When you have a notion, a sewing notion that is, your sewing skills get taken up a notch (pun intended) or two!! We had the notion to show ours off this month at our meeting. Just when you think you’ve seen them all, you have not. Our members show off their favorite tools and notions from their studios and it was kind of crazy the things we didn’t know were out there. Julia was just itching to introduce us to her favorite sewing notion, the buttonhole spacing tool and the corresponding cutting tool that eliminates the need for using a seam ripper and risking cutting a little too far into your buttonhole.

There were so many new and useful little tools and notions, they may deserve their own blog post.

Let’s talk about April showers.

As usual the show and tell is a fan favorite and never disappoints in this guild. There is a lot of talent among us.

So that about sums up April for us! Thanks for reading and following along on our quilting journey.

The Irish Chain quilt is a traditional block made using squares of fabric that form a secondary “chain” across the quilt top.

I started doing a little research about this traditional quilt and learned that here in American quilt historians believe it was invented here in the 1800s contrary to the belief it originated in Ireland. Funny story, in Ireland there is a quilt pattern that looks just like this and appears earlier than the 1800s and over there it is called, are you ready for it, the American Chain! Interesting! Anyhoo, our quilter, Brooke, who gives us our block lotto assignment every month chose an Irish Chain for March, in green and white. Appropriate! And we decided to get a head start on our annual donation quilt for Team Shamrock’s summer fundraiser at Bar A, as well as, selecting a winner from the group. Here’s a peek at some of the blocks! I am super excited to see this come together.

Speaking of history, Camille gave us all a great presentation about the history of sewing and quilting right here in New Jersey.

Our quilt entry for the Modern Quilt Guilds Community Outreach Challenge is home from QuiltCon in Raleigh NC. “Motion of the Ocean” is what we call her and her next journey will be to a local charitable organization for a fundraiser. We’re in the process of finding one right now.

WE ARE HITTING THE BOARDS THIS SATURDAY, March 23rd at 10am Inspired by the Lake Superior Modern Quilt Guild, we will be donning our favorite quilt and parading the boardwalk in Ocean Grove. Come on down and see us or grab your favorite quilt and join us! 10am at the Beach Office, Ocean and Embury Aves.

Our once little guild continues to grow, we welcomed four new members last month which means there’s never a shortage of show and tell.

No shortage of talent either.

Happy first day of Spring?

Oh February you just flew past, all those windy, rainy days and poof gone! There was no shortage of hearts at the JSMQG, matter of fact we made some hombre hearts for our February block. Since love is always in season these will make a fantastic quilt to leave out all year !

MaryJane gave us all a lesson in graphing out quilt blocks and the ways to resize and incorporate them into your work. So informative. She’s putting her skills to work and creating an improvisational block for a raffle quilt for our next quilt exhibit at the Belmar Arts Council. Yes, you heard that correctly, February 2025 we will be displaying our work at our second exhibit, “Journeys and Destinations” at the BAC. We’ll be sharing, or over sharing, in the months to come.

Anyone who has ever been in a quilt group or guild knows that the best part of every gathering is the show and tell. We love seeing and being inspired by each others work and here is some of the work that was shared last month.

Ahh scraps, the byproduct of all sewing and quilting. We love them, collect them and wonder what to do with them while the pile keeps growing. This January was all about scraps here at the JSMQG. Members were prompted to bring in their scrappy quilts for show and tell and wow, they did not disappoint.

Eileen D presented our Program this month, scraps and using scraps to make things that aren’t quilts. First up she showed us two quilts she’s made using nothing but leftover fabric aka scraps from previous projects.

And then Eileen gave some examples of small projects that are super scrap friendly

The good news is that where there are quilts, there are scraps and they just keep coming. Anyone else think they multiply while we’re not looking? We now have some inspiration for what to do with them. And if you’re just not into sewing with small scraps, pass them on. There’s always someone else who would love them, after all one man’s trash is another’s treasure!!

And now we return to our regularly scheduled show and tell.

Katie S brought in the ultimate, antique scrap quilt, a crazy quilt that has been in her family.

And we all made log cabin blocks using shades of blue with a yellow center for our monthly block lotto. Lucky Linda was our first winner for the new year.

Back to our sewing rooms to make some things with the ever growing scrap pile. See you in February with our scrappy hombre heart blocks

Happy sewing!

Our annual holiday party included a barn quilt reunion, handmade ornament swap, food and fun. And of course some show and tell. Check out all this talent amongst us.

The holiday season is for gathering with friends and family. We are a close knit group of quilters, friends and a family of sorts. Cheers to a festive holiday season and a happy and healthy new year.

