Arnprior & District Quilters' Guild Newsletter - April 2022
President's Message
President's Message
Free quilt or wall hanging pattern
April is here, and with it comes April showers. What a great month to make cute little umbrella quilt blocks, or even make it into a wall hanging! To download the pictured umbrella pattern, click/tap here.
I hope you are planning on joining us at our last Zoom meeting this month. Yes, next month we will be meeting face to face, won't that be fun? I am looking forward to the May garage sale, and I hope see you all there!
2023 ADQG Quilt Show - Let us plan another successful event. In past years we have made approximately $3,000 of profit from previous shows, and this money is used for programs, and the sales of the raffle quilt tickets goes toward our charity outreach projects. Since our last show was 2019, we have been using this money to support our program speakers, as our membership fee would have to triple to cover everything. We need to renew this fund with our next show to keep the interesting, inspirational speakers and workshops going. I know that we have a lot of talented members that have experience planning other types of events, so please consider helping us out with this endeavour. Note most of the quilt show committee meetings will be through Zoom, when possible.
Please don't forget to finish up your guild challenge quilts, June is coming for the reveal, and we will also want to display these quilts at our quilt show in spring of 2023.
I have just listened to a podcast from Quilter on Fire (Brandy Maslowski a speaker earlier this year) and she is featuring Bridget O'Flaherty, a local guild speaker from Perth. Her name might seem familiar to you because Bridget spoke to us a few years back, and taught us thread painting at a workshop. I thought you might like to hear this podcast if you haven't already heard it.
An upcoming guild quilt demonstration at the Valley Agricultural Festival (formally Arnprior Fair) July 29, 30 & 31st - We have been asked to participate in this event as part of their Education and Homecraft display that will be held in a large outdoor tent. We are considering having quilting demonstrations for visitors to observe and possibly do an English paper piecing hexie project to take home with them. If you are interested in helping out at this event, we will have more details about the event and the sign up sheet at the May meeting. We hope to have a few demonstrations only during peak periods of the day.
Hope to see you at our Zoom meeting next Wednesday night, April 27th. Yes, we will be meeting in May and June in person!
Oh, what fun!
Vickie MacNabb
President
An upcoming guild quilt demonstration at the Valley Agricultural Festival (formally Arnprior Fair) July 29, 30 & 31st - We have been asked to participate in this event as part of their Education and Homecraft display that will be held in a large outdoor tent. We are considering having quilting demonstrations for visitors to observe and possibly do an English paper piecing hexie project to take home with them. If you are interested in helping out at this event, we will have more details about the event and the sign up sheet at the May meeting. We hope to have a few demonstrations only during peak periods of the day.
Hope to see you at our Zoom meeting next Wednesday night, April 27th. Yes, we will be meeting in May and June in person!
Oh, what fun!
Vickie MacNabb
President
April Meeting
When? We hope you'll join us on Wednesday April 27rd at 7 PM on Zoom. Watch your email a day or two before the meeting for the link to connect to this meeting. Guest Speaker Marie-Claire Charette See the Program Notes below for more information. Win! The meeting will feature draws for "door" prizes, and a prize provided by Nancy on behalf of the Library. Guests We are welcoming guests to our meetings this year for a $5 fee. Visitors can register here. Show & Tell We'd love to see what you've been working on.
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April Library Draw Prize
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Program Notes
For my last few newsletters, I may concentrate on the squirrels in my quilting life … it seems to me that I have lots of them, almost as many as UFO’s.
I have lots of UFO’s … you should see that list! Some are getting long in the tooth and need to be re-homed. I am hoping some lucky people will want to take these off my hands in May! Stay tuned, I will be asking folks who have a table to send me a quick little few lines about what they have most of so that you can be enticed to come to our May Garage Sale… watch for next month’s newsletter for more on that.
Wrapping up our Zoom meetings for this year, our speaker this month hails from all the way out in Orleans, which at the time of writing this, it snowed, rained and did all kinds of things today weather wise, so I’m sure she’s happy to be presenting from the safety of her own home and not having to travel across the city in 5 different climate zones! Marie-Claire also offers a variety of workshops, something to consider for next years’ program team. My squirrels are leading you on a trail of nuts to the next items below…
April - Marie-Claire Charette http://www.laquiltingcoach.ca
After spending 32 years in leadership development, Marie-Claire is now indulging in her other passion which is sewing and quilting. Through this passion, she can create, learn, challenge herself but most importantly connect with others. She keeps in mind that there is "Sew little time" so does more of what makes her happy.
