Hello everyone! Hope everyone is war, and safe today.
Because of the Nor’easter and the significant power outages , damage to our communities, and potential risk from travel we have decided the best course of action is to cancel our April 6th meeting.
Stay safe and warm everyone and we hope to see you on May 4th.
Maine Modern Quilters has had a busy couple of months. As a statewide guild we are excited to split our year into in person and virtual meetings. As our guild approaches the hundred- member threshold we would love to share our love of modern quilting and friendship with anyone who would like to explore the world of modern quilting, let us know if you are interested.
During our February meeting after we shared our future project plans and show and tell
including the second of our “mini quilt” series. Many of these 24”x24” quilts will be on display at the Maine Quilt show in July! Afterwards, members Ann Ball and Kate Gawler (with Karen Wood providing tech support) led us in a workshop where we learned the interleave technique.
We had great fun together in this zoom meeting learning a new technique which creates a dynamic, fun, and unique block from two simple ones.
In March after sharing our favorite quilt designers Carmen Dickinson, Karen Wood, and Heather Walters led us in some tips and tricks around Foundation Paper Piecing (FPP). Although many of us have experience in FPP we all learned something new and were able to share our own tips and tricks and learn from each other.
Also, in February a dozen of our members attended QuiltCon in Raleigh, North Carolina. During our March meeting they shared some highlights from the convention and their favorite quilts from the show. Seeing such amazing quilts was an inspiration for all of us. If you are interested in Modern Quilts, we would love to share inspiration with you.
Maine Modern Quilters Members at Quilt Con 2024
February Show and Tell
March Show and Tell
The Maine Modern Quilting Guild has been busy the past couple of months and are looking forward to a great 2024! As a statewide Guild we are excited to host some of our meetings by ZOOM each year to allow participants from all over to join us for a few winter meetings.
Our January meeting was via Zoom and was a Virtual Sew and Tell. After a short business meeting we spent the time sewing together and sharing projects we are currently working on. As always it’s an inspiration to see all the work our members are doing. Colorwash quits, improv projects, data driven quilts, some quilt inspired clothing, and more! We talked about our favorite tools, lots of techniques, and all learned a from each other, all while getting in some stitches.
Our December meeting was our annual Holiday Party and as always, was one of the highlights of the year! We shared some good food and had a wonderful Show and Tell. We spent some time saying THANK YOU to our outgoing President Kate Gawler, VP of Membership Carmen Dickerson, VP of Special Events Ann Ball and Co-Secretary Sandy Boland (thank you to members who donated for their gifts). We also played some games and shared our first Mini Quilts. This year we are doing a series of three 24×24 Quilts which demonstrate some of the attributes of modern quilting. For our first project we all used “Minimalism” and “Bold Use of Color,” we hope you will take a look at our group display at the Quilt Show in July.
If you are interested in Modern Quilting we are a state wide guild and are happy to have you. It’s not too late to join and still a lot we will be doing this year. In March we will be doing a program on foundation paper piecing; in April a Sew and Pass along project; in May a round robin of finishing techniques; and in June we finish our program year with a picnic at Winslow Park in Freeport.
Happy Quilting!
Our November meeting started, as always with introductions and we each shared a Thanksgiving food traditions. We shared both stories of a hundred year old pot with a pudding no one eats and stories of family recipes that get made although no one likes them (Shrimp Pea Wiggle, Cranberries with Orange peel, Rutabagas and Potatoes) and all the amazing sounding deserts, stuffings, and dressings that are loved!
We then voted in new officers, Thank you everyone for your commitment to our guild. With a special thanks to Kate Gawler for her leadership as President for the challenging few years and Carmen for years of work as our VP of Membership. In 2024 Evie and Nancy will be taking over as Co-President, Karen will continue as Treasurer, Mary and Faye Jean, Becky is VP of Special Events, Veronica as VP of Membership, and Mary Ann will continue as VP of programing.
In December we will have our Holiday party which will include a small gift swap, a fat quarter game, and a potluck. If you have been thinking of joining, it would be a great first meeting!
Today was a sew day and we used a few different improv techniques to make 12×12 blocks which we will join into a community quilt – to be shown.
And of course we had a show and tell and shared our Mini #1s (see below).
Hard to believe that Labor Day is past but the beginning of September marks the beginning of a new programming year for Maine Modern Quilts! It is going to be a great year filled with friendships, skills, and inspiration. Please see the Meetings/Events tabs for a list of planned programs for our 2023/2024 year.
We would love to have you join us!
Our First in person meeting in 2023 was fantastic. Twenty two of us meet in Westbrook for a great day.
