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Some advertisers have been advertising in Snippets for many years while others are fairly new. So let’s get to know more about some of our advertisers.
Some advertisers have been advertising in Snippets for many years while others are fairly new. So let’s get to know more about some of our advertisers.
According to Barb Alexander of Bali Fiber Tours, she is “not actually a quilter. Yet. I’m a collector of beautiful quilt cottons and pre-cuts with all sorts of dreams to make a French Braid quilt and varieties of my favourite, the Log Cabin. Travelling to Bali every year I can’t help but bring home gorgeous batiks and hand-dyes for my future quilting.” An avid quilter, Barb’s mom always asked her to help choose the fabrics. “I have a stack of her quilts to enjoy now that she has passed on. Quilting, for Mom, was ‘necessary’. I could always tell when she had finished a quilt because she’d phone me five times a day with nothing really to say! It was time to go fabric shopping again. I’m so happy to have a log cabin quilt in my favourite colours all cut out and ready to sew. Mom made two squares before she died so I will feature them in a special way.”
Barb has a very sweet childhood memory associated with her favourite quilt pattern, the Log Cabin. “My earliest sewing memory is when I was very young, and sitting next to my German/Russian grandmother as she made a scrap log cabin quilt out of old clothing. Granny was most comfortable in soft slippers and I watched as she made that treadle machine hum, adding more and more fabrics. Then she added a piece of velveteen. I remember looking at Granny, thinking ’this quilt is for the Queen!’ because, to my mind, no one could afford velvet (or velveteen) but our Queen!”
Bali Fiber Tours: Experience a personalized tour of the “the island of the gods”…Bali! Experience the fascinating centuries-old textile techniques that have made this Indonesian island famous.
Barb has a very sweet childhood memory associated with her favourite quilt pattern, the Log Cabin. “My earliest sewing memory is when I was very young, and sitting next to my German/Russian grandmother as she made a scrap log cabin quilt out of old clothing. Granny was most comfortable in soft slippers and I watched as she made that treadle machine hum, adding more and more fabrics. Then she added a piece of velveteen. I remember looking at Granny, thinking ’this quilt is for the Queen!’ because, to my mind, no one could afford velvet (or velveteen) but our Queen!”
Bali Fiber Tours: Experience a personalized tour of the “the island of the gods”…Bali! Experience the fascinating centuries-old textile techniques that have made this Indonesian island famous.
Trina O’Rourke made her first quilt for a baby, choosing an applique pattern of Noah's Ark. Her grandmother said, "Well, Trina. You were never one to start with a small project.” Trina soon learned what she meant, but with some help, she proudly presented the baby quilt to her new nephew! And then Trina says, “I didn't actually make another quilt for many years later!” Trina loves to make "a scrappy, pieced quilt! LOVE them! Put my hand in a box and pull out a piece of fabric and sew it to the next one! No rhyme nor reason to them at all! I love the tranquility of chain piecing and adding one piece to the next until the quilt top is finished!”
Trina likes the therapy quilting provides her. “When you're quilting, your head needs to be in the game - no time to think about other things. The quilts that hang in my shop aren't always perfect - they reflect where my head was at in different parts of my life. There's one in particular that I absolutely LOVE that is quite noticeably 'out' in spots. I made it in under a week so my siblings and I could give it to my father for his last Father’s Day. You shouldn't pass judgement on those crooked seams or lopped off points either. You never know what it was that made them come together like that!”
Her “I can’t believe I did that” story? “Sure do! I can't believe I entered the Win This Space contest put on by The Municipality of Huron East in 2015 and WON! That's how I ended up opening The Cotton Harvest! AND I can't believe I picked up the phone one day while I was alone at the shop and managed to secure the Cherrywood Challenge Quilt Exhibit to come to Canada for the very first time! Van Gogh arrived in November 2017 and Prince arrived in October 2018! What a crazy life it's been indeed!
Trina likes the therapy quilting provides her. “When you're quilting, your head needs to be in the game - no time to think about other things. The quilts that hang in my shop aren't always perfect - they reflect where my head was at in different parts of my life. There's one in particular that I absolutely LOVE that is quite noticeably 'out' in spots. I made it in under a week so my siblings and I could give it to my father for his last Father’s Day. You shouldn't pass judgement on those crooked seams or lopped off points either. You never know what it was that made them come together like that!”