For my last few newsletters, I may concentrate on the squirrels in my quilting life … it seems to me that I have lots of them, almost as many as UFO’s.
I have lots of UFO’s … you should see that list! Some are getting long in the tooth and need to be re-homed. I am hoping some lucky people will want to take these off my hands in May! Stay tuned, I will be asking folks who have a table to send me a quick little few lines about what they have most of so that you can be enticed to come to our May Garage Sale… watch for next month’s newsletter for more on that.
Wrapping up our Zoom meetings for this year, our speaker this month hails from all the way out in Orleans, which at the time of writing this, it snowed, rained and did all kinds of things today weather wise, so I’m sure she’s happy to be presenting from the safety of her own home and not having to travel across the city in 5 different climate zones! Marie-Claire also offers a variety of workshops, something to consider for next years’ program team. My squirrels are leading you on a trail of nuts to the next items below…
April - Marie-Claire Charette http://www.laquiltingcoach.ca
After spending 32 years in leadership development, Marie-Claire is now indulging in her other passion which is sewing and quilting. Through this passion, she can create, learn, challenge herself but most importantly connect with others. She keeps in mind that there is "Sew little time" so does more of what makes her happy.
Upcoming Events
May 25th - Garage Sale and AGM
It’s our first in person meeting in over 2 years! We thought we would keep things light and have a garage sale .. see below for details. And it’s also our AGM, positions are being filled as we go, but keep in mind that as of June, the following will all need to be filled: Programs, Workshops, Retreats, Ticket Sales, etc…keep reading below
Please come to the May meeting prepared to take an active role in your guild as we recap what has happened this year so far, and bring cash for the garage sale! Lots of cash needed!!
Garage Sale details - Book your table now!
There will be a maximum number of ten (10) tables available for the garage sale in order to maintain distancing and we only have a few spots left.
Cost: $5.00 per table, no matter what size table you would like (large, small, shared table). Please email email Brigid to book your table.
Payment: eTransfer to the guild account More info
Deadline: I have removed the deadline, as we have a comfortable number of tables already. Trust me on this, you don’t want to wait too long to book as the planning of what you will sell takes some time.
If you would like to split a table with a friend so that one can sell and the other can shop, let me know when you book your table who you are sharing with. If you need a whole table for yourself, we’ll spot each other if someone needs to take a break or walk away for a bit and spend what they’ve earned!
What can you sell at this sale?
May 25th - Garage Sale and AGM
It’s our first in person meeting in over 2 years! We thought we would keep things light and have a garage sale .. see below for details. And it’s also our AGM, positions are being filled as we go, but keep in mind that as of June, the following will all need to be filled: Programs, Workshops, Retreats, Ticket Sales, etc…keep reading below
Please come to the May meeting prepared to take an active role in your guild as we recap what has happened this year so far, and bring cash for the garage sale! Lots of cash needed!!
Garage Sale details - Book your table now!
There will be a maximum number of ten (10) tables available for the garage sale in order to maintain distancing and we only have a few spots left.
Cost: $5.00 per table, no matter what size table you would like (large, small, shared table). Please email email Brigid to book your table.
Payment: eTransfer to the guild account More info
Deadline: I have removed the deadline, as we have a comfortable number of tables already. Trust me on this, you don’t want to wait too long to book as the planning of what you will sell takes some time.
If you would like to split a table with a friend so that one can sell and the other can shop, let me know when you book your table who you are sharing with. If you need a whole table for yourself, we’ll spot each other if someone needs to take a break or walk away for a bit and spend what they’ve earned!
What can you sell at this sale?
- Anything Quilting / Sewing related ...
- fabric,
- rulers,
- patterns / books (the library will have things out to sell as well),
- UFO's,
- notions ...
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Just keep in mind that whatever remains unsold goes home with you.
Someone asked if they could sell finished projects … well it’s not a craft sale, but if you think another member will want to buy your piece, and you don’t mind bringing it home at the end of the night, then why not! Remember, it’s just our members attending and they all quilt as well. |
Table setup: Please come early (6:15 - 6:30 pm) and be prepared to help set up your table and any chairs you would like. Members at large will be asked to set up their own chairs as desired and put them away at the end of the meeting.
