Arnprior & District Quilters' Guild Newsletter - February 2021
President's Message
President's Message
Happy February everyone! The shortest month of the year, and March and Spring are just around the corner!
In the good news column the stores are reopening and we can once again visit our favourite quilt shops! Oh I've missed that. I love wandering the aisles and finding treasures (and interesting things on the discount table that I wouldn't have paid full price for, but if it's on sale they look much more interesting).
In the bad news column apparently we are going to see the price of new fabric rising in the next few months. I learned this in the blog of a friend (who happens to own a quilt fabric company). Apparently there have been bad growing seasons in the US and Pakistan that have hurt the cotton crop.
Look forward to seeing you all at our February meeting! And don't forget, this is "Bring A Friend" meeting where you can bring along a friend (for free) to our Zoom meeting!
See you soon!
-- Frank McCarron, President
February Meeting
Our February guild meeting is on Wednesday February 24 at 7 PM and this is "Bring a Friend" meeting. We hope you'll join us on Zoom. Watch your email a day or 2 before the meeting for instructions for connecting to this meeting, and guidance for inviting your guests. Here are some great tips on quilt guild Zoom meetings from the Twilight Quilters' Guild of Norfolk County.
This month we have a very interesting, enthusiastic speaker - Karen Brown. Karen has numerous YouTube videos covering topics like organizing your quilt room, what to do with all those scraps, and quilting techniques. If you have not had a chance to view some of her YouTube videos, I encourage you to find a quiet time in your day, pour yourself a cup of tea or coffee or a glass of wine, sit back and tune in to her videos. You can also check out Karen’s website Just Get It Done quilts. Both venues will prove to be informative and entertaining.
Please note: Karen would like you to have paper and a pen/pencil nearby during her presentation as she will be giving us a small quiz and you are encouraged to participate.
The meeting will feature draws for "door" prizes, and a prize provided by Nancy on behalf of the Library team.
Show and Tell
If you'd like to share your work at the February meeting Show & Tell please send a photo of each item AND indicate if you would like to:
- Tell us about it during the meeting (this is the best!) OR
- Submit a written description that we will read during the meeting - if you go for this option please include the description with the photo(s).
Feel free to send along multiple photos of a quilt if you want to also show the back, or a close up of the quilting, or any area of the quilt.
Please send the photos to the guild email account arnpriorquilters@gmail.com by Monday February 22. Any photos received after that date will be shown at the March meeting.
The photos will later be added to the web site Show & Tell page (just like after an in person-meeting), unless you specifically request in the email message that the photo not be.
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Upcoming Meetings
Next month, March, we are excited to announce that Jackie White has agreed to be our guest speaker. Many of you may know Jackie from her Facebook quilting block instructions. If you have participated in her quilting groups and can provide us with pictures of your projects, then I encourage you to send us a picture of your project (to arnpriorquilters@gmail.com) for our show and tell. Jackie has a website jackiewhitequilts.com. Please check out her website, it too is very interesting and informative. Now for April’s meeting, we will hear from Elizabeth DeCroos. Elizabeth will tell us about her techniques with Korean textile art. Her website is epidastudio.com where you can view what she has been working on. Our May guest speaker is Patti Carey. Patti is a quilt designer with Northcott Fabrics. She lives in Vaughan, Ontario and has visited us twice and each visit has been very enjoyable and informative. -- Sue Hodgins, Program Upcoming Meeting Dates
March 24, April 28, May 26, June 16 2020-2021 Meeting Dates and more information about the meetings is always available on the Schedule page |
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Program Notes
January Block - Ohio Star
We hope that many of you are participating with our “mystery” Block of the Month. We are getting close to the end. This month there is an applique block and stay tuned for one more block and then the gorgeous finishing steps. Hopefully we will have an opportunity to share with our group. Did someone say prizes?
Our second challenge is the Covid UFO which is to be made without any extra shopping. Surely we all have many projects at home that have been left undone for whatever reason. If not an unfinished project, surely you have a kit. Yes, that would qualify. I am probably preaching to the choir as many of you are probably getting lots done.
My three sisters and my daughter are all quilters and we have been having our own challenges.
