May Show N' Tell

It was another great month of Show N' Tell in May! Our Summer WIP challenge is in full swing and many projects brought to show in May were entered into the raffle for a gift card to Quilted Threads. What better incentive to finish works in progress than the prospect of new fabric!

The first show from VP Chelsea is a baby quilt she made with our Janome blocks.

Her second show is another charity quilt, this time for the Make a Wish Foundation

The back fabric of this quilt is the same as the front, the front is just fussy cut to make fabulous shapes!

Sandy made these cute knitting bags

Kathy made a holiday wreath and a table runner that both look great. As an added bonus she used colors that are out of her comfort zone. Great job Kathy!

Gail was gifted this Wax Cotton from an exchange student staying with her. As a garment sewer I (Carolanne) think this would make a great shirt or shirtdress!

Marie made placemats and wine coasters for her step daughter who is getting married.

Susie made two beautiful quilts this month, including her Riley Blake challenge rainbow quilt. 

Janice made this chevron beauty with her new bloc loc ruler.

This is the first quilt that Betsy machine quilted, great job lady!

This is a round robin quilt that Annick started in 2011. Each row represents a different person and there's even a piece of her wedding dress on this. What a great keepsake! 

This other piece from Annick was from a class she took with the Singing Quilter.

Annick was on fire for May and also made this hexagon quilt that has pieces that represent her and each of her brothers. 

Beth also made a baby quilt for charity using the Janome blocks we worked on earlier this year.

Here's the strip from my feather's quilt that is still a work in progress. I spent almost the entire retreat working on these blocks so I really wanted to share my first strip.

Book Swap at the June Meeting

Do you have quilting books to prune from your collection? Would you like to add some new titles to your library? You can do both at the guild-wide book swap on June 21st!

To participate, bring in gently used quilting books to the June monthly meeting. For each book you contribute, you will receive a ticket that you can redeem for a book in the swap. Any unused tickets you have will go into a raffle for a $25 gift certificate to Pintuck and Purl.

If you don’t have any books to contribute to the swap, you can still play! Each title you select from the swap will cost $5.

The fine print: Please bring books—no magazines—that are in good condition, with no damage or extensive writing. Each person may contribute up to 10 titles. Once you’ve found a book and redeemed a ticket for it, you cannot return the book to the swap. Any unclaimed books at the end of the evening will be donated to charity.

May Meeting Reminder

Welcome to May, quilters! Do you know what happens later this month? International Quilt Market! All of the new fabric lines will be shown and we'll all spend months lusting after them. It's a great time to be a quilter!

We also have some excitement ready for our May meeting. Normally we give everyone a raffle ticket when they check in and everyone is entered for a free giveaway, but this month we're taking it up a notch and everyone gets special treat! We'll keep that item a surprise until check-in time.

For our other raffles items we will have:

6 half-yards of Clementine by Heather Bailey

&

4 half-yards of Simply Colors II by Vanessa Christenson

Please bring in your favorite modern quilting book or quilting reference to the meeting. We're going to spend some time sharing our favorite quilting reads. (Are you new to quilting or don't have a quilting library? No worries -- just bring yourself!)

We will have signups for Fall Retreat (more info here) and our fall workshop with Timna Tarr.

See everyone on Tuesday May 17th at 7!

Join Us for Two Events with Amy Garro!

Hello friends! It’s Michelle here, one of the NHMQG vice presidents.

I have a pretty good gig with our guild. I get to schedule events outside of the meetings, including workshops, trunk shows, and other cool stuff. And if you haven’t heard, we’re kicking off the summer next month with a weekend with Amy Garro.

Amy is a modern quilt designer, known for her precision paper piecing, creative free-motion quilting, and angular, at times masculine, aesthetic. She’s also an author, blogger, and teacher.

On Saturday, June 11th, we’re holding a daylong paper-piecing workshop with Amy to work on her Icy Waters design ...

