Flaunt Your Finish: September 2014

We are just days (DAYS I tell you!) away from our 2014 Quilt Show! We hope you’ll join us Opening Night. If you can’t join us then, remember it continues through the entire month of October. So, bring a friend, bring a neighbor, bring a little cash….because we have an amazing Raffle Quilt! $1.00 per chance to win or 6 for $5.00.

And now back to our regularly scheduled post.

  While this month’s Flaunt Your Finish projects are not in our Quilt Show, they are all lovely nonetheless and will give you a hint of what you can expect to see at the show. First up is Elizabeth R. (As we now have TWO Elizabeth Rs, Queen Elizabeth’s moniker may need to go public. This is not QE, as she will be heretofore known.) As I was saying…Elizabeth R. is ready for October decorating. This is a modification of the “Fang Table Topper” from the September/October issue of Quilty magazine. Instead of a table topper though, Elizabeth cut it in half so that it can be hung on her front door. Eek! What a great idea!

Next up is Melissa S. Melissa’s poor husband was the last person in the family to get a quilt, so Melissa made it worth the wait. The entire quilt is hand-quilted with size 8 Perle cotton. Beautiful job Melissa!...and a shout out to that Comma fabric by Zen Chic that so many of us love.

This next sweet quilt was lovingly made by Amanda L. for her 4-year old daughter. It’s been a long-time in the making, as Amanda has been collecting fabrics since her daughter was a baby. It is a scrappy look with oversized tumblers. In the center, Amanda quilted the words “A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes”, which is the lullaby she used to sing to her as a baby. She placed the title in two echoing ovals and then stippled the remainder of the quilt to help the center stand out. This is such a sweet and lovely quilt!

Agnes S. has two finishes to share this month. The first is a quilt called “Never Ask for Directions”. She used the arrow block from the guild’s 2013 Block-of-the-Month and made it in two sizes (12 inches and 6 inches). Agnes wanted to do something directional, with arrows, and a bright palette of colors. The background indigo weave fabric is one she will be using often…after so many grays, she’s ready for a new favorite! I love how the quilting inside the arrows echoes the shape. Fun!

Agnes has also been thinking about a variety of projects that can be made with little leftover morsels of fabric (in the best tradition of quilting, she tries to use up every last bit!) Here's a great modern cover for those bland notebooks.

Robin O. also has two finishes this month. The first is “ConVivial Company”. Named in honor of its recipient, this quilt will be given to Robin’s new niece. It is made in the colors of her nursery (which Robin says was a bit of a stretch for her color-wise) and she’s most proud of the hand-quilted octagons and the hand-stitched dedication on the back. I love the color combination and know it will be well-loved and treasured.

Robin is a second-generation quilter, so both her husband and her father like to playfully complain that they are “quilting widowers”. This particular sewing project (a game board for her husband’s Star Wars X-wing miniatures game) was basically a bribe to remind her husband that he benefits from her quilting too. The mat is 36” x 36”. She used a Smithsonian Museum print for the front and some licensed Star Wars fabric for the back. Now her husband can take this to game nights and Robin can get some more quilting in!

And to wrap up this month’s Flaunt Your Finish, Trina K. has this amazing quilt to share. This was Trina’s first go at half-square triangles. She wanted to use all solids (she used Kona solids) and was inspired by a quilt she saw on Pinterest. She picked out the quilting pattern, but didn’t quilt it herself. The back fabric is from IKEA, and it is definitely a keeper! Wow! Amazing layout and amazing quilting!

There you have it, another great month of finishes. If you like what you see (and really, why wouldn’t you?) please join us at our Quilt Show. Opening Night is Thursday, October 2, 2014, 6 pm - 8 pm at the Fine Arts Institute of Edmond, 27 E. Edwards. We’ll have our raffle quilt on display, treats to eat, live music and an array of fantastic quilts. What could be better?

Link up your finish below and share our button on your own blog!

Coffee Talk Tuesday with Regina

Welcome to Coffee Talk! This is where we have the chance to chat with our members one-on-one and find out what makes them tick. This month, we're sitting down with Regina Engling. Regina has been a member of the OKCMQG for about a year now and is just one of those people you instantly like. She blogs at Life in Bits and Pieces 2 and makes wonderful projects. I'm happy to get to know her a little better and share her work with all of you.

Let's start with an easy question first. How long have you been sewing?  

Like many young Oklahoma girls back in 1959, my first sewing project was an apron in pink gingham for 4-H.  

(laugh) Mine was a green gingham stuffed turtle. The only thing I ever remember doing in 4-H.

