Austin Modern Quilt Guild

March Monthly Meeting

2012-03-01T21:24:00.000-06:00

Join us for our monthly meeting at a new location:

March 8, 2012, 6:30 - 8:00 PM

Remnants: Fiber [Culture]
10435 Burnet Rd #106 (next to How Do You Roll)
Austin, TX 78758

The second Thursday of the month comes early in March! Join us as we meet at Jessica Sloan's new shop near Burnet and Braker. We will be doing an open show & tell, followed by some announcements and opportunities for you to become more involved in guild activities over the next year.

Also, remember to bring your block swap work, and any remaining blocks for the Relay for Life Charity Quilt.

QuiltCon 2013

2012-02-20T11:23:00.009-06:00

We are excited to hear that the first QuiltCon Modern Quilting conference will be held here in our own backyard. Below are some more details from the mother ship:

QuiltCon will be held in Austin, Texas, February 21-24, 2013. It will be an international juried modern quilt show with cash prizes, vendors, lectures, and workshops from top modern quilters, and more. Denyse Schmidt will be our keynote speaker and we're working hard to develop lecture and workshop programs that will appeal to modern quilters.

There will be two special exhibits; Denyse Schmidt’s Quilts and Modern Historical Quilts curated by Ellen Rushman. Entries for the juried quilt show will be accepted starting on July 1, 2012.

Click here for more details and to sign up for the Modern Quilt Guild Newsletter for more exciting QuiltCon announcements!

February Block Swap

2012-02-10T09:31:00.004-06:00

This is the second month of our six month block swap. You can read about the details of the swap by clicking on 2012 Block Swap tab at the top of the page. The links to previous month's blocks can be found on the right side of the page.

This month's two inspiration blocks are Mosaic and Flower Garden Path. The flower garden block has an alternate piecing method that you may decide to use.

Mosaic, photo by Faith of Fresh Lemon Quilts

Flower Garden Path, photo by Katie of Swim, Bike, Quilt

Please make two blocks, one to swap with other guild members at the March meeting, and one to contribute to a future donation quilt. You can decide to follow one of the tutorials listed or create your own block. Blocks should be 12.5 inches square when finished, and may be made using any colors you choose.

You may make more than one block to swap if you would like, and feel free to make extra donation blocks as well. We are looking for a few local non profits that will welcome these donation quilts, please email Jessica at events@austinmodernquiltguild.com with any ideas about places to donate quilts.

We look forward to seeing the beautiful blocks that you create!

February Member Spotlight - Bobbi Brekke

2012-02-02T06:30:00.000-06:00

Bobbi has been a been a member of the Austin Modern Quilt Guild since February 2010. She served as web admin for the guild from May 2010 'til May 2011. You can find her blog over at http://rainylakechick.blogspot.com/

1. Tell us a little bit about yourself – where you are from, etc.

My family is from northern Minnesota, but we moved to Arizona when I was six. Since my parents are teachers, we spent our summers with family back in Minnesota. When I was in junior high, my dad began building our family's summer cabin on an island on the lake. It took about 5 years to finish and they still live on the lake during the summer. I always visit every July. I have to say, island living is the best! I've been driving a boat since I was 13... I can even parallel park a boat. Not many people can say that.

2. Tell us about your quilting history – how/when you got started, who introduced you to quilting, what was your first quilt, etc.
Both of my grandmothers were avid sewers. My maternal grandma always made my mom's clothes when she was a little girl. My mom remembers she would go to bed and when she woke up in the morning, her mom had made her a new outfit in the middle of the night. (My grandma was an avid coffee drinker back in the day.)

My paternal grandma introduced me to quilting. As a child of the depression, her quilts were built upon fabric scraps like old clothing or even old quilts. They weren't pretty, but very functional. One of my favorite quilts she made was a lap size wool quilt. It's super 70s, yet very modern. It's backed in a turquoise heavy wool-blend, the front is a mixture of greys, orange reds, and turquoise, and its tied with red yarn.

