Well, this idea has been floating around for a while now, and so I thought I would take the bull by the horns and just Start!
( By the way, the photos are just random ones I've used before, because I can't do a post with no photos!)
Would you like to be part of a new quilt guild based in Saskatoon?
The Modern Quilt Guild has a web-site,
here, where you can find out more about the group, but I am going to copy quite a lot of their information here to save you the trouble of opening another window.
What is modern quilting? the following is from their web-site:
What is modern quilting?
Modern quilting is a new and rapidly growing movement in the quilting
world. A group of quilters applied their current tastes and points of
view to this traditional craft and shared their work online. Their
fresh approach and new designs attracted sewers and quilters and the
modern quilting movement was born.
Modern quilting, like all art, changes, grows and adapts from quilter
to quilter as they find their own voice. Modern quilts reflect each
quilter’s personality and personal style, and as the movement has grown,
a modern quilt aesthetic, a set of principles that define and guide the
movement, is beginning to emerge.
Modern quilts and quilters:
- Make primarily functional rather than decorative quilts
- Use asymmetry in quilt design
- Rely less on repetition and on the interaction of quilt block motifs
- Contain reinterpreted traditional blocks
- Embrace simplicity and minimalism
- Utilize alternative block structures or lack of visible block structure
- Incorporate increased use of negative space
- Are inspired by modern art and architecture
- Frequently use improvisational piecing
- Contain bold colors, on trend color combinations and graphic prints
- Often use gray and white as neutrals
- Reflect an increased use of solid fabrics
- Focus on finishing quilts on home sewing machines
Sounds good? here's another excerpt,
The Internet has played an integral role in the development of modern
quilting. Through blogs, online tutorials and social media the modern
quilting community interacts, providing inspiration and friendship for
each other. This has helped the community grow at an astounding pace,
providing feedback and support at a moment’s notice.
In many ways, modern quilting has taken us back to the basics of the
early quilters, when women of the day used the colors and styles of
their time to express themselves creatively while finding friendship and
community along the way. Welcome to modern quilting!
By having a Saskatoon and area guild, the main reason would be to have fun!
By no means is it meant to duplicate the activities of our existing Saskatoon Quilt Guild,
Why start a new guild, when there already is an awesome quilt guilt here?-- Just a different activity, all quilting activites are good and complement each other!
So, I contacted the "organization" and let them know that there is a group of us here who is planning to start a group.
We will have the first meeting very soon! Sunday, November 4th, at 2 p.m. at Periwinkle Quilting shop in Saskatoon!
There, we will Determine what we want out of the guild. This would be to ask ourselves
1. how often should we meet?
2. what should we do at the meetings?
3. who wants to be an officer? these would be people to fill roles such as secretary, communications person, or other such roles
4. where would we like to meet,?
For an example, again from the web-site
,
As an example, here’s what the LAMQG decided to do.
Monday Meetings:
We meet one Monday evening a month at Home Ec.
for two hours. At those meetings we deal with business, show &
tells, people speak, we have fabric swaps and so on. Lots of fun and
inspirational times, but no sewing together at these meetings.
Weekend Sews:
We also meet one weekend day a month (alternating Saturdays &
Sundays) in a room that we rent from a church. At those meetings we all
bring our gear – sewing machines, cutting mats, irons and ironing
boards and we sew sew sew! Some of these meetings are “free sews”, some
are workshops on specific topics. And at some we will sew charity
quilts. The options are endless! These meetings are six hours long
giving people lots of time to get some sewing done.
As our guild seems to attract younger members, we encourage meeting
on week nights and weekends so that people with jobs and small children
are able to attend. Also consider your location and try to be central –
if you can’t be, try to be fair. Here in L.A, our Monday Meetings
& Weekend Sews are on opposite sides of town so the commute
alternates for members.
Step 6: Determine your dues and what they will
cover. For the LAMQG they are $50 a year and they cover all meetings.
For some events with speakers we might require a small fee to attend, as
needed. We might also hold fundraisers as needed.
The first guild meeting for a potential new member is free. The
second & third are $5.00 each. After that new members must join the
guild to keep attending meetings.
Step 7: Set up a bank account for the guild. Your
treasurer should head up this work. These small first expenses for the
guild can be covered by having the officers pay their dues right away.
Be sure you’re keeping a budget and track of all expenses.
Step 8: Consider becoming an nonprofit organization. This is an involved process and we have a write up on how to do that here.
Please don’t let this step slow you down from starting with meetings
and the good times, just make sure that you do get to it.
Step 9: Get started and have a blast!! These guilds are about friendships, inspiration and fun through quilting.
I hope you will come to the meeting! and also, just drop me a line, or email or something if you're interested in it all. I will start an online group in the next couple of days, if it isn't too hard.
