The quilting year is nearing its end but there is still a lot going on. The business part of the meetings carried news of the two shows. The library show, where the “Reach for the sky” entries were on display, has been taken down after being very well received and will be on show again at the June show as will the quilts entered in the “Tulips & spring flowers” challenge.

During the business review, the President mentioned that there are several vacancies coming up on the executive so don’t hold back if you want to be more involved. New blood brings new ideas and skills and the “old hands” are there to help and welcome you to the group. Also mentioned were the April retreat, the last of the year, which was well attended on Zoom and included 3 workshops. The outreach team asked for completed projects to be handed in at the June meetings and mentioned that new projects are available for work over the summer. For the June show, Julie asked that the signup sheets, which were sent with the newsletter, should be completed and submitted by mid May so that they can do the planning. Noreen also mentioned that volunteers will also be needed for the stall we usually have at the Beaconsfield St Jean celebrations. Beaconsfield should have installed the panels with pictures of selected quilts around the park by then so that will add to the fun. Nicole drew the winners for the Shop Hop Scavenger prize. Congratulations to Laynie and Claire. Show and Tell finished this first half of the meeting when, amongst other items, some of the finished challenge quilts were shown. Pictures will be available on the website.

During the break we could look though the amazing selection of about 40 art quilt pieces from SAQA – Studio Art Quilt Associates brought along by our 3 members who are also members of SAQA.

Our three speakers were Julie P, Mary M and Helena. They have been members of SAQA for various lengths of time and are at different stages of their journey. Mary joined about 4 years ago and although she has been to shows she has not submitted any pieces yet. She describes herself as in the “lurker” phase. Julie has been a member for about 15 years and although she started as a lurker she has now submitted some pieces for display. Helena has been a member for about the same amount of time but 10 years ago she became a Juried Artist Member (JAM) meaning that she submitted a CV and portfolio for review and was accepted.

Our speakers gave a brief overview of the SAQA and how it functions. Its main focus is on exhibitions, education and resources for members. It also holds a fundraising auction each year. The exhibitions are held regionally and globally and members can submit works which are then juried to see if they fit in with the theme of the exhibitions. Submitting a work takes courage as few are selected but rejection is not a judgement of the work itself more a reflection of the juries vision. The association also has special interest groups and a YouTube channel as well as holding conferences and Zoom seminars.

Finally the speakers were asked what they like most about SAQA and the consensus seemed to be that the shows, conferences, educational resources, and the breadth of coverage is a draw. SAQA is global with over 4000 members worldwide and although there are at present only 15 members in Quebec, there is an Ontario and Quebec regional group with the possibility of interaction closer to home.

With almost a full week between shows this month, our Tuesday evening meeting featured a trunk show by our own Anne Kaufman. Anne has been a member of the guild sine 1997 and has been quilting for many years. Having been introduced to sewing by her grandmother she started to take a more serious interest in quilting in the 1970s in Pointe Claire and carried on into the 80s and 90s. Anne showed us around 20 of her quilts whilst answering questions. Thank you Anne, for sharing your process and inspirations with us.

Now its time to look forward to next months show. Don’t forget to send in the volunteer sheets by mid May and finish those quilts for display. That’s something I’m working on at present. Fingers crossed!

Its been a busy start to the month of April at BQG. Our evening meeting took place in person on Tuesday 2nd April at Centennial Hall closely followed by the morning meeting the next day. I attended the morning meeting on Wednesday at it was a very lively affair. First off, we dealt with some business, the president’s report, a plea for outstanding penguin blocks to be delivered to outreach and news of the library show (now up and running) and the imminent June show. Then it was time for coffee and pickle jar prizes as no one had brought any show and tell – a first in my experience.

After moving the chairs aside to divide the room into 4 stations we started the next part of the meeting where some of our fellow members shared their expertise with the rest of us. The timing was strictly controlled by Nicole, as otherwise, I’m sure we would have spent too long at each table.

