The Results Are In!

Based on survey results, with 21 respondents interested in structuring our chapter, the Advisory Team of Karen, Beth, Debbie, Mary, and Linda met to determine next steps toward formalizing our Central Florida MQG chapter.

We couldn't be happier!

We're delighted to share with you the names of executive board and standing committee members who will be leading us from now through December, 2015:

President - Karen E.

First and Second Vice Presidents - Debbie B. and Beth S.

Co-Treasurers - Carla S. and Susan S.

Media Coordinator - Linda H.

Committees

Programs (led by VPs) - Laura N. and Carol P.

Membership - Brenda H. and Frances W.

Sew-Ins and Retreats - Toni L. And Linda T.

Swaps and Challenges - Mel T. and Kelly W.

As you've likely noted, the Advisory Team has been intentional about ensuring that "many hands make light work." We're grateful that so many of you stepped up to keep us moving forward! 

What's Next?

The new Executive Committee will meet by November 21 to review, and if necessary, make changes to previously adopted/unadopted by-laws. By-laws will be presented to CFMQG attendees by the December 8 meeting. 

Steps will also be taken toward obtaining a federal EIN, opening a bank account, and determining dues... all meant to move us toward joining the national MQG by early 2015. 

Anticipating accepting official members, we're now accepting the names of those of you who are interested in joining our chapter, and becoming affiliated with The Modern Quilt Guild.

Karen E. is keeping this sign up list. Please send her an email, or let us know at this e-dress to be added to the list. Thank you!










The above information will be reviewed and discussed at our Monday, November 10 meeting. Bring your hand sewing supplies as together we sew down the binding on our donation quilt.

Join us at 6:30 p.m. at North Lake Presbyterian Church, Lady Lake, Florida.

Sew-In

Nine quilters attended our Saturday Sew-In at the Oxford Community Center. Everyone worked on her own project, though Beth was the only one who "happily" shared a little boo-boo as she sewed together a baby quilt.

Debbie, who longarm quilted our 88" X 94" quilt for North Lake Presbyterian Church, brought it to the Sew-In. Thank you for your skilled quilting, Debbie!

88" X 94"

Thank you, everyone, who pieced blocks! And a special thanks to Frances for making the extra blocks needed to complete the quilt top.

Thanks to Linda H. for making the backing using a few blocks and Ikea fabrics.

Bette will be sewing scrappy binding to the quilt. Then, at our November 10 meeting we'll have a "binding bee" to hand sew binding to the quilt back. Please bring a hand-sewing needle, needle threader (if needed) and snips, so you can sew a section.

A volunteer is needed to make a label for the quilt. Please let Karen know if you're willing. Thanks!

October 13 Meeting

Monday's meeting saw 27 quilters in attendance! Five of them were first-time visitors from the Lake County Quilter's Guild who became interested in the MQG after seeing modern quilts at Jacksonville's recent QuiltFest. We hope to see these quilters again!

CHAPTER BUSINESS

• The next Sew-In is Saturday, October 25 from 9 am to 4 pm at the Oxford Community Center. Cost is $4 to pay for rental of the space. Bring whatever you want to work on, your lunch (or eat out if you prefer), and plan to get acquainted with other modern quilters. Come for all or part of the day, if you're able.

Of critical importance is reviewing and deciding the future of our Central Florida Modern Quilt Guild chapter. By December 31, 2014, The Modern Quilt Guild (national organization) expects non-member chapters to make a commitment to join The MQG. That deadline has prompted us to form an Advisory Committee to reevaluate the status of our chapter.

The Advisory Committee has determined that our chapter cannot continue as we have - unstructured. Therefore, the Advisory Committee proposes that our chapter formalize. Formalizing locally is necessary before considering whether to join The MQG, nationally. 

Commitments needed from our regular CFMQG attendees are:

• Payment of $25 local annual dues beginning in January 2015.
• Volunteers for one year, beginning in January 2015, for one of these chapter positions:

Executive Board
President - Responsible for leading monthly meetings, participating in Executive Board meetings, and generally oversee chapter activities

Vice Presidents (two positions). The First Vice President will assist the President, and oversee Programs. The Second Vice President will oversee Subcommittee Chair positions (see below) and assist with Programs.

