Modern Mini Showcase Challenge
Challege is: West Coast Modern
imagery
traditional blocks)
2018.
modern quilting
Modern Mini Showcase Challenge
A Stash Swap is a great way to add variety to your stash! Last June, we swapped fat quarters of low volume fabrics and it went so well, we’re going to do it again.
At our February guild meeting, we’ll be swapping fat quarters of TEXT FABRIC!
What’s a text fabric? It’s a fabric with text, either words or letters, printed on it. Pretty simple, right? The fabric you choose should be a MODERN text fabric, where the letters or words are the MAIN FOCUS of the print. So that fun map print with scattered words written on it? Not really a text print. The print that shows quotes from Anne of Green Gables? Totally a text print!
You bring a gallon ziplock bag clearly labelled with your name with 4 fat quarters in it.
(the fat quarters in this photo are from the low volume stash swap, but prepare your text fabric FQs the same way!)
Each person can bring up to TWO bags – that means 8 fat quarters, but keep them in separate bags for ease of swapping.
These need to be MODERN text prints. Please bring fabric of a quality that you would like to receive.*
Please limit the variety of prints per bag to two, for ease of swapping. (ie, please don’t bring 4 different fat quarters in one bag!)
Fat quarters can be either US or Canadian, either size is fine. If you bring Canadian size FQs, be aware that you might receive US size FQs back.
When you arrive at the February meeting, there will be a table set up to drop your bag(s) off. Amy, Michelle and Holly will swap the fat quarters between the bags, and after the meeting, you’ll come back and pick up your bag, with 4 new FQs in it!
Easy peasy, right? We’ll do what we can to make sure you don’t get the same print back, but please feel free to swap among yourselves if you end up with something you already have.
*It’s not fun, but we reserve the right to not swap your fabric if it doesn’t fit the guidelines. We have to be fair to others who do.
We’re really excited to announce a new program for VMQG, a Vancouver themed Improv Sampler.
This will be in addition to the Block Lotto and the Round Robin, and we’d love it if you’d play along. We encourage you all to try it for a month or two even if you don’t think improv is your style. We really hope that the Vancouver Improv Sampler will help us all to grow in our improv and our creativity!
Every month there will be a new image to be inspired by. The images are of different landmarks or sights in Vancouver and the general area. We’ll show you the picture at the meeting, and we’ll post it on the guild website.
You’ll look at the image and see what inspires you about it. The images are carefully selected to have a variety of shapes to play with as the year goes on, and the complication level will increase a little bit as well as we all build comfort with improv. You might pick up the large shape, or you might focus on a small detail and play with it. It’s your project, and it’s up to you!
So yes, this is your project. You’ll be making blocks each month and keeping them, but we’re going to ask you to bring them to meetings as we go along. We’re going to put up a second design wall next to the Block Lotto, and we’d like you to bring in your blocks to show them off by putting them up on the wall every month. We think that’ll be a good way to learn from each other throughout the year, and maybe to inspire others to participate too.
This is YOUR project, but we’re also intending it to be a sampler of sorts. Feel free to use whatever techniques you’d like, but keep in mind that in the end, the blocks will all go together. To aid in that, and also to make it easier to display them every month, we’re going to suggest making 12.5″ unfinished blocks. There may be some months where you aren’t inspired to make a square block, so we suggest blocks that are divisible by 6″ for those months. That means you might make two blocks that are 6.5″ x 12.5″ that month instead, or one block that is 6.5″ x 24.5″, and that’s fine.
Before you get going on the sampler, you might want to think a bit about what fabrics you use, and if you’re going to continue to use the same fabrics all year long. If you’re feeling lost about what fabrics to choose, Amy at Diary of a Quilter and Angie at GnomeAngel both have great blog posts about where to start when choosing fabrics for a long term project (a quilting bee and a sampler, respectively). It’s going to be so interesting to see what everyone’s colour and fabric choices are, and how different landmarks can be expressed through different prints and colours.
We’ve added a tab to the navigation menu at the top of the page for Vancouver Improv Sampler, just like we have for Challenges and the Round Robin. When you mouse over the title, a drop down menu will pop up with a link to each month’s post. If you want a refresher on how the Improv Sampler works, click on the title to go to the Vancouver Improv Sampler page.
