Chellie LaPointe, outreach and education coordinator, will speak about creative reuse, and programs at the Scrap Exchange. The Scrap Exchange is a nonprofit creative reuse arts center located in Durham, North Carolina. Their mission is to promote creativity, environmental awareness, and community through reuse. Since 1991, they have been collecting materials from local businesses and residents and distributing these reclaimed materials through a variety of programming. Their creative reuse arts center contains a retail store, an Artist Marketplace, an art gallery, a Design Center to host classes, a Make and Take room for open studio art-making, interactive art installations like our Rio de Reuse, and much more.

 – You have drawn two paint chips. The exact colors on your chips must be used in your quilt, as much or as little as you want, but they have to be in there. (And no fair swapping colors because you don’t like yours, or don’t think the colors you drew go together – that’s why it’s called a challenge!) Please hang on to your chips so they can be displayed with your completed quilt. – This is the first time our guild is trying this so something in your quilt must be a first for you (first time using green, first time to hand appliqué, first embellishments, first time making a Lone Star using 1⁄4 inch diamonds, etc., etc.) – No one side, or the diameter, can be longer than 48 inches. – Have fun! Quilts are due at the October 2015 meeting.

Online blog highlight: Moda Bakeshop Looking to use up that spare jelly roll or charm pack? Or are you looking for a quick 120-minute Christmas gift? Check out the Moda Bakeshop at http://www.modabakeshop.com Moda Bakeshop features “recipes,” or patterns and tutorials that feature Moda precuts, including charm packs, jelly rolls, layer cakes, honeybuns… However, any precut package can be used for these patterns. There are a variety of projects available, ranging from table runners to bed-sized quilts, and the designs feature all different kinds of fabric, as recipes come from literally hundreds of “chefs,” or contributors. And if you have a great precut pattern, you can become a Bakeshop Chef too! Online resource feature: Flickr Photo Pools Flickr is an website where you can store and display your photos for others to see. But Flickr isn’t just for artists, or stowing your vacation pictures; many people post high-quality photos of their work for others to admire. There are also special themed photo pools, some which have amassed thousands of projects. To see a list of photo pools, look at the online resources database on the website. Visit flickr.com today to explore! Find us on Pinterest for more ideas: http://pinterest.com/DOQuilters/ Have any …

Online Resources – November Read more »

Online blog highlight: the Free Motion Quilting Project Looking to machine quilt your project, but need fresh ideas for what designs to use? The Free Motion Project, started by Leah Day as a year-long blog with a design-a-day and has evolved into a database of 400+ free motion quilting designs. The blog gives the option to sort designs by skill level and family design type, as well as chronological and alphabetical order. Click here to see an example of Leah’s tutorial on her design Underwater Rocks. Online resource highlight: the Missouri Star Quilt Company  The Missouri Star Quilt Company is an online one-stop shop for quilters of all experience levels. Their website features an online fabric, pattern and notions store, a blog containing project ideas and inspiration, a quilter’s forum, and finally, a myriad of useful video tutorials. All of these resources can be accessed from the main website, but the tutorials can also be found on YouTube:

Bibby requested that we share some online resources for those of you who would like to try your hand at Shibori Dyeing–the artistic medium of our September speaker, Kevin Womack. Shibori dyeing, which is kin to the popular technique of tie-dyeing, is a type of fabric dyeing in which the cloth is twisted, compressed, or wrapped in a certain way that produces a design after being immersed in fabric dye. One of the more well-known forms of shibori is called Arashi shibori, in which fabric is wrapped around a pole to give a distinctive design. Here are some helpful online shibori tutorials:  DIY Shibori, from Erica at HonestlyWTF Step-by-Step instructions for four shibori folding techniques from Design Sponge Step-by-Step form Dharma Trading Company. For resources on dyeing techniques, books, and supplies, check out the Dharma Trading Company online store! 

Looking for online inspiration? Look no further! We are compiling online resources in a Google Document that can be accessed here. Do you have a resource you’d like to add? Would you like access to edit the document? Email Annelise at ahgorensek@gmail.com  

SEPTEMBER BLOG FEATURE Material Obsession by Kathy Doughty. A native of the United States who began quilting after relocating to Australia, Kathy’s blog, shop and  website feature vibrant, colorful quilts and patterns. Although she lives in Australia, Kathy’s sites feature quilt-alongs, as well as online quilt patterns. Find her here: www.materialobsession.typepad.com ONLINE RESOURCE FEATURE Sew the perfect binding! Many of us (myself included) have been taught binding techniques, only to forget them when the time comes to bind. Fortunately, the internet contains a myriad of binding resources. Some helpful YouTube videos include: “The Ultimate Binding Quilt Tutorial” by Missouri Quilt Co “How to bind a quilt: 6 simple steps” by Heirloom Creations “Quilting Tutorial: Worry Free Bias Binding” by The Quilt Patch Find helpful step-by step picture-based tutorials at: www.cluckclucksew.com/2013/01/machine-binding-tutorial.html and www.sewmamasew.com/2013/01/machine-quilt-binding-tutorial/ Find us on Pinterest for more ideas: www.pinterest.com/DOQuilters/ Have any cool websites or resources you’d like to share? Is there a topic you’d like me to research and share? Contact Annelise at ahgorensek@gmail.com