The seasonal change is upon us. With September, and the cooler weather, I know that I am not alone in being excited to stir the creative challenge and rewards waiting for us as quilters. The new colours and designs are in our local fabric stores and provide the palette for our chosen means of expression.  We are so lucky!

Stay tuned!  Our webmaster Colleen Bell has been working with the Executive to change our website and newsletter distribution.  We will be transitioning over time to a new WordPress site which will enhance the visual appeal of our website, make it easier to maintain, and will provide quicker access to information.  As this plan moves forward, we will keep you all updated.

The Community Librarian at the North Vancouver City Library has asked our members to consider participating in their Urban Homesteading series at the Library.  The series is a monthly Wednesday evening presentation that is free and open to the public with a focus on connecting community.  Should we take this on, we would provide background information on our topic (quilting), and then spend the second hour helping attendees to practice their new skill.   Our Programs Committee has some material that could be used for the practice session.   This represents an opportunity for us to showcase our craft, and we are looking for a volunteer to commit to a date in early 2017.   Will someone step forward?

I am sad to say that a long time member and creative quilter, Gaye McCance, suffered a heart attack and passed away on July 28^th.  Gaye struggled with multiple health challenges, but never hesitated to participate in workshops, community quilts, our quilt show, and cops days. You may also have met her mother at our meetings. See the box below for information on the Joint service planned for Oct 15.

CQA is reaching out for a national quilting project Big Quilt Bee to help sick kids right across Canada!  Their goal is to make and donate 1,000 quilts for kids at Ronald MacDonald houses across Canada for Canada’s 150^th birthday.  Participation can be as simple as making a 12” slab block using at least one Canada 150 fabric. We have some ideas on how we can actively participate as a guild in this initiative and will be communicating more as the fabrics are made available locally.

At the June 28th LGQG meeting the 50/50 lottery draw raised $111.00.  The winner Melanie Zdan, took home $55.50.

Welcome back everyone!
Bena Luxton

Where has the summer gone?  Soon we will be thinking about Hallowe’en and Christmas – heaven forbid.  I hope you enjoyed a great barbecue or two as you visited with family and friends over the summer.  Now it’s time to spend some time in your quilting room or visiting with your quilting friends.

I hope to see a lot of you at the September meeting.  We are always delighted to see returning members and have new ones join us.  The registration fee for non-registered but returning members is $55.00 for the year.  Only new members will be prorated to $27.50 for the remainder of the year.

We currently have 122 registered members and had 75 members in attendance along with one guest at our June guild meeting.  The door prizes were won by Barb Brawn and Joan Elliott.

Be sure to sign in and be wearing your nametag in order to claim your door prize, should your number be drawn.  Nametags are available for $1.00 at the membership table should you forget to bring yours.

Should you have any questions or concerns please do not hesitate to contact me at membership@lionsgatequiltersguild.com

Happy Stitching,

Joan Herrin
Membership Coordinator

After a quiet summer, we are getting ready for two workshops this fall, as well as planning our January Extravaganza.  Our September 24^th workshop, Circles, Circles, Circles, with Terry Aske, is completely sold out.  We are really looking forward to it!  Our next workshop, Landscapes, with Susan Jensen, takes place in November.  See below for a description of the class and Susan’s biography.  Plans for the January Extravaganza include a celebration of Canada’s 150^th birthday.  More info to follow!

Jane Andrew
Workshops Coordinator

WOW!  I felt so privileged this month.  I was able to walk to the quilt show and participate at the raffle station.  Many of you came up to wish me well and remark on the results so far of my knee surgery.  Thanks everyone for caring.  As for myself, I was in awe of the wonderful quilts displayed at our semi-annual quilt show.  Visual eye candy of all flavours – modern, traditional, hand quilting, long arm quilting… a display of which each and every one of our members should be proud.

Our boutique was no slouch and did not shy from taking my money!  Visitors were very impressed with the crafted gifts.  And of course, there was the merchant mall!

I am looking forward to seeing the results of the raffle quilt sales.  The location of the sales desk at the entrance worked well! No one phoned so I guess I did not win!

Thank you to Dianne Ritter and her team for all the hard work. What an effort. And thanks to Barbara Beatty for her inspired “Tell me a story” challenge.  I hope most of you were able to make it to our quilt show and savour the moment!

Enjoy our social games, treats, and recognition meeting on the 28th of June.  At this month’s meeting we will showcase the winning quilts and the 3 winning challenge quilts from the show. Please remember to bring your ribbon winning quilts to the show.  Away from the crowd, our guild members can admire and enjoy them again.  Krisa Hennebury will have just returned from CQA and will briefly share her experience.

For those who picked up signs you can return them at the guild meeting this month.

As we head into summer, and quilting quiet time, all books need to be back at the library for the end of June.

We are looking for a named volunteer to commit to taking a few photos (phone quality is okay) at our monthly meeting and sending them to our newsletter.  Please step forward.

At the May meeting, Edna Simpson won the 50/50 draw.  The total amount raised was $92.00, and Edna received $46.00.  The balance is given to Community Quilts.

Thanks again to Suzanne Patchell, our wonderful VP, who stepped in to backfill me during the April and May meeting.

I wish you all a happy and healthy summer, surrounded by family and friends.

Bena Luxton

What an amazing Quilt Show!!  It’s hard to believe that it has come and gone and so has June.  Where does the time go when you are busy quilting?

We currently have 122 members in our guild. Do you know someone who might be interested in quilting and would like to join us? Bring them to a meeting – the first visit is free. After that there is a $5.00 drop in fee

payable at the membership table or a membership is $55.00 a year. Please remember that the prorated rate of $27.50 is for New Members only and comes into effect September through December.  We also welcomed 2 guests to our meeting.

