Mystery Block Bee
| May 16, 2012 | Posted by Mary-Anne under Uncategorized |
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Are you ready for a bee? Well, here is the “Mystery Block Bee” which is sure to be a lot of fun!
This bee has been devised and will be run by our very own Sally, who can be contacted on sally@dewijn.net
This bee will commence in June and run through to November. This is how the Mystery Block Bee will work:
The bee will be limited to 12 participants. You will need to commit to making two blocks per month (one for each bee member allocated to that month). A special area will be set up in the forum for bee members to use to communicate, and each bee member is expected to post regular updates in this area as well as post progress photos either there, or on the MMQG Flickr site. For your allotted month, you will choose a block from the list of block choices that will be listed after the 20th May. You then cut your fabric into the required shapes for your design, ready to be sewn. Send these pre-cut pieces to other participating members of the bee with a note indicating the finished size of the block. Bee members then use the pre-cut fabric and the list of available block choices to work out what design your block is. Bee members will then sew your block and send it back to you. Clues can be posted on Flickr during the month to help work out the mystery block designs.
For example: Sally has chosen to do the following block:
Image courtesy of SewHappyGeek.co.uk where you can find many other block inspirations.
This block is made up of four rectangles and eight squares, therefore she will cut the following:
The group member will then receive the above pieces, and have to arrange them into the top block (much like a tangram).
ESSENTIAL BEE RULES
- If you would like to submit a favourite block design to go into the pool of block design choices, please send the design to Sally by 20th May.
- Post your fabric out by the first day of your allotted month.
- All block pieces are to be cut before posting out. There should be NO cutting needed by your bee-mates.
- Post your finished blocks on the MMQG Flickr page.
- Complete blocks should be posted promptly by the first day of the following month. If you run in to any problems making your block, please contact both the block owner and Sally – communication is key to a successful bee!
What we were up to last time….
| May 9, 2012 | SASEs, Uncategorized |
It was another good turnout at the April Sit and Sew Evening at GJs. We had three new members join us including Jennette as well as some folks that we haven’t seen for a while, such as Adele. As usual, everyone has been busy. Rachel has been making hot water bottle covers, and Leslie had… more
Party Party Party!!
| April 20, 2012 | Uncategorized |
It’s MMQG’s second birthday in May and we will be celebrating during both of our Sit and Sew Events – Ashburton on Saturday 12 May and GJ’s on Friday 25 May. There will be presents, door prizes and delicious food at each so book now to secure your place. If for any reason you can’t… more
March Sit and Sew Evening.
| April 18, 2012 | Uncategorized |
Our most recent SASE at GJs was a great night and it was good to see some faces that haven’t been around for a while, including Cathy B and Chris. A new face was Sarah who has joined the Guild recently and managed to win one of our fabulous door prizes. The idea of a… more
Better late than never – wrap up of the MMQG inaugural quilting bee, “Oh Beehave”
| March 12, 2012 | Uncategorized |
Good things come to those who wait and our bee summary is one of them. All participants would agree that the bee was a lot of fun and despite a few obstacles (i.e. some of us with challenging living arrangements due to building and renovating, running out of fabric, a block going astray in the… more
Calling potential Committee Members/Volunteers for the MMQG
| March 4, 2012 | Posted by MMQG under Uncategorized |
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As part of the information gathered in the recent member survey, we note that a number of people put up their hands to participate further in the Guild. Ten people said that they would like to join the committee, 14 said that they want to be part of a working party and 15 have offered to help out at SASDs/Es. This is great news and now we would like to know who you are and how you would like to influence the future direction of your Guild. A couple of points to note for volunteers:
Committee
The current committee is small and informal. It was agreed early on that there would be no official roles such as Secretary or President; work is shared among the group evenly and taking account of each person’s skill and talent. For example, tech savvy folks look after the website administration and blog posts, one person manages booking of SASD/Es and most other work is divided up evenly. Quite a lot of work over the last year has been spent on organising venues for SASD/Es and website/general administration. With the venues sorted for this year, we expect to be able to move on to other things. A committee meeting is held monthly on a Sunday morning where business is discussed and action items assigned. All of the arrangements are made based on the preferences of committee members and are not set in stone so can be changed to suit.
While new members are being actively sought, to ensure some continuity, it would be preferable not to turn over the entire committee immediately.
Working parties
We haven’t formed any working parties as yet but see these as critical in moving the Guild forward and introducing new and interesting activities for members. This could include Trunk Shows, demonstrations and classes – think about what you would like to see the Guild doing and help make it happen!
Helping out at SASD/Es
As we mentioned in the survey, this could be helping with set up/pack up, hosting the dates, organising show and tell, welcoming new members bringing supplies for the day (tea, coffee, milk), holding onto and bringing power cords, ironing boards and irons.
