VCQ'sCelebration 2024

Virginia Consortium of Quilters (VCQ) sponsors a 3 day retreat every 2 years that includes 2 days of workshops with nationally known teachers.  We meet at the 4-H Center at Smith Mountain Lake near Roanoke, Virginia.  What an idyllic setting!  It's a great place to get away for a few days to pursue our quilting hobby, enjoy comradery and long-time friendships, and appreciate the outdoors.  A bonus is that there is no cooking involved - just go to the dining hall for buffet meals!  This year's event was held April 18-21, and this is the first of several posts.  This one is dedicated to sharing photos of the facility.  Other posts will feature show & tell and challenge quilts, and the 2 classes that Sue participated in.  Elizabeth was unable to attend this year because she was otherwise occupied on a 30-day cruise to Fiji and other stops in the Pacific!

Looking from the patio of the activities building towards the lake.

Building on the right is the Taubman Conference Center and Hepler-Jamison dormitory.

View of the activities building, which includes the dining hall and auditorium.

At the lake; the gazebo is new since we were there 2 years ago.

Chairs along the shore.

An area of the grounds I had not visited before - a 3-hole golf course.

We also had some very lovely sunsets.

Wouldn't you like to join us in 2026?

Harrisonburg Quilt

Over the weekend, Virginia Consortium of Quilters (VCQ) sponsored a "slumber party" sew-along in support of the Virginia Quilt Museum.  Wendy Sheppard created a pattern for one of the museum's historic quilts that is for sale on the museum website.  It has been named the Harrisonburg Quilt and served as a fund raiser for the museum, which also sponsored a sew-along.  You can find the pattern here.

Sue participated in the VCQ sew-along and now has 4 blocks completed (2 sewn during the sew-along).  It is not a difficult block but does require accurate piecing. The slumber party included visits/interviews with Alicia Thomas, the museum's executive director, and national quilter Pat Sloan who provided video tutorials for construction of the quilt, and Wendy Sheppard, the pattern designer.  They were all very informative and provided excellent tips.  

The photo above shows the steps in the block construction.  Top left, sewing half-square triangles to the center square.  Top right, adding more half-square triangles to the center square.  Bottom left, strips including half-square triangles are added to two opposite sides.  Bottom right, final strips added top and bottom that have 2 half-square triangles on each end.  

So far there are 2 green blocks and 2 pink blocks.  Sue's plan is to make 20 blocks (4 x 5), slightly smaller than the pattern.  More colors will be added, with 2 blocks of each color.  Below are the ones cut so far.

The slumber party was very fun and capably led by Kelly Zuber.  There were some fun contests for prizes and polls as well as show and tell of completed blocks.  It's always fun to see everyone's fabric choices.  VCQ has plans for upcoming in=person and virtual meetings/classes and other special events including our Celebration retreat next spring at Smith Mountain Lake.  Check out VCQ's website for more info.

What we Missed this Spring and Making it up with Online Learning

Since the pandemic started, we have missed out on some of the planned events Sue and I hoped to attend. First to be canceled was our Virginia Consortium of Quilters March meeting in Williamsburg.  As their program chair it was hard to swallow as a lot of work goes in to setting up a meeting.  Next to be crossed off the calendar was our VCQ biennial quilt retreat at Smith Mountain Lake, following was a class we were to teach at Artistic Artifacts, and then a new adventure at Red Thread Retreat in rural Maryland with Lesley Riley.  No Northern Virginia quilt show and the realization that we would also need to cancel our VCQ August retreat.  Lots of disappointment.  Plans to attend Threads of Success in Houston in late October are likely also squashed.

On the bright side, so many new opportunities have popped up.  Like many of you, we learned how to use Facebook Live and Zoom and found ourselves in Yoga class, Zentangle sessions with Marisela Rumberg, business inspirational/informational meetings as well as frequenting sewing and quilting professional and group pages which were offering lessons or advice online in a live format.  There was also time to learn new things from YouTube and Vimeo videos.  Like many industries with a history of providing service to customers, the crafters and makers of the world have stepped up to make masks to help protect from the spread of the virus while still keeping their creative inspiration active.  Craft and quilt teachers have adapted to the online platform and some may never return to in-person events again which involve a lot of travel, preparation, toting of supplies, etc.

This spring, we witnessed a vibrant and fun Sheep and Wool Festival as they went online in quick order to make a weekend of fun at the fairgrounds turn to fun online.  They even kept right on going when the server stopped working due to overload and rapidly found a fix to stay afloat and continue online still. Yea, to the fiber artists! Quilt shows like the Quilters Unlimited Show in Northern Virginia also went online, QuiltCon, the modern quilt guild show, announced that in Spring 2021 they will be virtual and with 10 months to plan, no doubt they will be able to put on a fantastic show.  Other Quilt conventions are also announcing plans to hold virtual shows and professional quilt and craft teachers are figuring out which type of platform suits them, some will be live, some may be taped.  All will help fill the void we creatives feel in our lives.  If you have an online opportunity you would like to share, feel free to put information about them in the blog comments.

