Gingerbread Men II

Yesterday, we shared one of our members Gingerbread recipe with you.

Today, I came across this really cute Gingerbread man tree decoration on Elsie Marley's blog . It has instructions to make your own. I thought it was just the cutest thing I've seen especially since our blog post from yesterday was Gingerbread. I just had to share with you.

If you make it, be sure to leave us a message and more importantly, leave a message on Elsie Marley's blog and let her know you've enjoyed her pattern.

Enjoy your holiday and we'll touch base again after Christmas.

Gingerbread Men

It seems like ages since our Christmas Social in November. Life is very busy this time of year - the hustle and bustle of getting everything done in time for Christmas keeps us all busy and the days fly by. Are you still working on a special quilt for someone?
We just thought we would share a few more photos from our Social. Remember the fun and laughter and warmth we shared together that evening? One of the great things about our Guild is all the wonderful people who make up our group. We are very fortunate to have such a great group of gals....


As promised, following is one of the recipes for the Gingerbread Men that were at the place settings at our Christmas Social last month. This is Carol Good's recipe. Many thanks for sharing Carol.

Gingerbread Men

Beat until smooth:
1 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar

Blend into mixture
1/2 cup molasses
1 large egg yolk

Stir together then beat into mixture at slow speed
2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1-1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp allspice

Roll out on a floured board, and cut with your favorite gingerbread man cookie cutter. Use currants for eyes, nose and mouth and buttons. Bake for 8 minutes at 350 degrees.

Merry Christmas everyone!

FQG Christmas Social 2009

The Fredericton Quilters' Guild had their Christmas Social last week. The program committee worked all fall on making this a lovely social event for our members. The gathering room was decorated beautifully, and dimly lit. The tables were decorated with lovely table cloths and candles. Each place was set with a homemade gingerbread man, packaged and tagged for safekeeping.

During the course of our evening, we heard from three of our members who told of their Christmas experiences when they were young. This was very heartwarming, entertaining and informative. Everyone related and thought about the simplicity of Christmases past.

Many members brought in special Christmas decorations from the past and told stories of why they were special.

Joyce told us of her memories of her mother making hundreds of these Christmas Stockings.

LaVerne and Jean brought in the same tree top decoration but their memories were years apart, and very different.

Linda brought one of her many favorite angels that was given to her as a gift from a very close friend.

Of course, we had Show and Tell quilts from our members, which gave us lots of inspiration until we meet again in January.

Again, thanks to the Program Committee and the Social Committee for a very memorable evening.

Watch next week for the fabulous Gingerbread Man recipe from members of our FQG Program Committee and more pictures from Show and Tell.

More Retreat photos

I've heard comments from several people wanting to see more photos from the Retreat. So I'll share a few more with you. Of course there are certain things which just "cannot be revealed"... it's kind of like the ole Vegas rule... "What happens at the Villa, stays at the Villa"...... You just have to be there to really appreciate what goes on.... the fine food, the great conversations, stories and jokes, and the exceptional entertainment. I just could not do justice to the stories of doggie hotpants, someone's new tattoo, or Suzie Snowflake's dance..... We're all sworn to secrecy.

But I can show you some more happy faces and a few more projects. Linda G was with us for the first time. It was great to have her along and we enjoyed watching her quilt grow, row by row.... It's called "Weaver Fever".

It was great having Geraldine join us again; she is an associate member and we sure miss seeing her on a regular basis. She worked on a Snowman wallhanging, among other things...

Sally is one of those quiet types - you would hardly know she was there, quiet as a little mouse in the corner... she was working diligently on a design using Bali Pops jelly rolls called "Hot Flashes" from the book Strip Therapy by Brenda Henning. Sally is on the right, being helped by Jean on the left.


Carole is another quiet one, working away at producing beautiful things. This pinwheel lap quilt is from an Easy Quilts magazine, by Fons and Porter.

Shown here is the lucky winner of our wonderful gift basket. No Jackie, that is not a new winter hat, it's a tea cozy.... The gift basket contained such goodies as patterns, magazines, notions and "quilty" giftware. Congrats Jackie!