My first quilt was my project for the gifted program in high school. I had no idea what I was doing, but luckily I had a book to tell me what to do! I still have that book. One day I'd like to go back and make another quilt, but this time use modern fabrics.

3. What is your favorite thing about quilting? What is your least favorite?
Favorite part about quilting? Picking out fabric. My fabric stash (aka hoarding) confirms that!

Least favorite part? Anything after completing the top. I'm really good about starting projects, pretty good about finishing a quilt top, okay about quilting, and eventually I'll bind the quilt. My New Year's resolution is to finish WIPs this year. :)

4. Is there a technique on your list to learn this year?
Definitely. Long arm quilting. It's my present for finishing graduate school in May!

5. Do you like to have multiple projects going at once or do you usually finish one before starting another?
I am always juggling projects. Not counting the unfinished WIP quilt tops hanging in my closet, I'm in the process of quilting a charity quilt and piecing a baby quilt. And I just finished a baby quilt.

6. Do you have a stash? If so, any big plans for it?
Oh... do I have a stash! Half of it is out in our storage shed in the backyard. I have to tell you, you will not dent into your fabric stash when it sits in the storage shed in the backyard. The fun half of my stash is in the house. My resolution for 2012 is to not add to the stash. Luckily, I stocked up on extra fabric and batting back in November 2011!

7. What was the best thing you brought into your sewing room/studio to help you organize it?
Since my other resolution is to organize, I bought a hanging shoe organizer at Target. Most of my fabric stash is in a closet, so why not take advantage of vertical space for organizing? I'll let you know later how it goes.

8. What is your current fabric obsession (color, line, style, etc.)?
Besides my love for Kaffe Fassett, I am loving Crate and Barrel's Marimekko line. During my late 2011 stash add, I bought about 20 yards of assorted Marimekko from the Crate and Barrel outlet. It was $4.95 per yard. How could I not buy it, right? The colors are rich, the fabric is fun, and I think they will make good backs for quilts. I've already used one on a baby quilt in 2012!

9. What tool could you not live without?
My rotary cutter.

10. How many sewing machines do you have?
Two. Originally my mom's 1975 Viking Huqsvarna. That went out in 2010 and I replaced it with a Bernina Activa 220. I love my Bernina! Still trying to figure out what to do with the broken Viking. Any advice?

11. Do you do any other sewing besides quilting?
My sewing skills came to the rescue over the 2011 holidays! I was asked to alter a Christmas present for my 3 year old nephew. All he wanted for Christmas was the RED Power Ranger Samurai costume. "The one with the swords." Turns out, lots of kids did too. The family could only find the kid's size large costume for sale, so I hemmed the legs and arms and added pockets to his costume. It was a big hit!

12. What are you currently working on?
A baby quilt for my cousin and his wife. The gender won't be revealed till birth, so this is a gender neutral quilt.

13. What else do you want us to know about you?
I love living in Austin! My two favorite things about Austin are live music and the Austin Modern Quilt Guild. I am sew happy to have joined AMQG! Yes, meeting local quilters has not been kind to my wallet... You ladies are total fabric hoarding enablers. But I love ya just the same!

February Meeting

2012-01-22T22:15:00.001-06:00

The February Austin Modern Quilt Guild Meeting

Thursday, February 9th, 2012

6:30 - 8:30 PM

Form & Fabric

508 E 53rd, #102, Austin, TX 78751

February's Show & Tell Theme is "Quilts that Inspired." Bring up to two quilts to share - old quilts, childhood quilts with sentimental value, a vintage thrift store quilt with a killer design, etc. - that have inspired you in your own work.

After Show & Tell, we have a presentation:

Modern Quilting - Philosophy or Aesthetic?

