Mod Conn Quilters

   Yesterday was the all-day-sew gathering for our Modern Connecticut Quilters  (aka "Mod Conn Quilters") group.  Sue Q. arranged for us to rent a conference room (free of charge) at a lovely rustic location called Winding Trails, overlooking a lake.  Thank you, Sue, for organizing for us!
   Everyone was working on wonderful projects, and of course we had Show-and-Tell.
   Jackie (of Canton Village Quiltworks) was working on her Glacier Star quilt (a Judy Niemeyer/Quiltworx pattern).  She has completed the pattern, but is in the process of adding four more borders to make it Queen-sized.

Hey Jackie-- I got a good photo of you this time!!

   Jackie is a big fan of Judy Niemeyer and has made many beautiful quilts in her patterns.  She sells many of them in her on-line shop.  And she will probably be posting about this meeting on her blog as well.  This summer, Jackie will be attending a week-long training in Montana (Judy Niemeyer/Quiltworx home base) to become a certified instructor of her patterns.  I recently took a paper-piecing class with Jackie using Judy Niemeyer's Total Eclipse pattern (see photo further down), and it was a wonderful experience (you can see my progress below).

   Heather was working on piecing a Christmas quilt (I wish I could plan so far ahead!)

And she shared some recent quilts she has been working on:

This is a sampler quilt.
I love her color selections!

   Heather's father has recently been in the hospital, and as a gift to him, she made this lovely quilt with houses.  (Her father designs houses).  I think he will love it and wish him a smooth and speedy recovery.

    Heather has been very busy and quite productive!  She also has been working on these bright and colorful blocks:

   I sat next to Sarah and it was my first time meeting her.  Sarah was working on some adorable bibs for her 11-month old daughter:

   She was also working on some wonky nine-patch blocks.  I love the colors in these blocks and she has decided to go with a white background to really make the colors pop.

   Maddie worked on a lovely pillow with horses on one side and dogs on the other (right up my daughter's alley!)

 And she was also making yo-yo's

   Susan (Maddie's mom) was working on some wonderful placements:

Susan used bias cuts for the curved piecing 

Here's the back side.

   Michele was working on these blocks:

   And she shared one of the many cinched bags she had made for the holidays:

   Sue Q. had made a number of circle blocks using nature-themed fabrics (Sue is an Environmental Educator for the state, and years ago-- when I was in grad school-- she was my supervisor for one of the internships I did at a nature center).

You might be able to see the Rainbow Trout in the top left and lower right quadrants.

   Sue was also working on making fabric vases for her niece's upcoming wedding (which I did not get a picture of).  She has to make thirty of them as centerpieces for the tables!  I believe that Sue is also making her niece's wedding gown.

   I shared a few of the smaller projects I've been working on:

Some of my blocks for the paper pieced Total Eclipse quilt I am working on.

   Most of the fabrics I am using for this were ordered from Jackie's on-line shop (see link above).

This is my handy chart to keep track of my progress on the blocks:
I now have 11 out of 20 KM units and 44 out of 56 H units--
more than halfway there!

These are the sides of my zippy pouch for my partner in the Mouthy Stitches Swap.

I made two fabric-covered notepads for our Brownie troop leaders
using Girl Scout fabrics I ordered on-line.

This is my trial-run zippy pouch for the Mouthy Stitches Swap

   At every meeting, we each bring a pieced block in an assigned color, as well as a coordinating 12 1/2" fabric square.  We laid out all the blocks that have been collected so far.  [They will be pieced together and donated].

   Yesterday's gathering was so inspiring.  It was a lovely group of ladies and we had great fun working on our quilt projects, sharing, eating (thanks, everyone, for all the good food you brought!) and talking.  Can't wait 'til the next meeting!