We’re so pleased to show off this year’s Quilt Canada Raffle Quilt- Twist and Shout. This queen size quilt is simply stunning – a lot of work but well worth it as you can see from this photo of the quilt, pictured with Karen Henry’s cat, Loki. It’s a generous queen size quilt – 95 x 110 inches, perfect for your bedroom, for your guest room or as a wonderful gift for someone special.

Tickets are now on sale from members of the Local Organizing Committee  but no worry, we’ll have plenty of tickets waiting for you on site at Quilt Canada. Tickets are $2 each, 3 for $5 so start saving your toonies and loonies.

The pattern design is by Canadian quilter Margot Languedoc whose numerous quilt designs can be found on-line at http://thepatternbasket.com/ I encourage you to visit Margot’s web site and take a look at her many patterns – creative designs, very pretty and yet not too challenging for most of us. As coincidence would have it, I have the Peppermint Twist pattern in my own collection (pictured here) and am now inspired to actually make the quilt.

The piecing for this quilt was a team effort. Many thanks to the folllowing quilters who took on the tasks of cutting, piecing, pressing, constructing and binding to create this quilt – Karen Henry, Deanne Hemphill, Kathy Ogden, Carol Walton, Linda Armstrong, Fiona Oxford, Lorna Davidson, Kate Madeloso, Jean Goulden, Debbie Pottie and Margaret Swift.

The machine quilting is quite special with feathered hearts and stars designed by Anita Shackelford and Todd Brown that are sure to impress you. Long arm quilter Gerene Chisholm took on this task, donating her time, along with the batting and backing fabric as her contribution to Quilt Canada. Gerene has been quilting for 20 years and in 2007, became a professional long arm quilter offering her services from her home base in Debert, Nova Scotia. She has honed her long arm skills through numerous workshops in the U.S. and is well known in these parts for choosing just the right quilting pattern to suit her clients’ quilts. With her stereo tuned to serious 70′s music, Gerene applied her considerable skills to our raffle quilt and the end product is truly special.

For quilters in need of a long arm quilter, Gerene can be reached at (902) 662-1882, by cell at (902)986-1379 or by email at gerene@eastlink.ca

Close-ups of the quilt are below, for your enjoyment. Be sure to visit the Merchant Mall to buy your tickets – you never know, you might be the one to take this baby home!

It snowed here in Halifax yesterday, though this morning, much of the snow has melted and we are back to patches of green showing through what’s left of the snow. It’s sunny today but breezy and cold – a perfect day to stay inside and bake cookies!

This month’s recipe comes from Margaret Swift, the Secretary for the Quilt Canada 2012 Local Organizing Committee – and the lady who keeps us all organized and up to the minute on all the planning that is underway.

Margaret’s favourite Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe is now on our Recipe page – just click on the name of the recipe or go to the top of this page to visit our list of monthly recipes. Scroll down to Recipe # 11 and you’re there.

The recipe originally came from a Halifax Trojan Swim Club cookbook, credited to Nancy Garapick who won two Bronze medals in the Montreal Olympics (way, way back in 1976). The recipe has long been a favourite of Margaret’s son – but WARNING: they have to be made large because otherwise, they just don’t taste ‘right’!  Even the dough is delicious and Margaret always doubles the recipe for twice the fun and flavour.

She has shared this recipe with others and it always becomes a favourite! No doubt it will soon become one of your best too…

Coming to Quilt Canada 2012?

Well, whether you’re coming for classes, lectures, the quilt shows or other special events, you’ll need some way to figure out what is happening and where. We have a solution – your very own guide to Quilt Canada 2012 activities. This Quilt Canada Map gives you a close-up view of the Dalhousie University Campus and downtown Halifax, so you can see where everything is taking place. Just click on the highlighted text to access the map.

Simply print the map, along with the Quilt Show Directory (click on highlighted text or find the Quilt Show Directory tab at the top of the page). With the map and the list of shows, you will have everything you need to guide you to the events and activities that you will want to take part in during Quilt Canada 2012.

109 days and counting……

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We’ve been receiving lots of questions about the many Quilt Shows at Quilt Canada 2012 and in particular, operating hours and admission fees.

No more mystery – we’ve created a Quilt Show Directory just for you! You can also find the page at the top of the blog. Here you will find the list of Quilt Shows, their operating hours and locations – note that hours and fees vary a bit from show to show. Also note that you can book your lunch, right on campus, for $15.00, so you won’t waste time while you’re here.  More information – like posters and a map so you can find your way around – will be added soon.

In the meantime, take a look and start planning your days!

