Today’s presentation was by Laurie Johnson, a "stand-up comedian" from Stitcharie in Petrolia. We were captivated from the start when she told of applying for a job at Fabricland with no sewing experience. The presentation began with two wall hangings made for a guild challenge, one of which had to be monochromatic. It was an excellent example of “value” with good movement from dark to light.
There were sampler quilts, the quilt the dog chewed a hole in and a lot of quilts featuring techniques from Marti Michell.  Laurie confessed to not liking sampler quilts but then found them useful for teaching new techniques. Her samplers with interesting colours and settings were lovely. Laurie often makes quilts without borders. She is not bound by tradition which is probably why she is partial to Marti Michell patterns.  Free Marti Michell demos are given at Stitcharie on the first Wednesday of the month. There are also many other classes available at the store. Visit here for more info.
This was an entertaining, informative and concise presentation. Coffee time murmuring confirmed “a good time was had by all.”
Laurie is pictured below along with some of her quilts.

The morning concluded as we enjoyed the talents of our members in Show & Share:

There are many caring and compassionate women in the Thames Valley Quilters Guild. One of them is Marlene Stewart. Marlene makes sleeping bags and sleeping mats for the homeless who are cared for by The Unity Project here in London.  Today Marlene shared the methodology for making these with the guild.
 
When the homeless decide to sleep, they continue to wear their coats and boots so these bags must be larger than normal, 7 feet long and very wide.  They are utility quilts made from clean, used, no-cost fabrics.

Marlene also makes sleeping mats.  These are 6 foot 6 inches long with rows of 6 inch pockets stuffed with quilting scraps.  A 1 inch space is sewn between each of these pockets.
 
People give Marlene fabric yardage which can be used for the outer layer of these projects. Waterproof fabric is especially welcome.  Sometimes Marlene goes to retailers like Lens Mills where she can find a bargain and buy a whole bolt for a great price. The quilters in our guild and their friends contribute bags of fabric and batting scraps to be used in the stuffing.
 
Marlene’s involvement in this project began when she had an appointment to meet someone at The Unity Project office and witnessed a young girl sleeping on the floor with only a sheet. The sight touched her deeply and to date Marlene has now finished 53 sleeping bags and 73 sleeping mats.
 
Thank you for taking this on Marlene and inspiring us with your energy and generosity.  To find the pattern for the sleeping bag, go here.

This morning we enjoyed four demonstrations from guild members, all on an eco-friendly theme. Barbara Loomis demonstrated fabric microwave bowls, Maria Van Moxmeer showed us how to make handy cutlery pouches for travelling or picnics, Yvette Glynn shared her recipe for making a great homemade spray baste and Deb Owens showed us how to make reusable paper towels. With such excellent instructors, we learned a lot and enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere of moving from one group to the other.  All of these demonstration instructions can be found on our Instructions and Tips page here.

Others were busy too, such as Ellen signing up members for other events and Kathie overseeing our refreshments.

And last but not least, we enjoyed seeing the talents of our members during our Show & Share time: 

On this cold wintry morning, guild members eagerly listened to Laurie Palmer as she demonstrated the method for making the beautiful block pictured above - "Chop Chop Block."  Several members brought sewing machines and some tried their hand at making the block, while others worked on personal projects. 
Ladies enjoyed the refreshments, worked on personal projects, visited with one another and made good use of the library.
On another note, the Executive and Coordinators met together to  discuss issues and upcoming plans, making it a productive and enjoyable morning all around.
Find the instructions for Laurie's Chop Chop Block here.

The morning began with our president Jannet sharing a Flying Geese technique.  Then, with our scheduled presenter cancelling due to illness, the morning continued with a great Show and Share from our guild members.  66 members and 2 guests were present and we all enjoyed the talents of our fellow quilters.
This was followed by a leisurely refreshment break - a wonderful Wednesday morning to start the new year!
Enjoy looking at our work below:

Our morning began with a presentation from Joan Hilhorst owner of Sew Creative. Joan is the local representative for Quilts of Valour, an organization dedicated to providing comfort quilts to injured or ill military veterans. Over 14,000 quilts have been distributed thus far and the goal is to reach 20,000 by the end of 2020.
"Hug block" kits (pictured below), using Northcott Canadiana fabric were available to purchase for $5.00. The completed blocks can be dropped off at Sew Creative, given to Maria at the guild or mailed off to Edmonton. The name of your town or city will be placed on the front of the block and incorporated into a quilt.
Quilt tops should be approximately 55" x 70" and 100% cotton. Backing should be 8" larger than the top and 80/20 batting is used.
Quilt sew days are on the third Tuesday of the month at the Delaware Legion. Please call Joan if you plan to attend as space is limited.
More Quilts of Valour info can be obtained here.

After a brief business meeting, we enjoyed Show & Share. Several projects displayed our current guild challenge of "Making Something with a Point."

Our morning finished with our Christmas potluck brunch.  The tables were festively decorated, the food was delicious and the fellowship sweet.  Merry Christmas to all!

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: