Getting ready for the Portland SewDown

Less than a week before we (Christy and Lori) leave for the Portland SewDown! We’ve never been to something like this and are very excited. What could be better than staying at a fancy hotel and quilting all weekend with like-minded folks in a great city like Portland? We’ve got a lot to do before we leave though. Over the next few days we”ll be busy preparing our fabric (three yards of scraps? How do you measure that?) for the workshops and gathering supplies.

The workshop Christy is most looking forward to is the Improv Round Robin taught by Sherri Lynn Wood. She loves improv piecing and is looking forward to doing it in a group. Lori is looking forward to learning new techniques with Julie Herman’s sidekick ruler.

Below are a couple pictures of some of the fabric and supplies Christy and Lori have gathered so far.

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Fabric

January 2014 Sew Day – a Recap

We began our Sew Day with Show and Tell.  Here are some recent projects by our members:

January 2014 Sew Day Lindsie

January 2014 Sew Day Angela

Christy showed examples of how modern fabrics and color can transform traditional blocks into something modern.

We began with some inspiring modern quilting found on our Pinterest board.
January 2014 Sew Day Modern Quilt Inspiration

Some modern fabric lines we like!
January 2014 Sew Day Fabric Lines

We like to support our local quilt shops in Boise, but we also buy online. Here are some of our favorite online shops.
January 2014 Sew Day Fabric Shops Online

We worked through an online tutorial together to illustrate how tweaking the design of a traditional quilt block can make it modern.  Here are some Modern Sawtooth Star quilt blocks we made from this tutorial.
January 2014 Sew Day Modern Sawtooth Star Quilt Blocks

Riley Blake Fabric Challenge

Riley Blake Designs is sponsoring the 3rd annual Modern Quilt Guild members fabric challenge!  Boise MQG’s participants have their fabric and are contemplating their projects.  Here’s the fabric:

Riley Blake Fabric Challenge Fabrics

The Rules:

  • Complete a modern quilt – any size
  • Allowed to add any solid fabric or Riley Blake print (you do not need to use all the fabric you are given)

The key component of the overall quilt design must be modern and incorporate one or more of the following principles of modern quilting:

  • Asymmetry
  • Reinterpreting traditional design/blocks
  • Minimalism
  • Alternate grid work or lack of visible block structure
  • Expansive negative space
  • High contrast and graphic areas of solid color
  • Improvisational piecing

What to do:

  1. Now: Make your quilt!  Share your process using #mqgrileyblakechallenge on Instagram and Twitter.
  2. February 17, 2014: Submit your entry to the MQG.  You can do this sooner, but the 17th is the deadline.  Read the Riley Blake Fabric Challenge – Update! post for info.
  3. February 22, 2014: Bring your quilt to the Boise MQG Sew Day.  We’ll take photos of our entries.

Have fun!

January 2014 Sew Day – Join Us!

Join us for our monthly Sew Day! We are meeting at a NEW LOCATION – the Boise Public Library on Capitol Blvd, in the Marion Bingham Room on the 3rd floor. Please note that we are meeting at an EARLIER TIME, for this month only.

When: Saturday, January 25, 11am – 1pm
Where: Boise Public Library, 715 S Capitol Blvd, Boise, ID (Marion Bingham Room on 3rd floor)

This is going to be an exciting year for the Boise Modern Quilt Guild! Over the next few months we will be exploring some of the different elements that make up modern quilting.

We will kick off the year at our January 25th Sew Day (note the different time and location) learning more about one of the components of modern quilting: reinterpreting traditional design with design and fabrics.

We will show examples of how modern fabrics and color can transform traditional blocks into something modern, and explore some of our favorite modern fabric lines and designers (and where to purchase that great fabric online!) We will also work through an online tutorial together to illustrate how tweaking the design of a traditional quilt block can make it modern.

Tutorial Supplies :: Modern Sawtooth Star from 42quilts.com

  • Cutting mat, ruler and rotary cutter
  • Iron and small ironing board (if you have something portable)
  • Fabric
    • Outside fabric – 2 pieces of 3”x5” and 1 piece cut 4”x4”
    • Fabric for points – 4 pieces (same color, mix of colors, your call) at least 3.5” wide and about 10” long
    • Center fabric – 5” or larger square
  • Sewing machine, thread, etc.
  • Also – bring a power strip/surge protector if you have one.

Below is an example of the modern Sawtooth Star. Everyone’s will turn out different!

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Hope you join us!

As always, bring completed projects for Show & Tell.

December’s After-Christmas Party

We had a lot of fun at our after-Christmas party on Saturday. The highlight of the event was the pincushion exchange. Everyone was so creative!

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We also had a few members share recently completed projects.

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After-Christmas Party – December 28

Join us at the Library! at Cole & Ustick on December 28 for our after-Christmas party! We will provide the music and cider. You just need to bring:

  • A treat to share (savory or sweet)
  • The pin cushion you made for the exchange
  • Items for show and tell, including sewn items you may have received over the holidays
  • 2014 dues if you haven’t paid yet

Please note that this will not be a regular sew day and due to the food we advise you do not bring your sewing machine.

We will meet at the Library! at Cole & Ustick (7557 W Ustick Rd, Boise) at 1 p.m.

Happy Holidays!

Sew Day – November 2013

We spent the first part of our November Sew Day for our first-ever annual meeting. Now that we are an official non-profit, we are required to hold an annual meeting to take care of a few quick – but important – items of business: voting on the board of directors, submitting annual dues, and reviewing our financials.

The founding board members were elected to serve again in 2014: Christy Foltz-Ahlrichs, President; Angela Bowman, Vice President; Lindsie Bergevin, Secretary; Lori Wambolt, Treasurer.

The guild also voted on our new logo. Of the two that Lindsie Bergevin so graciously and expertly designed, the spring-colored theme won out.  It’s awesome, don’t you think?  Thanks, Lindsie!!!
Unveiled the new Boise Modern Quilt Guild website today! #boisemqg #mqg #boise

Lindsie unveiled our new website, gave an overview of the content, and taught a little about photos and hashtags. Our official hashtag is #BoiseMQG.

Christine Brady of Hotdish Aprons occasionally brings in fabric scraps leftover from her apron-making. She brought several boxes this time, for all guild members to freely partake 🙂
Fabric scrap heaven at #boisemqg November Sew Day

The rest of the time was free-sewing and Show and Tell. Here are some featured projects by our talented members:
#BoiseMQG sew day

#BoiseMQG sew day

#BoiseMQG sew day

#BoiseMQG sew day

Color Theory and Quilting

Color theory, or the scientific reasoning behind color mixing and the visual effects of specific color combination, can be a great asset to modern quilters. During one of the 2013 Sew Days we explored color theory and discussed its use in quilting.

Here is the slideshow presented by Lindsie during the discussion.

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Here are a few posters to help as well.

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