We've Moved Our Website!

Effective May 22, 2020, the Central Florida Modern Quilt Guild website is on Wordpress. Find us HERE

www.CentralFloridaMQG.wordpress.com

#vrtualcfmqg Event

Head over to our @centralfloridamqg account on Instagram HERE and get ready to join in our daily #virtualcfmqg event beginning Wednesday, April 1 through Monday, April 6.

We've planned this in lieu of our regular meeting, and to give everyone a chance to share their quilt-y views - from each of our sewing rooms, and of the quilts we make.

If you're not on Instagram, now is the time to pick a name. For security reasons, we do not recommend using your last name in your Instagram handle or in your personal profile.

Once you have your account, add some text to your profile, and follow @centralfloridamqg.

Follow the hashtag for this event - #virtualcfmqg - to be sure you don't miss out on anyone's posts.

If you're sharing any picture(s) related to our MidCentury Modern Artist Challenge, use this hashtag: #modartchallenge. You might also add #centralfloridamqg and #cfmqg to pictures you post.

Each morning you can expect to see a @centralfloridamqg post like this, reminding you of that day's hashtags.

April 1 - #mysewingroom #mysewingspace #whereIcreate

April 2 - #myfavoritequilt #myfirstquilt

April 3 - #sewingmachine #mysewingmachine #quiltingmachine

April 4 - #favoritenotions #quiltinggadgets #sewingtools

April 5 - #walkingfootquilting #freemotionquilting #rulerquilting #howIquilt

April 6 - #latestquilt #finishedquilt #nolongerawip #nolongeraufo #modartchallenge

This is a fantastic way for each of us to catch a glimpse of what everyone does at home, so don't miss out on this fun, get-acquainted opportunity!

Send an email if you have any questions. We're here to help you get going!

NO SEW-IN OR MEETING

MARCH 21 SATURDAY SEW-IN CANCELLED

Due to concerns about the Corona virus, our Saturday Sew-In, scheduled for March 21, has been cancelled. Our next scheduled Saturday Sew-In is April 11.

APRIL 6 MEETING CANCELLED

Due to concerns about the Corona virus, our Monday, April 6 meeting has been cancelled. Our program was to have been sharing Mid-Century Modern Artist challenge quilts. The challenge was presented at our January meeting.

Now, due to the fact we have NO MEETING IN MAY (due to the date coinciding with our Central Florida MQG retreat to Luther Springs in Hawthorne, Florida), members have until our Monday, June  8 meeting to complete a challenge quilt! 

Be safe. Be healthy!

March 2 Meeting

Thirty-five quilters attended our Monday, March 2 meeting, and four new members were added to our roster.

The evening was spent sharing information and perspectives about QuiltCon 2020 in Austin, Texas. Eleven of our members attended, and those who were at the meeting individually shared their experiences, and what they learned in workshops, lectures, and through observation.

Central Florida MQG members with our QuiltCon Charity Quilt

A powerpoint slide show, with 118 pictures, allowed everyone to see a cross-section of quilts from every category - Modern Traditionalist, Minimalism, Piecing, Improvisation, Small Quilts, Group and Bee Quilts, Charity Quilts, and Stripes, and Indah batik challenge quilts.

Below is most of the slide presentation, for your viewing pleasure! It's divided into two parts, so it could be viewed on YouTube.

Part 1

Part 2

Also, go here to see pictures of Austin 2020 QuiltCon winners

Bette @quiltlady1 showed "Mod Flamingos," a pattern by Sew Kind of Wonderful made using the mini Quick Curve Ruler. She domestic machine quilted it herself. 

Dee @quilterdee showed two 13" X 13" project bags made from a By Annie pattern called Project Bag. She sewed them on her Bernina 78E using Libs Elliot's "Wound Up" fabric.

The bags are two-sided, with clear vinyl on one side.

Immediately after showing them, Dee gave them to her two retreat co-chairs, Karen E. and Jane. What thoughtful, lovely gifts!

Marie @pottersewer used the linen quilt sandwich and threads - given to everyone to try big stitch quilting at the February meeting - to continue stitching designs to fill the fabric, and then sewed it into a zipper pouch. It's lovely, Marie! 

Edith @quiltedfish4 showed a finished 19" X 54" design that she completed since taking Carole Lyles Shaw's workshop in April 2019. She sewed and quilted on a Bernina 630

Reminders

• The date for our monthly Saturday Sew-In is different in March! We'll meet Saturday, March 21 at the Belleview Public Library.

