First meeting of the fall season

Our first meeting of the fall started on Thursday September 23 , I didn't count everyone but we seem to have a good turnout . Here are some pictures :

Lorie's little one with Wendy's dog Flossy

A birthday cake for those who had birthdays over the summer

Wendy looking over a wall hanging that she is making .

Sandra and Gladys  talking while looking at Sandra's table runner

Everyone chatting and or working on a project

Wall hanging that Nancy made .

Table cloth that Ellen made

                                                 Group picture 2 -some bring quilting, some bring knitting and we all have a good visit .

Blocks from the Block of the Month Club

 Linda Kling has been doing the Block of the Month quilt from Quilted Threads now for a couple of years. This year I decided to check it out and see if I could do it as well. So I made arrangements , and so far I have 6 blocks done . There are separate blocks that are used in between these blocks but I need to order the fabric for them , as they are not part of the monthly blocks.

Tdal Threads Quilt and Needlework Show

  Our quilt show was very successful . I think we had about 275 go through to view the quilts.  The link that I have included will let you see some of the quilts that were shown. Hopefully other people with post their pictures and we will have a picture of all the quilts , and other needlework.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=696141404&ref=ts#!/album.php?aid=239021&id=696141404 this will let you view the photos.

2nd Quilt and Needlework Show & Sale

"Island Living" , July 2 (12 noon- 7 pm) and Saturday, July 3, 2010 (10 am -- 4 pm) at the North Head Baptist Church Vestry.  Tickets for the general public will be $3.00 per person, which includes tea, coffee, and sweets.
"9 Patch Blues", a lap size raffle quilt to benefit Tidal threads has been completed by guild members and tickets will be available at the show for $1.00 a piece.

Both quilts and needlework will be on display at the show, and items on display may be purchased if the maker wishes to sell.

Meeting Minutes by Linda K. for May 6, 2010

Members Martha E. & Mary H. shared their travel experiences to Calgary for the Quilt Canada Festival and the Paducah - AQS Annual Quilt Show & Contest in Kentucky.  Many members drooled over the catalogs and the wonderful fabric purchased by Martha.

Tidal Threads is now a member of the Canadian Quilters' Association.  Applications for members and non-members for the second Quilt and Needlework Show and Sale, "Island Living" to be held on July 2 & July 3, 2010 at the North Head Baptist Church Vestry are available now.  All entries must be postmarked no later than June 3, 2010.

Members are quilting away on a lap size raffle quilt that will benefit Tidal Threads.  Tickets are $1.00 a piece.

Both needlework and quilts will be displayed and items on display may be purchased if the maker wishes to sell.  For more details pick up an application or speak with a quild member.

Preview of my latest baby quilt top by Wendy F.

    I needed to make one last baby quilt (for now anyways) and I had

    some fabric picked out, but I could not find it. My Mom and I went

    through the whole house and I was beginning to think I had  imagined

    it. Earlier this week I went looking for some fabric for the back of 

   an other quilt but stopped when  I opened  one particular container .

   I found in it  4 of  the fabrics that provided the inspiration for this quilt, 

  the yellow fabric I found stored in another container. It is neat how God

   brought the ideas together in my mind . 

 

Erleen's quilt

 Erleen wrapped in her quilt .

Erleen's quilt spread on the table . She did a fabulous job of tying it , you can barely seen the red ties . ( I want to post a little bit of the history behind the blocks and the sashing, so I need to get the details straight first and I will come back and edit this post .)

Our expectations

Jane Kirkpatrick is one of my favorite authors , she has this quote on her website .

From the author...

I've finished my latest manuscript with insights about the benefits of completion.  As Leonard Cohen wrote:  “ring the bells you still can ring / forget your perfect offering / everything has cracks / it’s how the light gets in.”  Let the light in to your day with my latest words of encouragement. 

    I think this can apply to us as quilters. We are always learning , though we can aim for perfection, we can never reach it . Beginners especially should not expect perfection on their very first project ,or even on their 2nd , or  3rd  project . Leave the mistakes , accept them, learn from them , say thank you  when complemented , don't point out your mistakes !

2010 Quilt and Needlework Show on Grand Manan by Martha E.

Mark your calendars and plan a trip to the island of Grand Manan, New Brunswick  for the second  Quilt and Needlework show at the Northhead Baptist Vestry on July 2 (1-7pm) and 3 (10am-4pm), 2010.

Martha Minutes by Martha E.

It was great to get back to the group this am! We had a good meeting with quite a few decisions made about the show.....July 2 (1-7pm) and 3 (10am-4pm), 2010, at the North Head Baptist Vestry. At the start of our planning meeting, Pastor Ford extended his thanks to us for our using the vestry, and of course, we returned the thanks. It is wonderful to have such a great venue to meet in every week. As I recall, Wendy F. suggested it way back in the fall of 2007, and we've be so fortunate to be able to use it!

Quilting Tool - by Wendy F.

 I saw first saw this quilting tool in a quilting magazine that Mary Brown had. I came home and looked it up on Amazon.com and decided I would save my gift cards to purchase it.  If anyone else is interested they can let me know, or if anyone has used one perhaps you can let me know how you like it.

