GODERICH QUILTERS' GUILD
CUTTING EDGE NEWSLETTER
Presidents’ Message
It is with great excitement and a little bit of caution that we approach September and the beginning of what we hope is a creative, happy, productive, and interactive year - the first of our 2-year term. Like you (we are sure), we worry about remaining safe and healthy during this ongoing pandemic in our communities.
It has been a summer season that has supported garden growth, and family growth for me (Peg). I would never have imagined that my new role as a grandma would be so enjoyable despite the imposed distance of ‘Covid 19’. Family has lifted spirits beyond my imagination. Currently my spirits soar as I welcome old friends and family to my home. An added joy has been the introduction of a new golden retriever puppy into our household. It has been an eventful summer with little quilting for me I must say.
My husband and I (Marlene) were part of a group camp out last week - the first since returning from Texas under the ‘Covid cloud’ in March of 2020. How wonderful it was to spend time with some of our Ontario RV friends who normally winter in Texas! Faces we haven’t seen in person for many months, so many stories to tell and so much to catch up on! Although we were only away for 3 nights, visiting with good friends revitalized us and it felt like the break was much longer. Now as August draws to a close, canning and preserving are very much in the forefront in our home but there is always time to quilt!
We look forward to an eventful year with the resumption of our meeting, projects, and community support. Your executive has been working to solidify plans for our members’ enjoyment. We look forward to reconnecting with the members, our friends.
‘Let your good friends lift your spirits!’
Happy quilting,
Peg & Marlene
Afternoon Program
As you know, our September 13th meeting will be the first in-person meeting in well over a year. This is somewhat a testing of the waters - so to speak.
Covid protocol as dictated by the Huron Perth Public Health Unit and the Goderich Legion must be adhered to as follows:
- Enter via the door at the elevator level
- Members must sign in on the Legion’s register which will be in the coat room prior to entering the main meeting room
- Masks are mandatory but may be removed when sitting
- No food allowed
- Keep socially distanced!
As this is a new season, membership fees are due. Please do not crowd in the entrance way waiting to pay but move forward into the meeting room and return to the membership table when space allows.
There is no morning workshop scheduled. Doors will open at 12:30 with the meeting beginning at 1:15 p.m. We will conduct a regular business meeting followed by ‘Show and Tell’ items. If you are comfortable showing your items, please bring them along. We are all anxiously awaiting to see our many wonderful creations in person!
Betty, Edna and Lisa, your program committee, have been working tirelessly on an exciting list of speakers for the coming months.
Evening Program
Our speaker, Kathy Doughty, will be presenting virtually at 7:00 pm on Zoom from Australia.
Kathy says she often looks back on her youth and thinks of the simplicity of green grass yards in Ohio. Cowboys and Indians, hide-and-seek, cards, and coloring filled her days. Sewing was not on her list of favorite activities! She moved several times - from Ohio to New York and back again - before heading off to college in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, where she was surrounded by more wilderness. Upon graduating she left the wild for a different kind of wild - the East Village of New York City during the punk rock era. She worked in advertising, fashion, and marketing for ten years. Then, she married and moved with her husband to Australia in 1990, where she was able to give her sons the foundation of green grass and a simple, practical life. Her three nearly adult sons are fully Aussie, having grown up playing cricket and rugby.
In 1993 she made her first quilt and instantly fell in love with the "American-style” quilt. It connected her to her childhood and her home so far away and simple pleasures. She spent years making squares until she discovered triangles. Then she found an array of lively shapes and skills that took her into more complex quilting patterns. She enjoys that there is a lot to learn in quilting, and she says she will always want to fine-tune and add skills to the basics that she still loves. She connects with the idea of traditional quilts made modern by the influences of today. She says the many artists with whom she has worked over the years have opened her eyes to the principles of design, color, shape, and line; they include Sue Cody, Marg George, Brigitte Giblin, Wendy Williams, Rosalie Dace, and so many others. Now she wishes to share the added depth she has found as she has grown in her love.
In 2003 she opened Material Obsession and found the companionship needed to make life complete, people who share this patchwork passion with her! The shop is a place where quilters are encouraged to experiment with textiles, design, and method. It is a creative environment that is all about the discovery of adding layers one at a time.
Join us as Kathy Doughty shares images and experiences gained over 25+ years as an obsessive quilter, patchwork/quilting shop owner, author, teacher as well as a quilt and fabric designer. The talk includes a slide show presentation of a variety of quilt styles and techniques as well as inspirational stories and topics that quilters will relate to and enjoy.
https://www.materialobsession.com.au/en_CA
Notes from our previous meeting on June 14, 2021
Nancy Ridder welcomed everyone to her final meeting as President.
She thanked Anne Wickie for being the Newsletter editor for the past 15 years. Anne began by sending all newsletters by mail and later made the transition to email. Bev presented a gift from the membership to Anne, a square with the embroidered names of the members along with squares made by the members. Anne thanked everyone and said that she enjoyed the quiet job of producing the newsletter.
Marlene Mooy, one of our new Co-Presidents, thanked Nancy Ridder for being our Guild President for the last two years and gave her a card signed by members. Nancy thanked the members for being patient with her.
The Treasurer’s Report was shared and accepted.
Sew & Share will be held on June 28th on Zoom!
Members went into ‘break out rooms’ for a short time to socialize and chat.
Block of the Month
The final square of the BOM has been distributed. There were 9 in total!
