Upcoming meeting Thursday, November 17th

November 17, 2016

• Remember Thursday is our Annual Holiday Party and Gift Swap with Potluck Treats. Everyone contributes a treat, bring a wrapped gift you've made if you want to participate in the gift exchange.
• We also have a Runner Challenge due! Rules: Runner must be at least twice as long as it is wide. Bring it anonymously in a brown paper bag. The runners will be hung in a classroom at Woodside Quilting till January or so. We'll vote on a winner at the meeting. Woodside is kindly rewarding the winner with a gift card!

News from October 20th meeting

Please see below, news about the upcoming retreat, a Runner Challenge for November's meeting, and a reminder about the Gift Swap/Holiday Party

Saturday, November 5, 2016  Retreat 9-4 at Woodside Quilting

• Bring food to share
• $60 cleaning fee will be split by participants

November 17, 2016

• Annual Holiday Party and Gift Swap with Potluck Treats. Everyone contributes a treat, bring a wrapped gift you've made if you want to participate in the gift exchange.
• New! Runner Challenge due! Rules: Runner must be at least twice as long as it is wide. Bring it anonymously in a brown paper bag. The runners will be hung in a classroom at Woodside Quilting till January or so. We'll vote at the meeting. Woodside is rewarding the winner with a gift card!

Upcoming meeting Thursday, October 20th

This in from Eva Marie: 

"Our next meeting will be next Thursday, the 20th, at Woodside Quilting. I will be doing a demo of my super secret stash buster infinity scarf. This is the perfect project for the fabric you love, but can't bear to cut up. You can also make a handmade gift for everyone on your list in an afternoon.

I will bring paper and show everyone the technique and everyone can make a paper model to take home so they remember the construction trick."

Annette, Lisa and Penny are listed as bringing the treats.

Reminder and More!

Happy Update! Kerrie Hill-Elliott will be joining us tomorrow night. Kerrie will show us how photos and digital editing can be helpful in designing or inspiring designs for quilts. It should be a fun meeting, we'll have Kerrie, Notebook Cover exchange and Show & Tell!

Remember, NEW meeting place. Starting with our next meeting (September 15) all upcoming meetings will be held at 6:30 p.m. at a NEW LOCATION: Woodside Quilting, 5360 NE 14th Street, Des Moines, IA 50313  Click for Map 

NEW location and Meeting details for September 15th

We have a brand new meeting location starting Thursday, September 15th!

Please Note!
Starting with our next meeting (September 15) meetings will be held at 6:30 p.m. at a NEW LOCATION: Woodside Quilting, 5360 NE 14th Street, Des Moines, IA 50313  Click for Map 

We are planning to enjoy Show & Tell and the Covered Notebook exchange.  For those who chose to participate, please bring your secret covered notebook wrapped! It will be fun for everyone to see and guess!

Emma and Marny are bring snacks.

Meeting Details for August 18

Our next meeting is this week, Thursday, August 19 at 6:30 p.m. at the West Des Moines Public Library, 4000 Mills Civic Parkway, West Des Moines.

The topic of discussion for the night will be English Paper Piecing! Bring on the hexies!! (or diamonds or other fun shapes, of course, too) We have a special guest, Missie Carpenter, of TraditionalPrimitives.com to demonstrate her great technique of starch basting and a trunk show of unique work.  AND we encourage all of you to dig through your trunks or take your best EPP work off the wall and bring it in for a special show and tell of all things English Paper Pieced. New or old, finished or un, we want to see what you've been working on and how you like to do it best. Oh and if you have an in-progress project of this sort, be sure to bring it and make a little progress while we visit!

Of course, please bring your other show and tell as well. Treats will be provided by Kathy Russi.
See you all soon!

Meeting Details for June 16

Hi Everyone, we're going to have a great meeting this Thursday night! But be sure to read this, we're at temporary new locations for the next few meetings. (So sorry your planning committee had no idea what was going on in that department!)

This meeting will be at 6:30 at the LDS Church in Ankeny, 721 E 1st St, Ankeny. It's where Sewing Days are held, if you've been to one of those! Thank you, Leila, for arranging that!

Eva Marie will be our presenter and she will demonstrate "skinny strip/curved piecing/slice and insert"...some of the fun techniques she learned while taking DMAQG workshops!

