We were so happy to meet up once again, after a two month pause for Easter and Mother’s Day. Below is a summary of our meeting and of things to come.
NEW MEETING START TIME!
Per a vote of the membership in attendance, we are going to start our monthly meetings at 11:30 am instead of 12 noon. This will allow for more time after our meetings conclude for sewing time! See you at 11:30am on July 9th.
Activities
Holiday Party – we have a new venue!
Our president Nancy has secured her community clubhouse for Sunday Dec. 3. Located in Carlsbad, not far from Quilt in a Day, it looks like a wonderful facility. Mark your calendars now!
SDMQG Retreat 2024
We have reserved our spot again for next year’s retreat. It will take place from May 30 – June 2, 2024 at Vina de Lestonnac Retreat Center, Temecula. It is so much fun, and a great way to get to know your fellow members better. Pencil it on your calendar!
3rd Quarter Challenge
Janine announced that our third quarter challenge, due at the Sept 2023 meeting, will be “Americana” themed. Flexibility is huge – as Americana can be whatever YOU feel it is. It does not have to be red, white and blue. Also, it can range from a quilt to a wall hanging, a table runner, a clothing item, etc – whatever Americana item you made and wish to share.
Block of the Month
A group of interested members met after the regular meeting wrapped up to discuss a potential BOM. Janine is facilitating this large group, and will email updates and information as needed. It was agreed that everyone would come to the July meeting with a completed first block. The pattern can be found at https://bouldermqg.com/bom-2018/ or check out the Instagram hashtag for more inspiration.
Postcards, Scrappy blocks!
Our first and second quarter challenges resulted in many creative items, and we had excellent participation. We collected a lot of scrappy blocks for a charity quilt, and several participated in the postcard exchange. Good results all around!
Monthly Member Spotlight
Kristi Schmits was our June spotlight speaker, and she shared decades of her quilting results with us. She started out young – at age 12 – sewing clothing, and it just grew from there!
Charity 2023
Ronald McDonald House (January – April) – Update!
Ronald McDonald House Charities of San Diego provides a “home-away-from-home” for families with children being treated for serious, often life-threatening conditions at local hospitals. In May we delivered 28 quilts for their patients. Thanks to all who donated a finished quilt or helped to finish up an in progress one from the guild stash.
If you missed this donation, fear not! We usually make at least two donations during the year, as we collect quilts throughout the year for this and the other organizations we support. All sizes of quilts are accepted for Ronald McDonald House.
Second Trimester: Just In Time (May – August) – My First Home Project
Our second trimester (May – August) focus is Just in Time for Foster Youth (JIT) and their My First Home Project. JIT serves transitional youth, those 18-26, who are aging out of the foster care system. We support their My First Home Project, which helps to provide those everyday items that one needs to furnish a home, by providing throw and bed sized quilts.
JIT Group Quilt – Tunnel Blocks
For our group quilt this trimester, we will be making Tunnel Blocks using this tutorial from Stitched In Color. Blocks can be made at home using your own fabrics – all pre cut kits have been claimed. For these blocks, we will be sticking with the same gradient style as in the tutorial (dark center out to a light outside), but feel free to create your gradient between shades of the same color, within a set of colors, or between different colors. If you’re unsure if you have a gradient (or close to one), a great way to check your values is to take a picture of what you’re working on and then edit it to be in greyscale. A lot more fabrics are more of a medium tone than you realize!
General guidance for fabric colors is to stick to blender types of fabrics so that the overall color can be read and avoid fabrics that have multiple colors within one print. Blocks are due back by the August guild meeting (August 13) either in person or can be mailed back to Kristyn.
For the blocks, please follow the cutting/sewing directions on the blog post and use a standard 1/4″ seam allowance. Several people worked on these blocks during the guild retreat earlier this month, so we’re off to a good start already!
2024 QuiltCon Community Outreach Challenge Quilt
The theme and palette have been announced for this year’s challenge quilt (check this link for all the details and specifics) and we have been challenged to create a quilt with symmetry with colors from the following palette:
As this is termed as a community project, we are working on this as a whole group (or with as many people that want to contribute). We discussed at the meeting if this is something we want to move forward with and the general consensus was that we want to create a quilt together.
We are looking for possible designs or ideas that can be turned into a quilt design from the membership. As this is designed to be a group quilt, we need your input and help to make it happen. We’re hoping to have a design finalized and ready for the July meeting so that we can get working on the actual quilt. Designs and/or ideas need to be sent to Kristyn by June 26th so there’s time to discuss and share before the July meeting.
Help Needed!!!! – Tops available for quilting
The guild has a backlog of donated tops that are in need of quilters to turn them into finished quilts. Quilting does not need to be fancy and this is a great way to practice free motion quilting or getting used to a new long arm. Quilt tops of all sizes are available and we can provide batting, backing fabric, and/or binding fabric upon request. If you would like to help, please email the sdmqgcharity gmail or talk to Kristyn at a meeting.
Special Charity Opportunity – Gently Hugged
www.gentlyhugged.org
Our contact and point person for this charity is Shelly Hoffman, [email protected] This effort is providing blankets and quilts for babies in need via social workers and nurses. This organization hands out about 60 care packages a month. Dimensions maximum – 45” x 30”
No religious prints, sports prints, holidays, etc.
Again, please work this through Shelly Hoffman directly, and not through Kristyn.
Special Charity Opportunity – Cat Beds (Hadley Mendoza-Miklos)
We’ve donated 128 cat beds to date! Save your fabric scraps, batting, threads, and use all that debris as stuffing for much appreciated (by the cats) cat beds. Give our landfills a break, as well as the cats!
Coming Guild Events
Next Sew-In: Sunday, June 25th at Quilt in a Day – 11am-3:45pm
Next Meeting: Sunday, July 9th at 11:30am at Quilt in a Day (with Zoom viewing option). Stay after the meeting for sew-in time. *Please note the new start time*
Questions? – please email board at [email protected]
Written By: Dori Conboy
Posted By: Kristyn Jansen
