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Wednesday, June 17, 2015
Monday, April 13, 2015
April 2015 Meeting Reminder
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Wednesday, April 8, 2015
Sisters Quilt Show -- Call for Submissions
We have room for 12-16 quilts depending on size. We have a panel of 5 judges who will curate our display.
Please submit a photo of the quilt top with the finished size by Friday, May 1st. (The quilt does not need to be finished - just the top ) We will let everyone know the following week.
Entries must then be registered with the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show by June 1st. That can be done online at their web site.
Please submit your photos via email or snail mail, with the size included, to the PMQG attention: Cris Pera
Tuesday, March 24, 2015
Wednesday, February 25, 2015
Retreat Door Prizes
I received the most wonderful box of books in the mail from Potter Craft! Sadly they're not for me to keep, but we'll be giving them away as door prizes this weekend at our second ever PMQG retreat this weekend. If you're an attendee you'll have a chance to win one of the following books or many other lovely prizes donated by PMQG sponsors.
Quilting on the Go by Jessica Alexandrakis is full of "English paper piecing projects you can take anywhere." Since English Paper Piecing (EPP) can make use of such small pieces, I appreciated the section on "Making the most of scraps." Other tips I found useful were the pages dedicated to creating a travel tool kit, since having a dedicated set of tools to grab sounds much smarter than my current flurry of racing around the house, desperately trying to find needles, templates, and everything else needed for EPP.
Although it seems like many people I know (myself included) utilize EPP for hexies, I feel like I know fewer people that use other shapes such as triangles, diamonds, half hexies, squares, rectangles, and more shown in this book. Seeing templates in these less common shapes along with projects made from them is inspiring and opened my eyes to some new possibilities with EPP
I felt that the resource section at the back of the book was especially good, with several pages of black and white quilt patterns that could be copied and used for color placement practice, and a plethora of actual size templates.
Several projects caught my eye, especially the Tanuki Striped Throw. This throw is made from a puzzle piece combo of two diamonds and two squares stitched together to make a larger unit. I love the creativity of combining these different shapes together!
Glorious Patchwork by Kaffe Fassett is full of the vibrant colors and patterns that we expect from Kaffe, set in fun quilt layouts that enhance the beauty of the fabrics used.
Glorious Patchwork is arranged by color schemes, and although I usually think brights when I think Kaffe, it was fun to see a variety of color palettes represented here. The book starts with a section on pastels, and even though I wouldn't normally consider myself a pastel fan, I really enjoyed these quilts. One of my favorites from this chapter, the Herringbone Baby Quilt, actually uses leftover pieces from one of the quilts earlier in the book, and I really love that "use it up" philosophy.
Following chapters are Circus, Leafy Gardens, Antique Stone, and Renaissance. Of course I was drawn to the brighter colors of the Circus palettes, but it was also fun to check out all the color schemes and the different patterns represented. This book also contains many templates in the back as well as patterns for foundation paper piecing and other quilting resources.
Dare to be Square Quilting by Bob Davis has the perfect combination of whimsical design and tips for efficient piecing. The quilts are designed for beginners and every pattern in the book is made up of squares and rectangles. I love the owl on the cover as well as the skull pattern (called Basket Case), but I also really enjoyed the more abstract pattern Two Left Feet, which consists of lines that seem to double back on themselves to form open squares and rectangles. Moving through the book, there are also patterns for a whimsical stag and a giant alarm clock.
After the section on quilts there are smaller projects which, due to their construction of squares and rectangles, have a great modern, clean look to them. Pillows, table runners, placemats, and aprons are represented, as well as one of my favorite projects in the book--the Gridlock Grocery Getter shopping bag. This would be a great book for anyone starting out or who likes to make fun, pictorial quilts, or anyone who likes the clean lines and negative spaces of modern quilting.
Modern Log Cabin Quilting by our very own Susan Beal is definitely a guild favorite and a great one for every quilter's library. This book celebrates a basic block and so many wonderful, creative layouts and alternate ways to use it.
