Trend Tex Challenge

What a wonderful display of quilts made with this year's challenge Trend-Tex fabrics!








There are over 80 entrants. Thanks to Trend-Tex Inc. for sponsoring this event again this year for the 27th time. 


Stop by to bid on one of these beautiful quilts. (in the 1st Choice Savings Credit building with the other shows)
 
 

 Also can be seen on the CQA/ACC website under galleries  http://www.canadianquilter.com/photo-gallery/trend-tex-quilters-challenge.php?year=2015


These quilts will be up for show until Saturday June 6th at noon. This silent auction will be CQA/ACC's only fundraiser. When the quilts are taken down, winning bidders may pick up these quilts at the CQA/ACC table.

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Trend-Tex fabrics

So What are You Working on - Part 1

WOW - what an overwhelming response. We wanted to know what you were working on and you've shared some amazing projects and talent!

Spring is here - well maybe not for everyone. But spring fever is. And our quilters are hard at work whipping up new quilts and finishing off some started ones (aka UFO, PhP, WIP to name a few).
 

We will be featuring our quilters' pictures, with some of their comments:

Cindy Simpson

Cindy is working on a colour challenge (the peach square in the top left) for their first ever quilt show with the Cochrane QG (Alberta) - Sat. Oct. 17. Details will be available on CQA/ACC Events website.





 

Linda Schmidt

 Linda's current project.

Carol Magee

Carol  has 2 more rows to go.

Laura Coia

Laura is just finishing up this project.
'​N​eed to hand sew it closed and I'm done. 
I used Te​xture ​Magic to get the flower so puffy.'









 

Jaynie Himsl

Jaynie is working on her second  Flying Creek topographic map interpretation.
Cording made with embroidery floss and yarn are couched to a base.  12" x
24".

She says, "I wish I didn't have to go to work tomorrow, I'm excited to see what it's going to look like."








 

Shirley Jobson

 Shirley - 'A disappearing nine patch - very large queen (I think closer to King)
Practising my free-motion quilting.  Still set-in triangles and border to
quilt.'






 

Marg Conibear

 



Marg - 'Appliqué finished today. Blocks sewn together. Quilting next.'







 

 

Evelyn Smith

Evelyn - "This is my Piecemaker's 2003 Times and Seasons quilt that I'm making for my children. One for each. Hoping to have done by the end of the year. A huge endeavour but, I'm enjoying the journey."

Arja Speelman

Arja is still working on some Fall Leaves which are almost done. 
It is raw edged appliqued and quilted. Size: 23" X 23".
She is going to have it framed like a painting. 







Stay tuned for more quilts from our Canadian Quilters!

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

Best Friends Forever (BFF) - Member Challenge

Another member challenge, called Best Friends Forever (or BFF) is underway. We'd like to see how you interpret this theme in quilt form. Who or maybe what are your "Best Friends". What kind of things do you do/share together? Show us your quilts depicting your best friend(s).
PS this challenge is open to individual and professional members of CQA/ACC.


  Your amazing quilt entries will get published on our blog or in The Canadian Quilter magazine and you might win a fabulous prize too. Thanks to our great sponsor - Sue Aylseworh of Quilting Confections of Windsor, ON.
Our judge will select a first, second and third prize. 
**** (see below for prizes)
Deadline to receive quilt picture(s): December 5, 2014.

 How to Enter:
Send photos of your quilt, any size and any shape, based on the theme “Best Friends Forever”. It must be quilted and bound or closed along the edges. You can use any embellishments. 
Take high resolution (1 MB) digital pictures of your quilt. (see Tips below)
You should take 2 pictures - one of your quilt and one of a close up of a small area. Then email them to: diratlarge@canadianquilter.com along with your CQA/ACC membership number, name, email address, a brief description of your quilt, and any copyright information.


  


 By entering your quilt(s), you are giving CQA/ACC permission to use your entry. This includes archival records for CQA/ACC, all aspects of CQA/ACC online social media, The Canadian Quilter magazine and/or other publications and advertisements created by CQA/ACC. The image will not be shared beyond these areas unless permission is requested of CQA/ACC and it is shown that the requester intends to use the image to promote CQA/ACC.

Tips on Photographing:
Use a well lit area. Have no background distractions. Take a high resolution photo of at least 1 MB jpeg.  Ensure that no part of the quilt is cut off in the picture. Hang your quilt on a wall to take this photo (for best results). Also include a close up of a small area.