Wow this year is flying by! It’s Fall at the Jersey Shore and there are leaves everywhere including at Old Spool Sewing Studio. Our newest member, Cathy F. who has just fit in like we’ve known her forever, gathered them all and took them home with her to make a quilt! Yay!!

One of us loved them so much she couldn’t stop at one block. Nope, MaryEllen C took such a liking for those leaves she made a quilt for herself, she didn’t even wait to see if she won the blocks she just made her own!!

J

We did something a little different this month and asked members to bring in a project they were stuck on so we could brainstorm some help for them. Or something you had an idea for and needed help getting started or a project maybe you were ready to pass on to someone else. Here’s some of what we helped our friends with.

Next time we’re together we will be celebrating the holiday season and yet another wonderful year as a guild. See you then.

Over the summer an opportunity arose for us to receive a quite large donation of fleece from a woman who had a business making “no-sew” fleece blankets. You know the kind that has fringed edges that are tied together. We are quilters. We don’t “no-sew” anything! It took a few months but we did tie all of those blankets and threw in a dozen quilts of our own and headed over to Madonna House in Neptune City. Madonna House, founded and run by Rebecca Blonski, is dedicated to serving infants, children and women with basic needs such as clothing, diapers, toys and household items, free of charge. Women are referred, mostly from Jersey Shore University Medical Center just a stones throw away, to Madonna House for assistance. Everything there comes from donations of new or used in exceptionally good condition items and everyone who “works” there is a volunteer. There are 45 volunteers currently. Madonna House is also a thrift store, open to anyone. Items in the thrift store are priced extremely reasonably to afford everyone the opportunity to shop. Rebecca relies on donations of items to give away, as well as to sell in the store, volunteers, and faith. We had the opportunity to meet with her there and she gave us a tour and shared some very moving stories of how her faith has kept Madonna House going since 1987.

Our timing could not have been better because this year in addition to the holiday wishlist of toys that Madonna House fulfills, the children will be getting a new blanket also. It was wonderful to meet Rebecca and some of the team of volunteers and we’ll be looking for other opportunities to serve them. https://themadonnahouse.com/

Just a few days later, we were in Ocean Grove, gifting a quilt to Mary’s Place by the Sea. Mary ‘s Place is an absolutely stunning home in Ocean Grove, steps from the beach, where women with cancer and up to two years post treatment can come and stay for a two day retreat. Their stay includes a plant based diet, counseling, reiki massage geared towards oncology patients, yoga, and most importantly respite. All of this is at no cost to the women. Mary’s Place is funded by donations, fundraisings, and grants and like Madonna House made possible by an incredible team of volunteers. The women can take part in as much or as little of the offerings as they desire, they’re truly there for the respite and relaxation and they are literally waited on hand and foot in the most calming and serene atmosphere. Every guest has their own bedroom and bathroom with subtle beach vibes. When entering the building the first thing you see is an inviting, coastal feeling living room area with fireplace and dining room. That sets the tone for the rest of the house. The second story boasts a full porch complete with rocking chairs and an unobstructed view of the ocean. There are also opportunities for local women undergoing or up to two years post treatment to take advantage of the services Mary’s Place has to offer, at no cost.

This March, Mary’s Place will be celebrating their 15th anniversary with a fundraising event. The JSMQG is delighted to be able to gift this quilt for their event.

This is not our first experience with Mary’s Place, we’ve made two substantial quilt donations for the women to enjoy as well. We will continue to make quilts for the ladies who stay at Mary’s Place.

https://www.marysplacebythesea.org/

We had a guest last Thursday at our meeting, Marisa Simon, a Free Spirit Fabric representative and fellow quilter came to visit us and it was fantastic. Marisa’s job is to represent the Jaftex family of fabric companies, visiting local quilt shops and showcasing fabric lines from their designers for shop owners to order for their customers. While her job is to sell fabric, she’s also a quilter and so she gave us a trunk show of her quilts. What was really cool was her talking about her time spent with one of the coolest and most iconic designers of fabric, Kaffe Fasset. Kaffe is an artist and every piece of fabric he designs is painted by him. He is known for big, bold, color saturated prints His fabric is recognizable to all quilters. Here’s an example of a simple “brick” style quilt using only Kaffe Fasset prints. A true explosion of color!

He’s just one of the designers for Free Sprit Fabric. There’s the infamous Tula Pink, who quite literally has an army of obsessed quilters following her who’ve dubbed themselves the “Tula Troops”. And a personal favorite of mine for forever Anna Maria Horner, with a style similar to Kaffe. Gorgeous florals, her Echinacea line is a true masterpiece loved by so many they’ve recently reprinted them.

