Meeting Programs and Workshops
Unless otherwise noted, we meet on the 3rd Wednesday of each month at 7:00pm at Eno Memoral Hall in Simsbury, CT
If you are interested in learning more about our programs/workshops, please contact Tina Davies.
LEARNING ON THE GO—MEMBERS TEACHING MEMBERS
Our guild is full of talented and clever people. Come learn from them We will have 4 stations through which we will rotate every 15 minutes.
Our teachers are Karen Kebinger - Big Stitch Quilting,
Diane Calkin – Easy Method for Flying Geese,
Margaret O’Martian – Luggage Tags, and
Susan Elliott - Sewing Pedal Pad.
Don’t forget to bring your friendship blocks (those adorable teacups), your half square triangles for the swap, your neonatal contributions, and your quilts for show and tell. !
Help with our Community Service projects...Neonatal & ABC Quilts.
While you're here, have your scissors sharpened.
One of Hartford’s most beloved treasures, EdJohnetta Miller, will bring examples of her vibrant quilts that have been exhibited across this country and in many foreign countries. Learn more about Ed Johnetta here
Lecture: Trunk Show and talk on her quilt journey
Workshop: Stitched Mosaics – Supply list here.
Timna will teach us the technique that she uses for her animal quilts
Read more about Timna here.
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PAST MEETINGS AND WORKSHOPS
Come see the work of one of our most prolific guild members! You can learn more about Judy here.
LEARNING ON THE GO—MEMBERS TEACHING MEMBERS
Our guild is full of talented and clever people. Come learn from them!
Robin Schofield—Free Motion Thread Painting Create animal faces or other images using free motion techniques. You need thread, a sewing machine and your imagination. I have some examples of my animal faces (cat and rooster) at the Simsbury Library. The show runs until the end of January. The exhibit is across from the reference desk.
Jean Williams—Lazy Pineapple block Great use for that fabric we bought with great plans and is now stuffed away in a box! Shortcut for square-in-a-square, this technique loses the points and creates a design similar to the pineapple block without all the fancy rulers and fuss!
Margaret Omartian—Lip Balm Case With the cold weather we have ahead of us, we will be constantly looking for our lip balm to prevent chapped lips. To prevent losing it in the bottom of your purse or pocket, having a bright fabric case will help you locate it much easier. It will take no more than 15 minutes to complete the case using only small scraps from your stash. Great for gift giving or keeping for yourself.
Lynn Veith—Creating Shadows on Fabric Did you know you can use everyday items and some household cleaning fluids to make shadows on fabric? They make these objects appear to be floating on the fabric. The process is simple and the results are always surprising and best of all you do not need any special supplies.
Cathy Racine from Charlton Sewing Center will give a humorous and informative talk on Tension, Thread and Needles. This is a reschedule of our January talk which was cancelled because of snow.
Amy Friend will give an Introduction to the Modern Quilting Aesthetics.
Amy’s workshop is titled Improvisational Paper Piecing. Location TBD. Cost $50. Supply List Here
Learn more about Amy here.
You can do more with your walking foot than stitch in the ditch and straight lines (although straight lines can be fun too!). I will show you how easy it is to do gentle curved quilting lines with your walking foot as well as using some stitches on your sewing machine that are great for quilting. Have you noticed that wavy line that modern quilters like to use? It’s a modified stitch that most sewing machines have and I’ll show you how to do that that as well as a few other nifty tricks. I will also discuss batting, thread, needles, marking tools as well as securing the stitches. This class will change the way you think about your walking foot! Learn more about Marge Tucker here.
June, 2019 - Guild Summer Social -
June 20th - The June Social will be held on June 20 at Eno Hall.
Dinner will begin at 6:30.
Diane Calkin will be announcing the entries of the June Challenge. There will also be time for Show and Tell so bring your projects to share. Have fun.
July & August 2019 Sew-in Days at Avon Congregational Church
Stop in with your quilting projects and spend an hour or a day sewing with friends. Its'a great day to share your projects, meet new friends and learn from each other. If you don't have time to sew, just stop in and say Hello!
Avon Congregational Church - 6 West Avon Road
WEDNESDAY - July 17th & August 21st
TIME: 9 AM - 5 PM each day
Please join us for any portion of the day to work on whatever quilting projects you have in progress. This is a great time get to know other guild members while also finishing up some UFO's. There will be an ironing board, iron and cutting table available. Bring snacks to share, if you wish, pack a lunch or dinner or order food from any of the local restaurants.
Wednesday, Sept 18th Lecture: What Makes a Quilter Tick?
Join David for a fun-filled, interactive, eye-opening look at quilters and all the little quirks, passions and obsessions we all share. We’ll hold a mirror up to ourselves and see what others see when they look at us. Should be a evening of laughs.
On Thursday, September 19th, David will teach us his “No More Tears” method of paper piecing. We’ll be using the versatile Storm at Sea pattern. David guarantees this class will change our love/hate relationship with paper piecing to a LOVE relationship!!
Learn more about David here.
