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Time for Colour -2

September 15, 2014, 12:25 pm
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The quilts for our cross-Canada (and up to the top, too) travelling show, called ‘It’s Time for Colour!’ are starting to arrive. It is obvious these quilts are made by elite quilters; masters of the art. The workmanship, the themes, and yes, the Colours are outstanding!





 


There will be 36 quilts in total, separated into two shows of 18 that will criss-cross Canada. The lucky folks on Vancouver Island will have a few opportunities to see them this fall, since that is where they are being assembled and prepared for their epic journey. The quilts will be shown at Satin Moon Quilt Shop October 19 – November 2, 2014 and Kaleidoscope Quilt Company at Whippletree Junction from November 3 – 16.  Other showings are being planned.


All quilts are for sale at $200 each, plus tax. Beautiful greeting cards featuring these quilts will be sold wherever the quilts are displayed. All proceeds will be donated to:  “The Children’s Wish Foundation of Canada”.  In November, we will display images of all the quilts along with purchasing information. 

If you would like to visit a few of these master quilters working on their Colour quilts check out these blogs:

Janet Archibald, winner in Excellence in Domestic Machine Quilting 2013 http://round22.blogspot.ca/2014/09/its-time-for-colour.html

Carol Swindon, winner of Best in Show, 2012 at:  http://carolswinden.wordpress.com/  
You can scroll down and see several posts about the quilt as it evolves or go to the most recent post at: http://carolswinden.wordpress.com/2014/08/30/basically-completed/

Kathy Wylie, winner of Best in Show, 2013, at:
http://kathykwylie.com/2014/09/its-time-for-colour-part-1/

Terry Aske, winner of 2104 Modern Bed or Wall quilt:
http://www.terryaskeartquilts.com/Studio/2014/09/10/on-my-design-wall-2014-09-10-cqa-its-time-for-colour/

Laine Canivet
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Quilt Canada 2015 – Blown Away

September 26, 2014, 5:46 am
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Next spring, quilters from all over Canada will be coming to Lethbridge, Alberta, home to Quilt Canada 2015!  Lethbridge is a thriving community in Southern Alberta, about a 2 hour drive south from Calgary.  It is well known for its magnificent coulees (deep, naturally occurring ravines) and chinook winds (warm, dry winds that flow east from the Rockies).  





 

The theme for the event is, fittingly, Blown Away.  The planning committee hopes that you will be blown away by the amazing works of art in the National Juried Show, the wonderful natural beauty of Lethbridge in the springtime, the smooth organization of the event, and also by the outstanding hospitality of the people of Southern Alberta.


 


University of Lethbridge
The University of Lethbridge, home to the event, is a wonderful state-of-the-art facility.  Built to take advantage of the natural landscape of the coulee, it offers wonderful views of the Oldman River.  There is a recreation facility, art gallery, and a bookstore full of treasures and gifts.  The brand new Residence with guest rooms features kitchens, ensuite bathrooms, and free Wi-fi.  And, for those who love the outdoors, there are numerous coulee trails for strolling or hiking along. 


Lethbridge and its quilters are eager to share their wonderful city with quilters traveling from all over Canada, the US and overseas.  Mark it on your calendar, and be Blown Away, June 4-6 2015!




Local Organizing Committee (LOC) with their colourful pinwheels:
Back row (l-r):  Pjam Swen, Janet Thompson, Judy Barnett
Middle row (l-r): Effie Brandt, Kathy Oliver (Chair), Connie Chaplin, Diane Briscoe
Front row (l-r): Val Beasley, Teresa Petriw, Wendy Bushell


Shena Boes                                      
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Dog Days of Summer Challenge Entries

September 30, 2014, 1:04 pm
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Kindred Spirits Quilt Co.

Thanks to Michelle Denham of Kindred Spirits Quilt Co. of St. Catharines, ON for her donation of the 3 prizes for the winning entries into our Member Challenge - The Dog Days of Summer. The top 3 prize-winners will be featured in The Canadian Quilter - winter edition and below are the other amazing entries! I’m glad I didn’t have to judge and pick the winners for this one.
Thanks to all who entered the quarterly challenge and your very interesting interpretation of the theme “Dog Days of Summer”.
  