We need some people (but not everyone) to bring:

• sewing machines
• cutting mats and rotary cutters (NO rulers needed)
• heavy duty extension cords

Everyone who wants to try the techniques should bring their own:

• piece of background about 10" square or no bigger than a fat quarter
• some contrasting strips at least as long as your background is wide and between 1.5" and 2.5" wide

Erin will be introducing the details of the Summer Swap and opening the sign-up for participation.

We will also be saying "Bon Voyage" to long-time member Leila Gardunia with some extra pot-luck treats. 

See you all real soon!

p.s. Be sure to go to the DMAQG meeting this month too!! Angela Walters will be our guest speaker!  Her workshops are jam-packed, hope lots of our members got signed up in time to get to go!

Sewing Day, June 11

DSM Modern Quilt Group Sewing Day
Saturday, June 11
9 a.m. - ???
Ankeny LDS Church, 721 E 1st St, Ankeny, IA

Why sew alone when you can sew with friends? Imagine what you could get done if you came to sew all day with your Modern Quilt Group of friends! All are welcome. Pack up your current projects, sewing machine and supplies and join us.

Invite your friends and neighbors too, participants need not be members of DSMMQG. We will have an abundance of space for you to spread out and work! Hours are open, drop in when you can and stay as long as you want! If you are coming in the afternoon, check in with Leila to see how long we're staying.

Comment on this post if you're coming and will bring things like an iron, ironing board or cutting mat to share. Also, bring a pot-luck-type food or snack to share.

Meeting Details for May 19

Our next meeting is Thursday, May 19, 2016 at 6:30 p.m. at Westminster Presbyterian, 4114 Allison Ave, Des Moines, IA 50310

Here are some details about the lovely location we meet at now: You will want to park in the parking lot on Franklin Ave. It is directly across the street from the church and is a large lot. After you park, cross Franklin and go into the church via the covered entrance. There are a set of glass double doors there. Once inside you will see a hallway & stairs going up. Ignore the stairs & follow the hallway. Turn left at the end of the hallway & then turn right. We will meet in Westminster Hall, at the end of that hallway.

Meeting Activity:

Jill Guffy and Marny Buck of Modern Quilt Relish will be doing a color theory presentation.

Please bring these supplies for Color Wheel Activity:

• One fat quarter of medium gray solid or tone on tone (not a print)
• Glue stick or fabric glue
• Cutting supplies, only making small cuts
• Scissors

Jill is supplying the colors needed

Other things to bring:

• Please wear a nametag
• Show and tell, works-in-progress or finished quilts

Kathy will bring treats

Fabric Challenge Finish

Group photo of our finished pieces from the Solids Fabric Challenge! Amazing what variety we came up from the same little bundle of solids!!

Next Meeting April 21

Our next meeting is this week, Thursday, April 21, 2016 at 6:30 p.m. at our NEW-ISH LOCATION: Westminster Presbyterian, 4114 Allison Ave, Des Moines, IA 50310

Here are some details about the location: You will want to park in the parking lot on Franklin Ave. It is directly across the street from the church and is a large lot. After you park, cross Franklin and go into the church via the covered entrance. There are a set of glass double doors there. Once inside you will see a hallway & stairs going up. Ignore the stairs & follow the hallway. Turn left at the end of the hallway & then turn right. We will meet in Westminster Hall, at the end of that hallway.

Meeting Activity:

We should have some big-time show and tell this meeting!!! The Solids Fabric challenge project is due this month. Please bring your completed project (or in-progress, if you must!) and any other projects too, of course.

Auction Quilt Update:

Since so many blocks have already been completed...42!! We are going to try to push up the deadline to this meeting. Please bring your blocks to this meeting! They are quick, so if you don't have them done yet, there's still a couple nights to get them done. We would like to give our top-piecer and quilter more time to construct the quilt, hope you understand!

Treats for the April meeting will be brought by Sherry. If anyone else would like to help her out, please comment below.

Next Month: Marny and Jill will help us make Color Wheels...looking forward to it!

Continue to keep in touch in our Facebook Group...lots going on there. Love it!

