Fraser Valley Quilters Guild

Cheryl Olsson, Surrey, won 1st place in the Art Depiction of Human or Animal Form category with Pugsley is a Girl.

Cheryl says, “Pugsley went to visit Grandma two years ago. Then the pandemic locked everything down and we were unable to visit or bring her home. It’s now too late. Pugsley and Grandma have helped each other survive. Now her likeness hangs on the wall for us to say hello to everyday. I was inspired to try Susan Carlson’s collage techniques with my own photo after reading her book “Serendipity Quilts” and seeing her beautiful quilts.”

Techniques and Materials: Raw edge appliqué; collage. Cotton, tulle, rhinestones. Quilting: Self quilted on a frameless machine.

Lorna Shapiro, Vancouver, won first place in the Modern category with Circles and Stripes.

Lorna says, “I played improvisationally with just two guiding themes: a palette of fabric chosen by my daughter and exploring circles. Blocks started to emerge as I settled into the fun of playing with no pre-determined end goal in mind. The blocks were so pleasing that they wanted to become a bed quilt. The palette for this quilt’s foreground was chosen by my daughter. Her choice inspired me to create a design riffing off the palette itself. The quilting created in the background further developed the pieced design, adding an important element to the original design work.”

Techniques and Materials: Machine piecing. Cotton-linen, printed linen, woven cotton, printed cotton. Quilting: Quilted on a framed machine by Laura Gates

Laura Gates, Delta, took home the Excellence Award for Machine Quilting Framed with Pink Blossoming Garden.

From Laura, “I was captivated by this modern floral blossom pattern. I chose a bright colour palette of solids and prints for the Blossoming Garden pattern by Carolyn Murfitt of Free Bird Quilting Designs.”

Techniques and Materials: Fusible appliqué; machine piecing. Cotton. Quilting: Self quilted on a framed machine using a stitch regulator, free motion and ruler work.

Laura also won second place in the Modern category with Tsuru.

She explains, “An assortment of Japanese fabrics frame this Vancouver street banner designed by Norman Takeuchi depicting the Japanese internment in WWII in British Columbia. “Tsuru” is named after my grandmother and is dedicated to the courage and determination of all who endured the incredible hardships of the internment. The banner, silkscreened on nylon, is one of four in Norman Takeuchi’s 2007 Vancouver Street Banner Project, depicting the Japanese internment of the 1940’s.”

Techniques and Materials: Machine pieced. Cotton fabrics, nylon banner. Quilting: Self quilted on a framed machine using a stitch regulator, combining straight line ruler work and free motion stitching.

And Laura also took home third place in the Modern category with Rock Star.

She says, “Being an avid curling fan I was eager for an opportunity to bring two passions together. Inspired by Audrey Esarey’s “Radial Quilt” and techniques from Lisa O’Neill’s book Silver Quilts, my design is a FPP curling ring that I created for my husband who loves the game. I began this project by drafting a full scale pattern on paper taped to the wall and made a template for each piece. The large rings were paper pieced and for the curling rocks I used an inset circle technique from a Lorna Shapiro workshop. I chose a modern quilting design with a combination of straight line ruler work and free motion stitching. Designed on an iPad using the Procreate app and pieced with Kona and Northcott fabrics.”

Techniques and Materials: Machine piecing; paper piecing. Cotton. Quilting: Self quilted on a framed machine with a stitch regulator and rulers.

Your host Lorraine Wilson welcomes you to join in on some summer stitching fun!

See your quilting buddies on “Zoom” once again.

Keep an eye out for your email invitation .

This Saturday July 16 at 10am

Mark your calendars and watch for your email invite for our monthly Sit N Stitch on July 16, 2022 at 10:00am

Hosted by Lorraine Wilson.

See you there!

The year of the guilds 30th Anniversary, Val Smith and I decided to make a new banner as an anniversary present for the guild. The current banner was showing its age and I had been thinking about making a new one for a while so this was a perfect opportunity.

Our thought process was simple. We wanted to have the Guild Logo and colours, represent the Fraser Valley and somehow incorporate the different styles of quilting from the guilds 30 years. After drawing up a plan we worked on different parts separately and then got together to put them together.

During this process we added a train and decided we wanted to have boxcars on our train. We wrote letters to 15 guild members that we knew had worked in miniature and asked them to help us with a project we were working on by making us a small quilt. We didn’t tell them what we were going to use them for so it would be a surprise but did give them some guidelines. We needed them a certain size and asked that they be light in colour as we knew they would be in front of the dark mountain.

During the June Guild meeting we had the banner there and covered. After we told the membership that we had an anniversary present for them we unveiled the new banner. As we watched everyone looking at it we were interested in watching the ladies who had made us a miniature quilt as they looked to see what we had done with them. One lady had a very disappointed look on her face as she didn’t see her quilt. Val who was standing beside her, whispered in her ear “When you don’t follow the rules, your quilt falls off the train and ends up in the water”. She was quite happy after that to see her quilt floating.

