PEIMQG October Meeting 2016

The October meeting for the PEIMQG took place on a crisp Autumn evening. We had 16 members and 2 guests in attendance. Welcome to Robin and Selina.

We started the meeting with the Frank Lloyd Wright Challenge and Cathy V. had some fun statistics to share....Because of the poll we posed, the traffic to the PEIMQG blog skyrocketed! We had a record 297 people visit the site in a 2 day period. Great job everyone for sharing the blog with your friends.

Here are the winners of the Frank Lloyd Wright challenge: From right to left, we have Roberta, who placed 1st, Liz, who placed 2nd, and Jean, who placed 3rd. Congratulations to the winners and to everyone who participated in this fun and creative challenge.

  Next up Queen Bee Cathy V. received her "Sanctuary Squares" blocks from her beemates. You can find the pattern for this quilt here.

Queen Bee Velda chose this block for her beemates to construct. This block is a twist on a block by the MSQC, tutorial can be found here. Please visit Velda's blog for help constructing her altered block.

We discussed details about a workshop weekend with Krista Hennebury. Thursday May 4th, 2017 Krista will be having a trunkshow, which will be open to the public for a cost of $5.00. She will also be teaching 2 workshops on Saturday and Sunday May 6-7th.

Saturday's workshop will be "Variegated Threads". Non-members pay $75 with an additional $12 pattern fee.

Sunday's workshop be "Speed Date with Improv". Non-members pay $75, with an additional $2 materials fee. Places are limited, so please contact peimqg@gmail.com for details or to reserve your spot. 

Here is our completed charity project "Picking up Sticks" which will be donated to Anderson House. This Fun Improv quilt was pieced by the PEIMQG members and quilted by Colleen Henderson.

This month's FQ swap will feature the theme "Celebrate". We had 7 members signed up, so please bring your FQ's to the next meeting in a bag with your name written on it. These FQ's can be any Modern fabric that represents something we celebrate( Turkey, Balloons, Christmas, Easter, Halloween, Birthday cake) The possibilities are endless.

Liz also put forth the following swap for the Christmas Sew In/Pot Luck Gift Exchange:
We have been collecting fat quarters for a few months now, so I thought what a perfect time to get to use some of them.  We will make a cushion cover, min size 14” but can be whatever size bigger, but of course make sure it can be used on a standard pillow form.   You can use any fabric colours/theme you want. Your cushion cover will come in a Brown Bag (so no one can see it. If you bring one, you get to pick one.  Please also pin a note on it to say what size pillow form it will need so the quilter receiving it can easily pick a form up to display your lovely creation.  This is to be fun, so be creative.  You don’t have to take part, so no pressure if you choose not to do one. 

Thanks Liz! This will be fun!

The December 10th Meeting/ Sew-In potluck will take place at Heather J's home and the address will be posted to the Members Only blog and Facebook page.

Anyone interested in the "Homecoming" challenge, Susan has kits available. The challenge being, take the included fabric and create a quilt that celebrates Canada's 150th birthday. All the fabric in the kit must be included in the quilt but others can be added as well. Kits cost $25 and include the required fabric and a pattern, which you can use or not. Use your imagination folks!! I can't wait to see what everyone comes up with. Please contact Susan if interested.

Heather and Susan showed us their CQA "Canada's Big Bee" blocks. Details about this challenge/charity project can be found here.

Book, Blog, and Fabric

This month for Book, Blog and Fabric; Jean shared with us this wonderful library book. "Quilting With a Modern Slant" by Rachel May. How many of us forget what a wonderful resource our local library can be, thanks Jean for bringing this in.

For Blog, Jean wanted to share mollisparkles.com. This quirky Aussie writes about his fabric obsessions, his travels and has great swaps and tutorials. My favorite is from his "No Girls Allowed" swap:

And for Fabric Jean brought in her recent purchases from her trip west this summer. "Free Spirit" by Tula Pink.



and "Avant Garde" by Katarina Rochelle.

Show and Share

Heather showed us some "shot" cottons which she was introduced to on a trip to England in 2013. She and Robin have promised to bring in some "Shot" cotton quilts which they have completed.