• Our next regular monthly meeting is Monday, April 6. Members who are participating in the Mid-Century Modern Artist Challenge (refer to details here) should bring their completed project to the meeting. A special challenge information form will be emailed to members, to be completed to accompany your challenge entry. 

• Also bring to the April 6 meeting any fabric charm packs or chip packs you are willing to share and/or swap with other members. These will be used for the next CFMQG challenge that Beth will explain at the April meeting. 

• At the April 6 meeting we will begin accepting registrations and $15 payments for Debra Jalbert's Saturday, June 13 "The Improv Experience" workshop to be held at the Belleview Public Library (during our regular Saturday Sew-In time). Debra is a member of the Orlando MQG and previously shared a workshop with us in July 2016. Detailed information about the June workshop is coming soon.

March 2 Meeting, and Library Sale

Please remember that our regular March meeting is not on the usual monthly date.

Due to a conflicting event at North Lake Presbyterian Church, our meeting has been moved forward one week.

Our meeting is Monday, March 2

Because 13 of our members attended QuiltCon from February 20-23, our meeting will be a "QuiltCon Review." Everyone who attends will offer a perspective and information about their experiences. We'll hear about the quilts; trends in modern; swag bags; special displays; vendors; classes and instructors; volunteering; how the QuiltCon app worked; and perhaps even about first-time meet-ups with Instagram friends! 

In addition to QuiltCon talk, we'll have our first-ever sale of chapter library books.

Book titles, authors, and prices are below. 

Books have been priced at an average of 75 percent off. 

Buyers are asked to please bring the exact cash, or write a check for your purchase(s). All monies will be kept in our chapter. 

Blocks for Wollongong (Australia) MQG

Following the raging bush fires in Australia that covered more than 10 million hectares (that's more than 24 million acres), quilters there put out a call for quilt blocks to be made into quilts for those who have suffered as a result. Blocks will be turned into quilts by members of the Wollongong Modern Quilt Guild, and given to victims, families of victims, and firefighters. 

Thanks to an initiative led by our member, Becky, 16 tree blocks will be delivered to QuiltCon in Austin, where the MQG is collecting them to be shipped to Australia. 

Trees could be any color (not necessarily green), needed to be on a white or light gray background; and be larger than 12-1/2" square.

Bette M. @quiltlady1 made these blocks.

Jane @gonequiltinginflorida made this foundation paper-pieced block.

Linda H. @flourishingpalms made these "Australia tree" blocks. This her own design that can be found as a free download and tutorial on her blog here. 

Becky made these blocks using a pattern by Heather Valentine of The Sewing Loft. You can purchase the pattern here on Etsy.

Becky also collected 45 tree blocks that were made by Khaki Quilters, a chapter of Quilting Guild of The Villages!

Thank you, Becky, for leading this effort! We appreciate your generosity. 

2020 QC Awards Ceremony

Even if you aren’t attending QuiltCon in Austin, you won’t want to miss your chance to watch the awards ceremony...live!

Wednesday, February 19

7 pm Central Time (that’s 8 pm for us in Florida)

To watch, click this link: https://www.quiltcon.com/live

Go ahead and click it right now, just to check it out. Then bookmark it, and set a reminder to watch Wednesday evening at 8 pm our time. You’ll be glad you did. It’s pretty exciting!

By the way, did you see this picture on that page? 

It was taken at the 2018 awards ceremony in Pasadena, California. Quilts along the wall, at the back of the picture are charity challenge quilts. The second quilt from the right is the one we made! 👏🏼 You can see a better picture by clicking the “QuiltCon Charity Quilts” tab at the top of this page. 

Also, we hope you’ll notice that our blog’s Google calendar has unexpectedly reappeared (due to no change from us), so happily click away to check out upcoming meetings and Sew-Ins!

February 10 Meeting

What a great turnout for our February meeting! We had 43 quilters in attendance - seven of whom were guests! We're so glad you could join us... and already, four visitors have joined! 👏

The evening's program was presented by Linda H. @FlourishingPalms

At the conclusion of her presentation, everyone had a chance to try big stitch quilting on a small quilt sandwich, using six different brands/types/colors of 8-weight and 12-weight threads. 

Several times Linda demonstrated how to make a quilter's knot.

Here's the link to Jen Kingwell's YouTube video of big stitch hand-quilting with 12-weight Aurifil thread.