Spots in our workshop always go to members first (it’s a benefit of becoming a member!). However, I’m happy to announce that we still have a few spots available, and we’d love for you to join us. Here are the high-level details of the day:

Amy Garro’s Icy Waters Workshop
at Quilted Threads in Henniker, NH
Saturday, June 11
9 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. (participants should arrive to set up between 8:30 and 8:45)
$110 for non-NHMQG members (the price includes lunch)

Icy Waters is an intermediate paper-piecing workshop. Participants are required to own a copy of Amy’s book, Paper Pieced Modern, which contains the pattern we’ll need for the day.

If you haven’t been to Quilted Threads before, it alone is reason to venture to Henniker. They have everything—modern fabric, Japanese fabric, tons of Cotton and Steel, some more traditional fabrics, and a sweet sale room. Workshop participants will enjoy 15% off regularly priced merchandise the day of the event.

We’ll start the day off with scones and fruit, and we’ll break for an hour in the middle of the day for lunch. Lunch is included in the price of the workshop, and our spread will feature salads, wraps, and dessert.

If you’re interested, email me at michelle.l.cain (at) gmail (dot) com, and I’ll fill you in on how to sign up and prepare for the workshop.

If you can’t make it to the workshop, the guild is also hosting a trunk show with Amy, on Sunday, June 12 ...

At this afternoon trunk show with Amy at Messiah Lutheran Church in Amherst, NH, participants will be encouraged to view Amy’s designs up close. Admission for this event for NHMQG members is free. Admission for the public is $5/person.

We look forward to seeing you in June or at a monthly meeting in the near future!

April Show N' Tell

Our April meeting was a blast! We discussed upcoming workshops, plans for QuiltCon 2017, a work in progress challenge (with prize!!) and VP Chelsea shared an easy tutorial for creating quilt labels using stamps. It was a fun first half of the meeting followed by our usually Show N' Tell. Take a look at what our members made!

Janice made the Fancy Foxes Quilt for her husband and her corner label is very nifty!

Jess created an awesome Leigh Heinrich Quilt!

Dee shared a bag she made that is perfect for traveling because it has a pocket that attached to your carry on.

Diane shared a quilt where she used half square triangles for the first time. Go Diane!

Mary Jean shared some fabric samples she made during an indigo dying workshop at MQX.

 Michelle had two fun projects so share! A half rectangle triangle quilt and a pixilated hearts quilt.

We had a guest bring in two tuffets. She said the red velvet one is so soft that it feels like touching a kitten!

Kathleen finished up her 2012 block of the month quilt from Crafsty. Looks awesome!

René shared what is sure to be everyones new favorite tool, a magnetic pin cushion.

Ellen shared the quilt she is making for her son to take off to college with him. She didn't follow a pattern and used the two strip technique. This was a fun top to watch her put together at our spring retreat!

Debbie showed us her Toes in the Sand quilt, so pretty!

Ellen took part in a strip challenge and used a photo as inspiration. She even painted and bleached the fabric to make these circles pop!

Another fun quilt to see being made at retreat! Kim was working on this Northern Lights quilt and doesn't it look amazing?

New member Christine brought in the pineapple blocks she made at MQX using the Kona color of the year.

Sue made this lovely quilt for her daughter and it's been in her WIP pile for 5 years. Great finish Sue!

Denise, aka the LRC winner from our fall 2015 retreat, worked on this quilt in between her winning games!

2016 Fall Retreat

It's time to sign up for the fall retreat!

We've found a wonderful inn on the beach in West Dennis, Cape Cod, called the Lighthouse Inn. It is ocean front and our sewing room looks out over the water! Check it out!

Retreat will take place October 6-9, and you can stay for 2 or 3 nights.

The retreat costs includes hot breakfast and use of all the facilities.

We'll be staying in the Gate House and the Lodge. Each house has 6 bedrooms with private bathrooms and small refrigerators. There are 2 smaller cottages if we need them. 

Sewing is in the Main House. The sewing room will have ironing boards and irons, and each sewist will have her own table!

Pricing

3-night single: $422.00
2-night single: $315.00

3-night double: $220.00
2-night double: $165.00

Sign-ups will be at our meeting next week. Payment is due in full. If you can't make the meeting but want to reserve your spot, contact Patty (pamagaw [at] comcast [dot] net) or send us a message on Facebook.