We kicked off the day by talking about what Improv meant to each of us. And following a short business meeting we did our show and tell, highlighting as always the talents of our members. The pictures show a lot of Maria Shell style Linear Block pieces, which makes sense, as she guided Maine Modern Quilters in a workshop many of us did with her in March. Of course, we were not limited to Improv and there were some beautiful quilts and techniques for us to all enjoy.
A focus on Improv continued and Following Show and Tell we had a pair of workshops on improv curves. Members picked from two options. Some went with Mary Ann Cugini showing us Carolina Oneto’s from the Janome America website, you can find the technique here. At the same time Kate Gawler guided others in Maria Shell’s braided curves technique from the Summer 2021 issue of Quilting Arts Magazine. Thank you Kate and MaryAnn! It was sew much fun to have a couple hours of sewing with old and new friends.
It was a fantastic Saturday, and we are looking forward to our May sixth meeting where we will have a series of demos on finishing techniques and our June third picnic at Winslow park in Freeport. If you are on the fence about joining, now is a great time!
On the eighth members of the Maine Modern Quilters joined a ZOOM meeting. We had a lot of fun sharing and having a Sewcial! During our sharing members shared their favorite resources which will be shared on this website as a “Resources our Members Love” page, which is now linked in the side bar of the website.
Some of the highlights of the meeting included seeing progress on the Harmony Quilt (used by permission from Curated Quilts (Issue #18)) which we are making as group to donate to local facility supporting children transitioning from Foster care. (More details and photos when it is done!)
Our member Veronica Serrato shared photos and the story of a recent trip to Mexico where she explored Otomi Embroidery and visited with makers in Pachuca Mexico. The art she shared was beautiful, as was the story of a community using art both as an economic engine but as a driver of community. You could not have heard her story and not wanted to go visit this amazing place and these amazing people.
After Veronica’s short presentation we had our Sewcial chatted and shared what we are currently working on, as always the talents of our members shined through. Whether sharing progress on our recent collage project session, a mystery quilt BOM, or a gift for family the diversity of modern quilting and creativity & talent of our members shone through.
As always if you are interested joining us or learning more about our group please reach out!
We met in New Gloucester this year for our annual holiday party and had a very festive time.
There was a wonderful selection of quilts and other quilty projects for show and tell from our talented members.
Members shared yummy food dishes and made a small homemade item wrapped in a brown paper bag for a gift exchange. Harmony blocks, a pattern by Curated Quilts, were collected for our group charity quilt.
To finish off the festivities, we divided into two groups and played the Left Right Center dice game with fat quarters. Congrats to Meliss and Sue who both took home a pile of fat quarters!
Reminder to members it’s time to renew your dues to Maine Modern Quilters. The membership fee is $35 or $20 if you’ve already paid $15 to Pine Tree Quilters Guild through another chapter. For existing members, check your email for details on how to renew your membership.
Now is a great time to join if you’re not currently a member of our chapter. For new members, please email our membership chair, Carmen, at mmqmembership@gmail.com
June 4, 2022 we held our end of the year picnic at Winslow Park in Freeport. We had a lovely time gathering with gorgeous quilts on display, a Kwandi showing from the previous guild meeting, and a yard sale! Despite the cool temps we had a good turnout, and some new people, and a great day!
March 7, 2020 was the last time we had an in-person meeting. Below you’ll see some of the beautiful creations from our talented members.
Going forward, all the meetings will be done using the Zoom platform. A YouTube channel has been set up so that if a member is unable to do the Zoom meeting, they will be able to view the recorded meeting on the YouTube channel after receiving a link.
We will be doing membership renewal starting in August for the September 2020 to June 2021 meetings. An email will be sent out to current members. Anyone interested in joining can send an email to Mainemodernquilters@gmail.com for more information. We welcome anyone to our group!
Maine Modern quilters tested out their hand sewing skills during a workshop this month. We like to learn and polish our skills. Thanks, Leanne!
The first meeting of the year will be Saturday, September 14, 9:30am to 1:00pm at the First Congregational Church on 19 Gloucester Hill Rd, New Gloucester.
Bring cash or check for yearly dues, $35.
Bring snacks/lunch, beverages
Bring money for the “kitty” to help pay for the venue.
Bring items for Show and Tell
Bring Potholder mini quilts (for Maine’s 200th Anniversary)
Bring your friendly, open and spirited selves to reconnect with old friends and to make new Modern Quilty friends!
Any questions, please send an email to smduval@mac.com
Thanks to the awesome holiday party committee for a great morning of fun, games, food an laughter.
I’m sure all the members will agree that Sandy won the most coveted yankee swap item – a tree that sings and lights up!
