Exciting News and Amazing Photos!

We have some exciting news! THREE of our FQG members have had pieces accepted into CQA's 2012 National Juried Show!! CONGRATS girls! We do not want to compromise the judging by identifying anyone here, or showing their work, so you'll have to come to the April meeting to see who they are. Hopefully they will all share their pieces as well. So - there's yet another reason to head to Halifax for Quilt Canada!

It's not too late to pass in Catch of the Day bags and fat quarters for the Quilt Canada conference. I will be sending them back to Halifax with my daughter on April 19th, so get them to me by then to be included. A big Thanks to all who have already contributed!

No doubt like me,  you are happy to see the end of winter, snow and cold weather. But have a look at these "winter quilts" - WOW!! This "quilter" really has a lot of patience and energy!!

Man Walks All Day to Create Spectacular Snow Patterns  Artist Simon Beck must really love the cold weather! Along the frozen lakes of Savoie, France, he spends days plodding through the snow in raquettes (snowshoes), creating these sensational patterns of snow art. Working for 5-9 hours a day, each final piece is typically the size of three soccer fields! The geometric forms range in mathematical patterns and shapes that create stunning, sometimes 3D, designs when viewed from higher levels.  How long these magnificent geometric forms survive is completely dependent on the weather. Beck designs and redesigns the patterns as new snow falls, sometimes unable to finish a piece due to significant overnight accumulations. Interestingly enough, he said, 'The main reason for making them was because I can no longer run properly due to problems with my feet, so plodding about on level snow is the least painful way of getting exercise. Gradually, the reason has become photographing them, and I am considering buying a better camera.” Spectacular art for the sake of exercise!  Now... aren't you inspired???

Kings Landing Quilts! Wow!

How lucky we were on Tuesday night to have Lois MacDonald come to speak to us about the quilts of Kings Landing. She brought a wonderful selection of original quilts, and a few reproductions as well (one could hardly tell the difference!) Lois has been on staff at the Landing for many years (lucky them!) and her love and knowledge of  "all things textile" was very evident. Hearing how KL acquires "vintage" pieces such as quilts, furniture, etc. was most interesting. We heard of  New Brunswick families like the Ganongs who have generously donated numerous items, quilts and
otherwise to KL. Our thanks to Lois for a very enjoyable and most informative program. Those of you who were absent really missed out, but we will be taking names at the April meeting for those who would be interested in visiting Kings Landing this summer for a tour of the Collection Center where these quilts "live".  We could car-pool, the tour would probably be several hours, and if there is sufficient interest, we could even combine it with lunch at the Kings Head Inn. So give it some thought. If you will not be in attendance at the April meeting, leave a comment here to indicate your interest, or get in touch with me, Linda H.

Meeting Reminder

  Just a quick reminder - tomorrow night is our March meeting night. Guest speaker will be Lois MacDonald from Kings Landing. She will be sharing with us some of the wonderful quilts in Kings Landing's collection. Lois is very knowledgeable about "all things textile" at the Landing - quilts, hooked mats, woven coverlets, not to mention the staff costumes. It's bound to be a great program- you won't want to miss it!


 Spots are still available for our last two workshops of the year - this Saturday, March 24th with Barb Cross for a quilted bag and Saturday April 21st with Sue Robertson for the Little Twister block and a choice of several projects. Registrations will be taken at the meeting. Why not join in the fun?


 We will be collecting Catch of the Day bags for Quilt Canada 2012, as well as the Fat Quarter donations. If you miss this meeting, these items can be dropped off to Linda Hubbard by the end of this month. They will be shipped off to N.S. on April 2nd.

 Have you made plans yet to attend QC 2012? If you'd like to go, but don't want to drive to Halifax, you might be interested in the following info:  Barb Elliott of Cotton Mill QG is looking into planning a Bus Trip. If you would be interested in a 2 day, 1 night trip to Halifax by bus, please get in touch with Barb ASAP at ellibar@hotmail.com   At this point she is just gathering names of interested persons, to see if there is sufficient interest. (She needs a minimum of 30 people). Once she has enough to go ahead with planning, more details and a cost will be available. Payment will likely be required by end of April.

Hope to see you tomorrow night. Don't forget your Show and Tell items, your mug, and any finished items for our UFO Challenge.

There's still room for you...

Just wanted to let you know- there are still a few spaces open in the workshop for this Saturday, March 10. This will be the Scrap quilt workshop which was rescheduled from Feb. 25. You can do a lap quilt (or larger) or do  a small project like a table centre, tablerunner, tote bag or whatever. It can be done scrappy or not - it would look lovely with "planned" fabrics as well. The block is simple, made of four units, which are made two at a time. There are several easy variations, pictured below. If you are a member of another local area Guild and you would like to join us, we'd be happy to have you. Just leave a comment here with your name and a phone # or email.

 Also, if you are thinking of joining us for the workday next Thursday, March 15 to make  Catch of  the Day bags, please let us know. We haven't heard from many yet. (See the previous post below for details).

 There are still spaces open for the March workshop as well - March 24th with delightful Barb Cross to make a beautiful handbag/clutch purse. Please let us know asap if you would like to sign up for this class, as there are currently not enough for it to run.

If you are travelling stateside, you might be interested to know about a quilt show coming up next weekend in NY state- Sackets Harbour lies on the eastern end of Lake Ontario. The 2012 Great Lakes Seaway Trail Quilt Show will be held March 17 and 18, 10a.m. - 5p.m., in the Seaway Trail Discovery Center in Sackets Harbour NY.  Quilting heritage speaker Shirley Robinson, a fifth generation quilter and teacher will speak at 12noon and 3pm on Sunday on the third floor of the Seaway Trail Discovery Center, one of three early 19th-century venues for the show that features 1812 period-correct newly-made quilts. In one of two presentations, Robinson, of Canastota, NY, will appear in costume to present her program entitled “Quilts of the Nations.” She will portray a woman born in the late 18th century as she traces the development of American quilting from colonial days to the mid-19th century at the 12 noon and 3pm presentations.
 For more information, visit www.seawaytrail.com/quilting or call 315-646-1000.