Dougal designs The Freckles Collection, patterns that combine whimsical stitchery and appliqué into quilted wall-hangings. Her inspiration came in 1987 in a hand-piecing, hand-quilting sampler class. A trip to International Quilt Market confirmed that stitchery/embroidery was making a come-back. She combines hand-work, stitching, color, fabric, quilting, the many things she loves to do, into one medium. Patterns that could teach stitching and quilting
techniques are the answer.

Dougal’s patterns have been published in Australian Patchwork and Quilting and Quilter’s Connection magazines. She was also featured in Canadian Quilters’ Association magazine. Through exposure at International Quilt Market, Dougal’s patterns are now sold in Australia, Norway, New Zealand, South Africa and throughout North America.

Dougal has taught at many quilt shops in the Vancouver area. She particularly enjoys sharing her quilts, ideas and knowledge through presentations to quilt guilds and groups.

Come and meet Dougal at our March meeting and bring your wallets. Dougal will be bringing some patterns with her for sale. She is also generously donating a door prize or two so remember your name tags!

This month is our annual election, but after the “business” portion of the meeting is over one of our newest guild members, Vivian Kapusta will be presenting a trunk show of her art quilts with a discussion of process and design.

Vivian has been quilting for 15 years and shows her work in national and international shows. She recently curated the ‘Together’ show in La Connor WA at the Quilt and Textile Museum. I’m very excited about meeting Vivian; she was on our list of people we wanted to lure to the Guild for an evening and when she joined the Guild a few months ago we bumped her to the top of our list. Please come out and welcome Vivian to LGQG and make it a fantastic evening.

This month we have a very special theme: Men in Quilting! We have two fabulous male quilters who will be visiting us and telling their stories.

One of our speakers is Matthew Wheeler of “The Quilted Bear” in Ladner. Matt has been interested in sewing as far back as he can remember, learning to quilt from his mother and completing his first quilt in 1995. Not long after the quilting bug bit him, he started working as a travel nurse and found it difficult to quilt with little spare time and no dedicated quilting space. Shortly after moving to BC in 2001, Matt started making a few home decorating projects but quickly returned to quilting. Matt taught himself many sewing and crafting techniques from books, videos, internet and TV, mainly because he didn’t know where to find the opportunity to attend a class. After hearing about a local store that offered classes, Matt took his first “official” quilt lesson at The Quilted Bear in 2009. He bought fabric every chance he got and felt the need to own every notion, gadget, or pattern he saw, even though he may never use it (sound familiar?).

When the opportunity came up in early 2011, Matt purchased “The Quilted Bear” in Ladner to be surrounded by quilting – from quilters to fabric and everything in between. Matt enjoy seeing the unique and wonderful creations of quilters, and the shop continues to hold popular quilting retreats three times per year.

Matt is also a member of the Boundary Bay Quilt Guild and the Vancouver Modern Quilt Guild. Bring your $$ – Matt may be bringing some of his wares and set up a table.

Our other guest this month is Paul Krampitz. Paul is one of those incredibly dedicated, industrious quilters who puts as much effort into his back as his quilt fronts. When folks get one of his quilts as a gift they are really getting two for one. Yet instead of halving his production, he still manages to be prolific. And when he’s not sewing, he’s either surfing quilting sites looking for new ideas and different techniques to try out, or posting on-line tutorials to his blog, Paul’s Block Party at http://paulsblockparty.blogspot.com. If you want a good giggle, check out his “Big Packages” Christmas tree skirt. It’s hysterical.

In the mid 1990’s Paul quit his bank job and sold his condo to finance a trip encompassing the length and breadth of Africa. Visiting tailors in every community he spent any time in, he asked for snippets of fabric as a souvenir. The memory quilts he’s made from these remnants are among the quilts that he’ll be showing. Here’s what Paul has to say about his work: “I’ve been quilting for over 25 years, starting out really traditional. Now I’m really into modern quilting. What got me quilting are two 70 year old quilts I have from my West Virginia Gramma. One is made from my Mom and Aunt’s dresses. These quilts inspired me to do it too. When I found out about rotary cutters, rulers and cutting mats, I knew this was for me! My focus now is on improvisational piecing using whites, solids, modern fabrics and making wonky versions of traditional blocks. I am inspired by all the pictures of quilts that are now available on-line in people’s blogs and flickr group.”