March 17, 2016 Meeting Details

Our next meeting is a little over a week away, March 17, 2016 at 6:30 p.m. at the NEW LOCATION: Westminster Presbyterian, 4114 Allison Ave, Des Moines, IA 50310

Here are some details about the location: You will want to park in the parking lot on Franklin Ave. It is directly across the street from the church and is a large lot. After you park, cross Franklin and go into the church via the covered entrance. There are a set of glass double doors there. Once inside you will see a hallway & stairs going up. Ignore the stairs & follow the hallway. Turn left at the end of the hallway & then turn right. We will meet in Westminster Hall, at the end of that hallway.

We've changed our topic schedule a little, so I wanted to get the news out early. You won't want to miss this meeting. Local author & extraordinary quilter, Janet Pittman, will give a Trunk Show PLUS with insights and demonstrations on machine appliqué.

I asked Janet to present for us because her book Appliqué The Basics and Beyond is a well-loved resource in my sewing room. I hope you enjoy learning from her too and I can't wait to see her quilts up-close and in real life!

Other Activities

For our other activities, nothing is due this month. But please keep working on...

• DMAQG auction blocks, details here, and bring any you have completed
• Keep finishing your goals for the finish-it-up challenge (details here) and bring to show
• And the solids fabric challenge deadline (again, details here) is next month, so hopefully you're getting some ideas on this one. I still have a few bundles of fabric left if anyone wants one. A month is certainly enough time to make something! (says the girl addicted to one-week project quilting challenges!)

Please wear a nametag, our group is growing so wonderfully! Friends new and old need little reminders of names now and then.

Melissa is signed up for treats. If anyone else would like to help her out, please comment below. Thank you!

DMAQG Auction Quilt Details

Our group project, the auction quilt for the DMAQG Annual Charity Auction is well underway! We voted during the Februrary meeting among many great-looking choices. Ideas for some future personal projects in there I'm sure! But the winner was the Wonky Cross Quilt, suggested by Erin Monfort-Nelson.

Here is the tutorial we will follow: http://www.sewmamasew.com/2010/04/wonky-cross-block-sew-along/

Here is the photo idea we started from:

And here is the color palette we will use (suggested by Leila Gardunia):

Here are the details from Erin:
We will make our quilt very similarly to the one in the photo by using a variety of solids and small prints (less than 2" motifs) drawing inspiration from our color palette. You can use solids or prints in either the background or the cross, solids in both, or prints in both.

Blocks should be 9" so they can be trimmed to an 8" finished size by the piecer (or a kind assistant). The tutorial is for an 8" finished block so be sure to give yourself a little extra.
 
The cross strips can range in width from 3/4" - 1 1/2" finished.
 
Please make as many blocks as you would like in a variety of colors and prints, then bring them to a MQG meeting by May. If we have too many blocks we will either utilize them on the back or make a second quilt. 

If you would like to volunteer to take on a larger role within this project please comment here. Actually, I think we are covered for volunteers...here's a reminder of who we have: Patty McCue will piece the blocks together, Doris Brunnette is donating a batting, Sherry Von Fumetti will piece a back, and Eva Marie Evans will do the binding. Connie Remetch will do the quilting (this may be tentative, I couldn't tell!) 

Join the facebook group to see...some members have already posted finished blocks! Great job, Marny, Carol and Patty!

Meeting Details for February 18

February is flying by, it's already time for our next meeting! Join us tomorrow night, February 18, 2016 at 6:30 p.m. at the NEW LOCATION: Westminster Presbyterian, 4114 Allison Ave, Des Moines, IA 50310

Here are some details about the location: You will want to park in the parking lot on Franklin Ave. It is directly across the street from the church and is a large lot. After you park, cross Franklin and go into the church via the covered entrance. There are a set of glass double doors there. Once inside you will see a hallway & stairs going up. Ignore the stairs & follow the hallway. Turn left at the end of the hallway & then turn right. We will meet in Westminster Hall, at the end of that hallway.

Meeting Activities

Garage Sale

Bring fabric, books, patterns and other quilting or sewing-related items you no longer want/need to the meeting to share with others in the group.  Please mark your items with a nice little price AND your name. Also, please wear a name tag to this meeting. (Important so that whoever wants to buy your stuff can find you and give you your money!) Don't forget to bring some cash. Swapping is also encouraged.

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Auction Quilt Ideas

We need to select a design for the quilt we will make as a group for the Des Moines Area Quilter's Guild charity auction in August. We've already been sharing some on the Facebook Group, but if you had an idea there that you still like, please bring it to the meeting, with pictures or samples if possible. Bring new ideas too! We will go around and talk about the ideas, specifics on how they would work as a group project and at the end have a vote on which project we will do.

