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Wednesday 24 May 2017

MMQG May 2017 Meeting: a Poppyprint Trunk Show with Krista Hennebury

On May 11 we gathered in our usual meeting space, a little earlier than normal.

We were excited! "What would she bring?" we wondered. "Will we get to snuggle the quilts?"
But of course, we sure did. We had over 75 POUNDS of quilts to look at and cuddle, during our special Trunk Show with the lovely and talented Krista Hennebury of Poppyprint.

Krista's time with us represented the end of the whirlwhind #maritimepoppyprint2017 tour, wrapping up three weeks spent with different guilds in different places on the east coast of Canada - and a quick nip to France!

It was a packed house with 23 members and 3 guests who came to see what Krista had to share. We were also treated with the opportunity to buy patterns and Krista's book: Make It, Take It: 16 Cute and Clever Projects to Sew With Friends. My personal favorite is the needle book that has POCKETS so you can stash your needle packages and remember exactly what size top-stitch needles you may have purchased. Not that anyone ever forgets these things... šŸ˜†

We started the evening off with a little presentation from Krista called "Modern Quilting: What's it all about?" A great review of the things that make a quilt modern. For those already familiar with the concept gained knowledge of some pioneering designers and quilt artists who really built the foundation of the modern quilting movement. It was a real treat to see photos of some of the Gee's Bend quilts, where you can see the pocket outlines in the stripes. The first modern quilts were made of field clothes and old dresses, end cuts and scraps from the corduroy pillowcases made for Sears Roebuck by the Freedom Quilting Bee collaborative for some time in the 1970's.

The modern quilt is made to be loved, sat on, washed and dried, thrown in the car, taken on road trips, and picnic-ed upon, taken to school by grown and growing up kids, and gifted to newlyweds - always carried around by, and wrapped around, the people who love them.

Now, the trunk show. As Krista described the stories behind some of her pieces, you could hear a pin drop. Krista's work is absolutely infused with colour, life and love.

Now, I'll let the pictures do the talking:
We were excited to get going, after a few updates from Crystal.


It was kind of neat to talk about the digital influence on quilting, when I was documenting the meeting on Instagram!

The photos were taken at a Gee's Bend exhibit in Toronto. Note the pocket outlines on the denim.

A visual representation, by Krista, of the decision in the USA to allow same sex marriage.
The "wonky piano keys" technique, we learned in the Speed Date with Improv workshop the following Sunday.

This is where Krista's Magic Happens! :)

One of Krista's fave early pieces.

A quilt to remind Krista and her family of her mother in law.

All selvedges, all the time!


Some adorable minis!

And a pear runner.

Many of us were touched by the story of the Cutting Garden - and many of us went home with the pattern.

The Light Of May - the quilt so nice, she quilted it twice! Krista says the entire sordid tale is on her blog.

This quilt got Krista some major traction in the Modern Quilting world - rightfully so! Such a cool visual.

Pillow covers that look a little Nordic.

Improv! We love it. Quilted in the Wonky Waffle!

difficult to photograph, easy to fawn over in person!

The Lone Star. This is strip pieced - no Y seams!

This quilt hung at Quilt Con

Some of the darling projects from Make It, Take It - and the books themselves!

Perusing the wares Krista had to share with us.

We love the text element in this modified Dresden 

The quilting!




And great big hand stitching. Beautiful.

Quarter Round - our Saturday Class with Krista.

a Macaron pattern - with a neat trick for cutting/assembly!

Just vibrant.

Fingers for scale - check out those teeny checkers! 

Oakshott Cottons - so vivid!

The cutest little needle book.

And we just couldn't get enough of that text!

Hoping that even if you weren't there in person - this post will provide a taste of the wonderful evening we had with Krista.

Have you got a favorite Poppyprint pattern? We'd love to know!

Wednesday 10 May 2017

MMQG April 2017 Recap - Meetings and Sew Ins and Retreats - OH MY!

Hello there followers from near and far!

April 2017 was SUCH an exciting month for the MMQG - we've hardly had time to organize our thoughts about it. Please enjoy some highlights of our April meeting, our April sew in, and of course we'd be amiss not to mention the retreat. The retreat was so amazing - it will get it's own post!

April Meeting - April 13th 2017

We had a great time at our April meeting - attendance was thinner than last month as it's possible this was the first beautiful weather evening of the year.

To start us off on the right foot - we did a prize draw and new member Nora was the winner! Horray!
We had a short business list to take care of, including reminders about our Poppyprint Trunk Show at our May meeting and the upcoming Executive Challenge due in June! Think hard about "Words on Quilts", members - there are some pretty exciting prizes on the line I've heard!



Yay April Meeting!


We polished off the business portion with a great big THANK YOU to amazing Retreat Coordinator Amanda (who had recovered nicely by the meeting and we appreciate so much). What a wonderful time we had at retreat, and Amanda was instrumental in making it all happen.

Thank you Amanda!
For our program that evening - we had the lovely and talented Vice President Jennifer (A Quarter Inch from the Edge) blow our minds entirely with some amazing time saving techniques and tips. The chain piecing of polaroid blocks pretty much stole the show!

YOU CAN MAKE SO MANY AT ONCE!
And don't underestimate the importance of painter's tape.

... or a well organized fish tub.


And as per usual - Show and Share was out of this world.

We saw lots of pillows for donation to a local long term care facility.



Anja brought her massive roll 'o labels that may last her the rest of her earthly life - they are so nice!


Two beauties were brought to show by the lovely Julia




We saw some quilted maps and mini landscapes from Andrea



And we also heard about a special project involving upcycled clothes - and a special birthday party planned supporting community agriculture.



I would be amiss not to mention the Owl Work-Cape from Andrea B - clever!


And, last but not least - baby hexagons from Amanda! She might be addicted to making these.


April Sew In - April 22nd 2017


About a dozen of us gathered on a rainy Saturday in April - at our usual sew-in spot. It was a great day for sewing as the rain came and went all day long. Extreme fog too! No one felt guilty for staying inside to sew.

I'll let the pictures from the day speak for themselves!

It was a little #seamwork #pillowfactory on the go!

Julie brought a King Size flimsy which will be a beautiful qui-vet cover.

unintentional heart scraps #quiltlove

the beginnings of a baby quilt for a special boy

this is what a temperature quilt looks like... before it's assembled!

And we were hard at the quilt math, too.

Much trimming, and sewing, and laughs, as always. 


2nd Annual MMQG Retreat - April 7, 8 & 9 2017


This special weekend at White Point Beach Resort was outstanding in every way. The food, the service, the incredible sewing space, the GENEROUS prize sponsors, the good times with great quilty pals... I could go on - but I won't yet.

The Lakeside Hall was perfect for us
Our cozy foyer

Some of our work on display to show anyone who stopped by







Swag Bags! Like Christmas Morning.



The retreat was SO incredible, it will get it's own great big blog post - but I'd be remiss to not mention it in the great Epic April 2017 Recap. Here's hoping you enjoyed the few teaser pictures and stay tuned for the full post! Thank you to everyone who participated and again BIG thanks to Amanda who made it all come together. 

Stay tuned for lots more from the blog in the month of May!
Happy sewing, and we hope you come back for updates and some new features soon.