Best Friends Forever - CQA/ACC Member Challenge - Winter 2014

This challenge brought in a variety of interpretations of the theme - mostly people who have been friends for a long time, some who are missed, as well as animals.These amazing quilts made it a difficult job for our judge, Elizabeth King (CQA/ACC Apprentice Judge) to select winners.Thanks to Elizabeth for helping with this task.
Also a special thanks to Susan Aylesworth of Quilting Confections of Windsor, ON for her donation of 3 fabulous prizes to go to the winners of this challenge.





This piece entitled “Memories” was created to honour my best friend Sandy A. She will remain my Best Friend Forever because she introduced me to quilting shortly after starting our quilt guild and shortly after that she passed away. The pictures taken with cameras of her, her work and the workshops and techniques she inspired us to try, are all we have to remember her now. She was a quilter’s best friend. 
Pat Golem








 
Having lived, all of my life, on a farm I have noticed new and odd friendships blossoming. A new born calf and a week old foal became the best of friends, which was to be a friendship forever. For many years they looked out for each other and were never far apart.
This is a 22 1/2" x 28 1/2 " wall hanging, using applique and free motion, that I designed myself except for the shapes of the cow and horse that I borrowed from a twenty year old coloring book that I had saved for a someday project.. I painted the facial expressions to suit my hanging. I have used real hair for the mane and tails, artificial nails for the cows' teeth, hot glue for the cows' horns and specialty buttons for other embellishments. The background animals are fussy cut from fabric and the quilt on the barn is painted. 
Linda Hatten

 




Friends of all ages are drawn together to sit and chat. This is from a commercial pattern which I have since lost so don’t know who to credit. It was fun to create 3-D hankie and belts.
Susan Wilson

 

Susan's third entry is whimsical, three friends playing in winter. My own design based on a Christmas card. I tried using Texture Magic and embellished with beads and buttons. It was quilted with the words Let It Snow and snowflakes.
Susan Wilson





 

The quilt I have entered was completed with thoughts of my sister. It hung in her room at the Palliative Care Unit for 11 weeks. She was such a awesome and strong woman. She lost her battle with cancer and now has her wings. She was my sister, my best friend, my mentor and my mother in many ways.
Quilting was also one of her many passions.
Unfortunately due to renovations I have misplaced the pattern with the name, but I do know the pattern was designed by a quilter in Brockville, Ontario.
Helen Lane

 

This is Keeta - Bill's best friend for 16 years. Bill is my brother-in-law. Keeta is starting to show a little grey on her mussel so I wanted to do something special to keep her around for many years to come. She also happens to be my dog'grandmother.
Sue Scott
 

Penpals -I have been penpals with a woman for the past almost 48 years...we started writing to each other in grade 6...February 1, 1967 was my first letter to her. Over the years we have shared many "best friend" experiences...each other's weddings, each other's daughter's weddings, births of grandchildren, taking motorcycle trips together along with our husbands, and eventually sharing a love of quilting (me first, then I got Peggy involved).
In March 2011, I suggest to by BEST FRIEND, Peggy, that we make round robin quilts. Attached is our story and a photo of my quilt. These quilts are our own design. (I didn’t attach this as there were names and is very lengthy - but if you wish, I can)
Mary Weber

 

This challenge was certainly challenging! Which friend? What to quilt? Finally I went back to the basics – my family. Mom, dad, 2 sisters and 1 brother – best friends in the blood. And this quilt displays an oft repeated scene lately – I arrive to visit my mother just in time for tea. I make tea and put out a treat (usually Christmas cake) then sit and chat with my mother and 2 sisters (one doesn’t drink tea and one only drinks Moroccan mint green tea!). We catch up with our brother’s latest phone call and updates about his family (hockey playing daughters in Calgary) and then go on to talk about the books we are reading.
Lauren MacDonald
 






This is me and my oldest best friend, taking selfies in the mirror, after we discovered we both had felt winter hats. 
Laine Canivet

Cochrane Quilters' Guild First Parade

Cochrane Quilters' Guild were in the First Cochrane Christmas Parade on Dec. 13. Suzanne Stranks was very instrumental in bringing the idea to the guild and organizing the volunteers. 

Her DH (Dear Husband) works for TransAlta and they sponsored our float providing a truck/driver and entry fee. 

