What an exciting meeting we had today! So much going on and even some new faces! Settle in for a photo and information rich post!

Our co-chairs, Darla and Nicole, recapped the March meeting and made some announcements.

For those participating in the Riley Blake Challenge, the fabric finally arrived (much later than anticipated leaving only a month to meet the challenge deadline). The fabric will be distributed but there will no requirement to meet the deadline given the late arrival of the fabric.

If you are interested in road-tripping with other members to the Regina quilt show on Saturday, May 7, please email before May 1. The general plan is to leave around 9:00 a.m., have lunch in Regina, spend some time at the show followed by a little bit of shopping at some Regina fabric shops, and then back to Saskatoon … probably in time for dinner. Nicole is putting together a fun scavenger hunt for those who are going.

If you want to attend the Sewcial Day at Prairie Chicks in Warman on June 11 (9:30 to 5:30) and haven’t already signed up, please send Sheila an email.

Denyse brought the following announcement to the group:

N Jefferson Ltd, a wholesaler who provides notions to Century Textiles in Saskatoon, has announced a contest! Entrants must submit a mini quilt made with the theme “The Roaring 20’s”. Quilts will be judged on creativity and originality of design. First prize is $500 notions credit from Century Textiles,  second prize is $300 notions credit from Century Textiles, and 3rd prize is $200 notions credit from Century Textiles

• Quilts must have been completed between March 31 and June 30, 2016.
• Quilt size: no smaller than 12″ x 12″ and no larger than 24″ x 36″.
• Quilts may be quilted by hand, machine, or both.
• Quilts must be submitted via hi-res photo by Century Textiles

See the contest poster front here and the details here.

Heather circulated brochures and forms for those interested in submitting quilts for the Handmade Showcase at the Saskatoon Exhibition in August. If you are interested and need more information, please email Heather.

Donna, a new member who, in addition to being a quilter is also an engineer, has requested 6″ rainbow blocks that will be made into a quilt that will be drawn for at a conference in the fall with proceeds going to a yet to be chosen organization that supports women and children. She welcomes 6″ rainbow blocks (any interpretation of a rainbow) from anyone, not just our guild members. Please email Donna if you have any questions or would like to get some blocks to her. Feel free to use prints and/or solids.

Monika Kinner-Whalen, an embroidery artist, “Unravelled the Mysteries of Thread” for our members today. So interesting! She talked about different thread weights and their purpose and she talked about different types of threads … cotton, polyester, rayon, silk, etc. She talked about how thread is made and explained what “mercerized” and “double gassed” means and why it matters. She dispelled some of the myths many of us have about cotton vs polyester threads and encouraged us to experiment. There was a lot of useful information. Take a look at Monika’s website, My Sweet Prairie, and see the amazing thread painting she does!

Monika showed us her own very sweet little baby blanket. She re-discovered it a few years ago. It was quite shredded and falling apart so she carefully washed it, rebacked and rebinded it, and then put a layer of tulle over the front (to prevent further deterioration of the cottons that were falling apart) and used embellishing stitches over the whole thing. She then made a label to honour the woman, now gone, who made it for her. The little quilt now hangs on a wall in her home. What a great way to preserve something so dear.

She showed us how the polyester fabrics in the quilt have maintained their colour whereas the cotton fabrics have not only lost colour but some have all but disappeared. In the detail below, the 2nd block down is (was) cotton and the only thing left of it are some threads hanging on the edges. What you’re seeing is the batting!

Sheila announced details about a new guild activity! A BEE! We’ve never done one within our guild before. It should be fun! A sign-up sheet was passed around and Sheila will organize us all into hives, assign a Queen to each month and then the fun will begin. All details, once we have them, will be made available on the website under what will be a new “BEE” page. Watch for it.

Sheila showed us what will be her starter block for her bee. Blacks, whites, greys, with a hit of a colour.

Some members brought some BOOKS and BOLTS to share with the group.

