Skip to main content

GAAQG site goes live


Screenshot of GAAQG's new website designed by Hoyden Creative Group, live Jan15, 2016.

Unveiling the brand new Greater Ann Arbor Quilt Guild website by guild president Sonja Hagen was the highlight of Saturday's bi-monthly, quilt-day meeting. The new site, created by marketing firm Hoyden Creative Group based in Adrian, Michigan, went live Friday night, Jan. 15, 2016.

Hagen and the new webmaster Mary Beth Donovan, along with blogger Kathy Schmidt and several members of the website team have been working for months with Hoyden to create an up-to-date, interactive site.

"Our goal was to build something that would serve as a valuable resource to our members and the wider community," Hagen said.

They hit the bullseye; check it out!

Quilt day speaker, Frieda Anderson
Fiber artist Frieda Anderson  presented a lecture on the topic of "Free motion quilting" and gave some tips that I am going to try:
1. Use an open-toed, hopping foot instead of the closed toe, to make handling threads easier.
2. Use a clover self-threading needle to handle threads left on top of quilt after stitching
3. Use Neutrogena Hand Cream instead of gloves to grip work.
4. Use mechanical pencil with ceramic lead to mark your quilt top with quilting motifs.
5. Use sizing, not starch to stiffen your fabric.
6. Use 505 Temporary Adhesive basting spray to position quilt sandwich.
7. Use a sharp-shank needle for all quilting. Choose the right size based on your thread type. 
8. Replace your needle after eight hours of sewing, or when you replace your bobbin.
9. Use The Bottom Line lint-free cotton for bobbin thread, no matter what top thread is used for quilting.
10. Install a single-needle throat plate when quilting -- but don't forget you have it in!

Show and tell 
One of the members during show-and-tell shared a handmade tote she had created using her own original designed fabric from Spoonflower. She used logo materials from her daughter's business to create the fabric. In the rush, at the end of the meeting I missed talking to her, but maybe if she sees this note, she will share a photo with us.

UPDATE Jan. 19,2016: Thanks to Marilyn Knepp who sent photos and comments about her totebag, featured here on Appleton Dance.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Notes on Purl Soho Cross-back Apron pattern

Purl Soho Cross-back Apron, regular sized,  front view Purl Soho Cross-back Apron, regular sized,   back view by Linda Theil This is the Purl Soho Cross-back Apron featured on their website at  https://www.purlsoho.com/create/2015/11/20/cross-back-apron . Their page includes complete directions for making this one-size-fits-most apron with large, side-pockets and cross-back straps. This retro apron is so nicely made and looks so much like the apron my grandma wore in the Nineteen-fifties that I had to make one for my friend who appreciates the nostalgia and the beauty of this design. Although this apron pattern, as published, can adjust to several sizes from 2-10; I also made a larger option, adjusting the width of the pattern pieces to accommodate up to size 16 and up. Size adjustment may also be made by varying the length of the straps. These notes are a record of my experience with the pattern, and should only be viewed as commentary; y

Sujata Shah's no-template piecing

16-inch, four-patch "pinwheel" block designed by Sujata Shah, pieced by Linda Theil 2016 Fabrics:  Sturbridge line by Kathy Schmitz for Moda and Daily Zen line by Michael D'Amore for Benartex. I attended quilt artist Sujata Shah's "Pinwheel" class sponsored by the Greater Ann Arbor Quilt Guild  at Washtenaw Community College in Ann Arbor  on July 17, 2016. Shah is inspired by the work of Gee's Bend quilters and has developed a no-template method of piecing to emulate their unstructured designs. Shah's book, Cultural Fusion Quilts , is available at Amazon.com.  Shah's uses four 11-inch squares to make each block, but she said a quilter could use any size base they choose. Since I had a package of precut 10-inch squares in the "Sturbridge" design by Kathy Schmitz for Moda, I based my block on that size. We were instructed to bring a variety of backgrounds in one color and brights in another color. Since I signed up late for

Auntie Grace bag

"Auntie Grace" bag sewn by Linda Theil by Linda Theil This "Auntie Grace" bag pattern is available from  Knot & Thread Design. The bag is small -- about 8-inches wide, by 6-inches tall, by 2-inches wide. It is constructed of pre-quilted fabric pattern pieces, and the gusset seams are bound inside the bag. The bag features a full-sized zippered pocket inside, and a full-sized zippered pocket on the exterior back of the bag. It also features a divided slip pocked on the rear interior. A front flap is secured by a swivel hook closure, and directions for an adjustable cross-body strap are included. "Auntie Grace" bag, rear exterior I think the design of the bag is beautifully proportioned, elegant, compact, and very useful. The design concept seems to follow the appearance of the high-end "Grace" leather bag by French fashion house A.P.C.  "Auntie Grace" bag interior I would consider the Knot & Thread pattern to be competently de