We're proud of you too, Rosemary @daisys_driver! 😁

For a fun project, make two rectangular-shaped quilt sandwiches (linen, in this case), and then fill with random stitching - different thread colors, and different thread weights. Then sew them into a small zipper pouch, as Linda did with the example she shared.

Selina @selinaquilts shared several beautiful Sashiko pieces she has created. 

Very special thanks to two Florida quilt shops for donating door prizes! 

Thank you Jen, at www.RedThreadStudio in Palm Coast for your donations of Sew Fine thread wax!

Thank you Alissa, at www.OceansofThread in Deland for your donations of Eleganza Pearl Cotton and Bohin needles!

Dee @quilterdee shared "Color Catcher," a 72-1/2" X 88-1/2" quilt that appeared in American Patchwork and Quilting magazine. The pattern is by Erika Bea. Dee pieced and walking foot quilted it on her Bernina 780Q sewing machine. 

Penny shared her "Ei Ei" quilt made with Laura Heine fabrics. She quilted it herself on a Destiny sewing machine.

Shloe shared "What a Whirl," a quilt she made from embroidered blocks. She used an embroidery machine for stitch-in-the-ditch and quilting.

Nancy @nancymenn made a 17-1/2" X 13-1/2" Charmed Tote adapted from a free pattern. She used gridded Pellon to place charm squares, and pieced and quilted it on her Bernina 770QE. 

QuiltCon is coming up soon, in Austin, Texas! The awards ceremony is Wednesday evening, February 19, with the quilt show and vendors open February 20-23. 

• 13 members of Central Florida MQG will be in attendance! 
• 3 quilts from our chapter will be displayed!

Please note that due to a conflict at North Lake Presbyterian Church, our next meeting is NOT on the usual date. The meeting is 

Monday, March 2, 6:30 pm

The March 2 program will be "About QuiltCon," and presented by members who attended. 

IMPORTANT NOTE:

Do you see our calendar?

No?

 It should be above, on the right side.

Do you see a big blank space there instead?

Due to technological issues outside our control, and depending on the device from which you're trying to view our Central Florida MQG calendar, the calendar may not be visible.

This is a newly-arisen problem caused by Google/Blogger, and for which assistance is not available. 

This blog will be without a calendar until such time as a work-around is figured out, or a new platform is selected for our blog.  

2020 Quilt Con Charity Quilt

"Explore the Possibilities Through Science, Technology, Engineering and Math"

62" X 75"

In July 2019, seven of our chapter members met to begin discussion about our chapter's 2020 QuiltCon Charity Quilt.

L-R: Missy G., Mel T., Rosemary V. , Beth S., Dee S., and Bette M.

The committee was chaired by experienced charity quilt challenge quilter, Jane G.

L-R: Jane and Missy

As all MQG chapters must do, we had to follow the challenge rules as set by the MQG. This year's rules not only included particular dimensions, but also the theme "text" and a grayscale color palette.

The committee selected the Art Gallery pattern "Acoustics," and the theme "Science, Technology, Engineering and Math" (STEM).  STEM is the foundation for so much of what we do each day, including sewing and quilting - from fabric creation, to pattern design, to high tech sewing, the quilting machines we use, and beyond. STEM is part of it all. 

Beth created the quilt design in EQ8 and printed foundation papers so block piecing accuracy was assured. Some of our members pieced letter blocks while at a Saturday Sew-In.

Progress was made during other Saturday Sew-Ins.

L-R: Missy G., Jane G., Dee S., Beth S., Linda H. and Karen E.

Pin-basting happens quickly when many hands are on deck!

Jane beautifully walking foot quilted it on her domestic sewing machine. 

Bette spent two days hand sewing down binding. 

"Explore the Possibilities Through Science, Technology, Engineering and Math"

62" X 75"

Quilt back with hanging sleeve and label

2020 QuiltCon Charity Challenge Quilt Committee Members
L from top: Mel, Jane, Dee
R, from top: Bette, Missy, Beth, Rosemary

Everything for this quilt was donated!

• The pattern is free from Art Gallery Fabrics: “Acoustic”  (See page 5 of free patterns)
• Fabrics (including the backing) and thread were donated by our members
• 100% cotton batting was donated by Hobbs

When the quilt is returned to our chapter from display at QuiltCon, it will be donated for silent auction to the "Time to Give Back Club" that hosts an annual St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital fundraiser in The Villages. The event is in May. 

Excellent work, everyone! It will be exciting to see our quilt displayed at QuiltCon in Austin, February 20-23. We hope you will attend!