Arnprior & District Quilters' Guild Newsletter - May 2021
President's Message
President's Message
Quilt Show, Ottawa 2017
Howdy One and All!
I hope this newsletter finds you all healthy and well. Like everyone we've been "quarantining", but we still have day jobs that can't be done at home so we are off to the city to keep the money coming in.
A friend in Germany asked me what I miss the most during these Covid times and I said "quilt shops and quilt shows". Yes, I can still do "curbside pickup" at quilt shops but that isn't the same as going in and checking out all the amazing fabrics plus all the quilts hanging up that give us all inspiration for future projects. I had pictures that popped up on my Facebook history the other day from the Ottawa Quilt Show from 2017. (There aren't many people in the pictures because Paulette and I were there first thing in the morning when the doors had just opened). Someday we'll get past this Covid and be back to quilt shops that you can drop in and buy things in person, and quilt shows.
Thanks for all the fine folks that stepped up when we asked for volunteers for the 2021-2023 Executive. We still need folks for the Program Committee (the people who get us all the great guest speakers and also think up our activities and set up our learning sessions).
We are almost at the time of year where it is time to renew our memberships. You will be able to send in your money via e-transfer, and fill out a renewal form on the guild website. Details will be provided in early June. Remember, if you renew before the June Meeting you are in the running to win a "free membership". Two lucky members will win it!
That's all for now. Stay healthy and keep quilting!
-- Frank McCarron, President
Quilt Show, Ottawa 2017
Quilt Show, Ottawa 2017
Leadership Team
Our 2021-2023 leadership team is coming together very nicely. As Frank mentioned we need someone to lead the Programs team, and a few more volunteers for specific Program activities.
Would you like to help guide our guild forward? We'd love to have YOU on our leadership team next year!
Please refer to our Guild Constitution and Executive Position Descriptions documents for more information about the Program position, and let us know if you're interested in joining our leadership team.
Thank you to the volunteers who have stepped up to help guide our guild for the next 2 years.
We are delighted that volunteers are are taking on these important responsibilities:
- Raffle Baskets - Amanda Vajda
- Photographer - Emma Russell
- Charity Preemie Quilts - Marilyn Erskine
Program Notes
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Hi everybody. It is such a beautiful day I am actually quilting as a way to avoid the heat outside. Seems yesterday I was using the cold as my excuse to not work in the yard. Two of my sisters have prodded me into signing up for a Laundry Basket Quilt mystery quilt. This project was only for 2 weeks so surely this couldn’t be too difficult. Ha! Turns out it is all 4 ½ inch blocks – 225 of them. It’s free online, so check it out. I have kept up so far but am scared of what is to come. It is offered 6 days a week. The family project for May (like this isn’t enough) is to do a kit that we have at home. There is another sister plus my daughter that still work, we aren’t totally sadistic. Can’t wait to get all these projects done and bring them to our first show & tell. Most of them qualify for our co-vid challenge. Anything that you complete and don’t have to go out and buy. I can’t wait for the quilt stores to open. I need a zinger for my kit. It is pretty ugly now but I hope to save it. This will not qualify for our challenge. I have to admit to being a better starter than finisher so…… Hope many of you are completing our mystery wall hanging. Apparently there is one more block plus plenty of “stuff” to aid in the completion. I am really looking forward to having Patti Carey (Patti's Patchwork) as our speaker for May. She will be presenting her "Interesting Quilts From Unusual Fabrics" trunk show. Have you ever wondered what to do with those panels, stripes and/or scenics that you see in the quilt shops or have in your stash? Using a trunk show she will spark your creativity and fill your head with ideas on how to use these unusual fabrics. And don’t forget Joan Statz (Joan's Own Creations) for our June 16th meeting. Happy Quilting……….Joyce |
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May Meeting
Our May guild meeting is on Wednesday May 26 at 7 PM. 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.
The meeting will also feature draws for "door" prizes, and a prize provided by Nancy on behalf of the Library team.
And do invite along a guest or two as we are waiving the guest fee for the May and June meetings, and would love to have your friends and fellow quilters join us.
Our May guild meeting is on Wednesday May 26 at 7 PM. 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.
