May 2025 Meeting Recap

34 members and 1 guest were at our meeting on Saturday May 17th at the First Lutheran Church in Montclair. Thanks for coming everyone!

Guild Business

  • Board Elections – The election will take place at the June meeting, which will start at 10 am. The new board will transition prior to the July meeting.
    The nominees are:
    • President (2-yr term): Ann Marston
    • Vice President: Emily Clifford
    • Secretary: Kathy Morganroth
    • Programs Co-chairs: Holly Finneran & Samantha Linehan
  • 2026 Quilt Showcase Committee – The committee will meet soon. Emily Clifford is the showcase chair. Please contact her if you’d like to join in the fun of making this happen.
  • We added the QuiltCon 2025 Catalog to our library of quilting books, magazines and rulers. See Caroline at a meeting to borrow.

PLEASE NOTE: Our June meeting will start at 10 am.

MQG Business

QuiltCon 2026 February 19-22 Raleigh, NC.

Challenges and Hotels

2026 Windham Artisan Cotton Fabric Challenge

  • For this challenge, members must use at least 3 of the 6 challenge fabrics chosen by the QuiltCon 2026 featured speaker, Hillary Goodwin.

American Patchwork & Quilting Diamonds Quilting Challenge

  • Eligible quilts will have the diamond (rhombus) shape as a primary element of the quilt design. You’ll find lots of examples of this and additional details on the challenge page.

Raleigh Hotel Blocks for 2026

  • We’ve secured blocks in six hotels for you to choose from. Check out the details on the website.

Community Outreach Challenge QuiltCon 2026

  • The theme is Medallion quilts, a fun way to work as a group and experiment with different repeating shapes and secondary patterns.
  • Size constraints of a maximum of 65”x85” and a minimum of 60”x80” must be adhered to.
    More info on the MQG’s website.
  • We want your ideas! Put your thinking cap on and submit a design to the Board for our guild to create using one of these palettes.
  • Bear in mind that entire color palette must be used, with no additional colors allowed, and broad participation by as many NJMQG members as possible is an essential feature of this challenge.
Palette #1: Brights
Palette #2: Blues

Call For Entry

MQG is curating a fresh exhibit in partnership with The Dairy Barn Arts Center! This juried exhibit will display the wide variety of talent and innovation happening in modern quilting today.

Submissions will be open April 21, 2025 – June 16, 2025 at 11:59 p.m. Eastern.
There is no submission fee.

  • Submitted quilts may be in any modern style and may or may not have been exhibited at QuiltCon in the past.
  • The entries will be juried by MQG staff.
  • Any MQG member may submit up to 2 quilts to the call.
  • A limit of 1 quilt per maker will be chosen with a final exhibit of approximately 20 quilts.
  • Quilts must have been completed within the last 3 years (2023, 2024, 2025).
  • Quilts must be available to ship to arrive in Athens, Ohio by September 5, 2025.
  • There is no minimum size for quilt submissions, but the maximum size will be 90″ on any side.

The June meeting will start at 10 am.


Programs

Ongoing

  • Mystery Quilt – Step 4 was emailed May 15th. The reveal will be in October.
  • Bee Block Party – current blocks will be swapped at the June meeting.
  • Mini-Quilt “Initial” Challenge – open to all members. Finished quilts are due at the June 21st meeting which starts at 10 am. (Remember to keep it secret until then – no posting on social media!)
    • The basic parameters are:
      • Make a mini-quilt, Min 12″ Max 24″ per side. (Does not have to be square.)
      • Choose a main color based on the initial of your first name.
      • Choose an inspiration block based on the initial of your last name.
      • Bring your finished mini to the June meeting (wrapped, to maintain anonymity) where we’ll display them all and vote for Viewers Choice. The winner will receive a prize!
  • Charity projects will continue to be collected by Kelly for donating to CASA.
  • Montclair Art Museum field trip to see an exhibit of Montclair collage artist Nanette Carter was planned post-meeting, but we found out at the last minute that the museum was closed to prepare for a gala that evening. (What nerve! Did they check with us? Did they invite us? Hmpf.) We hope to reschedule another day to see it before it closes on July 6.

Upcoming

  • Felting Workshop with Josie Dakers-Brathwaite on Saturday July 19th at First Lutheran Church of Montclair, 10a-2p. Stay tuned for class registration info.

Reminder: June meeting starts at 10 am


Improv Inspiration

The trunk show by member Carolyn McKibben was a real treat! Carolyn’s work will be displayed in a solo show titled Nature’s Tapestry at the Reeves-Reed Arboretum in Summit June 7 – October. Go see it!

Follow Carolyn on Instagram @quiltergardener


Repeat after me: the June meeting starts at 10 am.