The entry fee was waived by the parade committee so we were able to buy fabric  (yes what a chore for a quilter isn't it) for red fleece skirts and white fleece scarves. We are all tickled pink to have been given First prize and a free entry into next year's parade. 

Suzanne Stranks holding the trophy

 With the win we led the parade through downtown Cochrane. We had to go past Addie's Creative Fabrics, our lqs (local quilt shop), and not one of us got out to shop!

Cindy Simpson
Regional Rep for Alberta
 

In this photo two of the gals with their backs to us..... they were busy watching the fellows with the Men in Kilts Window Washing truck/float. They did indeed have kilts on!

 from all of us who are a part of CQA/ACC!




 

Member's Approach to the Trend-Tex Challenge-2

Lezley Zwaal is sharing her path and thoughts as she prepares her quilt for the 2015 Trend-Tex challenge with the theme "Blowing in the Wind”. In our last episode, we left her searching for an old family photograph. Her story continues....
                                           
I found the photo, and now have my sister’s permission to use it!

see note below

The picture? Not yet my quilt. However, a picture can tell you a story: My dad flew kites. As a young girl in Regina (windy prairies – open skies) dad made “box” kites - and they went waaaaay up high! I loved to watch him work on them, and get them soaring high! I don’t recall ever trying to fly them – I think he valued his hobby too much.
Then as time passed, life happens and dad’s kites no longer flew. Then I moved to Edmonton. It was a lonely first Christmas there – my hubby and I didn’t know anyone – and I missed my family. I wondered what to get the parents for Christmas that would be easy to send back home! I found a kite store when I was Christmas shopping! Memories flooded back – and I HAD to buy him a kite – maybe in his retirement he would be able to find time to fly them again!
He loved it and his hobby was renewed!!
Super fast-forward to 2014 when I open the website for the CQA/ACC in Lethbridge and see the BLOWN AWAY logo! Again – memories flood back! Now – to turn this into the challenge piece.
The kites he is flying!!! Does this not say “Trend-Tex Challenge colours?”

Lezley


please note: this photo is a very old family photo!

Youth Challenge - Alexa's Idea

Alexa Kalist, one of our 2014 Cantik Batiks Youth Challenge winners, had a wonderful idea for teaching youth to sew.  Make a simple stuffed animal (stuffie).  They’re easy, fun, and quick.  They can be stitched by hand and/or machine and the project is suitable for all experience levels. It’s a great way to unleash their creativity and build confidence.
Alexa designed an original stuffie and wrote the following tutorial.  I’m thrilled to share it with you.
I made my own stuffie, using Alexa’s pattern.  You can see him below and in the step-by-step photos.  His name is Mulligan.  He likes to collect lint and has a knack for finding lost pins and needles which makes him a handy fellow to have around.

Mulligan

I’d like to challenge our youth to make a stuffie.  They can use Alexa’s pattern or design their own.  Send your photographs, and the story of your stuffie, to youthprograms@canadianquilter.com.  I’d love to share them on this blog.
Please leave a comment at the end of the post so Alexa can see how much we appreciate all her hard work. 
Jo Ferguson 

How to Design and Make Your Own Stuffie

By Alexa Kalist

Alexa's Stuffie

Have you ever wanted to make your own stuffed animal but didn’t know where to start? Well if the answer is yes, then this is a project for you. This is a step-by-step guide to designing, making a pattern, and sewing your very own stuffed animal.                                                    
1. Start by figuring out what you want your stuffie to look like. You might want it to be big, or really small. It’s totally up to you.
2. You can use the pattern that I’ve provided or you can make your own. Here’s a link to my pattern:



 

Here’s how to make your own pattern: 
STEP 1:  Start by folding a piece of paper in half.  You can use a simple sheet of printer paper if that’s the size that you want your stuffie to be, or you could use a bigger piece if you want a bigger stuffie.                
STEP 2:  Starting at the folded edge of the paper, draw half of what you want your stuffie to look like. 
STEP 3:  Keep the paper folded and cut out your ‘half shape.’ 
Now, when you unfold the pattern, you’ll have symmetrical shape that looks like what you want your stuffie to look like.  




 

 3. With the paper unfolded, pin the paper to the wrong side of your desired fabric. Draw around the shape, take off the paper, and with an adults’ help, cut out the shape. You can now repeat these steps on the fabric that you want for the back of your stuffie.







