Saturday, March 29, 2014

Flaunt Your Finish: March 2014


Many of us around the country have experienced a long, cold and wacky Winter. We're finally showing signs of Spring in Oklahoma and here are the projects that have "sprung up" this month from a few of our members.

Join us at the bottom of this post and Flaunt YOUR OWN Finish!


This bag just hints of sunny days! It is the Super Tote Bag by Noodlehead that Debbie made for her friend in Portland.  She used Violet Craft's fabric showcasing... Portland bridges, of course! Debbie says it is a really nice pattern and gives it a big thumbs up "...as there were no four letter words involved like there are with some bag patterns!" That's enough of an endorsement to get me to try it!


I love to see the "non-quilty" projects our members make. Ann took a free basket weaving class that she signed up for at the Winter Quilt Show back in January. The Basketweavers Guild of Oklahoma sponsored the class. They meet the second Saturday of odd-numbered months at what we locals call,  "The Cowboy Hall of Fame". This is a 7-inch napkin basket she made. "They were a really great group and there are even some quilters among them!" 


Ann has also been busy being a new Grandma!  Ann and her daughter-in-law went shopping for quilt fabrics on March 6th. Her due date wasn't until mid-April, so Ann had PLENTY of time. Wrong! Little William decided he'd arrive 4.5 weeks early on March 9th! He was pretty tiny and went straight to the NICU. Grandma had to get sewing! "Thanks to inspiration from Jemellia who smushed my choice of Granny Annie together, my new moniker is Gannie. LOVE IT!" So...Ann got the quilt done in a few days. Heather (the mom) even slept with it to put her scent on it for when William came home. She found the design on Pinterest and added a strip of pieced chevron. Oh, and that ombré backing is just too delish!


"But this is how the quilt looks best. He came home after two weeks in NICU."


William also needed some help keeping his head warm. Time for Gannie to bring out the knitting needles. "This is one of the hats I've made. The others were crocheted. Even made sure he had an all-green one for St. Patrick's Day!"


And if that wasn't enough....Ann's friend created this pattern and taught the class out at Threads of Tradition in Yukon, Oklahoma. Ann made this Star Pillow out of fifteen 5"x 5" squares. "Yup, it matches last month's hot air balloon! It's a fun process and relatively quick." Pattern available at Threads of Tradition.


So, then...Ann decided she needed to try one out of mini-charm pack squares. She machine pieced it but had to come back with a little hand reinforcement/correction. Ann says she could picture filling one with crushed walnut shells to use as a pincushion.


Agnes is definitely ready for Spring! Here is a fast little Easter/Spring table runner she improv-pieced from the remnants of her Spring banner from last month


"We dyed the eggs-on-a-stick with the kids over the years, and they are the perfect decoration together."


Those of us that were in the guild when Robin had her baby will be surprised to see how much she's grown! This is the first quilt Robin has finished since her daughter was born. (We totally understand, Robin!) "It was originally intended to be a charity quilt, but now I'm having trouble giving it up! I love the way the purples work together (it's all from stash), and I never could resist a good Halloween fabric. Apparently my kiddo agrees, because she wouldn't let me take it outside without her!"


And Melissa made this cheery birthday quilt for her youngest daughter who just turned eleven! It's all flannels, mostly from Ann Kelle.


I've become obsessed with zippered bags. Yeah, I know ya'll have been doing them for awhile. I just never needed one, two, three...okay, four! until now.


Now it's YOUR TURN to Flaunt Your Finish. Link up your blog or Flickr page below.

Thanks for joining us! Check back the first of April for "A Monthly Dose of Inspiration"!




Thursday, March 13, 2014

Meeting Recap: March 2014


We’ve hit the big 5-0!

50 members, that is. Here’s a BIG WELCOME to our new members and a heartfelt “thanks for sticking around” to our returning members. Our growth is exciting!

We have SO MUCH going on! If you miss a meeting, there are many ways to stay informed:
  1. Read our monthly newsletter. If you are not getting our newsletter by email, please let President Ann know;
  2. Peruse this blog. Dates at a glance are on the side bar to the right. For more details, make your selection from the many topics on top menu bar; and
  3. Check in on Facebook. There’s a lot of fun, casual conversation that happens on Facebook.

MARCH MEETING RECAP:

For our March meeting, Teresa (Midnight Latte Designs), Jemellia (JemJam), Elizabeth (Pieceful Life), Candace (Saltwater Quilts) and I  (Leslie Unfinished) sat on a panel for a discussion about blogging. Amanda L. (The Cozy Pumpkin) was our moderator as we shared why we each began blogging and the techniques we’ve used to gain followers. Click MEMBER BLOGS on our top menu and discover blogs created by OKCMQG members. If you have any questions about starting your own blog, I know any one of them would be happy to answer any questions you may have.


One of the best things about having 50 members is MORE Show & Share! It moves pretty quickly, and I try to jot down the inspiration and ideas behind the project in between photos…but we had a lot to share this month and so my comments are short…and hopefully correct :) Such a nice complication to have!

Bri was participating in a Stash Bee and used up some of her odds & ends for this cute quilt.

Elizabeth A. used scraps from a quilt she made for her 5-year old daughter to make this wall hanging for her daughter’s room they are redecorating.


Kristine showed us this paper pieced dinosaur she received from Tartan Kiwi. 

Kristine also has a head start on Christmas! She completed this needlepoint stocking.

Elizabeth R. has been participating in a Scrappy Trip Along. She's hand-quilting with big chunky stitches.

A week or so ago, Audra posted on Facebook that her husband announced “So and so just had twins, can you make them two quilts?” Oh, yes, she can!


