May 2018 Meeting Recap

Valerie Prideaux's Log Cabin Quilt

 Hello everyone! Hope you're enjoying the amazing weather we've gotten. Every morning I start out with my daily dose of Vitamin D. Sans drops! Without further ado, here's the May Meeting recap!
TMQG Happenings
Up for grabs this month was a $40 gift card to Fabric Spark & Country Clothesline. We'd like to thank them for their joint sponsorship and congratulate Sonya Eliott for being the lucky duck who won it! Thank you to everyone for their ongoing support.

 A few other announcements on things happening in Toronto & at the TMQG:
  • Toronto Love Project opening on June 25th from 12:00 to 1:30 at North York Center.
  • Our July TMGQ meeting will be at Quilts at the Creek on Saturday, July 28th. **Please note that the meeting will be on Saturday, not Sunday. The show will be running all weekend.
  • Member only Early Bird Registration for October workshops with Andrea Tsang Jackson of 3rd Story Workshop is live! Check your TMQG newsletter for discount codes and shop info. Early bird registration ends July 15th at 11:59pm. Want to become a member? Join here.
  • Thank you to Elisa Versiani Galery and Ghislaine Marie for sharing their yummy snacks!

 Here's all the goodies to look forward to in 2018:
  • June 24: Monetizing Your Craft with guest Michelle Galletta of Kiriki Press
  • July 28 (Saturday): Quilts at the Creek with Leni Levenson Weiner Trunk Show
  • August 25: Member only Sew Day!
  • September 30: Fast & Easy Gifts & Guild Elections
  • October 27 & 28: Andrea Tsang Jackson Workshops & Trunk Show
  • December 2 (Date Change): Holiday Party!
Sorry for the inconvenience, but some of the dates and locations have shifted to accommodate guild initiatives and room booking constraints. We apologize and hope you will be able to join us!



Missing Pieces designed by Adrienne Van Halem

2019 QuiltCon Charity Quilt
Thanks to Adrienne Van Halem, the designer of our QuiltCon 2019 Charity Quilt entitled Missing Pieces which has 10 squares representing the lives lost in the Toronto van attack among the many others lost to violence against women. 

Northcott has generously donated Colorworks Premium Solids fabric for the front of our quilt, and Adrienne will be at the June 24th meeting to distribute kits to TMQG members who would like to participate in piecing it. The kits will contain enough fabric for a few rows of the quilt, plus grid interfacing to make the sewing a breeze - and accurate! 

Check out the MQG site for more information on the 2019 QuiltCon Charity Quilts.



Shirley Dawson's box of everyday sewing gadgets

 TMQG Spotlight: Tool Time with Shirley Dawson
A big thank you to Shirley Dawson who did an amazing job opening our minds by showing us some clever and innovative ways to use everyday household items for quilting. I might take up home pedicures just so I can buy those toe foam thingies! As a special perk, Shirley donated some of her household notions as door prizes for the guild. Thanks again Shirley!

Download Shirley's list of household notions here. 




Toronto Love Project
Berene Campbell has spearheaded the Toronto Love Project and we're so excited to see all the beautiful banners up, showing the love. There's still a tiny amount of time left to make a banner for the Toronto Love Project! Banners are due June 21st and instructions can be found here. The opening will be on June 25th from 12:00 to 1:30 at North York Center. Hope to see you there!



Panel: Valerie Prideaux (not pictured) Jeannie Jenkins, Rebecca Burnett & Lynda Hutchison

Programming: Show Skills Panel
Thank you to Valerie Prideaux, Jeannie Jenkins, Rebecca Burnett and Lynda Hutchison who answered all our questions regarding how to prepare, enter, and show a quilt. Collectively, they've had quilts shown at Quilts at the Creek, Quilt Canada, QuiltCon, and other local and juried shows. Here's what we learned from them.

Juried shows typically cost money to enter and can have strict guidelines for acceptance. There are usually monetary prizes for winners, which are judged both on originality and technical proficiency (although they may not be weighted equally).

Local shows are often run by local guilds and are attended by family and friends. Quilts at the Creek is a great local show held in a public venue (so there is a larger audience). Local shows usually have a few guidelines for acceptance (such as minimum size) and are often open to anyone to participate.

There are many benefits to entering your quilt into a show. There's the thrill of sharing your work with a broader audience, you can get critical feedback from judges, or get free entry to the show to view the inspiring work being displayed. 

Here are some tips before you enter your quilt:

  • Ensure your photos are of high quality (the TMQG is planning on hosting a photography session at The Workroom in November)
  • Read the guidelines carefully
  • When shipping, it is less expensive if you under-insure your quilt and call it a “blanket”; expect it to be gone for a few months; consider tracking it with an electronic device sewn into the label like Lynda did (Tile Mate)
  • Don’t hesitate to enter! Give it a shot and hope for the best 

Memories of a Churn Dash Block Lotto

 Block Lotto: Memories of a Churn Dash
Thank you to everyone who participated in this month's Block Lotto Challenge! We had 55 blocks submitted (or was it 54?). Point is, we had so many blocks that winner, Adrienne Van Halem had a hard time counting them. Because of the constraints, we saw so much creativity and we were all pretty blown away with all the variations. We look forward to seeing this all in a quilt!

Thank you to Karen Brown for organizing this fun block lotto.


Show & Share
As the guild has grown, we have seen a huge increase in the amount of show and shares. It's great! Every month we all walk away being inspired and blown away by the amazing work our members are creating. Keep it up!

Valerie Prideaux was up first with My Log Cabin. She got tired of making log cabin blocks, so this sat for a long time. It wasn't until she thought of this layout that she was able to finish it up! @crayonpatch



Adrienne Van Halem shared her 100 Days 100 Blocks quilts (pattern by Tula Pink). She wanted to make two separate quilts that went together to lay on a bed as a set, but that had different batting weights. One is bamboo and the other wool. What a fine pair! @agentpeachquilts




Louise Dixon made this Japanese X + quilt after being inspired by the pattern itself.



Christine Navarro made this beautiful Doodle Quilt inspired by Little Pincushion Studio. It's machine appliquéd with transparency colors, which is a new technique for Christine, and is great using any doodle you can imagine. @sewing_navigator



Bob Gentili started this quilt, Goodnight Irene, for last year's "sew a jelly roll day." It was the first quilt she did on her longarm and she cleverly used an embroidery hoop for her "ruler" work. Pattern by Missouri Star Quilt Co. @geekybobbin



Debi DeSantis also brought in her Tula Pink 100 Days 100 Blocks quilt. She got into the challenge after being inspired by Ludgera (who showed her version in April) and Debi thoroughly enjoyed the experience, except for the fact that this kept her from her other sewing! She gifted it to a dear friend who loves green. It's a beautiful gift, Debi!! @debilla



Karen Brown shared her Long Time Gone quilt (designed by Jen Kingwell). She loved figuring out how to make this quilt without using the pattern. Looks spot on to me! @justgetitdonequilts



Sandra Sarner did this amazing quilt from the book "From Machine Quilting with Design" and used the wrong side of the fabric for the grey background. She made this for her dentist as a thank you for his patience during a long procedure. What a thoughtful gift! @sandrasarner



Debbie Burchell created this sweet panel quilt for the Linus Project - Quilts for Sick Kids. Well done!



Gwen Hopkins designed this Flying Geese Baby quilt and if you pay close attention, you can see that one little goose is flying backwards. @gwenhop50



Laura Henneberry had two quilts this month. The first is Untitled that was created with her son. He helped with each step (except for rotary cutting, he's only 7) and it was a fun project for them to work on together. 


The second quilt was a self-designed Circus Tent Quilt. This is for a friend who recently had a baby girl. @commonwealthquilts




Next Time at the TMQG
See you at our next meeting on June 24th from 3:30 to 5:30 pm at Trinity- St.Pauls (427 Bloor St W). Here’s a little tidbit of what you can look forward to! 
  • Monetizing Your Craft Panel discussion with Michelle Galletta of Kiriki Press, Doris Lovadina-Lee and Bob Gentili.
  • Kicking off the President's Challenge -- It'll be a quiet challenge!
  • Jane Cramer's Walking Foot Spotlight
  • Campaign info for the 2019 TMQG Executive Board
  • And a $40 gift card for the paid raffle ticket door prize. $2/ticket or 3/$5.

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