Our August meeting featured guest artist Sarah Nishiura‘s wonderful lecture “Looking to the Stars.” Sarah talked about comets in the sky and in quilts; solar system and Lakota star quilts; and a fabulous “how to” on the geometry that can be used to create stars. Some highlights were the rich story quilts of Harriet Powers, works by Harriet Miller Carpenter, the significance of star quilts in certain American Indian cultures, and Ellen Harding Baker’s study of the solar system in stunning visual form (shown below).
Sarah showed how equal divisions of a circle can be used to create multi-pointed stars, and shared a diagram of how to create a perfect five-pointed “Betsy Ross” star by folding and cutting a standard piece of paper. She encouraged us, as quilters, to not “let the perfect be the enemy of the good,” as we allow for imperfections and the beauty in them.
GUILD ANNOUNCEMENTS:
MQG news: QuiltCon Together 2021 registration is still open and the QuiltCon quilting and fabric challenges have been introduced.
QuiltCon Community Outreach Challenge: Julia revealed the design for our guild’s quilt, which will celebrate Chicago musicians. We are looking for volunteers to make twenty “vinyl records” from sets of drunkard’s path blocks (see image below), then to embroider the record “labels” with the names of different Chicago artists and records or songs. Look for information in your email inbox on signing up to contribute by piecing a block, embroidering, providing long arm quilting services, or attaching the binding.
New guild-wide quilt along: Bill Keller and Amy Struckmeyer introduced their concept for a Big Fun Mystery Sew Along that will begin at the start of September. We’ll feature instructions on the blog to create two different blocks each month with a focus on a specific skill, technique, or shape. First up will be curves! There’s no need to sign up and you can participate as little or as much as you wish. There will be no set quilt pattern and we encourage you to experiment and create your own unique design. If you’d rather have more direction, no worries! Block layouts will be suggested later in the process for inspiration and ideas, or simply to follow if you prefer. A little bit block-of-the-month and a little bit skill builder, you can choose to make a mini, a medallion, or anything in between. Choose your own color palette, or use the scraps on your cutting table, and feel free to change your mind at any point along the way. We hope you’ll enjoy sewing along with other members and perhaps learn something new in the process!
Modern Quilt Bee: Follow along with the progress of the #chimodbee on Instagram. And please reach out if you’d like to be part of a future bee!
Anniversary quilt challenge: A due date has been set for the 
. Please have quilts completed by our October 18 meeting so that we can prepare for a fabulous virtual quilt show at the end of the year. Tag your photos and follow along on social media with #chicagomqg10yearmini.
. Please have quilts completed by our October 18 meeting so that we can prepare for a fabulous virtual quilt show at the end of the year. Tag your photos and follow along on social media with #chicagomqg10yearmini.Star Stitches: We hope you’re enjoying this way of recognizing members for achievements and triumphs both large and small — not just quilting related. Each month you can submit your friends’ achievements (or your own) for announcement and celebration at the upcoming meeting. Look for a link in each month’s member newsletter.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
Saturday, September 19: “Stash Jazz Quilt — Stash Buster Improv Fun” virtual workshop with Carole Lyles Shaw, 9:30am-3:30pm. Use your stash, scraps, and orphan blocks to create a fun improvisational quilt, with Carole as your guide. Workshop details are in this blog post. A few spots remain and are open for members and guests — sign up here.
Sunday, September 20, 2:00-5:00: Virtual lecture and trunk show “My Journey to Modern Quilting” with guest speaker, Carole Lyles Shaw. Carole is a modern quilt designer, author, and teacher who has been creating quilts for over 20 years. The lecture is free for members and $10 for guests. Check out Carole’s work at carolelylesshaw.com. Sign up for the lecture here.
Sunday, October 18, 2:00-5:00, virtual meeting via Zoom: Quilt Photography. We’re looking for members with quilt photography experience and tips to share. If you are interested in contributing to the meeting, please let us know.
Sunday, November 15, 2:00-5:00, virtual meeting via Zoom: Holiday Swap Demos. Members will share tips and how-to’s for quick sewn or quilted projects that would be great to make for our annual holiday gift swap.
All meetings are 2-5 pm on the third Sunday of the month, unless otherwise noted.
Next month’s meeting is on September 20, via Zoom. (Look for a link in our member newsletter, the Full Bobbin.)
Meeting location:
Rush Oak Park Hospital
Centennial Room
520 S. Maple Ave Oak Park, Il 60304
A list of our meetings can be found here.
Not a member, but would like to be? Click the button below to join our Guild!
We hope to see you there!