September 2023 Recap
September was a sew day and we assembled out community quilt!
First, we want to thank every one who took a block kit and braved the scant quarter inch seam allowance! We had 100% of the blocks returned and we were able to get most of the quilt assembled before everyone headed home. Special thanks to Rose and Connie, on our community charity quilt committee. Also, thank you to those members who were willing to tweak blocks and remake the ones we couldn’t for the front. We see you and we’re so grateful!
We have confirmed the Sarah Goer workshop, Building An Improv Toolbox, for October. Supply lists will be gong out this week!
October’s meeting is all about fabric weaving! We’ve already sent out emails with the supply list, but here they are, one more time:
Supplies you will need to bring:
some kind of weaving tool… see options below
pins
Scissors
strips of fabric at least 9" length, prepared by either:
cut 2.5" strips (or use a jelly roll!), fold in half lengthwise and sew the long edge together with a 1/4" seam, turn the tube so the seam is on the inside and press. You will then have 1" wide strips
cut 2" strips and press the long edges to the center for a finished 1' wide strip to work with.
Tips for picking fabric:
Coordinating colors
Color gradient
2-3 similar tones with a contrasting pop
"ugly" fabrics can look better as small strips
Want some ideas for this project? Visit Weftyneedle.com and check out the blog.
** You can purchase a Wefty needle, but if you’re not sure if you want to commit, here is the Wefty and two alternatives - a bodkin and a homemade Wefty from template plastic:
Image 1 from the Wefty website, Image 2 from Joann.com
We also REALLY want to get the 2023 charity quilt into a new home. If you have ANY suggestions, bring the organization’s information with you for the October meeting. We’re voting on where Meet Me At the Point should go.
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Things we want you to remember! Now functional on the website: Workshop Registration, Submit Bio, Guild By-Laws, Suggest A Shop, Submit Show & Tell, Membership Roster buttons are all good to go. The roster button is also live.
August 2023 Recap
Whew! August was chock full of information, plus we had cupcakes. Community blocks went out, we covered QuiltCon registration and framing quilt blocks.
Whew! This meeting set a record! We had 38 attendees, including 4 guests! Thank you so much for showing up to celebrate our guild’s birthday! I did a little digging, and it appears that the “birthday” of the guild is July 7, 2012. So, we’re 11 years old! We gave members their new MQG member pins (now with snazzy magnetic clasps) and everyone could enjoy cupcakes in the guild’s colors.
Programs:
The first part of programming was Cheralee talking about framing quilt blocks; this was a survey result back in February. She gave three examples with variations: framing using paper, canvas, and using an embroidery hoop. Additional links can be found in the meeting slides. Most of the supplies can be found at your local craft store or on Amazon to DIY the project.
The second portion of programming was Rose & Cheralee explaining the scant quarter inch seam allowance needed with an assist by Mary. Lo & Behold Stitchery wrote the pattern we are using for the charity quilt this year and the instructions call for a scant quarter inch seam. There is a link in the meeting slides as well as in the post written for anyone who was struggling with their block. Community Quilt Block Tips We distributed the blocks for the cahrity quilt and ask that all blocks be ready for the September 9, 2023 assembly day.
The current challenge is to make any quilt using just 3-5 colors. Please use the #pghmqgltdcolor hashtag!
Future programming:
September - Sew Day
October - Fabric Weaving
November - Temperature Quilts
December - Winter Party & Sew Day
President:
Mary covered the information necessary to prep for the August 15th registration for QuiltCon. The email that you provided through the registration with the PghMQG is the email we provide to the MQG. Your PghMQG membership includes membership to the MQG. If you aren’t receiving the weekly MQG emails, please let Gail know. QuiltCon offers discounts and a free 4 day pass to members who register before 11/30/2023. You can find out more about entering your quilts, the challenges being displayed at the 2024 location (Raleigh, NC) and more at QuiltCon.com
We are still acccepting registrations for the improv workshop in October! This is a 2-day Zoom workshop, so wear your PJs, we don’t care! The cost is $40 for members, and we will be opening up the registration to other guilds and the public at large in September. We only have 20 seats, so hurry up and RSVP! You can commit to the workshop through the registration button in the Members-Only section of the site. Then send or bring your payment in. Building An Improv Toolbox with Sarah Goer
Social Media:
The migration of the Facebook accounts is ongoing, but the August goals include moving the 700+ photos we currently have on Flickr to the Archives here on our own site. Maintenance to the Flickr account lapsed sometime around 2017 (?) and reducing the number of websites that we have profiles on was one of the goals leadership identified when we first began building the new site. Linking more of the old content to the new site from the old blog as well as adding more programming content is also ongoing.