Guest Presenter: Heather Grant

Have you ever stumbled for a response when asked what modern quilting is? Or wondered what it takes to make an old-fashioned block into a modern quilting marvel? Our February guild meeting will feature Heather Grant, who will help us find the answers to those questions and many more. Her presentation will cover the philosophy of modern quilting and how it impacts modern quilt design. Heather will also provide a brief history on modern quilting and its early influencers, with an eye toward the tension that exists between the philosophy and aesthetics of modern quilting. She will clue us in on common design features of modern quilting and some key quilters in the movement.

We will end the program with a 30-minute exercise on negative space and modern grid work. Please bring your Relay for Life quilt blocks to use for this exercise. If you are not participating in the Relay challenge, please bring a block from another project to use.

About Heather Grant:

Heather Grant has been sewing since the age of 10. A modern quilter at heart, Heather became frustrated early on with traditional quilting designs. She stopped quilting until 2005, when she was inspired by the modern quilting movement and made her first modern quilt. Since then, Heather has played an important role in the modern quilting scene as founder of a quilting bee that eventually grew into the Austin Modern Quilt Guild when it joined the national Modern Quilt Guild. Heather also is author of the popular blog, Modern Day Quilts, which was named one of the Top 55 Quilting Blogs by Quilter's Home magazine and has been featured in Fat Quarterly and Elle Decor.

Parking details:

Please enter Form & Fabric from the back door - you'll see their logo and name on it. There's a parking lot by the back door, off of Evans Ave. The spaces are marked "reserved" but we can park there AS LONG AS we leave 3 spaces open for residents who live on the second floor. Please don't assume that they are "already home for the night," no matter how tempting that empty space looks! :) There's also ample street parking if you can't score a spot in the lot.

Don't forget to visit our Facebook event to RSVP for the meeting.

January Block Swap

2012-01-18T09:55:00.000-06:00

This is the first month of our six month block swap. You can read about the details of the swap by clicking on the Intro link in the 2012 Block Swap list on the right side of the page.

Our first two inspiration blocks are a Star of Virginia and a Greek Cross.

Star of Virginia, photo by Katie of Swim, Bike, Quilt

Greek Cross, photo by Faith of Fresh Lemon Quilts

Katie of Swim, Bike, Quilt wrote a great tutorial for the Star of Virginia, and it can be found here.

And Faith over at Fresh Lemon Quilts wrote a tutorial for the Greek Cross, find it here.

Please make two blocks, one to swap with other guild members at the February meeting, and one to donate toward a future donation quilt. You can decide to follow one of the tutorials listed or create your own block. Blocks should be 12.5 inches square when finished, and may be made using any colors you choose.

Also, feel free to make more than one donation block if you would like, donation blocks are always welcome!

We look forward to seeing the beautiful blocks that you come up!

January Happy Hour - Red's Porch!

2012-01-13T08:33:00.000-06:00

Sorry folks, looks like we are going to cancel the South happy hour due to low attendance. Keep your eyes open for Central Happy hours coming up later throughout the year.

Our January Happy Hour will be at Red's Porch on South Lamar (just north of Ben White/290). Join us on Thursday, January 26th starting at 5:30p for beer & food specials, and of course some modern quilt talk!

Red's Porch
3508 S. Lamar Blvd. ('round back)
Austin, TX 78704

January Meeting

2012-01-06T17:25:00.000-06:00

Join us for a our first meeting of 2012! We will be meeting in a new location, at Form & Fabric's workspace, located at 508 E 53rd, #102, Austin TX 78751.

Date: January 12, 2012
Time: 6:30-8 PM

PARKING DETAILS: Plan to enter Form & Fabric from the back door - you'll see their logo and name on it. There's a parking lot by the back door, off of Evans Ave. The spaces are marked "reserved" but we can park there AS LONG AS we leave 3 spaces open for residents who live on the second floor. Please don't assume that they "are already home for the night," no matter how tempting that empty space looks! (smile) There's also ample street parking if you can't score a spot in the lot.

