Quiltcon is Coming! Registration on June 24th

We are all so excited about Quiltcon next year!

Quite a few COMQG members are planning to attend. Are you??

As Modern Quilt Guild members through the Central Oregon MQG, we are eligible for discounted registration, as well as early registration. This is a really cool benefit!

The MQG expects that they will have a large volume of registrations right away when things open, and the more information we have, the more smoothly it will go for us as individuals when we register.

• The members only registration opens on June 24th at 10 am eastern (that's 7 pacific!).
• You must be a member in good standing by June 13th. If you're thinking of joining our guild, make sure you do it at or before the June 3rd meeting. You will need to pay $25 dues to our treasurer, Katy. 
• Before registration, you might want to check that your membership is active, by going to the MQG login site here: https://www.themodernquiltguild.com/user. You'll need this account to register. 
• When you register for Quiltcon, you must use the same email address as your MQG account email. 
• The discount code will be posted on the MQG Community Site on June 17th. 
• This discount code must be entered when you register for Quiltcon. 
• There will be no refunds if you did not enter the discount code.
• After you register, the system will check your information to verify that you are a member. Email address is how they check. If your email does not match, your registration will be cancelled and refunded. 
• Look for videos to be posted June 17th to help with registration, they will be posted to the Resources tab in the Community site, here: http://community.themodernquiltguild.com/resources

Central Oregon Shop Hop

It's rainy and cold, what could be better than a weekend spent fabric shopping?

This weekend April 24th-27th is the wonderfully fun Central Oregon Shop Hop.

There are 7 Participating shops. Click the link to visit the shop website:

BJ's Quilt Basket in Bend

Quiltworks in Bend

Sew Many Quilts in Bend

Material Girls Fabric in Redmond

Stitchin Post in Sisters

Homestead Quilts in La Pine

The Quilt Shack in Prineville

Visit all shops and get your card stamped and be entered to win some very generous prizes (a sewing machine, and shopping spree gift cards!). Many shops also do their own give aways. There's often shopping specials and fun refreshments at each shop as well. 

When you visit each shop, you will receive a free fat 1/8th of batik fabric, and a free pattern. 

WIP Wednesday: T-Shirt Quilts!

On Wednesdays we share works in progress by guild members. Enjoy!

Kayla is making this T-shirt quilt (sashed with our favorite Quilter's Linen) for her cousin. 

Christy cut up the logos from her Tshirts into 6" squares and is laying them out in this fun pattern that radiates from the center of the quilt. 

WIP Wednesday, Modern Metallics

On Wednesdays we feature works in progress by guild members. Today we're featuring the WIPs for the Modern Metallic Challenge. These are for a group exhibit at Quilt!Knit!Stitch! in Portland in August. Modern Quilt Guilds in the Pacific Northwest were invited to participate, and we are very grateful to our fabric sponsor Robert Kaufman for donating the Quilter's Linen Metallic that we were provided and used in our challenge quilts. Check out the Modern Metallic Blog for more information about the rest of the guilds participating in the challenge.

Up first is Katy's challenge. It's reversible, so she's still trying to decide which side is the front. Both are awesome! The navy is stunning! with the metallic quilter's linen.

My (Lindsey) quilt has these elongated hexagons on the back. The front was inspired by seeing a brick pattern on a building exterior in Warm Springs, Oregon as I was driving and day-dreaming about what to do for the front of this quilt. I quilted the white space (the white is a Robert Kaufman Textures, and it's wonderful!) with a paisley design, and now I'm in the process of hand quilting the diagonals.

Shannon used a cool technique where she made big pinwheels and sliced 'em up to make the blocks for this:


Sarah G has a really cool plan


And Sarah P does, as well!

Kristin is using this gorgeous silk with hers:


And Amy is planning on using the Mini Hex n More ruler for hers. Until she starts, she's carrying it around on her bag. What a cute accessory!

Meeting Reminder

It's the third tuesday, and that means we're meeting at the Stitchin' Post from 5pm to 8pm.

Who: You! Members and guests
What: meeting and sewing time
When: Tuesday, April 15th 5pm to 8pm, business at 6pm
Where: Stitchin' Post in Sisters
What to bring: food, drink, a project to work on, show and tell, your finished fabric post card, and your finished house block.

Agenda:
--if you signed up, get your fabric for the Michael Miller MQG challenge from Susan
--Turn in your fabric post card for the Wish Upon a Card. (Due on the 15th)
--Turn in your block for the group Ronald McDonald House auction quilt to Kayla (due the 15th)
--COMQG Banner
--Show and Tell

See ya there!

Members share their space

Welcome to the series where members share their sewing space. Today is my (Lindsey) turn. Enjoy!

I sew in a spare room. I spend more time in here than any other room in the house when I'm home just hanging out, so it has more than just my sewing. I like to keep most things stored out of sight in the closet. If I let the room get too cluttered, it's not fun for me to sew or spend time in here. Here's the two sides of my closet: on the top shelf I have my projects in shoe boxes or bags, along with yarn and a few other assorted items. The works in progress in the closet tend to be long term projects: one's that I've put on the back burner, or long term projects like blocks of the month. The floor has a couple of tubs with my fabric. I don't have a big stash and I like to make sure it doesn't outgrow those tubs. I want to hoard fabric but I try to resist! In there is also my spare sewing machine, my ironing board, my roll of batting, finished projects. The room is small, and during the winter I leave my bike on the trainer so it's a bit crowded at the moment.




