Quilt Canada 2017 Mobile App

CQA/ACC is proud to present a mobile app for Quilt Canada 2017! We have created a tutorial to help you through the steps of downloading it.

It has everything a show guide would have in it, but better!  (Don't worry we are printing show guides, but they simply aren't able to contain all the information we crammed into our mobile app in an easy, user friendly way) Here are some of the perks to having a mobile app:

• Everything is at your fingertips.
• There is a daily schedule and times of every show and event happening.
• You can get instant notifications, for door prize winners, demo schedules, last minute changes, etc.
• The activity stream is for you to see what everyone else is doing at Quilt Canada and for you to add in your comments and pics!
• There is a map of the Merchant Mall with all of the vendors hilited at the touch of your finger.
• List of all vendors, workshops, speakers, and sponsors!
• You can connect and make new friends on the app.

One of the best parts about it, is if you are unable to go, you can download the app and look at all the quilts on the activity stream so you can see the talent and creativity of Canadian quilters!

Tutorial:

Go to your App Store on your device, or may be called Google Play as well.

Click on it and hit the search button at the bottom, looks like a magnifying glass. Some devices the search button may be at the top.

Once you click on that, you will get your keyboard and a bar at the top, type in 'Quilt Canada'.

You will see a search engine bring up Quilt Canada 2017. Click on that. 

Click on the little cloud with the arrow to download the app. Other devices may just 'install'.

Our app works on iPad. While searching for the app on your iPad, make sure to switch to "iPhone only" mode in the App Store as shown on the screenshots below

Once it finishes downloading, it will say 'Open'. Click on that and it will take you right into the app. Or on some devices it may just be in your app list, so just select Quilt Canada.

When you are done playing in the app, you will always be able to go back by finding the icon on your desktop or front of your device, as shown below. Or on some devices it may just be in your app list, so just select Quilt Canada.

When you get into the app, you can see the menu with all the different options. You can create a profile so you can add pics and comments, but you don't have to in order to use the app.

There is a daily schedule so you can see what events are on that day, what time shows open and close at and much more. 

All our speakers and their topics are covered too!

Don't wait!  Download the app today!  Let us show YOU what is happening at Quilt Canada 2017 this June 14-17th!

Charitable Sewing- Be a Sewing Superhero

Love it when a sponsor drops by to share with us! Coats and Clark is one of CQA/ACC's amazing sponsors!

About our author:

Annette Millard is passionate about sewing and has worked in the sewing industry for many years. She is always happiest with needle, fabric and thread in her hands! She currently enjoys supporting the Coats & Clark community writing blog posts about products and projects for the Coats Sewing Secrets Blog.

Those who sew and quilt are the most generous people I’ve known. There’s something about hands-on making  that expands our hearts and inspires us to reach out to others. Our Sewing Superpowers can enrich lives around the world through charitable sewing!

Image from Little Dresses for Africa

Little Dresses for Africa

My fabulously generous friend Barbara, has been making Little Dresses for Africa for many, many years. Every week she meets with a group of women who share the joy of sewing as they make simple, bright dresses for this wonderful project. The dresses are simple designs, often made from pillowcases and when delivered convey a valuable sense of worth to these precious girls. A quote from the Little Dresses for Africa web site explains the incredible value of these hand-sewn frocks. “The road is especially tough for little girls and young women.  Often small children are left as primary care-givers of even younger children, because of disease and poverty.  These little dresses, given freely to those in need, plant the seed that they are worthy.” Little Dresses for Africa also partners with those who provide the girls with lessons in sanitation, clean water, good health and family skills. It's not just a dress!

To learn more about Little Dresses for Africa and how you can be involved, click here to visit their web site.

Image from Days For Girls

Days for Girls

As some of these same girls grow and leave their Little Dresses behind, monthly sanitary needs become a high priority. Once puberty begins, many African girls stay home and miss essential school time one week each month. Sanitary pads and other supplies we take for granted here in the US are simply unavailable. Days for Girls is a network of sewists who stitch together washable, reusable kits so that menstruating girls can attend school every day of their cycle. With the kits, girls are given life-saving health and hygiene education.  Days for Girls states their impact well.: “Women, and girls discover their potential and self-value, are equal participants and agents of social change and are given opportunities to thrive, grow and contribute to their community's betterment while ensuring quality sustainable feminine hygiene.” My friends, Jeanette and Claire, are among thousands of women throughout the world who meet weekly to sew. They enjoy the company of fellow sewists and the opportunity to give dignity to their little sisters in Africa!

To find out more about Days for Girls, it’s mission and how you can help, visit their web site by clicking here.