For those buying: It’s Cash only… We ask that you bring small bills and change so that the flow of money is one way as much as possible. For example, come prepared with 5s and 10s for average purchases, bring 20s if you want to leave with lots of stuff from the same table!!! And don’t forget some loonies and toonies for smaller purchases. You likely have not used cash in a long time, break out that wallet and see what’s inside ahead of the meeting! Pricing will be up to each individual seller. We will ask each seller to mark their prices clearly so there’s no confusion.
The kitchen will not be open for the May meeting. We ask that you refrain from bringing in refreshments as we don’t want anything spilled and would prefer to keep masks on. The speakers at the mike will likely take masks off so that everyone can hear.
June - A night in the Park - June 15th with rain dates planned if needed
We started these crazy times with a show and tell of our challenge quilts in Robert Simpson Park and thought we would cap off our 20th year celebrations with another social night in the same location. More details to come as dates and details become known. We are not currently planning to have food, but will advise if that changes. There will also be BIG BIG Prizes…. maybe a new car (likely not, but I bet we got your attention!!)
Bring your best Covid Challenge quilts, President’s Challenge, any finished Block of the Month quilts, tops or maybe just blocks that you want to donate… let’s do a huge Show and Tell of what we’ve been up to in the last few years.
Stay tuned for more details….
Challenges
Block of the Month - March - Garlic Knot
Wow - this was a fast one and good practice for accuracy and nesting of seams.
You may choose to make a few of these to fill in some chains between other blocks.
In continuing to plan block arrangement, I was thinking of one of my other projects. It’s a block of the month that has blocks of all sizes from 6.5” to 24.5”. They are assembled in a 30” left side and 34” right side with the larger blocks kind of alternating from left to right. That is the type of movement I was looking for in this photo of all the blocks. This is on my design wall, which is a blue check table cloth.. it’s a little distracting, should have used the floor again!
Do you take photos of your progress? It’s surprising how helpful it can be. Added bonus: with digital photos, you can just delete any you don’t like.
In other news …
Last chance - CQA Guild Challenge - no one came forward on the CQA guild challenge, the few people who have participated in this in the past were busy with other projects this year. We have closed this off, but if you happen to have missed letting us know you have an entry, please advise us before the meeting so that we can show your piece and send it off by the deadline of April 30th.
Program positions that are open:
I have written these as single person, but many could benefit from more than one person. Don’t be shy if you are doing this on your own, you’ll meet new people along the way who will come in to help.
Program Lead - member of executive group, booking speakers, confirming speakers and coordinating with other members of the team for overall programs, workshops, etc. Working closely with the charity person if you want things like blocks of the month to go to charity, or workshops to assist with a charity project.
Workshop coordinator - working closely with the Program lead to piggy back on recent and upcoming speakers to book workshops, take in registration, confirm payments and book venues for the workshops (either in person or via zoom)
Retreat coordinator - plan, advertise and book retreats for the guild members. Confirm venues (either in person, in town or out, or via zoom). Take in registration and confirm payments.
Block of the month, challenges, other activities - help plan, announce and explain the monthly blocks, annual challenges, etc. Keep people informed with samples and explanations of the steps to get the items finished. These generally terminate in June, but with 2023 being a quilt show year, you may want them done sooner.
Other positions that are open:
These are part of the overall enjoyment of your programs, but don’t liaise directly with the program team.
Zoom coordinator - This position may sit on the executive depending on who purchases the license for the 2022/2023 year.
Start and possibly attend the executive meetings which will be help on Zoom for the upcoming year.
Set up meetings in Zoom ahead of time and provide links to either the secretary (for exec meetings), program lead (for speakers) or communications person (for general meetings) for them to email the links out to the appropriate group people.
Zoom duties at a meeting: admit people into the meeting, mute people as needed, give others co-host functionality so they can share their screen, and as needed assign host functions to someone else if not staying at the meeting. It’s mostly clicking on buttons and watching your screen.
50/50 and Raffle Ticket sales - a few people who are available early to sell 50/50 and raffle tickets at the meetings.
In person meeting set up - Still under discussion - People needed to place tables around the room when at in person meetings, chairs can be looked after by each person attending so that it becomes self-serve. If desired, we can go back to set groups of volunteers who could sign up for one meeting per year.