Round Quilt Kit

Prizes:


1st:    Kit for a quilt top called Circle 'Round, including the pattern and all fabrics. 

 

Easy Peasy Strip Quilt Kit

Brick Kit

2nd:   Kit for a strip quilt called Easy Peasy Strip Quilt. It includes die cut strips in cheerful colours, background fabric and instructions. 





3rd:    Kit for a small quilt top, about 30" square called Brick. The kit includes beautiful batiks and binding.
   

 

Dog Days of Summer Challenge Entries

Kindred Spirits Quilt Co.

Thanks to Michelle Denham of Kindred Spirits Quilt Co. of St. Catharines, ON for her donation of the 3 prizes for the winning entries into our Member Challenge - The Dog Days of Summer. The top 3 prize-winners will be featured in The Canadian Quilter - winter edition and below are the other amazing entries! I’m glad I didn’t have to judge and pick the winners for this one.
Thanks to all who entered the quarterly challenge and your very interesting interpretation of the theme “Dog Days of Summer”.
  






 
Goose Tracts

Goose Tracts by Margaret Markham

This quilt is an embroidery quilt pattern of HoopSisters.com. There are 64 –8” blocks. Each block is pieced and embroidered all in the hoop and then sewn together and bound. It is a C.D. transferred to the machine via a computer stick. I sewed it on my Janome 15000. I started on June 10/14 and completed it on Aug. 4/14 even though it was a  5 mo. program at Triangle Sewing in Guelph.  Once I started it I had the time and couldn’t stop. Each of the 36 centre blocks was so much fun choosing fabric and colours and then watching it happen with my supervision, changing colours, fabric and correcting little hiccups. Thank you for letting me share my Dog Days of Summer quilt.

Margaret Markham 

 Sunbonnet Sue's Retirement Dream 

Sunbonnet Sue's Retirement Dream by Kaaren Biggs

                                                                 My dream in retirement is to be tall (already there) and thin (not so much) and able to stroll on the beach in a bikini and eat all the ice cream I want! Note the little dogs following at my heels waiting for drips from the cone. The palm trees are three dimensional with two layers of fabric fused together, and attached only in the centre.  Kaaren L Biggs 

Mr. Moose by Linda Steele

"Mr. Moose"
In 1958, I started town school, having done the previous year, Grade 1, in an 8-grade country school. This move was terrifying to say the least, having cried most of the night before. The first person I met was Pat, who saved the day for me and has remained a close friend to this day. She lost her first husband to cancer in 2006 and has met the second love of her life and is getting married this August weekend. As a wedding gift for her to give her new husband, I have just made and sent her this moose. Working on it to choose the right cool winter shades, was very rewarding, not to mention a bit of a cooling effect during the record breaking heat in the Shuswap area we live in, true Dog Days of Summer! Mr. Moose was just finished and mailed to its new owner.
Linda Steele

Flip Flops by Karen Killins-Robinson

Flip Flops

I love the approach of summer when I can start wearing my Flip Flops.  I made this wall hanging as a welcome sign for our new house.
Karen Killins-Robinson






Rollin' on the River

Rollin' on the River by Beth Cameron

I consider this triptych to be somewhat of a self portrait of me in my youth...when I really could indulge in the dog days of summer.  I grew up on the Rideau River and spent hours in and on the water during the summer with family and friends.  I didn't know it at the time but according to Chinese astrology I was born in the year of the water dragon...how fitting!
This piece also qualifies on another level for the Dog Days of Summer as it was created in a week long summer arts camp with Pamela Allen.  I loved these summer arts courses and used to call them 'summer camp for adults'....a week of just playing with my fabric.  Does life get any better?
Beth Cameron

Seamus by Paula Jolly

Seamus

The phrase "dog days" refers to the sultry days of summer and relaxation. My daughter’s beloved American Bulldog, Seamus, spends hot afternoons resting his chin in his favourite chair while a fan blows cool air on his face.
My love of colour encouraged me to draw him in bright colours. Then I hand painted him with various paints and finished with details in stitching.
Paula Jolly



Hot Dog Beach Express

Hot Dog Beach Express by Trisha DellaVella and Mary Eeg

This wall hanging was created from our original Doggy Daycare pattern by Harebrained Happenings (Pattern Company).
What would be a better way to cool off from the blazing sun than to hop on the "Hot" Dog Beach Express bus and head to the beach to splash around in the cool ocean water and roll in the sand. 
Trisha DellaVella and Mary Eeg