At the meeting, we will have an open show and tell (no theme) followed by some announcements and a fun activity that will have us moving around as we learn more about each other. We will also share information about upcoming mini-workshops, demos, retreats and other fun stuff.

Solidarity Quilt

2011-12-09T02:16:00.000-06:00

On Sunday December 11 from from 5 to 8 p.m. at Thunderbird Coffee on Manor Road, Artists Against Cancer will be holding a silent auction of incredible art, including this quilt. All proceeds raised will be given to help our friend Cindy C in her battle with cancer.

This is going to be a great event! If you are in the area on Sunday, please stop by. For a preview of all the wonderful art being donated, click here!

For more details on the quilt, click here. Thanks again to everyone who donated their time!

December Meeting Gift Exchange

2011-11-14T10:22:00.000-06:00

Are you as busy as I am sewing and creating a ton of holiday gifts?
I put too many hand-made items on my Christmas gift giving list this year, but I am willing to add one more in order to be a part of our gift exchange at the December meeting.

If you would like to participate as well, here are some guidelines to follow:
There is a $10 limit on gifts that you bring.
You can make something; a pincushion, pillow cover, mug rug, etc.
Or you can buy something; replacement rotary blades, fat quarters of fabrics, a book of modern quilts, or whatever you think a fellow modern quilter could use in their sewing room.

Have fun, be creative and bring your wrapped gift to Stitch Lab on December 8th, our meeting will start at 6:30 as usual. We will assign a number to each gift and draw numbers from a hat to determine which gift you get to take home!

There will also be a giveaway; again, a winner will be chosen by drawing a number.
The book is Pretty in Patchwork Doll Quilts by Cathy Gaubert.

See you in December!

November Meeting Theme: Stuff!

2011-11-04T18:19:00.000-05:00

Our AMQG November Meeting Topic will be "Stuff" -- meaning all the awesome tools, books, and other quilting items we love, beyond the fabric itself.

Bring your coolest tools to show-- the best books, your most indispensable ruler, your favorite fusible web, etc.

In addition to sharing the "best" of our tools, feel free to bring tales of tools gone wrong, tools that either were not worth the money or completely derailed a project.

Also, I imagine many of us will have some souvenirs from the Houston International Quilt Festival--feel free to bring those as well.

Hope to see you next week!

November Meeting

2011-11-02T22:28:00.000-05:00

The November Austin Modern Quilt Guild Meeting

Thursday, Nov. 10th

6:30 - 8:00 PM

Stitch Lab

1000 S 1st St

Austin TX 78704

Please visit our Facebook event to RSVP for the meeting.

Houston Quilt Show

2011-10-13T19:56:00.000-05:00

Thinking about going to the Houston Quilt Show? A bunch of members usually head there each year. If you are interested in going, checkout the AMQG facebook page event to arrange a carpool or meetup.

October Meeting

2011-10-10T10:39:00.001-05:00

The October Austin Modern Quilt Guild Meeting

Thursday, Oct. 13th
6:30 - 8:00 PM

Stitch Lab
1000 S 1st St
Austin TX 78704

Please visit our Facebook event to RSVP for the meeting.

W.I.P. Wednesday

2011-10-04T23:11:00.000-05:00

Excited about your new project? Need advice on colors? Want to show off a newly discovered skill? We are excited to announce W.I.P. (work-in-progress) Wednesdays at the Austin Modern Quilt Guild.

Join us each Wednesday on the AMQG facebook page and show us what you've been working on.

October Happy Hour

2011-10-04T09:54:00.001-05:00

Hello, guild members! Please join us for a happy hour get together on Wednesday, October 26th.
We will be meeting at Trudy's central location, join us anytime between 5:30 and 8:00 p.m.

409 West 30th Street
Austin 78705
Happy hour specials (ending at 7 pm): $3.25 House margarita, $3 pints & more!

Mini Retreat and Movie Night

2011-09-08T21:57:00.000-05:00

Hello guild members,

We are having a mini retreat this Saturday, September 10th. It will start at 5:30 p.m. and end at midnight. We will have plenty of space and tables and chairs for you to set up your sewing machine and work on the project of your choice. Bring some food and/or drink to share with the group, sew, cut fabric for a new project, bind a quilt, and just hang out with other quilters.