Lucinda showed us the completed tote bag she's been working on as a possible project for our members. this tote bag is the perfect size for carrying our project bins and other supplies to Sew-Ins and Retreats.

Susan brought in her latest quilt from a series of 6 themed quilts. This is her Halloween quilt.

And her completed Christmas runner.

And this completed Asian themed wall hanging.

She also shared these pillowcases.

and demonstrated how easy they are to make, here is a great tutorial on how to make one. She supplied some kits for members to try this easy method, and the completed pillowcases will be given to Kindred Spirits Quilt Guild to donate.

Robin had several projects to share as well. This is "Andrea's Advent Calendar".

"Robin's Christmas Tree Light's" So Sparkly!

And "The Great Pumpkin Quilt" inspired by her love of all things Snoopy.

and the back side too:

Roberta had some fabric to show us from her recent trip to Mahone Bay, N.S.
Love that Kaffe Fasset.

Here's her finished Retreat projects.

Jean was working on these quilt blocks at the sew-in and AMAZING!!!, she managed to get the blocks finished and assembled into this gorgeous quilt top.
The project is available as part of a Craftsy class.

Heather shared a project, very near and dear to her heart. This wholecloth quilt was started by her mother many years ago, but was never completed. Heather finished this beautiful quilt and it will forever be cherished in her home.

Lastly Cathy V. had this Autumn quilt to share. It will become a table topper in her dining room.

Great meeting everyone!

Reminder about upcoming events:

The following month's Sew-In and Meetings are planned for the West Royalty Community Room, Sobeys, 39 Babineau Avenue, Charlottetown.  Save the dates.


November 12: PEIMQG Sew-In (9-4pm)
November24: PEIMQG Meeting (7-9pm)
December 10: PEIMQG Potluck Meeting/Sew-In (9-4pm) Heather J's House.

Tips,Tools and Techniques October 2016

For this month's Tips, Tools and Techniques, I've decided to focus on a book review, books are a great tool for quilters.

"Modern Heritage Quilts-New Classics for Every Generation" by Amy Ellis.  This book has beautiful photos and instructions that are easy to follow and understand.

  At the beginning of the book Amy Ellis talks a little about collecting scraps and color consideration. She also provides suggestions for sorting and storing her fabrics. She offers her tips on improvisational piecing, sewing curves and how best to incorporate negative space.

Some of the patterns require templates, which are included in the book so you can trace or photocopy them as you wish.

"What makes a scrap quilt successful?" Amy asked some of her quilty friends and you'll find those quotes in this book as well.

There are 12 quilts in the book, and she breaks down the patterns in 2 ways. The traditional method, where yardage and cutting instructions are given for the entire project. Or the "One at a Time" method, which is great for anyone who has limited time to commit to sewing or who wants to scrap bust from their stash.


Some of my favorites from the book are:

" The Comfort Quilt". This design uses the popular plus block in 2 different sizes, lots of great low volume neutrals and space for some creative quilting.

"Serendipity". With improvisational piecing to use up those strings and scraps, and templates to achieve perfect points this quilt is fun and dynamic.

"Chic Mania". Take a simple block and make it modern by using it in 3 different sizes. What a fantastic way to show off your favorite novelty prints.

"Brilliance". I love the clean simplicity of this quilt, the bright prints sparkle against the solid background. Definitely a case of less=more.

"Mingle". This design showcases just a handful of prints and Low volume fabrics, in a dramatic way. The template instructions make this quilt easy to put together.

Which is why, it is the 1st quilt from this book that I am making... Here are the handful of blocks I put together this weekend.

I am really happy with this book, it has lots of quilts I want to make, and has created some ideas for some quilt designs of my own.

PEIMQG Frank Lloyd Wright Quilt Challenge 2016

The PEIMQG came up with a challenge to create quilts inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright. The deadline, to have the quilt completed, was for the September Meeting. We had a lot of fun with this challenge, and it was great fun to see what everyone came up with. You can see all the work here in the September meeting post. 

The winner will receive a prize, but its mostly just for fun!!