To be a door prize winner, be sure to be wearing your nametag at the meeting. Congratulations to our May winners: Leslie Forbes and Karen Marshall.  Nametags are available for $1.00 each if you forget to bring your own.

The new membership lists were emailed out to all members just after the April guild meeting.

If you have any questions or concerns please do not hesitate to contact membership@lionsguildquiltersguild.com.

Have a wonderful summer and I look forward to seeing you all in September.

Happy Stitching,
Joan Herrin

Not to brag, but don’t we put on an excellent quilt show?  The quilts were awesome, and so many people helped to put the show on.  It was a treat to see some quilts from workshops we have held, as well as our January Fun Day!  Many thanks to all who contributed!!

We still have a few places left in two fall workshops: Circles, Circles, Circles! with Terry Aske, and Landscape with Susan Jensen.  Please register if you are interested, as we will be advertising outside of our guild after the June meeting.

Jane Andrew
Workshops Coordinator

Hi quilty friends,

I’m still coming down off the high of our quilt show! I was only able to be there on Saturday, but I had the best day! The show was beautiful. I thought the quilts were stunning, and I received the same feedback from many of our guests. It was so nice to hear that, because sometimes quilting is a bit of a solitary pursuit. It was nice to see so many friends and family attend, and be inspired by our work. I think we will have a few new members at our September meeting.

I won’t be at the June meeting, because I will be in Ontario for a wedding. I’m sorry to miss the meeting, and I’m very grateful that Jo Ann Lee has agreed to take on the library and sale duties for the meeting.

Modern Selvage Quilting: Easy-Sew Methods 17 Projects Small to Large by Riel Nason arrived a couple days after the last meeting, and it looks great. Unfortunately, it can’t be taken out just yet …

All library books must be returned at the June meeting, so we can do an inventory over the summer. Please look around and find them now, so don’t forget to bring them to the meeting. If you can’t make it to the meeting, please have a friend drop them off for you.  Remember, there is a $1 fine per book per month. All fines collected go into the budget to buy new books. I will be calling to track down books that are not returned, and I’d rather not store them in my apartment for the summer.  Don’t make me call you!

We will be having a SALE of donated books and magazines at the June meeting. Now is the time to go though your quilting library and pass on the books that no longer inspire you. Books will be sold for a donation of $1, and magazines for $0.25, with all proceeds going to buy new books for the library. (If your donated books don’t sell, please take them home at the end of the meeting as we don’t have storage space to keep them for the next sale.)

I will be adding new books to our library for the September meeting, and I will add them to our listings as soon as I order them. Browse our library listings at https://lionsgatequiltersguild.com/library/. You can email me at librarian@lionsgatequilters.com to make suggestions or to place a hold on a book for September.

Have a wonderful summer!
Paula

Many thanks to all the guild members for their support and encouragement as I chaired the April guild meeting. It’s a challenge to attempt to fill in for our president as she recuperates from knee replacement surgery but, thanks to her advance preparation of agendas, I think things are going quite smoothly. Bena ‘s recovery is going very well but physio is challenging and exhausting. With her dedication and focus on regaining mobility, her progress is well ahead of schedule. She and I are planning to get together for coffee or lunch one day this week so I will let her know we all wish her the best.

I know that all Canadians are horrified by the wildfire situation in Fort McMurray and feel heartsick for all the residents and want to do something to help. As quilters, our immediate response is to make and donate quilts. By looking on Facebook or by Googling ‘Fort McMurray fire quilts’, there are many sites organizing such efforts. By the time you read this, I hope you have received the email about the coordination efforts of Heather at Quilters Connection Magazine. However, CQA has advised that at present, the most effective way to help is by making a financial contribution to www.redcross.ca. CQA will continue to reach out to their contacts and as soon as they find out that quilts are ready to be distributed, we will be advised. I’m sure many of us would like to get busy quilting so we are ready to contribute when the time is right.

From all the feedback I’ve heard, we all enjoyed the April program with Judy Villett. As someone new to quilting, I was intrigued by her ‘colour wash technique’ – maybe this might be something of interest for a future workshop. Let Jane Andrew know if this or some other project would be something to consider for next season.

Right now, I think we are all focusing on preparing for the Quilt Show. June 10 will be here before we know it – by working all together we can make the show a great success and a wonderful event to showcase the guild. Don’t forget to sell your raffle tickets – the proceeds being the major source of funding for the Community Quilts program.

In April, Debbie Barrett won the 50/50 – $51.50 (with the same amount going to Community Quilts).

I hope to see everyone at the May meeting where we will showcase many of the Community Quilts made this year and honour the volunteers who give so generously of their time.

Suzanne Patchell

The Quilt Show is almost upon us!! Have you been working hard to get that last stitch in the binding, putting your labels on and, oh, don’t forget the need for a 4” sleeve. Not sure how to do something? Ask your fellow quilters as we all are a great resource for one another.

To date we have 122 members in our guild. Do you know someone who might be interested in quilting and would like to join us? Bring them to a meeting – the first visit is free. After that there is a $5.00 drop in fee payable at the membership table or a membership is $55.00 a year. Please remember that the prorated rate of $27.50 is for New Members only and comes into effect September through December. However, membership is currently $75.00 until after the Quilt Show and includes your membership and four tickets to the quilt show.

To be a door prize winner, be sure to be wearing your nametag at the meeting. Congratulations to our April winners: Sharon Bovee and Jane Ellis.  Nametags are available for $1.00 each if you forget to bring your own.

The new membership lists were emailed out to all members just after the April guild meeting.

If you have any questions or concerns please do not hesitate to contact membership@lionsguildquiltersguild.com.

See you in May and at the Quilt Show!!
Joan Herrin