We will also be using an available theater space to watch Stitched, a documentary following three quilters racing to complete their entries for the International Quilt Festival. We will start the film at 7 p.m. with a possible second showing later in the evening.

There have been several requests for donated quilts to help the victims of the Texas wildfires, and donated fabric will be available at the retreat so that we can start quilts for Project Linus and the Central Texas Wildfire Quilt Drive. You are welcome to come and help with the donation quilts if you don't have an existing work in progress.

It should be a fun night, check our AMQG Facebook page for the event post and rsvp if you would like to join us!

Summer Block Challenge Update -Ty Pennington

2011-09-01T10:17:00.000-05:00

We are turning in completed Ty Pennington blocks at the September meeting this week. After brainstorming about some different local charities and non profit organizations we have made a decision about where our quilt will be donated. We have decided to use our many beautiful blocks to make two quilts instead of one as originally planned. These two quilts will be donated to two families living in North Austin whose homes burned down on August 22 of this year.

Thanks to the organizations that helped our guild to make this donation possible: Westminster Fabrics and Ty Pennington Fabrics for donating 12 yards of fabric from the stunning Impressions collection, Walker Hall Design for donating additional Pennington fabric, and The Quilt Store in Austin for making a donation as well.
Thank you to all of you in the guild that have helped by making one or more blocks to use in these quilts, I am very excited to start the next step of our process; piecing the tops and backs of these two special quilts.

Check out the other block designs and add your own to our Flickr page.

September Meeting @ Stitch Lab

2011-08-31T20:22:00.001-05:00

The September Austin Modern Quilt Guild Meeting

Thursday, Sept. 8th
6:30 - 8:00 PM

Stitch Lab
1000 S 1st St
Austin TX 78704

After meeting in different spaces over the summer (remember that tap dancer next door during our July meeting?!), we are happy to settle into a regular spot at Stitch Lab through the end of the year. Meetings are on the second Thursday of each month.

September 8th's meeting will start with show-and-tell, and Leslie Bonnell will give us the scoop on Stitch Lab. Also, remember to bring your completed Ty Pennington blocks if you are participating in the challenge.

Please visit our Facebook event to RSVP for the meeting.

August Meeting

2011-08-01T15:32:00.000-05:00

The August meeting will be Thursday August 11th from 6:30 to 8 pm at Walker Hall Design (904 W 12th St, Austin). We'll talk more about the Ty Pennington Fabric challenge. Don't forget to bring your show & tell.

Please note that we're starting the meeting at our new time of 6:30 pm. Walker Hall Design is located behind the Tavern Restaurant at 12th St. and Lamar Blvd. Thank you to AMQG member Carmel for hosting our August meeting!

For more details, checkout our Facebook page!

Summer Quilt Retreat

2011-07-26T17:27:00.000-05:00

We had a fantastic time at our Summer Quilt Retreat at the Wimberley Quilt Ranch this past weekend, from the fresca-ritas, to the breakfast tacos, to our standard shopping trip to Valli and Kim's. Checkout the photos below. Stay tuned for more details on our Fall retreat weekend!

For those who attended, feel free to share your pics on our flickr page!

Summer Block Challenge

2011-06-21T21:11:00.000-05:00

Ty Pennington Challenge! Yes, you read it correctly! Our celebrity challenge will be with Ty Pennington's current (and very mod) fabric line. Westminster Lifestyle Fabrics has generously donated some of Ty's cool new fabrics for our guild block challenge. We are asking members to make one square each, made exclusively of fabric from Ty Pennington's recent collection. The only restrictions on the block are that it end up being 12.5" x 12.5" and it be a 9-patch design. Feel free to make your own unique version of a 9-patch. The quilt will be assembled and quilted and donated to a family in need.