 
Goose Tracts
Goose Tracts by Margaret Markham

This quilt is an embroidery quilt pattern of HoopSisters.com. There are 64 –8” blocks. Each block is pieced and embroidered all in the hoop and then sewn together and bound. It is a C.D. transferred to the machine via a computer stick. I sewed it on my Janome 15000. I started on June 10/14 and completed it on Aug. 4/14 even though it was a  5 mo. program at Triangle Sewing in Guelph.  Once I started it I had the time and couldn’t stop. Each of the 36 centre blocks was so much fun choosing fabric and colours and then watching it happen with my supervision, changing colours, fabric and correcting little hiccups. Thank you for letting me share my Dog Days of Summer quilt.
Margaret Markham 

 Sunbonnet Sue's Retirement Dream 
Sunbonnet Sue's Retirement Dream by Kaaren Biggs
                                                                 My dream in retirement is to be tall (already there) and thin (not so much) and able to stroll on the beach in a bikini and eat all the ice cream I want! Note the little dogs following at my heels waiting for drips from the cone. The palm trees are three dimensional with two layers of fabric fused together, and attached only in the centre.  Kaaren L Biggs 







Mr. Moose by Linda Steele

"Mr. Moose"
In 1958, I started town school, having done the previous year, Grade 1, in an 8-grade country school. This move was terrifying to say the least, having cried most of the night before. The first person I met was Pat, who saved the day for me and has remained a close friend to this day. She lost her first husband to cancer in 2006 and has met the second love of her life and is getting married this August weekend. As a wedding gift for her to give her new husband, I have just made and sent her this moose. Working on it to choose the right cool winter shades, was very rewarding, not to mention a bit of a cooling effect during the record breaking heat in the Shuswap area we live in, true Dog Days of Summer! Mr. Moose was just finished and mailed to its new owner.
Linda Steele



Flip Flops by Karen Killins-Robinson
Flip Flops

I love the approach of summer when I can start wearing my Flip Flops.  I made this wall hanging as a welcome sign for our new house.
Karen Killins-Robinson






Rollin' on the River

Rollin' on the River by Beth Cameron
I consider this triptych to be somewhat of a self portrait of me in my youth...when I really could indulge in the dog days of summer.  I grew up on the Rideau River and spent hours in and on the water during the summer with family and friends.  I didn't know it at the time but according to Chinese astrology I was born in the year of the water dragon...how fitting!
This piece also qualifies on another level for the Dog Days of Summer as it was created in a week long summer arts camp with Pamela Allen.  I loved these summer arts courses and used to call them 'summer camp for adults'....a week of just playing with my fabric.  Does life get any better?
Beth Cameron

Seamus by Paula Jolly
Seamus

The phrase "dog days" refers to the sultry days of summer and relaxation. My daughter’s beloved American Bulldog, Seamus, spends hot afternoons resting his chin in his favourite chair while a fan blows cool air on his face.
My love of colour encouraged me to draw him in bright colours. Then I hand painted him with various paints and finished with details in stitching.
Paula Jolly



Hot Dog Beach Express
Hot Dog Beach Express by Trisha DellaVella and Mary Eeg

This wall hanging was created from our original Doggy Daycare pattern by Harebrained Happenings (Pattern Company).
What would be a better way to cool off from the blazing sun than to hop on the "Hot" Dog Beach Express bus and head to the beach to splash around in the cool ocean water and roll in the sand. 
Trisha DellaVella and Mary Eeg



My First Canadian Summer by Ana Paula Brasil

My First Canadian Summer
The very first feeling about summer was seen thru the window - the happiness of my son and his dog playing over the grass.  There were close to 6556 ½" squares in this quilt. Size: 39.60" x 26.40" - Technique: Amazing
Ana Paula Brasil










Swimming Laps
Swimming Laps by Megan Hanna
I am an avid swimmer and, to me, there's no better way to cool off than a dip in a pool, lake or ocean. This quilt is my own design and the idea for it came to me one day when I was swimming laps. The tiles on the bottom of the pool looked like hundreds of pieces of fabric!
Megan Hanna






Summer Blues Over Colpoys Bay
Summer Blues Over Colpoys Bay by Pat Golem
Summer evenings are spent watching glorious sunsets over Colpoys Bay, part of Georgian Bay. This particular evening everything looked blue so I took the picture with my digital camera and printed it on fabric. I thread painted the foreground details in a black thread and a clear black thread to highlight them. Water’s edge is my favourite place to spend the “Dog Days of Summer”.   Pat Golem




Dog Days Tablerunner by Linda Schmidt
Dog Days Project


This is the quilt I made during the 'dog days' of summer 2014. It started as a piece of glue resist and textile paints. I added a hand dyed fabric, white for the border, embellished with ric-rac, decorative stitches and dense quilting on my long arm. It's turned into a fun summery-looking table runner.       
Linda Schmidt






 
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Lollygagging through Ontario

October 6, 2014, 12:08 pm
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Well our journey has started.
I tried to leave St. Catharines (home of QC2014), but couldn’t do that before I visited Niagara Heritage Quilters’ Guild for their first meeting of the year.  Noshi Gulati was their speaker for the evening - what an amazing woman - she makes her own patterns using math calculations and pictures, uses her scissors (not a rotary cutter) to cut her fabric and does most of her work by hand.

I took another look at Niagara Falls before starting out on the road. While I was in the Falls, I visited Rainbow Country Quilters and helped to measure the inches of their Show & Tell quilts.Then another stop at Kindred Spirits Quilt Co. to thank Michelle for sponsoring our Member Challenge - The Dog Days of Summer, to tell her about the entries that I had received so far and to tell her about the new challenge (coming soon on this blog).