Quilt show planning committee - Consider yourself volunteered for this one! Everyone who is a member will have a job to do for the quilt show in 2023. You can choose to be part of the planning committee (which is generally about 10 people) and you can also be part of the fun at the show itself, either during set up, take down, or/and during show hours. This show raises enough money for us to be able to offer the lowest guild prices around, so let’s make this the best show of 2023! We need someone to lead the planning committee, other jobs include advertising, vendors, quilt registration, raffle tickets, etc …
--Brigid Whitnall, Programs
Last chance - CQA Guild Challenge - no one came forward on the CQA guild challenge, the few people who have participated in this in the past were busy with other projects this year. We have closed this off, but if you happen to have missed letting us know you have an entry, please advise us before the meeting so that we can show your piece and send it off by the deadline of April 30th.
Program positions that are open:
I have written these as single person, but many could benefit from more than one person. Don’t be shy if you are doing this on your own, you’ll meet new people along the way who will come in to help.
Program Lead - member of executive group, booking speakers, confirming speakers and coordinating with other members of the team for overall programs, workshops, etc. Working closely with the charity person if you want things like blocks of the month to go to charity, or workshops to assist with a charity project.
Workshop coordinator - working closely with the Program lead to piggy back on recent and upcoming speakers to book workshops, take in registration, confirm payments and book venues for the workshops (either in person or via zoom)
Retreat coordinator - plan, advertise and book retreats for the guild members. Confirm venues (either in person, in town or out, or via zoom). Take in registration and confirm payments.
Block of the month, challenges, other activities - help plan, announce and explain the monthly blocks, annual challenges, etc. Keep people informed with samples and explanations of the steps to get the items finished. These generally terminate in June, but with 2023 being a quilt show year, you may want them done sooner.
Other positions that are open:
These are part of the overall enjoyment of your programs, but don’t liaise directly with the program team.
Zoom coordinator - This position may sit on the executive depending on who purchases the license for the 2022/2023 year.
Start and possibly attend the executive meetings which will be help on Zoom for the upcoming year.
Set up meetings in Zoom ahead of time and provide links to either the secretary (for exec meetings), program lead (for speakers) or communications person (for general meetings) for them to email the links out to the appropriate group people.
Zoom duties at a meeting: admit people into the meeting, mute people as needed, give others co-host functionality so they can share their screen, and as needed assign host functions to someone else if not staying at the meeting. It’s mostly clicking on buttons and watching your screen.
50/50 and Raffle Ticket sales - a few people who are available early to sell 50/50 and raffle tickets at the meetings.
In person meeting set up - Still under discussion - People needed to place tables around the room when at in person meetings, chairs can be looked after by each person attending so that it becomes self-serve. If desired, we can go back to set groups of volunteers who could sign up for one meeting per year.
Quilt show planning committee - Consider yourself volunteered for this one! Everyone who is a member will have a job to do for the quilt show in 2023. You can choose to be part of the planning committee (which is generally about 10 people) and you can also be part of the fun at the show itself, either during set up, take down, or/and during show hours. This show raises enough money for us to be able to offer the lowest guild prices around, so let’s make this the best show of 2023! We need someone to lead the planning committee, other jobs include advertising, vendors, quilt registration, raffle tickets, etc …
--Brigid Whitnall, Programs
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Charity
As last month's Charity night showed, we have made an impact and are very appreciated for our charitable endeavours. It does have a positive impact in our communities, so Thank You all for the abilities in your sewing work.
Going forward, we will continue to find more opportunities to showcase our donations. We are currently planning charitable sew days and to this end, we are REQUESTING 2 1/2” STRIPS, any print or colour at the May meeting. These strips will be used during our sew days for quilts. More information to follow about these days.
Please stop by the Charity table to meet the team, Lana, Sue and Marilyn.
Bring any “Pick Up Sticks“ or “Bethlehem Star” blocks or quilts you may have for us, pick up a Fidget quilt kit, pick up batting for a Preemie, pick up material for a Walker Bag or labels to sew on your projects.
As last month's Charity night showed, we have made an impact and are very appreciated for our charitable endeavours. It does have a positive impact in our communities, so Thank You all for the abilities in your sewing work.
Going forward, we will continue to find more opportunities to showcase our donations. We are currently planning charitable sew days and to this end, we are REQUESTING 2 1/2” STRIPS, any print or colour at the May meeting. These strips will be used during our sew days for quilts. More information to follow about these days.
Please stop by the Charity table to meet the team, Lana, Sue and Marilyn.
Bring any “Pick Up Sticks“ or “Bethlehem Star” blocks or quilts you may have for us, pick up a Fidget quilt kit, pick up batting for a Preemie, pick up material for a Walker Bag or labels to sew on your projects.