If you are interested in participating, please email Jessica at events@austinmodernquiltguild.com. Once we have the fabric in hand, we'll arrange for a happy hour pick up! Then everyone will have until September to complete their challenge blocks.

June 2011 Meeting

2011-05-30T16:11:00.000-05:00

The June meeting
will be Thursday June 9th
from 6 to 8 p.m.

For location & directions,
see our Facebook page!

June 2011 Meeting - Election of New Officers

2011-05-19T15:36:00.000-05:00

The following officer positions to be voted in June. We are changing the titles of our positions, to be more descriptive of what they are.

Meetings coordinator - set up meeting location and timing, post on facebook page

Special events coordinator - organize special events (retreats, demonstrations during meetings, classes, etc), post on facebook about said events.

Web Admin - keeps blog up to date with notes and pictures from meetings and special events. Posts link to blog updates on facebook page.

Laura B. has been nominated for Web Admin. The others are wide open. If you would like to volunteer or nominate someone, you can comment here or send a facebook message to any current officers. Also, if you would like to do one job as a team with someone that would work great!

Renegade Craft Fair: Austin

2011-05-18T15:42:00.000-05:00

For those that are in town this weekend, make sure to check out the Renegade Craft Fair at the Palmer Events Center.
More info here!

Spring Quilt Retreat

2011-05-10T23:11:00.000-05:00

Our inaugural retreat was such a blast that we couldn't wait to plan another one! We'll hold our second retreat from May 20-22, 2011 at the Wimberley Quilt Ranch. We still have 5 spaces available for anyone interested. We will arrive at the Ranch on Friday afternoon and stay through Sunday. The cost is $55 per night. It's sure to be full of fun, laughter, and a heck of a lot of quilting.

May 2011 Meeting

2011-05-06T12:18:00.000-05:00

The May Meeting will be
Thursday May 12 from 6 to 8 p.m.

For location & directions,
see our Facebook page!

Fabric Sale Alert!!!

2011-05-03T22:53:00.000-05:00

The Quilt Store on Anderson Lane is having an E.O.B. (end of bolt) sale. Starting Wednesday, May 4 you will save 20% when you buy the end of the bolt of any regular priced bolt. And, if you buy the end of the bolt on any of the sale fabrics you will get a whopping 40% off the original price! This sale ends Saturday, May 7 at 5 PM.

Workday Pics from Valli and Kim

2011-05-01T19:46:00.000-05:00

We had a great time at Valli and Kim on Saturday for our quilting workday! Some of us, ahem-ahem, even got some quilting done!

Thanks to both Valli and Kim for making the day not only productive but also a lot of fun. If you haven't made it down to their store yet, it's a must visit! Not only is their shop amazing, but they are two of the sweetest people you will ever meet. If they would have let us pitch a tent and stay the whole weekend, we probably would have. Surely they have some smore fabric in there somewhere!

Member Blogs

2011-04-25T20:04:00.000-05:00

Just a quick note for members, if you would like to have your blog added to our list on the right, leave a comment below and we will add it.

Day of Sewing at Valli & Kim Quilt Shop

2011-04-21T21:00:00.000-05:00

Valli & Kim have set aside a day for members of the AMQG to bring our machines and projects and sew in their beautiful store on Saturday, April 30th from 10am to 3pm. The space is limited to 12, so sign up on our facebook page if you are interested and let's have some fun!

Inaugural Weekend Retreat

2011-02-06T21:40:00.000-06:00

We all had a fantastic time at the Wimberly Quilt Ranch this past weekend. Hardly a picture was taken without huge smiles on our faces. It was a weekend full of quilting, eating, shopping (thanks Valli & Kim), and camaraderie. Oh, and a couple of zzzz's in there, too, with the exception of Meghan! Now we know her secret to getting so much quilting done!

Checkout more photos here. Bobbin!