#Bluerkblocks Sew-ins

Let’s sew up some bluerkblocks this weekend!

 

Fabrics have been cut for 42 blocks which is one quilt.   Please join us at the following locations this weekend:

Friday,  August 18th between 9 am and 1 pm at the Neptune Beach Senior Activity Center .   We’re partnering with Coastal Quilters of Northeast FL at their weekly Sit and Sew.

Saturday, August 19th, between 10 am and 4 pm  at the Viking Sewing Gallery #683 (inside JoAnns) at the St. Johns Town Center.   And again on….

Sunday, August 20th, between 10 am and 7 pm at the Viking Sewing Gallery #683.    What better way to test drive a fabulous Viking sewing machine than by making a bluerkblock?

Are you attending Camp Calico next weekend in Orange Park?    Well then,  the Maus will have another set of fabric cuts for at least 42 blocks.

We’ll finish the month with the JAXMQG meeting and sew-in on Sunday, August 27th.

So there is plenty of opportunity to join the #bluerkblocks project.   These beautiful comfort quilts will be given to the families of fallen law enforcement officers and is the  project started and managed by craftycop on Instagram.

August 27th Meeting

Let’s get ready to Sewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!!

Can you believe August is more than half over and the kiddos are back at school….   where did the summer go?     This must mean more quilty sewing fun for us.

If you didn’t join us at our new meeting location at the Neptune Beach Senior Activity Center in July, you are in for a treat when we meet on  Sunday, August 27th.   The business meeting starts at 2 pm and we’ll we sewing by 2:30…woo hoo.

We do have a few items on the agenda for programs:

• Kate  will be leading our QuiltCon 2018 Charity Quilt  workgroup and will provide the details on that in September.   Make sure you let her know you want in on this fantastic annual project.   For those of us who want to see more now, click the link from The MQG here.

 

• Robin will be leading our Love Quilt project for next year and will provide more deets later in the fall.   For those of us who want to see more now, click the link from The Love Quilt Project here.

 

• Only three of us signed up for the annual QuiltCon Michael Miller Challenge using their new “Our Yard” fabric line.    We don’t want anyone to be left out, so we have a donation of this new yummy fabric cut into delicious packages and would like every member to get one.   The only catch is, when you sign up, you agree to make one 6 1/2″ unfinished block (any block any style) from the fabric and the rest is yours to keep.  What will we do with these blocks, you ask?    We’re going to put them together to make a collaborative quilt and enter it in the MM Challenge by the deadline of November 30th.  Of course, anyone can submit an individual quilt for this challenge and we’ll have the challenge rules available with the fabric packets.  For those of us who want to see more now, click the link from The MQG here.

 

• The Maus will be introducing our involvement in the BluerBlocks project.  If you’re on Instagram, please check out craftycop, who put out the call in late June for blocks for comfort quilts which will go to the families of fallen law enforcement officers.    We responded and thought this would be a worthwhile activity for our guild and any of the traditional guilds in Jacksonville.  We’re working again with Coastal Quilters  (our Pulse Quilts partner) and we’ve set a goal of 168 blocks which means four quilts.   There is a specific pattern for the blocks and we’ll have a follow-up post within the next day or so with more specifics including dates, times and locations of sew-ins.    So stayed tuned and get your blue and low volume stash ready.    We will also have fabric kits ready for anyone willing to stitch up a block or two or more.

So that’s it for now with so much more to come very soon.

The Maus

Don’t miss the July Meeting!!

We are so excited about our new location!!  It is going to give us so much opportunity for that extra sewing time we all love and just more time to hang with our quilty peeps!!

Join us Sunday, July 30th from 2 p.m. – 7 p.m at the Neptune Beach Senior Activity Center. The address is 2004 Forest Ave. Neptune Beach, FL 32266.

We will have a short business meeting to discuss the 2018 MQG Charity Quilt and upcoming elections!  Yes, it is that time again!  Can you believe it?

After the business meeting, plan to stay and sew with us.  Inspired by Pinterest, Robin has created a modern grid pillow pattern for us all to make.  It will be a fun time to practice our precision seams and free motion quilting.  What better way to your free motion juices flowing than a small quick project.

For the pillow, there are 3 contrasting solid colors.

For the front:

Color 1 and 2 – a fat quarter of each color or 1/4 yd of each color

Color 3 –  2 1/2″ x WOF strip

For the back:

Color 1 – 2 @ 18 1/2″ x 12″ and 1 @ 18 1/2″ x 3 1/2″

Color 2 – 1 @ 18 1/2″ x 2″

Color 3- 2″ squares for covered buttons – Robin will be bringing her button press to make quick covered buttons.

Batting – 20″ x 20″ square

Muslin or some other lightweight fabric for quilt sandwich to quilt the front of the pillow.

Bring your machine and matching thread.  A rotary cutter, ruler and mat will be helpful. Robin will be bringing an iron and ironing board.

Once we get going with our sew-ins, we will see what regular supplies we may be able to keep at the center and what we will need to bring each time.

If you don’t want to participate in the pillow project, bring what other project you want to work on.

Don’t forget your Show and Tell!!

You can also bring food and drinks as there is a kitchen and refrigerator to hold your items.

Looking forward to seeing everyone there!! Invite a friend and let’s get this party started!!