Even though I've had the chance to review this book before, it was fun to read through it again to see what I've missed. The Modern Cross pattern that graces the cover is a beautiful classic for full sized or baby quilts that is a great pick whenever you need a simple, beautiful quilt. One thing I was excited to find was a pattern for a t-shirt quilt. Several people have been asking me lately about them, and besides a vague idea about the need for interfacing, I really had no idea where to start!
Another quilt that jumped out at me was the Northwest Modern Quilt. It does look very modern with its large expanses of negative space, but after examining how it was put together (starting with a rectangle rather than a center square) it surprised me what a different look it was from a "typical" log cabin block. Besides a great variety of quilts, Modern Log Cabin Quilting also contains patterns for napkins, coasters, pot holders, pillows, and more.
While not solely a quilting book, Martha Stewart's Encyclopedia of Sewing and Fabric Crafts has a wealth of information that any fabric lover would enjoy, in a large, beautiful, coffee table worthy book.
At almost 400 pages, this book contains so many tips and patterns on a range of sewing related topics such as fabric, setting up a sewing area, applique, embroidery, quilting, dyeing, and fabric printing. The books is organized with chapters on Basic Techniques followed by projects arranged alphabetically (to name just a few--animals, bags, clothing curtains, flowers, pets, pot holders, slippers, wall decor). As you might imagine, the back of the book is full of tips and techniques. There is even a cd included that contains templates and patterns.
It's pretty difficult to pick a favorite out of so many patterns, but two projects that I really like are the Cross Stitch Silhouette tote and the Bird Embroidered Pillows. I like that the needlework techniques are shown incorporated into finished projects (tote bag and pillow for these two). Sometimes when finishing a needlework project I can't think of anything to do but frame it and put it on the wall, so I enjoy these kinds of useful patterns and ideas.
Thank you so much to Potter Craft for providing these great retreat door prizes, and good luck to all of our attendees!
Monday, February 23, 2015
February Mini Quilt: Paper Piecing
If you haven't tried paper piecing yet, now is the perfect time! You can find lots of paper piecing tutorials and patterns online with these quilters/designers:Penny Layman: sewtakeahike.typepad.com
Charise Creates: charisecreates.blogspot.com
Amy Friend: duringquiettime.com
Kristy: quietplay.com
Cath: wombatquilts.com
Sam Hunter: hunterdesignstudio.com
Teresa Coates: crinkledreams.com
Remember to keep your quilt under 36" wide/long to participate in the 2015 PMQG Mini Quilt Challenge.
Sunday, February 22, 2015
February Meeting Recap
It was wonderful to see so many of you at our meeting last Thursday! If you missed out or want to look back at the things we talked about, here's the PDF version of Elsa's presentation:
Sunday, February 15, 2015
February 2015 Meeting Reminder
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Thursday, February 5, 2015
Book Review: Handmade for Baby
As crafters, we normally have a list of projects in progress as well as a list of ones we would like to start. I know for me that the excitement of a new baby, whether it's in my family or a friend's family, can definitely skyrocket a project to the top of my to-do list!
Handmade for Baby: 25 Keepsakes to Create with Love, by Charlotte Rivers and Emily Gregory, is full of fun projects to inspire you to create something for a baby in your life or your next charity project. Many of the projects include techniques or patterns that would work well for a child of any age or even an adult, such as the Hand Painted Storage Buckets or the Decorative Garland that would be great for a Baby Shower, as suggested, or for any party or room decoration.
The Hand Sewn Cushion shown on the cover is another project that would be a fun gift for anyone but would definitely be adorable in a baby's room. The addition of piping lends a sophisticated touch and the applique lends a bit of personality to the pillow.
Overall I would say that Handmade for Baby has a great combination of the whimsical and decorative, balanced with items that are not only beautiful but also useful. There are clothes for babies (hats, pants, booties, and a skirt) as well as wall decorations and bunting, cushions, a blanket and a quilt, toys, a soft book and quite a bit more.
