The Saturday, July 12 meeting of the Central Florida Modern Quilt Guild was held at the Villages Public Library at Belvedere, while our newly-upgraded space at the New Life Christian Church awaits finishing touches and building inspection.
Co-President Betty S welcomed members and provided a reminder of the CFMQG Purpose statement:
“The Guild supports and encourages the growth and development of modern quilting through art, education, and community.”
Betty read the treasurer’s report from Treasurer Sandi K.
Vice President Linda H made announcements related to the MQG. The new Modern Makers program is open for registration. For a cost of $119, registrants can participate in 12+ live online events, monthly Zoom open sews, skill-building workshops, and more. The program lasts from September 2025 to August 2026. You must register by August 11.
QuiltCon entry photo requirements have changed. Entries will not be accepted until September 1, but will require an additional third photo showing how the quilt edge is finished. The maximum quilt size is also slightly smaller this year. Check the quilt show rules here if you plan to enter. Linda also encouraged everyone to consider entering quilts!
QuiltCon will not be offering free quilt show entry to members this year. If purchased by October 31, a four day show pass is $50. However, if you purchase at least $50 worth of lectures, workshops, or special events in your first purchase, the show pass will become free. QuiltCon registration opens on August 20 at 10 am and many workshops sell out immediately, so plan accordingly.
QuiltFest Jacksonville entries are due July 25. If you want to enter your quilt, Linda has arranged transportation for quilts to and from Jacksonville. She will need your quilt by August 16. Carol W shared that her other quilt guild is taking a bus to Jacksonville on Friday, September 19. The bus is picking them up in Inverness, but it originates in Wildwood and it may be possible to get on there. The cost is $58 and Carol will share more information.
Judy D reminded everyone that our Sleep at Home retreat is on for November 13-15 at the Salvation Army in Lecanto. Registration will open closer to those dates.
Betty S shared how great Discord has been! Media Coordinator Courtney S reminded everyone of the steps to get into our Discord server. First, make a Discord account. Then, click an invitation link (in the newsletter or on the Members Only page.) Last, you’ll get member permission to see all the members only content. If you’re not feeling confident about getting yourself set up, sew-ins are a great place to ask for help. We’re up to 37 members on Discord and everyone is using it to share projects, ask for help, communicate while making our community outreach quilt, and more!
Beth S and Donna P announced our next sew-in on Saturday, July 26 from 10 am to 4 pm at the Belleview Public Library. The meal will be a Greek Chicken Orzo Bowl and the Sew and Learn topic will be Walking Foot Quilting. A $3 donation is suggested if you plan to eat the meal. Please register by completing this form, emailing Donna, or messaging her on Discord so that she can plan the meal. Donna also shared that if you have any concerns related to food allergies, feel free to reach out to her in advance to ask questions so that you know if you can eat the planned meal safely.
Program Coordinator Mel T will be presenting August’s program, on sewing hacks. Mel shared that Lora D will be presenting in September about applique, and Linda H will be discussing quilt photography in October. Shloe K will be leading November’s challenge reveal, and the December meeting will be our holiday party at Betty’s house.
There is still time to participate in this year’s Designing Through the Decades Challenge! Shloe’s slide show with details can be found on the members only page.
Workshop Coordinator Jane G provided details about our next workshop. Beth S will be teaching a workshop on transparency. It will be on a Saturday in October at a location to be determined. If you have any ideas for in-person workshops, please let Jane know.
Peggy L has CFMQG merchandise available. Some items are available for purchase at meetings, and Peggy can also work with you to provide other items. She has t-shirts, tote bags, hats and more.
Sharon J updated the membership on our community outreach quilt. Sharon and Barbara M have given out all kits for the sections of the quilt. Some people needed more fabric, and Sharon was distributing that at the meeting. Please let her know if you were short on fabric. Beth S designed the quilt and explained that the measurements provided by EQ8 did not leave enough fabric for seam allowances in the paper piecing design they created, so be aware of this issue if you use EQ8 to design a similar project.
Betty announced that she thinks we should have a Sunshine coordinator. Dee A immediately volunteered. Thanks, Dee!
Show and Tell
Donna M-L shared Magic Inch “Whiskers”, a 51 x 75″ quilt made from a pattern in the Modern Quilt Studio book Magic Inch Quilts, by Weeks Ringle and Bill Kerr. Donna used an AccuQuilt to cut her strips and longarm quilted this on her APQS Millie.
Gwen F @flaquiltz shared May Blessings Surround You. This was her first attempt at a half rectangle triangle quilt. She created this using colors from a blind draw during a paint chip challenge with Big Cypress Quilters chapter of the Quilting Guild of The Villages. She quilted it on her Bernina 570.
Lora D @loradouglas brought quilted sneakers she made to show and tell. She created these as part of an online class from Crafty Gemini. Lora fielded a number of questions about how she created these. She plans to make another pair!
Carol W shared her Out of Africa coat. She created this from panels that she made during the Dreamlines Project by Brenda Gael Smith. She also used African fabrics she purchased from a seller at QuiltCon. This coat won a 2nd place ribbon at the Crystal River quilt show.
Cindy B @cbubblesnsews shared three items. The first was Butterfly Runner, measuring 11 x 38″ and made using the Wonder Curve Ruler by Sew Kind of Wonderful. Cindy used Kaffe Fassett scraps from a Clammy quilt and free motion quilted this on her domestic machine. Cindy also shared two zippered bags. One bag was created from a Smartfood popcorn bag, and the other was made using confetti fabric created during a class with Linda H. The fabric consists of micro-scraps placed on a fusible interface and topped with mesh. After the class, Cindy used the fabric to make the bag.
Linda H @flourishingpalms shared Turnabout, a quilt of her own design, that measures 59 x 61″. This quilt was also made for the paint chip challenge with Big Cypress Quilters. Linda’s paint chips were pink and purple, and she could choose one color to add. She chose the color Lemon Ice. Linda quilted this mainly by hand with Wonderfil 8 wt Eleganza thread, and there is a small amount of domestic machine quilting that she did on her Bernina 770 QE.
Recently, some of our members participated in a postcard swap with the South Florida MQG. Some postcards were on display at the meeting. Watch out for a future post about the postcards!
Program
Beth S presented this month’s program, Walking Foot Quilting Jazz. Beth discussed a number of ways to “jazz” up your walking foot quilting and brought lots of examples. Her informative presentation can be found in the Members Only section of the website.
Reminders
- Next meeting: Saturday, August 9 at 10 am at New Life Christian Church
- Next sew-in: Saturday, July 26 from 10 am to 4 pm at the Belleview Public Library
centralfloridamqg.org 