Manifesting Your Muses: The Art of Getting Unstuck

Discover why you get creatively stuck ~ and how to tap into consistent inspiration for your creative practice. Creative block doesn't discriminate~ it affects quilters, artists, makers, and creators of all kinds. This interactive talk explores the subconscious beliefs that block our creativity (perfectionism, imposter syndrome, self-doubt, comparison) and guides you through a proven 5-step ritual to reconnect with your creative muses and unlock your natural creative flow.

Through personal stories, guided exercises, and practical tools, you'll learn to release the patterns that stifle your creativity and approach your creative work with presence, play, and purpose. Whether you're struggling to start a project, finish what you've begun, or simply want to create with more joy and ease, this session will awaken your creative clarity and help you bring your creative gifts to the world. Your creative flow is already within you ~ it's just waiting to be unleashed.

About Astra Fox

Astra Fox is a Certified Spiritual Life Coach, Master Practitioner of NLP, MER and Hypnosis, and holds a PCC credential with the International Coaching Federation. As a lifelong creative and singer-songwriter, she specializes in helping conscious creatives, artists, and entrepreneurs get unstuck and step into their Joyful Purpose. Drawing on her expertise in the subconscious mind and her own transformational creative journey, Astra combines coaching, music, and practical tools to help creators unlock their natural flow and share their gifts with the world.

Magazine Challenge Reveals! Show off your creations and magazine pages that provided the inspiration.

Guest Speaker:  Rochelle Peters

Rochelle is the owner of Treasuredgiftsllc.com.  She specializes in Shannon Fabrics (minky).  On her website she also sells Tula Pink, Tim Holtz, as well as other fabric, webbing, patterns, threads and more.  You may have seen Rochelle at some of the local quilt shows. 

Rochelle will give us a demo on the best way to work with minky and show us how to make an infinity scarf.  She will bring along a few offerings from her shop in case anyone wants to get started on some Christmas sewing projects.  

JORDAN HOUSE JUBILIEE

Step back in time at the Jordan House Heritage Jubilee. They are throwing a good old-fashioned party at the historic Jordan House to celebrate its 175th anniversary and CIAMQG will be displaying an array of quilts at the event!

Family friendly fun planned includes:

• Hands-On Heritage: make apple cider on antique presses, create heritage crafts and play historic games.

• Toe-Tapping Tunes from “The Weary Ramblers.”

• Indigenous Experience: Learn about the history of the tribes that were once in West Des Moines.

• Legacy Woods Update: Learn about the exciting progress at Legacy Woods.

• Historical reenactors.

• Build a Log Cabin: Practice your pioneer skills and build a cabin!

• Laundry Station

• Corn Grinding & Bird Feeder Project

• Dissect Owl Pellets & Identify Bones

• Building a wattle fence

• Preserving herbs for winter & tea station

• Seed saving

• Creating a floral arrangement

• Bulb lasagna

• Pressed flowers

• Quilt display

Date: Saturday, Sept. 13th, 2025 9am - 12pm CT

In this class I will teach you how to make curved shapes with your sewing machine! I explain step by step, in detail, how to make these beautiful shapes, which will give you the possibility to freely create shapes on your quilts! It is not Appliqué. In addition, I will show you 3 variants of these forms (one form on top of another, one form next to another and one form within another) and I will give you ideas to inspire you in your next creations! - Carolina Oneto

3 hour workshop will be live on Zoom and include demos and one on one assistance.

Instructor: Carolina Oneto

Non-Member registration opens mid-April.

Carolina Oneto will be joining our September meeting via zoom presenting a virtual lecture on “Limits & Creativity”. This will be a PowerPoint presentation with question and answer time to follow.

Limits and Creativity lecture: Limits and an be counterintuitive but limits are essentials to create, they allow us to create connections, to avoid choose paralysis and to get a deep understanding of our medium. In this lecture we will talk about what kind of limits we can use to empower our creative process.

Joseph will share his story with us, talk a bit about his blocks, the technique he uses to capture the pictures he uses on the quilts, and his amazing quilts; he will also be giving us a truck show.

Joseph, aka @the_gay_church_lady , began quilting during the pandemic. After George Floyd was murdered he decided to create social justice themed quilts which eventually led to the format I first encountered on Instagram, his strong women quilt tops #strongwomenquilt.

His quilts are scrappy and consist of a picture in the middle of the a block - actors, singers, police officers, judges, fictional characters, professionals (mathematicians), movies, astronauts, royalty, Barbie, and so much more.  I’ve seen blocks made in log cabin, courthouse steps, sawtooth, kings crown and other block types that bring a focus to the center of the block.   

If you follow the_gay_church_lady instagram account you’ll see each entry is accompanied by a biography of the person pictured in the quilt.  For some charity quilts he has compiled a companion hardcover book with those biographies included.

Quilted Post Cards

Aprils Topic: Memory Quilts

Join us in welcoming Lisa Ohnemus to speak at our April 14th meeting! 

Lisa is a member of the Eastern Polk Quilters guild and a quilter that learned the craft from her mother, a long time quilter.  In 2023, Lisa took on a labor of love to create a pixelated quilt of her daughter and used the Youpatch pixel software to create a pixelated quilt pattern.  The Youpatch app allows you to submit a photo to that will come back as a pixelated pattern and includes the colors you will need to create your quilt.  That sounds easy but when you see the quilt that Lisa created you’ll realize what a unique process it really is.   Lisa's made a second pixelated quilt which she'll bring as well. Lisa will also share some other memory quilts she's made.

Show and Share: Have you made a memory quilt? Bring it to share with the group!

Meeting Theme: How Do I Quilt It?

6:30 - 7pm Socializing

7 - 9pm Meeting

Doors open at 6:30pm, come early and socialize!

Meeting: 7-9pm

Februarys meeting is all about getting to know each other. We’ll have some fun ice breakers, play left/right/center, host a ufo swap, and check in on the block lotto. Can’t wait to see you there!

• Ice Breakers, Games & Left/Right/Center: If you are interested in playing Left/Right/Center, please bring 3-4 SOLID fat quarters.

Please bring a phone to participate in other fun activities.

• UFO Swap: Do you have any unfinished projects and/or orphan blocks that you are no longer interested in completing? Bring them to Februarys meeting and swap with the group!

• Raspberry Kiss Block Lotto: Due at Aprils meeting. Make as many as you would like; each block is a drawing entry and the winner takes all!

Blocks should be made with a black or dark background with brightly colored “X”s. Tutorial Link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-0SHlJOCZlmcTKmoWzkFr4wl2LMdCWfGTygh4vIlDHk/mobilebasic?sfnsn=mo

• Show and Share: Bring your latest quilty finishes to show and share with the group.

Next meeting will be at the the Westside Community Center on January 13th.

Member Stephanie Bracelin will be discussing color theory with an emphasis on using patterned fabric. Come prepared to discuss all things color and participate in a hands-on activity to help utilize your new knowledge.

Agenda:

Pre-Meeting social time from 6:30 to 7:00. Meeting to start at 7:00 PM.

• Officer’s report

• Color Theory with Stephanie Bracelin

• Show & Tell