Marilyn's Log Cabin quilt
For our first challenge, one of the sisters thought it would be fun to try a weekend quilt to see if it could actually be done in a weekend. Well, the cover of this magazine should have said “Possibly a one Week Quilt”. Four of us participated and two actually completed. Marilyn showed hers last meeting. One other completed hers but ended up ripping the entire thing apart and changing the method. (It was a quilt as you go, log cabin.) I have gone too far with mine and am sticking to the original method. Unfortunately my sewing method involves "sew to the lump - jump over the lump - sew to the lump". I hope to finish someday but all the hand sewing, in the middle of the quilt, is proving very difficult for me and my arthritic fingers. It is one thing to sew down a binding but something else with a large quilt having to sew in the center. I have learned from this experience – use the latest book on your subject. The one we were following was very old and much better methods have been printed.
For the month of February we were each to choose 3 UFO’s and the others chose what we should finish. I am working on one called Plaid Pigs which I don’t want to say how long they have been relaxing on top of my fabric pile. I actually had to search for them. The pigs hold a family story that involves a lost pig and where it turned up. I don’ t know why I never finished them. They are so cute.
The good thing is that my pigs will qualify for the Challenge. Yippee!!
-- Joyce Murray, Program
For the month of February we were each to choose 3 UFO’s and the others chose what we should finish. I am working on one called Plaid Pigs which I don’t want to say how long they have been relaxing on top of my fabric pile. I actually had to search for them. The pigs hold a family story that involves a lost pig and where it turned up. I don’ t know why I never finished them. They are so cute.
The good thing is that my pigs will qualify for the Challenge. Yippee!!
-- Joyce Murray, Program
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Check out the Blog for highlights and photos from our January meeting when Peter Byrne was our very interesting guest.
Tip: You can find a Blog post from a previous meeting from the Links page, or you can browse them from the Blog by choosing the "Guild Meetings" Category. |
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Advertisers
Thank you to our 2020-2021 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
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Charity
Hi everyone,
We hope that February's stronger sun is helping to brighten up your days, and you are able to have more outdoor strolls to limber up after sitting at your sewing machine for hours.
Preemie Quilts
If you are in need of batting for making a preemie quilt please contact Jane by email and she can set batting in her pretty mailbox located at 97 Daniel Street South for you to pick up.
Community Charity Project - Placemats
I hope you have had time to think of a quick placemat project that will help decorate the new Grove Nursing Home dining area. I have pulled out some of my extra blocks that I am going to whip up into a placemat . Just think: A placemat is always a quick project that you can start whip up and is a fun way to try out a fun pattern you may have spotted in a magazine! Please remember our goal is to have 96 beauties completed by June for the Grove! There's more information on the Charity page.
Pick Up Sticks Charity Blocks
So far we have received 9 completed blocks. Thanks! Jane has handed out quite a few more background blocks, so we hope to see more coming back in the near future. If you haven't already tried the block it is quite quick and it is a fun way to use up 3 or 4 same colour tone scrap 1" strips. The completed blocks will be put together into quilts at Charity sew days as soon we are able to set one up! There's more information on the Charity page.
Charity Drop Off
Nancy at Sew Inspired has agreed to be the drop off point for all our completed charity projects. So drop by with lots of placemats, preemie quilts, and charity blocks. :)
Hope you join us at the Zoom meeting! And don't forget to help out on these charity projects, as the old proverb says "many hands make light work".
If you have any questions or suggestions don't hesitate to contact either Jane or myself Vickie by email.
Thanks,
Vickie MacNabb and Jane Wickware
Your ADQG Charity Team
Thank You!
Your efforts on our Charity projects are truly appreciated as indicated by this Thank You note for the Christmas gift bags that were distributed by the Arnprior Food Bank.
Your efforts on our Charity projects are truly appreciated as indicated by this Thank You note for the Christmas gift bags that were distributed by the Arnprior Food Bank.
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Library News
Library Draw Prize
Winter is passing…and there’s only 30 days until Spring arrives!! Time to finish UFO’s and complete some of the tasks we set ourselves before planting and gardening take over our thoughts. And, now we can go into fabric stores again and touch and feel those luscious materials and be tempted to try one more quilt project before we’re called outside!!
Lately, I’ve been taking a rest from quilting after treatment for arthritis in my hands, and so have been poking around sites on the internet. Many of you already use you Tube videos to learn new skills and I took a look. I am enjoying Karen Brown’s videos there (I searched “quilts”) or try her website: www.justgetitdonequilts.com . She has a series about reorganizing your sewing space and dealing with your own sewing room challenges. I liked, too, a video about organizing all the batting scraps that we have left over. Another site I visited https://quiltingtutorials.com features Jenny Doan and Missouri Star Quilts.. It’s free and has lots of tutorials and ideas for quilting projects. If you have a favourite site, let me know and I’ll share it, too!
