We met at Home Inn and Suites on April 26, 2026. Our icebreaker was to share what we would do if we did not have quilting. The list was wonderfully varied: beading, painting, photography, covering hangers, horses, printmaking, mosaics, knitting, puzzles, folk art, felting, gardening, crochet, watercolour, cake decorating, cross stitch, competitive bridge, studying art and architectural history, drawing, scrapbooking, and the most fascinating response, from Judy, laundry!

Thank you to Elizabeth and the team for hosting a great quilt retreat. A special thank you as well to Elizabeth for piecing all of the crumb quilt blocks donated by several guild members. See below for the grand reveal. Thank you also to everyone who contributed supplies, to Michelle Harris of @sasklongarmstudio for donating the quilting, and to the person who completed the binding. The quilt is now ready for donation. It was amazing to see how “ugly” crumb blocks could be transformed into a stunning quilt.

Improv Addition 2
Roxanne shared ideas for the next improv addition, offering three suggestions: Easy Peasy Wonky Border, a snowball block that can use up scrap triangles, and improv paper piecing, which can include curves, insets, points, lines, and partial lines. Pat also shared her quilt. See photos from the education session below.

Improv Face Challenge
Pat introduced the Improv Face Challenge, which we hope many members will participate in. The grand reveal will take place at the September meeting. Pat shared that her first face, Hilda, was inspired by the box top colour challenge, using the colours from a cinnamon toast box. She recently created Ruby Thursday, featuring 3D hair and eyelashes. This challenge is not about realism. It is about creativity, stepping outside your comfort zone, trying something new, and having fun.

Hilda was made with Steam a Seam Light, while Ruby Thursday was created using Bosal non woven fusible light. One advantage of Steam a Seam is that pieces are repositionable. Non stick needles may also help when working with these materials. Remember to store Steam a Seam in a sealed plastic bag so it does not dry out.

Need inspiration? Check out YouTube videos featuring Freddy Moran. You can also search for Yvonne Porcella, @sewjeanimpey, @jamiefingal, and @gallagrotto for additional ideas.

Eye Candy
Show and tell today included the Longview Quilt Pattern and Old Guys Rule. See photos below.

Next Meeting
For the next meeting, please bring your One Block Wonder quilts so we can gauge interest in a fall workshop. The education topic will be a group sharing session on quilt embellishments. Please bring items such as crazy quilting, beads, applique, embroidery, photos, big stitch quilting, thread painting, and more.

Also bring any finished quilts from past challenges, including Dreamlines, improv curves, and Dyanne’s landscape workshop. We would also love to see the next addition to your improv medallion quilts.

The remaining meeting dates for the year are May 24, June 16, July 21, August 18, September 27, October 25, November 22, and December 13.