Congratulations!

Congratulations to Marie Hayward, winner of the Mayflower Quilter's Retreat Raffle! Marie has been a long time supporter and attendee of the Retreat. And she served on the committee for many years. Marie was at the Mayflower meeting when the winning ticket was drawn. She was very excited, she already had her registration form ready and cheque made out. many thanks to all who bought tickets and congratulations again to Marie.

Marie at the 2009 Retreat.

Congratulations as well to Debbie Bliemel, winner of the Avonport Award For a Young Quilter. We had seven applications this year and I know the jury had a difficult time choosing just one winner.

Debbie is from Hammonds Plains, NS and she writes "I have always loved sewing. When I'm tired or grumpy, I sit down at my machine and start making something. Soon enough, I'm immersed in the serenity of fabric gliding between my fingers. As a project starts to come together, a deep sense of contentment grows inside my heart and I am happy. 

I've been sewing for about 30 years, but have been quilting for only three of those. When I was young, I made clothing for myself and my dolls. After I married and had my first child, I began making clothing and cloth diapers. I even had a small business making custom-made cloth diapers for a few years, but I closed the company once I moved from Ontario to Nova Scotia.

Debbie's "Manly Quilt"

I first began quilting when an organization called Craft Hope put out a call for children's quilts for Margaret's Hope Chest, a group that collects quilts in Michigan. I looked at all of the wonderful baby fabrics that I had lying around. Then I said, "I can do that." My two quilts were simple, wonky and slightly lop-sided. But I was hooked. 

Debbie's "Baby Quilt for Frodo"

After that, quilting became an integral part of my crafting life. Currently, I knit, sew, spin my own yarn, occasionally dye my own yarn, embroider, crochet, make wire jewelry, and of course, quilt. When I'm not doing any of that, I am a stay at home mom who likes to travel. I also write short stories and am working on my first novel. I would say that I'm mostly interested in modern quilting. Some of my favourite quilt blogs include Oh Fransson!, Film in the Fridge and Red Pepper Quilts. Bright, vibrant colours hold the most appeal for me. 

By far, the quilting project that I'm happiest with was coercing/organizing a group of my knitter friends into a year-long quilting bee. Each month, all of the members work on squares for one person's quilt. We get together at the end of the month to exchange blocks for new fabric packets, and we also enjoy tea, cake and chatting. It's been great fun, and I'm hoping that the love of quilting will remain, even after the bee is completed. 

My flickr account is filled with all of my crafty endeavors, should anyone wish to see what I'm working on (http://www.flickr.com/photos/k-townrocks2006/)."

Congratulations Debbie, we are all looking forward to meeting you in September.

Exciting News!

Congratulations to our Retreat teacher Karen Neary whose quilt "Roundabout Again" has been accepted into the AQS Quilt Show in Paducah, Kentucky We are so fortunate to have Karen be one of our teachers at the 2013 Quilter's Retreat. Read about her acceptance, "The Mailman Came" here.

"Roundabout Again"

Karen will be teaching "Roundabout Again" at the 2013 Quilter's Retreat, September 25-29, 2013. Congratulations again Karen!

We are also excited to announce that Cheryl Arkison's new book "A Month of Sundays" will be published by Stash Books and will be available August 1, 2013. Cheryl has written about her new book here and here you can see a sneak peek at the pictures from the book.

 

Almost Time

It's that time of the year - almost! Time to think about registering for the 14th Quilter's Retreat at Pictou Lodge. The magic date (for members of the Mayflower QG and its chapters) is March 25th. To ensure fairness no matter where members live we register by mail, therefore it is important to take your envelope to the post office and ask them to hand cancel it with the date clearly marked. We have had some registrations come in the past that have been mailed on the right day in a post office box but the envelope did not get processed till the next day or even later. So if there is a workshop you really want, take the time to get it hand cancelled! Don't be disappointed.

This is an exciting week for us At the March 21st meeting of the Mayflower Quilters Guild we will draw for the Retreat Raffle. One lucky winner will receive an all expense paid (except travel and supplies) to the retreat along with the workshop of the winner's choice. Have you sent your tickets in yet? If not bring them to the meeting. We will also be announcing the winner of the Avonport Scholarship for a Young Quilter. I am thrilled that we had 7 entries this year! I wish all 7 could come to the Retreat on a scholarship, they are all deserving. We are ever so grateful to Faye Brown and her store Avonport Disount Fabrics for their support of the scholarship.