4. Now you’re going to want to make some eyes for your stuffie. Cut our some round white circles, the size that you want for the eyes, and some smaller black circles for pupils.                                                                
*TIP:  You can use the lid from something in your fridge to make these circles.
5. Sew the white circles onto the piece of fabric that you want to use as the front of your stuffed animal. Put another piece of fabric on the wrong side of your stuffie shape under where you want to put the eyes. Make sure that you’re sewing the eyes on to the right side of the fabric.
6.  Now that you can sew the black part (pupil) on top of the white part. You can also sew on a smile with some red thread or embroidery floss.  You can add any other embellishments you’d like.                                

*TIP:  You can use a glue stick to help the whites and pupils, of the eyes, stay where you want, while you are sewing them on.


 

7. You now get to sew the two sides of your stuffed animal together. Make sure that you face the fabric right sides together while you sew, otherwise, your stuffie will be inside out! Use a simple running stitch, and leave a gap of about 2 inches un-sewn.
8. Now that it is sewn all the way around, except for the gap that you left open, turn your stuffie outside-in, and stuff with polyester filling, or whatever you have on hand to fill it with.                                          
*TIP: You can use the end of a pencil to get the stuffing into all the tight spots like arms and legs.
9. You’re almost done! Just sew the gap closed that you left open with a needle and thread, and voila!!

You have yourself your own personally designed stuffed animal.

Posting for CQA/ACC Conference Coordinator

The Canadian Quilters Association/Association canadienne de la courtepointe is seeking an individual to plan and coordinate the Quilt Canada 2016 conference in a major centre in Ontario.  This will be a part time position beginning on the date of signing the contract and ending on the date of submitting final reports after the 2016 conference, no later than 30 days post conference.  The contract will be renewable annually on approval of both parties.  Compensation to be negotiated.

Skills Needed:

·                 Experience organizing events of this type or similar events

·                 working knowledge of computer software - esp. Word and Excel

·                 demonstrate oral and written communication skills

·                 demonstrated marketing skills

·                 demonstrated negotiating skills

·                 demonstrated leadership skills and ablility to work as part of a team

To perform this role successfully, an individual:

·       Must be proactive, logical, efficient and be able to multi-task.

·       Must be well organized, have effective time management skills and able to work within established timelines.

To inquire about this position contact the President at president@canadianquilter.com

Giveaway on the 15th

Everyone loves a great giveaway and this is simply the best!
Head to our fb page this Monday the 15th and enter our amazing giveaway.

Check out what is up for grabs!

The Go Iron travel iron has a rubber ring around the handle for a comfortable ergonomic fit.  The non-stick soleplate heats up in 30 seconds.  And best of all it can be used as a dry iron or with continuous steam.

    

The iron cleaner is a glue stick style applicator, which makes removing stains from the soleplates safe and easily.

Simply apply thin layer to the soleplate of iron set to 6°C, rub with a rough cloth to remove debris and then run the iron over a cloth to remove any excess debris remaining and you’re done!!

Stop by our fb page on Monday!!

Member's Approach to the Trend Tex Challenge - 1

Lezley Zwaal shares her story about designing and making her quilt entry for the Trend-Tex challenge. These are her thought processes - presented in several instalments. Watch this space for the next instalment!

Do I or don’t I?
Each year I look at my schedule that appears to be free and clear for working on the challenge for the CQA/ACC conference.   2015 looks no different – and so, the fabrics are ordered!  Life gets busy and a little time passes. Finally a package arrives in the mail!  

Trend-Tex Challenge Fabrics 2015

OH!  I forgot I ordered the challenge fabric!
 
I clear my desk and the package is quickly opened….
My first thought is “Oh my goodness – what am I going to do with this?”

OK – a cup of tea needed.
 

First in the process - Ideas
 
Photography is a hobby – and this year alone I have some spectacular subjects – from home in Edmonton, to Tofino on Vancouver Island to 4 weeks in Europe – Holland and France.  I should be able to find something!  Beach winter sunset, spring flowers, birds, windmills and rural Holland, Rotterdam – the city awakes, 24 hours of Le Mans auto race, Juno Beach and remembering WWII, Vimy Ridge and remembering WWI. 
I start scanning the files for photos that may speak to those colours….What am I going to do with that fabric that looks like kernels of corn still on the cob?
Oh – I should note that at this time I have not read the entire instruction set, nor gone back onto the website.  My search is with those colours in mind.
I have a difficult time with abstract.  I need to have a product that people cannot interpret the design as I envision it. So I start with a real photo, and then use the artistic licence to remove an item not needed, or add something to get the “feeling”.
But first – I have to choose the photo. There are just too many pictures, but finally I cull down.
 

starfish at Tofino, BC

prairie train trestle

Of course, now I read the specifications – and see the kite logo for “blown away”.  