   
      

The Original Gypsy Gripper

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THE GYPSY QUILTER-Gypsy Quilter Gripper has a comfortable handle; and 2 large suction cups with hand lock and release levers. Simply press the suction cups to any plastic ruler; then flip the levers to lock in place. Will work with smooth surface rulers that are at least 4in wide; including most rectangles; squares and triangle shapes. Measures: 11-3/8x3-1/2in. Imported.

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

Life on the farm by Wendy F.

This a quilt that I made for a friends little boy, never got a baby quilt done, so this is a toddler quilt. It only took a few hours today to sew it ,planning it on EQ6  seemed to take the longest . Now I have to find a backing , and I will plan to tie it .

8 great quilts from our Feb. 25th meeting. Photos by Dawn L.

                                   

Baby quilts

Last fall I copied a pattern from Dawn Locke and it was the inspiration for these  baby quilts . I have had the tops sewn for awhile now , but this week I finally tied them and have them ready to give as gifts .

 

Adding to My Stash

One of our island residents was selling the last of her fabrics today at our Farmers market. Several of the ladies took advantage of the bargain prices. These are the selections that I chose .

February 18th, 2010

Feb. 18, 2010       Meeting Summary by Martha E.

     Great to see such serious quilters and knitters out today at our meeting. (Thanks to Gladys for the Feb. birthday cake!) It is fascinating to see all the different 16-patch/pinwheels coming together, and to see how everyone's piecing skills are improving! Attached are some photos from today. Next week should be even better!
     Again I would like to encourage anyone interested in attending the Gathering of the Guilds in Sussex at the Fairway Motel April 23-25. It is a really good time, and no requilrements for quilting prowess are necessary. In fact, new quilters would really find some motivation by seeing all the show and tell from other guilds. If you are interested in going, please email me for details, costs,etc.

Beautiful birthday cake by Gladys.       

 












Brenda and her beautiful colors.












 Frieda at work on her pinwheels.




                                                                           

Ellen's 16-patch.

Wendy's pastel 16-patch

Member Background

by Wendy F.

     I made my first quilt in my last year of high school (1976) when I hardly knew what I was doing. It was cut from what was called crimplene (100 % polyester knit).  I used left over fabric from dresses that I had made in high school. It was machine sewn, and machine quilted as well.  I had no knowledge of how to hand quilt at that point. The back was all small blocks as well because I thought that was how I was supposed to make it. It was a really warm quilt.
     My next exposure to quilting came in 1981 when I moved to Swan River Manitoba.  I was part of a ladies mission circle and they gathered on a regular basis to make quilts to raise funds for a Bible Camp. I didn't get any real quilting lessons at the time, but I caught the bug , and started making my own quilts, and still have one of them today.  My first quilting efforts were rather clumsy but over the years I have steadily improved. I have a good selection of quilting books.  My quilts are not what one would call "works of art ", but they are a "labour of love ".  I have given many quilts as gifts to family and friends and they have all been well appreciated.  I have been a member of what used to called "Mayflower hand-quilters of Nova Scotia" (that has been renamed Mayflower Quilters Guild to include the different kind of quilters ) I was also a member of the West Island Quilters Guild when I lived in Montreal.
Since joining Tidal Threads I have learned so much about colour and colour placement. Having members in our group who are expert quilters, but who are most gracious about accepting those who are not has encouraged me to improve my quilting skills and inspired me to go on to complete new projects .

Martha Minutes

16-patch update

Hope everyone has had some time to work on their 16-patch/Pinwheel quilt! We'll be talking about arranging blocks, colour and value, and perhaps even experimenting with some different block arrangements on Thursday. Will also give some tips on sewing the rows and columns together to make the completed top.

I think next week, Feb. 25, we should dedicate an hour or so to planning for our July Quilt Show. We really have to get down to business and determine some areas of responsibility for the show....e.g.: set up of frames/quilts/Sunday School rooms, call for entries, work schedules, food, tickets, and of course our own raffle quilt, which is still sitting in my sewing room. I'm sure I have forgotten some other aspects which we should be thinking about as well. I will contact the KV Guild before Thurs. to inquire about renting their frames again.

16-patch by Wendy F.

I had bought this jelly roll pack of pastels some time ago, and just last week I bought the
blue floral. The ideas started rolling around in my mind and I decided to take a stabat making the workshop quilt. Thought I would post these first few blocks to see what you thought of it .It is funny how things look so different in a picture than they do in person. The lighting is off in the room so I almost think the picture doesn't look as good as it viewing in person.

Scrappy Basket Weave by Wendy F.

Today the group had a work shop for making a scrappy 16-patch. I already had plans to for my 2- inch strips, so I decided to follow through and start on my 'scrappy basket weave quilt.' The first picture is what I had done by noon ( I was working on my tulip quilt part of the morning as well) I was feeling energetic after lunch so I took my CD player and went back over to the church in the afternoon. The second picture shows the additional blocks that I sewed. This quilt is supposed to be on the diagonal so I tried tried to assemble it that way. It will have to be re-arranged so that it comes out on point, and the blocks are not in their final position, I need to make a lot more blocks and there will be a lot more combination's of colour.