Julie showed us how she took an art quilt and transformed it into a t-shirt, and into a graphic on sneakers.
We’re submitting a quilt to QuiltCon, which is the show hosted by The Modern Quilt Guild. Almost all the members worked on some aspect of the quilt, and it was quilted by Betsy Canaan. We voted on a name and Striation Gyration is the winner!
And finally, we enjoyed seeing the quilty-goodness that members have been working on:
From the top, left to right: Evie, Hazel, Kate, Margaret, MaryAnn, Peg, and Rose.
We had a great meeting using up our scraps! All quilts are “made” fabric – but some more than others – think crazy quilts, quilts made from worn items such as the Gee’s Bend Quilts, quilts made from feedsacks….. We also discussed ways to re-purpose UFO’s that we would rather never see again including finishing them and donating them to a charitable cause, or re-purposing them into something you LIKE – don’t limit yourself to quilts – think skirts, placemats, pillows. Maybe you adopt a hawaiian applique pattern for that holiday top – or make that solids melange into 6″ squares with vertical bars in -between set on a white background… we referred to Mary Kerr’s Twisted for inspiration.
Show and Tell! Linda and Karen with their pieces from a previous curves workshop; Sandy’s stunning blue quilt; Dina’s excellent Big Stitching; Leanne’s EPP; Bonnie’s antique shop treasure made in the 1950’s; Karen’s Mariner’s Compass; Ellie’s pink quilt; Dan with placemats and belt made with scraps; and Sue with her 2nd Poppin bag.
Wowza! The Maine Modern Quilters are in AWE of the love and support shown to us at our first ever Modern Quilt Expo. Thank You, Thank You, Thank You!!!! We had so much fun planning the event, and it was so much fun to talk to the 200-ish guests that visited about modern quilting. A photo retrospective is below.
Hello Faithful Readers!
We are hoping you can swing by this Saturday, April 7 for our very first Modern Quilt Expo. It will be held at the First Congo Church on 19 Gloucester Hill Rd. New Gloucester, Maine. It will be very casual and fun – We will have approximately 60 modern quilts on display, and the demonstrations will be on how modern quilters are using hand quilting, paper piecing and improv curves. Each demonstration person will be at a table, and will engage in one-on-one conversation/ demonstration or small group conversation/ demonstration as people wander through. The make-n-take is a modern potholder – ha ha – exciting, right? You must admit though, it is a project that can be completed in a short amount of time, and is appropriate for all ages, and… have you looked at your potholders lately? It might be time for a spring cleaning….
We have an excellent raffle item. One of those very cool collapsible wheeled carts. Through the generosity of Quiltessentials, Alewives, Missouri Star, and Studio E Fabrics, there are also some great items IN the cart.
If you are participating in the Maine Shop Hop, we are a nice stop on the way to Quiltessentials in Auburn, Oxford Mill End Store in Oxford, and Sew Orchid in Norway. If you are looking for well priced home dec or marine fabrics, The Fabric Warehouse in Auburn is also nearby.
Have a terrific week and we hope that you can drop in on Saturday!
Thanks to member Sue Arnold, we had a terrific time learning how to make marks on fabric printing with gelli plates!
Here are a few of the terrific results:
And of course, a few snaps from member show n tell. Members! I am sorry if I didn’t get a snapshot of your project! I was busy sorting space heaters and the fuse box….
We celebrated the holidays on December 2… as you can see by the photos, we hardly had any fun at all… of course, not everyone can make every meeting – but we managed to get a snapshot of the party-goers as depicted above!
There were decorations and food…
Games… the competitors were FIERCE!!!!
Evelyn won the Big Pile of Fat Quarters….she rolls a mean dice….
And we finished the day with a viewing of finished UFO’s!!! The members are really embracing the UFO challenge:
Somerset Samplers created this beauty from a departed members stash… they are selling raffle tickets for it! $1 each, or 6 for $5. To purchase a raffle ticket, email Carmen at: carmend2010@hotmail.com
Thank you visiting artist Kevin Callahan for a terrific presentation about fiber, textiles and fabric in fine art. View the work of Nancy Hemenway Barton at the UNE gallery in Portland through December 20.
We commenced with our annual fabric, books and notions fundraiser after Kevin’s speech, agreeing to “be adults” and not fight over the goods….
And wrapped up the day showing projects that members finished as part of the UFO challenge…
And we enjoyed a little show-n-tell:
Thank you Betsy Cannan! We had a glam-clam day with Betsy leading the charge. Check out these great glam clam beginnings!
