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Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Preemie Quilt Challenge 1 Photos

(I just downloaded this Shape Collage app from BigHugeLabs.com and love it!)

There are too many pictures to show them individually but I hope you enjoy this slide show!

Your pictures and fotos in a slideshow on MySpace, eBay, Facebook or your website!view all pictures of this slideshow

If for some reason this show isn't working please let me know. This is my first time trying imageloop out. All the images can be viewed at the NOVA Modern Quilt Guild flickr page.

Robert Kaufman generously donated a charm pack for each member of participating chapters in the Modern Quilt Guild to use for a challenge project of our choosing. 

The NOVA Modern Quilt Guild selected the Bright palate to work with and each of us made one or more mini quilts (29"x29" to 45"x45" or any size in between) from 100% cotton materials. The members were allowed to add fabric from their stash as long as the charms remained the stars of the show. The quilts will be donated to the INOVA Fairfax Children's Hospital NICU in Fairfax, VA.

If you are in the Northern Virginia area and would like to join our guild, check out NOVAModernQuiltGuild.com for more information and how to join.  If you would like to donate fabric, a quilt top, partially finished quilt, or finished quilt made from 100% cotton materials, between 29"x29" and 45"x45" (rectangular or square), please contact me to coordinate your donation. 

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Quilting

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Preemie Quilt Challenge 1: Show and Tell

We had a great NOVA Modern Quilt Guild Show and Tell event April 30th at Rebecca's house. Everyone had a blast showing their creations and seeing the other quilts that were turned in ahead of time. Most of the quilts were created using Kona solid charm packs (in the bright colorway) which were generously donated by RK to all the modern quilt guilds. Here are some photos of the ladies holding their quilts...

NOVA Modern Quilt Guild - Preemie Challenge 1
Quilt top by Rebecca

NOVA Modern Quilt Guild - Preemie Challenge 1
Quilt by Miyoko

NOVA Modern Quilt Guild - Preemie Challenge 1
Quilt by Miyoko

NOVA Modern Quilt Guild - Preemie Challenge 1
Quilt by Kristy

NOVA Modern Quilt Guild - Preemie Challenge 1
Quilt by Kristy

NOVA Modern Quilt Guild - Preemie Challenge 1
Quilt by Sue

NOVA Modern Quilt Guild - Preemie Challenge 1
Quilt by Sue

NOVA Modern Quilt Guild - Preemie Challenge 1
Quilt by Sue

NOVA Modern Quilt Guild - Preemie Challenge 1
Quilt by April

NOVA Modern Quilt Guild - Preemie Challenge 1
Quilt by April

NOVA Modern Quilt Guild - Preemie Challenge 1
Back of above quilt by April

NOVA Modern Quilt Guild - Preemie Challenge 1
Quilt by April

NOVA Modern Quilt Guild - Preemie Challenge 1
Back of above quilt by April

More pictures of the other quilts our guild members made for this challenge to come...

Happy Quilting!

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Aurora Quilts will be at the

INDOOR MARKET

“CRAFTS, COLLECTIBLES, TREASURES, AND MORE”

SATURDAY
APRIL 2, 2011 -

Sponsored by
Manassas Volunteer Rescue Squad Auxiliary
9322 Center Street  (Route 28 South)
Manassas, VA  20110

just down the street from the shop at 9100 Church Street, Suite 101, Manassas, Va 20110 (703) 330-9111

Sunday, March 27, 2011

Visit to Aurora Quilts

I just returned from a fun afternoon of shopping, errand running, and all the other stuff we cram into weekends. The first stop was Aurora Quilts. What a precious little shop it is. I met the owner's husband, as the owner was out at a workshop. Of course, I added to my stash while I was there. Got several fat quarters, one yard each of six materials, and a magazine. It was a very good place to shop. Now I have to to get these new fabrics washed and into the stash upstairs.

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Block Drive for Japan

Good Morning members of the NOVA Modern Quilt Guild!

I feel quite awkard posting here, since I have not met many of you yet, so let me introduce myself quick.

My name is Kristy, I recently moved to the area from Minneapolis. I was a part of the Modern Quilt Guild there, and am very excited that there is a local guild here too!

Anyways, for the real reason I am posting, the Minneapolis Guild is hosting a block drive for Japan. All you need to do is make 10.5 inch Log Cabin block, any color(s), any style (wonky, traditional, whatever) timing is of the essence though, they want to receive blocks no later the the 8th of April. You can either mail them yourself, or get them to me by the 5th, so I can mail all them in one package on the 6th and hope they get there on time!

More information can be found on this blog post

I will send an email with all the same information, please contact me for my address if you are going to be making blocks.

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Kona Solid Charms Guild Ghallenge

Robert Kaufman has generously sponsored the Modern Quilt Guild with Kona Solid Charm packs for every member in participating chapters! Thank you Robert Kaufman!

The NOVA Modern Quilt Guild has accepted the challenge to use these charm packs to create Preemie Quilts for the INOVA Fairfax Children's Hospital Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU): www.inova.org/healthcare-services/pediatrics/types-of-ser...

We selected the RK Kona Brights pack as a group: www.robertkaufman.com/pre-cut/konareg_cotton_solids_brigh...


RULES:

-The deadline to confirm you are participating and arrange a pickup or shipment of your charm pack is March 1st. After March first your charm pack will be re-distributed to other members in the guild.

-You can add patterned or solid fabric to make your quilt but keep in mind that RK is sponsoring this challenge and that we are helping them showcase how awesome Kona Solid charms are. The charms should be the star of the show!

-If you are planning on using red fabric (or any other color that tends to bleed dye) with your charm pack please pre-wash! Prior to taking the quilts to the INOVA Fairfax Children's Hospital NICU I will be washing all of the quilts together in baby safe detergent and I would like to avoid any chance of dye bleeding. *The charms do not need to be pre-washed.*

-The quilts must be no smaller than 29" on any side and no larger than 45" on any side. Otherwise there are no size restrictions and they can be square or rectangular

-They must be made from 100% cotton which includes the thread, top, batting, backing, and binding. Synthetic adhesives may not be used but adhesives that will wash away can.

-Embroidery is optional but it must be soft. The babies have very sensitive skin so tight machine embroidery will not be suitable for this project.

-Use our flickr page to upload photos of your works in progress and finished quilts. We would all love to know how the design process is going, answer any questions you might have, or tell you how much we love your creation!

-All quilts must be turned in by April 30th. We'll have a party to show-and-tell our creations at Natalie's house.

*If you have any other questions ask them here!


Happy Quilting!

Friday, February 18, 2011

Aurora Quilts, Old Town Manassas, Virginia

Hello All!

My name is Jean Schachner, I am a new member of the NOVA Modern Quilt Guild. Ginny Rippe and I were co-Brownie Scout leaders, quite a few years ago - too many to count - it's good to reconnect through quilting.

I love the idea of a "Modern Quilt Guild", because I consider myself to be "modern", up today with new trends and technology and a "forward" thinking, adventurous individual.

I am proud and excited to announce the opening of our new Quilt Shop, Aurora Quilts, located in the heart of Historic Old Town Manassas. Our Grand Opening was January 29th, and since then we've hit the ground running. My daughter, Amanda, is the Shop Manager, and is working in the shop full time along with her daughter, Kirsten - who is the shop baby!

Just recently, we were contacted by Historic Manassas, Inc. to schedule a Ribbon Cutting Ceremony with Major Pharrish and the other merchants in old Town Manassas. The Ribbon Cutting is scheduled for March 16th at 9:30am. We would be delighted if you could make this event.

Aurora Quilts is located at 9100 Church Street, Suite 101, Manassas, Virginia. Our phone number is 703.330-9111. We have our own blog at: AuroraQuilts.blogspot.com and a website that is still a work in progress at: AuroraQuilts.com

Monday, January 10, 2011

The Christmas Memory Quilt - The End

ALL DONE!!!!

Here is what I learned from this memory quilt experience:

1. If you have a plan...forget about it.  Now, this really just applies to me because I am so realitively new at quilting.  The original plan was to do a lap quilt for Darlene, but it ended up being around 60" x 50".  I was going to make smaller pictures, but I felt that it would  not look as nice as having twelve 8 x 10s!!!!  What a "Linda Jean" generated fiasco!  I thought I was doing such a great job until I finished the top and realized how freakin' long the binding would have to be.

2.  So much ironing...so much time!!!  I knew that I had to iron all the seams so that they would lay properly and give a really nice clean and finished look to my corners and the top.  What I did not count on was the amount of exercise that was going to be involved with the "up and down" motions.  My bum was literally sore after making this quilt (and it is a bit firmer than when I started!).  And even better news...I managed NOT to cook a couple of fingers.  I will say it again...there is a butt ton of ironing involved in quilting.

3. The measuring and cutting was brutal.  I had a plan so when I did some of the initial cuts; they were based on the lap quilt size.  So when the size changed, my initial cuts were all rendered useless...ugh!  I had to recut everything with the new plan in play and I saved the old cuts for another project...don't panic because it was less than a 1/2 yard that was "wasted".  Rulers are your friend...good rulers are your best friend!

4. Hand binding is for the birds! So, there I was doing the initial sew down of the binding with my Mega Quilter and then the tasking of the "hand sewing" hit me right in the eye.  I did a whip stitch AFTER I re-learned how to do one via YouTube.  About 1/2 way around, my thumb was killing me to the point that I had to ice it a couple of times.  I really should find a way to hand sew without causing my hands so much pain.  It could have been that I was holding the quilt too tight for too long a period of time.  Oh, by the way, those binding clips are super schweet!

5. DO NOT USE FABRIC PHOTO ON THE ROLLS!  I learned this the hard way.  I had purchased some precut 8.5" x 11" sheets a while back and I used them for this project.  The precut sheets printed beautifully, but the sheets that I had to roll out and cut had some serious issues.  They would not print right, they curled under, and jammed up my printer.  Mind you that this was AFTER I cut them and weighted them down over two days! 

Normally, these sheets would run you around $2.50 per sheet retail and most folks charge $4.00 per sheet when putting them on memory quilts.  I royally screwed up 6 of them...do the math from both points of view...ouch!

6. YouTube is your friend for everything and I mean everything!

7 and final point...I need to quilt more often!

Here it is ya'll!  My photo skills suck, but you get the gist of how it looked.  I will bring it to our end of January meeting so that you can see it in person...if I can pry it from Darlene's cold dead hands!





Friday, January 7, 2011

Robert Kaufman Sponsored Guild Challenge

Robert Kaufman has generously offered to sponsor a guild challenge using Kona solid charm packs. Many of you participated in the discussion about what color charm pack we will use and how we will use them. After all the ideas were in here is what the majority decided:

We're using the Kona Brights charms!
I love this charm pack and I am so glad that so many of you agree. The following colors are included:
My one request for this challenge was that the finished quilts be donated to a charity organization. Many of you didn't have an opinion on this one but when I suggested Preemie Quilts were on board. The Preemie Quilts will be donated to local Northern VA hospitals' Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs).

There are a few requirements to adhere to when making Preemie Quilts:
  • Must be 100% Cotton! That means the fabric, thread, batting, backing, binding everything
  • There will probably be a size requirement. I am waiting to hear back from Jennifer at the NICU at Fairfax Children's hospital and should have more information to you soon. 

The Inova Fairfax Children's hospital is a highly specialized care facility and is home to the largest NICU in Northern Va. They take children and infants born within a 200 mile radius who require their services. I thought this would be a great place to donate since they care for some of the most critically in need babies in our area.


Many of you ladies were interested in making pinwheel quilts, but just as many of you had interest in other patterns so I am leaving that open for you to decide. If you would like to make pinwheels, the Missouri Star Quilt Company did a great video tutorial on youtube that I used for my Love Pinwheels quilt.Other ideas included color tessellation, blocks, log cabins, and half square triangles. You can add fabrics from your own stash to make whatever pattern you would like but make sure to use the Kona charms as well.

As you make your quilts I would like you to take pictures and blog about it! Sharing will help to keep everyone motivated and excited about this project. If you haven't been invited to contribute to our blog please send me an email and I will send you an invite. Ultimately we will be sharing photos of our quilts with the people at Robert Kaufman and our projects will be featured on their blog The Swatch and Stitch.

I will be handing out charm packs at our next two meetings. If you aren't able to attend and want to participate you need to make arrangements with me to get your charm pack. Please contact me at nweaver529@gmail.com if needed. Otherwise I hope to see you at our next events!

Happy Quilting!

Natalie

Wednesday, January 5, 2011