Flo brought two books about free-motion quilting that she has been using to further expand her skills. “Free-Motion Machine Quilting” by Don Linn is, according to Flo, very good for FMQ beginners. Now that Flo is well beyond a beginner, she is particularly inspired by the book “Quilting Wide Open Spaces” by Judi Madsen. Flo is going to make one of the quilts in her book and then quilt each block as instructed by Judy. By the time she’s done, Flo will have mastered a lot of new FMQ designs! Other members confirmed that if you have a chance to do a workshop with Judi Madsen, it’s well worth it.

Lisa showed us a stack fat quarters she recently picked up on Massdrop … “because her husband liked them”! They are a Cloud 9 organic fabric: “Moody Blues” by Geninne, an artist from New Mexico perhaps best known for her painted birds. So pretty!

Sonya, too, had some beautiful fabric to show! Believe me, the photo doesn’t do them justice. The softness of some of them in particular is amazing! Buttery! They are, left to right …

• Kokka double gauze
• Andover purple chambray
• Striped linen (not sure of the details)
• Nani Iro double gauze
• Cotton and Steel rayon
• Cotton and Steel cotton lawn
• Liberty cotton lawn

Sheila and Heather both brought the magazine, “Make It! Patchwork (Summer 2016)“, which has several interesting projects in it. If you follow the above link, you’ll see photos of all the project in the issue. Heather also brought the magazine “Weekend Quilting, 2016“, with some nice projects in it, too. Heather bought both of hers at London Drugs and Sheila bought hers at Indigo. If you would like to borrow either of these magazines, please contact Heather.

And now, Show and Tell!

Sheila showed our Charity Quilt, which recently came back from being shown at QuiltCon in Pasadena. It will next be shown at the Regina quilt show and at the Saskatoon Exhibition’s Saskatchewan Art Showcase before making its way to Ronald MacDonald House where it will be given to someone who needs it.

Tarra showed us the sweet cover she made for her Quilter’s Diary. There are zippers and pockets and Tarra explained what she learned while making this and what she would do differently next time. The pattern includes sizes for different kinds of notebooks. Of course, that’s a “Tarra-made” dress she’s wearing!

Barbara showed us a quilt she recently made using a pattern in the book, “Modern Quilts from the Blogging Universe“. Barbara’s favourite part is the free motion quilting and this quilt left lots of room for showcasing her quilting. She likes to make a matching pillow for her quilts.

Flo had two quilts to show. First her chevron quilt, which she said came together quite easily … until she decided to use some of the leftovers in a diagonal across the back. She said it was a real headache to figure out but it does look great.

Flo’s 2nd quilt is one she’s been working on for quite a while. She had decided that applique would be something she could do easily while she travels, which she does a lot of. And here is the result! Appliqued daffodil AND her first try at quilting fmq feathers! They look great, Flo!

Sheila made this vibrant paper-pieced butterfly and set in on an angle. It’s a gift that will be gone before our next meeting so this was our only opportunity to see it.

Heather showed a zig-zag baby quilt top that she recently finished. It’s a little large for a baby quilt, but that’s just what happened. She very bravely chose NOT to trim her HSTs and, tada, it all came together perfectly much to her surprise! She pieced the back just in time for the meeting. The baby is due any day, so she hopes to get the quilting done within the next week or two. Since it will, hopefully, be finished and delivered before the next meeting, she thought best to show what there is of it now.

Sonya made a beautiful new dress! Love the fireflies and the trim on the pockets! Adorable!

Patti (left) has been busy making a variety of bags. She made several sweet lined drawstring bags and a very cute and springy little purse!

Nicole made this mini very effectively using ombre fabric.

Sheila recently had a birthday and was gifted with some special things from members of the “birthday club”. She went gaga over these quiltish napkins and over the divided baskets Darla made using a Noodlehead pattern. Darla found the canvas for the outside of the baskets at Century Textiles in Saskatoon. There are so many other goodies Sheila got from the “birthday club” group! How fun! Happy birthday, Sheila!

And here we all are! What a great meeting!

Log cabin Quilt detail divider bar by Tarra