This and That...

Last Saturday was the final workshop for this year. Monica W led a group through all the ins and outs of the Storm at Sea. Everyone enjoyed the day of sewing and camaraderie. Thanks Monica for a great day! We'll all look forward to seeing everyone's Storm at Sea quilts!

 Thanks to Susan D for the lovely photo of Monica with her Storm at Sea quilt.

 There are a few "events" coming up in the next few weeks - Quilt Shows next weekend in Saint John and Woodstock,  a Quilters' Bazaar in Moncton on May 8th and then a Quilt Show and Tea in Sackville on Sat. May 11th. See all the details on the sidebar. It's time to gather up a few buddies and hit the road to support our quilting "sisters" around the province!

To get you "in the mood" for the upcoming spring Shows, here are a few links for you to check out. First for all the Dear Jane lovers out there, there will be an exhibit of Dear Jane quilts from around the world, in Nantes France this weekend. Check it out here. The exhibit celebrates the 150th anniversary of the original Dear Jane quilt, made by Jane Stickle.

And below you can see the winners from the recent AQS Show in Lancaster PA. WOW! Talk about inspiring! Wouldn't it be wonderful to attend this show! This week is the big AQS Show in Paducah. I will add a link to view the winning quilts as soon as I see it online..





I hope you all are busily finishing up your Challenge pieces for our May meeting.. the deadline approaches...  Next up - I'll share some photos with you from our wonderful visit on Tuesday with Sussex Vale Quilters Guild. 

Fabric SALE!!

Who doesn't LOVE a fabric sale!? Diane at Country Crafts and Curtains, 334 York Street, is clearing out fabrics to make room for new! ALL fabrics are on sale for $7.98 a yard- even the 30 new bolts which have just arrived!! Balis that were $8.98 are now $5.98!! How great is that?!! So drop by soon and help Diane clear her shelves to make room for new fabrics! Note: due to illness in her family, she will likely only be in the shop 9a.m. to 1p.m. each day for a while...

Take Note of these dates...

I hope you have given some serious thought to visiting the Sussex Vale Quilters' Guild along with other FQG members on Tuesday April 23rd. At last year's Gathering of the Guilds, all the Quilters' Guilds in the province were paired up with a "sister" guild, and we were paired with Sussex Guild. They have invited us for a day of fun (quilts to see, food to eat and strip poker to play!!) The get-together will be held at the United Church Hall in Sussex Corner from 10a.m.- 3p.m. Please plan to bring along some Show and Tell, and if you wish to join in the Strip Poker fun, bring three strips of quilters' cottons, 2.5" wide by 42" (width of fabric). Of course they need to know numbers to facilitate their planning so you must let Lois Mehan know by Monday noon, April 8th if you plan to attend. You should have received an email with her contact info, this evening. We encourage you to car-pool, so let Lois know if you have room in your vehicle for others, or if you need a ride.

Keswick Ridge Quilters have several spots open in an upcoming workshop that may interest you. Susan Tilsley Manley will be teaching her two day "Making Faces" class on May 4th and 5th at the Riverside Resort at Mactaquac. If you missed this class when she did it for us several years ago, here's your chance to catch it now! Susan is a wonderful teacher, warm, patient and encouraging.  Her method of making a fabric portrait is not difficult at all - if you can hold a pencil and trace a line, you can do it. The photo here is a self-portrait of Susan and if you stand back a few feet from your screen, you will see just how amazing it is! If you are interested contact Darcy asap at home at 206-0518 for further info.

We have received notice from the Greater Moncton Quilters' Guild that they are holding a Quilters Bazaar and we are invited! It will take place on Wed. May 8th at the Club d'Age d'Or , 478 Elmwood Drive, Moncton between 11a.m. and 4p.m. There will be fabric, notions, magazines, sewing machines (and no doubt other things of interest to all quilters) for sale. Demos, refreshments and chats with like-minded folks... what more could one want, to celebrate National Quilt Month?!

We have a new Quilt Shop coming to town!! JoAnne at the Christmas Crab Quiltery in Woodstock is going to open a second shop -  in New Maryland. Current plans are for it to be open three days a week - Thursday and Friday (9-8) and Saturday (9-3), with a projected opening date of Thursday May 9th. The location is 572 New Maryland Highway. JoAnne plans to have top quality fabrics and supplies for quilting, kits, free demos, classes and lots of fun. For further info you can contact her at 506-328-6018 or email joquilt@bellaliant.com

Virtual Marketplace Now Open!