Treasurer:
Jen presented our Fiscal Year 2023-2024 projected budget. It includes amounts for some new equipment, and also emphasized that we don’t aim to make a profit off our our workshops. You can check that slide out in the Archives, found through the Members-Only portion of the site.
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Things we want you to remember! Now functional on the website: Workshop Registration, Submit Bio, Guild By-Laws, Suggest A Shop, Submit Show & Tell, Membership Roster buttons are all good to go. The roster button is also live. The Beaver Valley Piecemakers show is accepting entries, too! You can find more info in our calendar. ONE LAST THING, our own member, Karen, is running in the Region 3 MQG election. You should have received an email from the MQG regarding the candidates. Voting ends Sept 7, 2023.
2023 Community Quilt Block Tips
We heard you! The community quilt blocks are trickier than expected. Try these tips and let us know if you’re still struggling. You can do it!
I’ve heard from a handful of people that the blocks are really challenging their sewing skills. The other volunteers and I would never choose something we weren’t confident that the members could handle. That’s why we did the piecing of the strip sets for you. So, while we covered the instructions we created and the details Lo & Behold gave us, I want to review some information that I found useful in making Blocks 1 and 3A. (Block 3B is virtually identical to 3A. Block 2 is referred to below.) If you find that, after giving it a go, these blocks just are NOT working for you - bring the block (in whatever condition it is) to the Sew Day and we can troubleshoot from there.
Measure, Measure, Measure!
Before you do anything with sewing the pieces, press them. Then measure them against what you are supposed to have in your kit. We (the volunteers) are only human and may have made an error. My own purple square for Block 2 was .25” short on one side! Replacement pieces can be provided, though, so just reach out in the comments below and let us know.
If you haven’t worked with them before, strips are tricky, They have to be cut precisely, or the partial threads in the grain will cause them to be loosey-goosey as you sew the full length. We had these cut by Accuquilt to get as close to perfect as possible, That means they won’t have alot of give and you can’t fudge the seam allowance with pressing. The other thing to remember is the width. At 1.5” wide, these are NARROW. As you sew and then press, I encourage you to measure everything. When joining 2 strips, ensure each is now 1.25” wide. When joining with a third strip, ensure that the now-middle strip is exactly 1” wide.
After you join each section, measure them against the expected dimensions. Try to course-correct as you go instead of waiting until the end and then finding out you have an issue.
Precision:
Because of the width of the strips, the margin for error is tiny. Like, a matter of threads. Not only do you need to be concerned about the scant seam allowance, you need to be really careful in other areas. Pin like your life depends on it if you feel you need to. When laying the RS of the fabric together and placing under the pressure foot, pay attention to whether both fabrics are edge to edge or if you have one even a few threads past the other.
See that mint green sticking out by a smidge? You absolutely don’t want that.
Scant Seam Allowance:
Lo & Behold Scant Seam Alliance Tutorial
Okay. Here’s the thing. You can only sew and rip out so many times with the community fabric before it’s going to get chewed up. Take some scrap strips and sew them together to get comfortable with how scant you feel your seam allowance should be. I personally found between the “scant” and “too scant” was where I did the best. You have to find what works for you. I can assure you, it won’t be 1/8” and it won’t be a full 1/4”…
You can see here, it is literally a matter of a few threads.
So you measured everything, you pressed correctly, you feel like your seam allowance is solid…and your block isn’t the right dimensions. First, take a deep breath. Get up and walk away for a moment. Whatever. If you are “too scant”, your block will be too big. If you measure again, you will probably see how you are over a thread or two somewhere, and that makes all the difference. MY Block 3A was 6.5”x6.75”. I had 5 seams to fix and a 1/4” to somehow use up.
On the right is my original seam allowance. On the left is the seam I stitched right next to it. I did this on all 5 seams. I pressed, prayed ;) and remeasured the block. I was at 6.5” square.
If your block is too small, you’ll need to go back and identify where the seam allowance is too big. Check the entire length of the strip, just in case you wobbled as you sewed. Hopefully it is a single seam or two and you can adjust it surgically without taking everything apart. If you cannot, and you have to restitch every seam, take note of the holes in the fabric from the previous seam and stitch to the RIGHT of the holes. If you are successful, when you re-press your block, you will see the holes now exposed. Don’t forget to remeasure as you go, too.
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Things we want you to remember! We are using a stitch length of 1.8 to sew the blocks. Please use a light beige thread, no heavier than 50 wt. Do not aggressively press the strips open from the front. Press, don’t iron. You may distort a perfectly good seam allowance. We suggest not starching or misting because someone reported that their strips shrunk. These are Moda Bella Solids, for what it’s worth.
Cheralee plus Connie, Rose, Patti, Peggy and Kathy
PS- If you have any tips or tricks, please share them below in the comments so we can keep all of the info in one place. Good luck!