While this book doesn't firmly fall into the quilting category, there is one quilt in it (a darling chevron quilt) as well as other quilter friendly projects such as an Applique Welcome Banner, the aforementioned cushion and storage buckets, and sewn Fabric Blocks. Beyond quilting, there are projects in many other mediums such as clothing construction, knit, crochet, painting, block printing, paper crafts, sewing with felt, and more. With cute projects and clear instructions, I think this is a great book to have in any crafting library.
The end of the book has a few great resources like sections on crochet and knitting basics. Following each chapter is an "inspiration gallery" which shows projects from that chapter with slight tweaks, such as changing the materials used or changing the finished size of a project to take it in a new direction.
Thank you to Interweave/F+W for donating copies of this title. Lucky winners will go home with this book at our February Retreat!
Handmade for Baby: 25 Keepsakes to Create with Love, by Charlotte Rivers and Emily Gregory, is full of fun projects to inspire you to create something for a baby in your life or your next charity project. Many of the projects include techniques or patterns that would work well for a child of any age or even an adult, such as the Hand Painted Storage Buckets or the Decorative Garland that would be great for a Baby Shower, as suggested, or for any party or room decoration.
The Hand Sewn Cushion shown on the cover is another project that would be a fun gift for anyone but would definitely be adorable in a baby's room. The addition of piping lends a sophisticated touch and the applique lends a bit of personality to the pillow.
Overall I would say that Handmade for Baby has a great combination of the whimsical and decorative, balanced with items that are not only beautiful but also useful. There are clothes for babies (hats, pants, booties, and a skirt) as well as wall decorations and bunting, cushions, a blanket and a quilt, toys, a soft book and quite a bit more.
While this book doesn't firmly fall into the quilting category, there is one quilt in it (a darling chevron quilt) as well as other quilter friendly projects such as an Applique Welcome Banner, the aforementioned cushion and storage buckets, and sewn Fabric Blocks. Beyond quilting, there are projects in many other mediums such as clothing construction, knit, crochet, painting, block printing, paper crafts, sewing with felt, and more. With cute projects and clear instructions, I think this is a great book to have in any crafting library.
The end of the book has a few great resources like sections on crochet and knitting basics. Following each chapter is an "inspiration gallery" which shows projects from that chapter with slight tweaks, such as changing the materials used or changing the finished size of a project to take it in a new direction.
Thank you to Interweave/F+W for donating copies of this title. Lucky winners will go home with this book at our February Retreat!
Tuesday, February 3, 2015
Jessica Darling Color Party Workshop Recap
Our first ever PMQG workshop, held last month, was a smashing success! It was so much fun to sew with fellow PMQG members in a classroom setting! The room above the gym where we hold our meetings at St. Andrew is a perfect size for about 14-16 attendees and worked out well for our needs. It's bright and airy, with a nice little nook with a mini fridge, sink, and room for us to make coffee and tea!
So what did we do at the workshop? Each attendee brought a couple yards of a "party host" fabric (aka, a focus fabric). Then we added in a few various party guests and thought a little about what direction we wanted our quilt to go in. Or some of us may have just started gleefully sewing away! Everyone also brought a gallon sized ziplock bag full of scraps, which were spread out on a communal table. It was very fun to keep examining the scraps on the table and pulling out new pieces that could fit into our quilts!
Thanks to Suzanne for taking pictures! To see more pictures, please check out #pmqgworkshop on Instagram.
Our next workshop is Friday, March 20th and there are still spaces available. Scott Hansen will be teaching his Painted Forest pattern. The workshop is only open to PMQG members until March 1st, and if we have any spaces left at that point it will be open to the public.
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| Improv quilt by teacher Jessica Darling |
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| Michelle M. with some of her blocks, the giant scale stars are so fun! |
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| Meredith's blocks, love the bright colors! |
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| Heather and some of her colorful progress |
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| Mary Ann's Improv blocks |
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| Lara's work, the butterflies are a great Party Host! |
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| Anne M. with her beautiful bird blocks |
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| Suzanne's blocks with AMH party host |
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| Kazumi also went with some beautiful AMH fabric! |
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| Lorraine's work, she made a mini quilt and sewed her first curves! |
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| Blocks from Michelle F...she brought the fun feather blocks with her, she's speedy but not quite that speedy! |
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| Elsa used super cute teacup fabric for her Party Host! |
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| Colleen mixed funky birds in with her warm palette |
Thanks to Suzanne for taking pictures! To see more pictures, please check out #pmqgworkshop on Instagram.
