BLOG – Sydney MQG

The Colourful Cascade Story

18 December 202418 December 2024 by Helen Tait Comment Closed

The QuiltNSW Show committee approached Sydney Modern Quilt Guild several years ago, to see if we would like to contribute a different kind of quilt for the guild’s Annual Raffle. Of course we would! Covid turfed our original deadline out the window, but in 2022 our group voted on some inspiration samples and submitted a shortlist to the NSW Quilt Show committee for selection. They chose an improv cross-cut style block in bright rainbow colours on a grey background. An immediate - if simple - read as ‘modern’. It also worked well as a study block, with the majority of our members piecing at least one block for the quilt. Many contributed several, pushing themselves out of their comfort zone. True improv block making can be a challenge even for those of us who’ve been following a more modern direction for a while. But a tutorial and demonstration at one of our Sewing Sundays set us off on a properly wonky path. Our group supplied the background fabric...

Kincumber Retreat May 2023.

12 June 202412 June 2024 by admin Comment Closed

The last weekend in May 2023 saw 18 SydMQG members head north out of Sydney towards the Central Coast.Rumour has it some retreaters might have stopped off en route at the very well stocked West Gosford Spotlight, and to see the lovely folk at the Sewing Basket in Kincumber (it’s part of the Achieve network of charity shops, and is located just 1 handy km from our retreat location - and near the really good coffee shop. I think they did very well with both donations & purchases that weekend!)Some of us are pretty familiar with the facilities up at St Joseph’s in Kincumber, and it was great to be back there for a couple of full days dedicated to all things sewing & quilting, a lot of chatting, a modicum of wine slurping, and lots of scones. (And one of the best collections of Lucky Door prizes we’ve ever had.) For those members who struggle to get much dedicated...

Looking for fresh inspiration in 2020

3 January 202018 December 2024 by admin Comment Closed

The Modern Quilt Guild has curated a collection of patterns, webinars and articles called The Modern Monthly and is available every quarter so you have an great aray of information and inspiration at your finger tips. The patterns are interesting and creative yet simple enough for beginners. Issue 03 features the Block Study called Staggered Steps which was designed by Yolanda Whitehead of the Cincinnati MQG. There are two modern quilt patterns using this block called Ladders and Waves available to download so you can use them as they are or create somthing different using the block itself. Ladders Quilt Included in the issue, Maritza Soto gives a brilliant webinar on Impov Quilting. There are as many ideas about improv and many of us struggle to know where to start to improv our way to a pleasing design.There are however some basic threads of commonality that run through these improv quilts. In this webinar, Maritza talks about her various approaches to working...

International MQG Mini Quilt Swap

30 September 201912 February 2021 by admin Comment Closed

The International MQG Mini Quilt Swap will be open for registration next week. To join in this amazing swap you only have to be a member of the MQG. Membership of the MQG is all part of your SydneyMQG membership. You can participate nationally or internationally and you have until February 2020 to complete your mini. Find a link in our profile to the FAQ’S on their website and look out for their email next week. MQG Mini Swap Head on over to the how to log into your MQG account if you need to know how to sign in!...

Riley Blake Modern Quilt Guild Challenge

30 June 201930 June 2019 by admin Comment Closed

One of the wonderful benefits of joining our guild is that we are affiliated with The Modern Quilt Guild, and by joining, you also gain membership to the modern Quilt Guild in the states, which connects us to other guilds and provides discounts on MQG shows (including discounts and special offers from MQG sponsors). Last year, MQG an Riley Blake teamed up to create a wonderful competition open to all MQG members called the Modern Quilt Guild Riley Blake Challenge. Our guild decided to both participate in the competition, and make it interesting within our guild by creating a mini challenge. The rules were: Produce a a 24'' mini quilt, using all of the RB fabrics provided, and any solid of your choosing. The due date for our challenge quilts is Sunday the 16th of February, which happens to coincide with our Sunday Sit n Sew day! The categories are as follows: The finished quilts must be uploaded onto the MQG Riley...

So who is Kathleen Riggins Modern Quilter?