Down the QEW highway, I headed for Toronto and then up the 400 highway towards Sudbury - my first destination stop. Or at least that’s what I had planned.      
 

Since I’m “lollygagging”, I decided to stop off at the member guild, Durham Trillium Quilters’ Guild(Oshawa), for a quick visit and then onto Quilting Corners Guild in Alliston. I missed their first meeting on the 1st Tuesday of September, but they told me all about it. Along with the usual speaker, BOMs, challenges and, of course, Show & Tell (and measuring inches), their Community Outreach were making comfort quilts for My Sisters' Place, a local women and children’s shelter and pillowcases for Mathew’s House, a local hospice.

Every day I'm getting more inches, but I need quite a few more to get to Sudbury. Hopefully, with the cooler weather, our quilters will get back to sewing and bringing in their Show & Tell to measure inches.

Stay tuned for next month's lollygag through northern Ontario visiting a few more guilds and shops.

 
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Meet the Teachers 1

October 14, 2014, 2:03 pm
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I have elementary school aged children at home, and I know every fall, when school begins again, they are anxious about who their teacher will be.  Meeting the teachers is something they are eager to do.  We are in October now, so they are past that stage for this year.
But we haven’t met ourQuilt Canada teachers for the June show yet!  There are 6 highly skilled teachers on the line-up this year.  I’ll start with the first three today.

Weeks Ringle
Our first teacher for this week is Weeks Ringle.  Many of you will probably already know who she is, but I’ll give you a brief bio.  Weeks Ringle, along with her husband Bill Kerr, have been on the quilting scene for quite some time.  She and her husband founded the Modern Quilt Studio in Oak Park, Illinois.  Their studio launched the first ever magazine dedicated exclusively to modern quilting, Modern Quilts Illustrated, in 2011.  They have written numerous books together and lecture and teach throughout the USA, Canada, and internationally. Weeks blogs at Craft Nectar.  She will be teaching two one-day classes and will also be lecturing on Friday evening.  


Joanne Flamand
Up next is Joanne Flamand, a long-arm quilter.  Like many of us, she started sewing clothes and curtains before she made the transition to the wonderful world of quilting.  Her friends and family were the first recipients of her new found craft.  She made the upgrade from her trusty Pfaff to an APQS Millennium and hasn’t looked back!  We can all be extremely envious of the fact that she has studied with some amazing quilting instructors, namely Deloa Jones, Claudia Pfiell, Karen McTavish, Sue Patton, Matt Sparrow, and Kim Caskey.  I’m sure anyone who takes her class will benefit from the expertise she has learned from them.  Joanne has a studio, Sparrow Studioz, in Edmonton, Alberta.



Margie Davidson
Last for today, but certainly not least, Margie Davidson, also based in Edmonton, is a quilt artist and surface designer.  She has a Bachelor of Education and many art courses under her belt and quilters are some of her favourite students.  She loves to encourage individual creativity in her classes and uses colour theory and design principles to help that along.  Margie is a certified CQA/ACC Quilt Judge and in 2013, she had the distinction of receiving the Teacher of the Year award from CQA/ACC. 
Shena Boes
LOC
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It's Time for Colour - Our Tour

October 19, 2014, 6:35 pm
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It’s Time for Colour!   

We are pleased to present a Gallery to showcase the quilts in our first-ever travelling quilt show called It’s Time for Colour!   The quilts will crisscross Canada, travelling to most provinces and the Northwest Territories from January 2015 until May 2015.
The quilts are being assembled in Victoria, BC for the cross-country tours.While waiting for all the quilts to arrive, a few pre-tour viewings have been arranged on Vancouver Island.

The travelling quilts were made and donated by CQA/ACC members who have won awards at the National Juried Show within the last three years. Without their generosity – and creativity - we would not be able to host this event.
 
 


In the Gallery you can view the travelling quilts, meet the quilters and see if a quilt is still for sale.  You will also find information on how to purchase the quilts and greeting cards. Touring schedule will be available soon as more details become firm.


Proceeds from the sale of the quilts and greeting cards will be donated to The Children’s Wish Foundation of Canada at Quilt Canada 2015 in Lethbridge.  We plan to grant the wishes for several children with life-threatening illnesses.


You can get to the Gallery anytime if you go directly to our blog and press the tab"It's Time For Colour - Gallery" in the pink bar.

Sign up to follow the blog so you always know what’s going on at CQA/ACC!!
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Best Friends Forever (BFF) - Member Challenge

October 23, 2014, 4:29 pm
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Another member challenge, called Best Friends Forever (or BFF) is underway. We'd like to see how you interpret this theme in quilt form. Who or maybe what are your "Best Friends". What kind of things do you do/share together? Show us your quilts depicting your best friend(s).
PS this challenge is open to individual and professional members of CQA/ACC.