On the other side of the room, I have some mini quilts on the wall by the window. That chair always has my most current works in progress on it, ones that need quilting or binding, and I have recently put a dent in that pile so there is only one quilt needing binding right now. I got that curtain wire and clips from IKEA and love it for hanging little blocks and fun, inspiring things along that entire wall. Those dogs are always laying on the futon, keeping me company when I'm in here.

My sewing machine (a Baby Lock Melody) sits on a small desk from IKEA. I actually love the desk's small size because when I'm free motion quilting, I can jam the quilt in the corner against the wall instead of worrying about the quilt falling off the table. This desk has a keyboard tray that is really handy for storing notions or extra fabric when sewing.

Next to the desk is my bookshelf that has more fabric storage and other things. This is where most works in progress that I'm just starting hang out until they're too big for a shelf. I also have some precuts and bundles on the shelves. I really try to keep the top of the shelf cleared off so that it's space I can use. I really don't like clutter so I prefer to keep everything put away or in the closet so that the clutter doesn't get too bad.
You can also see my design wall (a flannel-backed tablecloth) with the Modern Metallic challenge.

You'll probably notice: I don't have any cutting table in here! I don't have room with the current set up, although sometimes I will cut on top of the bookshelf if the pieces are small enough for my small, rotating mat. Instead, I usually cut on my kitchen island.
Thanks for taking the tour of my sewing room!

WIP Wednesday: Absolute Bag

On Wednesdays we feature works in progress by guild members. Today we're featuring the Absolute Bag. Marilyn, Quiltworks owner, developed this pattern and taught us the class in late March. Marilyn sells the pattern and a kit of pre-cut Soft and Stable at Quiltworks.

Check out some of the great Absolute Bags made during the class!

Janice and Erin both made theirs with Tula Pink's Acacia fabric and it looks so great!

This is one of Susan's, she's planning on making a bunch

And Kristin's:

and Corni's

What a great, fun class! Thanks Marilyn!!

Novel Idea Exhibit at Quiltworks

Every year, the Deschutes Public Library chooses a book for a community reading event called A Novel Idea...Read Together. This year the book chosen was The Dog Stars by Peter Heller.

Some of the Novel Idea festivities are art exhibits around the community, and the Quiltworks gallery features quilts inspired by the book for the month of April. A few of our guild members participated in the exhibit.

See them in person at Quiltworks until the end of April.

Five Geese by Lindsey


Celestial Sisters by Leotie


Longing for Connection by Kristin


Signs of Hope by Shannon


Hope by Erin B


Jasper's Quilts by Janice


To Hig, With Love by Katy


Help from Above by Amber

Meeting Recap 4/1/2014

We had such a great meeting!

Due date reminders:
April 15th: Michael Miller Challenge Wish Upon a Card. Submit to the SOQS Office.
April 15th: Ronald McDonald House Blocks due to Kayla. You can get them to her at our Third Tuesday meeting at the Stitchin' Post, or contact her to make arrangements.

Other reminders:
First Friday Reception for the Dog Stars Novel Idea gallery. April 4th, at 5pm at Quiltworks. A lot of our members have contributed quilts to this exhibit. See you there!

Our Michael Miller Modern Quilt Guild challenge fabric arrived! Susan is cutting it up and will make arrangements for delivering fabric soon.

I didn't get shots of everyone's show and tell, unfortunately, but here are a few.

Amber shared these two quilts: One for the Dog Stars Novel Idea exhibit, and she showed us her Riley Blake Challenge quilt

Janice's Dog Stars Novel Idea exhibit:

Erin's Dog Stars Novel Idea exhibit:

Marilyn showed us this super cute shop sample she made:

Keith made this beauty:

Laurie shared this wonderful quilt, and she was inspired by fabric from cutting up a Calvin Klein shirt

Cindy showed this cool superhero quilt, and this picture isn't close enough to show her cool free motion quilting:

Work in Progress Wednesday: #SPTula100 edition

On Wednesdays we feature works in progress by guild members. A few members are in clubs hosted by the Stitchin' Post, and we're featuring them last week and this week.
The Stitchin' Post is offering club for the Tula Pink 100 Modern Quilt Blocks. The club is informal: members come and chat about the blocks and planning their quilt. Jackie offers tips about how to make the blocks and how to choose fabrics for them. Since there isn't a lot of instruction, it's a fun time to come hang out and chat! We're all using the hashtag #SPTula100 in social media.

Tula Pink will be at the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show in 2015. Club members are invited to hang their finished quilt in a special exhibit of quilts made from blocks from this book, and rumor is that we might even get to meet Tula herself!


Jackie and a few others have suggested taking the book to an office shop and getting it spiral bound, like Tamra did. Look how it lays flat on the table!

Tamra's blocks are looking amazing:

Jackie's finished quilt is hanging at the Stitchin' Post, go check it out! Here it is while she was still working on it:

and when it was hanging on the window inside looking like stained glass:

Janice is working on the quilt also:

Lindsey's blocks: