Wednesday, September 17, 2025

September 2025 Art Quilt Challenge

September 16, 2025 Meeting
Location: Camp Hill GIANT Food Store- Community Room
Third Tuesday of the month, 7pm

What a talented group of people! We met tonight to reveal this years challenge quilts. The challenge was to create an art quilt and to incorporate a new technique or idea. The idea of the art quilt was to focus on design over function and express a feeling, an event, or an inspiration.

Participants:

Karen D. - pet portrait of her dog Rosy. She did raw edge applique of a photograph that she used Adobe Photoshop to create the value shapes. She then had the design enlarged at Staples.


Joan D. - from a class on curves she did her first facing binding and also incorporated yarn couching.


Cathy N. -  Nebula Quilt pattern by Shashari Kiburi, a free pattern from Modern Quilt Guild. It was all about the curves. A print of koi fish was the inspiration for the colors and some of the fabrics came from the guild fabric exchange.


Leslie R. - she went outside her comfort zone and created a pieced and raw edged appliquéd immigrant family that was part of a larger quilt that was donated to an immigrant and refugee welcome center.

 


Debby M. - created a story quilt based on a short story “A Heavy Load” from the book Zen Shorts. She also did raw edge applique, quilt as you go technique and added embellishments.


Kris - inspired by artwork she pieced her arcs, the melons are three dimensional 



Karen S. - inspired by her recent trip to Switzerland to trace her family roots, she captured favorite memories of the Swiss cows, Matterhorn and edelweiss. Her technique for the cow was based on a workshop she took with Jean Impey. New techniques were scribbling quilting and creating yo-yo flowers.


Donna L. - decided to commemorate her very recent visit to the hospital after working in her garden. She added embellishments with the wristbands she wore in the hospital. She drew the images and colored with markers and paint. The label on the back references the pants that the hospital lost.


Debbie L.- inspired by a photograph she took on a recent trip to California. The image was from Laguna Beach and is a nice memory of a change in her position at her work.



Sharon F. - created a quilt story that referenced her experience growing up in Nigeria. Incorporated a lot of symbolic elements of the culture. New techniques of a 3-d flying geese and prairie points. Used burlap for the top and bottom borders reminiscent of the bags that were used to store and stack peanuts.



A random drawing from the participants determined who received gift cards from Half Moon Handwerks in New Cumberland. $5-$20.  Congratulations, Cathy, Sharon, Donna, Karen D.

Capital Area Modern Quilt Guild New members are always welcome, contact us at CapitalAreaMQG@gmail.com



Friday, March 21, 2025

February 2025- Art Quilts - Tell Your Story

February 2025



Round Robin
- Tasha is going to spearhead another round robin project for members. Beginning in April, participating members will bring a completed 12.5” unfinished quilt block. Each month members will receive a bag with another members’ block(s). Then the participant will make at least 1 block that goes with the primary block to add to the bag. The following month the bag of blocks goes to another member. In November participants will get their original block and all the blocks made to go with it to then make into a quilt of their choice.




Challenge Quilt
- due in October- members are to make an art quilt using their stash and trying something new, out of their comfort zone.





Sew and Share
- members were encouraged to bring examples of their art quilts.





Chelsea H. - Brown Bag Challenge - a bag of scraps and what can you make
She also made a block of her zodiac sign-the Sun Sign
Debby M. - the modern alphabet -fabrics by Andover, “Motley’ by Guicy Guice
Winter trees
Amish squares
A Charley Harper print that she enlarged a part of it to be her inspiration 
Based an a mural she saw in Dublin, Ireland. She appliqued bias on top of squares.
Janet F. - practicing her free motion quilting
Janet F. - Colorful Dresden Plates
Janet F- shared a quilt from the 1930’s made from clothes
Gay W.- based on a photo of the farmhouse where her husband was born. She had the photo enlarged at Staples.
An Accidental Landscape
Timna Tarr class project
Cutout birds- feather quilting class by Bethanne Nemesh
Birds in a nest- pattern by Laundry Basket
Silk Flowers with a neutral log cabin background
Fall Leaves
Karen S. - memories from her trip to Ireland
Her dog, technique by Shannon Brinkley using fused applique 
Sharon F. - 369 Pattern, based on a preselected color palate 
Back of quilt is one large block

Next Month
Cordell A will present on surface designs. It will be interactive so be sure to wear something that is washable. You may even want to bring an apron.


 Capital Area Modern Quilt Guild New members are always welcome, contact us at CapitalAreaMQG@gmail.com

Tuesday, March 18, 2025

January 2025

January 2025













Modern Quilt Guild New members are always welcome, contact us at CapitalAreaMQG@gmail.com

Tuesday, December 17, 2024

November 2024 - Tool Reviews

November 2024 

Cordell shared information on the PA Art of the State. An annual exhibit of Pennsylvanian artists. 

Sew and Share plus tool reviews




Cordell- Strip Clubbing quilt using African print fabrics, Trout kitchen accessories 
Loraine needle threader is not as easy to use as others, recommends dynaflow and paint sticks for stencils.


Kris - Hera marker is great for marking lines without worry about how to remove lines. 

Debby M- made quilt for son that prefers dark fabrics, a wonky star quilt made from scraps based on value not color.
Her favorite tool is a stiletto for aiding in guiding the fabric at the needle.


Leslie - made blocks for a wonky star quilt.
She does not recommend the magnetic guide for the sewing machine. She felt it moved too easily, she really likes the rack her husband made for storing her templates. It is a one of a kind item.


Janet-made a jelly roll quilt with her 13 yr old granddaughter.
Blue Scraps and panels of Dresden Plates came together beautifully.
She found the creative grid 1/4” tool helpful for marking sewing lines for half-inch triangles.


Joan-stitched a dark square that reflects emotions
Does not like the quilt clamps for rolling a quilt for machine quilting. She even gave them away!


Karen D.- made Christmas gift bags; using her batik scraps made a star quilt.
She recommends a seam presser to press open seams


Karen S. - cardstock for making prairie points and glass head pins

Gay W. - uses her phone to take pictures in grayscale mode to see value

Chelsea -  to deal with the election she made a quilt “Vote, Vote, Vote”
Frixion pens have a purpose, great for piecing but would not recommend for marking quilting lines.



The charity quilt top was finished. Polaroid blocks were made by the members and the finished quilt will be donated to the Ronald McDonald House.


Upcoming;

December - holiday gathering, gift exchange and quilt game so bring charm squares to play.


Capital Area Modern Quilt Guild 
 New members are always welcome, contact us at CapitalAreaMQG@gmail.com