I think there’s a photo that I have of my dad flying his kites!  But I didn’t take it – one of my sisters did.  
Now I’m on a hunt to find that picture. 
 

Continued in next installment - finding that special photo...

Registration - it's here!

Registration for all the fun and educational activities at Quilt Canada 2015 is officially open now! Well actually it was open several days ago. But there's still room for you in all of our classes/workshops. Don't miss this opportunity to take a workshop with our wonderful teachers! Register now!

At this point, registration is only open to CQA/ACC members (as of Nov 26th). However it is worth it to become a member if you want to register for more than 2 one-day classes or one 2-day class. As a member, you'll save $25 per day. It is well worth the price and you get a subscription to The Canadian Quilter quarterly magazine, which is a great all-Canadian resource for local quilting news along with your membership. What a great incentive to join! Plus great workshops too!

Schedules and descriptions for all the workshop classes are available on the CQA/ACC website. You can register online to purchase tickets to Weeks Ringle's lecture "Transforming Traditions: Modernism and Quilts", the Closing Banquet and Ceremonies, a logo pin and more.

If you are not a member, registration opens Jan. 14, 2015.

So don't waste any time -  Register today and prepare to be blown away at Quilt Canada 2015 in Lethbridge, AB June 4-6!

First Time NJS Quilt Entry Winner

Veronica's winning entry

Veronica Puskas, now of Niagara, ON was asked to write about her experience entering a quilt into the National Juried Show (NJS). Her beautiful piece, called “Pillars of Strength” was the winner for a First Time Entrant into the National Juried Show 2014. Here is her story:


I never thought of entering my quilt into the NJS until Roberta Masecar, as part of our quilting group saw my piece when it was nearly done and said that it should be entered in a juried show. I had never heard of it until then, so I checked on line. I started entertaining the idea, then thought "What the heck? I've got nothing to lose and I'll learn something here."
 

Close-up of hand

I had made this quilt in memory of my Mom and Gramma. It took me on a journey while making the pieces. I was actually going to piece what the actual picture shows and that is Mom's ugly woollen trousers and the ugly canvas leggings on their kamiit (boots). I learned what the traditional trousers and leggings should look like by asking family and friends.



(2014 was the first time for online registration into the NJS. Of course, no matter how hard CQA/ACC and the software writers tried to make it a smooth run for everyone, there were glitches.)
 
Apparently this was the first time that on-line registration took place and I thought that went very well except when I had to change the size of the image. Some of the pertinent information got lost. When I finally got an e-mail confirming my entry was accepted, I found some of the information was wrong. After a few emails, the information was corrected.

I had started this quilt based on a class by Nancy Bergman "Zapplique Don't Sweat Quilting the Human Figure" in 2008 I had to start over because I used the wrong materials. This class took place six months after Mom passed away. I was so happy that my piece got accepted that I cried. I could not believe it! I contacted my family and friends and they cried with me as well.
In making “Pillars of Strength” I auditioned different colours of fabric and threads until I was satisfied. I learned how to thread-paint and how to use mixed media other than fabric such as distressed Typar for the rocky hills, tulle for shading and yarn for snow. 

After the piece was quilted I agonized over every little detail: the quilting; straight edges at 90 degrees; ensured there were no waves; stitching on the binding was straight; all pieces were secure; and the hanging sleeve was made according to the instructions. Susan Bowslaugh gave me a very good tip with respect to binding - to use same coloured fabrics as the quilt top. It added another level of difficulty. When I fretted over little things, I listened to my own heart when well-meaning family and friends were saying that my quilt was perfect the way it was. In the end I was right in doing so. When I did not know what to do with it anymore I knew my piece was done.
 
I hired a professional photographer to take pictures of the quilt. I believe this to be key as your photo must give the positive first impression. The camera and lighting are key to very good, clear photographs. This investment is worth every dime and penny. If you have gone through all that you did to get your piece entered and not invest in this, unless you are a professional photographer, you run the risk of not getting accepted. I didn't want to take that risk.

