I can’t believe October is already over!!   Now that Halloween is over we can all focus on the craziness that is the holiday season…*deep breath*…Keep calm, Quilt On.

Holiday craziness aside, we had a great meeting. New faces and a lot of really cool projects. On top of that was a  fun and educational tutorial by Stacey Sharman about curved piecing. As modern quilters we talk about breaking the rules, but you need to know the rules before you break them. I hope we have more of these mini tutorials in the future (hint, hint).

Here’s what else happened:

1. Many of the local guild members were able to make it to the Sherri Lynn Wood’s class about improvisational curved piecing class. There is talk about another class in the future so stay tuned.

2. The South Bay Area MQG wants to do a swap with us:) It will be a secret Santa style and most likely sewer’s choice (i.e. mug rug, pincushion, needle case, or whatever you want to make) the item will be small and hopefully useful. There will be more discussion about this at the next meeting.

3. Our last sew day was a mess. Two people allegedly called the library and cancelled our meeting. Those responsible have not been apprehended. That being said, we are trying again on Nov 17 at the North Berkeley Library from 2 pm to 5pm. Please come and have a few hours of sewing and chatting.

4. Carol Van Zandt showed that she was not only an awesome designer, but generous too! She gave us fabric form her new Licorice Fizz collection (available in stores now). Members who were present at the meeting received 1/2 yd cuts to create amazing stuff.

Side story to that, Stacey set the fabric out at the beginning of the meeting and told everyone about the offer. Then she tells us that we have to wait until the end of the meeting to receive the fabric. I am not sure what I have done to Stacey to make her torture me through an hour and half of meeting time with the fabric right in front of me. It was cruel and unusual…just sayin’.

5. East Bay Heritage Quilter Guild had a fun modern meetup. They had a demo about hexagons. They have another meeting tonight (November 8, 2012) at Albany Methodist Church, 980 Stannage Ave. Albany (at Marin Ave). The cost is $5 for non-members. Check it off if you get a chance!

6. Patchwork Indie Arts and Crafts Festival will be in Oakland on November at 18 Jack London Square Pavilion. This is a free event and it looks very cool. I plan on taking the family:)

7. Sharona, owner of New Pieces and curator for the “New Quilts of Northern California” exhibit at the Pacific International Quilt Show, shared her experience as a person who chooses quilts for shows. Photos need to represent the quilt so please send photos that are well lit and hung properly. Also, please follow directions exactly. If they only want one photo, just send one photo.

8. A cool product was discussed. The Frixion erasable gel pen. While we do not endorse this product, it looks pretty cool. And we love when people share about cool stuff! Check out this YouTube video to see what it can do.

Like I said, It was a good meeting. I hope we get to see everyone at the November meeting!!!