This blog can serve another useful purpose - that of helping our members get to know each other. To that end- here are a few more happy faces from Retreat - perhaps there is someone here you don't know and now you'll be able to put a face to the name... Special thanks to Kathy Feltmate for sharing her wonderful photos with me, and allowing me to use them here...

Committee members Jean S, LaVerne D and Cathy W

Jean K

Doris M
Gwenda M and Barb C
Deanna M Monica W Jane S


We are so lucky that the Villa has such a wonderful staff, who make our stay there so enjoyable. (They told us they look forward to our Retreat each year because there is so much laughter! Imagine!) Thanks Dianne, Gail, Kirk, AnneMarie and Debbie.
And thanks again to all Committe members for their hard work, and - thanks to all attendees for all the fun! Without you, it would not happen!

Retreat...what a treat!

Our Guild Retreat is over for another year. Its hard to believe this was our seventh one! And each one seems to be better than the last. Every year the Committee look at one another, when all is said and done, and we always say the same thing: "This was the best one yet!"

We have a very congenial group, and most of us go for the same reason- to relax and enjoy time spent with our like-minded friends. We forget about the outside world and just immerse ourselves in our projects. We sew from morning till night- some start well before breakfast, and others are still there at their machines well after midnight. In fact if you wake in the middle of the night and cannot get back to sleep, you may as well head down to the sewing room and you'll likely not be there alone! The food is wonderful and we enjoy 3 meals and 3 snacks a day- and best of all- we don't have to prepare it or do dishes!!

Our optimum number is around 30, for a nice cozy "fit" in one large room. This year we had 32 attendees. Everyone has their own table and it is just amazing the amount of work that gets done. It's fun to walk around the room to see what everyone is working on. There is always a great variety of projects- from hand applique and paper-piecing to quilt-as-you-go, I Spy quilts and, well, you name it- it is there. There were batiks, flannels, plaids, and scraps. There was everything from baby quilts and lap quilts to king sized bed quilts. There were Christmas projects, kitted projects, UFO's and projects just begun. There were jelly rolls, charm packs and layer cakes. But most of all there was laughter. They say "laughter is the best medicine"..well if that is true, we must all have come home very healthy and no doubt we've all added a few years to our lives, because more than anything, we LAUGHED!! We are so fortunate to have several in our midst who have the wonderful talent of making others laugh. With Willa's costumed antics, Helen's stories and Marg's poetry, we were well entertained. We are blessed to have members who are so willing to share their gifts of humour with us.... We even had our own private nurse to give us all our H1N1 "vaxine" shots.... for the cost of one fat quarter!

Some worked on original designs; others worked with colors, fabrics or techniques that were outside their comfort zone. Others worked with their favourite colors or fabrics. But no matter what the project, we all enjoyed being there together, sharing our common love of quilting. Can't wait for next year!!

Looking for a new machine?

Diane Ramsey has a Bernina for sale, computerized model 153 QE (Quilter's Edition). It was purchased new 5 years ago and treated with TLC since. Includes all feet, all accessories, both small and large quilting extension tables, carrying case, 165 page workbook/manual, and video. Price $1500.00. Contact Diane at 455-4379 or by email at dianeramsey@arbourbrook.ca SOLD!!

What a Show!

Karen Henry put on an incredible show for us on Tuesday night. Those of you who were absent,
and there were many, really missed something! I must say I was very disappointed in the turnout of FQG members. It was almost embarassing. When we bring in someone of Karen's calibre, one would think the place would be packed. All I can say is it's a good thing we invited other Guilds to join us, and thank goodness they came!!!

The Committe worked really hard to make this wonderful extended weekend happen, to see that all ran smoothly and we owe them a big Thank You - in particular Wendy McLean, a fairly new member who jumped in full of enthusiasm, and worked her tail off all weekend to look after every tiny detail, for the workshops AND the Trunk Show. Gail Butts kindly opened her beautiful home to us for the final workshop. A big Thank You to Wendy, Gail B and Gail Mitchell who was out of town but worked hard on this since last spring to bring it all together.

