August 2022 Meeting Recap

 Knoxville Modern Quilt Guild met on Saturday 20th August at Westminster Presbyterian Church.

Upcoming Quilting Events

• Registration is open for MQG Sessions a members only virtual event happening October 13 - 16, 2022   https://www.themodernquiltguild.com/sessions/

• Registration is open for QuiltCon 2023 (in Atlanta).  Non-member registration begins September 7.  QuiltCon is February 23-26 2023   https://quiltcon.com/

• Wednesday August 31, 2pm EST: Contemporary Curves by Audrey Esarey.  Register online at https://quiltalliance.org/events/textile-talks/

• Monday, September 19: Deadline for quilt pattern and article submissions to QuiltCon Magazine.  Check email inbox for details from MQG.

Charity Blocks

We have a bonus quilt made from extra blocks after our first Restoration House quilt of the year

2022 Quilt #3 - OKC blocks collected in.

2022 Quilt #4 - remaining blocks due in at the September meeting.

KMQG Block of the Month Quilt-along

Block 7: Crossed Canoes

This block is the first one that uses foundation paper piecing - see previous post for all the details.

KMQG Quilt Show 2023

The 2023 KMQG Quilt Show will take place March 3 - 31 at the Emporium in downtown Knoxville.

Members should start thinking about what modern quilt they would like to submit for consideration.   We want quilts of all sizes and representing all aspects of modern quilting

• Bold colors and prints
• High contrast and graphic areas of solid color
• Improv piecing
• Minimalism
• Expansive negative space
• Modern traditionalism

QuiltCon 2023 Outreach Challenge

A number of members stayed behind for a sew-in after the meeting and we finished all the blocks needed for our quilt!  So the next step is to assemble the top ready for the appliqué details.

Show & Tell

Elizabeth

Sherry

Jo

Christy

Laura

Emily

Melissa

Susan's quilt - pieced front and back

Cathy

Next meeting: Saturday September 17

KMQG Block of the Month 2022: Block 7, Crossed Canoes

Ready for Block 7 of our block of the month quilt-along?? This is a fun one that uses foundation paper piecing for precise results -- it's bold and graphic and so easy to make because ALL 3 BLOCKS ARE EXACTLY THE SAME! That's right, no figuring out how many of this color for this block vs. for that block. Nope, just make 3 identical blocks and admire your handiwork.

It's called Crossed Canoes, and we're using an FPP template (and instructions, if you need them) from Art Gallery Fabrics.

Here's the link to download and print the templates: https://liveartgalleryfabrics.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/AGF-QBC-Crossed-Canoes-Block_1.pdf

NOTE: When printing off the templates, make sure that your printer is set at 100% -- you don't want to enlarge or reduce the template at all or the blocks won't fit together properly and your unfinished block won't be 12.5".

I've done a little of the prep work for you to hopefully make this block a little easier to make in our two-color format.

1. Print/copy 12 paper templates. (Each block requires 4 templates, so 4 x 3 blocks.)

2. Mark the templates with color codes so that you can keep track of what color fabric goes where. You can see in the photo below that I used a B for blue and G for green. For each block, you'll have two templates marked one way and two templates marked in the opposite way. It's easy to get confused as you go along, so the marks will help.

3. To make all three blocks, cut the following from both of your two fabrics:

• Six pieces at 3.5 x 8 inches (that's six of Fabric A and six of Fabric B)
• Twelve pieces at 5 x 8.25 inches (that's twelve of Fabric A and twelve of Fabric B)
• The scraps you remove from the two side pieces (2 and 3 in the template) can be used for piece 4 in the template. You may also have some scraps left over from previous blocks that will work here too.

4. Reduce the stitch length on your sewing machine for sewing the fabric to the paper. Mine is less than 2. The smaller stitches will make it easier to remove the paper at the end (more perforations) and cause less stress on your stitches.

5. I recommend leaving the paper on your blocks until we're finished with the monthly block releases and ready to sew everything together. The paper will stabilize the bias edges for now.

I took some process photos as I made my blocks, if you prefer more visual instructions.

Piece 1 on the back side of the template. Use a dab of glue stick to hold it in place.

Lay piece 2 on top of piece 1, aligning that right edge where you will sew the first line.

Flip the paper over to sew on the line between pieces 1 and 2. Flip it back over and it looks like this.