  Your amazing quilt entries will get published on our blog or in The Canadian Quilter magazine and you might win a fabulous prize too. Thanks to our great sponsor - Sue Aylseworh of Quilting Confections of Windsor, ON.
Our judge will select a first, second and third prize. 
Deadline to receive quilt picture(s): December 5, 2014.


 How to Enter:
Send photos of your quilt, any size and any shape, based on the theme “Best Friends Forever”. It must be quilted and bound or closed along the edges. You can use any embellishments. 
Take high resolution (1 MB) digital pictures of your quilt. (see Tips below)
You should take 2 pictures - one of your quilt and one of a close up of a small area. Then email them to: diratlarge@canadianquilter.com along with your CQA/ACC membership number, name, email address, a brief description of your quilt, and any copyright information.


  


 By entering your quilt(s), you are giving CQA/ACC permission to use your entry. This includes archival records for CQA/ACC, all aspects of CQA/ACC online social media, The Canadian Quilter magazine and/or other publications and advertisements created by CQA/ACC. The image will not be shared beyond these areas unless permission is requested of CQA/ACC and it is shown that the requester intends to use the image to promote CQA/ACC.

Tips on Photographing:
Use a well lit area. Have no background distractions. Take a high resolution photo of at least 1 MB jpeg.  Ensure that no part of the quilt is cut off in the picture. Hang your quilt on a wall to take this photo (for best results). Also include a close up of a small area.
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Lethbridge Quilt Canada 2015 Needs You!

October 28, 2014, 11:26 am
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Help Wanted:

As with every Quilt Canada, a request comes out for members and guilds and everyone to make a "gift" that will be given out at the Saturday night dinner/banquet.



This year the LOC from Lethbridge has chosen a tablet bag. Directions for this bag are on the CQA/ACC website.



 


One of our CQA/ACC Regional Reps (Marvella Smith from Northern Ontario) has already been busy - Here is a collection of tablet bags that she has made and will send on to Pjam Swen, of Lethbridge, AB in time for the show.


 



Don't these look great!
Get your friends or guilds together to spend a fun day making these neat bags.

Send completed bags before March 31, 2015 to:
Pjam Swen,
#1507 22 Ave.,
Coaldale, AB T1M 1E4  
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Lollygagging along the way to Lethbridge - 2

November 4, 2014, 5:45 pm
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We had a slow start for our trip to Lethbridge, AB for next June. I think members and guilds were still in summer mode. And with our side trips to a few guilds, we didn't get as far as anticipated.

So on we go - next stop is Sudbury, ON which is home to the Big Nickel
and many other mining tourist spots. But we’d rather go to a quilt guild meeting and so we stopped in to see the Sudbury & District Quilting and Stitchery Guild.  They meet every Tuesday at 7pm in Sudbury's YMCA. Boy, are they a busy group, especially when they meet every week! There’s always lots to do for the members of this group. Last year they donated over 350 quilts. It was good to catch up with a few of the members of this guild who visited Quilt Canada 2014 in Niagara this past June.

On we go, next stop is Sault Ste. Marie. Another side trip toStitches from the Heart Quilters Guild who meet the first Monday of the month at 7 pm. For the meeting in November, Martha Schellingerhoud is their guest speaker. Her workshop “Stripping the Beauty” is one that is being offered along with her trunk show.



 

Before we leave the Soo as it’s often called, we had to stop in at Life’s a Stitchquilt shop to say hello. We had checked out their website first to see what they were up to. Not only do they sell machines, they offer repairs and maintenance. Workshop classes meet the interests of the community.




Now the long haul, up and around Lake Superior. Am I glad to get this part of the trip out of the way before winter sets in. It’s scary enough driving on a nice day, but we sure wouldn’t want to do it in the middle of winter. We stopped just to take a
picture of the big goose in Wawa and then onto Thunder Bay. The view of the Sleeping Giant on Lake Superior is amazing, but we need to stop off to visit the Thunder Bay Quilters’ Guild. Unfortunately we’re not able to catch a meeting - they meet the 3rd Monday of the month at 7pm. They have been keeping busy with their Community programs, such as Meals on Wheels, Comfort Quilts and Christmas Cheer Teddy Bears.

We need to keep moving to get out of Ontario (of course, we need the inches to get there too - I think we have just enough to get to Dryden). So we stopped off to visit with Sunset Country Quilters Guild. It seems we just missed being able to hear Cathy Miller and her hubbie John Bunge perform at the Dryden Centre.

What an amazing trip so far!!! Lots and lots of quilting going on!

We’re hoping to get into Manitoba for our next blog. So make sure you keep sending in those inches from your Show & Tell/Share at your guild meetings to diratlarge@canadianquilter.com.
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Lauren MacDonald

November 9, 2014, 5:37 am
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When current board members think of Secretary Lauren MacDonald, we all remember how she saved our lives.