Show & Tell

  • From the Kawandi Workshop with Ellaree Pray – (1) Debbie, (2) Caroline, (3) Sue, (4) Jo Ann. Great work everyone!
Debbie
Caroline
Sue
Jo Ann
  • Thanks everyone for showing your wonderful work! Jo Ann (1), Sue (2), Ann (3), Betsy V. (4, 5).

Next Meetings

Saturday June 21, 2025 In-person 10a-1p

  • New meeting time: 10 AM!
  • Board election
  • Initial Challenge mini-quilts due & vote for Viewers Choice!

Thursday July 17, 2025 Zoom meeting 7-9p

Thursday August 21, 2025 Zoom meeting 7-9p

See you in June at 10 am!

Have a great Memorial Day weekend!

xo,
Kathy

A Modern Mini Challenge: I used to be a shirt

Hello NJMQG members!

As mentioned at the recent guild meeting, we’ve got a challenge for you with a BIG reward…

The NJMQG will be having an exhibit of this mini quilt challenge; hanging from Oct-Nov 2022 in the Gallery at Peters Valley School of Craft.

Our show will hang for one month with an opening reception on Oct. 1st.

https://petersvalley.org/galleries/exhibitions/

(below is a photograph of the gallery space)

The mini-challenge for the show is as follows: Repurposing shirt material in modern mini quilts…

  • Challenge Parameters: 
    • MUST include fabric from only ONE (x1) button down shirt
    • White and/or Cream quilting cotton etc
  • Backing & Binding = anything goes
  • Square Mini quilt = 18×18″ with a maximum size 24×24″
  • Must include hanging corners on the quilt back – we’ll send a few tutorial links
  • Permanent label/name on back
  • Make and submit as many as you desire!

Quilts will be available to sell if you are interested with 50% commission to go to Peters Valley. Gallery staff can assist in retail cost pricing if desired.

Details to come on retail and posted labeling specifics. All hanging quilts will have a small gallery tag/sign with specifics to be determined.

Photos will be taken for publicity and gallery catalog. Our show catalog will available for purchase after the opening reception, and throughout October Show. 

Deadline for receipt of work to Peter’s Valley is Sept 27 – we’ll have a few options for collection as well as on open sew earlier in the month for drop off or sewing time. Save those shirt scraps as we’ve got ideas for how to use them for another upcoming project.

Sign up to participate via Google form by August 1st. Only one sign up needed – no need to tell us how many you’re planning on making or multiple sign-ups. We want to make sure we have enough intention to fill the space. Email was sent on July 21st from Crista with the Google sign-up form. Let us know if you have any issues with it.

After the sign ups are closed, additional details will be shared with participants. Please reach out to Crista and Rachel if you have additional questions. – info@njmqg.com

Looking forward to seeing what you make!

We are so excited about this challenge and guild opportunity. We hope you are inspired to make a few mini’s!

&&&&& these hit the size requirement for submitting to QuiltCon.

Mid Century Mod Curve – Virtual Workshop

NJMQG is partnering with Carole Lyles Shaw for a virtual workshop. Carole will be teaching her Mid Century Mod Curve class on June 27th from 9:30 am to 3:30 pm. The fee for workshop is $45 for members and $55 for non-members. (Registration for non-members will open on May 30th)

NJMQG Member sign up  SOLD OUT!! (please email programs at njmqg.com to be added to the wait list)

Mid Century Mod Curve Class Fee

NJMQG Member

$47.00

Mid-Century Mod Curve
Curve piecing can be fun and low stress! There are no templates needed and no pinning involved.
In this workshop, you will:
– Learn how to piece a quarter circle curve without templates or pinning.
– Learn and practice several techniques for improvisational cutting and piecing.
– Discover how to make each block unique and exciting.
Project sizes: 48″ x 48″ crib quilt; 60″ x 60″ lap quilt; table runner; place mats.

MidCentury-Modern-Curves

Carole is a modern quilt designer, author, and workshop teacher who has been an active member of the quilt and fiber art community for over twenty years. Carole always takes a modern, improvisational approach to her quilt designs. Carole’s passion and focus is on designing quilts for the modern quilt movement. She lectures about modern quilting and teaches modern workshops for beginning and experienced quilters from all backgrounds and styles. Carole served on the Board of Directors for The Modern Quilt Guild [2015 – 2017]. She co-founded and served as the first President of the Sarasota Modern Quilt Guild in Sarasota, FL. Many of Carole’s quilts have been exhibited in museums and art shows in the U.S. and internationally. Her modern quilt designs were published in Modern Patchwork Magazine and Fat Quarterly eZine
Carole is the author of two books on modern quilting: Madly Modern Quilts and Patriotic Modern Quilts. Both are available on Amazon and in local quilt shops. She has also launched a series of modern quilt patterns available on her website and in local quilt shops.

(All images are owned by Carole Lyles Shaw and used with permission to promote this workshop)