We started off the 2017-2018 year with a great meeting at the Buker Center in Augusta featuring our own Kathryn Simel. She gave a very inspirational talk and trunk show about her design process, Inspiration to Execution.
There were many beautiful pieces for Show and Tell. People had been very busy over the summer break!
Our last guild meeting of the year was held in New Gloucester at the First Congregational Church. Sue Arnold finished up the Block of the Month series. We are very appreciative of all the hard work she put into organizing that activity for the guild. The highlight of the meeting was the Improv Round Robin activity. Members had a chance to really stretch their creativity and use their improvisational quilting skills to the max! It was great fun and a wonderful way to end our guild year.
Thanks to all who made this a memorable year of Modern Quilting!
The meeting was held at the First Congregational Church in New Gloucester. It was not a sewing filled meeting but we shared alot of information about upcoming activities. Sue Arnold did the Block of the Month, we discussed the guild banner, the upcoming Improv Round Robin was explained and we had an incredible Show and Tell. I think people had been working diligently to finish up projects!
The meeting was held at the Auburn Public Library. Jane and Karen showed how to do a landscape quilt to an enthusiastic group.
As usual, several people showed beautiful quilts at the Show and Tell.
Sue Duval will lead us in an improv round robin – meeting will be in the vestry of the 1st Congregational Church at 19 Gloucester Hill Road in New Gloucester, Maine.
Hi All! The weather looks quite frightening for a chunk of us this Saturday. Work on your projects at home! Share them to our facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/mainemodernquilters/
OR – use this hashtag on Instagram: #MaineMQG
We had a very lovely venue for this meeting in Westbrook and the weather cooperated, allowing us to have a great turn out of members. As we introduced ourselves, I asked people to share their favorite aspect of quilting and their least favorite part of quilting. It was a nice way to get to know each other better and generated great discussion.
Sue Arnold led the Block of the Month presentation. Here is Bonnie and Anne-Marie showing some of the creative and beautiful blocks.
Kathryn Simel showed the design for the banner that our guild will display at Maine Quilts this summer. She did an extraordinary job designing and sewing it together. We are so fortunate to have this incredible designer in our group! Other guild members will put some of the finishing touches on in. Thanks to all involved in this project!
Carmen and Jane each gave demonstrations on binding techniques that were very helpful!
And we had a great showing of beautiful quilted items for Show and Tell!
It was a cold but clear day for the first meeting of 2017. We had a very enthusiastic group with several new members in attendance. There were many creative versions of the Modern Pinwheel Block of the Month. And we had a lot of fun seeing all the favorite tools and gadgets for quilting that members shared. We only had a few people with items for Show and Tell, but they were beautiful nonetheless.
We had our Holiday meeting at a beautiful church hall in New Gloucester. It was very festive with lots of great food, great decorations, great activities and great people!
Our meeting this month was held in Clinton at a wonderful Ironworkers Hall with lots of space and great natural light. It was a small but enthusiastic group where we learned the Quilt As You Go technique from Jane. Block of the Month blocks we shown by Sandy and Carmen.
We had our meeting in the Buker Community Center in Augusta. There were stations for learning what can be done with a walking foot, led by Karen Bean and Sue Duval. We also had many of Stephanie’s treasures displayed. Jane did a fantastic job of putting together the wonky 9 patch blocks that members made from Stephanie’s fabrics. And as usual, members showed great creativity with the pieces that they had for “show and tell”.
The first meeting of the 2016-2017 year was held in Waterville, at Thomas College. Members participated in the business meeting portion of the Pine Tree Quilt Guild (our umbrella organization) and because it was a beautiful day, we continued our Modern Guild meeting by having lunch outside on the patio. After lunch, we saw a gorgeous trunk show by Anita Grossman Soloman.
We welcomed several new members to our group and discussed the upcoming events planned for the year. Members should watch for emails with the specific details of the activities for each month.
A huge thank you to Cotton Weeds Quilt Shop for hosting us in June! We learned a curve technique using Karen Eckmeier’s Making Waves book. Members also shared some of the great projects they have been working on, and several members brought their fidget quilts. Fidget quilts are 18″ x 18″-ish and have “busy” items added to them – wooden rings, zippers, velcro, fabric fingers…these are then donated to organizations that serve patients with dementia and alzheimer’s disease. Let the pictures commence!
It was a lovely spring day to drive out to St. Giles in Jefferson for our meeting. Thanks to Hazel and her pastor of St. Giles for allowing us to gather at such a comfortable and creative place.
The block of the month was tea-leaf made modern and we had many inspiring versions of this traditional block.
Jennifer and Sue A did an outstanding job of teaching us 2 techniques for sewing circles. We even had a chance to practice some free-motion quilting of circles. Circles, circles and more circles!