Image from Patchwork Posse

Alzheimer Fidget Quilts

There are, of course, many needs for generous sewists in your local community. Near to my heart is the Alzheimer Fidget Quilt. If you have a loved one who suffers from dementia, you know that an object to “fidget” with is often very soothing. My mother, who suffered from Dementia would have loved one of these!  A Dementia Fidget Quilt is full of pockets, buttons, zippers and other things that soothingly keep aged hands busy. These blankets of handmade love become a treasure for the one who receives them and a great comfort for their family. Similar to the blankies we loved in childhood, a Fidget Quilt can be an amazing friend!

To find out more about Fidget Quilts and their value for those with Dementia, click here to visit the Alzheimers Association web site.

For a Fidget Quilt tutorial, click here for a great post on the Patchwork Posse blog.

Image from Sew With Aloha

Be a Sewing Superhero!

There are many ways to use your sewing powers for charitable sewing locally and around the world! I’ve listed just a few more below with links to patterns.

·        Adult Bibs - click here

·        Chemo Turbans - click here

·        Lap Robes -  click here

·        Wheelchair & Walker Caddies - click here

·        Adaptive Clothing for Military Vets - click here

You will also find lists of opportunities on Sewing.org or Nancy Zieman.com. Or you may have your own list or be aware of needs that your stitching would help. The power of charitable sewing is not just in what you offer, it is also in what it offers you. Set aside sewing time, participate in a project and your life will be enriched immeasurably!

Thank you to Canadian Quilt Guilds for their sponsorship!

It is always incredible to see the generousity of Canadian Quilt Guilds when CQA/ACC asks for their support.  We are seeing it in the Big Quilt Bee, when quilters across Canada are making blocks, tops and quilts for kids in care at Ronald McDonald Houses.

But we also see it from a financial point of view when guilds are asked to help sponsor Quilt Canada. It is this generousity that continues to humble the Board of Directors, staff and volunteers that help put on the conference. We know how hard guilds work to fundraise and please know your donation is very much appreciated to help promote quilting in Canada through our annual conference.

The guilds below have sponsored activities at Quilt Canada 2017, please give them a heartfelt thank you!

Black Gold Quilt Patch Guild

Brant Heritage Quilters Guild

Mahone Bay Quilt Guild

Busy Hands Quilt Guild

Fraser Valley Quilter's Guild

London Friendship Quilters Guild

Sunshine Coast Quilters Guild

Island Quilters' Guild

Northern Lights Quilt Guild

Moraine Quilt Guild

Dufferin Piecemakers Quilting Guild

Bue Mountain

Timberlane Quilting Guild

Chateauguay  no info

Nanaimo Quilters Guild

Tofield Country Quilters

Fraser Quilter's Guild

Near North Quilters' Guild

Vermilion Quilters

Lethbridge Centennial Quilters Guild

Manitoba Prairie Quilters

Prince George Quilters Guild

Kanata Quilt Guild

Piecemakers Guild of Calgary

Cornwall Quilt Guild

Crocus Quilters

Central Alberta Quilters Guild

Orillia quilters guild

Northern Lights Quilters Guil

Orchard Valley Quilters Guild

Happy Quilters

Foggy Bay Quilt Guild

Kootenay Quilters Day Guild

Northshore Pins and Needles Quilt and Stitchery Guild

Region of York Quilters Guild

Lillooet Quilters Guild

Mississauga Quilters Guild

Quilters Guild of Renfrew and Area

Castlegar Quilters

Kempenfelt Quilters Guild

Lions Gate Quilters Guild

Ottawa Valley Quilters Guild

Abbotsford QG

The Quilted Mouse

Victoria Quilters' Guild

Georgian Quilters

Huron Perth QG

Niagara Heritage Quilters Guild

The Highland Quilt Guild

Penticton Quilters Guild

Oxford Quilters Guild

Pembroke Log Cabin Quilt Guild

Langley Quilters' Guild

Chilliwack Quilters Guild

Guilde Acadienne de Clare

New Millenium Quilters

Northern Piecemakers Quilt Guild

Arkeley Area Quilt Guild

Saskatoon Quilters' Guild Inc

Gwillimbury Quilt Guild

The Big Quilt Bee is on Pat Sloan's Podcast!

Join us Monday March 27th at 4 pm EST as CQA/ACC chats with Pat Sloan about the Big Quilt Bee!

To date 300 finished quilts are made with enough tops and blocks to make an additional 200 quilts!

The quilts are so gorgeous and kids in care at Ronald McDonald Houses are just going to love them!

Quilt Canada 2017- 3D Threadwork

You have to love it when a quilt teacher takes thread to a new level and turns it into 3D art!

That is something you can find only at Quilt Canada 2017 this June in Toronto ON, as Coreen Zerr is coming to teach a multitude of unique classes on threadwork!
This three dimensional workshop is only half a day, so you can still head to the Merchant Mall after and buy more thread!