In keeping with our theme – why don’t you bring a little something you have made for a man in your life to show. Or better yet – something a man in your life may have made for you.

Hello Fellow Quilters!

Can you believe the holidays are just a month away? Ouch! To help you get started on your festivities we are planning a holiday themed November meeting.

First off is a home made Seasonal Gift Exchange (most likely a tree ornament but perhaps something else). If you would like to exchange a small homemade ornament with a fellow guild member please bring it to November’s meeting wrapped and with your name on it. Whoever brings a little gift will get one in exchange. We are making this a small gift exchange because, frankly, Christmas snuck up on me and I barely remembered to announce it in the last newsletter. New Years Resolution #1 – be more organized and plan ahead!

Second, please bring your favourite Seasonal/Christmas decorations that you have made for your home for show and tell. Christmas is actually the only holiday I get super excited about and have made a few things other than quilts. I’ll bring mine to Novembers meeting if you’ll bring yours.

Finally, we’ll have some goodies at the November meeting so please don’t have dessert before our meeting. If you’d like to share some yummy Christmas treats of your own please bring them along too.

During the social part of the evening feel free to browse and check out some demonstrations that will be going on. Carol Piercy will demonstrate using the “Shape Cut Plus” Ruler which is great for cutting strips and squares and is also good for strip piecing. I’ve seen one and it scares me so I’m interested in the demo. Krista Hennebury (possibly with Dianne Ritter if we can convince her) will also be doing a demo of the new Go! Baby Fabric Cutter – just in time for you to add one to your Christmas list. Anne Read is also going to bring our guild album for you to flip through so you can see what the Guild has been up to in the past.

Let’s get these holidays started!
Andrea

We’re pleased to welcome Eileen Wright of Parksville to our guild meeting this month.

Eileen has been sewing and knitting since she was very young, having been inspired by her grandmother who was a quilter and a dressmaker. Eileen grew up in Ontario but moved to BC in 1984 when her husband was transferred here. She jokingly says that when they divorced he got Ontario while she held out for BC and having loved Vancouver Island from her very first visit she managed to move herself there in 1992. Recently Eileen moved from Nanaimo to Parksville and wonders why it took her so long to get there. She loves Parksville and all the fun quilters that she has met.

Eileen claims that although she has always been a traditional quilter, she feels compelled to push the boundaries in order to create original work. Thus twisting bargello is not as ‘out there’ as you might think.

Eileen is currently working on new designs for a second book since “Twist and Turn Bargello Quilts” has been so well received. It made the Martingale best seller list shortly after its release in December 2009 and has now been reprinted for the 6th time. Eileen is coming back to the Guild in the Spring 2012 to teach us one of her patterns.

Terry Aske (New Westminster) is the featured speaker at our next meeting on September 27.

Terry’s journey into art quilts began 13 years ago when, in 1998, a friend invited her to take a one-day quilting course. After many years of dabbling in various creative activities such as beading, drawing, painting, knitting and sewing, Terry had finally found an artistic medium that fascinated and inspired her. She soon discovered the work of other art quilters and started designing her own quilts. The design and construction of fabric-based art has become her passion.

Terry loves to use interesting and often bright fabrics to create unique designs. When she started quilting she was in a “geometric” phase, but moved on to a “nature” phase. She has recently begun to experiment with re-interpreting photos in fabric. Terry exhibits her quilts in shows and on the internet.

She has an online shop at etsy.com (http://www.etsy.com/people/TerryAskeArtQuilts), which gives her an outlet for sharing her passion and getting direct feedback on her creations. Terry also creates commissioned pieces. When not creating quilts, Terry can usually be found prowling the local forests and gardens for design ideas.