Draws for Care Quilts
Members who donated a care quilt had their name entered in the draws. The winner of the prize for 2019-20 was Nancy Ridder, and 2020-21 prize winner was Edna Keown. Over 80 care quilts were gifted. We made 80 (Carol Reid was part of 23). There are 35 still available. We need more children’s quilts (not baby quilts).
June Guest Speaker: Melissa Marginet’s Trunk Show ‘Myth: Quilting doesn’t have to be expensive’.
Events / Announcements
Door Prizes for 2021-2022
We will continue to have door prizes each month from a variety of sources, but we are also opening it up to our members to contribute a quilt-related item that they no longer make use of or have never made use of! Many of us have tools, fabric etc. that we wonder why we have them as we don’t ever use them. IF they are not “antiques” and are in excellent condition, you might wish to donate them as a door prize. Please be in touch with Monica if you need more info or have something to donate.
Outdoor Quilt Sale at Harbour Park
Quilts for Survivors
A young woman from Timmins, ON has been running a project to provide quilts to the families whose relatives have been found in the various residential schools’ graves. She has had a terrific response but is keeping the door open until Oct 11 of this year to receive more quilt blocks, whole quilts, batting, backing etc. If you wish to send a block, they ask that it be 16.5” untrimmed and that it contain some orange fabric. The blocks are to be sent to: Vanessa Grenier, Quilts for Survivors, 130 Tamarack St. Timmins, ON P4N 6P8. You can also check out ‘Quilts for Survivors’ on Facebook.
Care Quilts
Marie will be taking some time off from Guild responsibilities and so for this Guild year, Monica will be receiving your care quilts, numbering them, and distributing them to the agencies in town that we have always supported. If you have completed a care quilt, please be in touch with Monica to have a number assigned to it and she will advise if it is to be delivered to her or to Lakeshore United Church. We would ask you to focus on lap size quilts primarily and remember to include quilts suitable for children and for men as well. Our supply is somewhat low at the moment... so perhaps with September just around the corner, you could add a care quilt to your To Do List. Monica also has the supplies of backing and batting for your needs.
Our heartfelt condolences are extended to Carol Egener on the recent passing of her husband, MacEwan. Our thoughts and prayers are with Carol at this difficult time.
Guest Speakers for 2021-2022
October 4th at 7 p.m. on Zoom
Helen Godden, Art Quilter (Australia)
November 8th at 1 p.m. on Zoom
Cheryl Arkison, Modern quilting & author (Alberta)
December 13th at the Legion
Potluck / Show & Tell / Sewing room tours
January 10th at 1 p.m. on Zoom
Krista Hennebury, Aurofil Thread
http://www.aurofil.com/kristahennebury
February 14th on Zoom
Jenni Smith, Liberty Fabrics (England) OR Kim Coskey, Temperature quilts (Alberta) *tentative
March 14th at the Legion
Care Quilt Month April 11th at the Legion
May 9th - Trip to St. Marys, ON
Chantal at Hyggeligt Fabrics - Pop up store & afternoon presentation on acrylic templates, English paper piecing papers, etc. https://www.hyggeligt.ca
June 13th at Harbour Park
Goderich Quilters’ Guild’s 30th anniversary celebration!
Interesting Bits and Bytes
Why did you join the Goderich quilters’ guild? Here is an interesting article on this topic called Quilt Guild: Thoughts of Belonging. https://hqstitch.com/quilt-guild-thoughts-on-belonging/
If you have any interesting online videos, articles, sites, and jokes to share with other members, please email me the link (asikma@eastlink.ca) and I will add them to the newsletter.
Membership information for 2021-2022
$45/year to become a member of the Goderich Quilters’ Guild
Please bring exact change or a cheque made payable to Goderich Quilters’ Guild.
Membership privileges (included in our annual fee) cover the following:
- Hall rental at the Legion
- Programs/Trunk shows (cost of speakers, mileage etc.)
- Block-of-the-Month patterns & other patterns (care quilts, challenges, etc.)
- Monthly Newsletter
- Access to our extensive library and stencils/patterns/rulers
- Name tags (new members will be given a name tag within 2 months of joining the Guild)
- Show & Tell segment for inspiration
- Door Prize – Only one win per member/yearly
- Fee for maintaining website (Janet McClure, Webmaster)
- Morning Mini-Workshops or Personal Sewing Projects: Held at 9:00 a.m. on the morning of guild meeting. No quilt police allowed! A learning environment is a no-judge zone.
Visitors are welcome to attend any of our guild meetings. Visitors/guests will be charged $10.00 for the visit, which will be put toward their membership if they decide to join. We love to see new faces, so please encourage your friends and acquaintances to see what we are all about.
Inclement Weather: In case of inclement weather, a decision to cancel the meeting will be made by the President. Emails will be sent out a.s.a.p., so please check your emails first thing in the morning of the meeting. If you do not have an email address, you will get a phone call.
Meeting Dates/Times: Meetings are held on the 2nd Monday of each month at 1:00 p.m, except for the Oct. meeting which will be held on the 1st Monday. Library privileges are not available to non-members. A copy of the GQG constitution is available upon request from Anne Wickie at wickied@hurontel.on.ca.
Newsletter: If you do not have an email address and want to receive the monthly newsletter, please bring (10) self-addressed, stamped envelopes (regular postage is all that is needed) and give these to Alice Sikma or Jane Dawson. Also, for returning members, if there is any change in your address, email address or telephone #, please write it down and give it to Jane at the reception table so that the membership list can be updated. If you live in a rural area, please include your 911 number in the address.