Karen is an energetic and enthusiastic quilter and teacher. She is happy to share her skills and talents with others and her easy going manner makes her a joy to be with. Her classes were fun and stress free, and the skills learned can easily be transferred to other projects and applications. A student could not ask for more.....

The photos here are some of my favourites of those shown on Tuesday evening. The top photo is of "My Father's Dahlias", one of Karen's favourites. The second piece is called "Spiced Clematis" and is done in the style of Jane Sassaman, a well known American quilt artist. The third quilt is titled
"Portrait of Felix Feneon" from an 1880 painting by Paul Signac. Karen used sequins and beads as well as fabric , thread and quilting to reflect the pointillist style; the face is hand-painted in dots and the hair is done in the confetti applique technique. Below is one quilt from Karen's current series of tree quilts; it is titled "On Poor's Farm Road". Below that is "Honu" - a quilt depicting a magical encounter with sea turtles while snorkelling in Kane Ohe Bay in Hawaii. The final quilt is called "Heavenly Bodies, You and I?" It was made for a Guild Challenge in 2007 and was also on hand at Quilt Canada 2008 in St. John's. I've heard many visiting quilters enjoyed posing with their faces through the openings, even our own Val and Lois..... (below you'll see Linda G. and Wendy M. "modelling"). Don't you love a quilt with humour?

Please visit Karen's website here to see more of her work. I have several other photos on my blog here as well.


Thanks so much Karen. We sure enjoyed having you !

Oct. 20th Trunk Show... Reminders...

The days are flying by as quickly as the leaves are falling... Next Tuesday Oct. 20th is FQG meeting night! Remember, we are not at our usual location. Instead we'll be treated to a wonderful show of work by award-winning Karen Henry, CQA's 2008 Teacher of the Year. Karen is travelling from Dartmouth to spend a few days teaching workshops for us. Karen's Trunk Show will be held in the Auditorium of Marshall D'Avray Hall (Educaton building) at UNB. Start time is 7:30 p.m. and admision is $2.00. Come and bring a friend or two...

Raffle tickets will be available for purchase on the "Colours of Recovery " quilt for Kofi Ampong- see a photo below in previous post. We heard Kofi's story at our September meeting and I'm sure many of you will want to support this worthy cause- just picture that beautiful quilt on YOUR bed!!

We are hoping that Tuesday's weather will co-operate and Mary Brown (our member who travels the furthest!) will be able to join us from Grand Manan. She will be bringing the raffle quilt "Let It Shine" made by the Tidal Threads Guild of Grand Manan. (Many of you will remember donating strips of blue fabrics in response to Mary's plea last year.) This is your chance to see the results- and you won't be disappoonted! This quilt won a Red Ribbon at the KV Guild Show last month and it is a beauty! It is machine pieced, hand appliqued, embroidered and hand quilted (twice, no less!) by the Tidal Threads Guild who are just in their second year. The centre medallion features Grand Manan's Swallowtail Lighthouse which turns 150 years old next year. The Guild has donated this quilt to the Action Ministries group, to be raffled in support of their work with the Food Bank and other Island projects. Mary hopes to have some tickets with her, $2.00 each or 3 for $5.00.

There will be a small Show and Tell by our own members after the Trunk Show so bring along any recent projects, especially if you will not have them for our Nov. Meeting. Those attending the November Retreat, please attend a short meeting before the Trunk Show in Room 143 of Marshall D'Avray Hall. And lastly, Jane Gunn has new nametags ready for pickup. If you have not yet paid for yours, exact change ($6.75) will make Jane's job much easier.. thanks. (Nametags can still be ordered too, it's not too late!) See you all on Tuesday night!