She really did. The incident took place at Quilt Canada 2014 in St. Catharines, ON this past June. The board all stayed in residence in dorm rooms. What we didn't know was that there was no coffee maker in any of the rooms, and the dining hall didn't open till about 90 minutes after we were up. Let me just say this without going into too much detail, you do not want to talk to a board member before they have had their cup of coffee.

So what happened that fateful first morning when we got up at 6 am and realized there was no caffeine? We looked into the hall and saw Lauren's door open. We stumbled in and there was a sight to behold. On her desk was a Keurig machine and about 100 coffee pods surrounding it. She had brought it all from her home, driven it 8 hours, because she knew we would not survive Quilt Canada without our caffeine. And that is how she saved 6 quilters lives.



Now when she is not performing heroic acts, she does a great job of looking after the CQA/ACC website and keeping us on track by logging minutes, resolutions, action items and pretty much anything we throw at her.

Lauren is the board member responsible for getting our member guilds insurance coverage through CQA/ACC. She put in hours and hours researching, talking extensively to companies and with help from some knowledgeable members, she was able to arrange for the board to meet with a company that could make all of this happen.


She is also a great quilter. Living on Manitoulin Island, ON she has found her niche in the guild and has added so much to that group. She has been doing their newsletter for years, often does Block of the Month, organizes retreats, program and whatever else is asked of her. Perhaps she is most known for her ability to try anything. If a course is being offered she signs up. If someone shows a new technique, she watches. Lauren has the wonderful attitude of seeing learning as fun and encourages others to do so with her positive attitude.
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Giveaways for a Year!

November 10, 2014, 6:18 pm
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Psst... guess what? We are having giveaways for a whole year!  Yep, once a month you will have the chance to win something quilt related that will make a wonderful addition to your studio!

Do you want the details?  On the15th of each month, go to our facebook page and we will have a post showing the monthly giveaway. Leave a comment answering the question and you are in!  It's that simple!

Now you do have to be a resident of Canada, but you don't have to be a CQA/ACC member. Although I cannot fathom why you wouldn't want to=) 

Do you want a sneak peek of what is up for November?
Look at these lovely scissors!!



Mundial carries the finest quality fully plated carbon steel shears. The Classic Forged line is Mundial's most complete assortment of scissors ranging from dressmaker, sewing and craft scissors. All Classic Forged scissors and shears are hot drop forged and fully plated for a lifetime of sewing satisfaction.
       These Dressmaker shears are able to cut through fabric of many weights.  They are designed with bent or offset handles so that whatever is being cut does not have to be lifted off the cutting surface. This feature also ensures the shears do not harm the cutting surface. These Mundial scissors are an ideal choice for your quilting needs.


Be sure to check out our facebook page on the 15th! You don't want to miss out a chance to win these!


Jackie
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Quilt Judge Certification Programme

November 12, 2014, 11:27 am
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So You Want To Be A Quilt Judge…

Registration for a new intake of those interested in quilt judging opens again this fall. Over the years questions are posed via email or in casual conversation at guild gatherings and shows asking what the programme entails and how one may gain full certification.

The programme is open to any and all who have a passion for quilting, especially those who have a strong commitment to educating peers and who are striving for excellence. The CQA/ACC Quilt Judge Certification Programme (QJCP) was first introduced in 2009 during Quilt Saskatchewan. It has since been refined and further developed to provide committed candidates enrolling in the programme full certification with a professional designation as a CQA/ACC Certified Quilt Judge.

The interested candidate is sure to embark on a journey of intense learning to develop and hone one’s critiquing skills. There is no specific pre-requisite for quilters to register, however, it is expected that a future judge has a well-rounded background in traditional and innovative quilting with knowledge in colour and design. To establish a baseline for all registrants pre-course work is dispatched at the time of registration. It must be completed and submitted for review to the instructors prior to arriving in class for Part I.

Part I is presented every other year at a Quilt Canada Conference to a maximum of 16 students. Three intense days in class are augmented with daily homework exercises to be completed in the evening following the participant’s time in class. Each day is filled with practical exercises based on the pre-course work to further deepen knowledge in quilting and design. The instructors model professional conduct, deliver lectures, lead discussions and continually observe each student’s performance when participating in the practical exercises during the first two days. Day 3 is filled with mock judging experiences involving all students. Individual feedback is provided during the lunch hour. Based on each participant’s individual performance a candidate will be “recommended”, “conditionally recommended” or “not recommended” for Part II.

Successful Part I candidates assume Apprentice Judge status. She/he has up to five (5) years to gain judging experience as outlined in the QJCP manual to fulfill the requirements in qualifying for the Part III practical examination.

The Part III examination will be conducted as a mock judging event with quilts in the NJS. Twelve (12) entries will be selected for judging. Each candidate has sixty (60) minutes to judge the individual items and a further thirty (30) minutes to collaborate with fellow judge(s) in selecting winners in two categories.This mock judging event will be observed and evaluated by the QJCP instructors who assess each candidate’s knowledge base, their proficiency and ability to formulate constructive critiques. Upon successful completion of Part III the Apprentice becomes a CQA/ACC Certified Quilt Judge.