The meeting will also feature draws for "door" prizes, and a prize provided by Nancy on behalf of the Library team.
And do invite along a guest or two as we are waiving the guest fee for the May and June meetings, and would love to have your friends and fellow quilters join us.
Show and Tell
We'd love to see what you've been working on at our Show & Tell. To share your work at the May meeting please send a photo of each item AND indicate if you would like to:
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 12 noon on Tuesday May 25. Any photos received after that date will be shown at the June 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.
Thank you to ALL of you who have shown us your beautiful creations in previous months.
We'd love to see what you've been working on at our Show & Tell. To share your work at the May meeting 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 12 noon on Tuesday May 25. Any photos received after that date will be shown at the June 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.
Thank you to ALL of you who have shown us your beautiful creations in previous months.
Charity
Pick Up Sticks block
Hi everyone,
May is here and we have lots of ways that you can contribute to the guild's charity activities:
Pick up Sticks charity blocks - We have received 6 more bringing our total to 52 blocks made this season! We look forward to receiving more of your colourful blocks, so use up your scrap one inch strips. See the instructions for the blocks. These blocks will be made into community charity quilts, for youth surfers in the community, and/or palliative care at the Arnprior and District Memorial Hospital.
Sew let's make some beautiful quilts with these blocks!: if you would like to contribute to our charity efforts and sew/create quilt tops, sandwiches, and or quilt (single bed size) them, please let Jane or Vickie know by email. We will deliver the supplies to you, and you could have the summer to sew this charity project. Should you like to complete one part of making the quilt or all, just let us know and we will be overjoyed to see some of these beautiful quilts come to fruition.
Placemats - Way to go! We now have 74 beautiful placemats made for the new Grove Nursing Home in Arnprior. We are so close to our goal of 96, "sew" please keep them coming.
Preemie Quilts - Great news! Marilyn delivered 38 of the beautiful little charity preemie quilts to the Queensway Carleton Hospital on May 9th. They were very happy to receive them. Isn't it lovely to make these quick tiny quilts, so use up your scraps and have fun making them. Remember batting can be obtained for the quilts from Jane.
May preemie quilts
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Drop off placemats and Pick up Sticks blocks at Jane Wickware's mailbox located at 97 Daniel Street South, Arnprior. And you can pick up the neutral fabric for Pick up Sticks blocks and preemie quilt batting there as well. Drop off your preemie quilts at Marilyn Erskine's home, front step in her bucket, located at 261 Bell Street, Arnprior. ** Please let the ladies know ahead of your plan to drop off, by sending them a quick email. "Sew on and sew forth! " Cheers, Your Charity Team Jane, Marilyn & Vickie |
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Library News
Library Draw Prize
The summer temperatures have come fast and although I love to be out in the flower garden, in the heat of the afternoon, there’s a lovely sewing room in my basement to work in! The best of both worlds, I think.
I’ve been on the internet again and returned to visit “Just Get It Done Quilts”(www.justgetitdonequilts.com ) and found a presentation called 10 Free Quilting Tools. Using items from around the house, you can save money…..for fabric!! You can use cereal boxes and card stock for templates or cut out a frame to find the best place to fussy cut your material. Weights for holding your rulers steady can come from the pantry or anything heavy will do. I have some vintage book ends, bronze Scotty dogs on marble bases that I use.
There are also websites mentioned to visit; I went to Geeky Bobbins (www.geekybobbin.com) and downloaded the “Magical Rainbow of Binding” PDF. Now, I can use it to find out how many strips to cut and how much fabric it will require … all at my fingertips! As we’ve said before, there’s tons of information on the internet!
This month’s Library Prize includes 4 books and magazines that cover a wide variety of quilting ideas. We are very fortunate to have been given many such items by ADGQ members.
As we still isolate and take our precautions, I hope you find your quilting a comfort and a rewarding pastime. They tell us that we will be able to be “out and about” in the not too distant future!
Take care and quilt on!
