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!

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:

   

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

Carole brought her 1/4-log cabin:

And so did Renee:

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

 

Darlene shared this double-sided wall hanging:

 

Gene created this abstract ocean sunset top:

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

   

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:

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

(photo credit Karen Foster)

 

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.

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?!

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!

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

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

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

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-making extraordinaire, Merydith, is at it again!

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

We saw pastels and we saw brights.

And, how about this excellent work in progress?

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)

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!

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

The Susans get to work sharing their tips and tricks.

Here are some examples of Susan’s lovely handwork.

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!

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

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

Merydith showed her baby quilt collaboration with Pam Rocco.

Busy Merydith also finished an amazing cat bag this month.

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

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

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

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

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

Pam also shared a couple cute small quilts.

Susan modified a jelly roll race top.

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)