We were also treated to some samples of up and coming designers who’s work is also amazing. We absolutely loved listening to Marisa talk that the time went by too quickly

Many thanks to Marisa for a wonderful evening of quilts and inspiration. So many of us left that night vowing to cut up our large scale prints and let them sing in a quilt.

There was still a little regularly scheduled business to go over after that. Our block lotto continues to be popular amongst our members. For October we all made candy blocks and lucky Anne was the winner. How cute are these?

We’ve got lots of really good stuff happening in our ever growing guild. We’re incredibly fortunate to have our member, Deb H, , teaching us how to paint barn quilts. So much interest in this that we had to break up into two groups. Stay tuned for some pictures once everyone has had a chance to complete theirs!

We have a group quilt going to the International MQG quilting convention known as QuiltCon in February 2024. This one has been a true team effort and we are so excited to have it finished and displayed at the convention in Raleigh NC. When it returns to the Jersey Shore we will be auditioning local charitable organizations to donate it to for fundraising.

Speaking of shows, the JSMQG will be having its second quilt exhibit in February 2025 and it has an official name. “Journeys and Destinations“ an open ended interpretation of what journeys and destinations means to us. Cannot wait to see how each of us brings that to life.

A busy meeting so not much of our own work to show this month although we did manage to see a few things.

That’s it for October, stay tuned for some barn quilts and our gorgeous Motion of the Ocean quilt.

Every year the international Modern Quilt Guild, our momma guild, holds its convention in February. The 2024 event will take place in Raleigh NC. An integral part of this event is the QuiltCon Community Outreach challenge. Guilds are challenged to construct a quilt using fabric and design parameters dictated by the Modern Quilt Guild. This years theme is symmetry and at least three and up to all of these colors can be used on the quilt front. When the show is over the quilt will be donated to a local charitable organization for fundraising. It’s always fun to see what the guilds come up with.

Last weekend, while Ophelia wreaked havoc on the Jersey Shore, our members gathered at Old Spool Sewing Studio to get to stitching. We call these days Sew-Ins. They’re the best days where we come together sometimes, like last Saturday, when we have a group project at hand or where we just all do our own thing. It’s a day of sewing, chatting, laughing and eating. Always eating! So we sewed in while Ophelia did her thing. We employed a quilting technique for our entry that probably half of the group had never done before. So we did what we do best and we taught each other! And we sewed the day away and it was fabulous!! Now I can’t reveal the quilt yet, but I can tell you that one of our newest members designed it based on a painting that inspired her. The big reveal will be coming soon and this might be our best one yet.

I hope you’ll stop back soon to see the finished quilt before it leaves for North Carolina!

We had some time off from blogging to deep dive into so many exciting projects and events we are working on and we’re back now. We met in September and our beloved “block lotto” continued with pineapple blocks. How gorgeous are they? And Elizabeth gets to call them all hers!

Such exciting things happening in our little guild this Fall and beyond. Next month we will have a special guest at our meeting, a representative of Free Spirit Fabrics is going to be joining us with a trunk show and lecture on the fabric designing to making process. That’s going to be so interesting!

Also in October we will be getting together at member Deb H’s home, where she will walk us through the process of painting our very own Barn Quilt!! Barn Quilts are depictions of quilt blocks typically painted on the sides of barns. They were used as an early form of navigation, with directions sounding something like “make a left at the churn dash”. There are barn quilts and barn quilt trails all over this country. Pretty soon there’ll be one right here on the Jersey Shore. This project has been a long time coming and we are so excited for it! Stay tuned for pictures!

Because our first quilt exhibit was such a huge success, I am pleased to announce that we will be back on the Belmar Arts Council calendar for FEBRUARY 2025. Keep an eye out for all the details and of course save the date.

I’m constantly bragging about the talent amongst us. Every one of us brings something unique to our guild and it’s what makes our group so special, coupled with the fact that we’re all so willing to teach and share with one another. MaryEllen C is one of our resident art quilters. She can literally look at anything and turn it into a fabric work of art. And she’s quite humble and cavalier about her talent. She shared some of her methods with us at our meeting program this month I’m completely in awe of her gift.

Rumor has it that she’ll be teaching us at an upcoming workshop this technique

A highlight of every guild and guild meeting is always the show and tell

Until next time, happy sewing!

Our members got together and made a shamrock quilt. Anyone want to venture a guess as to who it’s going to?? If you guessed Team Shamrock you are right! Every year in August Team Shamrock holds their biggest fundraising event for Tunnel to Towers at Bar Anticipation in Lake Como NJ. For the past few years, the Jersey Shore MQG has been donating a quilt for one of their gift auction baskets. This year we were making shamrock blocks in March for our Block Lotto and someone suggested we all make ‘one for the winner and one for donation’. Bingo! So here she is and some lucky ☘️ winner will take it home. I heard through the grapevine she may be part of an ‘Irish themed basket’. Ooh that sounds fun!

