August Meeting

Twenty-five people gathered on Saturday, August 8 for the monthly meeting of the Central Florida Modern Quilt Guild, including one visitor and one member joining via video call. We were back at the New Life Christian Church in Wildwood this month.

Co-President Betty S opened the meeting with our customary reminder of our guild’s purpose statement:

“The Guild supports and encourages the growth and development of modern quilting through art, education, and community.”

Betty announced that our November 14 meeting will be at an alternate location, the Villages Public Library at Belvedere. She also announced a board meeting on October 14.

Our Community Outreach Quilt from QuiltCon 2026 was donated to the church as a thank you for allowing us to use their facilities for meetings. It raised $600 at auction.

Treasurer Sandi K provided an update on our finances.

Co-Vice President Sharon J reminded everyone that the MQG website is full of resources. The July email newsletter has information about accessing the MQG website, if you need help! Sharon also announced that QuiltCon registration will open at 10 am on Wednesday, August 19. Registration for workshops can be very competitive, so those hoping to attend workshops should be prepared – make sure your login works in advance, be ready to try to register immediately at opening time, and have backup workshops planned in case yours sell out.

Donna P announced our next sew-in, which is on August 22 at the Villages Public Library at Pinellas Plaza. Please note the August 22 sew-in date, as there was some confusion and our newsletter reported the wrong date. Sew-in is from 9:30 – 4:45, and the Sew and Learn discussion topic at 12:30 is improv. Please bring an improv quilt or photo of an improv quilt you’ve made if you have one. For hands-on practice, bring some paper, paper scissors, pencil, ruler, tape, and four traditional 8″ blocks printed out on paper. If you can’t print out blocks, let Beth S know so she can provide them.

Karen E announced upcoming programs and workshops. The September 12 program is on bias tape, presented by Linda H. Linda will follow this with a workshop from 1-4 pm. Spots are still available for a cost of $20. The supply list can be found linked in our calendar. Our October program will be the reveal for the Upcycling challenge planned by Mel T. In November, Shloe K will introduce next year’s challenge, and our December meeting is our holiday party.

Patti R described our upcoming Sleep at Home retreat November 5-7 at the Salvation Army in Lecanto. The cost will be $80, which includes lunch each day. The room will be open from 8 am – 8 pm each day and signups will open at the September meeting. The next Luther Springs retreat will be April 30 – May 3. We are also looking for suggestions for alternate sleepaway retreat locations, so please let Patti know if you have any ideas.

Karen T presented some of the new books we have in the library.

Courtney S reminded everyone that she is available to help with Discord if needed. Let her know if you need help customizing your notifications or any other issues. She will also work on updating the photos in the membership directory with any new members.

Jane G presented this month’s Tenet ‘n’ Technique spotlight, improv. Improv is also the discussion topic for this month’s sew-in, and we have a number of improv-related books in our library.

Show and Tell

Betty S @zcabed shared two quilts. She created the first as part of a Block of the Month with the Big Cypress chapter of the Quilting Guild of The Villages. This quilt was longarmed by Linda W.

Betty’s second quilt, Ventana, was created using an Alison Glass pattern. She started this quilt at last year’s Sleep at Home retreat and found the backing fabric during a retreat shopping trip to Beyond the Stitches in Crystal River. This quilt was also longarmed by Linda W.

Karen T @Yorkie3mom shared Whimsical Birds, a 45 x 48″ quilt made using Lynne Tyler’s Liberated Birds block. Karen commented that this quilt was super fun to put together, and was a great way to use up scraps. She quilted this on her Janome 9450.

JoElla M @jemquilter shared #2 in her 2026 series of kawandi-style quilts. Measuring 42 x 71″, she said that this quilt was inspired by boro and used embroidery crests and sashiko. She hand quilted this.

Karen E @sunrayatplay shared Launched, a quilt measuring 43.5 x 58.5″. Karen created this design for the QuiltCon Scrappy Challenge, sponsored by American Patchwork Quilting. The challenge requirements were to use at least 10 different fabrics and only one overarching color hue in the design. Karen used large scale freezer paper piecing to piece this quilt. About the design, she said that this is her “tribute to the exciting and ongoing space program in celebration of all that has been accomplished and all that is yet to discover!” Karen quilted this on her Janome 9450QCP.

Barbara M shared two quilts. The first was a project she worked on during the Sleep at Home retreat and created using the FORE! pattern from PinkParakeetDesigns. It was quilted by Teresa K.

Barbara’s second quilt featured a cowboy boot design. This was also quilted by Teresa K.

Monique F @foleyderenne shared Potato Half, featuring split potato chip blocks.

Program

Karen E presented the program, Large Scale Freezer Paper Piecing. She shared general techniques and examples, and then provided detailed breakdowns of how this was used to create two specific quilts.