Nancy (and Lucy)
YouTube Demonstrations
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Submitted by Gwen Pennings Live with Annie on YouTube This is a weekly show, planned for the whole year, that touches on different subjects every week and answers questions from the week before. Annie sells bags and pouch patterns, as well as the supplies that are needed to go with it. We can shop for those supplies at our local stores. The lessons are good. The speaker deals with one subject each week.
We could be very knowledgeable by the end of the year! Flosstube 23.5 How to make a Vinyl Project Bag
This is a bag that I made for a friend for her project bags. It doesn't take a long time and is very useful. I had received one from one of my friends. |
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Get to Know Your Guild Member - Martha Palmer
In this month's Get to Know Your Guild Members feature, we're hearing from Martha Palmer who we've been seeing at Show & Tell, and has volunteered to assume the Membership executive position. Martha is answering questions submitted to her by our VP Vickie MacNabb. We hope you are enjoying this feature to help us better connect with each other, especially while we are not meeting in person.
Q: How long have you been making quilts? Would you describe your learning process?
A: I started my first sample quilting course in 1991, and proceeded to try a full size quilt the same year. Our second daughter came along at the same time and the quilt blocks got boxed up, and they are still in that box ready to be made into a quilt! I returned in 2016 with a quilting course at Quilting Quarters in Almonte in 2016 and fell in love with the art all over again. Learning to quilt has been a process of taking courses in person, sharing quilting time with friends, a few quilting retreats, Youtube videos and lots and lots of practice.
Q: Were there special people or circumstances that encouraged you to begin to quilt?
A: My friend Janet Whyte encouraged me to join her for a Block of the Month club. I HAD to buy a new sewing machine, thanks to Sew Inspired, as my old trusty Kenmore did not have the overstitching finesse needed for appliques designs or free motion options. I found the whole experience started me back on a journey of creative exploration with fabrics. One of the roles of being on the Carp Fair Board, was to choose the colours and design for the annual quilt that is auctioned off which further sparked my excitement for exploring colour choices. As my retirement arrived, I became a more active quilter. My friend Joyce Trafford invited me to attend the Arnprior Quilt Guild meetings in 2019. I have really enjoyed feeling part of this creative artistic community.
Q: What are your feelings about quilt making compared with other household activities?
A: I much prefer quilting to most other household chores!!! I do enjoy gardening, walking, and cross-country skiing and cooking as well. Finding time to quilt can be tricky now that my husband has retired as well!
Q: How do you decide on the colors and fabrics that go into your quilts? Do you ever use the colors recommended on patterns that you buy or see in books?
A: I sewed many of my own clothes as a younger woman and have always loved a variety of fabrics, especially classic cottons. Colour combinations create a mood and it is exciting to try to match colours to the person who is receiving the quilt. I love combining strong colours with calmer ones. Teal, blues and reds and coral was a real favourite colour combination. I am currently using a variety of Paisley’s Willliam Morris designs for several projects.
Q: Would you rather create your own pattern and color combinations or have a pattern to go by?
A: My husband has said many times that I only seem to be able to follow a pattern (or recipe) once! After that I need to try to alter it or adjust it, relishing the challenge of creating something novel each time. I have adjusted many patterns already or at least tried to. It’s amazing how much math there is in quilting - and adding up those ¼” seams can be challenging! Mistakes are just part of the design and learning.
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: Piecing and particularly Free Motion Quilting have been my real joys so far. Creating free motion designs to match the piecing in the quilt top is extremely satisfying. I have not tried hand quilting yet so perhaps that will be a new challenge.
Q: Do you put quilt labels on all of your quilts?
A: I make them only for the ones I am giving away and try to come up with a few special words that reflects the quilt.
Q: Do you keep all your quilts? If so, how do you use quilts in your home?
A: No, I give most of them away. My 3 children have quilts, babies born in our family and a few special friends. I have finally made and finished a quilt for our bed. I am now making placemats too as “mini” quilting projects. I have a few lap quilts for the couches and at the cottage as well. So far, no wall hangings in mind. So exciting to consider all the possibilities!!!
Quilt Canada 2021
The Canadian Quilters' Association has announced a virtual event on June 16-19 to replace their usual 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.
For just a $10 (plus tax) entry fee you can view all the quilt shows and check out the 90+ vendors throughout the show.