Maintaining Certified Judge status will require the individual’s continued professional development. This may include teaching and/or participating in workshops as well as active judging duties. With certification comes the responsibility of maintaining professional standards in judging by providing consistent constructive critiques that educate and expand the entrant’s knowledge.
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Submitted by Anna Hergert
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It's Giveaway Day!

November 15, 2014, 4:30 am
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Head on over to our fb page to enter to win these amazing scissors!
 



Mundial carries the finest quality fully plated carbon steel shears. The Classic Forged line is Mundial's most complete assortment of scissors ranging from dressmaker, sewing and craft scissors. All Classic Forged scissors and shears are hot drop forged and fully plated for a lifetime of sewing satisfaction.
       These Dressmaker shears are able to cut through fabric of many weights.  They are designed with bent or offset handles so that whatever is being cut does not have to be lifted off the cutting surface. This feature also ensures the shears do not harm the cutting surface. These Mundial scissors are an ideal choice for your quilting needs.

Now you do have to be a resident of Canada, but you don't have to be a CQA/ACC member. Although I cannot fathom why you wouldn't want to=) 





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Lethbridge - Meet the Teachers - 2

November 16, 2014, 9:00 am
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So there are three more teachers to meet for Quilt Canada 2015 in Lethbridge, AB June 4-6, 2014, and I will waste no time in getting right into it.  Good things come to those who wait, and you’ve waited long enough.
 

Karen Henry is first on our list for today.  She learned to quilt in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan in the early nineties, and now makes her home in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, where she has lived since 2000.  Wasting no time in her new home, she started a guild, became a regional representative for CQA/AAC and began teaching classes as well.  As many of us do as well, she considers herself a self-taught quilt artist.  Her heart lies with making pictorial quilts.  She was selected as the Teacher of the Year in 2008.  


Now on to Cindy Needham.  Cindy lives in California and wears many different quilting hats.  She has been a quilting instructor since 1997 and is also a national educator for Superior Threads.  She has taught at many major shows: Sisters Quilt Show, Houston International Festival, Machine Quilting Expo in Providence, Portland Australia Machine Quilting Festival; and Superior Threads School of Threadology.  She has also written a book, Wholecloth Linen Quilts, which was published by AQS in June 2007.  Her writing skills don’t end there!  She has had many articles and features in Quilters Newsletter Magazine, American Quilter, and Machine Quilting Unlimited.  We are very fortunate to have Cindy on the teachers’ list for Quilt Canada 2015.


And our final teacher for next year’s show is Kathy Tidswell.  Kathy lives in New Brunswick, and since she lives in such a beautiful place, it is no surprise that she makes it her goal to realistically recreate the beauty that she finds in nature in her work.  In order to hone her skills, she has taken drawing, water colour and oil painting lessons, as well as other courses from a large range of Canadian and American quilt teachers and embroidery specialists.  Using the best information and techniques she learned, she developed her own method of using both painting on fabric and free motion embroidery to create her own unique style of quilted wall hangings and wearable art.  As with many of our other teachers, Kathy was selected Teacher of the Year by CQA/ACC in 2005. 

And that brings to an end the list of our very experienced and sought after teachers for Quilt Canada 2015.  I’m sure we will be Blown Away by their work and that their classes will fill up quickly.  Only 8 more months until we can learn from them and the show!
Shena Boes, LOC
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CQA/ACC offers an Insurance Policy to Member Guilds

November 21, 2014, 5:26 am
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Wow! What a response! Over a hundred member guilds have opted into the insurance policy offered under CQA/ACC’s “umbrella” insurance. We’re very pleased with the response so far. You can still take part in this offer. (This offer is still available.) Guilds are paying $130 (plus tax), saving $300-500 a year.  

There are two sections to the insurance:
-    general liability, covering guilds for bodily injury and/or property damage claims; personal injury; medical payments; tenant’s legal liability.
-    management liability that protects directors and their personal assets from law suits; to cover legal liability that could be imposed related to ‘wrongful acts’ (management of funds, employment practices, defense costs).

How does it work?                               
Contact CQA/ACC Secretary Lauren MacDonald by email (secretary@canadianquilter.com) to get enrolment details or look on the main page of our website (www.canadianquilter.com).  Find the link on the left for Member Guild Insurance.
Fill in the details and email it to Administrative Assistant Jackie Philpott (jackie@canadianquilter.com).
An invoice will then be sent to the member guild, requesting payment.
Confirmation of payment and enrollment will be sent to member registered guild.
Although the policy anniversary is Nov. 1st, guilds can sign up at any time during the year. All policies end Oct. 31st each year.

Not a member? - all you have to do is contact Jackie Philpott (jackie@canadianquilter.com) to sign up as a member guild and you will qualify for this great opportunity!.
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Christmas is coming...