Coincidentally our monthly meeting happens to fall on the same night as Team Shamrock’s event so the majority have spoken and we will be at the fundraiser too!! If you want a chance to win this quilt (and lots of other great prizes) and support our friends, come say hello to us at Bar Anticipation (or Bar A as we locals refer to it) on Thursday, August 10th 2023 6-10pm. $50 at the door which includes BBQ and entertainment by the fabulous Pat Roddy Band.

June 28, 2023, a beautiful day for many reasons. After a solid week of rain and darkness, today was a sunny, warm, gorgeous day and the perfect day to honor a true American hero. Marine Staff Sergeant Ben Webb, served his country with two tours of duty in Afghanistan and a third in Iraq He suffered injuries to his legs and among other things post traumatic stress. After returning home from duty and post Superstorm Sandy Sgt Webb’s Union Beach home was sinking and the contractor he paid to fix it duped him. The Tunnel to Towers Foundation and our friend Kathy Cunningham stepped in and built Ben Webb a brand new, mortgage free home on his land in Union Beach. Today was the day he was presented with the keys.

We, the Jersey Shore MQG, gifted Sergeant Webb a quilt to welcome him in his new home.

I think he likes it!!

This is not the first time we’ve gifted a smart home recipient with a quilt, we were there to welcome Scott Nokes into his new home in Howell and we continue to work with Kathy Cunningham and Team Shamrock in their fundraising efforts for the Tunnel to Towers Foundation.

We sure do like to party and June is the month we have an outdoor meeting and party every year. Well almost every year. This year our fun in the sun was nixed due to the smoky conditions courtesy of the Canadian wildfires. So the party went on, just indoors at our meeting place, Old Spool Sewing Studio. A quick business meeting, some show and tell and we were ready for some food and fun. Food! There was a lot of food! Everything you could imagine from appetizers and salads to yummy desserts. There were even a few bottles of wine. It was great!

And here she is with her new quilt, Elizabeth Young of Maine. She looks very happy to have this beauty to keep her warm on those chilly NewEngland nights!

It’s always a fun time when we get together like this over food and drink. It’s a chance to chat and get to know one another better in a relaxed atmosphere. A great time was had by all! Next party will be in August when we all trek over to Bar Anticipation in Lake Como for the Team Shamrock fundraiser for the Tunnel to Towers foundation.

If you give a quilter some white fabric and some dye the possibilities are endless. That’s what happened on an unusually chilly Saturday morning in June at the Jersey Shore Our good friend and fellow member, Laura S introduced us to the art of ice dying. Laura did all her homework to hone the process and we just had to show up with masks and gloves and dive in. She’s a brave lady! The weather being chilly she decided to move us indoors, phew! In the end, it went pretty smoothly, if you don’t count that leaky container. But seriously, it was super fun to come up with ways to fold and place your fabric, and chose colors and waiting for the ice to do its thing.

We had a lot of fun during the process and then it was a waiting game till the big reveal at our meeting the following Thursday. Laura did all of the rinsing and drying and here’s a few of our finished pieces. Aren’t they great?!

You’ll have to come back in November and see how we’ve incorporated them into a finished project.

Cannot thank Laura enough for all the work she put into this project and letting us come invade her home. Thanks Laura!!

Signs of Spring have shown up here on the Jersey Shore and these butterflies are here for it! Lucky member, Susan A got to take them all home and corral them into a quilt. We are taking advantage of the beautiful weather with outdoor festivities, like ice dying. Laura S is going to school us in this technique in her yard next weekend. Plan to see some mandala inspired projects post ice dying!! Our June meeting is one of my personal favorites, it’s a backyard potluck/meeting. This year Linda D is hosting us at her Bradley Beach home just steps from the ocean. These are my favorite because they are low key gatherings where we get to connect on a more casual level while sharing food and projects. They’ll be a fun game of Left Right Center, the fat quarter version led by Denise R. I’m looking forward to just relaxing and chatting with everyone.

Our member led program this month was all about using social media. Instagram in particular. Brigit C gave us a really good presentation and slideshow about everything Instagram like privacy, and how to use hashtags, both as a “filing” tool and a method of researching. Some of us who considered ourselves seasoned even learned a few things, thank you Brigit!

And that’s a wrap for May! There’s a lot of fun stuff happening here so stay tuned. See you in June