Judy Kelly- Our President

As you all know, CQA/ACC is run by a whole gang of wonderful volunteers, from Sylvie, our French translator to Jo our youth ambassador, to our fun gang of regional representatives, to Jill our Artist in Residence and to you, our members who support and encourage quilting in Canada.

Among all these fantastic quilters there is a fabulous lady who simply adores quilters and wants to do all she can to promote quilting in our country.   This gal is none other than Judy Kelly, President of CQA/ACC.

If you know Judy, then you are blessed.   To hang with her and share in her hilarious sense of humour, or talk to her in her calm easygoing manner, or watch her at a vendor's market is pure pleasure.   That is our Judy.

If you don't know her then you simply have to meet her, whether it be at Quilt Canada or virtually by email.   She is someone that impacts your life, in all the right ways.

A WIP- Judy wants to be able to quilt faces better.

It seemed a good time for you to get to know her a bit better as she has took over the helm of our organization about two months ago.   The best way to do that is to delve into her quilting life.

What type of quilter are you?
I am an art quilter wannabe! I have done lots of traditional quilts, but I am easily bored with repetitive things. Art has always interested me, in one form or another. I recently joined SAQA, thinking it would put me in touch with art quilters in my area. Apparently I have the distinction of being the first Newfoundlander to ever join. So I will have to source out information online. Modern trends are starting to pique my interest, also.

'Girlfriends'  Judy is the one in the middle.

 Do you hand or machine quilt?
I do both. I use the machine for anything that it can do. With the resurgence of handstitching, sometimes I tend to use this technique to embellish pieces.I would have to say free motion is my favorite method. I like the  freedom and the fact that there are no rules! It’s like I can play all day with my sewing machine, using the needle as a pencil and the fabric as a sketchpad.

3D quilt for her granddaughter Amy

Lastly, what is your favourite food?
Cod is my favorite food. Cod Loins,  Cod Tongues, Cod Sounds, Cod Cheeks ,  Cod Heads, Cod Britches, Cod Cakes, Salt Cod,… anything Cod!!! I didn’t   eat it  until I  was 50 years old,  just because my mother told me I had to. Now I eat  it, in some form or another, everyday, to make up for lost time.

Judy loves dyeing her own fabric.

She has even tried ice dyeing.

Pictured below is Judy teaching her beautiful granddaughter Amy how to quilt.   Good job promoting youth quilting Judy!

Here is a little secret about Judy that only her guild knows about.  She brings a little basket to every guild meeting and sets it at a table by the door.  Do you know what members put in that basket?

Selvedges, hundreds and hundreds of selvedges Judy has collected over the years.   Here are two of her projects that she has made with the selvedges.

Please say hi to Judy at president@canadianquilter.com!   She loves getting to know the members, and be sure to ask her what she is going to do with all those selvedges!



Jackie W.