Do you remember when I went last year? Well, things have changed! Not at all in terms of their offerings (in fact, I saw even less fabric I wanted this time around – but it could be that with my stash growth I’ve become pickier) but this time, I was there with some of the LA Modern Quilt Guild!

Last year I’d mentioned that I thought modern quilters weren’t well represented at festival, and in terms of the merchandise and quilts on display, I still think that’s the case, but WE were there! And since we were showing our pride with our t-shirts and totes, we were stopped and chatted with quite a bit. We put the effort in to spread the word!

Jamie, me and Latifah all loving our totes!

It was my griping about festival on my blog last year that caused Latifah to comment, saying that maybe we should start our own “modern” quilt guild and look at us now! Over 70 groups across the country and world.

Impressive modern quilters, impressive! What will we do next?!?

Jane the amazing graphic designer for The Modern Quilt Guild has done it again!   She has designed a logo for our LA guild and we immediately set up a Cafepress shop. Just a tote for me for now… but soon a t-shirt, and a mug and a water bottle and a… Ok I’ll stop. You get it.

See you all again later on next week! I’m up to my eyeballs in moving boxes and paint and so on through the long weekend and into next week! Happy 4th (to American readers)!

It’s such a great book. It starts with a very thorough run down of quilting – how to and loads of tips and tricks. All the info you need in one place. Then you get to the quilts… oh the mini quilts!

That last one there was made by Liz, a member of my guild, the LAMQG. In an aligning of the mini quilt stars, we had a mini quilt swap at our meeting last night.

Mini quilts are so wonderful because you can try something new or whimsical or out of your comfort zone, on a small scale.  You can take a risk or two that you wouldn’t dare take on a huge project that takes you ages to make.

Check out some of the great quilts from last night with their happy recipients…

Quilts made by Latifah,                 Emily,                                                                  and Lori

That last one deserves a zoom in…

On the To Do list?

“Buy more fabric” – so clever!

Whip Up Mini Quilts divides the many included patterns up into different categories.

I think the one I made fits nicely into…Geometric!

Right?

Mini quilts are great because you don’t have to concern yourself with the functionality of making a quilt – you’re just having fun with an artistic expression.  The book  captures that so wonderfully, providing such a great mix of practical information and pure inspiration.

Do you want a copy of this fantastic book? Just comment here and tell me your favorite thing about mini quilts! I’ll post a winner on Wednesday!

Here’s the run down of the whole blog tour!

6/1 - Craftzine – essential quilting tools
6/2 - Crafty Pod – book review & giveaway
6/3 - Chronicle Books – Behind the making of the book
6/4 – Indie Fixx – Designing your own mini-quilts
6/7 – Craft Sanity – Piped binding tutorial
6/8 – Handmade by Alissa
6/9 – My Love for You Background on Mini Quilts
6/10 - Film in the Fridge
6/11 - The Haystack Needle Decorating with mini quilts
6/12 – West Coast Crafty

Oh and P.S. … guess what I spotted in the book’s crafty blog resources list?

I was completely surprised by this and didn’t know about it until I was flipping through the book.  Truly made my day!

First, in Seattle I met Katie.  Along with her friend Noelle, we had a lovely dinner and drinks. Such a great time. Here we are at Pikes Place Market  late at night when no one was around.

Then in NYC I met Amy and Victoria for some delicious Indian food and great conversation.

And lastly, I finally met Kristen! You might think since we’re writing Block Party together we’d have met before, but nope! I attempted a couple of photos on my phone but discovered that the combination of nighttime light, wine and my camera phone were too much to overcome. The pictures are too lousy to post!

It was great fun all around. Everyone in this online quilting community is just so nice!

Our show & tells are always fun, but this time around there was a really amazing quilt shown. Eliza bought this quilt on ebay and if you look closely (you can click through to flickr to see it bigger) it’s ALL little yoyos! Seriously so, so beautiful. She bought it from someone in Louisiana who was an African-American quilt collector. That’s all that she knows about it, but she is so lucky to own it! The quilter who made this would be so happy to know how loved her amazing quilt is.

Lots more photos of the meeting (all taken by Emily) here!

A mini quilt I made for last night’s LA Modern Quilt Guild meeting. We had a Valentine Swap and it was a blast!