Her “I can’t believe I did that” story? “Sure do! I can't believe I entered the Win This Space contest put on by The Municipality of Huron East in 2015 and WON! That's how I ended up opening The Cotton Harvest! AND I can't believe I picked up the phone one day while I was alone at the shop and managed to secure the Cherrywood Challenge Quilt Exhibit to come to Canada for the very first time! Van Gogh arrived in November 2017 and Prince arrived in October 2018! What a crazy life it's been indeed!
How the Quilt Tours Began: While teaching small quilted articles at Quilters Fancy and the Etobicoke Board of Education Joy Brennen also worked part time at a travel agency. “One of my students said seeing you work for a travel agency, could you possibly hire a bus and take us to a Quilt Show? One day tour turned into several.” Joy and her husband research each trip, travelling to check out the hotels, restaurants and attractions in the area where a Quilt Show will be held. Her tours have taken quilters to a variety of states, including Houston and Paducah. Last year Joy accompanied 50 quilters to visit Jenny Doan and the Missouri Star Quilt Company. Another tour to a C.Q.A. Quilt Show in Halifax had both quilters and husbands on board. Plans included time for the husbands to golf while the quilters travelled to a variety of quilt shops.
Travel with JOY (Hanover Holidays): So many quilt tours … so many new places to see … so many new friends to meet … all of which began from a suggestion 35 years ago!
Travel with JOY (Hanover Holidays): So many quilt tours … so many new places to see … so many new friends to meet … all of which began from a suggestion 35 years ago!
The following information was taken from “A Shop Near You”, Quilter’s Connection, Spring 2018:
After a garage fire also damaged her sewing room, Hilda Wales opened Sanity Hill Fabrics & Quilts in the rebuilt garage. “We had the idea of getting artists and crafters together in a place where we could sell our wares on a co-operative basis. I made quilts, afghans … others put in wood crafts, knit articles, pictures, and candles.”
A long-time quilter, Hilda finds that the shop and the classes she teaches “go hand in hand to keep the art of quilting and sewing alive in our community. I make the quilts we sell, and I quilt them either by hand or machine. To me, quilts are a part of our heritage, lovingly handcrafted to proudly tell a story and last at least a lifetime!” When asked about the origin of the name of her shop, Hilda said, “Sewing has been my sanity while I raised our adopted children and foster children. To date, we have fostered 106 children over a 33 year period.” (Editor: It sounds like the perfect name, Hilda!)
After a garage fire also damaged her sewing room, Hilda Wales opened Sanity Hill Fabrics & Quilts in the rebuilt garage. “We had the idea of getting artists and crafters together in a place where we could sell our wares on a co-operative basis. I made quilts, afghans … others put in wood crafts, knit articles, pictures, and candles.”
A long-time quilter, Hilda finds that the shop and the classes she teaches “go hand in hand to keep the art of quilting and sewing alive in our community. I make the quilts we sell, and I quilt them either by hand or machine. To me, quilts are a part of our heritage, lovingly handcrafted to proudly tell a story and last at least a lifetime!” When asked about the origin of the name of her shop, Hilda said, “Sewing has been my sanity while I raised our adopted children and foster children. To date, we have fostered 106 children over a 33 year period.” (Editor: It sounds like the perfect name, Hilda!)
Guild member Alison McDonald has been sewing since she was 5 years old. She loves quilting for its tradition and colour, precision and organization. Alison likes both paper piecing (precision) and hand applique (tradition), but also loves scrap and modern quilts. “Oh, heck I like them all!” Alison started out hand quilting, then did free motion machine quilting on her domestic machine before arthritis in her hands led to buying a longarm 10 years ago. This brought “a renewed interest in actually finishing my quilts instead of just making tops. I love to challenge myself with precision quilting on my own quilts using rulers and intense threadwork to add dimension and interest to my quilts.”
Her "I can’t believe I did that” story? “I suppose there must be some stories of cutting the wrong fabric or the wrong size or shape I could tell, and I have a few UFO's as evidence of that! But I'd prefer to forget about those and focus on the good ‘I can't believe I did that’ stories, like the Sew What Else customer who won an award in a major competition recently in the U.S. She very sweetly emailed me with the news that ‘we’ had won 1st Runner up Best of Show … now that's an ‘I can't believe it’ moment!"
Her "I can’t believe I did that” story? “I suppose there must be some stories of cutting the wrong fabric or the wrong size or shape I could tell, and I have a few UFO's as evidence of that! But I'd prefer to forget about those and focus on the good ‘I can't believe I did that’ stories, like the Sew What Else customer who won an award in a major competition recently in the U.S. She very sweetly emailed me with the news that ‘we’ had won 1st Runner up Best of Show … now that's an ‘I can't believe it’ moment!"