The four stations on Wednesday were:

• Andrea -presenting 6 ways to make flying geese
• Richard and Lorraine – showing us how to use the 60 Degree ruler and the Stripology ruler
• Christine – Introducing us to no-mark quilting design
• Pat – showing us her method of creating labels on her computer using word, muslin, masking tape and fabric pens

A similar activity took place on Tuesday evening with different presenters. This was a really interesting and useful exercise as we have so much knowledge and expertise amongst our members. How lucky we are! Thank you to everyone for an excellent activity and I believe that some information sheets on the demonstrations will be available on the website under Program.

After the meeting, some members stayed to have lunch together and then to work on an initial mug rug using a 1 inch grid with Pat. She is also going to present this as a workshop at the May retreat.

To finish off our week of fun, a group of us set off to the north shore for a Saturday shop hop. We were a group of about 25 including a couple of guests, Karen Brown of justgetitdonequilts.com and a former guild member, Gillian Lee. We visited 3 quilt shops Tissus Roger, Elégante Virgule and Styliste & Complice and had a delicious lunch. It was really great to get to know some of our fellow members outside of the usual meeting places. I’m sure we all spent some money and came home with a delicious collection of sewing treats. Now we wait to see who will snag the prizes (?) in the scavenger hunt. Thank you program team for another wonderful activity.

Finally, keep working on your Tulips and Spring Flowers Challenge due at the May meetings.

BQG Challenge Show at the Beaconsfield Library

Please note: The library is open to the public from Monday-Friday: 10am-8pm, and Saturday, Sunday: 10am-5pm.
Do give the library a quick call before your visit, just to make sure there is not a board meeting or lecture scheduled for your desired time!

Our February evening meeting was again held via Zoom as we welcomed another speaker Emily Taylor, or the Collage quilter, who is active on various platforms. She has a YouTube channel Collage Quilter – YouTube , an Instagram and Facebook presence and of course a website Collage Quilter. She has developed a method of creating beautiful collages with scraps of fabric and she walked us through her background and methodology and answered questions from guild members.

Emily Taylor is based in Utah and has a history of involvement in art. Having started to study to become a lawyer, she decided that an office job was not for her and she began painting murals in local homes. Following the birth of her children she began to paint watercolours reflecting family life and then after visiting a quilt shop she took up fabric design, teaching herself to use the software required. She worked for Riley Blake Designs creating designs for their fabrics for 7 years, producing her final collection for them in 2016. Whilst producing these designs, she received a bolt of fabric for every design so she decided to learn to quilt. Discovering that this is not so easy, especially knowing what the finished quilt will look like, her next project was to develop a free quilt design website, PatternJam.com, where you insert your fabrics and work out the pattern and quantities.

Nowadays, Emily has embarked on her latest venture, Collage Quilts, which she says is like painting with fabric. After selecting an image you split it into zones by its values (dark, midtone, light) and then layer the scraps of fabric onto the image. When she first started she used glue to attach the pieces but it was messy so now she uses fusible. When creating the image the most important aspects are values, fabric selection and contrast. Her technique involves creating the collage on parchment paper and then peeling it off and ironing it onto a background fabric. After this a regular quilt sandwich is made with this background fabric including the collage becoming the top layer. The whole thing is then densely quilted, especially the collage, to avoid any movement.

The meeting was well attend with 45 members logged in for the presentation and there were many questions for this engaging speaker who pointed out that her website offers a free pattern to try out the technique (the mushroom pattern above), as well as kits and other supplies, and her YouTube channel includes instructional videos. I must admit I have already ordered the book and downloaded the pattern.

Following a short break the business part of the meeting focused on preparations for the Queen of Hearts tea party at the in person morning meeting. Members were invited to wear something special for this love themed programme. Also those signed up for the “Sky’s the Limit” challenge were reminded to advise the organizers if their submission would not be ready for inclusion in the April show (set up: April 2, viewing/vernissage: April 3) so that other suitable items could be found for display. Christine urged members to send in their tool time requests and Dawn asked those interested to pick up kits for the outreach penguin blocks for the online February retreat. No show and tell this time.

Both of the March meetings will be in person and I will not be able to attend. If anyone is interested in writing a quick description of the meeting, I will be happy to post it. See you all in April.