I had fun using one of my (almost never used) decorative stitches on this…

Otherwise, my post answering the question “What does modern quilting mean to me?” is up over on the guild’s blog. Go check it out and maybe you’d like to chime in on the conversation too?

It’s not easy to define just  what modern quilting is so we hope that lots of you will join in the conversation!  Check it out over here!

Here at the LA branch we recently had our first sewing day – six hours of chatting and sewing BLISS!

SO many people out there starting new branches!   Check out the new site where you can find out if there’s a guild near you to join.

A few people have contacted me about the fact that they are starting branches of The Modern Quilt Guild in their area! Maybe you live nearby and want to join?  Just click on over or send an email to the people listed below.

1/20/10 EDIT: WE NOW HAVE A MAIN WEB SITE. Please click on over there for all of the latest branches and info!

Kansas City – Jacquie, Shea, and Jen are getting going!  You can join their group, here!

Chicago – Mary is looking for interested people.  Click on over to her blog and you can contact her there!  Or you can now sign up for their group here.

Austin – Heather is looking for some modern quilters!  Join their group here.  Or you can email her at heatherlgrant @ gmail . com to get involved.

Seattle - Katie wants to get things going up in Seattle! Drop her a line (her contact info is on her blog) if you’re interested or you can sign up to their group here.

La Crosse, WI – Anna wants to meet you! Click over to her blog and contact her that way.

ADDED!

Philadelphia – Julie wants to find you!  Her email address is in her profile on her blog so just drop her an email.

Washington DC – Natalie is looking for members and people who would be up for helping her with the organization of getting things started up.  Her contact info is on her blog.

Raleigh-Durham/Chapel Hill, NC area – Kat is getting organized!  Email her at:  orangegiggle @ bellsouth . net  if you’re interested in joining.  You can also sign up to their group, here.

Houston/League City, TX - Rene is interested in helping with getting a branch started.  She’s looking for anyone interested and also people who would like to help with the initial organizing.  Her email address is over on her blog – just drop her a line.

Dallas -Lisa is looking for people in the Dallas area.  You can email her at lisa @ sophiaaster . com or sign up to their group – here.

New England – A few people are getting started up in the New England states.  Contact Monet at madebymonet @ gmail . com or you can sign up to their group here.  Also should numbers be big enough – this branch might split up into different groups.

Portland, OR – Elizabeth would like to hear from interested people.  She’s just getting started and would like to get a sense of numbers.  There’s no set plans yet, but let her know if you’re in the area and would like to join.  You can email her at elizabeth @ ohfransson . com

Indianapolis – Jan is looking for like minded quilters to start a branch!  You can email her at janmadethis @ gmail . com

Idaho – Des is looking for you! She’s in southeast Idaho.  Drop her an email at deslynn @ cableone . net

Birmingham, AL – Drop a note to Cathy if you’re in the area!  She’s looking for you.  Can can email her at zetti1 @ charter . net

Knoxville, TN – Get in touch with Mary Beth if you’re in the area.  You can sign up for their group here and she can be emailed at meadows.marybeth @ gmail . com

Asheville, NC – Amanda is looking for interested people and help with getting things started.  You can email her at mandiglia @ gmail . com

Orlando, FL – Rene is looking for people in the area who are interested in joining and she’d also like help with the organizing.  You can join their group here.  Or drop her an email at renecreates@ me . com to get in touch!

Bay Area/San Jose, CA – Ruth is looking for you!  Join the group here. Her email is ircabbit @ gmail . com

Atlanta – Sonya is getting started.  Join their group here, or email her at georgiabelleboutique @ yahoo . com

If you don’t live in these areas and wish you had somewhere to meet like minded modern quilters, maybe you need to start a branch of your own!   Drop me a note if you’re interested and we’ll all work together to spread the word and get people involved.   A national Modern Quilt Guild is a wonderful thing!

And check out the one that I got:

Two sided and so cute! You all know that I love me some Lush!!

So much fun to put together really quick projects and then all swap.

We also had another show & tell of our quilts. Something everyone loves and that we’ll keep doing. Here I am very seriously talking about my latest quilt.

(Photo by Latifah Saafir)

We all enjoy these meeting so much. So inspiring and fun to be surrounded by people who are equally as excited about all things quilts as I am! And everyone is so nice and warm. I’m so happy we started the guild! Really, you should start one in your town too! A sister chapter perhaps??