Last Thursday, Elizabeth took a class on ombre dyeing from Cindy Lohbeck on a platform called liveonlinequiltclass  This class was offered as a four hour live class where the students followed along and dyed as Cindy demonstrated.  You could buy a kit and the class as a package or the class alone if you wanted to secure your own materials. Elizabeth opted for the kit since it included a rack which, she felt, was essential to the process.  Since she is also not in Virginia during the quarantine she needed the dyes and fabrics and other pieces of the kit.  It is nice to get it all in one package but also generous of Cindy to offer the course with use of your own supplies.  You booked and paid for the class on the liveonlinequiltingclass.com website; if you needed other supplies later, such as refill dyes, you can buy them on Cindy’s website handsonhanddyes


The morning of the day of the class you are sent a Zoom link and instructions for a phone or tablet app or a computer.  Half an hour before class you sign on so you can work out any tech issues that may arise.  The class was moderated by another teacher who went over the technology and how to use Zoom; such as how to pin the screen so you only saw Cindy and how to use the chat box.  If you had questions you typed them in the chat and the moderator read them so Cindy could answer. Everyone but Cindy and the moderator was on mute. It all went remarkably smooth.  Four hours was long and exhausting but also fun and invigorating to be involved in something creative lead by someone else.

During class we made two Ombres, one in golden yellow and one watermelon dye colors and one color to color piece where you picked two of your remaining dye packets which would be analogous on the color wheel and where one end is purely one color and the other end is purely the other color with blends in between.  It was very special to learn how to create this technique.  If you think it is something you would like, please get on the mailing list for both liveonlinequiltclass and Cindy Lohbeck at Handsonhanddyes.com   The technology was easy and you won’t be disappointed with all the tips, tricks and techniques you will learn.

Here is the work accomplished during class.  The kit included more supplies for four more to do on your own.

Golden Yellow Ombre

 Watermelon Ombre

 Grape to Kingfisher blue blend

March VCQ Meeting

Last weekend we were in Virginia Beach for our quarterly VCQ meeting.  VCQ (Virginia Consortium of Quilters) meets 4 times a year in various locations around the state.  This was our first meeting of 2019; other meetings this year will be held the 2nd Saturday of May, August, and November.  It's really a mini retreat - we have 2-3 workshops and a group in Come Quilt with Me working on their own projects.  It's a great chance to get to know and socialize with quilters from around the state and learn something new.  We always have a good time.  Sue took a class on making coiled rope (clothesline) baskets, and Elizabeth took one on making a small crazy quilt.  These photos are mostly from the basket class.

These are some of the sample bowls, coasters and trivets by Paula Harr, class instructor.  She has an Etsy shop called Patchwork by Paula.

This is the beginning of the first coaster.  We made coasters first to learn the technique.

Sue was able to finish 2 coasters in class before starting on a bowl.

This is the start of the bowl.  Sue has made some of these bowls previously, but the cord was completely wrapped with fabric.  Paula's technique uses randomly placed pieces of fabric and variegated thread to add color and interest to the bowl.  This saves time and actually makes the process more fun than when the cord is completely wrapped with fabric.

This photo shows the beginning of building up the edge of the bowl.  You have to hold the flat part up against the side of the machine for several rounds for the bowl to begin to take shape.

Of course, learning when to relax your hold is part of the process.  Sue's bowl shape turned out to be more of the flower pot variety than Paula's which are so nicely rounded.

Though it will not be a flower pot.  It will surely find a spot in the sewing room and will soon be a repository for "stuff".  Hopefully the next one will have a rounder shape!

This is the basket class holding Paula's sample baskets.

Here is the crazy quilt class taught by Karen Lee Carter.

The third class was wool applique done in the center of a churn dash block taught by Sandra Fraenkel.

About 25 people were in the Come Quilt with Me group.  We also had a delicious lunch prepared by the staff of the Doubletree Hotel where we stayed and had the workshops.  So if you're looking for a group that combines quilting with a mini-retreat weekend several times a year, consider joining us at an upcoming meeting.  The next newsletter with information on the May meeting will be out by the end of March.  If you are a member, you will get an email when the newsletter is available online.  If you're not a member, check on the VCQ website for the newsletter - links are on the right hand side of the page.

VCQ Celebration 2018

It's been a busy month and we've fallen behind on the blog posts, so time to catch up!  Last weekend Sue and Elizabeth participated in VCQ's (Virginia Consortium of Quilters) biannual Celebration retreat at Smith Mountain Lake.  Every 2 years we gather for a a long weekend with 2 days of classes with nationally known teachers.  The 4-H Center at Smith Mountain Lake provides an all-in-one facility with dorms, dining hall and activity center and classrooms.  It's a lovely setting.