Bethlehem Star block
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Pick Up Sticks blocks
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See you then.
-- Marilyn Erskine, Charity
-- Marilyn Erskine, Charity
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Library
April Library Draw Prize
Looking outside today shows us that Spring is on its way! And I have my flower seeds ready to go! BUT there is lots of time before that can happen and so I am still spending hours in my sewing room making quilts and other bits and pieces. Every January I vow to sew gifts all year and so be ready for the next Christmas and I’ve started on that project, too (I wonder if they’ll get finished!).
I’ve wondered lately if you find quilt ideas hard to come by and thought that I’d recommend going to the websites of some of our past speakers. The easiest and best way is to just go to the Guild website and click on “(More...) Resources” and then “Links”. All the names and websites will just pop up and you can spend an hour or two browsing through all their ideas! You can also go to fabric manufacturers’ website to see what patterns they might have for free.
The Library books are patiently waiting for our return to “in-person” meetings! We welcome any requests for books that you think should be in our Library; email me your suggestions. Sometimes we already have a book or two on your subject!
The Library prize this month has a fat quarter, this month’s issue of “Fons & Porter Love of Quilting”, a paper-piecing book of bird feeders and houses and an older quilt magazine. Good Luck!
And, remember: “a happy day starts in the sewing room”!
-- Nancy Hayley, Librarian
* * * * * Free Patterns from Windham Fabrics * * * * *
Membership
We are looking forward to connecting again in person with our membership at the May meeting. I will be taking attendance near the door using my computer membership list so that members will not need to "sign in". Thank you for your patience as we try to navigate getting this process back to normal.
In order to encourage new members joining our ADQ Guild, we will be posting on our website, Facebook page as well as putting up posters around the area. If you would like to put up a poster in a prominent spot where it might be viewed by potential members, please let me know and we will arrange to get one for you once they are ready.
-- Martha Palmer, Membership
Get to Know Your Guild Member - Debbie Cauvier
Debbie Cauvier
We hope you are enjoying this feature to help us better connect with each other, especially while we are not meeting in person.
In this month's Get to Know Your Guild Member feature, we're hearing from Debbie Cauvier.
Debbie is a very active participant in many of our guild activities, including a regular contributor to our Zoom meeting Show and Tell. Debbie has previously served as our guild's volunteer newsletter editor.
Thank you Debbie for sharing your quilting journey with us this month.
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Q: How long have you been making quilts? Would you describe your learning process? A: First, let me say thank you for inviting me to be featured this month. I have been a guild member for many years (possibly 10 or 11 years?) I have enjoyed learning from the various guest speakers and sharing with all the talented guild members our successes in honing our craft. I have been making quilts for about 12 or 13 years. I am very much a hands on learner and started my quilting journey by taking as many courses as I could. When I first started I was drawn to the country style quilts and favoured the earth tone colours, but as I have grown and learned from so many creative people I have opened my scope to trying just about everything and introducing more vibrant colours into my palette. While some colours still don’t interest me I try to make something with them anyway just to be opened minded. Q: Were there special people or circumstances that encouraged you to begin to quilt? A: I don’t come from a quilting or sewing background (except the required sewing class in grade 9), but I had always wanted to make a quilt for each of my daughters for their 21st birthdays. As my oldest was approaching her 19th birthday I thought I better get started, as I was sure this was not going to be a “quick project”. So, I signed up for my first Learn To Quilt class at Sew Inspired, and so started the addiction! That first course led to another, and another, and another… Before I knew it, I was spending so much time at the quilt shop I was offered a job there! That lead to me joining the Guild and that is where I have gained more confidence and learned from so many inspiring quilters. I have since made great quilting friends and I am enjoying and learning so much on our sew days together (whether virtual or in person). |
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Q: What are your feelings about quilt making compared with other household activities?
A: Ha! They are two entirely different headspaces! Some days I have had to talk myself into doing housework first so I could be rewarded with quilting time, but other days the call to the sewing room is so much louder than the dust bunnies under the sofa! I call it my home/life balance challenge! Life usually wins!
A: Ha! They are two entirely different headspaces! Some days I have had to talk myself into doing housework first so I could be rewarded with quilting time, but other days the call to the sewing room is so much louder than the dust bunnies under the sofa! I call it my home/life balance challenge! Life usually wins!