 For me as a first time entrant, this process of entering the National Juried Show was a nail-biting, thrilling roller-coaster experience. It was all worth it in the end when /I saw my quilt hung up with those whose quilts were of high calibre. To me it is like giving birth. You forget all the agony and frustrations that goes with trying to make your piece perfect. And throughout making my piece, I kept hearing my Mother when I just wanted to give up and do a less-than-perfect job "You can do better than that!" What I learned from this process was that I CAN do it. I feel more confident now that I can go through this process again. There is a lot of competition out there with great quilts in the shows. And you learn what you are made of. I felt so honoured to have been part of that.


Veronica’s quilting experience:
I am a self-taught quilter who started in early 1995. I had remembered the embroidered or tied woollen blankets that my Gramma used to have. I learned to quilt by buying quilting magazines and trying out the patterns, not realizing there was a local guild. I made tons of mistakes but I learned a lot too. About two years I finally joined the Yellowknife Quilter's Guild and took as many classes as I could take juggling family and work life. I was lucky to have been part of the Guild as they brought in masters: Jan Krentz, Gail Garber, Libby Lehman, Gloria Loughman, Nancy Bergman to name a few. I felt stifled though in the end before we moved here (Niagara-On-The-Lake, ON) as I wanted to get more into the art quilts. Just two months after we moved here, I was invited to be part of a quilting group that was interested in learning to make different art quilts. I learned a lot from them and they, the Thread Hedz, have given me the confidence to try different media and methods. 


As an Inuk living in southern Canada, the North will always be a part of me and it shows in my art quilts. I remember stories of Nuliayuk and what a powerful sea-goddess she was. I like to incorporate well-known images such as the Inukshuk, or an igloo.   
 
 

Veronica Puskas

Christmas is coming...

Christmas is coming - and it’ll be here before you know it.


Have you thought about shopping at CQA/ACC for that gift for a certain someone who loves quilting, but has everything or maybe just wants something different? 

Well, we have a few gift suggestions for you to give or maybe even to drop a hint for yourself to receive.

A subscription to our popular magazine, The Canadian Quilter that is filled with tons of reading, quilting ideas - it’s Canadian too - and you get a membership to CQA/ACC thrown in as well.

 
 Or might we suggest a trip to Lethbridge for Quilt Canada in June 4-6, 2015 – this could include admission tickets to the National Juried Show, a workshop or two from well-known teachers, the final dinner/banquet. Registration for members opens Nov. 26th, 2014.

One of 37 quilts in the show

Any quilter would love to receive our greeting cards from the 'It's Time For Colour" travelling quilt show. Buy a selection of 10 cards for $35 plus $5 postage; wrap a beautiful ribbon around 3 or 4 and presto - you have two or three delightful hostess gifts.

Lastly, consider one of the "It's Time For Colour" quilts before they are all sold.  

Cards or quilts - you’ll be supporting the Children’s Wish Foundation too.

Blank cards of the quilts

More blank cards of the quilts

These can all be found available online. For magazine subscription and (gift) membership click here.

For various Quilt Canada 2015 events, click here or for Registration for Quilt Canada 2015 items.

They’re all just a click away! And your shopping is done!

CQA/ACC offers an Insurance Policy to Member Guilds

Wow! What a response! Over a hundred member guilds have opted into the insurance policy offered under CQA/ACC’s “umbrella” insurance. We’re very pleased with the response so far. You can still take part in this offer. (This offer is still available.) Guilds are paying $130 (plus tax), saving $300-500 a year.  

There are two sections to the insurance:
-    general liability, covering guilds for bodily injury and/or property damage claims; personal injury; medical payments; tenant’s legal liability.
-    management liability that protects directors and their personal assets from law suits; to cover legal liability that could be imposed related to ‘wrongful acts’ (management of funds, employment practices, defense costs).

How does it work?                               
Contact CQA/ACC Secretary Lauren MacDonald by email (secretary@canadianquilter.com) to get enrolment details or look on the main page of our website (www.canadianquilter.com).  Find the link on the left for Member Guild Insurance.
Fill in the details and email it to Administrative Assistant Jackie Philpott (jackie@canadianquilter.com).
An invoice will then be sent to the member guild, requesting payment.
Confirmation of payment and enrollment will be sent to member registered guild.
Although the policy anniversary is Nov. 1st, guilds can sign up at any time during the year. All policies end Oct. 31st each year.