Raffle Quilt for Kofi

The queen sized quilt pictured here is "Colours of Recovery " and measures 95" by 111". Wouldn't it look great on YOUR bed? It could be yours! It was made by the "Friends of Kofi" otherwise known as The Women of the Cloth. This group is comprised of five FQG members : Gail Butts, Jean Ketch, Deanna McAllister, Cathy White and Marg Wood. They have made this quilt to raffle, in hopes of providing Kofi Ampong with some much needed financial help. Here is the story:

Kofi Ampong is a young man from London England, originally from Ghana, who was invited to do a degree on full scholarship from St. Thomas University. He completed his degree in Economics while maintaining his full scholarship, as well as being on the Student Council.
After graduation he moved to Moncton. He was accepted into University in Philadelphia to do his Masters degree, but postponed it for a year to start work and get some "real life experience" in the banking industry.
Unfortunately, while in Moncton he was attacked, pepper sprayed and stabbed repeatedly in the neck and chest, by a group of young men, an unprovoked attack. His spinal cord was partially severed leaving him without the use of his legs and only partial use of his right hand.
He was in the Moncton City Hospital for 9 months and then the Stan Cassidy Rehabilitation Center for 2 months. This month he will be moving into an assisted living center in Moncton.
Because his immigration status was still in progress, any financial support he has received has been hard won.
His dream is to get to China where he would be able to have stem cell injections to regenerate the growth of the nerves in his spinal cord to regain his mobility.
The proceeds of this "Colours of Recovery" quilt raffle will be used by Kofi for some of his day to day personal expenses, as well as a portion of the monies raised going towards fulfilling his dream.
More information can be obtained from Kofi's website at http://www.donatetocure.com/
Raffle tickets on this stunning quilt will be on sale at our October meeting for $2.00 each or 3 for $5.00. I'm sure we will all want to support this worthy cause and help Kofi fulfill his dream of mobility.
God bless you Kofi!

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Show and Tell...

Gail and I are slowly working away at changes and additions to this Blog. Thanks for being patient with us and our busy schedules!

Our newest addition "in the works" is a "Show and Tell Gallery" on the sidebar which will feature our members work. Our plan is to change the photo you see there, every few days. When it is changed, the previous one will go into the Gallery. So as the year progresses, the Gallery will grow and you will be able to "review" all the wonderful projects you have seen during Show and Tell at our monthly meetings. We think this will be a wonderful resource. I don't know about you, but I often forget who made what, or just what did that border look like..I remember I liked it, but can't recall just how it was done... etc. So this will be an easy way to go back and have a longer look at what you only perhaps got a fleeting glance of, at the meeting.

We are still pondering how we can get good pics at our meetings with minimum fuss and "without holding up the line", so to speak... We are thinking of possibly setting up our telescopic rack at the back or side of room somewhere, and using it to help us get good straight photos. We would like to include the maker in the photo as well- at least your face, so this would become another easy way to "get to know each other". Let us know what you think... and watch for the new Gallery...Coming Soon...

Oct. 1 reminders

It's October 1st. Summer is behind us and Fall is definitely in the air. No doubt like me, you are looking forward to spending the coming cooler days snuggled up to your sewing machine. Just thought I would remind you that you can now order your Trend Tex Challenge kits for the 2010 Challenge. This year's theme is "The Sky's the Limit" and you can have a preview of the fabrics if you wish, by clicking here. Kits are $20.00 and are available from Kathy Strawson, Vice President CQA/ACC, 14312 106B Ave., Edmonton, AB T5N 1E9

If you are not familiar with this Challenge, here's how it works, briefly: You purchase the kit which contains one fat quarter each of 5 different fabrics. All 5 fabrics must be visible on the front of the wall quilt, and you may add up to 3 others of your own choice. Perimeter of the finished piece must not exceed 120", there is no minimum size restriction. Design may be original or traditional, and any combination of hand and/or machine piecing, applique or quilting is permitted. Further guidelines and entry deadlines can be found in the Autumn issue of The Canadian Quilter, or click here.

CQA/ACCC hopes you will return your piece to them to be included in the Auction. All pieces will be displayed at the Quilt Canada Conference in Calgary, and will then be sold by Silent Auction on May 1st. Visit the CQA/ACC website here to see some entries from previous years.