Secretary/Communications - Responsible for documenting meetings, taking photos, and keeping our chapter’s blog up-to-date.

Treasurer - Responsible for collecting dues and maintaining the chapter’s finances.

Subcommittee Chair Positions
Programs - Responsible for assisting the First and Second Vice Presidents to plan and schedule meeting programs.

Membership - Responsible for keeping current information about paid members; and attending meetings to accept sign-ins, and welcome visitors and new members.

Sew-Ins and Retreats - Responsible for planning and arranging Sew-Ins and Retreats.

Swaps and Challenges - Responsible for engaging chapter members in fun and educational modern quilting activities.

Every one of these positions must be filled for our chapter to continue.
The Advisory Committee proposes that if these Executive Board and Subcommittee Chair positions cannot be filled by the conclusion of the survey on Friday, October 31, we will finish the year with regular November 10 and December 8 meetings, and then disband the chapter effective December 31, 2014.

ACTION DATES
By Friday, October 17, regular attenders on our email list will receive a link to a survey that must be completed by Friday, October 31. Then, via email and this blog, the Advisory Committee will communicate results.

IF the consensus is "yes" to continuing our chapter:
Monday, November 10 - vote to accept Executive Board and Subcommittee Chair volunteers
Monday, January 12, 2015 -  Executive Board and Subcommittee Chairs assume positions

IF “NO” to continuing our chapter, and/or chapter Executive Board and Subcommittee Chair positions are not filled
Wednesday, December 31, 2014 - disband CFMQG

If you have questions or concerns, contact a member of the Advisory Committee:
Karen E. - Linda H. - Beth S. - Debbie B. - Mary S.

These modern, art, and traditional quilts were shared during Monday's meeting.

Toni

Doris

Brenda

The back of Brenda's quilt.

Frances shared recent fabric shop purchases.

Mary

Mary

Linda

The back of Linda's quilt.

Kathy

Kathy

The evening's program was presented by Linda H. who demonstrated cutting and sewing curves using the Quick Curve Ruler by Sew Kind of Wonderful.

Cut curves according to pattern instructions, measuring to place the curve in the correct position.

Linda uses an appliqué foot to sew a curve. 

After curves are joined, use the Quick Curve Ruler to square up the block.

Here are several completed blocks for the Urban Abacus pattern. 

This "Spring Fling" is a free pattern made with the Quick Curve Ruler. You can find it here.

At the next November 10 meeting, everyone who makes and brings at least one block using a Quick Curve Ruler will receive one chance to win a prize. Anyone who completes a Quick Curve Ruler project will receive two chances. 

As well, we'll be reviewing the very important results of our survey, and determining the future of our chapter.  

This Monday Evening

You'll want to attend our Monday, October 13 - yes, that's Columbus Day - to get in on some great activities and important discussions. Arrive at North Lake Presbyterian Church by 6:30 p.m.

The program, by Linda, is about how to cut and sew using a Quick Curve Ruler. The ruler is a wonderful new tool for creating quilts with curves. Learn more about it here, at the Sew Kind of Wonderful website.

Our next Sew-In is coming up on Saturday, October 25. If you haven't yet signed up, please do so and put down your $4 registration fee. As usual, we'll be sewing at the Oxford Community Center, near the corner of Highway 466 and 301.

Most importantly at our meeting, we'll be reviewing recommendations made by the five-person Advisory Committee. The group has spent time examining, discussing and making a recommendation about the future of our Central Florida MQG. Discussion about the future of our chapter been prompted but the national MQG who is asking all unofficial chapters - those using "modern quilt guild" in their name - to join national, or stop using the name. Where direction do you want to see our chapter go? Please attend to ask your questions. Following the October 13 meeting, everyone will receive an email with a survey link where we will collect your thoughts. Watch this space for developments and announcements.

Be sure to bring and wear your modern name tag. Also share with us your latest fabric and book acquisitions, and your latest modern projects, for show and tell. See you Monday!

September 8th Monthly Meeting

We enjoyed such a fun monthly meeting with twenty-four quilters in our local modern quilt shop.  We thank Kathy and Kelsey Creach, owners of www.SimplySewBoutique.com for welcoming us.  Congratulations to Simply Sew Boutique on their one-year anniversary!

