Our November Let's Quilt Day included lots of opportunities to learn.  Gwen demonstrated her method of making decorative Christmas serviettes. Jannet shared her easy method of making coasters. Libby brought in materials for fidget quilts and a few members brought in their sewing machines to work on them.  Betty explained a convenient sashing method for use in the fidget quilts and Marlene shared some of the bedding she has made for the homeless using our sewing scraps.
As usual the library was open and being used, and we enjoyed refreshments and the camaraderie of our fellow quilters.

With 88 members and 2 guests present, the room was filled with energy and enthusiasm as we enjoyed Laura Coia’s Trunk Show: Sew Very Easy.
As a child, Laura grew up in a family where used clothing was purchased and altered to fit and by high school, Laura was designing her own clothes. At age 16, she made a Cathedral Window quilt and from then on she was hooked.
Laura shared a lot of information as she went along, showing us her unique sleeves on the backs of her hanging quilts and how to work successfully with panels. She also shared a great way to simplify fidget quilts by cutting 5 ½” squares of fabric and batting and then sewing on the bobbles, etc. before laying them on a piece of flannel and “taping” by sewing double folded strips on top to join the squares together.
She made the morning fun with her positive attitude and doing several draws for patterns and fabric throughout her presentation.
Six years ago, Laura started posting on YouTube and loves receiving the appreciative comments from her followers.  In March, Laura has a quilting book coming out and the first few quilts she displayed represented the patterns that are in it.  To find out more, be sure to visit Laura’s website here or her YouTube channel here.
Below, you can see Laura and many of her beautiful quilts.

Show and Share of our Guild members' quilts:

Let’s Quilt Day held October 23rd, was a fun interactive workshop led by our own Betty Huygen.  She did a demo of how to cut and assemble a “Quarter Stripes” set of blocks using 1 ¼ yards of a favorite striped fabric. 
​Meribeth Dunkerley set up tables with cutting stations so members could practice the folding and cutting technique thereby ensuring we actually learned how to do this!  The resulting cutting and assembly created squares that are very different from the original fabrics. So many varieties of stripes brought in by members, resulted in many outstanding looks!  No doubt finished table runners and table toppers are likely to be seen at upcoming Show and Share sessions. 
For more information on the technique, please go to  the Missouri Star Quilt company’s Youtube channel and search “Quarter Stripes Quilt”.  

This morning’s meeting was well attended with 95 present, including several new members. Sharon Fisher, a fabulous quilter from Mount Forest, Ontario was our guest presenter.
The first quilt that she personally finished in the 80’s was a log cabin quilt and was hand-stitched.
Sharon has become a fantastic quilter with decorative stitching on many of her quilts. Her interests and talents have led her to specialize in wool appliqué and embellishments. Much of her work is inspired by designers such as Sue Spargo and Wendy Williams. Sharon’s work combines her love of colour and texture with traditional blocks embellished with wool and various types of yarns and threads.  
Enjoy viewing some of her work below. ​Sharon is pictured with the first quilt given to her  by her grandmother on her sixteenth birthday.

Our meeting ended with one of our favourite activities, Show and Share. Below you can see samples of many our guild members' creations, all beautifully done:

A lively crowd of quilters turned out this morning with projects in hand and ready to take part in the discussion moderated by Meribeth and Yvette featuring "Best of the Net." We learned about lots of neat resources on the web: websites, blogs, podcasts and YouTube favourites, as well as great sources for purchasing books. While we were reminded that it is important to support our local quilt shops, we also like to take advantage of the great wealth of information that is now available world-wide!

​The Guild's first meeting started of with a fascinating presentation by Nina Stahlschmidts, who has been avidly collecting “feed sacks” for many years. When she first started her collection, she said she would pay about $2.00 for a sack in good condition, and now may pay upwards of $40.00.
Many of the bags she brought were from the mid 19th century yet still retained their colour in the logos that were printed on them. Each feed sack had a logo of a company, such as Robin Hood Flour, that made a specific product for early settlers use. The bags were filled with flour, milled corn or other grains and would weigh about 98 lbs with the tops sewn by a sewing machine that would come down from above to sew it shut with string.
Nina also showed us some of her doilies made into quilts which were so beautiful. The work that went into them, superb!
Each of the quilts shown was unique and lovely and it was a
pleasure to see how someone could make something out of what others may throw away.
Oh, she also mentioned she could show us how to make a quilt using our “grannies' hankies and doilies” if interested. That could be another fun workshop!

With 76 members and two guests present, our morning began with a wonderful presentation by Patti Carey, VP of Public Relations for Northcott.  Patti has been with Northcott for 31 years teaching, travelling internationally and designing patterns. She recently also designed her own line of fabrics, “Vino,” and showed us a couple of quilts and a tote bag trio made from it. 
Patti teaches workshops on borders and binding and is in the process of developing a tool that facilitates cutting mitred corners on borders prior to assembling the quilt.  Because of its softness, she often uses rayon for the backs of quilts and displayed a couple of scarves made from seven layers of rayon and chenilled.  Patti recommends washing the rayon prior to using.
Another highlight was seeing Patti’s queen-sized “Deck the Halls” quilt made from Northcott’s 2019 Holiday Collection. This quilt will be featured in the December Issue of McCall’s Quilting magazine.
Patti finished her presentation with many clever arrangements of Stonehenge fabrics, and “Strip-R” fabric, as well as Tropical Fusion, Noah’s Ark, Chloe, April Showers, and Arctic Snow.
If you are looking for Northcott fabrics, go to the Northcott Website (Northcott.com) and click on Product Finder.  Once fabrics have been shipped to quilt shops, you can access information as to who will be receiving it. 
One can also enter a “Block Party” contest. Follow the rules, quilt and bind your quilt, then send a picture to Northcott to qualify for a chance to win an 11 day trip to England and Stonehenge.
To follow Patti’s blog, go to her website.
Following the presentation, attendees could purchase patterns all designed by Patti.
​Here are many photos of Patti's quilts. 

​Afterwards members and guests enjoyed eating and visiting with one another over our pot luck brunch, then had a short business meeting that included introducing our executive and coordinators for the upcoming year. 

​Show and Share brought this guild quilting year to a close.

Once again we had a full house as we gathered to enjoy a Trunk Show by Sandy Lindal of Scrappy Gal Quilt Company. Several members had participated in a workshop by Sandy and we all loved hearing the story of her quilting journey and admired all of the amazing quilts made mainly from scraps.  It was especially touching to hear how Sandy included her mother in the quilting of some of the quilts, even though her health was declining.
After refreshments, there was a brief business meeting which included thanking all who made our 2019 Quilt Show which had an attendance over 500, successful.
There was a brief Show & Share today as most of our latest creations had been displayed at the Quilt Show.

Show and Share:

Go here to see photos of another great quilt show by our guild.  Thank you to all who participated!