17 people present, including several guests. 
 
1. Jacquie Gering workshop is full  (April 2016)
 
2. Retreat at Elm Hurst is in April in co-operation with the Toronto Modern Quilt guild. Please send $100 deposit to Kristyn M and registration is online.
 
3. Anita Zobens Thread Bar workshop has been booked for Oct 2016.  Price (before the end of March) for the class is $65 and includes lunch and kit fee.  Bring batting and light coloured fabric sandwiched together in an 8 1/2 x 11 piece.  Price for the class after April 1st is $75. 
 
4. Artisan’s meeting:  Mary W attended the meeting.  We will not be participating in the Western Fair again.  There is a two day open house for the Artisans in the Fall. (October).  Also, another open house in January in the afternoon of our meeting day.  The current building is going to be razed and a new building built in its place opening late 2018/early 2019.  We will be provided with a place to meet while construction is underway. 
 
5. We have 25 members. Our room will hold up to 50 people. 
 
6. December 12th meeting –potluck snacks.  Gift exchange: If you want to participate, make a small basket http://www.psiquilt.com/2009/08/friendship-bag-tutorial.html  and put a small gift inside. Wrap the bag so no one knows who made it.  Show and share Christmas ideas for gifts to make. 
 
7. Treasurer's Report- expenses to still be paid- Website hosting, Cheryl's fees, Artisans Rent, MQG dues. 
 
8.  Gail and Christine are teaching a liberated baskets workshop on Jan 16th for the LFQG and if there is space available, MQG members are welcome to sign up.  We will let you know in Dec. 
 
9. Membership dues are $45 and are due in January.  If you are coming to the December meeting, you can pay for your dues then, or mail a cheque to Kristyn, or pay online via PayPal.
 
10.  Community Outreach:  3-5 sewers each week on Tuesday afternoons 1-3 at Limberlost.  Hoping to start something up in Southdale in co-operation with the Southdale Chaplaincy.  5-6 volunteers work on rotation.  $ has been donated to have a Christmas lunch with the students on the 15th of December. 
 
11.  MQG Quilt Con deadline to enter quilts is Nov 30th. 
 
12. Mary Fons is doing an online seminar on different quilt styles through MQG on Nov 19th at 9 pm.  Free to MQG members. Sign up via MQG email. 
 
13.  Gail wondered if the LMQG might be interested in displaying quilts at the LFQG show in October.  Kristyn will contact Rose Bowlby to see if this is possible. 
 
 
Program:  discussed Cheryl Arkison’s trunk show and workshops.  Members who attended the classes showed what they made and discussed what they had learned.  Cheryl did an MQG webinar online about Improv with Intent.  It is on the MQG website.
 
Show and tell:  lots of eye candy!

Example of the bag we can make to exchange at the December meeting. 

Sonia explaining what she learned at the Cheryl Arkison Value workshop. 

Jan D's green blocks from the Improv With Intent workshop- inspired by Jan's trip to Ireland.

Jan P's first quilt.

Sheilagh's antique quilt made from flour sacks. 

Mary W's very colourful quilt!

Gen Q blocks from October and November- raffle won by Elaine. 

Thanks Gail for the meeting recap and photos. 

Here is a recap of the Improv With Intent workshop from Linda McLaren.

​Well, this was such a fun and freeing day!  Cheryl's amazing ability to put people at ease really shone today.  Improv can be very challenging, especially for people who are much more comfortable with order and rules and lines to stay within.  Her only request was to not make just log cabin blocks in our improv piecing :)  She had wonderful suggestions for bringing our 'intent' or idea to life - whether it was a feeling or a scene or a saying.  And then how to break down the idea into a process that translates to fabric.

There were no two pieces anything alike in the student work today.  Each vision had its own way of being expressed.  

The workshops were hosted by Hyggeligt Fabrics and held at the St Mary's Golf & Country Club.  The facility was big and bright and the lunches were great!  

Thanks again Linda for letting us know what you learned in both of Cheryl's classes and for all the photos- we loved seeing what the students were making- each one being so different. ​

Cheryl is demonstrating some of the variations of the Value HST quilt blocks

Linda one of our London MQG Members attended both of Cheryl Arkison's workshops.  It looks like she had a great time and everyone learned so much and got a lot of piecing done.

​Cheryl is a terrific teacher.  Her emphasis was on processes with us and encouraged us to play!  She empowered us and inspired us. 

My favourite tips from today 
- when making HST's, start stitching with the diagonal on the right side of your needle.  This is opposite to what I typically do, and with this change my HST's were much more consistent and accurate.
- pressing the HST's without stretching the bias edges
- square up - I'm already a fan of this process 
- a process for transferring your blocks on your design wall, to your sewing machine - to keep everything in the right order, in the right orientation, all at once.

A fabulous day with tips large and small.

This is Linda's off set squares.

Stacked Squares made by one of the students. 

Mountains quilt top made by one of the students. 

Thank you so much Linda for the photos and letting us know what the Values class was like! 

The Toronto MQG and the London MQG are hosting a modern quilting retreat April 8-10, 2016 at the beautiful Elm Hurst Inn.  
Sewing with friends, no chores, no cooking, wine and great food- what more could you ask for? 
Registration is now open- click the link for more information. 
http://swomod.weebly.com/ 

$340 for Double Occupancy, $480 for Single
All Meals provided.
Sewing begins at 1PM on Friday April 8th until Sunday April 10th at 3PM. 

Hope to are able to attend. 
​