November 25, 2014, 3:39 pm
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Christmas is coming - and it’ll be here before you know it.


Have you thought about shopping at CQA/ACC for that gift for a certain someone who loves quilting, but has everything or maybe just wants something different? 

Well, we have a few gift suggestions for you to give or maybe even to drop a hint for yourself to receive.



A subscription to our popular magazine, The Canadian Quilter that is filled with tons of reading, quilting ideas - it’s Canadian too - and you get a membership to CQA/ACC thrown in as well.







 
 Or might we suggest a trip to Lethbridge for Quilt Canada in June 4-6, 2015 – this could include admission tickets to the National Juried Show, a workshop or two from well-known teachers, the final dinner/banquet. Registration for members opens Nov. 26th, 2014.




One of 37 quilts in the show
Any quilter would love to receive our greeting cards from the 'It's Time For Colour" travelling quilt show. Buy a selection of 10 cards for $35 plus $5 postage; wrap a beautiful ribbon around 3 or 4 and presto - you have two or three delightful hostess gifts.
Lastly, consider one of the "It's Time For Colour"quilts before they are all sold.  
Cards or quilts - you’ll be supporting the Children’s Wish Foundation too.

Blank cards of the quilts




More blank cards of the quilts
These can all be found available online. For magazine subscription and (gift) membership click here.

For various Quilt Canada 2015 events, click here or for Registration for Quilt Canada 2015 items.

They’re all just a click away! And your shopping is done!
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First Time NJS Quilt Entry Winner

November 30, 2014, 6:55 pm
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Veronica's winning entry
Veronica Puskas, now of Niagara, ON was asked to write about her experience entering a quilt into the National Juried Show (NJS). Her beautiful piece, called “Pillars of Strength” was the winner for a First Time Entrant into the National Juried Show 2014. Here is her story:


I never thought of entering my quilt into the NJS until Roberta Masecar, as part of our quilting group saw my piece when it was nearly done and said that it should be entered in a juried show. I had never heard of it until then, so I checked on line. I started entertaining the idea, then thought "What the heck? I've got nothing to lose and I'll learn something here."
 
Close-up of hand


I had made this quilt in memory of my Mom and Gramma. It took me on a journey while making the pieces. I was actually going to piece what the actual picture shows and that is Mom's ugly woollen trousers and the ugly canvas leggings on their kamiit (boots). I learned what the traditional trousers and leggings should look like by asking family and friends.



(2014 was the first time for online registration into the NJS. Of course, no matter how hard CQA/ACC and the software writers tried to make it a smooth run for everyone, there were glitches.)
 
Apparently this was the first time that on-line registration took place and I thought that went very well except when I had to change the size of the image. Some of the pertinent information got lost. When I finally got an e-mail confirming my entry was accepted, I found some of the information was wrong. After a few emails, the information was corrected.

I had started this quilt based on a class by Nancy Bergman"Zapplique Don't Sweat Quilting the Human Figure" in 2008 I had to start over because I used the wrong materials. This class took place six months after Mom passed away. I was so happy that my piece got accepted that I cried. I could not believe it! I contacted my family and friends and they cried with me as well.
In making “Pillars of Strength” I auditioned different colours of fabric and threads until I was satisfied. I learned how to thread-paint and how to use mixed media other than fabric such as distressed Typar for the rocky hills, tulle for shading and yarn for snow. 

After the piece was quilted I agonized over every little detail: the quilting; straight edges at 90 degrees; ensured there were no waves; stitching on the binding was straight; all pieces were secure; and the hanging sleeve was made according to the instructions. Susan Bowslaugh gave me a very good tip with respect to binding - to use same coloured fabrics as the quilt top. It added another level of difficulty. When I fretted over little things, I listened to my own heart when well-meaning family and friends were saying that my quilt was perfect the way it was. In the end I was right in doing so. When I did not know what to do with it anymore I knew my piece was done.
 
I hired a professional photographer to take pictures of the quilt. I believe this to be key as your photo must give the positive first impression. The camera and lighting are key to very good, clear photographs. This investment is worth every dime and penny. If you have gone through all that you did to get your piece entered and not invest in this, unless you are a professional photographer, you run the risk of not getting accepted. I didn't want to take that risk.

 For me as a first time entrant, this process of entering the National Juried Show was a nail-biting, thrilling roller-coaster experience. It was all worth it in the end when /I saw my quilt hung up with those whose quilts were of high calibre. To me it is like giving birth. You forget all the agony and frustrations that goes with trying to make your piece perfect. And throughout making my piece, I kept hearing my Mother when I just wanted to give up and do a less-than-perfect job "You can do better than that!" What I learned from this process was that I CAN do it. I feel more confident now that I can go through this process again. There is a lot of competition out there with great quilts in the shows. And you learn what you are made of. I felt so honoured to have been part of that.