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Challenges

We currently have two challenges underway that you could be working on. See the Swaps/Challenges page for details. If you finish any of your Finish-it-up challenge pieces, bring them for show and tell and remember to specify that it is a challenge piece. If you would still like to participate in the fabric challenge, there are still quite a few bundles of fabric left and plenty of time to do a project before our April meeting. See Emma for a bundle.

Kathy and Erin are bringing meeting treats. Thank you!

See you tomorrow night!

Start the New Year with Modern Quilt Inspiration!

Wow, we had a busy, busy steering committee meeting Tuesday night! Lots of ideas and lot of activities are planned for 2016! Thank you to all who came! Jill, Leila, Eva Marie, Erin, Carol and Marny. I really look forward to another year of DSMMQG and I hope you do too!

Our next meeting is January 21, 2016 at a NEW LOCATION: Westminster Presbyterian, 4114 Allison Ave, Des Moines, IA 50310  Click for Map  

Here are some details about the location:  You will want to park in the parking lot on Franklin Ave. It is directly across the street from the church and is a large lot. After you park, cross Franklin and go into the church via the covered entrance. There are a set of glass double doors there. Once inside you will see a hallway & stairs going up. Ignore the stairs & follow the hallway. Turn left at the end of the hallway & then turn right. We will meet in Westminster Hall, at the end of that hallway. 

January Meeting Activities

Finish it Up Challenge

Yes, yes, we all have our to do lists and UFOs! Let's get them done together, with a little co-motivation!  Make a list of the projects you have on your plate right now. Download a List-maker-helper here (optional). Choose the top 3 priority projects you intend to have done in the next 6 months. Bring your whole list to the meeting to share and post your top 3 as a comment on this blog post.

Then throughout the next DSMMQG meetings, bring your finished projects to show and tell (preferred!) or post them in our facebook group!

You will receive one entry into the Finish-it-up Prize Drawings for every project on your top 3 list you finish! To qualify, you must mention the Finish-it-up challenge when you bring your project to show and tell or post it on the Facebook Group. Prizes will include fabric bundles, fat quarters and more.

Final Finish-it-up Deadline is JULY 21, 2016.  

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DSMMQG Annual Fabric Challenge

Just like last year, the dues from when we were a guild bought us a kitty of fabric for a challenge! This year the bundles will be all solids. You will receive 6 fat eighths with which you can make your challenge piece. 

There are very few rules, but here are just a couple to keep you on your toes...
1. The item must be quilted in a three-layer sandwich, but it doesn't have to be a quilt (a bag, tote, pillow, notebook cover, are all ok!) 
2. Please use ALL the fabric this time. Challenge yourself even if there's a color that doesn't work, but its ok if its on the back or binding. And no, I'm not suggesting you must use every tiny scrap, just include some of each fat eighth.
3. You can add any fabric to the project, solids or prints. 

Deadline for the Fabric Challenge is APRIL 21, 2016.  

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Mighty Lucky Quilting Club by Lucky Spool

If you're in the Facebook group, you probably already heard all the chatter about this...http://luckyspool.com/products/mighty-lucky-quilting-club. If you are participating, please bring your projects to show and tell. This is just an optional quilt-along kind of project, not an activity of our group...but feel free to join in and share every month! A big thank you to Jessie Zeigler for organizing our group discount!

If you're not in the Facebook group yet, please join us here.

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Meeting Goodies

Jill and Leila will bring treats this month. A sign-up sheet will go around for the New Year, so please bring your calendar and be ready to sign up. Veronica Koh Eischeid has donated an Aurifil Thread Box for a door prize this month, thank you Veronica!!  If you or a quilt shop you know would like to donate door prizes for any future meetings, please let us know or bring it to a meeting. The fat quarter basket for newcomers and birthdays is looking a little slim. We're asking you to bring in a few NEW fat quarters to refresh the basket for the year. If you bring some, you can take one of the existing basket so we'll have a little turn-over.

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Garage Sale

The Facebook group also had some chatter about bringing fabric to share and donate. In the spirit of that, we've put on the calendar for February an actual Garage Sale meeting. If you really want to bring your stuff to share informally this meeting, that's ok. But we'll go all out next month!

See you next week,
Emma