I can still remember my Mama helping with the cutting and then sitting me on her lap to learn how to guide the fabric through her old Singer sewing machine.  I was so proud to model it at the Carter County Fair that fall, and then present it to my Mama (who put it to good use for many years).  My Mama made most of the clothes for her 3 girls; and,  I was her assistant, hand sewing hems and sewing on buttons – good training for hand sewing quilt bindings!  Today my sewing is for grandchildren – twirly skirts for my youngest grand-daughter and Trick or Treat bags. The bags are usually a  joint project with grandkids supplying the designs and me doing the stitching – you can never start them too young!

I definitely agree that we need to teach kids to sew. So, you've been sewing for a long time. How long have you been quilting?  

I’ve been quilting long enough (over 20 years) that the first fabrics I purchased are now becoming ‘trendy’!  My first quilting projects were quilts for new babies in my large extended family. Using books from the library, scissors, fabric and thread, I managed to create very simple quilts.  One of my first quilts was a baby quilt for my niece – machine pieced, with flannel used in place of batting and tacked with yarn.  My niece is 40 now and still has that quilt along with a baby quilt for each of her three children, all stitched by me.  According to my quilt journal, the total number of quilts made for our family’s grandchildren, great grandchildren and great-great grandchildren is 35 quilts. 

What a wonderful legacy of quilts! What or who inspired you to get into quilting? 

Over 20 years ago, my friend, Linda, who worked in the same office complex, was a new quilter like me.  We would meet during our lunch hour in her office to hand stitch quilt blocks together. Later we joined Central Oklahoma Quilt Guild and soaked up all the knowledge and creativity that those quilters were glad to share. I loved the sense of community the Guild brought to my quilting journey and I’m so glad to have found the OKC Modern Quilt Guild. Linda has been my quilting mentor and even though she and I live miles apart – we still keep in touch with the help of texts and email. She’s still the first person I turn to when I’m in need of some quilt/sewing (and non-quilt related) advice.  

So, with your experience and history of quilting, what drew you to the relatively new modern quilting movement?  

My quilting journey began with needle, cloth and thread –  I fell in love with quilting, but soon found out that I was drawn to quilt blocks & patterns that were less fussy.  Quilts with clean lines, colorful prints framed by solid fabric.  Don’t get me wrong, I love and appreciate traditional quilting patterns and the quilts created from those patterns; but, they just weren’t for me.  I began taking traditional designs (especially my two favorite traditional patterns: log cabin & stacked coins) and putting my own stamp on them.  After that, with each quilt I stitched, I was learning what I liked and what ‘spoke’ to me – and, that made me happy.  Having the freedom to create with fabric, thread, and needle on my own terms, without boundaries or restrictions, -- that’s what Modern Quilting is to me.

Freedom...that's a great definition! There are some amazing people in the modern quilting world. Who do you find inspirational? 

• Camille Roskelley – her take on traditional blocks/patterns is amazing.
• Susan Beal at West Coast Crafty – Modern Log Cabin; log cabin blocks, pretty fabrics, crafty stuff – what’s not to like!
• Amanda Jean Nyberg at Crazy Mom Quilts and Cheryl Arkison at Dining Room Empire.  Their book 'Sunday Morning Quilts' and Cheryl’s book ‘A Month of Sundays’ are both filled with quilts I want to stitch. 

What style of fabrics (designer or manufacturer) speak to you the most?   

The designers at Moda are some of my favorites:  Bonnie & Camille, Fig Tree, Basic Grey, French General, and Bunny Hill.  But really it’s all about color for me, if it catches my eye on a website or in a quilt shop, at least a fat quarter will come home with me. (I’ll admit it – I  have an addiction to fat quarters!)

When are you most productive? When do ideas strike you?  

Weekends are my most productive -- Saturday afternoons are my time to create in my little sewing corner.  I never know when an idea will pop into my head  – which is the reason I have little note books stashed all over the house, the office and in my purse.  Because at my age, the memory isn’t what it used to be!

I'm lost without a notebook! What are some quilt patterns or styles that you hope to tackle in the near future?

• Stripes from ‘A Month of Sundays’, which is made with men’s shirting fabric;
• Scrappers Delight  from ‘Sunday Morning Quilts’. It's a quilt to make use of my scraps.
• Modern Crosses Quilt from ‘Modern Log Cabin’. I have a collection of fat quarters started for this quilt.
• Dwell from ‘Retro’ by Camille Roskelley. This quilt just might be made as a mini.   

We all have a favorite quilt, whether because of workmanship or sentimentality. What quilt creation are you most proud of?

 

My husband and I had our first date at Jazz n June in Norman and for our 25^th anniversary I made him a quilt from his Jazz n June t-shirts. It’s not the best quilt I’ve made, but it’s filled with memories and that makes me smile every time I see it.  Plus he loves it and that makes me happy too.

