New Round Robin!

RMQG January 2012 Challenge/Exchange

THE word, YOUR word

Come up with a word -- a single, descriptive word -- that will help you define your dreams, goals, and aspirations for the year 2012.

This word will form the foundation of your center block, both figuratively and literally. Your block should measure 11" x 14" and should contain your written word but also images and graphics that further illustrate your word, e.g., growth could be represented by a seedling, a child's measurement chart, a city map, etc.

When the block is passed, the group member will add two 6" x 14" strips to either side of the center block, once again building on the word itself and the images it evokes. The main block is due at the February meeting. We will pass projects four times with the blocks being returned and revealed in June.

The completed piece will make for a lovely table runner, wall decor, the beginning of an even larger effort, or wherever you like -- your choice! Finishing it in June will allow for the projects to be developed at your leisure over hte summer and returned to the group for a future show and tell -- what fun!

There will be a check out log for the blocks each month so that we will always be able to track the location of a block at any given time. Please continue to be considerate of other participants by either delivering your block each month or sending it in with another member or guest.

Thank you all so much for your wondrous support in this effort and keep coming up with those beautiful creations that make all our members simply beam with delight!

The Swirly Girls visit NYC

(The RMQG Board asked us to share our trip to New York on the blog and we took 200 pictures, so I'm going to split this post into two parts - Susan Emory)

Christine and I took the train from Richmond to Penn Station in NYC.  We love taking the train and would highly recommend it! We have stayed at the Affinia Manhattan Hotel during our last two trips to New York. It is right outside Penn Station, so you get off the train, walk across the street and check-in. It couldn't be more convenient!

Here are some pictures of our room. I really like the modern wallpaper.

Here is the view from our window:

After checking in at the hotel, we took a cab to Purl Soho (http://www.purlsoho.com/).

This store is fantastic and their website and blog are too.

I found several tutorials on their blog that I will be working on.

I keep resisting the urge to take up knitting and it's shops like this that are hard to resist.

The staff was super-friendly and the place was packed!

I put on the blinders to get through all of the yummy yarn and headed to the quilting section. I bought some fabric and Christine picked up some wool, a pattern and some silk thread.

Here are some more shots:

Next we cabbed up to Tinsel Trading Company (http://www.tinseltrading.com/).

This store has an amazing history - you should definitely check out their website.

Tinsel Trading inspired the book "Treasured Notions" by Kaari Meng from French General.

I don't even know if there are enough words to describe this bright, shiny, vintage, inspiring store -  so check out the pictures:

This place is a crafter's dream and we didn't leave empty handed...

I bought buttons (I need an intervention) and Christine scored some spools

of metallic thread and other goodies.

After the inspiration overload that afternoon, we went to Macy's and shopped before heading to dinner. We ate at Tir Na Nog, an Irish Pub, near our hotel (http://www.tirnanognyc.com/).  A woman on the train recommended this local favorite and she was right - it was delicious and a great atmosphere. It would have been perfect if the older couple sitting directly behind Christine hadn't been making out the entire time...

So there you have it, day one in NYC.  In my next post I will tell you about our day at Michael Miller Fabrics, as well as visiting The City Quilter and Times Square.

Have you been on any quilting-related trips lately? We would love to hear about it, and see pictures, of course!  Post any time on our Facebook page, or email richmondmqg@gmail.com.

Don't Look Now Applique Bee

The first meeting of the Don't Look Now applique bee was held on January 8th.  Everyone got right to work tracing and fusing their projects. Here they are:

Ann's Love Birds pattern. Love the fun, bright flowers:

Catherine's Little Monsters pattern. Naturally, Catherine will be adding scotty dogs, and not monsters, to her version. Can't wait to see it in black, white and red!

Cheryl is very ambitious!  This is her Meg's Garden pattern:

Debbie chose a pillow project. Here is her pattern, How Does Your Garden Grow?:

Here is the beginning of Debbie's pillow. She is using a creamy linen background and gorgeous dyed fabrics. She is inspiring all of us to make this pillow, too.

Shirley is doing a great quilt with flowers and cats. Her pattern is Rainbow Lollipops:

I chose a smaller project - just a pillow for me. Although, I won't be surprised if it turns into a wall hanging. My pattern is called Memories:

Here are my fused shapes. Can't wait until next time to start stitching them down!

Thanks to Shirley for sharing the photos!

Ask anyone who was there and I bet they will recommend starting or joining a bee - we are having the time of our lives!!

For more information, or to start a bee, contact the Bee Keeper, Becky Miller at radford83@comcast.net.

Have a wonderful weekend - Susan

Fantastic January Program

Julia Pfaff is coming to Richmond Modern Quilt Guild

and you're invited!

 

Please join us for a presentation by local quilt educator and studio artist, Julia Pfaff. She will be giving her lecture "Making It Your Own" at our January meeting at Mount Pisgah Methodist Church, 1100 Mount Pisgah Drive, Midlothian on Friday, January 20th.  Meet and Greet begins at 6 p.m. and the meeting and presentation will start at 6:30 p.m.

 

Julia will explain how to incorporate Bedouin cross stitch embroidery, copper plate etching, Japanese Shibori and embroidery from India into your projects. This inspirational lecture will take you on a journey from the temples of Greece to a fabric printing studio at VCU. 

 

Julia will also be providing information on her "Drawing with your Sewing Machine" workshop on March 17th - you won't want to miss it.

 

Non-members are invited to attend one meeting, at no charge, before joining RMQG. Come and check us out!

 

For more information, please contact richmondmqg@gmail.com.

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Quickie about Friday's party

Forgive the brevity of this post -- I'm in the midst of holiday travels. But Shirley has posted some photos of the round robins on her blog. You'll find a link on the right side of this page. I'll post photos as soon as I have a chance to get them off the camera. Thanks to all for such a wonderful evening!

New space!

I just wanted to post a photo so you could get an idea of our new space (if you weren't at the November meeting)! It's huge! This shows the space we were taking up, but we actually had confined ourselves to a small portion of the room. We had about 40 people at the November meeting; we could easily hold four times that many without feeling cramped. I'm so excited!

Speaking of excited, are you psyched about the upcoming December festivities? We'll be having our silent auction, our gift exchange, our round robin reveal and of course, food! More info to come in an email.

Any questions or comments? Send them to the email address RichmondMQG (at) gmail.com.

See you in December!

November meeting!

Hi ladies! The November meeting is coming up on Friday and I'm so excited. It's about one of my favorite topics: machine quilting! Did you know that I used to teach a machine quilting class at Quilting Adventures? In all the years I taught it (it was a confidence-building class), I never met a sewing machine that couldn't do machine quilting. If you can drive a car, you can do your own quilting! And believe me, it's a wonderful feeling to look at something you've created and know you've done the ENTIRE thing.

In December, we'll be having our big end of the year festivities. This includes our round robin reveal, a silent auction and a gift exchange. Here's the scoop:

Round robin reveal: We finally get to see our masterpieces!

Silent Auction: Bring in something to be auctioned off (and be prepared to buy something if you can) to help earn money for the group! I've heard something about wanting to buy a bus, but I would settle for a projector, myself!

Gift exchange: Bring something you made (or something sewing-related if you just can't get it together to make something). Be sure it's wrapped! We'll exchange them during the meeting. Can't think of something? Here are some ideas: Pincusion, jewelry, coasters, ornament, cookies, ... if you have other ideas, leave them in the comments!