Oh, and one more thing – this isn’t like the Round Robin, where other people are counting on you, so you can’t skip a month or take a break. For the Improv Sampler, you can do whatever you want. If you’re not interested one month, skip it. If you’re super inspired next month, make two blocks. If you don’t have time until your summer vacation and want to catch up then, go for it and make 6 blocks in one month. The important thing is that you have fun!
We’ve done name tag challenges in the past (in 2010, 2012 and 2015) but the last time was almost 3 years ago! New members have joined us since then and we’re sure some of you would like an update.
We’re inviting everyone, new and returning members alike, to start off 2018 with a brand new name tag.
Your name tag can be anything you like, but you want it to be legible and something that you’ll actually want to wear. You can use hand or machine embroidery, fmqing, applique, very tiny paper piecing, whatever will work to write out your name.
If you’re not sure where to start, Saltwater Quilts has a basic tutorial here, or this website has a great paperpieced pineapple block that is sized perfectly for a name tag.
If you need some inspiration (and more tutorials), check out the Pinterest board that Amy created, or scroll down to see some name tags by past and current VMQG members. (all photos by former member Sonja)
It’s time for another round of the Scrap Swap!
(items swapped in 2012)
Bring a sandwich sized ziplock bag full of scraps to the October meeting. Your bag should contain around 2 fat quarters worth of scraps.
How it works:
– Participants brings one sandwich sized ziplock bag of scraps to the October meeting. Your bag should contain around 2 fat quarters worth of scraps.
– Everyone who brings a bag will take a bag and use it to make a gift for the owner of the bag.
– Gifts should be something small, like a zippered pouch, simple tote, mug rug, potholder, needlebook, notebook cover, pincushion, etc. People have gotten a bit carried away in previous swaps, but that it definitely not required!
– The only fabric you can add to the scraps you receive is SOLIDS.
– Bring the finished items back to the December meeting, along with any leftover scraps.
If you’d like to participate, please bring a scrap bag containing AT LEAST 2 fqs worth of fabric to the October meeting. Pick your favourite prints, because you’ll be getting it back, all sewn up into something just for you! When you get to the meeting, Amy and Holly will give you a very short little questionnaire to fill out and tuck inside your bag. Make sure your name isn’t visible, because this will be a secret swap!
(Scrap Swappers in 2015)
As many of you know, the VMQG is participating in Maker Faire again this year, June 10th and 11th. This will be our 7th year at the Faire and we’ve been there every year since it started in Vancouver!
If you’d like to volunteer, you can sign up RIGHT HERE. We especially need volunteers for Saturday, June 10th, but we also have a shift available Friday night (for set up) and Sunday afternoon. Volunteering in our booth is a great way to share your love of quilting with others, and don’t worry, you’ll have plenty of time to check out all the other amazing booths too!
If you’re not able to volunteer, you can still help us represent our guild by lending us your quilts.
We always have a nice crowd happening at our booth and what we need from our members is a selection of modern quilts to display.
(It’s important to realize that people might be touching your quilt. If you’re not ok with this, then please don’t contribute a quilt for display at the booth.)
Feel free to lend us quilts in varying stages of completion, so that we have examples to show people of how quilts are put together, and remember that quilts that are “geeky” in any way are always incredibly popular!
Amy will be at the lecture to receive your quilts. If you aren’t able to attend the lecture, but have the perfect quilt for our display, feel free to email our 2017 Maker Faire coordinator Mel at makerfaire@vancouvermodernquiltguild.ca to see if arrangements can be made. Quilts will be returned at our June guild meeting.
Jacquie is co-author (with Katie Pedersen) of Quilting Modern: Techniques and Projects for Improvisational Quilts, author of Walk: Master Machine Quilting with Your Walking Foot, and a leading figure in the modern quilting movement known for her dynamism as a teacher and for the improvisational energy of her quilts. Jacquie is co-founder and former president of the Kansas City Modern Quilt Guild, and she just ended her term as chair of the Board of Directors for the worldwide Modern Quilt Guild. In 2014, the International Association for Creative Arts Professionals named Jacquie its Teacher of the Year, in recognition of her outstanding ability to nurture students’ creativity and to inspire them with the joy of modern quilting.
