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!