Veronica’s quilting experience:
I am a self-taught quilter who started in early 1995. I had remembered the embroidered or tied woollen blankets that my Gramma used to have. I learned to quilt by buying quilting magazines and trying out the patterns, not realizing there was a local guild. I made tons of mistakes but I learned a lot too. About two years I finally joined the Yellowknife Quilter's Guild and took as many classes as I could take juggling family and work life. I was lucky to have been part of the Guild as they brought in masters: Jan Krentz, Gail Garber, Libby Lehman, Gloria Loughman, Nancy Bergman to name a few. I felt stifled though in the end before we moved here (Niagara-On-The-Lake, ON) as I wanted to get more into the art quilts. Just two months after we moved here, I was invited to be part of a quilting group that was interested in learning to make different art quilts. I learned a lot from them and they, the Thread Hedz, have given me the confidence to try different media and methods. 


As an Inuk living in southern Canada, the North will always be a part of me and it shows in my art quilts. I remember stories of Nuliayuk and what a powerful sea-goddess she was. I like to incorporate well-known images such as the Inukshuk, or an igloo.   
 
 

Veronica Puskas
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Registration - it's here!

December 2, 2014, 6:26 am
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Registration for all the fun and educational activities at Quilt Canada 2015 is officially open now! Well actually it was open several days ago. But there's still room for you in all of our classes/workshops. Don't miss this opportunity to take a workshop with our wonderful teachers! Register now!

At this point, registration is only open to CQA/ACC members (as of Nov 26th). However it is worth it to become a member if you want to register for more than 2 one-day classes or one 2-day class. As a member, you'll save $25 per day. It is well worth the price and you get a subscription to The Canadian Quilter quarterly magazine, which is a great all-Canadian resource for local quilting news along with your membership. What a great incentive to join! Plus great workshops too!

Schedules and descriptions for all the workshop classes are available on the CQA/ACC website. You can register online to purchase tickets to Weeks Ringle's lecture "Transforming Traditions: Modernism and Quilts", the Closing Banquet and Ceremonies, a logo pin and more.

If you are not a member, registration opens Jan. 14, 2015.

So don't waste any time -  Register today and prepare to be blown away at Quilt Canada 2015 in Lethbridge, AB June 4-6!
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Member's Approach to the Trend Tex Challenge - 1

December 9, 2014, 2:29 pm
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Lezley Zwaal shares her story about designing and making her quilt entry for the Trend-Tex challenge. These are her thought processes - presented in several instalments. Watch this space for the next instalment!

Do I or don’t I?
Each year I look at my schedule that appears to be free and clear for working on the challenge for the CQA/ACC conference.   2015 looks no different – and so, the fabrics are ordered!  Life gets busy and a little time passes. Finally a package arrives in the mail!  
Trend-Tex Challenge Fabrics 2015

OH!  I forgot I ordered the challenge fabric!
 
I clear my desk and the package is quickly opened….
My first thought is “Oh my goodness – what am I going to do with this?”

OK – a cup of tea needed.
 

First in the process - Ideas
 
Photography is a hobby – and this year alone I have some spectacular subjects – from home in Edmonton, to Tofino on Vancouver Island to 4 weeks in Europe – Holland and France.  I should be able to find something!  Beach winter sunset, spring flowers, birds, windmills and rural Holland, Rotterdam – the city awakes, 24 hours of Le Mans auto race, Juno Beach and remembering WWII, Vimy Ridge and remembering WWI. 
I start scanning the files for photos that may speak to those colours….What am I going to do with that fabric that looks like kernels of corn still on the cob?
Oh – I should note that at this time I have not read the entire instruction set, nor gone back onto the website.  My search is with those colours in mind.
I have a difficult time with abstract.  I need to have a product that people cannot interpret the design as I envision it. So I start with a real photo, and then use the artistic licence to remove an item not needed, or add something to get the “feeling”.
But first – I have to choose the photo. There are just too many pictures, but finally I cull down.
 
starfish at Tofino, BC


prairie train trestle

Of course, now I read the specifications – and see the kite logo for “blown away”.  

I think there’s a photo that I have of my dad flying his kites!  But I didn’t take it – one of my sisters did.  
Now I’m on a hunt to find that picture. 
 

Continued in next installment - finding that special photo...
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Giveaway on the 15th

December 13, 2014, 9:26 am
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Everyone loves a great giveaway and this is simply the best!
Head to our fb page this Monday the 15th and enter our amazing giveaway.

Check out what is up for grabs!


The Go Iron travel iron has a rubber ring around the handle for a comfortable ergonomic fit.  The non-stick soleplate heats up in 30 seconds.  And best of all it can be used as a dry iron or with continuous steam.

    
The iron cleaner is a glue stick style applicator, which makes removing stains from the soleplates safe and easily.

Simply apply thin layer to the soleplate of iron set to 6°C, rub with a rough cloth to remove debris and then run the iron over a cloth to remove any excess debris remaining and you’re done!!

Stop by our fb page on Monday!!
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