I like the fold the paper back along my stitching line and trim the seam allowance to reduce bulk and any shadowing on the front side.

Flip piece 2 over the stitching line and press.

Before adding the other side piece (it doesn't matter if you do 2 and 3 in order), I like to fold back the paper along the line I'll stitch and trim the piece 1 seam allowance to 1/4". This reduces bulk and lets you line up the side piece exactly with the edge.

Place the next side piece along that trimmed piece 1 edge.

Flip the template over to stitch on the line. Flip it back and it looks like this.

Press the side piece open like you did with the first one (I missed a photo of this!)

Again, I like to fold back my next piece and trim to 1/4".

Put the small triangle for piece 4 in place. (If you want to trim some of the excess side pieces away, you can use them for this piece.

Stitch on the line, flip it over and it should look like this.

Flip and press

Trim to the outside line

Lay out the four blocks and sew together in pairs. Press the seams open for the flattest result. Then sew the two rows together. 

July 2022 Meeting Recap

Knoxville Modern Quilt Guild met for our July meeting on Saturday July 16th.

Upcoming Quilting Events

Quilt Alliance: Textile Talks

·      Wednesday, July 20, 2pm EST: Social, Cultural, and Political in Excellence in Fibers
·      Wednesday, July 27, 2pm EST: A Stitch in Time:  The Making of the Legacy Quilt
Register online at https://quiltalliance.org

 

Smokey Mountain Quilters Quilt Show

August 5 – 6 at the Knoxville Expo Center
Merikay Waldvogel will be doing quilt turning on 5th
Further info on the website: https://www.smokymtnquilters.com/quilt-show.html#/

Restoration House Charity Quilts

We have two quilts in work at the moment for Restoration House

2022 Quilt 3: OKC block 

Instructions are available here:

http://www.okcmqg.com/2013/04/april-block-of-month.html  

Please use the palettes shown above, and please use Kona white for the white block which a shown in the examples.

Blocks due at our August meeting. 

2022 Quilt 4: Bars Block

Instructions for the block can be found in this tutorial:

https://quilttherapy.com/?p=10594

Please use two solid colors (not white) from this palette:

Blocks for this one are due in September.

Look out for pictures of the finished quilts over the next few months.

2022 Block of the Month Quilt-along

Our sixth block in this Quilt-along is a Saw Tooth Star Block - see the previous post for instructions.

QuiltCon Outreach Quilt Challenge

We have our design, and the design committee have a piecing plan.  Watch out for details coming soon of a sew-in day to work on piecing the top of our quilt.

Quilted Coat mini 'Retreat'

Those who are interested in taking part, now is the time to get your pattern and choose your textile.  We are planning a Friday evening plus Saturday 'retreat' - more details in your inbox soon.

Show & Tell

Blair

Betty

Aimee

Leighanne

Elaine

Kelly (Showing the front and pieced back of her quilt)

Michelle's series of blocks that tell the story of a vacation

Kelsey

Erin

KMQG Block of the Month 2022: Block 6, Sawtooth Star

It's time for Block 6 in our Block of the Month Quilt-Along! We found this one posted by the Boulder Modern Quilt Guild as part of their 2018 Block of the Month series, and we love that it's so graphic and a perfect example of the "modern traditional" characteristic of modern quilting.

According to the Boulder MQG, the Sawtooth Star has been around since the late 1800s and is a very iconic, classic quilt block. The block uses squares, rectangles, single flying geese (FG) and half-square triangle (HST) units. This version uses two colors to create a simple divided variation.

This block is super fun and easy to put together. The instructions from the Boulder MQG can be found here: https://bouldermqg.com/2018/01/27/february-sawtooth-star/. The tutorial includes links for additional instructions on creating the HSTs and flying geese. You can also access a cheatsheet here. 

TIPS!

• It's super easy to make 3 blocks this time -- just multiply all the cutting instructions by 3! Make 3 identical blocks, and when they're finished, you can flip one or two of them around for the effect of opposite color placement without doing any extra work.
• The HSTs need to be trimmed down to 3.5-inch squares before you assemble the block. If you have any HST units left from your April Mod Square block, you can use them for this block.
• When sewing flying geese, it helps to sew just alongside the marked line (toward the corner you will cut off). That gives you a scant 1/4" seam allowance and helps ensure your geese aren't too small.
• The Add-a-Quarter ruler is helpful when trimming flying geese.