 

 

 

We’re Moving to the Beach

That’s right!!!  The Jacksonville MQG has found a new meeting and sewing location.

Our new location is the Neptune Beach Senior Activity Center, 2004 Forest Ave, Neptune Beach, FL 32266.

Our meeting day and time has also changed.   We will be meeting 2 – 7 pm on the last Sunday of each month, and those dates are:

• July 30
• August 27
• September 24
• October 29
• November 26
• December   TBD for our annual holiday gathering.

The NBSAC has a great meeting room, plenty of tables for our sewing machines, a full kitchen and lots more to offer our group.    Get directions to our new location Here

We hope to see everyone on July 30th.

June Meeting Reminder

Just a friendly reminder that we will be having our next guild meeting on Saturday, June 24th from 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at the downtown Jacksonville Main Library on 303 N. Laura St. There is plenty of parking on the side streets or there is also a parking garage right next to the library. If you park in the garage the library will validate your ticket.

Our agenda for the meeting will be:

1. General meeting
2. Discuss potential new meeting location
3. QuiltCon 2018 Charity Quilt
4. Presentation on “Breaking the Grid” – With basic quilt blocks, you can use scale, color, asymmetry and negative space as the groundwork in developing modern quilt designs through advanced design wall techniques and block assembly.
   Please bring any extra half square triangles you may have so we can use them to play. Robin will be bringing her portable design wall and if anyone else has one please bring it with you if you can.

After the general meeting, we have the library until they close at 6:00 p.m to stay and sew. So plan on staying after the meeting and sewing on a project of your own or just stay and chat. There is plenty of room and outlets for everyone. You can bring snacks and drinks for yourself (and others) if you’d like.

We hope to see you there!

May Meeting Canceled

Our meeting was scheduled for next weekend but because of the Memorial Day holiday and lots of people will be away, we have decided to cancel our meeting. The presentation on “Best Practices for Photographing your Quilts” will be postponed – date to be determined.

We hope everyone has a great holiday. Happy stitching! If you need some patriotic inspiration, here’s a modern quilt designed by Jacquie Guering called “For Love of
Country”.

For_Love_of_Country_Pattern

April Meeting Reminder

Just a friendly reminder that we will be having our next guild meeting on Saturday, April 22nd from 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at the downtown Jacksonville Main Library on 303 N. Laura St. There is plenty of parking on the side streets or there is also a parking garage right next to the library. If you park in the garage the library will validate your ticket.

This month we are having our Hand Sewing in the Park event. We will all meet at our regular meeting location in the library and then go to our agreed upon spot outside to enjoy the fresh air and companionship. (At the last meeting we spoke about maybe going outside in the library’s court yard.) Bring whatever type of handwork you would like to work on.

And don’t forget that at this meeting we will be sharing our completed Crayon Challenge projects.

After the general meeting we have the library until they close at 6:00 p.m to stay and sew. So plan on staying after the meeting and sewing on a project of your own or just stay and chat. There is plenty of room and outlets for everyone. You can bring snacks and drinks for yourself (and others) if you’d like.

We hope to see you there!

March Meeting Reminder

Just a friendly reminder that we will be having our next guild meeting on Saturday, March 25th from 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at the downtown Jacksonville Main Library on 303 N. Laura St. There is plenty of parking on the side streets or there is also a parking garage right next to the library. If you park in the garage the library will validate your ticket.

After the general meeting we have the library until they close at 6:00 p.m to stay and sew. So plan on staying after the meeting and sewing on a project of your own or just stay and chat. There is plenty of room and outlets for everyone. You can bring snacks and drinks for yourself (and others) if you’d like.

We hope to see you there!

Reminder: February Meeting is Canceled

As several members will be attending QuiltCon and will not be able to make our guild meeting for February, we have decided to cancel the February business meeting.

Our next meeting will be Saturday, March 25th from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at our new location in the downtown Jacksonville Main Library on 303 N. Laura St.

See you all then!

A New Beginning for 2017

So as the Jacksonville Modern Quilt Guild begins a new year and our fourth year as a local chapter of the Modern Quilt Guild, we have many things for which we are thankful.

First, we are thankful for the leadership provided by Robin McCallister since our inception.  Robin is facing new challenges and has decided to step down as our President in order to focus on her health issues.    As one of our founding members and original officers, Robin remains on our Executive Board.

Secondly, we are truly thankful for Adele Rivers stepping up to complete the remainder of the term as President.    Adele also co-chairs our programs committee and provided joyous leadership to her small band of merry minions to plan and complete our QuiltCon 2017 Charity Quilt.   More on that in the next post!! 

Next, we are thankful for Sara David for all she does as our Secretary and main blogger. Sara started a new job in late summer while also continuing part time at The Viking Sewing Gallery at the Town Center.

Next, I guess it’s my turn.    I’m thankful I finally fixed the 2017 dues button on the blog!!   I’m ready to get the new year rolling as Treasurer.    Still airbrushing the photo.

Lastly, we are thankful for the members who are continuing we us into 2017.

Our meetings are held the fourth Saturday of the month in the Makers Area of the Jacksonville Public Library, Main Branch downtown at 303 North Laura Street.  Our business meeting begins at 10:30 a.m. and we hope you’ll join us for some quilty fellowship.

The Maus