Not a member? - all you have to do is contact Jackie Philpott (jackie@canadianquilter.com) to sign up as a member guild and you will qualify for this great opportunity!.

Lethbridge - Meet the Teachers - 2

So there are three more teachers to meet for Quilt Canada 2015 in Lethbridge, AB June 4-6, 2014, and I will waste no time in getting right into it.  Good things come to those who wait, and you’ve waited long enough.
 

Karen Henry is first on our list for today.  She learned to quilt in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan in the early nineties, and now makes her home in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, where she has lived since 2000.  Wasting no time in her new home, she started a guild, became a regional representative for CQA/AAC and began teaching classes as well.  As many of us do as well, she considers herself a self-taught quilt artist.  Her heart lies with making pictorial quilts.  She was selected as the Teacher of the Year in 2008.  

Now on to Cindy Needham.  Cindy lives in California and wears many different quilting hats.  She has been a quilting instructor since 1997 and is also a national educator for Superior Threads.  She has taught at many major shows: Sisters Quilt Show, Houston International Festival, Machine Quilting Expo in Providence, Portland Australia Machine Quilting Festival; and Superior Threads School of Threadology.  She has also written a book, Wholecloth Linen Quilts, which was published by AQS in June 2007.  Her writing skills don’t end there!  She has had many articles and features in Quilters Newsletter Magazine, American Quilter, and Machine Quilting Unlimited.  We are very fortunate to have Cindy on the teachers’ list for Quilt Canada 2015.

And our final teacher for next year’s show is Kathy Tidswell.  Kathy lives in New Brunswick, and since she lives in such a beautiful place, it is no surprise that she makes it her goal to realistically recreate the beauty that she finds in nature in her work.  In order to hone her skills, she has taken drawing, water colour and oil painting lessons, as well as other courses from a large range of Canadian and American quilt teachers and embroidery specialists.  Using the best information and techniques she learned, she developed her own method of using both painting on fabric and free motion embroidery to create her own unique style of quilted wall hangings and wearable art.  As with many of our other teachers, Kathy was selected Teacher of the Year by CQA/ACC in 2005. 

And that brings to an end the list of our very experienced and sought after teachers for Quilt Canada 2015.  I’m sure we will be Blown Away by their work and that their classes will fill up quickly.  Only 8 more months until we can learn from them and the show!
Shena Boes, LOC

It's Giveaway Day!

Head on over to our fb page to enter to win these amazing scissors!

 

Mundial carries the finest quality fully plated carbon steel shears. The Classic Forged line is Mundial's most complete assortment of scissors ranging from dressmaker, sewing and craft scissors. All Classic Forged scissors and shears are hot drop forged and fully plated for a lifetime of sewing satisfaction.

       These Dressmaker shears are able to cut through fabric of many weights.  They are designed with bent or offset handles so that whatever is being cut does not have to be lifted off the cutting surface. This feature also ensures the shears do not harm the cutting surface. These Mundial scissors are an ideal choice for your quilting needs.

Now you do have to be a resident of Canada, but you don't have to be a CQA/ACC member. Although I cannot fathom why you wouldn't want to=) 

Quilt Judge Certification Programme

So You Want To Be A Quilt Judge…

Registration for a new intake of those interested in quilt judging opens again this fall. Over the years questions are posed via email or in casual conversation at guild gatherings and shows asking what the programme entails and how one may gain full certification.

The programme is open to any and all who have a passion for quilting, especially those who have a strong commitment to educating peers and who are striving for excellence. The CQA/ACC Quilt Judge Certification Programme (QJCP) was first introduced in 2009 during Quilt Saskatchewan. It has since been refined and further developed to provide committed candidates enrolling in the programme full certification with a professional designation as a CQA/ACC Certified Quilt Judge.

The interested candidate is sure to embark on a journey of intense learning to develop and hone one’s critiquing skills. There is no specific pre-requisite for quilters to register, however, it is expected that a future judge has a well-rounded background in traditional and innovative quilting with knowledge in colour and design. To establish a baseline for all registrants pre-course work is dispatched at the time of registration. It must be completed and submitted for review to the instructors prior to arriving in class for Part I.