Debbra Eddy of Country Patchworks Fabrics and Quilts began quilting when she had to teach a 4H unit on quilting! She loved it so much that she signed up for night school. Debbra says, “In those days we learned to draft our patterns with compass, protractor and cork backed ruler. Then we hand pieced and hand quilted!”
Debbra loves choosing and piecing the colours for the quilt. Bargello quilts are her favourite ones to make. “I like the precision piecing, cutting strips sewing them together nice and straight and then cutting them apart and sewing them back together in different sequences to make twisting designs.”
Do you have an “I can’t believe I did that” story related to your quilts? Debbra says that she is still surprised that she made one particular quilt as her fifth one. “I saw a picture on the front of a Quilters’ Newsletter magazine from February 1987. It was Nautical Stars by Judy Mathieson. There was no pattern for this in the magazine. From the picture I drafted all the 20 different compasses around the quilt and then the large one in the middle surrounded by 5 rows of flying geese! Then I pieced it and quilted it by hand. It is really a piece of art, not a quilt.” (Editor: All I can say is WOW!) Debbra adds that she has been a quilt store owner for 14 ½ years but that this is another story!
Debbra loves choosing and piecing the colours for the quilt. Bargello quilts are her favourite ones to make. “I like the precision piecing, cutting strips sewing them together nice and straight and then cutting them apart and sewing them back together in different sequences to make twisting designs.”
Do you have an “I can’t believe I did that” story related to your quilts? Debbra says that she is still surprised that she made one particular quilt as her fifth one. “I saw a picture on the front of a Quilters’ Newsletter magazine from February 1987. It was Nautical Stars by Judy Mathieson. There was no pattern for this in the magazine. From the picture I drafted all the 20 different compasses around the quilt and then the large one in the middle surrounded by 5 rows of flying geese! Then I pieced it and quilted it by hand. It is really a piece of art, not a quilt.” (Editor: All I can say is WOW!) Debbra adds that she has been a quilt store owner for 14 ½ years but that this is another story!
After a sudden diagnosis of asthma, Lynda Johnson of Lyric Girls Threads Long Arm Quilting decided that it would be a good idea to make her own bed quilt, but “unfortunately this hasn’t happened to date.” She took a beginner quilting class at Ruti’s Needlebed in Streetsville, and has fond memories of the store. When asked what it is about quilting that she likes, Lynda said, “That’s a hard question. I like to sew and find it peaceful, moving fabric through a sewing machine. The thing I like the least is binding!“
(Editor: I agree with you, Lynda.)
Lynda’s favourite quilt to make is the One Block Wonder. “The greatest part is starting out with something and ending up with a quilt that looks nothing like the original fabric. I find this method almost cathartic and limit my design time to 3 days only because I could, and have been at it for weeks, which takes all of the fun out of it.” (Editor: I had no idea what a “one block wonder” was. I learned that it’s a single print cut randomly, with no fussy cutting, and then pieced together with gorgeous results!)
Her “I can’t believe I did that” story” relates to long arming. Lynda says, “First, that I have a long arm and second, that I long arm for customers.”
(Editor: I agree with you, Lynda.)
Lynda’s favourite quilt to make is the One Block Wonder. “The greatest part is starting out with something and ending up with a quilt that looks nothing like the original fabric. I find this method almost cathartic and limit my design time to 3 days only because I could, and have been at it for weeks, which takes all of the fun out of it.” (Editor: I had no idea what a “one block wonder” was. I learned that it’s a single print cut randomly, with no fussy cutting, and then pieced together with gorgeous results!)
Her “I can’t believe I did that” story” relates to long arming. Lynda says, “First, that I have a long arm and second, that I long arm for customers.”
As a teenager, Judy Lyons‘ love of hand quilting began when her aunt in the U.S. guided her first attempt over the telephone! Quite a feat, considering the long distance charges involved, with their conversations beginning at 11 p.m. and often continuing until the early morning! Not a surprise that Judy’s favourite quilts usually involve hand sewing - small hexagons, squares and appliqué. Judy says “I am actually intimidated by a sewing machine yet I try to use it for different items to make. I love to see what others can create using the machine and I’m envious.”