Q: How do you decide on the colours and fabrics that go into your quilts? Do you ever use the colours recommended on patterns that you buy or see in books?
A: I believe the colours we choose to wear and decorate in our homes are a true reflection of who we are and we should embrace that in our quilting choices. As I said, I am naturally an earth tone person, gravitating to the browns and greens, but lately I have been drawn to teals and blues. I must be maturing. While I have done patterns “as directed” with colours recommended, for the most part, I start with a pattern but rarely use the fabric colours suggested, unless it’s a block of the month program (which I was hooked on when I first started quilting). I usually have an idea of what I want to do such as modern, traditional or a design idea like using strips, flying geese, or drunkards path for example, and then I find a pattern “concept” to work with (ie. squares, triangles, circles...). Sometimes, I know I want to make something using specific colours, like the grey phase I just went through with baby quilts, and then I seek out patterns that work with that.
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Q: Would you rather create your own pattern and colour combinations or have a pattern to go by?
A: I don’t consider myself very artistic so I usually seek out a pattern that is close to what I am thinking in my head. Invariably, I change parts of the pattern along the way by making it bigger (or smaller), adding borders or change the direction of some blocks. Recently, I have begun to doodle some of my own layout designs from scratch. I don’t have any software program so good old fashion graph paper and pencils have become a staple in my sewing space. While math was never my strong subject I have enjoyed the victories of correctly calculating the fabric requirements and accurately measuring blocks to make them fit in the quilts I have created. Had my grade 8-math teacher told me I would use algebra for quilting I would have paid more attention in class or at the least started quilting earlier!
Q: What part of the quilting process do you like the best? For example, piecing, appliquéing, hand quilting, machine quilting, etc.
Q: What part of the quilting process do you like the best? For example, piecing, appliquéing, hand quilting, machine quilting, etc.
A: It’s hard to choose just one aspect of the quilting process that I like as they all have their merits. I still consider myself a beginner as I’m constantly learning new things.
I really like cutting the fabric and the piecing stages. I enjoy organizing the project before I begin. I am a visual and tactile learner so I tend to lay out my pieces and arrange and rearrange them on a design wall. So much so, I had to put up a second design wall! Post-it notes are also a staple in my sewing gear as I label EVERYTHING! I forget easily too so this helps me keep everything in order.
I am learning to love the quilting process. I don’t have a lot of confidence when it comes to free motion but I have invested in rulers and watch a lot of videos (visual learner, right) and I’m starting to feel better about quilting. As they say, practice, practice, practice! The walking foot quilting method has really helped me with doing bigger quilts; where I used to get overwhelmed with the amount of quilting I thought needed to be done, but once I got going with grids and lines it has become more comfortable.
As for appliqué, my second quilting project was a king sized appliqué quilt for my second daughter, and that led to at least a dozen more appliqué projects! I enjoy appliqué as it breaks up the monotony of always piecing and it allows me to explore more art-like projects.
At first, I wasn’t sure about paper piecing as the concept of sewing backwards and on paper seemed odd, but as I dove into a full sized quilt project I started to enjoy the rhythm of laying out the pieces on the paper and sewing them together. A workshop through the guild solidified my confidence and I have made several projects since.
After investing in an embroidery machine (and taking more courses!) I have had a lot of fun creating embroidery-embellished projects as well as embroidery quilts and other things, mostly for the grandkids.
I have not dabbled too much into hand quilting, as I’m not sure I would have the patience for it but I so admire the work of these artists! Maybe one day!
Like many of us, Covid has had us all trying to purge our stash to make scrap quilts. To date, I have made four or five, some cotton but most all flannel, and yet my scrap bins still haven’t gone down!
Now, don’t get me started on UFO’s! I would probably win an award for having the most! With about a dozen plastic bins each with projects in them at various stages of completion and a cedar-lined box full of kitted projects, my husband thinks I may have a problem…I will have to address this someday. Despite Covid lockdowns those bins have not diminished!
Q: Do you put quilt labels on all of your quilts?
A: I try to label all my quilts giving it a name, date it was made, and who it is for. The embroidery machine is great for making labels. I have drawn my husband into the quilt naming process. As the supportive husband he is, I thought he was begrudgingly providing his opinion but he has surprised me sometimes with his creative input. One quilt he even wrote a poem for! He now has the job of naming all the completed quilts!
Q: Do you keep all your quilts? If so, how do you use quilts in your home?