Inspiring, Learning, Creating and Giving through Friendship in Quilting

The words in the river were to represent the Guilds Mission Statement and are still relevant today, 15 years later.

Happy 45th Anniversary Fraser Valley

My first memories of the FVQG were when I noticed a small advertisement in the local paper that said:

Quilters – let’s get together and talk about quilting and start a guild.
Call Margaret at …..

And so, I did.

At first there were just 5 or 6 of us for several months and we met in each other’s living rooms.  Often we came to my home because I had a baby who needed to be nursed and put to bed. (She is now approaching 46).  We chatted about quilting mostly and did hand projects, shared magazines, and marveled at one gal who did amazingly perfect appliqué and had an unusual system of quilting with a very fine crochet hook – sort of a chain stitch through the fabric.

After a while there were too many people for a living room, so we started to rent spaces in halls and community places. It was great fun, but I soon realized I would never be a fabulous artist – more of a crafts gal – and some of the meeting places have been too far from my home to make it feasible to attend regularly.

Two more children and a busy job meant my output was modest. I helped hang quilts, organized a few things, etc.

One of my favourite guild efforts is the swapping tables we used to have before meetings.

What is it about cutting up fabric and sewing it back together that is so darn much fun?

Over the years, I have made lots of things for children, friends and community – I often think that making something quilted is the best response for a friend having a hard time.

I seriously marvel at the fabulous quilts that many talented members make – and have kept up my membership for all these years so that I can be inspired!

Many thanks to all the folks who made this lovely anniversary event happen. And especially big thanks to Margaret Clydesdale who got us all rolling!

When I set out to form a quilting group in 1977, I didn’t know what it would look like. I placed ads anywhere I could, asking people who were interested in forming a guild to contact me. The response was pleasing, and I met interesting people who were already making quilts, mostly in small groups.  What they wanted was a meeting place where they could learn new techniques from others and compare and exchange patterns while enjoying a social experience along with expanding their knowledge of quilting.

Initially, there was a small core discussion group which included Wendy Wulff, Michelle Gallagher, Mary and Louise Frick, Monica Rieger and myself.  Art and Vera O’Keefe came on board a little later. When we had agreed on some basic premises for the guild, we advertised our first meeting in Surrey. To our amazement, quilters came from as far east as Squamish and all the way from Vedder Crossing in the west. We were thrilled!

The longevity of the Fraser Valley Quilters’ Guild has demonstrated that quilters want to expand their knowledge within the context of a social connection. From the beginning we had planned for a library, newsletters and classes, but it was the brilliance of the quilts and patterns to which teachers from all over the world would introduce us that raised the guild to another level.

I am grateful to the subsequent members who recognized the many ways the entity of the Guild, through the diversity of its membership, could contribute to their communities.  Every year the Guild donates a modest sum to a chosen charity. Over the years, various programs such as the Preemie Quilt project were introduced.  This initiative alone has donated over 10,000 quilts to the preemie units of various hospitals. Members have also contributed quilts to Cops for Cancer and The Vancouver Writer’s Exchange, along with supporting many other charitable causes.

I could never have foreseen how the substantial gifts of time and talent along with the incredible generosity of our community-spirited members would transform the Guild and firmly root it, and its members into such a force in the community.

I feel humbled by the beautiful spirit and gracious, creative hearts the members have exhibited in planning, piecing, displaying and donating their quilts for almost half a century!

My mum was Jessie Daveen Kelly (called Daveen by everyone except the healthcare system) and I think she was member number 16.  I probably have her membership card somewhere in the depths of my family mementos.  She had been recently widowed after some lengthy time caring for my dad who had cancer and she was looking for something to do with her suddenly free time.  Someone she knew took her off to the meeting and even though she was financially disadvantaged she managed to be pretty prolific.  She pretty much only made log cabin quilts – 1 for each of her 21 nieces and nephews as each of them got married.  She also did a few cathedral window cushions and a quilted vest and bag for me.  She LOVED green and I wasn’t always impressed with the combination of lime green and spruce green  .  She only stopped quilting when she had a bad fall and shattered her left wrist so that it had to be fused into a position that wasn’t useful for quilting.  I still remember Mary Ann visiting her in the hospital with a pile of quilts to show her.

When my marriage started to break down, I moved to be nearer to her and she encouraged me to join the evening group which had just started.  I think I started with the first or second evening meeting.  Mum encouraged me to take one of those sampler classes where you learn a different technique each week as she always said she wished she had taken one.  I was sorting some old photos over Christmas and can see just how far I have come from those first, rather ugly, quilts.  Now a days I do more art quilting and english paper piecing.  I think Mum would have really liked the EPP but not been too sure about some of the other stuff.

Ever since, I have used quilting to make new friends wherever I moved.  I was a member of the South Australia group and joined the Quilter’s Guild of the British Isles as soon as I moved to the UK.  I am now a Trustee for the Quilter’s Guild of the UK.  I encourage everyone to plan a trip to the UK during the Festival of Quilts which is 18-21 August this year and right beside the Birmingham Airport.  Not as big as Houston, but much more innovative and very different.  You’ll need at least 2 days.