Judy likes “getting lost in the challenge of creating something I made even though I may not have designed it. I like the friendships that it draws. I like the travels it has brought to me and the fact that I was able to create a job that I love. I love being able to look at people’s quilts up close and see and record what quilt history is out there.”
Judy has had several “I can’t believe I did that” moments. Her first quilt, a 1997 Piecemakers quilt hand embroidered, embellished with silk ribbon, and quilted, won “Viewers Choice” at the Stoney Creek Quilters Guild Quilt Show. Judy notes that “it took a very long time to make and complete, but it was done in one year. At the time of its making I was taking care of two seniors and my young children.” Another moment involved members of the Burlington Teen Tour Band who created a “Canada’s Youth Shall Remember” quilt to commemorate the 60th anniversary of D-Day in 2004. It was quilted by guild member Ermy Akers who placed a block to remember her dad on the back of the quilt. (Editor: This special project sparked Cathy Miller to write the wonderful song “Boots and Bayonets”. Visit https://singingquilter.wordpress.com/2009/04/06/burlington-teen-tour-band-quilt/)
Judy likes “getting lost in the challenge of creating something I made even though I may not have designed it. I like the friendships that it draws. I like the travels it has brought to me and the fact that I was able to create a job that I love. I love being able to look at people’s quilts up close and see and record what quilt history is out there.”
Judy has had several “I can’t believe I did that” moments. Her first quilt, a 1997 Piecemakers quilt hand embroidered, embellished with silk ribbon, and quilted, won “Viewers Choice” at the Stoney Creek Quilters Guild Quilt Show. Judy notes that “it took a very long time to make and complete, but it was done in one year. At the time of its making I was taking care of two seniors and my young children.” Another moment involved members of the Burlington Teen Tour Band who created a “Canada’s Youth Shall Remember” quilt to commemorate the 60th anniversary of D-Day in 2004. It was quilted by guild member Ermy Akers who placed a block to remember her dad on the back of the quilt. (Editor: This special project sparked Cathy Miller to write the wonderful song “Boots and Bayonets”. Visit https://singingquilter.wordpress.com/2009/04/06/burlington-teen-tour-band-quilt/)
Deborah Brown of the VILLAGE SQUARE QUILT SHOP has always loved quilts, fabric and sewing. As with many of our guild’s quilters, Deborah took a course with Rosemary Makhan, branching out from making clothes for her family to making small quilts for nieces and nephews. After her family grew up, Deborah took up quilting once again and hasn’t looked back since. While making quilts for people she loves are Deborah’s favourite ones, she notes that most she currently makes are for business purposes as store samples. But for the future, Deborah has a few projects that she is stashing away. “They involve an out of print older Australian pattern using reproduction fabrics from my collection, and another is a pattern that uses Japanese yarn dyed fabrics which I have collected. Someday I will finish my Farmer’s Wife which is 1/3 of the way done, and I would love to do a complex sampler quilt in low volume fabrics that I have designed myself.”
Deborah loves colour and playing with it. She loves “the feel of cotton fabric and how it behaves when I piece with it. I think the thing I like most about quilting is that it is a process from start to finish that keeps me engaged each step of the way. I like the logic of following the steps to a completed project. For the most part, I don’t enjoy ‘random’, which is why I gravitate towards designs that are more traditional bordering on contemporary. There are some modern quilt designs that I appreciate but they have to make sense to me.”
Deborah’s “‘I can’t believe I did that” story involves a UFO made a few years ago. “It sits folded up in my studio and every once in a while I pull it out and wonder if I am ready to quilt it. The answer is ‘not yet’. It was a quilt I did as a class because it was popular at the time. It didn’t make sense to me and neither did the pattern. I guess it still doesn’t make sense to me.”
Deborah loves colour and playing with it. She loves “the feel of cotton fabric and how it behaves when I piece with it. I think the thing I like most about quilting is that it is a process from start to finish that keeps me engaged each step of the way. I like the logic of following the steps to a completed project. For the most part, I don’t enjoy ‘random’, which is why I gravitate towards designs that are more traditional bordering on contemporary. There are some modern quilt designs that I appreciate but they have to make sense to me.”
Deborah’s “‘I can’t believe I did that” story involves a UFO made a few years ago. “It sits folded up in my studio and every once in a while I pull it out and wonder if I am ready to quilt it. The answer is ‘not yet’. It was a quilt I did as a class because it was popular at the time. It didn’t make sense to me and neither did the pattern. I guess it still doesn’t make sense to me.”