February Meeting Recap

The guild met on Saturday February 18.  

Members dropped off quilts that are going to hang in our KMQG Quilt Show in March.  The Quilt Show will run from March 6th - 30th at The Emporium, 100 S Gay St., Knoxville, TN 37902.

Some other quilt shows in the area:

• QuiltCon Atlanta: Atlanta Convention Center at AmericasMart, Atlanta, Feb 23-26
• A Mountain Quiltfest: Pigeon Forge, June 5-8
• Smokey Mountain Quilters Quilt Show: Knoxville Expo Center, June 23-24 (Deadline for entries April 22)

Our first Restoration House Project charity quilt gives members scope to choose their block - just so long as it includes one of the polka dot fabrics supplied, and as long as it is a star block.  The star blocks are due in at the April meeting - watch this space for pictures when those blocks come together.

An introduction was given to our 2023 QuiltAlong which members can do as a mystery if they wish.  We have two months to choose fabrics before getting started.

Thanks to everyone who filled in our survey about Retreats and Sew-ins.  These responses will be used to put together a program of events for the year.

As usual, we had a great selection of projects in the Show & Tell, including several 'Mystery Purple' mini quilts which will be on display at the Quilt Show.

Two mini quilts from Michelle

and Michelle's 'Rage Made Beautiful' quilt recording Knox county's
Covid positive cases and Covid deaths
from March 1 2020 to October 1 2022

Diana

Christy

Christy

Paulina's cheerful gingham quilt - including a sunflower on the back

Paulina

Nancy

Nancy

Jane

Pat

Pat and Jo

Annie

Janne

Jo - including the back to show the lovely quilting

Jo

Elaine

Misty

Sandy

Sandy

Emily

Emily

Betsy

Kelly

Elizabeth

Elizabeth

Next Meeting: Saturday March 18, 10:30 to 12:00

February 2022 Meeting Recap

The February meeting was held at the Westminster Presbyterian Church, it was great to meet in person again after being back to a virtual meeting in January. 

It was good to hear about the recent QuiltCon in Phoenix and see some pictures from that event, and to hear that next year it will be closer!

Some local Quilting events coming up over the summer:

• A Mountain QuiltFest - June 6-9 in Pigeon Forge
• Smokey Mountain Quilters Quilt Show - August 5-6 at the Knoxville Expo Center

Blocks started coming in for our first charity quilt of 2022: the remaining blocks are due in March.  We look forward to seeing them all put together into a quilt.

The first of the blocks for our 2022 Block of the Month Quilt-along was introduced - a Graduated Geese block - check out the details in this post.  Look out next month for the second block.

From Show and Tell this month:

Elizabeth R

Leighanne C

Sherry K

Jo H

Christy C

Vanna R

Jane D,       Nancy J,      Misty B
Laura L

The next meeting is on Saturday 19 March at the Westminster Presbyterian Church.  Social time from 10:15am, meeting starts at 10:30am.   We look forward to seeing you then.

February 2021 Meeting Recap

 

Our February meeting of the Knoxville Modern Quilt Guild was postponed a week to allow our members more time to participate in QuiltCon Together. We had 13 members in attendance at our meeting. Erin, Emily, Misty, Elizabeth, Jennifer, and Sherry shared their QuiltCon Together experiences and thoughts on the virtual convention. QuiltCon 2022 is Phoenix and QuiltCon 2023 is scheduled for Atlanta.

We currently have two Virtual Sit & Stitch sessions scheduled, Thursday, 03/25/21 from 7pm-9pm and Saturday, 04/24/21 from 7pm-9pm. Keep an eye on your inbox for Zoom info.

Featured Freebie

This month's Featured Freebie is provided by Elizabeth Rea. She introduced us to a fabric-folding tutorial and video from SuzyQuilts.com. The link to it and past Featured Freebies can be found at http://www.knoxvillemqg.com/p/featured-freebie.html. If you're interested in sharing a free pattern or tutorial that you've found useful, please reach out to modknoxville@gmail.com.

Member Spotlight

Do you follow the Knoxville Modern Quilt Guild on Instagram (@knoxmqg)? Our most recent Member Spotlight is posted there as well as here on our blog. Read more about Kelly Buch and her work. This is a great way to get to know our members better -- especially while we're social distancing.

