The topic of our meeting this month was “Frugal Quilting.” The meeting began with members Carol Allegretti, Robbi Eklow, Sarah Evans, and Holly Harper sharing with us some of their tips and tricks to using everyday items for quilting.Thanks for all your GREAT ideas, ladies!
Carol likes to use home improvement stores for quilting supplies. Carol is a fan of Home Depot for oversized bags and storage containers found in the electronics department. She is also an enthusiast of Harbor Freight who offer some amazing coupons and a FREE gift with a purchase. Below is a picture of Carol with a storage container that perfectly fit all of her Bernina presser feet.
Robbi likes to use home improvement stores for quilting supplies as well. She uses a laser level (which is meant to be used to install kitchen cabinets) to square up her quilts. She also uses a self-adhesive tape measure that she sticks to standard vertical blinds; she will then pin these to her design board so she can create a quilt to her exact size. You can also use generic fabric softener sheets to clean your iron.
Sarah creates her own version of a thread cutter using an empty spool of thread and a small seam ripper. When your self-healing cutting mat starts to look worn from cutting flip it over. You can use your ruler as a guide for cutting so the marked lines aren’t needed. You can also use your old mats and plastic as a bottom base for your handmade bags.
Holly loves fabric scraps. The best source, she said, is from the scrap table at retreat. She also contacts Etsy sellers who do garment sewing to see if they will sell her bags of their fabric scraps. Holly uses these scraps in English Paper Piecing (EPP) and tiny piecing. For her EPP hexagon templates she purchased an AccuQuilt die cutter that cuts both the template and the fabric (including seam allowance) and a hand held punch that is used for scrapbooking. For card stock for making the templates she uses magazine inserts and advertisements that are left on her doorstep. Her completed hexies are then stored neatly in a plastic cookie tray.
We also had some AMAZING giveaways at this month’s meeting. THANK YOU to the following companies for your generositys: Alison Glass, Aurifil Threads, Benzie Design, Havel’s Sewing, Quilt Addicts Anonymous, and Whole Circle Studio.
Announcements from today’s meeting:
Our Special Events Chairperson Laura McDowell Hopper announced that on Saturday, September 23, 2017 we will be hosting a field trip to see the exhibit “Quilts and Human Rights” at the Pick Museum of Anthropology at NIU. We will also be sharing this day with members from the Bloomington Normal MQG. More info to come.
Our next retreat is October 20-22, 2017 with an optional day on Monday, October 23. More info regarding registration will be available soon. If you’re interested in attending, please review our current lottery process.
Congratulations to member Tammy Marlar! She is the winner of our Survey Raffle and received a bundle of sewing goodies. If you haven’t completed the guild’s survey, it’s not too late. We want to hear from you — your opinions help shape our programming throughout the year. Thanks!
Our next guild meeting is Sunday, June 4, 2017. This meeting will be a sew-in held at the Arlington Heights Memorial Library in the Hendrickson Room. Please register here if you think you’ll join us; we need an idea of how many people are coming and how many sewing machines to prepare for. You can also bring your handwork. Members and guests can begin arriving at 11:30am and we need to vacate the room by 5:00pm. All the details are here.
Our workshop on Saturday, June 24, 2017 with Jacquie Gering is SOLD OUT! If you would like to be waitlisted please contact Vice President Heather Kinion.
Jacquie Gering will be giving a lecture/trunk show on Sunday, June 25, 2017, titled “Modern Quilting: You’ll Know It When You See It.” This lecture/trunk show will be held at the First Free Church of Chicago. This will be a lecture ONLY and not a regular guild meeting. The event is FREE for members and $10 for guests. Get all the details here.
Our July 16, 2017 meeting is about English Paper Piecing (EPP) and this program will be for all skill levels. More info to come.
Our August 20, 2017 meeting will be a Summer Potluck and Social. More info to come.
Our Special Events Chairperson Laura McDowell Hopper is looking for locations to host guild workshops. She is looking for a space that can accommodate 24 people with ample electrical outlets for their sewing machines and several ironing stations throughout the room. The space must also be reasonably priced. If you know of any place in your area or if you have any questions please contact Laura.
Charity Update:
Member Sarah Shulman is leading an effort to make a quilt (or quilts) for local Veterans through the Road Home Program. Here’s how you can participate. (This charity project has been extended until the end of 2017.)
The MQG has announced the Charity Challenge for QuiltCon 2018. The topic is “Exploring Modern Traditionalism,” and the colors are a warm palette of gold, hot pink, magenta, and purple. Vice President Heather Kinion is seeking volunteers to design and lead this effort. If you have any questions or are interested in volunteering please contact Heather.
To quickly find information regarding our current charity endeavors, click the “Charity Projects” button in the right sidebar.
All meetings are 2-5 pm on the third Sunday of the month, unless otherwise noted.
June’s meeting schedule is slightly different because we have a guest lecture; check our meeting schedule for details. July’s meeting is on Sunday, July 16, 2017.
Meeting location:
Rush Oak Park Hospital
Centennial Room
520 S. Maple Ave Oak Park, Il 60304
A list of our meeting schedules 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 at our next meeting!