Our next workshop is Friday, March 20th and there are still spaces available. Scott Hansen will be teaching his Painted Forest pattern. The workshop is only open to PMQG members until March 1st, and if we have any spaces left at that point it will be open to the public.
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| Painted Forest by Scott Hansen |
Thursday, January 29, 2015
Book Review: Improvising Tradition
Just in time for this month’s improvisation theme a new book! Improvising Tradition by Alexandra Ledgerwood gives quilters a guide to easily develop improvisation styled quilts by using familiar traditional quilting patterns. Patterns like log cabin, coins, one patch, and rail fence are given modern makeovers using improvisation techniques.
The book is divided into three sections focusing on three improvisation quilting techniques: strip setting, strata, and splice-and-insert. First, she gives a tutorial with a clear overview of each technique.
Next, she clearly explains different design options then continues with step-by-step instructions in the subsection called “Here’s How”.
Afterwards, she follows up in each chapter with a variety of projects using each technique. There's a total of 18 great projects from full sized quilts to small coasters. (Great ideas for our mini-quilt of the month theme!)
As a bonus there are tips on free-motion and hand quilting. I especially enjoyed the explanation on her approach to the decision-making process of selecting a quilting design for a quilt.
New quilters will be able to dive in and get started on making beautiful modern improv quilts with ease. They will find the sewing tips in the beginning of the book very useful. Experienced traditional quilters will be able to use familiar skills to easily venture into modern improvisation.
I saw several projects I want to make, especially the adorable mini coasters using the improv strata technique.
This book is beautifully laid out and well organized with bold color photographs and clearly illustrated color instructions. It even has a helpful index, which is something you don’t see too often in many current quilts books. It’s a wonderful guide for modern and traditional quilters alike.
Thank you Interweave/F+W for giving this book to our guild to review. Someone will be the lucky winner at our next meeting! By Secretary Veronica
Saturday, January 17, 2015
Scott Hansen Painted Forest Workshop Sign-ups--Now Open
Are you looking forward to March? Dreary March in Portland can be a drag, but I've got a way to lighten it up! Scott Hansen is coming to town and teaching PMQG members an awesome, colorful workshop! I've been intrigued by his Painted Forest pattern since I first saw it a year ago, and now we can all learn from the designer himself! As a fun bonus Scott will be selling patterns and other items at the meeting AND giving PMQG members a 15% discount to his online store through the end of March. The discount will be sent to guild members via email.
Read on for more details about Scott, his patterns, and details for his March 20th workshop with sign-ups opening this Monday, January 19th.
Have you met Scott? When I met him, he handed me a nickel that was painted blue (his company is named Blue Nickel Studios). You never forget a person that pulls a genius move like that! I know you'll have a blast with him when he comes to lecture and teach a workshop in March.
Here is a bit about Scott in his own words:
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What: Painted Forest Workshop (see description and supply list below)
Who: Scott Hansen of Blue Nickel Studios
When: Friday, March 20th from 9-5
Where: St. Andrew Church, 806 NE Alberta St., in the Oscar Romero room, which is up a wheelchair accessible ramp to the right side of the gym where we hold our meetings.
Price: $72 plus you will need to purchase and print PDF pattern with discount code before workshop
The workshop is now on saIe. Please fill out the sign-up form below. Workshop is open to PMQG members only until March 1st, then it will be open to the public if there are still unsold spaces. When we receive your sign-up form we will email a confirmation. If you for some reason do not receive an email confirmation within 24 hours, please send an email to PMQGevents@gmail.com
Price of workshop is $72, via Square only plus workshop attendees will need to purchase the pdf pattern before the workshop. Pattern originally $10 but will b $8.50 with the 15% discount Scott is generously giving guild members through the end of March. No refunds are given for cancellation unless your spot can be re-sold.
