This month’s meeting was “All About Bags!” Members Holly Harper, Donna Moscinski, Sally Prokopec, and Sarah Shulman shared with us “the good, the bad, and the ugly” of bag making.
They each shared their experience in how to make sturdy handles, what kind of fabrics and interfacing they prefer, their favorite patterns and designers, and where to find the best in bag making supplies.
Sarah couldn’t stress enough how important the smallest of details are when making a bag look professional. They each brought along and shared with us some of the beautiful bags. Here’s their complete list of their preferred designers and vendors.
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| Clockwise, from upper left: Sarah Shulman, Sally Prokopec, Donna Moscinski, Holly Harper. |
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| Photo courtesy of Laura McDowell Hopper |
Former member Betsy Siber is debuting her first fabric collection with Michael Miller this week at Quilt Market. At the meeting, Betsy practiced her “schoolhouse” presentation. It gave the guild a glimpse into world (aka business side) of Quilt Market. Her collection, Everglades, will be available soon.
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| Betsy Siber practiced her Schoolhouse presentation in advance of Quilt Market |
Announcements from today’s meeting
The MQG has announced the Charity Challenge for QuiltCon 2018. The topic is “Exploring Modern Traditionalism.” President Amy Struckmeyer presented her concept for this quilt at last month’s meeting; it will be a Mystery Quilt of sorts. The design is a modern interpretation of an art deco-inspired Chicago Star block.
At the meeting, members were able to pick a block and choose their fabrics. The blocks are due at the December meeting. At that time, they will be put up on a design wall and the pattern will be revealed to all. The resulting quilt top design will be a surprise for most and the color combinations a surprise for everyone, including the organizers Heather Kinion and Amy.
Member Emily Lang will be coordinating a “Secret Mini Quilt Swap.” To participate, you are encouraged to provide a small scrap of “inspiration fabric” for your swap partner to use as a starting point for design and/or color. Around November 5, you will receive your swap partner’s name, and your mini quilt will be due at the February 18, 2018 meeting. Please be very cautious of what you share on social media as you don’t want to give away any clues as to who your swap partner is. Remember, it’s a secret, shhhh!!!
Our November 19 meeting will be focused on UFOs. This meeting is being coordinated by member Debbie Pine. To learn more about this meeting and how you can contribute click here. If you have any questions please contact Debbie.
Our December 10 meeting will be our Holiday Potluck and Social. There will be a blind gift swap where you bring a wrapped handmade gift that took you two hours or less to make. Unlike in past years, time is your only limit on what you can make as a gift. But please remember that our membership practices many faiths, so please make your gift non-denominational. Ideas will be posted soon on the guild’s Pinterest Board, though you are certainly free to make whatever you want. Participation is optional.
Our January 2018 meeting will be a Member Trunk Show. This is a guild favorite and you won’t want to miss it!
Our guild has a newsletter called “The Full Bobbin.” One of its purposes is to promote all the AWEWOME stuff our members are doing. If you have a quilt in a show or magazine, a teaching gig, or are hosting an event we want to know about it! Please make sure to contact Jenni so it can be included in the next issue.
Would you like to get more involved in the guild? How about serving on the Board? Next year, Treasurer Dani Miller and Secretary Dianne Bienick will be departing, and Vice President Heather Kinion will be moving to the President position (opening the VP position). There may be other board positions open as well. The new board will take effect in April 2018 and the only requirement to serve on the board is that you are a member of the guild for at least one year (as of April 2018). If you would like to serve your guild or if you have any questions regarding these positions please contact Heather.
Our Special Events Chairperson Laura McDowell Hopper is looking for locations to host guild workshops and sew-ins. She is looking for a space that can accommodate 24 people with ample electrical outlets for their sewing machines and to set-up several ironing stations throughout the room. 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
Members Sarah Shulman and Dianne Bienick are leading an effort to make quilts for Local Veterans through the Road Home Program. Two quilts are currently in process of being quilted by Members Sarah Evans and Tricia Royal. We still have one more quilt planned and we will slowly work towards getting it pieced. There are plenty of ways to get involved so please contact Sarah S. or Dianne if you are interested.
At the August meeting, member Debbie Pine brought in some foundation paper squares to make string blocks. There were some leftovers and they were distributed at the September meeting. Please refer to the September meeting recap for instructions (including a video) on how to piece these blocks. Please bring your completed block(s) to the November meeting, where Debbie will be collecting them. They will be used to make charity quilt(s).
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.
This month’s meeting is on Sunday, November 19
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!