Our prize at this month's meeting includes the book “Charmed, I’m Sure” by Lesley Chaisson with projects for 5” squares, the latest issue of “Love of Quilting”, and a “dragonfly” fat quarter. Good Luck!
Happy Quilting! And, don’t forget to invite a friend to our Guild Zoom meeting next week!!
-- Nancy and Lucy, Your Librarians
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A YouTube Demonstration
Submitted by Vickie MacNabb
I found this video useful, I hope you do as well. It helped match up those triangles, which I could never quite do accurately. Matching Triangles - Quick Tip Tuesday by Margaret Leuwen Quilting If you want to share a video that you have enjoyed and learned something new, please send a short description with the link and we will share it as well. Thanks for contributing to make our newsletters/meetings more enriching. Just remember together we can be great team members who love to share and mentor each other. |
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Every Quilter Makes Mistakes!
by Janet Brownlee
In my working career in high tech I learned from a wise executive we should always aim for excellence, not perfection, because perfection is impossible to achieve (and would prevent us from ever shipping our software products.)
This is a great life lesson and I strive for this in my quilting projects. Excellence, however, implies that mistakes will be made. The great thing about quilting is that there is almost always a fix for the mistake. Some mistakes require a creative solution and that can sometimes deliver a better result than originally planned. Often the result is not quite what was anticipated, and sometimes it’s a complete fix.
The latter occurred for my friend Joan in one of her recentish projects. Joan is an accomplished, excellent, and experienced quilter, as are her mother and her sister. Last April Joan’s sister-in-law Glenda who lives in Moose Jaw SK sent Joan a text asking what she was working on. Joan sent her a photo. Glenda asked if she had more. This morphed into something Joan called “Quilt of the Day” where she texted Glenda a photo of a quilt she had finished over the last few years, along with the back story (if there was one). This became a 100 day project that wrapped up in July, and it helped them both pass the time during lockdown. Glenda’s 97 year old mother is a quilter and she enjoyed the photos too.
One day Joan sent this photo of an in-progress baby quilt. Glenda then sent it along to her daughter-in-law in Trenton ON who in turn showed it to her 4 year old daughter Kailey.
Kailey promptly noticed that the X was missing!
They thought it might have been a game. No, it was not a game.
Fortunately this oversight was fully fixable and Joan went on to complete this beautiful quilt for her first grandchild who was born in December.
They thought it might have been a game. No, it was not a game.
Fortunately this oversight was fully fixable and Joan went on to complete this beautiful quilt for her first grandchild who was born in December.
Joan told this entertaining story at the Zoom baby shower in the fall, and she very generously agreed to share it with our guild members.
And from Joan,
“Your guild might like to know about this book which is what I used for the alphabet quilt. This author is from Australia. The book provides very clear instructions. For this quilt I used the improv method but I have tried 2 others in the book.”
Thank you Joan for sharing this very funny and inspiring story and photos with our guild members!
And from Joan,
“Your guild might like to know about this book which is what I used for the alphabet quilt. This author is from Australia. The book provides very clear instructions. For this quilt I used the improv method but I have tried 2 others in the book.”
Thank you Joan for sharing this very funny and inspiring story and photos with our guild members!
Quilt Canada
The CQA has announced a virtual event on June 16-19 to replace their in-person Quilt Canada 2021 conference.
And what better way to celebrate 40 years than to invite quilters from across the country to join in the online party.
More details will be available in the coming months, with registration taking place in the spring of 2021.
Watch this page for more information.
And what better way to celebrate 40 years than to invite quilters from across the country to join in the online party.
More details will be available in the coming months, with registration taking place in the spring of 2021.
Watch this page for more information.
QuiltCon
Take a look at the stunning winning quilts at QuiltCon 2021, the annual show of the Modern Quilt Guild (MQG)!
An invitation...
Do you have a story or a tip you'd like to share with us? Just send it along and I'll be delighted to include it in a future newsletter.
And a VERY BIG THANK YOU to Vickie for the video link, and to Frank, Sue, Joyce, Vickie, and Nancy for their guild updates this month.
-- Janet Brownlee, Communications & Newsletter Editor