A: You can’t go into any room in our home without seeing a quilt! Yes, there is even a wall hanging in the bathroom! From the living room blanket ladder with at least three quilts that get changed out seasonally, to the dining room table which almost always has a table runner on it, seasonally chosen of course, so too does the TV area have another blanket ladder with at least 4 flannel quilts to choose from. The three bedrooms each have at least two, some three quilts on the beds or quilt racks, not to mention a couple in the baby crib for the grandkids. Recently, I got a glass cabinet to put quilts in so I could see them and not have them folded away in a closet. In my husband’s office he too has a quilt rack and three quilts (which he chose and asked me to make!). So much for telling him about only needing one quilt per bedroom when I first started quilting, when he asked me how many quilts did I think I would actually make!
Many, many quilts have been given away to friends, family members, nieces, nephews and their babies. Now, I hope to focus more attention on quilts for charity, and as I continue to go through my stash I shouldn’t have a problem getting a few more done for that!
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Quilt Canada 2022
National Juried Show (NJS)
The CQA recently announced the names of the quilt makers whose works have been accepted into the National Juried Show 2022. For more information about the NJS, including the list of names of the successful entrants, click/tap here.
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International Plowing Match Quilt Competition
This year's International Plowing Match will be held September 20-24 near Kemptville. The show is holding a quilt competition with a variety of categories of interest to quilters, fabric artists and sewers, and cash prizes.
Click/tap here for information about entering the competition.
The competition quilts will be on display in August and again at the plowing match in September - more info in the Quilt Shows section below.
There will also be opportunities to purchase tickets for a lovely farm themed raffle quilt.
Quilt Shows
In person quilt shows are starting again!!!
You can browse quilting events across Canada by province, territory, or date In the CQA Events Calendar.
I try to track down any upcoming shows in eastern Ontario and when requested, I publish information about shows that are further afield.
Here's a list of the upcoming shows that I'm aware of at this time. See the Upcoming Quilt Shows page for more detailed information on each of these shows.
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Location |
Dates |
Guild |
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Ottawa ON |
May 6-8 |
Common Thread Quilt Guild |
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Vancouver BC |
June 15-18 |
CQA Quilt Canada |
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Kemptville ON |
August 19-20 |
International Plowing Match Quilt Committee |
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Kemptville ON |
September 20-24 |
International Plowing Match Quilt Committee |
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Brantford ON |
Sept 30 – Oct 1 |
Brant Heritage Quilters Guild |
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Hudson QC |
October 1-2 |
Hudson Village Quilters |
You can refer any time to our guild web site More... --> Resources --> Upcoming Quilt Shows page for an up-to-date list with detailed information. If you know of any upcoming local shows that are not listed there, please let us know.
-- Janet Brownlee
Guild Facebook Group
Have you joined our members only Facebook Group yet? If not you are missing out on all the fun. The group now has 41 members and is a great way to get to know your fellow guild members, to ask questions, learn a new block, a new tip or trick. We've seen some lovely photos of the Charity Pick Up Sticks quilts being assembled and finished off, Blocks of the month, completed mini-maker cases from the recent workshop, and much more. Tina is doing a fantastic job of keeping monitoring and facilitating the activity in this group. Thank you Tina for this wonderful new initiative!
Hope to see you there soon.
Join the group now!
-- Janet Brownlee
Contacting Guild Members
If you would like to get in contact with any fellow guild members - perhaps to ask about a pattern of a Show-and-Tell quilt, or follow up on something you hear at a guild meeting, or read in a newsletter, you can now do that through the members-only Facebook group, or you can send an email message to the guild and we'll ask that guild member to contact you by email. You can reach us at the guild email address arnpriorquilters@gmail.com or with the Contact Form
Advertisers
Thank you to our 2021-2022 advertisers! Your support funds our Communications budget which includes the hosting of this web site. We are very grateful for this financial support.
To our guild members, please support our advertisers. You can click/tap on any of the advertisements in this newsletter to access the vendor's web site. These vendors are also listed on the Links page.
-- Janet Brownlee, Communications & Newsletter Editor
THANK YOU to Debbie for participating in "Get to Know Your Guild Member", and to Brigid, Marilyn, Nancy, Martha, and Vickie for their guild updates and other news this month.
-- Janet Brownlee, Communications & Newsletter Editor
-- Janet Brownlee, Communications & Newsletter Editor
We hope to see you at the guild meeting on April 27th