October 1st is also the opening day for Registration for Quilt Canada 2010 in Calgary, if you are a CQA/ACC member. (Non-members can register beginning November 2, 2009.) Info on the conference is available here, and more info will be added to the CQA/ACC website in the coming months. This annual conference provides quilters from across Canada with an opportunity to see the best in quilts and wearable art from across Canada (13 Shows all under the same roof!), take workshops with a wonderful variety of Canadian and International teachers, shop the largest Merchant Mall yet (86 merchants!), enjoy lectures and other evening events, take advantage of local tours to Banff and Lake Louise, the Badlands, and/or the City of Calgary and Canada Olympic Park, not to mention the fun of meeting old and new friends alike. The conference is being held in the Calgary Telus Convention Center and the official conference hotel is the Hyatt Regency - all connected under one roof. If the weather is bad, you need never set foot outside. I hope to see some of you there...

Sad news

We are saddened to hear that member Sadie Miller has lost her beloved husband Reg. After a period of declining health, Reg passed away on Friday, Sept. 25th. Sadie, we all send you our loving thoughts and heartfelt sympathies. We are sharing in your sorrow and praying for your comfort...

Also, former FQG member Clara Allen passed away in her sleep on Friday night. Clara was recently diagnosed with ALS. She was an energetic and keen member, taking part in many workshops and Retreats, and also served on the Workshop Committee. We will miss her smile and fun-loving spirit. Our deepest sympathies go out to her family, including her sister Joyce Rice.


"Sometimes it seems the sun goes down too soon."

Karen Henry Workshops in Fredericton - Oct 17, 18, 19

The Fredericton Quilters Guild is pleased to have CQA's Teacher of the Year, Karen Henry, come to Fredericton to deliver 3 of her workshops. There are places left in each of these workshops and we invite any quilter to register to take one of these classes. If you have questions or to register, please contact Wendy McLean at 506-209-9422.

Woven Quilts – Saturday – October 17th – - $40.00 - Beginner + (know how to use rotary cutter & mat)

Celebrate the weaving of two or more different materials to create a distinctive piece of fabric. There will be a discussion of the variety of materials that can be used to work the fabric, how fabrics of various patterns can create movement, and how different values can accent your focal point. Students will select the technique they wish to do and create a small wall hanging in this one-day workshop.
(The squirrel and shoe are not part of the workshop)

Pet Portraits – Sunday – October 18th. $40.00

Take a photograph of your favorite pet and transform it into fabric using fusible web products and your sharp scissors. Add a little bit of character to the wall hanging by including the pet’s toys or hobbies. This is a small project designed for those students who have experience free motion quilting.

Delightful Dragonflies Monday – October 19th. -- $40.00 + kit fee

This class offers the intermediate quilter an opportunity to work on tulle and/or organza. Students will work with water-soluble stabilizer, raw edge appliqué, machine appliqué and wooly embellishments. Students have the option of quilting the entire project, or just the borders. Built in embroidery pattern ‘Dragonflies’ from the Pfaff Creative Vision machine included in project. Kit Fee of $5.00. No embroidery machine is required!

Upcoming Events to note...

Since our meeting, we have received notice of several events we should draw your attention to:

The first is a Quilt Show being held in Hampton NB on Oct. 10, 2009 from 10 a.m. till 4 p.m. It is being held at the Hampton Senior Resource Center on DeMille Court. There will be quilts, antique quilts, demos of quilting by seniors, cro-hooking, spinning, rug-hooking and swedish weaving. Admission is $6.00 which includes lunch, and tea or coffee. Further info can be obtained by calling Anna Young at 832-5056. Please note this is not a guild show but a show by local seniors.

The second event takes place on Oct. 17 in Fredericton at the Charlotte Street Arts Centre, 732 Charlotte St. It is the Tammachat Natural Textiles Fair Trade Gift Show and Sale. Support sustainable communities and rural women with your purchase of fairly traded gifts: eco-fashions for you and your home- silks and cottons hand-woven and naturally dyed by women artisans of Thailand and Laos. At 1p.m., there will be a free slideshow/talk titled "Social Fabric" which will introduce you to some of the highly skilled artisans and how they create these special textiles. . For more info go to www.tammachat.com or call 1-902-624-0427.

