After our May meeting I have decided that my quilts need more sparkles. Over the past few months we have had wonderful speakers who have had very glittery, bright coloured quilts and I am wanting to get with the program and see if I can perk up some of my smaller wall hangings. I could start with Christmas and make sparkling snowflakes to dress up my goofy, cartoony reindeer. I must approach our new Workshops committee and see if they can look into this for me. I think I might have to wait a few years since they have been very active and booked several workshops already. My goodness, I have not seen such a crowd at the Workshops table for a long time. I think that clothesline they had of fabric streamers definitely caught our members eyes and they were drawn in. Well done Workshops committee.

Our May speaker, Cynthia Frenette, accompanied by her husband, Norm, fascinated us with the telling of the whole process of quilt design and creation using mixed media. I enjoyed hearing about the process and seeing her finished projects. We got to see them up close and then there was SHOPPING. I am looking at my purchases as I write this article. I bought several fat quarters, fabric which I have seen nowhere else. Now, I own fabric with skulls on it and gals in fishnet stockings on roller blades. And then to top off that piece of fabric there are the words “Skate or Die”. Cynthia definitely designs unique fabric. I have teenagers in my family and I am excited about just showing them my purchases. I may have to go to Cynthia’s online store, Spoonflower, and purchase more if needed. She has some very cute quilt labels for sale and if you are looking for anything unique she is the gal to look up.

In June we have the presentation of Community Quilts and the winners of the TGIF Program along with a social evening of talk and food and drink. We may have more than one winner depending on the size of the money pot and what our Program committee decides. So, if you have a few Community quilts tucked away this is the month or perhaps the week to finish them up. Even if you only have time to finish the top bring it to our meeting and perhaps someone else will volunteer to finish it over the summer.

Our attendance has been standing strong at just under 100 members per meeting. If you have a friend or acquaintance who you think might be interested in joining our lovely group this would be a great meeting to come to. They will get a great presentation of Show and Tell in the form of our Community Quilts along with a cup of tea, some treats and great company. What a fine way to entice people to join us. Our Community Quilts Program is an important aspect of guild life and one we should all be proud of. We provide community service using our time in doing an activity we love to do. This has got to be Good Karma!

See you all on the 25th with your most important name tag, your mug, library books, library fine(s) money and also 50/50 raffle money, your cheque book for Workshops registration, any “free” quilt related items for others to enjoy and your own personal Show and Tell along with any more Community Quilts you have finished. I wish you all a lovely, relaxing and enjoyable summer.

Happy Quilting (or gardening or socializing or traveling etc.),
Betty

What are your plans for summer? Maybe start a summer quilt or finish one? Never too late to start planning those quilts for Quilt Show… is your membership up to date? If you know a member from last year, that has not renewed, remind them there is still time to do so. Although this is not a quilt show year, in order for a member to show quilts in the show of June 2014, a member must be in good standing as of the beginning of December 2013.

We currently have 138 members registered and we had 92 in attendance at the last meeting. A membership list is now ready for distribution. If you have any questions or concerns please don’t hesitate to email me.

Remember to bring your nametag in order to win the door prize. Congratulations to our May winners: Sharon Willemse, Marg Rae, Laurel Hickey and Pat Bowman. Be sure to remember to be wearing your name tag in order to claim your prize, should your name be drawn.

Name tags are available, if you forget to bring yours, and are $1 each.

Have a wonderful month, and Happy Stitching!

Kate Burzuk
Membership Coordinator

Please note that at the June Guild meeting older issues of a number of our magazine subscriptions are going to be on sale for $0.50/issue in order to make room in Library for new titles. Be sure to check out the Sale Table! P

lease return all items out on loan this month – especially those that are overdue! And remember that no items can be loaned out over the summer.

If you come across any new titles that you would like to see in our library please email the librarian and we will try to order them for September.

Back by popular demand. In this workshop you’ll learn how to piece and appliqué a Dresden plate entirely by machine. The Dresden will be framed by a border of flying geese, simply quilted, then bound to complete a 20″ pillow cover or a beautiful mini-quilt wall hanging! Charm packs are perfect for this project, providing ample selection for scrappy piecing.

DATE: Saturday, September 21, 2013
TIME: 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
PLACE: St. Agnes Church, 530 East 13th, North Vancouver
COST: $50.00 (includes pattern fee)
OTHER ITEMS REQUIRED: you can order through Krista if you wish, and can pay with registration – 22.5 degree Dresden ruler, cost $15 – 22” square fusible fleece batting, cost $4

Why sew straight lines when it’s so easy to free-motion cut and sew gently curving, wavy lines? In this workshop, we will tap into our creativity and learn some simple techniques to turn sets of gorgeous batik “streamers” into big, bold, wavy blocks with a modern feel. Your workshop fee includes 2 sets of streamers – enough for a lap quilt top. Sign up early so you can choose from the best selection of streamers – the colour range is amazing! This is a fun, easy and low-cost workshop, and all machine-sewn.

DATE: Saturday, October 5, 2013
TIME: 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
PLACE: St. Catherine’s Church, 1058 Ridgewood Dr, North Vancouver
COST: $45.00 (includes fabric streamer to make lap sized top)