March Meeting, 2015 - New Space!

We got a lovely surprise when we arrived at The Workroom, our usual meeting place for the guild, because Karen, the proprietor, offered us the use of her *new* studio space as a location for this months meeting!

Look at that! Its so big and bright and spacious! We got some chairs, passed around some snacks and got right down to business. And by "business", I mean showing off what we all made this month. Get yourself a cup of tea and settle in because this is going to be a loooooong post. 

Doris was working on this bright and beautiful quilt, trying to decide how it should be quilted together, now that she has is all sandwiched up. There were a lot of good suggestions, and we'll have to see for the next meeting what she decides to go with. 

Here's the fun-filled back.

Julie is taking part in an Instagram rainbow mini-quilt themed swap (#rainbowminiswap) hosted by Katebasti. These adorable little hexies are 3/4 inch sized. She decided to keep this hexie project….

…and make this one for the swap instead! There is going to be a very happy swap recipient out there if you ask me. This thing is gorgeous!

Sadly, this was Dana's last meeting with us. Dana is originally from the Ukraine, and has been visiting Canada for the last little while, and joined our little guild in order to "experience the authentic North American quilt guild culture." She does beautiful work (like that amazing hand quilted bag in the picture above that she had finished making for a friend), and we were happy to have her join our meetings for a short time.

And here's a stunning blue and white quilt top she just completed. She's now continuing on in her travels, heading off the the United States for awhile before she goes home to the Ukraine. Bon Voyage Dana!

Leanne had dyed some of her own fabric and was hand-sewing some flying geese, in the most soft and subtle colours. 

And Zorianna was also making some flying geese blocks, to be added around this adorable animal block to make stars. 

Lisa was very productive this month. She made this eye catching mini quilt based on the Carolyn Friedlander pattern "Groove", using Doe fabric.

And then she made this handy little thing. Its a sort of notebook cozy/caddy that has a space for your pens and cards and electronics...

…and can be conveniently attached to whatever notebook/agenda/sketchbook you happen to be using. And as a bonus, it is very pretty. 

And to top it all off she made this beautiful quilt! 

Even the back is pretty! And its all basted and ready to go for quilting. 

Carol brought in this finished baby quilt to show us. It is made with Sandy Gervais' "Flirt" fabric line from Moda. So its called "Flirting with Flirt". Naturally. She used two charm packs of "Flirt", sewed up  into half-square triangles and set into chevrons. So pretty!

Valerie brought in the most jaw-dropping gorgeous modern interpretation of a traditional curved/ring pattern, like a Snake Trail or Wedding Ring.

And look at this beautiful number!

Here's a close up so you can see the sweet little bird houses and the bead details. Also, the quilting is amazing. So much great texture in this piece. 

Adrienne took up Julie's generous hexie challenge (where she gave us pre-cut fabric and paper templates and told us to go to it) and made this beautiful notebook cover. She appliquéd the hexes onto some bonded leather that she reclaimed from a sofa.

I'm telling you, the light in this place was gorgeous. Everyone looked like a woman out of a Vermeer painting. Katrina here is obviously contemplating her next quilting project…

Katrina had been on a bit of a sewing retreat, and so had a lot to show us. This finished top is made from the Mixtape quilt pattern by Elizabeth Hartman. 

And this the Stepping Stones pattern from Quilting Modern by Jackie Gering and Katie Pedersen.

But wait, there's more!

Look at theses sweet little tree blocks. They are paper pieced from Carolyn Friedlander's "Olive" pattern. 

I'm going to have to put these on my project "wish list". Also, these fabric choices are so great! 

Laura had made the most delightful baby quilt for her friends. She calls it "Love Bundle", and its adapted from and Orange Peel like pattern from the Fat Quarterly Shape Workshop book by Katy Jones. 

The fabric is all from Sarah Jane's "Wee Wander" line. I love the panel that she used on the back!

But here's the sweetest bit of all! Look at that lovely little dedication, hand embroidered on the binding. Such a great idea for where to put the label!

Sue brought in a finished Around the World quilt that I am just in love with. The beautiful palette of brights and neutrals gives it a really lovely antique feel, and yet it looks so fresh and modern. A great blend of traditional pattern and modern fabric. 

And we all ooohed and aaaahed over the handwriting number text fabric on the back. I remember it being sold at Ikea ages ago and am kicking myself that I did not buy it when I saw it. 

Debi used the handy interfacing method to make these postage stamp blocks that are destined to be cushion covers. I've used this technique before, and its brilliant. 

She made this nice little charm pack window-box style block as well. 

Jeannie brought in her eye-popping 'cover girl' quilt, Kaleido (which she designed herself of course) as featured on the front of Januray/February issue of Quilty. Such a great accomplishment. 

And here's another little something she's been working on, from The New Hexagon book. I am amazed and inspired by this. Everybody went crazy for it, so I feel like we'll be seeing more of these from our guild in the future...

Samara also took up Julie's hexie challenge, and made this awesome appliquéd zip pouch. 

and then she busted out THIS amazingness. 

These are appliquéd imaginary portraits of her high school classmates from the 80's. Sort of. Basically they are not based on real people, so much as based on style trends that she remembered her classmates embracing, like tuxedo t-shirts and porkpie hats. 

Berene brought in this sweet little market bag. Its from a design my Ayumi Takahashi of the Pink Penguin blog, and is published in the book Make It, Take It, authored by Krista Hennebury. 

She also showed us this adorable mini quilt featuring little purses that actually snap open! This one is her own design. 

Rebecca is, as usual, the Queen of the Neutrals. This quilt top was made by her and her daughter. It was her daughter's first patchwork experience, so she's off to a great start. 

And speaking of starts, we are at the finish! Thanks for sticking around all the way to the end of this epic post. And come back next month for more.