The quilts for show and tell were beautiful as always!
Betsy Cannan was presented with a beautiful quilt to thank her for her service to the Maine Modern Quilters. It was made of blocks designed and sewn by members, using Betsy’s favorite color, red. The quilt was assembled by Anne-Marie, backing by Karen and quilted by Sharon. It was a true work of art and love!
We had a very lively and informative discussion about quilt labels, with some great examples shown by members.
The block of the month was Dresden plate-made modern. And as always, we had a show and tell with many gorgeous quilts!
It was a lovely, sunny but chilly day for the meeting. We were a somewhat small but very creative group! Jane taught us a unique way to do a fabric nametag. Carmen did a workshop using Tula Pink’s Tubular Piecing Process. We learned 3 tube techiques and a way to sew a facing on to a quilt instead of a binding. Very informative! All members will receive an email with the details of this meeting and what to expect for the upcoming meetings.
Congratulations to Kathryn Simel for the ribbon she received for her quilt that was shown at QuiltCon 2016. She received Third Place for the Use of Negative Space for her quilt entitled, Catching Up. It was wonderful to see it in person! And more kudos go out to Kathryn because she will have a baby quilt version of another of her creations to be published in an upcoming edition of Modern Quilters Unlimited Magazine. Such creativity!
Good Morning Maine Modern Quilters! It may be snowy today but the extended forecast looks good for Saturday Feb 27! Check your email for details about the meeting. It will be a jam packed meeting with lots to do. Hope to see you all on Saturday!
Hope to see you all February 27:
8:45 – 3:00
Lewiston-Auburn College, University of Southern Maine
51 Westminster Street, Lewiston
Saturday, January 16
8:45 – Noon
Lewiston-Auburn College – University of Southern Maine
51 Westminster Street, Lewiston
Please drive around back and enter through that door.
Agenda:
Welcome!
News and Announcements
January Block:
Each month members have been creating a modern interpretation of a traditional block – and sometimes entire quilts or projects with that interpretation. The block for January is Lone Star. (Earlier this year everyone put the name of a block on a slip of paper – from that list, we will draw a new block for February at the meeting.)
Nametag Activity:
Please bring a 5″ square with a design in the center of the block and a border around the design. It is suggested that the border be a lighter color. No sewing supplies needed, but if you have a small cutting mat/ruler/rotary cutter, please bring that. If you have a nametag you love, please bring it to share.*
Break
Fat Quarter Swap – bring a modern fabric fat quarter, take one home!*
Show and Tell*
*Please note that participation in all activities is optional. Snack policy is to bring your own snack, however; if you bring a snack to share it will be appreciated and consumed!
From Callie Lavoie at Maine Quilts – can you help?
“I am looking for a Shipped Quilts volunteer. Task is to accept delivery of 20 -30 quilts (usually) in July, deliver to the Civic Center Wednesday morning of hanging day by 9 a.m. and pickup on Sunday night to mail back to the registrant. I need to find someone in the next 30 days for quilt registration purposes. Any ideas or names I can call? It is not a long task, just during July with a 10 day window to accept delivery. “
Really appreciate it!
Callie
Callie Lavoie, Maine Quilts Coordinator
Pine Tree Quilters Guild, Inc.
info@mainequilts.org
http://www.mainequilts.org
http://www.facebook.com/MaineQuilts
207.216.7358
The next issue of Piecing Together Maine Quilts is here about new happenings at Maine Quilts 2016!
Share with your chapters, please and I will add to our website, http://www.mainequilts.org.
On Saturday, Dec. 5, the Maine Modern Quilters had a great holiday gathering! First off , was the passing of the presidential gavel from Betsy to Sharon. Thank you Betsy for your dedication to the formation of the group and service to Maine Modern Quilters! And good luck to Sharon in her new role as our fearless leader!
The morning was filled with silly little quilty games, a hot mat swap, yummy treats and as always, a beautiful show and tell. The members also made a generous donation to the Good Shepard Food Bank. Thanks to all who made this a memorable event!
Drive around the building to park by the entrance at the back of the building. Once you enter, it is pretty easy to find the room! No need to bring sewing supplies for this meeting. Here is the agenda:
Christmas Party!
Lost & Found
On Saturday, November 14, we gathered at Alewives Fabrics in Nobleboro. Thanks to Rhea for hosting our enthusiastic group! It was a busy meeting with the group holding elections for officers of the guild, a beautiful show and tell and a mini workshop was given to learn new improv block techniques. Minutes of the meeting are in the email sent to all active guild members.
Maine Modern Quilters 