The doors open at 6:30, and the lecture starts at 7pm. Come join us at MEC Headquarters, 1077 Great Northern Way, Vancouver. The venue is wheelchair accessible, has free parking in the back, and is very close to the VCC-Clark skytrain station. We hope to see you there!
Several people have mentioned to us that they wish they had more variety in their stash, especially among low volume prints, since they look so great mixed together.
So! We’re going to try something new, and if it’s a success, maybe we’ll do it again!
At the June anniversary meeting, we’ll be swapping Fat Quarters of low volume fabrics.
What’s a low volume fabric? Low volume fabrics are often described using words or phrases like muted, low contrast, low key, and quiet. They’re light coloured fabrics that will show up as a solid or as a near solid if you were to take a black and white photo of your fabric stack. They usually have a neutral coloured background, and the prints are not super bold or loud. Low volume can be tone on tones, or it can be subtle prints. For more ideas about low volume, along with some pictures to help understand, check out this colour theory 101 and low volume post (scroll part way down for the low volume section), this post on Craftsy, or this blog post that shows some samples of quilts made with low volume prints..
You bring a gallon ziplock bag clearly labelled with your name with 4 fat quarters in it. (see photo above)
Each person can bring up to TWO bags – that means 8 fat quarters, but keep them in separate bags for ease of swapping.
These need to be MODERN low volume prints. Please bring fabric of a quality that you would like to receive.*
Please limit the variety of prints per bag to two, for ease of swapping. (ie, please don’t bring 4 different fat quarters!)
Fat quarters can be either US or Canadian, either size is fine. If you bring Canadian size FQs, be aware that you might receive US size FQs back.
When you arrive at the June meeting, there will be a table set up to drop your bag(s) off. Amy will swap the fat quarters between the bags, and after the meeting, you’ll come back and pick up your bag, with 4 new FQs in it!
Easy peasy, right? We’ll do what we can to make sure you don’t get the same print back, but please feel free to swap among yourselves if you end up with something you already have.
*It’s not fun, but we reserve the right to not swap your fabric if it doesn’t fit the guidelines. We have to be fair to others who do.
It’s been a while since we’ve done a swap with another guild, so we’re excited to announce a mini-mini quilt swap with Ottawa Modern Quilt Guild!
What’s a mini-mini quilt?
It’s a small quilt with a minimum perimeter of 24″, and a maximum perimeter of 48″. That means length + length + width + width will add up to at least 24″, but no more than 48″. You can make your mini-mini quilt any shape you like, as long as it fits within 24″-48″ perimeter. A square quilt 12″ x 12″ would be the maximum perimeter.
Remember how fun our mini quilt swap back in 2014 was? This will be just as great, but with quilts half the size!
– This is a SECRET swap. When you sign up, you’ll fill out a questionnaire. When you’re assigned someone to sew for, you’ll be sent their questionnaire. This means that you’ll get something made specifically for you, taking your likes and dislikes into consideration. Awesome! Most people will be assigned a partner from the Ottawa Modern Quilt Guild, though if the numbers are uneven, a few VMQG members might end up swapping with each other. The person you’re sewing for will not be the same person as who’s sewing for you.
– You’ll be making a MODERN mini-mini quilt based on your partner’s likes and dislikes. Everyone has different levels of quilting experience, but we’ll all be doing our best possible work.
– Since it’s a secret swap, hints and in-progress pics are totally welcome! Please use the hashtag #omqgandvmqgswap so that we can all follow along.
– Sign ups will start today, January 16, 2017, and will go to February 1, 2017. That gives you a little over two weeks to sign up.
– Sign ups will be ONLINE only.
– Partners will be assigned by February 15, 2017, and your partner’s information will be emailed to you
– You’ll bring your finished mini quilt back to the April guild meeting, on April 17th, 2017. We’ll mail all of the quilts together to Ottawa, and they’ll mail all of theirs to us. Quilts will be distributed at the May guild meeting, on May 15th, 2017.
– Quilts should have some sort of hanger attached. this can be a sleeve, triangles in the two upper corners, whatever works best for the quilt you make.
– This is a members-only activity. supporting your guild has its perks!