

    And so did Renee:

    img_4402

    Susan has been working on this double-sided class sample for a workshop she will be teaching at Hart’s:

    img_4356 img_4398

    Darlene shared this double-sided wall hanging:

    img_4382 img_4359

    Gene created this abstract ocean sunset top:

    img_4397

    Pam has been busy, as always. Here is a sampling of her work from this month:

    img_4361 img_4395 img_4371 img_4378

    We ended the evening with yet another beautiful “Quilts for Pulse” charity quilt that was quilted by Tami. It will soon be on its way to Orlando:

    img_4370

    That’s it for this month. We would love to see you in October. Come join us!

    (photo credit Karen Foster)

     

  • July 2016 Meeting Recap

    The South Bay Area Modern Quilt Guild held our monthly meeting this week at our usual stomping grounds, Hart’s Fabric, here in Santa Cruz, CA. It was a lovely evening, perfect for crafty conversation, fresh summer fruits and veggies, charity planning, and lonely notion swapping. We had very young visitors sharing their recent accomplishments with needle and thread. And, if you missed this meeting, you also missed your first chance to sign up for our Sherri Lynn Wood workshop that is scheduled for Saturday, November 5. You won’t want to wait too much longer to sign up for that one, as it is expected to fill up soon.

    president

    2015 guild president, Lynne Nostrant, brought the quilt she made from the blocks our members made for her as a thank you for her work last year. Didn’t it come out great?!

    Pulse1Pulse2

    We talked about the Quilts for Pulse charity drive that is being handled by the Orlando Modern Quilt Guild and two of our members brought their contributions. These look wonderful, ladies, and you motivated the rest of us to get started!

    Kid1Kid2

    We had two talented up-and-coming quilters who impressed us with their work. So much fun!

    noob1noob2

    First-time quilter, Amber, amazed us with this spectacular piece (front and back.) Yes, you read that correctly – it is her FIRST quilt!

    quarter1quarter2

    Two more 1/4-Log Cabin quilts, started in Pam Rocco’s workshop, made their way to Sew and Tell. Beautiful!

    latifah1latifah2latifah3

    The first examples from our bias tape workshop with Latifah Saafir arrived for our viewing pleasure. (Did I mention that we have great workshops here at the SBAMQG?)

    bag

    Bag-making extraordinaire, Merydith, is at it again!

    banner

    Mickey showed the COOLEST banner featuring the image of her award-winning Eichler Homes quilt from 2016 QuiltCon West!

    pastelart1

    We saw pastels and we saw brights.

    art2

    And, how about this excellent work in progress?

    pam1pam2pam3pam4

    As always, Pam Rocco put the rest of us to shame in the most wonderful way, and this is only a portion of the samples she shared of her sewing this month!

    Please come join us in August!

    (Photo credit Karen Foster)

  • June 2016 Meeting Recap

    The June SBAMQG meeting has come and gone and we had another great time! For those of you who missed it, here are the highlights from earlier this week at the home of the SBAMQG – the fabulous Hart’s Fabrics in Santa Cruz. We talked about a few charity sewing opportunities that are happening now including quilts, potholders, and napkin sets. President Chelsea announced our “lonely notion” swap for next month’s meeting. Treasurer Gabrielle shared that our October retreat is now full and we have started a wait list. We learned that guild member Karen Foster’s submission for the Row by Row Experience was chosen by Hart’s to be their official block for this summer’s Row by Row event. How exciting!

    After getting the business out of the way, we continued with our series of quilting demos, this one being a presentation on hand quilting by talented guild member Susan Ranieri. Susan does beautiful hand quilting and generously shared her best tips with us. Finally, we welcomed seven guests, the refreshments were outstanding, and Sew and Tell did not disappoint!

    IMG_3708

    Chelsea introduces Susan, along with her trusty assistant, Susan, for her hand quilting demo.

    IMG_3707

    The Susans get to work sharing their tips and tricks.

    IMG_3721

    Here are some examples of Susan’s lovely handwork.

    IMG_3893

    Karen Foster proudly presents her winning entry for the Row by Row Experience. Karen’s row, titled “Home Is Where Hart’s Is,” features a seagull, a field of poppies, and the Santa Cruz Mountains, all in improvisational style. Stunning work, Karen!

    IMG_3783

    Tina’s newly finished quilt top. Mmmmm – raspberry deliciousness!

    IMG_3751

    IMG_3752

    Merydith impressed us with her modern t-shirt quilt (front and back.)

    IMG_3756

    Merydith showed her baby quilt collaboration with Pam Rocco.

    IMG_3729

    Busy Merydith also finished an amazing cat bag this month.

    IMG_3786

    Jumping on the bag bandwagon, Laura finished an impressive convertible vinyl bag.

    IMG_3771

    Renee shared her tribute to the 1990 Portable Palette by Jinny Beyer.

    IMG_3779

    Another collaboration, this one by Lori and Pat. So pretty!

    IMG_3799

    Emily brought this sophisticated pair of coordinating/contrasting kids’ quilt tops.

    IMG_3737

    Pam brought a unique piece. I can’t wait to see this one finished!

    IMG_3738

    IMG_3740

    Pam also shared a couple cute small quilts.

    IMG_3795

    Susan modified a jelly roll race top.

    IMG_3796

    IMG_3727

    Vintage again made a stop at the meeting with Linda’s outstanding crazy quilt and a sweet colorful afghan that was won by Emily. Please join us next month!

    (photo credit Karen Foster)

  • A Quilt for a Special Friend

    Here is a long overdue post about a quilt that our group made a while back as a gift for someone special. Anne Sullivan is fast becoming one of the big names in the modern quilting world. But, here at the SBAMQG, she has been impressing us with her talents since our very beginning in 2011. Anne was our long-time tech guru as well as our Vice President and, without her, we wouldn’t be what we are today. Her leadership and guidance are always so appreciated and her mastery of color and design mixed with computer programming are beyond amazing. What a treat it has been to watch Anne’s Play Crafts blog grow since its early stages. And now, seeing all she has been accomplishing lately, we are so proud to be able to say we knew her when!

    Last summer, Anne was given a job opportunity 3000 miles away, in Washington DC. While this was great for her, it wasn’t so great for us. So, of course we turned to quilting to mend our broken hearts.  It wasn’t hard to decide what to make. We instantly knew that Anne’s very own design, Rock Candy Block, would be a perfect going away gift for her.

    Each guild member received a HST-square in light and dark grey:

    hst

    We were then given instructions to complete our block using bright complementary colors. Here, some of the blocks start to come together:assembly

    Lori Green, Karen Foster, Pat Goulet, and Tina Michalik begin assembling rows:

    IMG_1465 The newly pieced top hangs on the design wall:

    IMG_3556

    Karen, Lori, and Pat work on the binding:

    quiltig

    What do you do with extra blocks? Karen Foster makes giant tote bags and Anne was the recipient of this one as well:IMG_3552IMG_3553

    Here is the SBAMQG’s finished Rock Candy quilt (quilted by Pat Goulet and labeled by Lori Green), preparing for its trip from the west coast: beach shot

    What fun it was to present Anne with her quilt at QuiltCon West last February in Pasadena, CA. She was so surprised!

    IMG_0913Guild member, Heidi, and Anne show off the quilt:FullSizeRender Anne sent us this picture of the quilt after the trip to its new home back east:

    IMG_2906

    We miss you Anne! Hope you think of us whenever you see the quilt!

    (Photo credit Karen Foster, Anne Sullivan)