We also have received info on two Retreats being held in Nova Scotia. The Ocean Waves Quilt Society of Cape Breton is holding "Retreat at the Keltic" May 21-23, 2010 at Keltic Lodge, Ingonish, Cape Breton. Spaces are available. Teachers will be Hilary Rice of NL, Deb Plestid, Susan Tilsley Manley and Anne Morrell Robinson, all of NS. Contact Linda Hubbard at hubbard2@nbnet.nb.ca for more info or to have a brochure/registration form emailed to you.

The Northumberland Quilters' Guild of Pictou NS are planning a weekend Retreat at Liscombe Lodge for Oct. 15-17. 2010. After Nov.1, 2009, they will open it up to non-members. There is a choice of a one day Intermediate Sampler class, taught by Martha Davidson of Moncton, or 3 half day classes : a design and color challenge, a mystery quilt or a French Braid table runner. Again, further info or brochure available from Linda Hubbard.

Sept. meeting - Off to a great start!

What a great first meeting we had this past Tuesday evening. We were so fortunate to have with us the "Divine Stitchers of the Yo-Yo Sistahood" from Moncton. They really showed us how good it is to push yourself to try something new that's out of your usual "comfort zone". These gals are all members of the Greater Moncton Quilters' Guild, and feeling they needed a little "more" in their "quilty lives", formed this group to challenge themselves creatively. In the spring of 2007, they decided to join together and challenge themselves to "work outside their comfort zones" and "think outside the box". Their first project, called "Slice" was inspired by a painting by Newfoundland artist Virginia Houston, above, titled "A Kings Road Morning". After receiving copyright permission, they made a color copy of her painting and vertically divided it into 9 equal slices. After a random draw for the slices, and establishing some guidelines, they headed off to each repeat their slice in fabric. Here you see the finished results- the slices were not sewn together but are mounted on a "backing board". For their very first project together, I think the results are most impressive! We could see right away- this is one talented group of ladies!

Other projects and techniques explored include Journal quilts, paper quilts, artist trading cards (ATC's), trapunto, family trees and postcards. Above is Margaret (on right) showing her "journal" quilt- she included many old pieces of crochet and lace that her Mother had made, and Juanita shows her beautiful Trapunto work. "Sista Wany" took a lot of ribbing from her sistas that she got a little carried away and tried to trapunto everything she could get her hands on, for a while! She certainly turned some yard sale finds into beautiful pieces! (You can click on the photos for a closer look).

Another group project was "Let Me Introduce Myself": each member was to represent themselves in fabric. They were given prechosen fabric and a random pattern shape and were to create a self portrait incorporating 5 words to describe themselves. We had great fun trying to guess who was who. (They are identified on the back with real photos) I guess now would be a good time to tell you who these ladies are! Left to right on the piece are: Jennifer Vienneau, Betty Rice, Margaret Sawyer, Juanita Allain, Carolyn Mitton, Shirley Baillieul, Sue Berube and Nancy Elaschuk. Of course, we enjoyed hearing their "Sista" names as well : names like Sista Divinity (for the fudge, she SAID), Sista Futility, Sista Procrastinator and so on. These fiber artists clearly have lots of fun together!! We certainly enjoyed their humour!
Can you believe I did not get a good photo of the entire group? Now how stupid was that? Here are six of the Sistas, showing us their tree projects. Missing are Jennifer and Juanita. Sorry Sista Divinity and Sista Wany! L. to R. are Nancy, Shirley, Sue, Betty, Carolyn and Margaret, and Juanita's arm! How many of you figured out which Sistas are actually sisters? The answer is.....Nancy and Shirley are sisters (and sisters to Susan Dobson of FQG as well). Their most recent group project was unveiled at our meeting - it is called "Where the Wild Things Are." Again, some common fabrics were used and each participant was to depict an aspect of nature while hiding a "wild thing" somewhere on their piece - some were easy to spot and some were well hidden!

One thing for sure- the talent in this group is not hidden- it's very evident that these gals are very skilled and enjoy pursuing creative techniques to stretch their talents even further. We are so glad they came to FQG and shared their love of contemporary quilting with us. Thanks Yo-Yo Sistas!

Special thanks to Sue Berube for the use of her lovely Nikon camera, for sharing the photos with us and also thanks for providing me with info for this post.