 The Virtual Marketplace is now open! This year's CQA/ACC conference is in Penticton BC- quite a distance for us here on the east coast, but whether you plan to attend or not, you can still celebrate Quilt BC 2013 by visiting and shopping at the Virtual Marketplace! It is your opportunity to shop online and get some great deals.
 Sponsors of the conference, merchant mall vendors, CQA/ACC member shops and quilt professionals will offer merchandise at wonderful prices.  Currently, there are 20 vendors involved across Canada.  You can use the coupon to complete your purchase in-store or on-line.  The site is open to everyone, members and non-members.  From April 1st and every day until June 30th, you can visit the Virtual Marketplace

edVentures 2013

Summer will soon be here and it's time to think about how you're going to fill your summer days. Have you considered an edVentures class?  Kathy Tidswell is offering a 2 day class in Thread Painting on July 13 and 14. She is also welcoming any previous students who would like to work on their own projects while having access to her supervision. (What a great opportunity if you have a UFO from one of Kathy's classes!) There is a 15% discount for anyone registering before May 31st.
Registration is by calling 1 888 850 1333 or at www.edVentures.ca.  For more information see www.kathytidswell.com or contact Kathy at kathy@kathytidswell.com.

If you have not yet been to the Charlotte Street Arts Centre (732 Charlotte St.) to see Kathy's pieces in the show Avian Moments, you only have a few more weeks to make your way there. The show is open until April 15th.  See March 8th post below for more info on Avian Moments..

March program on Precuts.

What a great program we had at our March meeting! We learned all about precuts- how they started and what we can do with them, not to mention a "whole new language". Who knew- candy and honeybuns, layer cakes and jelly rolls, dessert rolls and turnovers - they're NOT just found in bakeries anymore!! There are some copies left of the Precuts handout which was given out to all in attendance, extra copies will be available at the next meeting for those who missed it in March.
Here are a few tips that were passed on during the program:



 1. Some precuts (like charm packs) have pinked edges. Your 1/4" seam should be measured from the outer tips of the pinked edge. If it bothers you, it can be trimmed off to give a straight edge, but then you will be working with a slightly smaller piece, of course. If adding a piece with a pinked edge to a piece with a straight edge, the tips of the pinked edge should align with the straight edge.  2. It is always suggested that precuts should not be washed before use. This may distort the size and shape of the piece. If you are worried about bleeding, toss a Color Catcher or two in with the quilt the first time it is washed. This should take care of any color/dye that is released.  3. Bali Pops by Hoffman are not laser cut (as most precuts are) but hand-cut in Bali. Therefore there are slight variations in the 2.5" width of the strips. Click here for a  great tip for dealing with this variance.

We enjoyed some "extra Show and Tell" (always
the best part!!) during the program too -  lots of quilts made with jelly rolls, layer cakes and charm packs. The photos on this post are just some of the lovely examples we saw. Thanks again to all who participated and brought in quilts for the program!!
Here are a few tips that were passed on. Some precuts (like charm packs) have pinked edges. You 1/4" seam should be measured fromteh tips of thepinked edge. If it bothers you , it can be trimmed off to give a straight edge

A few reminders, resulting from the meeting: First, a big Thank You to all who took patterns and backings to do one or more adult bibs and co-ordinating placemats for our commitment to White Rapids Nursing Home. These must be returned at the April meeting so if you cannot be there, please get your bib and placemat to someone else who can return it for you! Placemats should be approx. 12" x 16". The rubber bib backings should be color side OUT on the back, and please add velcro at the top for closure..
Our "Sister Guild" - Sussex Vale QG has invited us to visit them on Tuesday April 23 - this is the Tuesday following our April meeting. There is no limit on how many may attend as their venue (church hall) is large. We must tell them by Mon. noon  April 8th how many will be attending so check your calendars and give this some thought. At the last Gathering of the Guilds (2012) all the guilds in NB were "paired up" with a "sister guild" and encouraged to get together to foster sharing and communication between the guilds, so this is our first get-together; we will reciprocate by hosting them next October. Plans are currently underway for that event. If you would like to join the planning committee, let us know!
Lastly, if you are renewing your CQA/ACC membership this month, or planning to join as a new member, please remember to add our Guild name at the bottom of the form. This puts our Guild into a draw for a $50.00 donation from CQA to our Guild library. This offer is just for March so you've only got a few days left...

Meeting Reminder...

