Belated (a lot!) Holiday party photos (with January meeting info at the end!)

Hi everyone,

It seems for me, holiday madness, polar vortex, flooded basement and few other "fun" things combined all into one and swept me away!! Geez... Needles to say - big apologies for such belated post about our lovely December meeting and holiday party!
Promise to get my act together in this 2014 and be a better blogger! :)

Back to our holiday party and December meeting - it was just so much fun!
Lots of very yummy food was on my dining room table in a split second, thanks to everyone and of course - we had to enjoy it first! (sorry no photos of that - I guess we were all too busy eating? :)  )

Once everyone was full and had their choice of wine, what else - SHOW AND TELL!!
Karie was first with her newest beautiful quilt - Kaffe rhapsody...

Next was Rebecca, with her amazing presents for her nephew - a Star Wars pillow: (more about this one HERE)

 and her daughters...

 How beautiful! You can see more of the dolls on Rebecca's blog, HERE
Then it was Kim's turn - she had a bag full of them!
Riley Blake Challenge done:

Holiday table runner:

 with some fun quilting:

And even more colorful quilts from Kim:

Here is Jan's beautiful, bed size quilt:

Anne showed us her first attempt on her new mid-arm machine - WOW!

 Looking at the back too, of course...

Bonnie made this gorgeous pillow:

And Pam was sure busy making all these amazing  holiday place-mats!

Just beautiful!

We had wonderful time and here is one shot I managed to take that kinda shows it:

Miraculously - my big boy, Marley was not in this shot above, (how did that happen?!), but he sure was having loads of fun with everyone, asking for and giving kisses all the time...
See what I mean?

 

Oh wait! - that wasn't all! We also all got PRESENTS!!! Really!

This December meeting was also WNY MQG first anniversary, so our amazing VP Stephanie, announced that to many great companies and some responded in a very, very generous way! Westminster Fabrics and Aurifil thread sent us ALL presents!!! 

We had so much fun drawing names for who gets what and picking goodies. I guess I was too excited and didn't take any photos of that - what a surprise... - but here is at least one Anne took that shows just some of the goodies sent to us by these two wonderful companies: (and of course lovely, smiling faces of Kim and Stephanie!)

HUGE, HUGE THANK YOU goes to both Westminster Fabrics and Aurifil Thread (two of the best in this industry for sure!!) for their generosity!! You sure made our party even more special and I can't wait to see what everyone makes!

Now... we didn't just GET these presents you know - we had to work for them too! In order to entice EVERYONE to finish their Name Tag challenge (and make a swanky name tag), Stephanie proclaimed the rule: NO TAG - NO SWAG!!  Read: no presents for you if you don't finish/make your name tag! So there...
Oh and did we all ever do....
TA-DAAAH!!!:

How beautiful is that?!

So for all of you future members out there, still thinking weather to join us - really? You are still not sure?? He, he... seriously now, this little guild is fabulous, it will be growing and having more and more fun and inspiration - so join us soon!
And for the end, to put the face(s) - smiling, happy, quilter's faces - on it all, here is a group photo of WNY MQG members who could come in December,

wishing you all a happy, creative and full-of-stitches New Year!!

If you would like to join us, even just to visit and say hi, come to the January meeting!

WNY MQG January meeting will be on:

Saturday, January 18th, at 1:30 pm

at Threads of Time quilt shop

3133 Sheridan Drive, Amherst, NY, 14226

Meeting agenda and more fun stuff will follow in the next post, very soon!!
Stay dry in this rain and have a wonderful weekend,
Marija

PS - did you think I was kidding when I said I will be a better blogger this year? Hmmm... take a look at this:

I am so not kidding people! ;)

December Meeting!

Its almost time for our December meeting and this one is going to be extra special because it is also our holiday party and the anniversary of the first WNYMQG meeting back in December 2012.

Here's what you need to know:

• It is being held on Sunday, December 15 from 12:30pm until 3:30pm.
• Our little party is going to be graciously hosted by Marija and is pot luck style so bring a dish to pass. RSVP here and we'll get you the address.
• We will have our usual show and tell of course, but how about bringing something holiday themed if you have it!
• We will have elections for Secretary, VP of Events, and general Vice President. So far we have only had one nomination in each category: Marija, Anne, and myself, respectively. You may still nominate someone (or self nominate) up until the meeting if you are interesting in running.
• And finally BRING YOUR NAME TAG! This event is being sponsored by the amazing folks at Rowen Fabrics and Aurifil Thread and they have given us some incredible goodies to give away, but you have to have your name tag to get in on the action. Remember our new motto... No Tag = No Swag! Everyone who brings a handmade name tag will go home with something!

Happy Holidays and I can't wait to see everyone there!

-Stef

November meeting and outing

Hi everyone,

well, this weekend was just superb!
For me, it started with Friday night fun with our grand-puppy Oliver who was over for some puppy-sitting and play with big boy Marley...

 (this was finally some snuggle time, after about 3 hours or running around! )
... finished with some good sewing and making a yummy quince preserve with my husband on Sunday night...

... and then as a complete highlight, right smack in the middle was our Saturday meeting and field trip to Albright-Knox Art Gallery and Burchfield-Penney Art Center, topped off with a great lunch at Betty's - can you spell A-H-M-A-Z-I-N-G?? ( obviously I can't spell it...he he)

Seriously now - we are so very fortunate to have such amazing places like Albright-Knox, Birchfield-Penny and so many others too - but do we use/appreciate it as much as we could (or should)? Hmmm....I know for me the answer is no, but that can change of course! How do we become so complaisant of good things that are right under our nose...? Food for thought, for sure - but lets get to some fun stuff now - PHOTOS!!! :)
 Here we are:

You do agree that these steps we were standing on are THE perfect spot for a group photo, right?
Here are few more I couldn't resist:

And then there was art...

Very interesting and visually amazing (yet so simple!) light installation that changes with time and seasons (according to specific instructions from the artist). Its reflections on the floor and on the windows across were beautiful part of the experience:

And there was an ode to Albers too:

...and some classics, like Georgia (although not an expected one from her, at least for me)

However, for me the most breathtaking one of all when it comes to modern, abstracts, was this one:

Of course, that is just my personal choice, but I was fascinated with colors gradations, visual play, effects and even the literal depiction of the title - Fog! need to find and see more of her work now...
Too bad that NW Ohio MQG Art Spark Challenge is over - this piece would be my choice! :) Speaking of Art Spark Challenge, HERE is what they did - cool!

So if you think Albright-Knox was an amazing inspiration and experience, wait till you see Birchfield-Penny visit! The title of the surrent exhibit is so close to my heart: ART in CRAFTS. I think I am going back soon for another take...
However, I am afraid for your visual/inspiration overload my friends,  :)  so I will leave that for soon-to-come next post!

In the meantime - if you can tell from photos above, what is your favorite piece? Anything that sparks the inspiration instantly? Please share!
Have a wonderful Monday,
Marija