Using the Contact tab on the MMQG website, please send us a message by 10th March 2012 to advise your name, contact details and in what capacity you would like to help out.
Sit and sew Evenings: we need your opinion.
| February 27, 2012 | Posted by Maryjane under Uncategorized |
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Dear MMQG members,
As many of you are aware the MMQG has been holding two Sit and Sew events per month, since mid-2011. These events are currently held each fortnight, one during the day on either a Saturday or Sunday in Ashburton, and one on a Friday evening at GJ’S Fabric Store in Brunswick. Based on survey feedback, these events are generally enjoyed by most attendees. However, during the past few months it has become evident that the evening event is no longer as popular as it used to be, and given the current interest and participation levels, it is no longer viable to offer the event in its current format. The justification to hold two events was based on feedback that members wanted variety in both time of day and location. Despite the majority of our members living in the eastern/south eastern suburbs of Melbourne, we received a large amount of feedback that a more northern venue would cater to the needs to those living in the northern/northwestern suburbs.
Before we cancel or change the evening event at GJ’s, we would like propose some options for members to consider and are seeking your feedback by way of a poll.
Please log on to the forum and locate the poll under ” Sit and Sew Events“
We are seeking feedback from at least 30 members and voting will close on Friday, March 9th
Many thanks for your participation and feedback.
The MMQG Committee
January SASD Recap
| January 22, 2012 | Posted by MMQG under SASDs |
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Last Saturday we started 2012 off with a bang at our first SASD of 2012. Lots of fun was had by all, many stitches sewn and some beautiful creations shared during “show and tell”. Here are a few of the photos taken on the day:
1. Andrea’s Stars, 2. Bronwyn’s Crosses, 3. Louise’s disappearing 9-patch, 4. Barb’s Strips, 5. Alison’s Creation, 6. Lorraine’s Segments
More photos taken during the day can be found in the MMQG Flickr Group. Please add your own photos to the group if you have some you want to share.
Our next event is a Sit and Sew Evening at GJs on the 27th of Feb, you can register for it here. We hope to see you there.
Sit and Sew “No Shows”
| January 16, 2012 | Posted by MMQG under SASDs, SASEs, Uncategorized |
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We hope you all had a great break over the holiday period and have lots of new projects planned for 2012.
The Committee have been busy compiling the results of the member survey which closed on 24 December; with 49 respondents, we have meaningful information to analyse and will be in contact soon to provide you with the outcomes of the survey and proposed actions to address the material points/trends identified.
One overwhelmingly positive response to the survey is that most attendees like the informal nature of the Sit and Sew Days/Evenings. That is fantastic and we have also noted for action other feedback on these events. However while the format of these events can be informal, we need to have some housekeeping rules in place.
One of these is developing some rules about “no shows”. While stuff happens and we can’t always get to things that have been planned, it is disappointing that we have had some people register for SASD/Es and not turn up, without notifying the bookings persons, on a number of occasions.
For the events at Ashburton, we have to pay a set fee, irrespective of numbers. For the evenings at GJ’s, payment is on a per person basis, but obviously the proprietor expects to receive a certain amount of money for the use of the room and associated sales. Furthermore, if events are sold out, or certain classes of tickets are sold out, failure to advise that you can’t come to an event means that someone else may miss out.
Either way, “no shows” create problems. As an example, the December SASD was sold out at one stage. We asked Georgina from GJ’s to set up the space for the maximum number of people. There were a couple of cancellations advised, prior to the event but on the day, there were 15 people who did not turn up, some of whom advised the administrators and some who didn’t. This is disappointing for the Guild and the proprietor and puts at risk our ability to hold and plan for events.
Action needs to be taken to address this issue, in fairness to other members, organisers and venue operators. Therefore if a member fails to attend a SASD/E that they have registered for, without notification on three occasions, their event registration will not be accepted in Eventbrite. We completely understand that something last minute may crop up and a member may forget to notify the organisers once, but three occurrences is not acceptable.
This rule will commence from February 2012 i.e. the SASD on Sunday 12 February will count as the first date that we will count “no shows” from. The three occurrence are cumulative, not just consecutive so each and every failure to turn up from February 2012 will be counted. All the details for contacting event organisers are included on the Event Brite registration page and there are email and mobile phone options.
We don’t like having too many rules but this is being introduced in fairness to all members, organisers and external proprietors. We have considered other options such as mandatory pre-payment for the SASD/Es but have decided against these for these events (other Guild events such as classes or presentations may require pre-payment).
If you have any questions about this change, please don’t hesitate to contact us at admin@melbournemodernquiltguild.com.
100 days of Modern Quilting
| January 6, 2012 | Posted by MMQG under Uncategorized |
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Have you seen that The Modern Quilt Guild has recently started hosting the “100 days of modern quilting”? If not you should go check it out, they’re showcasing some truly inspirational quilts.