If you’ve been following the Quilt Canada blog, you will have seen previous posts profiling our teachers – the first on our International Teachers, a post last July, and another in November.

Today, we’re continuing our Teacher Profiles with five more instructors offering 15 classes for you during Quilt Canada.

Hilary Rice  is a self-taught textile and mixed media artist. She draws on her creative background and education in music and drama and a lifetime of accumulated art-related skills including sewing, crochet, knitting and woodwork to create art quilts that impact on her audience. A designer of art quilt patterns and kits, under Mother Earth designs, Hilary has had numerous exhibitions of her work and has served as a Judge for the National Juried Show on more than one occasion. Her Squiggles and Doodles class will teach you new ways to look at your thread collection and through her class When Opposites Attract, you will work with silk and metal – an interesting combination.

Come explore the fascinating world of Bargello with Joyce O’Connell as she teaches about the Nuts and Bolts: Beginner Bargello and Bargello Wall Hanging – The Basics at Quilt Canada. Joyce’s class Let’s Go Skinny: The No Guilt Quilt will add frosting to the cake, with no calories! Author of the Canadian Designers column in The Canadian Quilter newsletter, Joyce is a designer in her own right and has been juried into shows in Canada and the United States, as well as in England.

Judy Farrow has lived in various parts of the world and no doubt, that has influenced her creativity in quilting. A frequent teacher, she likes to mix different fabrics and textures with her quilting cottons. Her many years of experience in creating unique designs are a sound foundation for the classes she will teach at Quilt Canada – Teaching Liberated Machine Applique will take you in new directions in machine applique and Take A Leaf will take you well beyond basic construction techniques.

Like many of us, Karen Menzies made clothes and home decor items before moving her considerable sewing skills to the world of quilting. With more than 30 years experience as a quilter and numerous exhibitions showing her work, Karen has moved from traditional hand quilting to more contemporary pieces utilizing advanced techniques and materials to create unique pieces. Lots of fun and learning ahead in Karen’s four classes Curved Piecing-No Sweat, Playing with Silk and Recycling Too, Playtime for Mystery Quilters and A Bag With Bling.

Kathy Tidswell  is known for her work interpreting nature through textiles. For twenty years, Kathy has been studying, learning and experimenting with techniques that produce thread-painted works of art as well as wall quilts and wearable art. Her four classes at Quilt Canada – Free Motion Applique and Cutwork, Thread Applique: Hummingbird or Chickadee, Flowers From Thread, and Painting with the Sewing Machine – are proof that with the right techniques, you too can paint with thread and fabric, and create vibrant pieces that will be admired and envied.

It’s time to book your classes to be sure you have a spot and a sewing machine, if you need one, or to ensure that the class will actually take place. Over the coming weeks, we expect that some classes will be filled, BUT others may be cancelled if we haven’t reached the required minimum number of students.  So, check out the schedule and register!

Next month, we’ll bring you the last article in our series of teacher profiles – stay tuned!

132 days to go till the start of Quilt Canada on May 30! Are you planning to join us in Halifax? If so, no doubt you’re already making your plans.

To give you a hand, here’s our suggestion for item # 1 on your ‘must-do’ list:

Register, register, register! Let us know you plan to be here by choosing your class or classes and taking steps to register on-line or by mail with CQA/ACC.

Some classes are already full and others are booking up quickly.

And there are some that are booking up more slowly, while quilters consider their options. These are the classes that run the risk of being cancelled if quilters are slow to show their interest. In fact, we’ve already had to cancel a few that didn’t draw much early interest – hopefully not one of the classes that you were hoping to take.

So, if you have a favourite class or two (or more!), be sure to register soon so we know that you’re planning to be here!

It’s the middle of January and though we’ve had very little snow here in Halifax so far this winter (knock on wood!), there has been plenty of damp, chilly weather.  So our choice of recipe for January is something that everyone craves this time of year – a delicious warm soup.

The recipe for Spicy Kielbasa Soup comes from Karen Henry, Chair of the 2012 Local Organizing Committee. Karen adapted this recipe from one she enjoyed while visiting the Annapolis Royal Historic Gardens and it’s become a family favourite on the cold wet days that we experience so often in Halifax during the winter months. 

Wherever you are in Canada, you will no doubt enjoy making – and eating – this spicy, warm dish on a chilly winter’s day!

The Mayflower Quilters’ Guild is the largest Guild in Nova Scotia and as the “Mother” Guild in the Province, has a long history of engaging quilters since its inception in 1974.

