Maureen Wood has been quilting since 2004 and has developed a passion for foundation paper piecing. She has made well over 100 quilts using the foundation paper piecing techniques of Judy Niemeyer and of Jacqueline de Jonge, and has taught many classes focusing on the patterns of both of these amazing quilt designers.

Maureen has been a Quiltworx Certified Instructor since 2009 and a BeColourful Authorized Teacher since 2018. She enjoys teaching the techniques of both of these designers and assisting other quilters to develop the skills and confidence to successfully complete any of the Judy Niemeyer or Jacqueline de Jonge patterns that they choose to work on.

In her trunk show Maureen will be showing a number of quilts that highlight the various techniques of these two quilt designers and explaining the similarities and differences between the two.

She will have patterns and kits for sale and prefers a cheque or cash.

Bio

Janet has been a long time member of the Vancouver Quilters’ Guild.  She has been sewing garments since about the age of 13, starting on a treadle and ever so happy to finally have access to an electric machine a few years later. Her mom and grandma were always sewing and quilting.  She grew up sleeping under many scrap quilts made from old clothing. Attending a quilt show at St. Mary’s Anglican Church in about 1998 sparked an interest in quilting. Her interests are varied, and range from hand appliqué, to paper piecing, to new techniques, to workshops, to traditional and modern quilts.

Greetings, fellow quilters and kindred spirits!

I am honored to share my creations with you at your October meeting.

Here’s a wee bit about me and my journey.

I grew up in Sitka, Alaska, moved to Bellingham where I met my husband, we raised our sons, and plan to forever live in this gorgeous area. After 64 trips around the sun, I finally retired a few years ago from Whatcom Community College and since then I’ve let my hair go grey, gained to many pounds, and rekindled my love of sewing. I have made many quilts, wall hangings, and an assortment of fabric projects. I’ll bring some of my favorites to share with you. One thing you will notice about my handiwork is that there is no common thread (pun not intended). I am all over the place, jumping from an artsy frog wall hanging (did you catch that one?), to a funky cute bag, to a traditional blue and white quilt, to making art bowls; no consistency at all.

My curse is that I cannot seem to finish one project before getting excited about the next one (or three) – do you share my dilemma? I finally accepted the fact that, for me, it isn’t the goal of the finish line but rather the journey. I believe we all have a craving to create. During my presentation I will share with you an insightful book that speaks to my heart about that hunger, and I think it will resonate with you as well. It is titled “An absorbing Errand” by Jana Malamud Smith.

See you soon,
Barbara Dahl

Trish Poehnell 

I have been quilting since the 1970’s but have taken it up with gusto since returning to Vancouver in 1989.  I readily admit to having a bit of a “squirrel” approach to my quilting – easily distracted by the next great project.  And to my everlasting sorrow [not!], I am not much of a perfectionist, so have not yet produced a perfect quilt with perfect points and perfect 1/4″ seams.  But to my great joy, along the way, I have completed quite a number of quilts – some favourites and some not so much – and I would like to share some of them with you.

The final meeting before the summer.

Annual General Meeting

We will start the evening with our AGM where the committee is finalized and other Guild business is discussed.

Mini Trunk Show

Our June program will include mini trunk shows by three of our members—Robin Coates, Andrea Griffin, and Janet Harper. They represent a range of quilting skills and loves. They explain their love of quilting as follows:

Robin: Like many, I cannot remember when I was not able to run a needle. Unfortunately, my teacher was my Grandmother, who passed just after my 13th birthday. After that came a boring 45 years of school/career where necessity-sewing was done. I was finally able to get back to enhancing my creative skills when I retired and joined the Guild. I like to do all kinds of needle work, none to an award-winning level, but always to my personal joy.

Andrea: Have you ever wondered why it is that you are drawn to quilts that may be dramatically different from one another? I love working with the soft comfort of 1930’s prints but the next day I’m caught up with my pile of bright batiks and imagining what I can make with them. Long before I received my Ancestry results, I knew this had something to do with my particular clash of DNA. I’ll be exploring these ideas and some of the quilts that have emerged from them.

Janet: Over the past 20 years, Janet has become more and more addicted to quilting and now sees quilt patterns everywhere from the tide ebbing from the beach to paving stones in Tokyo. Where will this passion take her next?

Lorna Shapiro – Exploring Shape as a Design Element

I tend to stay within a comfortable zone of familiar shapes as I build new quilt designs. This past year I had the opportunity to spend 4 days in a workshop with quilter Maria Schell from Alaska. Maria’s work is very different than mine… very electric and busy and vibrant… but I chose to study with her because customers had praised her teaching. She was indeed a fabulous teacher, and I came away with a newfound interest in incorporating different shapes into my quilt designs. Shape is only one of the elements of design that we get to work with as quilters. However, it can be very powerful as an aid to creating eye-catching designs. Come spend an hour looking at quilts as we isolate the element of “shape” and see what we can do with it.

Dianne Stevenson

As a 5^th generation quilter from Southern Ontario, Dianne cannot remember or imagine life without the warmth of quilts.  Her career as an instructor began in 1976 and has taken her abroad as well as expanded into the presentation of numerous lectures and trunk shows.  With traditional roots and a twist of the unexpected Dianne’s extensive research explores our country’s history in such classes as “Canadiana in Cloth” and “In Honour Of…” as well as enabling you to make fun projects with her pattern line of “Black Crow Quilt Designs”.  With a (warped, playful) sense of humour, Dianne combines her love of Canadian textile history, red wine and ever changing roles of women; but not necessarily all at the same time.  Dianne prefers to “preserve the past and use it as a stepping stone for future possibilities!”   She was honoured to be the CQA/ACC  Teacher of the Year in 2010 and thrilled to be able to cycle across our magnificent country and explore it’s diversity of cultures and landscapes in 2011.

Canadian Influences: slide and trunk show