Placemat Collection for Meals on Wheels

Head's up! Twisted Sisters Quilt Shop in Maryville is collecting placemats for Meals on Wheels recipients. Standard placemat size is around 14x16 inches -- this is a great way to use orphan blocks and scraps. From Twisted Sisters:

We are collecting placemats to be donated to Smoky Mountain Meals on Wheels next November. Our goal is to collect at least 1,000 so every member served via Meals on Wheels will receive a placemat. These can be any style you want, one sided or reversible; something they can use all year. The recipients are all adults. Since we don't know the percentage of male versus female, placemats that would be good for any person will be appreciated.

Charity Quilting

During the meeting we received updates from our Charity Quilt Quilting Bees. All three groups are making good progress towards planning and piecing their quilts. We look forward to seeing the quilts as they're completed.

Quilt-Along 2021

The KMQG's Chromatic Quilt-along was so much fun last year that we're starting a new one in 2021 running March through June. The pattern is Hyphenated, a free offering from Art Gallery Fabrics https://liveartgalleryfabrics.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Hyphenated_Quilt-Instructions.pdf. A timeline and more resources will be sent to members following the March meeting.

Quilt Shows

A Mountain Quiltfest is being held May 5-7 at the LeConte Center in Pigeon Forge. Quilts can be entered at the Pigeon Forge Office of Special Events Friday April 9th, Saturday April 10th or mailed in by Wednesday March 31st. More info here.

Smoky Mountain Quilters Ruby Jubilee Quilt Show has been rescheduled for Friday 7/30 and Saturday 7/31. Entries are due by June 1. More info here.

KMQG member Melissa Everett (@mne_textiles on Instagram) has a gallery show opening April 10th at 214 Magnolia in Knoxville. It's always exciting to see her work on display!

Our next meeting is Saturday, March 20th via Zoom. Watch your inbox for details!

Member Spotlight : Kelly Buch

This month we're spending some time with one of the Knoxville Modern Quilt Guild's newer members, Kelly Buch.

KMQG: How long have you been quilting?

Kelly: 15 years

Who or what inspired you to start quilting?

My dad encouraged me to make my first quilt. His mom died when he was young, and one of his last memories of her was when they quilted together, so he encouraged me and my sisters to try it out. My oldest sister, Kristin, and I both loved it, and we've been quilting together ever since. Over the past few years, I've started to quilt without her (because she lives in Illinois and has several kids), but I try to work on a project with her once a year.

Tell us about the first quilt you ever made.

The first quilt I ever made was part of a Lutheran World Relief project. We picked up a bag of 12" squares from church and made a quilt top from that. The fabric was all donated and mismatched, and I remember spending hours moving blocks around until we liked the pattern. Turns out to this day, my favorite part quilting is when I'm the floor, placing and replacing blocks until I'm happy with the layout.


What is your favorite quilt you’ve ever made?

My sister and I made a quilt for her friend's wedding. It was kind of brick-like, with bricks that were all 1 inch by 3 inch, 6inch or 9inch. All the fabrics were shades of purple or gray. We wanted it to appear random, so we created a really detailed pattern based on sevens. We had to create a very intricate numbering and naming system to know what part of the quilt we were working on. It was so complicated, but it made my math brain very happy.

What kind of sewing machine(s) do you have?

Pfaff Quilt Expression 4.2


What is your favorite sewing tool or notion?

a wool ironing pad

What are your favorite colors to use in quilts?

Teals, purples, and greys


Describe your quilting style in one word.

pseudo-random


What other hobbies do you have?

Knitting, Tree Identification, being an aunt, inclusion and diversity in STEM, math, going to breweries, candle making

Do you collect anything? (Other than quilting fabric, of course!) If so, what?

Pint glasses from breweries


What is your favorite movie?

The Princess Bride


What is your favorite book?

Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers

What is your favorite food?

Crab Legs


Coffee or tea?

Coffee!

Sweet or savory?

Savory

What is your dream job?

A professor at a primarily undergraduate institution, where I can split my time between teaching and facilitating undergraduate research

Where is your dream vacation destination?

Anywhere warm. Maybe with mountains and water.


Which is your favorite season?

Summer


If you won millions in the lottery and had to selfishly spend it on yourself, what would you treat yourself to?

A personal stylist and a house with lots of guest bedrooms

Do you prefer the beach or the mountains?

Mountains


When was the last time you did something for the first time?

Last month I made candles for the first time!


Would you rather be able to run at 100 miles per hour or fly at 10 miles per hour and why?

Run at 100 miles per hour. I am always late to things.

Want to learn more about Kelly? Check out her academic website or follow her on Instagram: @kellyyyruth. You can find KMQG on Instagram @KnoxMQG.