Aw, I love that. Did you ever have a quilt project go terribly wrong? 

O’ yes – at times my seam ripper and I have been very good friends!  

  

If you had to choose one must have book or blog to visit for modern quilting, what would it be? 

Modern Quilting has so many talented and unique quilters/designers - I don’t think I could pick just one!

What is your advice to someone just diving into the world of modern quilting?  

Explore blogs, take some classes, join a Guild, discover what fabrics, patterns and quilts catch your eye -- just go for it!  And, remember to create quilts that make you happy.  

"Create quilts that make you happy"...I couldn't have said it better. Thanks so much, Regina, for sharing your quilts and thoughts with us!

Meeting Recap: September 2014

When I first started quilting, I finally mustered up the courage to post a quilt in an online quilt festival. I posted it and commented that I felt I was cheating because I hadn't quilted it all on my own, my mother had helped. Since then I've learned: Heck no, you don't have to do it all yourself!

I love learning from other guild members and this month we were fortunate to hear from Jana Hernandez of Peace by Piece Quilting. Jana is a professional long-arm quilter and she shared many ideas with us on what to expect and how to talk to your long-arm quilter. She talked about the nitty-gritty: cost, how cost is calculated, supplies needed, how to prepare your quilt, etc...

but she also showed us some fantastic samples of her quilting!

You can't really see the quilting in this photo, but you can trust me when I say it's awesome.

Jana also did the quilting on this quilt that we'll be raffling off next month. Again, the photo does not do it justice. (Check back for details on how to enter our raffle to win.)

Thanks so much Jana for sharing your talent and expertise with us! 

Show and share isn't just a time to show off finished projects, we also like to see projects still in the works. 

First up is Amanda. She shared her oversized block quilt she's been working on. She's hand-quilting chunky colorful stitches with Perle cotton. 

We had a few visitors and several new members. Beth was wearing a visitor badge when she showed us this fantastic mini-quilt. We're hoping to see her again.

Ellen's cute and colorful modern baby quilt just needs the binding stitched down and it'll be ready for delivery! She going to take a little trip and deliver it in person. Don't you love giving a quilt in person!?

Shirlene learned a new skill: towel embossing! I had no idea. This is her bowling towel. Hmmm...an inter-guild bowling league?

You may have seen tessellation quilts around the web. Marie showed us her version and we loved it!

Kristine brought the bag she made for the Michael Miller Fabric Challenge. We shared her photo of it in THIS POST, but we always like to see things in person. I love her straight-line quilting!

Kristine also made a couple banners that we'll be hanging at our October Quilt Show.

Robyn made these banners as well. The star is a nod to the quilt she was making when her daughter was born!

Quilters are a giving bunch, as Robyn has made this quilt for her niece.

Laura should get some sort of prize. She's the only one (that we're aware of) that completed a quilt with our 2013 Block-of-the-Month. She loved that bottom left-hand corner block so much...

that she made a whole quilt using that block! I love how different blocks can look with just a change of fabric.

and....Laura whipped up a cute dress for her granddaughter.

Melissa made this over-whale-mingly cute quilt (sorry, I couldn't resist!) It's Elizabeth Hartman's Preppy the Whale Pattern and there's just no denying how cute and whimsical it is.

Cameron whipped up a couple more banners for the Quilt Show. And I mean, whipped up. Like... 30 minutes before the meeting!

We're excited to be presenting a quilt show in Budapest, Hungary in November. Initially, I wanted to wait and show all the entries in one post, but we bring what we're doing to Show & Share, so I've decided they're just too good to keep.

First up is Bri, who sent me this photo for last month's Flaunt Your Finish. Sorry, Bri. Changed my mind again.... Bri used Aria Lane’s Crossknot pattern and modified it a bit to work with the bright scraps she wanted to use and to keep it small enough for the Budapest show.  He daughter suggested the quilting, and Bri thinks it really makes it pop.  She named it City Scapes as it reminds her of a city skyline.

Shirlene's mini of triangles. I always love a mix of blues and greens.

More blues and greens in Karen's quilt. she said some mumbo-jumbo about this one not be quite right (I love it!)...

and made another one! She looks happy with this one!

Kate's modern mini. Look at her straight-line quilting. She has portions that are quilted in different directions and, you know, that just makes it even cooler.

Regina wanted to do something simple and sparse for her Budapest entry. This one is called Sea Glass. Oh, how I wish we could all be in Budapest to see the reaction to these quilts. We'll share all the projects from the show at a later time.

BIG THANKS to everyone for another great meeting!