Beginning in 2008, Mayflower has held an annual Quilt Fair as a fundraiser at the IWK Health Centre. The IWK plays a pivotal role in providing medical services to women, children, youth and families across the Maritime Provinces and beyond. This annual Quilt Fair has been very successful, raising almost $30,000 in 3 short years, enough funding to purchase medical equipment needed for the Paediatric Surgery Department at the Centre.

This year, the Mayflower Quilt Fair will be held the week of Quilt Canada and you are cordially invited to view the many quilts made for display and for sale.

For the modest price of $3.00, the Mayflower Quilt Fair is a hop-skip-and-jump from the Dalhousie Campus and the classes, workshops and other shows taking place at Quilt Canada. You’ll have the opportunity to view 100 or more items on display, showcasing the many talented quilters in the Mayflower Quilters’ Guild and Chapter Guilds. Tickets for this year’s raffle quilt, Three’s Company, will be sold on-site, along with tickets for a quilt basket filled with quilting essentials valued at $250.

Table Topper for sale at the Craft Table

The Craft Table will be a great place to pick up some interesting handmade items, add Fat Quarters to your stash and perhaps something to satisfy your sweet tooth. The photo shows my donation for the Craft Table.

The Silent Auction is always a popular  feature. The 40+ items up for auction are the result of a Guild Challenge each year, made from a fat quarter kit purchased by Guild members.

So pretty - perfect for a spring show!

Using the fabric kit featured here, and this year’s theme of “Anything Goes”, Guild members have been challenged to make something pretty and useful for auction – wall hangings, placemats, table runners, purses, jackets, and more.

Print off this IWK Poster 2012 and keep it handy. The show will be open from 9 am to 5 pm from May 30 to June 1. Make sure this one is on your list of shows to see. This one is a win-win – you get to enjoy the many quilts on view and at the same time, help local quilters to raise more funds for the medical needs of women and children.

This year, I am determined to make sure I actually fulfill my New Year’s resolutions. Of course, that is what I told myself last year, but this year will be different (right?) and anyway, it makes sense to start out on a positive note.

With that in mind, and with the wind and the rain outside keeping me in the house today, I decided to get started with two fun and easy items on my list for 2012.

My first two resolutions? Well, the first was to finally finish my Catch of the Day bag. I actually put the bag together a while ago (such an easy project!) but like many of my sewing room projects, this one has hung around my studio for a while now while I considered how to finish it off. I don’t have much experience with embellishing but this time, inspired by another member of the 2012 Organizing Committee who has such a ‘sparkly’ personality, I decided to add some bling. OK, it’s just a little bit of bling but I kind of like the look. So, my bag is now finished and ready to be handed in at our January Guild meeting.

And my second easy-to-do resolution? Well, it’s the Quilt Canada Fat Quarter Exchange, of course. I really like the idea of sharing a Fat Quarter from my stash with another quilter and hearing back from her (or him) when they include my fabric in one of their projects. The quilting community in Canada is so spread out geographically so how nice to have the chance to connect with each other through something as simple as an exchange of Fat Quarters.

Mine is now ready to hand in at our upcoming Guild meeting – I love this fabric and hope someone else will too.

So, have you done yours yet? If these are not already on your list of 2012 Resolutions, add them now and then finish them quickly – you just might inspire others in your Guild to get started on theirs. If you don’t belong to a Guild, no worry – just send your completed Catch of the Day bag and Fat Quarter to Anna Davison, P.O. Box 294, Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia  B0J 2E0

Just think, only January 2nd and I already have two resolutions checked off. Now if I could only get started on that mess in the basement…..

January 1st is here and it’s time for a new calendar. This is one of my favourite holiday rituals – taking the old calendar off the wall and browsing through the new one while inserting birthdays, anniversaries, quilt guild meetings, etc.  This year, I’ve taken great pleasure in marking the dates for Quilt Canada – May 30 to June 2.

After almost two years of planning, we are now just 5 months away – 150 days, to be exact.  In the months ahead, we’ll continue our teacher profiles on the blog, along with more information on the arrangements we have in place for Quilt Canada. Look for blog posts on the special events and entertainment,  our volunteer opportunities,  the raffle quilt (yes, the Organizing Committee has a stunning quilt that some lucky quilter can win),  the concurrent quilt shows, and much more. Don’t forget our monthly recipes – there are five more in store before you head to the big event at the end of May.

Stay tuned – if you’re not already a blog subscriber, check back often or just subscribe now via the Email Subscription button at the bottom of the sidebar (just below the list of Quilt Canada teachers).

150 days and counting………………………….