Read on for more details about Scott, his patterns, and details for his March 20th workshop with sign-ups opening this Monday, January 19th.
Have you met Scott? When I met him, he handed me a nickel that was painted blue (his company is named Blue Nickel Studios). You never forget a person that pulls a genius move like that! I know you'll have a blast with him when he comes to lecture and teach a workshop in March.
Here is a bit about Scott in his own words:
Scott is the Mad Color Scientist at Blue Nickel Studios which he runs from his rural home in the Pacific Northwest, sort of smack in between the Cascade Mountains and the suburbs of Seattle.
He has been quilting for more than half of his life now, and doesn’t see fit to change that any time soon. He has designed and created quilts for many fabric manufacturing companies and has had other quilt designs featured in many leading quilt magazines. He speaks and teaches locally and regionally, sharing his work and quilts. Scott is thrilled to be preparing to spend his third week teaching at the Quilters’ Affair program that is part of the world famous Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show in Sisters, Oregon this July. He is Community editor for Generation Q Magazine on the side, as well as working full-time at Costco to keep a bit of steady cash flow.
He still maintains a blog at www.bluenickelstudios.com even if he’s not sure anyone really reads them anymore and sells his patterns in his Etsy shop www.etsy.com/shop/BlueNickelStudios. You can follow him on IG at http://instagram.com/bluenickelstudios He’s there the most often.In his spare time, he tries to maintain his sanity along with the house he built and acreage he thinks can still be the park he envisioned 20+ years ago. He is married to his wife of 25+ years, Linda, a talented mixed-media/doll-loving artist herself, and they have three young adult children, who give them all sorts of joy and challenges as they are stretching their wings to leave the nest. He loves God, his family, trees, architecture, gardens, color, cats, vintage and modern textiles, art, pattern, meeting new people, design, Christmas, fashion, his curly mustache, and a great many other marvelous people, ideas, and things.
What: Painted Forest Workshop (see description and supply list below)
Who: Scott Hansen of Blue Nickel Studios
When: Friday, March 20th from 9-5
Where: St. Andrew Church, 806 NE Alberta St., in the Oscar Romero room, which is up a wheelchair accessible ramp to the right side of the gym where we hold our meetings.
Price: $72 plus you will need to purchase and print PDF pattern with discount code before workshop
Class description:
Painted Forest 59 ½” x 60”IntermediateHave a blast making your own little forest in whatever colors you chose. Scott helps you make your own unique trees using a variety of blocks already mapped out and then you can arrange and rearrange the parts to “plant” them anywhere you want in your quilt. Autumn? Get your fall colored scraps together. A black and white forest on a backdrop of a variety of reds? Super Dramatic! A Winter forest with not a leaf to be seen? You can do that too! The sky’s the limit on these fun blocks.Supply List:Sewing machine with ¼ inch foot or at least your ability to make accurate ¼ inch seams, rotary cutter, cutting mat, and 18” or longer straight ruler (a shorter one would be handy too, but not necessary),thread, and other basic sewing supplies: seam ripper, pins, etc.
Highly recommended:Finger presser for “in between” pressing (there is a lot of pressing needed in this project)Small rotating cutting mat (there is a lot of trimming in this project)Fabric list:2 yards or more -- Assorted print fabrics for the “leafy” bits1 yard -- Assorted solids or “near” solids for the branches and trunks(each tree needs 2” x WOF, and there are 14 trees in the pattern)3 yards -- Assorted background prints or solids (each tree takes less than a fat quarter)Optional: Digital device to save your layout options
The workshop is now on saIe. Please fill out the sign-up form below. Workshop is open to PMQG members only until March 1st, then it will be open to the public if there are still unsold spaces. When we receive your sign-up form we will email a confirmation. If you for some reason do not receive an email confirmation within 24 hours, please send an email to PMQGevents@gmail.com
Price of workshop is $72, via Square only plus workshop attendees will need to purchase the pdf pattern before the workshop. Pattern originally $10 but will b $8.50 with the 15% discount Scott is generously giving guild members through the end of March. No refunds are given for cancellation unless your spot can be re-sold.
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