301M - 3-Dimensional Thread Play for Landscapes (Janome)One Half Day Workshop
Friday, June 16, 2017, 08:30 - 11:30
Cost: $75.00

A workshop designed to further your skills in free motion thread play for landscapes. Design elements will be demystified and techniques explained to create depth.

In the workshop, participants will create and learn 3-D effects with products and thread work, create texture by working with threads in free motion zigzag

This workshop will take your thread work to the next level! For those bored with the same old stitch, learn new ways to make your project stand out!

 The objects on the quilt practically come to life using Coreen's three dimensional thread work.

This is one workshop that will fascinate the students and Coreen will break it down in ways that you will be a three dimensional quilt artist by the time you walk out of the class! See you at Quilt Canada 2017!

Karen Henry comes to Quilt Canada 2017

In 2012, Quilt Canada travelled to Halifax NS for the CQA/ACC conference. The local organizing committee had Karen Henry as their chairperson, aka the quilter responsible for pulling off a national conference. To say things can sometimes go not as planned, there can be stressful times, and a few hiccups along the way would be a fair assessment of any national event.

What is completely off the wall crazy is that Karen Henry, the person in charge of ensuring it all worked, never stopped smiling! Like not even once!

It got to the point that some started looking to see if they could find her solemn or unhappy or even sad. Nope! All this quilter did was smile and laugh 24/7 for the whole conference! Even when she was sleeping! (ok, we may be joking about the sleeping part=) But seriously, laugh and smile and make friends is all Karen Henry did for the duration of the conference.

And now we have her booked to teach at Quilt Canada 2017!  We haven't even started to tell you about her talents in the quilting arena!  She is known for her unique landscape and pictoral quilts. Her embellishments on her quilts will stop you in your tracks for a closer look. You do not want to miss an opportunity to have her teach you. Keep reading to here what she says about her classes!

Parchment Oak Leaves

If you like to experiment with different techniques to enhance your quilts come and play at this workshop!  Bobbin Couching allows one to use a thicker line of thread that is not possible with the small hole in the needle on the sewing machine. It allows definition because it is a thick thread and permits a heavier mark of colour with a raised texture.

This class looks into the advantages of using bobbin couching in appliques and as thread play. In Parchment Oak Leaves the use of bobbin couching is explored on organza as a translucent item to be attached to the quilt. The translucency gives one the advantage of allowing the background to be visible through the stitched items which are easily sewn on with your sewing machine. The use of organza as a stabilizer lets the leaf retain its shape when the water soluble stabilizer is rinsed out; no pinning as in thread play. 

Landscape Quilts - Where Do I Start?

These landscapes are raw edge pieced and held together with the embroidered stitches. Once the fabric is on the bat and the embroidery floss or pearl cotton selected for the wall hanging the project is ready to go. These projects are truly portable and that ease makes them take away projects for the airplane, family visits or vacations; those times when your fingers are twitching, and your thoughts need a rest.

Pictoral Quilts For Beginners

These wall hangings are fun and easy to make. Most of mine reflect places I have lived and visited and they remain keepsakes of those spots. Some students work quite quickly and are able to finish within the class. It is wonderful to see the pattern adapted to the students' desire. The red shack has been purple, green and orange, the hills have been altered to complete green grass and fish nets have been added to the water. Students have made the shack every which way and relished the opportunity to encompass their vision. I feel I am there to guide them along the way.

Trust us when we say, you will never regret taking a class from Karen Henry! Her talents and personality are at the top of the class! Don't wait too long to register, she is a rare quilting gem!

Quilt Canada 2017 workshop on finishing your quilt

There is nothing more frustrating than finishing the most outstanding quilt you have ever made and then do a less than stellar job on the finishing part of it.
Well fear no more, Coreen Zerr is here to take all your troubles away!

Coreen is doing a workshop on finishing your quilt to perfection! She will teach you to block your quilt, how to face it, and the ever dreaded joining of the binding!

Here is what Coreen said about her class:

Many of my students like this class. So many quilters do not know how to properly sandwich a quilt, or how to make the quilting stay flat by blocking it. I will teach you all of this and how to put on a proper sleeve and all the different ways to finish edges. I have a really slick foolproof way to join the binding so that you cannot tell where you start and stop!

301A - After The Lovin' (Janome)One Half Day Workshop
Friday, June 16, 2017, 13:00 - 16:00
Cost: $75.00

So now that you have fallen in love with thread painting- what now? This workshop is focused on different techniques for finishing your art -from a fool proof slick way to finish the joins in your binding, how to make a “facing” for your piece instead of binding that shows, create a proper hanging sleeve, and how to block and hang your art so that it lays flat on a wall or in a show!

You know that one workshop you will always look back on and be glad you took it when you had the chance? This is that workshop! It will be there for your for the rest of your life! 

This is the workshop for you!  Never again worry about binding or how to face!  Take it all in Toronto ON this June with Coreen Zerr!