Trunk Show Rescheduled

When our meeting was cancelled last week, we missed a wonderful program -  Jean K. had put a lot of time into organizing a Trunk Show of her work, so it has been re-scheduled for Tuesday March 1st. It will be held at 2p.m. at Christ Church Parish Church; please use the Charlotte Street entrance. There is lots of parking space available. It is hoped a good number of members will attend. See you then!

Tonight's meeting cancelled

Tonight's meeting is cancelled due to the inclement weather. If you wish to sign up for the February workshop on Feb. 27, Finishing School with yours truly, please get in touch ASAP with Tracy Houlding at thoulding@gmail.com or myself at lindakhubbard@gmail.com.  In several days, any spots remaining will be opened up to non-members.
EDIT: The workshop is now full.

It's Meeting Time Again

Where does the time go? It's meeting time again... already! Tomorrow night we'll be treated to a wonderful Trunk Show by one of our more prolific members, Jean K. I know she will inspire us with her talents and many works of art. I hope I will see YOU there!


Last month two of our own members shared their love of English paper piecing with us. For those who like handwork and a portable project, it is the perfect choice! Susan D who is fairly new to EPP, shared her thoughts and ideas on getting started and how she has approached EPP.

Barb P who has been at it a while.. (some might say she is obsessed..?) shared a number of projects, both large and small. It would be an understatement to say we were in awe of her EPP skills... Oh My!!! From tiny hexies to large ones, to fussy cut, to heavily embellished... wow! Barb sure keeps busy!

Thanks Susan and Barb for a wonderful program in January.

See you tomorrow evening! Same time, same place!

Do you have tension issues?

I'm not talking about personal tension..we all have some of that! haha  I'm talking about tension issues with your sewing machine. (Of course maybe that might also cause some personal tension... lol) If so, here is something which you might find helpful.... 

1) Top thread lays flat on the fabric

• Upper tension dial too tight
• Lint in upper discs
• Machine not threaded correctly
• Lint in bobbin tension spring
• Poorly wound bobbin
• Thread not in bobbin tension spring
• Bobbin tension not set correctly

2) Bottom thread lays flat

• Upper thread tension is too loose
• Lint in bobbin tension spring
• Poorly wound bobbin
• Machine not threaded correctly
• Bobbin tension not set correctly

3) Loops on bottom of quilt

• Thread is not flossed in top tension discs
• Top thread tension set too loose
• Machine not threaded correctly
• Burr on hook

4) Fabric Puckering

• Top tension too tight
• Bottom tension too tight
• Bobbin not correct size for bobbin case
• Poorly wound bobbin
• Bobbin too full

This is published with the permission of Handi-Quilter which you can visit here. You may find other helpful info there too, under Downloads.

Workshop, Sat. Jan 23. Spaces available.

Paper-piecing- a great technique for large or small quilts!

There are some spaces available in our upcoming workshop this Saturday, January 23. If you live in our area (Fredericton NB) and would like to join us, we'd love to have you! The class is "Learn to Paperpiece" with yours truly, Linda Hubbard. It is a skills oriented workshop, and supplies needed are minimal.
In the morning, you will learn the technique of paper-piecing by progressing through a series of several blocks, from simple to more complex. In the afternoon you will learn how to join blocks together, how to piece odd-shaped pieces, how to cut angled pieces, how to read a complex PP pattern, and how to look at any pieced quilt block and draw it out as a paper-piecing pattern. We will look at the use of different foundation materials, some of which can be left in the quilt. There will also be a demo of "string-piecing," a very simple and slightly different form of foundation piecing.
Paper piecing is a very useful technique that every quilter should have in their bag of tricks. It is very precise and makes complex blocks very simple to piece. It makes tiny blocks (for miniatures) very do-able and perfect points as on a Mariner's Compass easy! It is perfect for group quilts, as every block will come back exactly the same size! If you can count to 10, and sew on a  straight line, then you can learn to paper-piece. If you have tried it before and decided you don't like it, come to this class and I will change your mind!!   :)  Or if you just need a "refresher" this is your chance!
I will bring a number of quilts, large, small and miniature to the class as well as a number of books and patterns for inspiration. It will be a fun-filled day, why not join us? Leave a comment here if you don't know how to contact me otherwise.

Happy 2016!

It seems a little late to be saying it, but I'm going to say it anyway - HAPPY NEW YEAR! I hope 2016 is a fabulous year for you and for our guild. Here's to lots of productive stitching time in our sewing spaces in the coming months.
Our January meeting is coming right up- Jan. 19th, 7p.m. Barb P and Susan D will be doing a presentation on English paper-piecing. Hexies here we come!! I know it will be an inspiring program.

We are so lucky to have so many talented members who are willing to share their skills and knowledge with us. We have had some wonderful programs so far this year. We started off with a presentation and trunk show by Sandi M. who shared many hints, tips and "how-to's" with us in regards to entering Challenges. Sandi has done many Guild Challenges and won more than a few ribbons. Sandi's creative mind often takes her "outside the box"  when it comes to interpreting Challenge themes, and she further challenges herself by using "non-traditional" fabrics and materials (remember the zebra made of black leather and white bridal satin?) What an inspiration this program was!
(By the way, speaking of Challenges, how are you coming along with your Starstruck Challenge piece?)