Our March meeting is tomorrow night, March 19th. Hope to see you there! We have put together a great program for you on Precuts. Come prepared to learn lots of new terms and useful things plus many great ideas for using precuts in your quilting projects. We will have lots of quilts to show  made from precuts, particularly Jelly Rolls. If you think Jelly Rolls, Honey Buns, Layer Cakes and Turnovers are only found in the kitchen, you will learn a lot from this program!

Our weather forecast is telling us we'll have snow tomorrow, but I'm hoping it will NOT interfere with our meeting. Our roads are bare right now, and the snow is not supposed to start until evening so I'm hoping you will come out and join us for a great meeting. If it does start earlier, check here for an update re. cancellation....

Synthrapol to the Rescue!

At last month's meeting, Sue R. suggested that we all should have Synthrapol in our laundry room supplies. Synthrapol is known as a "surfactant" or a concentrated "wetting agent". It is used by those who hand-dye fabric to remove any excess dye after the dyeing process. Quilters also use it to remove color (dye) that has bled into an adjacent fabric in a quilt.
Sue showed us this small red and white quilt that she made a number of years ago and now uses as a table runner. The red fabric had been washed before the quilt was made. Recently, after adding water to a vase of flowers that sat on the runner, she later noticed a small area that was damp and the red color had bled into the white. After washing with synthrapol the "bleed" was gone. Yay! Synthrapol to the rescue! It DOES work! It is very concentrated, so you use a very small amount. Follow the directions on the bottle carefully.
Another product we should all have on hand is Retayne. It is a color fixative and many quilters use it to pre-wash all their fabric. It is also very concentrated and you use a small amount. Read and follow the directions carefully. Most quilt shops carry these two products. Country Crafts and Curtains on York St. is trying to bring it in- I will let you know when it is in stock.



Tomorrow March 16th is International Quilting Day. I hope you are doing something special to celebrate such an important day!! Maybe you will start a new project! Or finish one! Maybe you are working on your "Out of the Box Challenge" piece (deadline of May meeting is getting closer!).. Or perhaps you'll treat yourself to some new fabric, or a new quilting book or magazine.. Whatever you do, celebrate the day!!




Alex Anderson and Ricky Tims, hosts of The Quilt Show, want quilters, sewers and crafters to help them celebrate  International Quilting Day by seeing what's going on in today's quilting world. They are opening up free access to over 140 of their shows from their www.thequiltshow.com websites beginning Friday March 15 through Sunday March 17. There will be lots of terrific prizes from companies like Bernina, Gammill, Superior Threads, C&T Publishing, and more!  You'd better hurry over and check it out...

"Avian Moments" Now Open

 “AVIAN MOMENTS” DRAWS A FLOCK TO THE CHARLOTTE GLENCROSS GALLERY

Fredericton, NB—The Charlotte Glencross Gallery will seem to come alive with the sounds of bird call when the group exhibition, Avian Moments, opens on Friday, March 8^th, 2013. This three-person show will feature two- and three-dimensional works, including thread paintings, woodcarvings and photographs all on the theme of our feathered friends, by New Brunswick artists Kathy Tidswell, Brian Dykeman and Roger Smith.

Kathy Tidswell is an artist, juried craftsperson and fibre arts teacher. Trained as a biologist, Tidswell changed careers after becoming a stay-at-home mother. Now an internationally recognized, award-winning quilter and artist, Tidswell says, “I strive to recreate nature’s beauty realistically in my work.” Her textile training has included courses from Canadian, American and British quilt artists, helping her to develop her own methods of painting on fabric and free motion machine embroidery.

Brian Dykeman grew up on a farm in rural New Brunswick, developing an early appreciation and love of the outdoors and wildlife. After completing a B.Sc., M.Sc. and PhD in agriculture and the plant sciences, he fulfilled a career in agricultural extension and research. Dykeman is now an award-winning wood sculptor with his works in collections worldwide, a juried member of the NB Craft Council and a founding member of the Fredericton Woodcarving Club.

Roger Smith obtained a B.Sc. in Biology and M.Sc. in Plant Pathology from UNB. While working on his M.Sc., he took photographs for the UNB Biology Dept, and realized that photography was a more interesting pursuit than his research on potato blight. Smith spent 35 years as the scientific photographer for the UNB Biology Department. Smith is a member of the SilverFish photo collective, Photo Fredericton camera club, and a juried member of the NB Crafts Council.

Avian Moments runs from March 8 – April 15, 2013. All are welcome to attend the opening reception, March 8 from 5:30-7pm.

The Charlotte Street Arts Centre is located in the heart of Fredericton, at 732 Charlotte Street.