Both of the October meetings started with a program presentation on Modern Quilting presented by Nicole and Caitlyn. This was followed by the Quilty Icebreakers (more on that later), a very brief business catch up and show and tell. Julie also presented the results and prizes for the 2022-23 UFO challenge.

Diving straight into the program section we had a thorough rundown of the history of the modern quilt movement and the quilt styles deemed to be its precursors. Members can find a link to the PowerPoint presented at the meeting on the program page of this website, including the references and details of the books mentioned. It seems that although the Modern Quilt Guild was founded in 2009, quilts in this style have been around since the 1800s. Several elements came together to make this type of quilt more popular in recent years among these are the increased interest in design, the availability of digital camera technology, social media and the changes in the fabric industry.

So what makes a quilt modern? It seems there are certain characteristics which define a modern quilt although not all of them need to be present in a single quilt. The presentation highlighted each of these giving examples drawn from our own guild photo archive and using the quilts of more than 50 of our members. What a rich source of inspiration we have at our fingertips. Thanks to both Nicole and Mélanie for doing this research and spending long hours searching in the archives.

At the end, the consensus seemed to be that we don’t need to label ourselves as traditional or modern, probably we are all influenced by this movement to some degree. Looking at the quilts presented at the meeting, members didn’t always agree on their classification. In the end, isn’t it all about self expression and not labelling, about trying new things and facing new challenges. After all our theme this year is “Curiouser and curiouser”

Quilty icebreakers this month asked about seam rippers. A very necessary item of equipment for some of us. Many people had a couple of these and many had more than 10. However at the day meeting Richard and Lorraine got the title of the most seam rippers with “at least 50” and Brenda had the most exclusive. A beautiful hand made seam ripper using the handle of a knife and inscribed with her name. The other icebreakers were questions on how many times you would pull out and resew a seam. Many said 3 times but others said until the fabric was no good any more.

The last item on the agenda, after quickly dealing with guild business and pickle jar winners was Julie and the UFO challenge. She showed the final submissions and then announced the winners. All of the participants got a prize and a rosette with Annette taking the grand prize. Well done everyone. Time for a break from UFOs maybe, at least until next year?

PS Happy Thanksgiving everyone 🦃