16 December 201830 June 2019 by admin Comment Closed

During September this year the Sydney Modern Quilt Guild had the pleasure of hosting two quilting workshops by Kathleen Riggins. Kathleen comes to us directly from a teaching gig at the Australian Machine Quilting Festival held in September 2018 in Adelaide. It is not her first visit here as she and her husband have holidayed here before and both enjoy Australia. They live in Camrose, a relatively small city in central Alberta, Canada, amid some of the richest farmland in the prairies. She grew up amongst some talented quiltmakers including Mom, Dad and Grandma. "My first quilt was a Kindygarden quilt with plus signs" Kathleen says. "I made it on my own after watching Alex Anderson’s TV show, Simply Quilts at the age of 8. It had some strawberry, blue and peach fabric and I wanted more blue, but Mom wouldn’t let me. I still resent it!" She finally finished the quilt after almost 14 yrs, as part of a Guild Challenge . At...

Kathleen Riggins Workshop presented by the Sydney Modern Quilt Guild

1 September 201830 June 2019 by admin Comment Closed

We are delighted to announce that legendary Canadian free motion quilter, Kathleen Riggins, is coming to Sydney to teach for the Sydney Modern Quilt Guild! You might know Kathleen’s work through her Instagram moniker Kathleen Quilts. Kathleen is coming to Australia to teach at AMQF and after finishing in Adelaide, she is heading to Sydney to teach for us. The dates are Saturday 29 and Sunday 30 September, 2018 and the venue is Dooley’s Waterview at Silverwater Rd & Clyde St, Silverwater NSW 2128. Saturday 29/9 :: Easy Quilting, Stunning Quilts Use a straight ruler and easy fills to create stunning modern quilting designs. Use the piecing in the quilt to find hidden shapes and lines, then simply fill them in for fantastic quilting! In this class you will use a cheater panel to practice the techniques we learn. Full day. 10 am - 4 pm Cost of cheater panel is an extra cost of approximately A$26 payable on the day. Trybooking Sunday 30/9 :: Quilting For The...

Monday meetup – Favourite quilting tools or gadgets

2 April 201730 June 2019 by admin Comment Closed

Sydney Modern Quilt Guild has two meetings per month. A full day of sewing happens on our Sewing Sundays from 10am-4pm, but what goes on at Monday MeetUp you ask? We meet at the same club, Dooleys Waterview Club and have a table booked from 7pm. There is the opportunity to have dinner, or just cake and coffee or tea, as people make their way in for a 7.30 start. There is always plenty of conversation, laughter and handsewing. Generally there is a topic for discussion. You can sit and listen, or jump in with your own tidbits. The March Monday MeetUp topic was your “Favourite quilting tools or gadgets”. There were many ideas that were shared including some novel uses for objects unrelated to the usual quilting notions. This ingenious little device was shown to us by Jodi - a first time visitor. It’s a “snippit” a gadget from Canada for opening plastic milk pouches. The cleverly concealed blade is perfect for snipping threads...

Sydney MQG members raffle quilt at Modern Quilt Show Australia

13 November 201630 June 2019 by admin Comment Closed

A quilt made by members of the Sydney Modern Quilt Guild will be raffled during the Modern Quilt Show Australia 2016, at Glebe Town Hall on Saturday 25 and Sunday 26 November. Proceeds from the raffle will go to a Sydney charity, which supports migrants newly arrived in Australia: Promoting Healthy Outcomes for Refugees...

2016 QuiltCon Charity Quilt: NYE at the House

6 February 201630 June 2019 by admin Comment Closed

Improv quilting isn't new, I reckon it is possibly the oldest form of quilting as fabric scraps and woollen off cuts were patched together to make the earliest form of quilts. And then there's the fabulous improv quilts of Gees Bend, Nancy Crow and Gwen Marston. But improv with intent, is that a fairly modern concept in quilting? It relates to abstract art and music where the intent to convey an idea, image or concept drives the design process. This year's QuiltCon Charity Quilt Challenge was "to work collaboratively to create completed quilts using a predetermined color palette and improv with intent". With that in mind we set about choosing fabrics and coming up with a design for this group project. We then brainstormed some ideas and finally settled on the iconic image of the Sydney Opera House sails and then decided that by adding the black as a sky colour and the brights as fireworks we could capture the magic of New Year's Eve...