Here are the completed quilts up for viewer's choice:

#1

#2

#3

#4

#5

#6

And #7

Which Frank Lloyd Wright Quilt is Your Favorite?

October Sew-In 2016

Happy Thanksgiving!! We are enjoying some fantastic weather here in beautiful Prince Edward Island. The leaves are beginning to change colors and the sun has been shining for days and cooling down at night. Autumn is my favorite time of year!! For the Sew-In this month we had a small gathering of members attend, to take a break before all the hustle and bustle of Turkey Day, with three members popping in to see what was up.

Jean was working on some new improv blocks, very exciting to see this new project come together from a late night of internet inspiration. I love it when an idea strikes, and you can't wait to try out a new block or technique!

 Heather was working on binding her online block swap quilt where members of her 'hive' sent her blocks during her reign as Queen Bee.

Cathy was finishing off her "Slats" blocks, and has enough now to complete her quilt. Here is one of the layouts everyone helped come up with.

Lucinda was doing some hand piecing for her Farmer's Wife Sampler. 

Roberta finished up some super fun projects she started at the " Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" retreat hosted by the Quilting B -n-More. Here is her completed Sewing Machine Mat. 

And  2 adorable pouches for a tablet, a phone or whatever you might need to carry your necessities to Sew-In.

The sunshine was calling us all, so we left after lunch with shouts of "Happy Thanksgiving and See Ya Soon". I hope everyone enjoys their holiday. Hope to see you at the PEIMQG October Meeting.

Upcoming meetings:

The following two month's Sew-In and Meetings are planned for the West Royalty Community Room, Sobeys, 39 Babineau Avenue, Charlottetown.  Save the dates.


October 27:  PEIMQG Meeting (7-9pm)
November 12: PEIMQG Sew-In (9-4pm)
November24: PEIMQG Meeting (7-9pm)

Guest Blogger October 2016

We have another fantastic guest blogger this month, Someone a little closer to our fair province. We are so close we are practically neighbors. Thank you Linda for joining us today on the PEIMQG blog.  Tell us a little about yourself....

My name is Linda Smith, aka Scrapmaster.  I have been blogging since February of 2008.  I live in Halifax, Nova Scotia.  I have been making quilts  since 1992. I mostly learned from books and classes and quilters who shared their knowledge.  I handquilted many  large bedsized quilts up until I discovered free motion quilting about 7 years ago and my quilty world changed dramatically. I have one pattern that has been published and I have sold a few quilty things but for the most part I make quilts for family and friends.  I sometimes teach classes in free motion quilting. I fell in love with everything about modern quilting and continue to express myself through fabric and thread. Quilting is my personal joy in life!  Here's a few of my quilts.

​Q &A:

     1.What do you love about (Modern) quilting/fabrics?

I love the freedom to be the quilter I want to be, need to be.   I love my quilting community. I adore the newer style fabrics, so much so, that I created a Facebook page to share my fabric obsession and hopefully connect with other fabric lovers.  It's called The Fabric Pig!  I still use my older stash (pre-2012), but not as much anymore.  

    2.Where do you draw inspiration? 

I am very inspired by the amazingly talented quilters in my guild.  

    3.What are you currently working on? (Can we have a sneak peek?)

I recently finished up this quilt top, a free Block of the Month offered at Sew Mama Sew blog and I am getting it ready to quilt today. I mostly quilt in freemotion so I will have fun with all the negative space on this one.  

    4.Solids or Prints?

Both. Love them all!

    5.Precuts or Stash?

Both!  Precuts are the appetizer and my stash is the full meal deal!

    6.Favorite Tool/Trick you can’t live without?

Couldn't exist without my hard-working, awesome Pfaff sewing machines and sitdown quilting machine.  

    7.What’s your Favorite Blog and/or Designer?

I have too many favourite blogs and my fave designer is Katarina Roccella who designs for Art Gallery Fabrics.  I recently bought an entire bolt of one of her designs. I am currently hoarding it but I will use it at some point, when the right project comes along.  

    8.What’s one thing we should know about you?

I am the Social Media Co-ordinator for the Maritime Modern Quilt Guild.  

 Thanks to PEIMQG for inviting me to share with you today. 

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