You will also be able to enter the daily door prize draws with prizes totalling $40,000.
Please help support our National quilting organization.
Watch this page for more information or click/tap on the poster.
The Canadian Quilters' Association has announced a virtual event on June 16-19 to replace their usual 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.
For just a $10 (plus tax) entry fee you can view all the quilt shows and check out the 90+ vendors throughout the show.
You will also be able to enter the daily door prize draws with prizes totalling $40,000.
Please help support our National quilting organization.
Watch this page for more information or click/tap on the poster.
Other News
Interguild
I recently had the delightful opportunity to join the annual spring Interguild meeting which is usually held in person but this year, as you might have guessed, we met on Zoom. This did have the benefit of saving a lot of travel time. Usually attended by a "higher" executive (president, VP or Programs!) I was invited to attend because the others were not available that Saturday morning.
The Interguild is comprised of representatives from all of the quilt guilds in Eastern Ontario, from the Quebec border, along the St. Lawrence Seaway, west to the Belleville area, north to Pembroke, and the Ottawa area. The meeting was attended by 24 representatives of 19 quilt guilds, plus a chairwoman and secretary.
The interguild provides a forum for communication between the guilds where they share triumphs in their guilds, and it provides an opportunity to discuss issues of mutual concern and interest. The meeting started with each guild providing a brief verbal update of their year where we heard a lot about Zoom guild meetings. We also told and heard about many interesting guest speakers with some from far away places including Europe, Iceland, Australia, and many locations in the US. And we shared the visual benefits of seeing the presenters' work so clearly on screens, virtual quilt shop tours, and show and tell. We heard about successful Zoom workshops, virtual sew days, virtual coffee and chat groups, and Zoom executive meetings. Like our guild, many of the guilds had members who do not have sufficient internet capability for Zoom, and members who are not interested in virtual meetings. A couple of guilds did not meet this year at all. We heard about plans for next year with some guilds hoping to resume in person meetings at some point in 2022, and others already committed to remote meetings for all of next year. Some are exploring offering members the option to attend meetings and other activities by Zoom or in person. We heard about some very successful charity work - the Pembroke guild made more than 60 charity quilts, and the Kemptville guild raised $1,300 for a local youth charity from raffle baskets. We heard about plans for upcoming quilt shows with a few planned for next spring (yea!), and others in 2023 and beyond. Guild Facebook pages, membership fees, and newsletter advertising fees were also discussed.
And there were congratulations to Gloria from the Thousand Islands Quilt Guild who had recently been featured on a CTV news report on quilting during Covid. I happened to see it when it aired and I enjoyed it very much. You can read the story and see photos here. Quilting growing in popularity during COVID-19 pandemic | CTV News
Increased communication between guilds has proven to be beneficial and I was very happy to participate and witness that firsthand.
The Interguild is an excellent resource for people responsible for programs and activities, so if you are interested to helping out with our Programs next year, there is a lot of great help and ideas readily available.
Crafting in the News
I've read several articles over the last year which confirm what we as quilters already know - there are a lot of benefits to making things. I particularly enjoyed this recent article from the New York Times: What We Learned From a Year of Crafting - The New York Times
Quilt Restoration
And the guild has had 2 unsolicited requests recently from people who are looking for someone to restore old quilts. If you are interested or know of anyone who does that work, please let us know.
-- Janet Brownlee, Communications
I've read several articles over the last year which confirm what we as quilters already know - there are a lot of benefits to making things. I particularly enjoyed this recent article from the New York Times: What We Learned From a Year of Crafting - The New York Times
Quilt Restoration
And the guild has had 2 unsolicited requests recently from people who are looking for someone to restore old quilts. If you are interested or know of anyone who does that work, please let us know.
-- Janet Brownlee, Communications
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.
Like many of you I can hardly wait to get back into the quilt shops, and to travel further afield to visit them with a friend.
-- Janet Brownlee, Communications & Newsletter Editor
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 Martha for participating in "Get to Know Your Guild Members", to Frank, Joyce M, Vickie, Nancy, and Gwen for their guild updates and other news this month.
-- Janet Brownlee, Communications & Newsletter Editor