In October, JeanneKaye, our own "energizer bunny" treated us to a Christmas-y display of her many holiday projects. I call JeanneKaye the Queen of Placemats! I think she must be able to whip up a set in her sleep by now... She never ceases to amaze us with her productivity, we loved her many placemats, wallhangings, and larger quilts! This was the perfect program to get us all in the mood for our Christmas Appliqué workshop the following Saturday.

November's program gave us lots of info and ideas for bordering our quilts. How to measure for and add borders properly, plus lots of ideas for border variations, both plain and pieced, gave us food for thought. I'm expecting to see some interesting borders at Show and Tell in the coming months, ladies....

So we're off to a great start, and here it is January already! I hope you are rested and refreshed after the Christmas break and ready to dive into guild activities, be it a workshop, a charity project, or whatever.  Speaking of charity projects, there will be a large tote FULL of FREE FABRIC at the January meeting. please plan to help yourself as I do not want to take it back home. Choose a few pieces, or co-ordinate a number of pieces to use in a charity project, large or small. You can't get any better than "FREE".....
I have updated our list of tips (click on Tip Time at the top of the sidebar to access the list.) I know I am missing a few, so if you have given a tip recently and don't see it there, please refresh my memory so I can add it. Thanks.
See you tomorrow night!

Winter's Coming...

The days are getting colder... and shorter. Instead of thinking of the coming winter and its cold weather, I concentrate on "more studio time"! Yes, more time to sew. That's a more pleasant thought. I just won't look out the window at the rising drifts of snow.....

The guild has recently acquired a good amount of cottons, a sizeable portion of a local quilter's stash. It was donated to us for use in charity quilts. Then just yesterday I was made aware of a call for "warm items" for the coming Syrian refugees - see below. So if anyone is interested in some free fabric for use in a charity quilt, for the refugees or otherwise, please get in touch with me. I will be bringing it to our January meeting, but would happily part with it before then as well. There is a good selection of colours, some larger pieces, but most is smaller pieces and suitable for "scrappy" projects.

Following is the info I received on the call for "warm items".... 

A call to the community for warm, handmade goods for newly arrived Syrian refugees:

Calling on all knitters, crocheters, weavers, felters, quilters! Let's offer a warm welcome to our newest residents. We are looking for mittens, hats, sweaters, socks, blankets and throws for all ages to stay warm during a New-Brunswick winter.

Nothing says we care more than hand-made wearables! Let's make a positive impact through the arts.

Yarns On York will provide a 20% discount on all purchases of materials for the initiative!

Drop-off locations for donations:
artsnb office - 649 Queen street, 2nd floor...
Yarns On York - 72 York street
Bibliothèque publique de Fredericton Public Library - 12 Carleton street

Donations will be accepted until January 29th, 2016.

So there you go, ladies. If you are all ready for Christmas, and looking for a project to do, how about a quilt for this worthy cause... and I can provide you with some fabric!!  :)  You know how to reach me- send me an email or give me a call. 

KVQG Show opens Thursday....

Will I see you there?

Back to Guild!

Hasn't the summer flown by? We wait sooo long for summer to arrive, and this year it seemed to be later than ever, and then Pooof! It's over! I'm sure we still have lots of lovely days ahead, but September has arrived! And with it our thoughts turn to "Back to Guild" ( that's my take on  the proverbial Back to School.)
We go back to Guild next Tuesday evening, Sept. 15. Meetings begin at 7p.m. and new members are welcome! If you are new to quilting, or new to the city, or just want to check us out, please come and join us next Tuesday evening. We meet at the Johnston Avenue Senior Centre on the north side. Johnston Ave. is the next street on the left after McDonalds, if you are heading upriver. We have a fabulous program this month with Sandi M. doing a presentation on Challenges. Sandi has done close to 20 challenge pieces (winning ribbons on many of them) and will share them all with us, telling us about her "creative process," how she comes up with her original interpretations of  challenge themes, how she draws her patterns and so on. It promises to be an interesting and very inspiring program. You won't want to miss this meeting!!

Did you know that this is National Sewing Month? What a great way to celebrate September and our return to Guild!! I hope you are finding some time to spend with your machine!   :)

Congrats to FQG members who put quilts in this week's Exhibition. I saw many many ribbons on "our girl's" quilts- Congrats to Gwenda M on having a Grand Champion quilt! What a beauty it is! Also to Jeanne Kaye S., Susan M. and Joyce H., all ribbon winners!

Next week is the KVQG show in Quispamsis. Info is on the sidebar under Upcoming Shows and Events. The show runs Thursday to Saturday. Other shows this fall in Charlottetown, Halifax, Miramichi and Amherst are also listed there; I do my best to keep this list as "up to date" as I can, so check there often.

See you next Tuesday night! Can't wait!