Oh the rail fence block! It has been a favorite of quilters since the pioneer days and beyond. It is constructed with strips, which makes it both beginner and scrap friendly, as well as utilitarian in that any fabric substrate can be thrown in particularly in the times when cotton was hard to come by. Positioning of the strips within the quilt can change the entire look, such as creating a zigzag or pinwheel effect to name a few. There’s that saying ‘good fences make good neighbors’, we’ll be adding our rail fence blocks we created this month to quilts that we will be making in the coming months for our neighbors over at Mary’s Place by the Sea in Ocean Grove. Stay tuned for those. Find out more about what they do over there at Mary’s Place and how they are supported by a community here
We are just thrilled to be a part of their community!
What a treat to have our youngest member, a high school senior Kiersten, do the instructional portion of our meeting this month. Kiersten’s topic, how to use your home (domestic) sewing machine to quilt your quilts, particularly through straight line quilting. Kiersten nailed it! Her presentation was so jam packed with information and samples, she even introduced some ways to use straight lines on a quilt that some of the more seasoned quilters never thought of. The Q&A that ensued after her presentation was pretty epic. It’s so refreshing to have her and her boundless enthusiasm in our group and really heartwarming to see how everyone has embraced her!
There’s our girl, Kiersten, taking questions from a captive audience.
Without further ado, let’s see what these rockstars have been working on.
Two quilts Jenn L made for Mary’s Place using the fabric we received from our neighbors at Cloud 9 Organic Fabrics. Can we talk about how Jenn added a yo-yo to the corners and it’s just the most fun embellishment!Here’s something we’ve never seen before, Jenn L restored the inside of this train case and made it her own. Clever!Marti has been bitten by Americas 250th birthday celebration bug! Once they’re finished you may see them over at the Long Branch Arts and Cultural CenterAlso Marti. She used some of the fabric gifted to us to create quilts for Community OutreachDeb L was on fire this month. Yes, all of those were made by her! And she’s donating them all!! Thank youLook at Cathie F trying to say goodbye to this beauty she made with gifted fabric, another one for Mary’s Place!!She’s only been a member for a few months, but Rachel did not hesitate to join in on the Community Outreach project. Love how she added those little house blocks intermittently!Brooke has been sewing for a new baby. How cute are those bears!!!Kiersten’s been busy stitching up this shop sample for Old Spool where her roots were planted in Julia’s sewing classes and now Kiersten works there part time. Cute!And Kiersten is also working on this puff quilt. Amazing!Elizabeth has returned to us from her Florida home where she’d been sewing up a storm all winter. These are just two of her finishes!Karen, new to us and fairly new to quilting, keeps pushing the envelope with every new project. Nice job!Joanne knocked it out of the park with this quilt for Mary’s Place. Someone is gonna love this!And Katie’s donation to Mary’s Place. I love a good friendship star!Susan took a dive into the scrap bin and magically made two quilts. She is generously donating them as well. One would think she’d be out of scraps now, but we know better!Another one for Mary’s Place! Made by Barbara and it is quite stunning!Sherre with another three quilts she’s donating, one for Mary’s Place and two for Dierdre’s project for the Hole in The Wall Gang camp. Linda D is back in her sewing room, yay, making some baby quilts! So pretty!Would you look at this bag Camille M made herself for all her handwork! Inside are removable project “pages”. You really have to see this one, it’s crazy good!She didn’t just bring her show and tell, Helen wore hers! An antique quilt that she repurposed into a jacket, a class she took right here at Old Spool Sewing Studio. It’s all hand quilted and it’s fabulous!If you’re a family obsessed with your Irish heritage and the Irish chain quilt in particular, then your baby girl will get one made for her too from Eileen D.
That was a lot of show and tell! When you’re there seeing everyone’s work, it’s impossible not to go home inspired!
JERSEY SHORE MODERN QUILT GUILD 