My First Canadian Summer by Ana Paula Brasil

My First Canadian Summer
The very first feeling about summer was seen thru the window - the happiness of my son and his dog playing over the grass.  There were close to 6556 ½" squares in this quilt. Size: 39.60" x 26.40" - Technique: Amazing
Ana Paula Brasil










Swimming Laps

Swimming Laps by Megan Hanna

I am an avid swimmer and, to me, there's no better way to cool off than a dip in a pool, lake or ocean. This quilt is my own design and the idea for it came to me one day when I was swimming laps. The tiles on the bottom of the pool looked like hundreds of pieces of fabric!
Megan Hanna

Summer Blues Over Colpoys Bay

Summer Blues Over Colpoys Bay by Pat Golem

Summer evenings are spent watching glorious sunsets over Colpoys Bay, part of Georgian Bay. This particular evening everything looked blue so I took the picture with my digital camera and printed it on fabric. I thread painted the foreground details in a black thread and a clear black thread to highlight them. Water’s edge is my favourite place to spend the “Dog Days of Summer”.   Pat Golem

Dog Days Tablerunner by Linda Schmidt

Dog Days Project


This is the quilt I made during the 'dog days' of summer 2014. It started as a piece of glue resist and textile paints. I added a hand dyed fabric, white for the border, embellished with ric-rac, decorative stitches and dense quilting on my long arm. It's turned into a fun summery-looking table runner.       
Linda Schmidt

 

Dog Days of Summer - Member Challenge

Dog Days is the name for the hottest and muggiest period of summer, from about July 3 to Aug. 11, around the time when Sirius (the dog star) is the brightest in the summer sky. Along with the heat, we get sunshine, thunderstorms, sometimes hail, and lots of humidity!

Many things are associated with the Dog Days of Summer. On the web we found: Dog Days of Summer Cocktail Shake-Off, a Fashion Show, 5K run, Adoption of Dogs (SPCA), Fairs, Cruises, Scavenger Hunt, Canine Festival & Contest, Photo contest, Pool Party, and so much more.

Most images have dogs in them, but what we are looking for is “how YOU survive the dog days of summer” as our current member challenge. (You may include your canine friend, but it’s not mandatory!)

Make your quilt - any size or shape; take a digital picture (high resolution approx 1MB) of it and email it to Marilyn Michelin at diratlarge@canadianquilter.com by September 20, 2014.
Don’t forget to include the following information: your name, your CQA/ACC member number, email address, a brief description of your quilt and any copyright information.




A judge will select first, second and third place winners who will get prizes generously donated by Kindred Spirits Quilt Co. of  St. Catharines, ON and you will be published in our next The Canadian Quilter magazine. All other entries will be featured on our blog.




PS. Make sure to take a good photograph. Take the photo in a well-lit area with no background distractions and, of course, ALL of your quilt in the picture with no parts cut off.

Marilyn

April Showers Bring May Flowers - Member Challenge

It was a wonderful challenge with some fantastic prizes thanks to our great sponsor, Claire at http://www.courtepointeclaire.ca/eng/home.htm. 

Note: the three prize winners will be featured in the upcoming issue of The Canadain Quilter.

Trilliums
by Ruth Quinn

It depicts the Trilliums that grow down the lane where I live.  The background is pieced and the Trilliums are machine appliquéd onto the piece.  Both the flanges and the quilting depict the pine trees that have fallen on the ground as well.  There are also brown and blue beads sewn onto the piece depicting rocks and the sky coming through the forest.  I used a photo I had taken to make this wall hanging.

by Beulah Caswell

This wall hanging was started in a workshop given by Anna Hergert of Moose Jaw. The original hand-drawn designs are done in reverse applique. Free-motion quilting is done with cotton and metallic threads. Water-colour pencils and beads are the finishing touches.

A Little Bit of Spring
by Joyce Heard

This little quilt was inspired by  a tulip block by Jayne Turner in a Miniature Quilts magazine, issue #59. The quilt measures 6 3/4” x 8 3/4” and is displayed in a 8” x 10” picture frame on my mantel.   

Singing in The Rain
by Mary Hopkins

My thread painted robin sits on a branch made of multi coloured cords and wools twisted together and stitched to the background. The leaves and flowers are snippets of ribbon anchored into the cord. The rain tracks are threads of blue and silver.