Kathy Creach talked about the Quick Curve Ruler.  The blocks on the design wall behind her are in progress, using the Metro Lattice pattern.

We enjoyed seeing this gorgeous quilt using the Quick Curve "Urban Abacus" pattern.

 

 

Nine Petal Pinwheels Challenge quilts were revealed.  Each participant quilted their projects on their own.  Congratulations to Mel Tuck for winning the participatory prize of a large can of 505 basting spray.  These are the projects we enjoyed:

Gloria Meacham created this gorgeous burst of color, using asymmetry in her design.  The aqua teal background set the other colors off beautifully.   
                                                                           FRONT

                                                                            BACK

 

Terry Rice presented her innovative and beautiful project.  The use of borders on two sides added so much interest!

FRONT

                                                                          BACK

Bette McConkey showed us her use of a clementine orange color to create the design in this fun  project.

 

 

Sandy Mallon delighted us with her teardrop design.  The use of various colors of neutrals in the background really showcased these teardrops nicely.

 

Debbie Bookman shared this adorable pillow.  The color placement in her project really accented the design nicely, and created another design in itself!

 

 

Mel Tuck brought smiles to us all with her hexagons and pointed edges.

FRONT

 

And then she shared the BACK, stating that she likes to make her wall hangings reversible so that she can just flip them over and have new décor!

 

 

Mel also shared two wall hangings that her mother, Jan Tuck, created for this challenge.

 

Karen Estep brought in her king-size quilt.  She shared that all the blocks in the book "Vintage Quilt Revival" are included in this project.  She used a double layer of Quilter's Dream Poly to show the quilting.

We also enjoyed a couple of additional show and tells that were not part of the Petal Pinwheel Challenge.

Jill Smithson brought in the new wall hangings that she made from a pattern available at Simple Sew Boutique.  She was inspired by some displayed in the shop, and decided she wanted to make some for herself.

Mel Tuck brought in her colorful, beachy wall hanging.  She has created this to join in on a Row by Row Challenge.

We're happy to announce that we have sent in deposits for thirteen of us to join Gainesville Modern Quilters for a retreat in May!  If you are interested, it is yet not too late.  Please see the previous post on this blog for more information.

We also signed up nine to get together for our next Sew-In on October 25th at the Oxford Community Center. 

Our next meeting will be held back at our regular location at North Lake Presbyterian Church on October 13th at 6:30.  We are going to get a closer look at a Quick Curve Ruler cutting and sewing demo.  See more information on this ruler at www.SewKindofWonderful.com

NOVEMBER:  Bring in anything you've made with the Quick Curve Ruler for a chance to win the "Curve It Up" pattern.   Bring in everything from one pieced block to a finished project.

DECEMBER:  Make a pincushion from colorful fabric to participate in our Chinese Exchange while we enjoy snacks and a social time.

Contrary Information

Contrary to what was published in the last blog post... about our Gainesville/Central Florida MQGs combined retreat possibly being held at the Lake Yale Baptist Conference Center in Leesburg, we've decided to hold our retreat in a different location. We were attracted by the lower price!

Are you joining us?

Luther Springs
264 Vause Lake Road, Hawthorne, FL 32640
This facility is 60 miles way - an hour, or slightly more than an hour - north and east of The Villages area.

May 7-10, 2015 - Four days/three nights
Cost: $175 per person for double accommodations that include bedding and towels

Your $70 deposit is due by our September 8, Central Florida MQG meeting. Make your check payable to "Gainesville Modern Quilters, Inc."

As in the previous blog post, if you're interested in joining us, reply by email.

Florida Modern Retreat

As we've announced at our last two CFMQG meetings, we're planning a shared modern quilt retreat with Gainesville Modern Quilters.

Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday - May 7-10, 2015

Lake Yale Baptist Conference Center (about 35 minutes from Lady Lake), Leesburg 

3 nights, double occupancy with nine meals - $222 per person

3 nights, single occupancy with nine meals - $297 per person 

If you're a regular attender at Central Florida MQG meetings, let us know as soon as possible whether you're interested. If we have enough quilters say "yes," in order to hold the date we'll need to collect a deposit by our regular September 8.

Please send us an email here, so we can get a rough count. Thanks!