What's new, Judith?

Hi there!  I'm Judith from Just Jude.

I've been invited to tell you about a WIP I'm working on at the moment.

I'm currently working on my class projects for next term, which means making class samples and writing up the patterns in advance of the classes.

Next term I hope to teach a new quilt design called 'Baby Bear Paw':



The idea behind this design is to take a traditional block like Bear's Paw, and modernise it.  You can see here when you put 4 Bear Paw blocks together you get a giant star!  This baby quilt will be approx. 49" x 49". 

And because this block design is so versatile, you could easily upsize and create a Mama Bear Paw Quilt (approx. 73" x 73"):

I've quantified the fabric requirements and have decided to use a fq bundle of Savannah Bop which I won at FQ Retreat last June.

I'm very fortunate to be in the position of owning a Sizzix, and the 4.5" hst die has made light work of the cutting out.

Using the Sizzix means the hsts don't need to be trimmed or squared off when sewn together!  How cool is that!

So that's my WIP for today! I hope to have this quilt finished and photographed soon, for the new programme of classes being released next month!



Chilly Morning Inspiration

It's been a while so belated happy New Year to you all! Is it OK to say that? At least we are still in January!

So to kick-start the year I thought I would put together a little collage of recent work members of the Guild have done, as per Flickr.

So if in any case any of you needed motivation to start off with new new projects throw your eyes over these!

Don't forget to upload your work to the flickr group.  We'd also love to hear about what you are making this month, so contact Cindy (fluffysheepquilting(at)gmail(dot)com) if you are interested in writing a little WIP post for our guild blog.  

All the best 

Fi 
(patchworkdelights)

Learning to Quilt in Ireland

Calling Irish Quilters!  Calling Irish Quilters!

Where did you learn to quilt?  Do you have a teacher or shop that is close to your heart?  Or maybe you teach classes yourself?  If so, would you please email us at mqgireland (at) gmail (dot) com with your recommendation.   Please include the name of the teacher, their contact information and even photos of what you made as well as a little 3-5 sentence review of why you think they are great.  We can then make a new directory on our blog to help those new to quilting find a place nearby to learn. 

Thank you!

Mini Quilt Swap

Did you send off your mini quilt to Atlanta?  Did you get one in return?  There are such gorgeous quilts floating their way back and forth across the Atlantic.  I want to be sure we can all see each and every one of them.

If you have a blog, please link up your posts when you write about the mini quilt you sent to Atlanta or the mini quilt you received in the post.  If you do not have a blog, please just email photos with the names of the creator to me (fluffysheepquilting at gmail dot com) and I'll add them onto this post.  This way we all get to join in the fun!

Thanks so much!

It's here....the Modern Irish Bee!!

Thanks everyone for your suggestions on the names for our Bee! Eva and Cindy and I had a little chat about the suggestions and we decided that we liked the "Modern Irish Bee"  - simple and classic.  I did a little button if you are taking part and want one for your blog:

<div align="center"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/groups/modernirishbee/" title="Modern Irish Bee"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7087/7163596998_e1ff7f2289_o.jpg" alt="Modern Irish Bee" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

We had 2 people suggest this name, so we will take the first suggestion who was Judith! Congratulations Judith, will you email me your address details and I will pass them to Eva at Pippablue for your prize to be sent out. Thanks again to Pippablue for sponsoring the contest!

So, I have been working away behind the scenes and I have set up the necessary structures for our new Bee! Woohoo, I'm very excited!!

We are now ready to launch it, starting with the first month in July, and we will be running it through Flickr. We have 12 people who wanted to take part right away, so watch out for your invitation to the Flickr Bee group in your Flickrmail or email today. If you are not a Flickr member, you will need to set up a free account over there to take part.

Over in the Flickr group I have 2 posts set up, one of which you need to read straight away -the "How Its All Going to Work" thread......which does exactly what it says on the tin! This is the basic guide to how the Bee works.  The second thread is about what you need to do when it's your month as Queen Bee and is there for a reference when it comes to your month.

Please please feel free to start threads with any questions you have, for general chat etc. We want the Bee to be about having fun and increasing the social interaction in our little community. So jump in and enjoy :-)

I will take the first month (July) to get us kicked off and so that if its your first time in a Bee, you know what to expect.

I hope you all enjoy it! I can't wait. I'm thinking what I'm going to do for my blocks and what fabric I will use........I'm eyeing my Echo FQ bundle and thinking it might be time to cut into it....but I'm not sure yet :-))

Sarah

P.S. Agnes and Eleanor, I don't have email addresses for either of you, could you email me at fairyfacedesigns@gmail.com with your details please so I can set you up!

Much A-Do

We have a whole lot going on in our guild, so I wanted to remind you of a few things....

Scrap swap deadline of 30 April is quickly approaching!  If you are going to put your scraps in the post, do so today or tomorrow so Cindy receives them by the 30th.  We have received several packages of  GORGEOUS scraps already, so be sure you join in to expand your stash a bit further.  What's more is the lovely Erin has contributed an Amy Butler FQ as fun surprise giveaway for those participating.

Bee naming contest deadline of 27 April is closing in fast!  Just click here and leave your entry in the comments section.   Pippablue has generously donated 4 FQs and batting for the winning entry, so toss your suggestions in today!

Last but not least, be sure you sign up for the Mini-Quilt Swap with the Atlanta MQG.  You can register here before 13 May.

A Contest! Name our quilting bee

Are you looking for the sign ups for the mini-quilt swap with the Atlanta MQG?  Just go here....

We are absolutely thrilled with the incredible response to our MQG of Ireland quilting bee.  But saying "MQG of Ireland Quilting Bee" when we talk about our bee is just painful.  We need a great name.  A fun name.  An inspiring name.  

Will you suggest one or two?  

For the winning name(s) we have a fabulous giveaway from Pippablue in Galway.  If you have not visited their shop or blog before, I suggest you do so as quickly as possible.  They have a gorgeous array of quilting fabrics, yarns, embellishments, books, personalised baby blankets, etc.  Get.On.Over.There.  But what are they offering to our contest winner? 

Yum!  Theses gorgeous 4 fat quarters of polka dot poplin AND a 36x90 inch piece of batting.  The name ideas are coming to you now, aren't they?  What's more is that Pippablue is offering a 10% discount on batting orders for MQG Ireland members.  This batting normally retails at €12/yard and is 90 inches in width.  Just ring Pippablue blue when placing the order so they know to add the discount: +353 91 566972.  Order yours quickly!

So, to enter your name suggestion, just leave a comment below.  We'll ask Eva and Ger of Pippablue to choose a winner by next Friday, 27th of April.

Good luck!