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Our guild was recently enlisted to make a quilt to assist the Arnprior Tim Hortons outlets in raising funds for their Send a Kid to Camp programme. They provided a number of Tim Hortons themed t-shirts, and guild member Marilyn Erskine got to work in piecing them into a quilt top. Brigid Whitnall, guild president, then quilted it and adding binding to produce a stunning and fun 60" x 70" quilt! The quilt was presented to Tim Hortons employees Anne Marie St. Michael and Lori McGrath by Marilyn and Brigid on May 25th, It was offered in a silent auction where it sold for an amazing $500 with all proceeds going towards sending kids to camp. Wednesday May 31, 2017 is Tim Hortons Camp Day when 100% of the proceeds from coffee sales will "brighten a kid's future".  From left: Anne Marie St. Michael, Marilyn Erskine, Brigid Whitnall, Lori McGrath  May guild meeting show-and-tell  Brigid's 3D Building Blocks wallhanging Congratulations again to everyone on a very successful quilt show. Now that the mad rush to finish last minute entries is over, we can start new projects or focus on longer term UFO's.
I have somehow acquired a few unexpected projects for family. Can't wait to get started, these are for our nephews and the fabric is loads of fun. I just emptied my one project bin, had to get it filled up again! As usual, May is our elections month. For those new to the guild, we call it elections as we optimistically hope to have numerous volunteers lining up. It is really first come, first to choose a position until they are all gone! There are still a few spots left. Once the executive positions are filled up in May, we will have membership renewals for next year at the June meeting. We typically have a draw for one free membership for anyone who pays at the June meeting, we have decided to be extra generous this year and have two draws. Don't forget that the June meeting, our end of year pot luck, is on June 21st, the week after Quilt Canada. I am sure we'll have lots of stories to tell. I had been hesitating about going and just registered for a couple of classes. It should be lots of fun. Ah spring and its conflicting demands - gardening, quilting, outdoor maintenance, taking down snowmen decorations which may have been forgotten!! Yes, I may have a few of those that hide in plain sight!! I will get to them eventually. Happy Quilting everyone! Brigid Whitnall President On Saturday, May 6th, we drove to our class through the heavy downpour of rain. It was a perfect day to be inside doing a workshop. Our teacher, Katrina Kahn, was very energetic and knowledgeable about free motion quilting. We heard words like: shoulders down, breathe, practise, practise, practise repeated many times as we made our wavy lines, our e's and l's, pebbles (2 different ways), 1, 2, 3 teardrops, figure 8s, and ribbon candy. We were able to see how free motion quilting left the quilts and tablerunners soft and flexible. The workshop had us eager to try out samples and to come home to practise. Katrina's samples are pictured below. -- Gwen Pennings    A highlight of our meeting was the display of this year's challenge projects and voting for our favourites. See the April Meeting Highlights - Challenges blog post for all the fun, including the winning projects. Congratulations to guild member Rennie Hickey whose "Refuge" quilt has been accepted to the Canadian Quilters' Association Quilt Canada 2017 national juried quilt show in Toronto in June. If you're going to the show, be sure to see it. Congratulations Rennie! Our guest presenter was Ann Coulas, a textile and fiber artist who often combines quilting and spirituality in her projects.
Ann showcased her traditional quilts in the first part of her trunk show.       More of Ann's quilts are pictured in this gallery. Click on a photo to see the full photo. Ann then showed us her art work. Incorporating a number of creative materials including pop can metal treated with a heat gun, beading, mesh, sparkles, thread, and "Angelina" copper coloured special effect fibre, and a variety of techniques such as thread painting and painted fabric, her art truly showcased her unique talents. Her banners, which she teaches in weekend workshops, are often on a particular theme such as elements of water, earth, wind, and fire, seasons (winter, spring, summer, fall).   Another theme is seasons - winter, spring, summer and fall.       Ann also specializes in spiritual themed liturgical banners which often represent the seasons and festivals of the Christian church year including Advent, Christmas, Lent, Easter, and Pentecost.  
See more of Ann's work on her Facebook page and her guest artist page at the Purvis Gallery.
Refer to the April Meeting Highlights blog post for information about the news from the April meeting. The April 2017 meeting began with a flurry of activity as members dropped off their challenge projects. Challenges, issued in September 2016, are optional projects with a particular theme where guild members showcase their individual creativity and imagination. This year there were 3 challenges: President's, Crayon, and Baby Quilt. The April deadline for the challenges was chosen so these projects could be displayed in our quilt show, the weekend following this meeting. Quilts in the challenges were displayed and identified by unique numbers so members could submit as their choices in a secret ballot. As shown in these photos, the quilts excelled in their creativity, imagination, and excellence of techniques. President's Challenge Participants were challenged by guild president Brigid Whitnall to make a red and white themed quilted item in honour of Canada's 150th birthday.      Crayon Challenge Participants blindly chose a crayon from a paper bag and were challenged to make a project of that colour, and different shades of that colour. Black and white could be included for contrast.      Baby Quilt Challenge Participants were each given a 10 inch square piece of this “ABC kid’s” fabric and were challenged to use all, or any portion of it, in a baby quilt of any size.     And the Challenge Winners are... Prizes were awarded for 1st and 2nd place based on voting in a secret ballot by guild members.. There were ties for 2nd place in 2 of the challenges! President's Challenge  Mary deVries was awarded first prize for her "Folded Pinwheels" table runner  Debbie Cauvier tied for 2nd place with her "Homecoming" table runner  Deborah Clark tied for 2nd place with her quilt  Jacquie Lavictoire tied for 2nd place with her quilt Crayon Challenge  Mary deVries with her 1st prize turquoise "Meander" bed runner  Vickie MacNabb's 2nd place (tie) "Silver Dragon & Dream Catcher" wall hanging  Emma Russell's 2nd place (tie) "Purple Squared" lap quilt Baby Quilt Challenge  Emma Russell with her 1st place "Now I Know My ABC's" baby quilt  Jacquie Lavictoire with her 2nd place "Grow-N-Up" wall hanging Our Quilting in the Valley 2017 featured over 340 quilted items made by members of our guild, the memorable Canada 150 exhibit of unique quilts made by eastern Ontario quilt guilds, door prizes, vendor mall, tea room, and our "Quilter of Distinction", Edna Snyder who recently celebrated her 90th birthday! To visitors to our show, thank you for coming and we hope that you enjoyed your visit. And to our guild members who provided quilts for the show, volunteered over the weekend, or on the organizing committee, all your contributions were truly appreciated. Show visitors voted for Viewer's Choice, Best Baby Quilt, and Best Other Quilted item. Prize winners are pictured below  Rennie Hickey's "Summer Beauty" double bed quilt was voted "Viewer's Choice"  Shirley Cavanagh's "Baby Blessings" quilt, made for her daughter, was voted "Best Baby Quilt"  Mary DeVries' "Lone Pine" framed wall hanging was voted "Best Other Item"  The Raffle Quilt was won by Pam Gavinski of Braeside |
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