Along with classes other activities fill the weekend.  The first afternoon starts with a "meet the teacher" event where teachers have books, patterns and other items for sale as well as being available to meet and greet the attendees.  The after dinner program on the first night always includes a show & tell of projects from past Celebrations that people bring back finished. Here are some from this year.

This is Equal Rights, a pattern by Susan Emory of Swirly Girls that was taught in 2016.  There were quite a few of these in the show & tell which must have been gratifying for Susan as she returned to teach again this year.

These 2 were from a Bonnie Hunter class several Celebrations ago.

These 2 were from Victoria Findlay Wolfe's Double Wedding Ring class in 2016.

Another feature of Celebration is Block Lotto.  The committee chooses a block and makes kits, which members purchase, make the block, and return them to the committee.  For each block you turn in, you get a chance to win a set of blocks, or as was the case this year, one of 3 finished quilts.  In addition to the finished quilts, there were also several sets of blocks.  Sue won one of the sets of blocks, but will have to make the quilt herself.

 

The theme of the retreat was "Circle of Friends: Silver and Gold".  As in the past, there was a challenge based on the theme to make a wall quilt that illustrates the theme.  (Sometimes the challenge is a wearable item instead of a wall quilt.)  The picture above is the first place winner.

Sue's first-day class was called Circle Play with Karla Alexander.  We learned to set in an exact arc, and also to sew improvisational arcs.  Karla was also the speaker for the Friday evening program. Elizabeth was in a class with Susan Emory (Cosmos) which you'll see pictures of in show & tell.

Vendors for the weekend included Kelly Ann's of Warrenton and SewLoveLee from White Stone.  A knife sharpener was also there for one day.

Sue and Elizabeth were both in Karla's Paint Chip class on Saturday.  Above are Sue's completed blocks - it was nice to get all 20 blocks done in one day.  This pattern is in Karla's book Stack, Shuffle and Slide.

Mary Huey was the Saturday lecturer.  Her talk on color emphasized the importance of value, and made some memorable points.  In addition to previously mentioned activities, there was also a silent auction, peddler's table and raffle items.  On Sunday morning we wrap up with a show & tell of the classes from the weekend.

Melinda Bula taught fusible applique - a zinnia on the first day, and a rose on the second day.

These are some the blocks made in Susan Emory's Cosmos class. Her 2nd class was a Happy Place wall hanging.

Augusta Cole taught a strip-piecing class (above) and a mystery class (below).

Laura Blanchard taught this reversible table runner on the first day and "blocks on the move" the 2nd day.

Carolyn Friedlander taught a paper-pieced Envelopes class; her 2nd day class was hand applique.

Mary Huey's first class was a feathered star; pictured here is her 2nd class, a diamond star.

We had a great time and look forward to going back for another retreat in 2020, hopefully with some finished projects for show & tell!

VCQ Quarterly Meeting

We spent Veteran's Day at our quarterly Virginia Consortium of Quilters meeting in Manassas, VA.  As always, it was a fun day with classes, Come Quilt with Me, socializing and quilting.  This time we had 2 workshops going on - Deb Schupp of Gumbo Design Studios taught "Big Blue" Modern Mini and Penni Domikis of Cabin in the Woods Quilters taught Nested Petal Machine Applique.

Above is show & tell of Deb's class - as you can see, it didn't have to be blue! They had fun creating their own compositions with Deb's guidance.

In Penni's class, we learned to use Terial Magic spray to stabilize our fabric for machine applique.  Above, Karin has 4 completed blocks sewn together.  Below, some of us were assembling in rows.  Penni's pattern, called Merry Blossoms, has 9 blocks and a border.

Meanwhile, in Come Quilt with Me, folks were busy with their own projects they brought to work on.  Some of us come to learn something new, others come for the "retreat" type atmosphere of CQWM and the camaraderie. Here is some of the CQWM show and tell.

We had a delicious boxed lunch from Pot Belly Sandwich Shop, and our business meeting followed.  At the end of the day we gather for show and tell and a door prize.  Here are a few more photos from show and tell.

We are also gearing up for our 4 day Celebration retreat next spring.  We gather at the Smith Mountain Lake 4-H Center and bring in national teachers for 2 full days of workshops, plus other fun activities.  There are still spaces available, check out all the info at the link above.  Block lotto kits were available for purchase and the finished quilt that can be made from the blocks (if you win!) was on display.

Since November is our annual meeting where we elect officers, we also bring our memory quilt to display.  This quilt was made by Sherry Whitford to honor our members who have passed away.

If you've never been to a VCQ meeting, come check us out!  We meet 4 times a year in various locations around the state.  You get to meet quilters from all over Virginia, see different parts of the state, and find new quilt shops along the way.  Check out our website and come join us in March in Staunton, and/or Celebration at the end of April!