 

 Flower Power
by Linda Schmidt

This is an original design drawn by Shirley Tracey, stitched and inked by myself.  The technique is from the book “Bold and Beautiful” by Judi Dains.  It was such fun to play with the inks on this piece and I love doing the free motion stitching on my domestic machine. 

by Linda Schmidt

This was my first 3 dimensional piece.  Techniques used include couching, fusible appliqué, foiling, semi-attached leaves/petals, seed beads. The pattern for this quilt was in Quiltmaker magazine, Winter 2006 issue.  

by Hélène Blanchet

 I am relatively new to Calgary, having moved here 2 years ago from the East Coast. I  got a job as a gardener. Little did I know what the spring season is in the Prairies: from warm Chinooks in April and gale force winds in May to thunderous inundations in June to hail in July.  Yet despite the many challenges the Prairie garden is as lovely as any – if you’re stubborn enough. This is a picture of my boss’ place in the centre of Calgary.

AH SPRING TWO
by Pat Golem

This is a digital photo of crocus taken in my flowerbed, printed on fabric, thread painted, beaded and quilted.

 

The Promise of Spring

by Carol Swinden

This quilt depicts a snowy bank along a cold, flowing creek on a rainy day near the end of winter. Down the creek float some fresh, brightly- coloured spring blooms as a promise of warmer weather to come. 

by Betty Johnson

I tried a Ricky Timms transvergence background & then appliquéd my whimsical flowers on top. Lots of fun to fiddle with these small pieces.

Spring Bulbs
by Karen Menzies

An unusual and very heavy April snowfall forced my bulbs to retreat back into the ground.

It Was A Lovely Warm Summer Day
by Susan Taylor

It is based on an illustration in a charming 1922 Norwegian children's book "Kalles Eventyrferd" (Kalle's Adventure) by Sofie Voss, which belonged to my mother.  I achieved the gradations in the pink fabrics by discharging with bleach.

Sunshine's Coming
by Christine Reid

 It is based on Ricky Tim's Convergence Quilts book. I used four fat quarters and added the umbrella as raw edge appliqué.  It was fun to do.

Harbingers of Spring
by Mary Katherine Hopkins

This is the sight we all look for after the long winters -  those brave Crocus poking through the snow. A little modern and a little traditional. Cotton and chiffon.

 

Spring Fling
by Heather Chapplain

I thought I would enter this challenge has I just finished an original piece called" Spring Fling". It measures 15" x15". I used commercial batik  fabric and hand dyed fabric I dyed myself. I also used angelina fibres and metallic threads. The sparkle is swaraski crystals. The fabric weaving was based on a technique from the book "Fabric Embellishing" The basics and beyond. By Ruth Chandler, Liz Kettle, Heather Thomas and Lauren Vlcek. This is a great book with many wonderful techniques and ideas. Thank you so much for this opportunity. 

 

Party with Patrick

by Kaaren L. Biggs

This is a wall hanging I made as part of a Party With Patrick group a couple of years ago. It was a fun way to learn fusible techniques and simple free-motion machine quilting with a group of friends, each of us making a new wall hanging monthly for one year.

 

 

Sunbonnet Sue - April Showers
by Lynn McEachern

Sunbonnet Sue stands in the rain under her umbrella, admiring new flowers and a young robin.
The design was done by myself using EQ7 graphics; the fabrics, threads and beads were from my stash.  This project was designed for this challenge, June 2014.

 

Baby Quilt 

 by Anita LaHay 

I decided to combine the CQA Spring Challenge theme with sewing a baby quilt for my new baby due in September. This baby quilt has raindrops and umbrellas fused and machine appliqued onto a low volume patchwork background. Some of the background fabrics have raindrop prints too. The umbrellas and raindrops are made using a combination of Robert Kaufman Chevron fabrics and Bonnie & Camille for Moda's "April Showers" line. The quilt is hand quilted with a variegated Valdani pearl cotton thread to show dotted lines for the raindrops falling. The binding is a scrappy binding of the chevron fabrics used for the umbrellas and is machine sewn to the front and hand sewn to the back. All threads other than the handquilting thread are Aurifil. The quilt measures: 30 by 40 inches. 

Spring Forward

by Maggie Butterfield Dickinson

This quilt was inspired by one of my photographs of a tulip in its final days of glory. Many fabrics were auditioned for the petals and some of the "rejects" became the inner details. The technique is from Jane Sassaman where the individual pieces are embroidered on the background fabric before the quilt is batted and machine quilted.