Agnes is presenting Fabric Printing at our April Meeting. She brought this teaser along to get us excited. It was printed using a potato and a “plastic thingy I found on the floor”.

Agnes also made these “mats” for lack of a better word from small scraps of fabric and then densely quilted them. The idea could be used many different ways.


Laura J. tested a pattern from Laura Burke and I’d say it was a great success!

Laura J. also was the only one to complete a top with our 2013 Block-of-the-Month series. Yay Laura!

Karen used pre-cuts (a jelly roll and a charm pack) to make this lovely quilt. I’m a big fan of this fabric line too! (Comma by ZenChic)

It’s true that Modern Quilters don’t have to be modern all the time. Rebecca was asked to join a more traditional challenge group that made use of lots and lots of half-square triangles. Congratulations Rebecca, for being the only one in the group to complete a BIG quilt top!

Ever wonder what you can make with those mini-charm packs? How about a Plus Quilt like this one that Angie made? She used about 5 mini-charm packs.

If you’ve been keeping track…Angie has been sponsoring a Big City Bags Sew Along on her blog, Sewing With Squeak. Here’s the latest bag!

Becca made this lovely French Rose quilt for her daughter. The roses are layers of “raw edge” flowers sewn on.

Shana completed this curved quilt top. When completed, she’ll donate it to a not-yet-decided-upon charity. So nice!

Whew! That was one of our biggest Show & Shares yet. We hope you’ve found some inspiration or motivation to complete your own projects. Remember to check with us at the end of the month for Flaunt Your Finish, where you can show off YOUR completed projects!

Sunday, March 9, 2014

A Monthly Dose of Inspiration



Every month we are going to share some of our members' flickr pictures to provide a little inspiration and eye candy.  Everyone seems to be suffering from spring fever these days so here are some fun and colorful projects to get your creative thoughts flowing...




Here's to spring sewing!  Spring cannot get here fast enough!  

Saturday, March 1, 2014

Flaunt Your Finish: February 2014


Live! From New York...


it's

!!!!

Yes, I'm actually writing this from New York City! Wouldn't you know, I'm in between exhibits at The Art Quilt Gallery in New York, the only gallery in NYC devoted to contemporary art quilts, but my OKCMQG pals sent these lovely projects to share for February's Flaunt Your Finish!

If you don't know the drill, your project must be completed in the current FYF month. If you have a project you finished in February, link up your blog of Flickr page at the end of this post. And if you're not quite sure how to link-up we'll have a How-To at the end of the post as well.

The Finishes:

Ann completed these two projects (with minutes to spare!) for her daughter-in-law's baby shower. "Their nursery theme is hot air balloons. I had in mind to create a soft sculpture right after I heard that was her preference. Tom helped me with shaping the pattern. The rest I improvised along the way. One of my new favorite lines, Zen Chic Barcelona complements her linens choice. 7" balloon diameter." 

and also a mini by Ann:



If you're a Doctor Who fan, hold onto your hats. Melissa made this Tardis quilt for her daughter's friend that is getting married in March. "The engaged couple are both over 6 feet tall, so they really appreciated that the quilt was so LONG!  A special shout out to Ann for making the wording block that she printed onto fabric for me :)"

Just returned from Budapest, Agnes' mini is inspired by the luscious spice hues of Kaffe Fassett's shot cottons. "The portals symbolize the opportunities we have in life and our hard decisions on choosing one, or the other." On permanent exhibit at Je's Bend.

Agnes also designed and made this cute and happy seasonal Easter banner for the home where her mom currently resides in Hungary (hence the Hungarian word for "Spring" on the bottom).

Elizabeth made a baby quilt for a baby girl.  The dad-to-be has been a friend of her son's since they were babies...."their family is very special to our family. The mom-to-be is decorating the baby's room in brown and white. I am not making a quilt for decoration, I want it to be used. However, I still wanted to try to make something in colors that she would appreciate."

Elizabeth used Kona snow (not bright white) and various browns from her stash. The backing is a pop of color from Amy Butler's Love called Sunspots for Rowan.  She machine quilted using her walking foot along the zig zags, and added a final touch of fuchsia hand stitching.  The quilt measures 33"x 50".

Something we all probably need to improve upon...Listen! made by Teresa, was inspired by Victoria Findlay Wolfe’s word challenge last January. "The mini quilt was created for one of my endorsers to highlight my artistic style and as a thank you -- she chose the word." It is watercolor, and embroidery on quilting cotton.

This bag by Angie is part of the Big City Bags Sew Along she's hosting. The pattern is the GoGo Bag from the book Big City Bags by Sara Lawson. Fabrics are VeloCity. "I added an extra pocket and a key clip to the inside to help keep me organized. It was my first time using ByAnnie's Soft & Sable and it is amazing!!"

That's it for the OKCMQG members. Now it's your turn to Flaunt Your Finish. Here's how to do it:

How to link up your blog:

  1. Write a post on your own blog with photos of your project and publish it.
  2. Since you are linking up a specific project and not your blog in general, click the title of your post so that the URL (the web address) in your browser is the link to your post and not just to your home page. Highlight the URL and copy.
  3. Go to the site and specific post hosting the link up. At the end of the post there will be a link that says something to the effect of: "Click here to enter"..."Link up here"..."Add your project"...etc. Click on that link.
  4. A window will appear and depending on how the link is formatted, you may see a variety of options. There will be a spot for your URL. That's the URL that you copied. The direct link to your post. Paste it into the appropriate box. You may also be prompted to enter your name and an email.
  5. You'll be asked to choose a photo from your blog. Choose photos from "the web" and your photos will appear. Select and crop as desired. After you're done, your link will appear at the bottom of the post!
Thanks for sharing your Finish with us! Grab a Flaunt Your Finish to add to your post and share with others!