Tips, Tools, and Techniques November 2016

For this month's Tips, Tools, and Techniques, I thought I would share a Tip:

Is anyone else like me?? When I finally finish quilting a project I dread making the binding. It just seems to put the brakes on the flow of the project. Why not spend some time making bindings so you have some readily available when you need them and you can get those projects finished!! How to decide which fabrics become bindings?

Some fabrics just scream bindings to me,

While others become bindings because of the amount that I have left, cutoffs from quilt backings,Or because I just don't like the fabric that much anymore. Even ugly fabric can become great again when it appears small enough.( Really what was I thinking 5 meters of this monstrosity???)

And remember, by using up that fabric as binding, you free up room in your stash for newer fabrics to love.

No more excuses. I'm finally putting the binding on this humongous quilt, that Liz Dempsey quilted for me eons ago.

I'd love to hear what everyone else's dreaded quilt related tasks are. See you at the Meeting!!!

November 24th (7-9 pm) West Royalty Sobeys.

November Sew-in

This month saw seven members working on various projects, one guest and three (Marsha, Colleen and Dawn) dropping in to see what was up!  Lots of quilty happenings on the go with lots of chatting and laughter.  Dawn and Colleen had their blocks for the Queen Bee who was not able to make it, but those present enjoyed seeing them.

 Janice was working on her blocks for the Sugar Block Club -www.StitcheryDickoryDock.com.

Linda is working on an improv piece with rows of seven different colors. Here is her row of pinks.

Dianne was working on a charity quilt using string blocks. She also shared the story of how her ruler was returned to her as all her tools have her name and address taped on them.

Linda and Dianne brought blocks for the Big Bee run by CQA.  looks like we'll be able to donate a top for a quilt for Ronald McDonald house.

Lucinda was working on hand sewing her Farmer's Wife blocks.  Here is Periwinkle.

Velda was working on her pillowcase

 and her 100 Blocks!   what a commitment.

Her guest was working on her Map of the World quilt and then making oodles of blocks for her Sea and Waves quilt.

Heather was cutting background fabric for her son's wedding quilt.

Susan brought several projects along, one of which was Bento Blocks

 and another was Beach Balls.  The Beach Balls was part of a pattern book for jelly rolls in a box from the Fat Quarter Shop.

Heather and Susan also cut fabrics for blocks for a future Quilt of Valour quilt and Linda and Velda made two test blocks.  Love the camouflage and black together.

Reminder about upcoming events:

The following Meeting is planned for the West Royalty Community Room, Sobeys, 39 Babineau Avenue, Charlottetown.  Save the dates.


November 24: PEIMQG Meeting (7-9pm)

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

Guest Blogger November 2016

For this month's Guest Blogger I would like to introduce Sharon McConnell from ColorGirlQuilts. I love Sharon's use of Bright/Bold Designs and fabrics. I am in love with some of the patterns she has for sale!! She also has some very useful tutorials and free block patterns on her blog as well. Please welcome Sharon of Color Girl Quilts.

  My name is Sharon McConnell,  and my passion is designing and sewing unique quilts. You will find designs for beginners and advanced quilters, projects for pre-cuts, scraps or for showing off a favorite collection of fabrics. I started blogging about my quilty adventures in the summer of 2012, after long admiring many other bloggers and their incredible talent. The Color Girl Quilts blog will always be filled with positive energy, colorful images, and hopefully exciting quilting projects.

 These patterns and many more available here

Q &A :

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

I love the clear bright colors, and that there are so many choices! I tend to prefer pretty basic prints and tone-on-tone fabrics, so the vast array of designers and styles in the modern fabric world makes sewing so much fun.

    2.Where do you draw inspiration?

I have some favorite design elements (especially curved piecing), so I tend to start with a shape and build a quilt design around that. Sometimes the shape gets cut up and rearranged, or I experiment with how shapes and blocks can be put together to make unexpected designs. The fabric also has a big influence on what I make. If the prints have a certain style or look, I might go with that for the type of patchwork to use it for.

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

I just finished the top for a second version of my newest pattern, Summer Bloom. This new version is super bright and has much more variety than the original. It was fun to play around with changing up the pattern to get a new look simply by using different colors and contrast.

I am also working on my own medallion quilt. I have made several of the popular medallion quilt patterns and I think they are a really fun style. I decided it was time to design my own.

    4.Solids or Prints?

Oh, prints all the way! There is a certain challenge to me in mixing a large variety of prints and still pulling of the right contrast and balance for a successful quilt. A couple of my favorite all-print quilts are Ring Around 

 and Fly Over.

 I do like solids a lot, too and use them for mixing with prints. I have never managed to make an all-solids quilt, though. I just can't resist prints!

    5.Precuts or Stash?

I am a stash girl. While I enjoy sewing with pre-cuts and often use a designer collection as a starting point, part of the fun of quilting for me is choosing the fabrics. This means rooting through my stash for the right colors and prints and experimenting with new combinations.

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

I have pretty impressive collection of templates since I like curved piecing so much (most of them I make myself by drafting on the computer and then printing them out). For quick (straight) cutting, my favorite ruler is the one with slits so you can cut a bunch of squares and rectangles at the same time.

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

Can I choose more than one? my design crushes are Alison Glass and Katarina Roccella. I love Alison's colors and basic prints that are so useable in a variety of projects. Katarina is just such an incredible artist...her sense for fabric design blows me away. As far as other quilters, Kathy Doughty and Jen Kingwell are favorites and I love the work of Leanne (Nifty Quilts) and RachelDaisy (Blue Mountain Daisy).

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

While I pretty much eat, sleep and breathe quilting, I am also the mother of two boys and two lady labrador retrievers, so life is very full. Some of my goals in the quilting world are to do more teaching and increase the reach of my patterns in quilt shops.

Thanks for the opportunity to introduce myself! I hope your members will drop me a comment on my website or IG. Patterns are available to download on my website or through craftsy.

Sharon McConnell

Color Girl Quilts

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.