Part I is presented every other year at a Quilt Canada Conference to a maximum of 16 students. Three intense days in class are augmented with daily homework exercises to be completed in the evening following the participant’s time in class. Each day is filled with practical exercises based on the pre-course work to further deepen knowledge in quilting and design. The instructors model professional conduct, deliver lectures, lead discussions and continually observe each student’s performance when participating in the practical exercises during the first two days. Day 3 is filled with mock judging experiences involving all students. Individual feedback is provided during the lunch hour. Based on each participant’s individual performance a candidate will be “recommended”, “conditionally recommended” or “not recommended” for Part II.

Successful Part I candidates assume Apprentice Judge status. She/he has up to five (5) years to gain judging experience as outlined in the QJCP manual to fulfill the requirements in qualifying for the Part III practical examination.

The Part III examination will be conducted as a mock judging event with quilts in the NJS. Twelve (12) entries will be selected for judging. Each candidate has sixty (60) minutes to judge the individual items and a further thirty (30) minutes to collaborate with fellow judge(s) in selecting winners in two categories.This mock judging event will be observed and evaluated by the QJCP instructors who assess each candidate’s knowledge base, their proficiency and ability to formulate constructive critiques. Upon successful completion of Part III the Apprentice becomes a CQA/ACC Certified Quilt Judge.

Maintaining Certified Judge status will require the individual’s continued professional development. This may include teaching and/or participating in workshops as well as active judging duties. With certification comes the responsibility of maintaining professional standards in judging by providing consistent constructive critiques that educate and expand the entrant’s knowledge.

________________________________

Submitted by Anna Hergert

Giveaways for a Year!

Psst... guess what? We are having giveaways for a whole year!  Yep, once a month you will have the chance to win something quilt related that will make a wonderful addition to your studio!

Do you want the details?  On the15th of each month, go to our facebook page and we will have a post showing the monthly giveaway. Leave a comment answering the question and you are in!  It's that simple!

Now you do have to be a resident of Canada, but you don't have to be a CQA/ACC member. Although I cannot fathom why you wouldn't want to=) 

Do you want a sneak peek of what is up for November?
Look at these lovely scissors!!

Mundial carries the finest quality fully plated carbon steel shears. The Classic Forged line is Mundial's most complete assortment of scissors ranging from dressmaker, sewing and craft scissors. All Classic Forged scissors and shears are hot drop forged and fully plated for a lifetime of sewing satisfaction.

       These Dressmaker shears are able to cut through fabric of many weights.  They are designed with bent or offset handles so that whatever is being cut does not have to be lifted off the cutting surface. This feature also ensures the shears do not harm the cutting surface. These Mundial scissors are an ideal choice for your quilting needs.

Be sure to check out our facebook page on the 15th! You don't want to miss out a chance to win these!


Jackie

Lauren MacDonald

When current board members think of Secretary Lauren MacDonald, we all remember how she saved our lives.

She really did. The incident took place at Quilt Canada 2014 in St. Catharines, ON this past June. The board all stayed in residence in dorm rooms. What we didn't know was that there was no coffee maker in any of the rooms, and the dining hall didn't open till about 90 minutes after we were up. Let me just say this without going into too much detail, you do not want to talk to a board member before they have had their cup of coffee.

So what happened that fateful first morning when we got up at 6 am and realized there was no caffeine? We looked into the hall and saw Lauren's door open. We stumbled in and there was a sight to behold. On her desk was a Keurig machine and about 100 coffee pods surrounding it. She had brought it all from her home, driven it 8 hours, because she knew we would not survive Quilt Canada without our caffeine. And that is how she saved 6 quilters lives.

Now when she is not performing heroic acts, she does a great job of looking after the CQA/ACC website and keeping us on track by logging minutes, resolutions, action items and pretty much anything we throw at her.

Lauren is the board member responsible for getting our member guilds insurance coverage through CQA/ACC. She put in hours and hours researching, talking extensively to companies and with help from some knowledgeable members, she was able to arrange for the board to meet with a company that could make all of this happen.

She is also a great quilter. Living on Manitoulin Island, ON she has found her niche in the guild and has added so much to that group. She has been doing their newsletter for years, often does Block of the Month, organizes retreats, program and whatever else is asked of her. Perhaps she is most known for her ability to try anything. If a course is being offered she signs up. If someone shows a new technique, she watches. Lauren has the wonderful attitude of seeing learning as fun and encourages others to do so with her positive attitude.