Wednesday, October 16th - Trunk Show
Sue Bleiweiss will bring at least a dozen of her quilts to show as she talks
about her art quilting journey, the materials, techniques and process she
uses and how she developed her unique style.
Thursday, October 17th, Sue will help us create a dynamic quilt the fast and easy way, with no piecing required. Learn about and use the principles of design to create your own modern quilts using Mistyfuse fusible web.
Learn more about Sue here.
November 20: Jennifer Watchorn Lecture: Organizing Your Quilting Space
Jennifer Watchorn is excited to share different ways to organize your quilting space. An organized space allows you to concentrate on your quilting, without being distracted by disarray. You will learn to organize your fabrics, your room, and your supplies; and keep the fabrics you buy for a project together. Sounds like a great evening.
Learn more about Jennifer here.
TUESDAY - December, 11th at Eno Hall - 6:30 pm
Members bring appetizers or desserts.
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Our traditional service meeting dedicated to Neonatal and ABC quilts will be enhanced with visits from representatives from local community groups with a similar service focus. Including Quilts without Borders, Quilts to Heal, Days for Girls and Quilts of Valor.
Lecture:Let's Talk Turkey This lecture follows the history of fabric styles and colors through the 19th century. Based around many things red, travel the fascinating journey of the production of fabric dyes of the 19th century with an emphasis on Turkey Red, specifically.
Workshop has been cancelled.
Lecture:Free Motion for Today's Quilter. Yes! You all can do free-motion.
Learn what ‘s available to help with your machine quilting. Learn about needles, threads, the new Westalee free-motion quilting rulers and other products that help to give you the best results plus trouble shooting advice, marking options, tips to easily handle those larger quilts and more.
Workshop: Thursday, May 17th - Westalee Sample Set Workshop - Easy free-motion! After a few basics to get everyone started, then the fun begins! Adele will need to know, in advance, what type of machine you are bringing to the workshop.
View these videos to see her Westalee rulers in use. Read more about Adele at www.adelescott.com
June, 2018 - Guild Summer Social -
June 20th - The June Social will be held on June 20 at Eno Hall.
Dinner will begin at 6:30. Desserts will be provided by Sally Markey, Robin Schofield, Sue Trimble, Karen Hines, Norma Hartley, Kathy Lettieri, and Marquerite Boslaugh.
Diane Calkin will be announcing the entries of the June Challenge. There will also be time for Show and Tell so bring your projects to share. Have fun.
July & August 2018 Sew-in Days at First Church, Simsbury
Stop in with your quilting projects and spend an hour or a day sewing with friends. Its'a great day to share your projects, meet new friends and learn from each other. If you don't have time to sew, just stop in and say Hello!
First Church of Christ, 689 Hopmeadow Street, Simsbury, CT – 9:00 am – 9:00 pm
TUESDAYS - July 17th & August 21st
The group will meet in Palmer Hall on the ground floor of the church. Please join us for any portion of the day to work on whatever quilting projects you have in progress. This is a great opportunity to finish up your quilts for the September show. There will be an ironing board, iron and cutting table available. Bring snacks to share, if you wish, pack a lunch or dinner or order food from any of the local Simsbury restaurants.
August 21st (Tuesday) – All the same applies as the July Sew in Day. In the evening, we will be getting together to wrap the raffle baskets for the Quilt Show. Lauren Elliott will share details at the June guild meeting.
Victoria Findley Wolfe, an award winning quilter and artist, will give the lecture: Creativity & Play: The What and Why's of PLAY! Victoria will show you how to push your creativity. She will share enough to get you all creatively inspired, then send you home on the creative buzz! The lecture covers Play, process, Double wedding rings, and all new work. The lecture evolves constantly.
September 20, workshop: Modern Herringbone pillow class ($50) Have you ever wanted to make a quilt that makes your friends ask, "How did you do that?" Based on Victoria's newest book, "Modern Quilt Magic" (available August 2017), this class will focus on the Herringbone pattern with a partial seam construction (this is not a French Braid!) Learn the construction skills to make dazzling quilts with interwoven movement and simple, graphic style. This is a great Scrap-buster! Create a piece that looks more complicated than it is. Build your skills with partial seams for a result that boggles the viewer's mind – but not the maker's!
Learn more about Victoria Findlay Wolfe here
Dawn Allen, will give a trunk show featuring her amazing quilts. She has a use of color and pattern which makes her works stand out as sensational. This trunk show is guaranteed to make you feel happy. See some of her amazing work at www.dawnallen.net
Lecture: Japan Tradition and Inspiration
November 15 workshop: Sashiko by Hand and by Machine. $47.50 Workshop Supply List
Learn more about Allison here.
Our annual holiday social brings us all together for sharing, laughing and of course...eating.
Desserts and beverages served.
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January 18, 2017 - My first and last quilts
Members are encouraged to bring in the first quilt they ever made (or the oldest quilt they can get their hands on) along with the most recent quilt they have made. We will all show and discuss our quilts and reflect on what we learned since we began quilting.
Help complete quilts for both the ABC House and our Neo-Natal donations. Members can assist with cutting & preparing blocks, binding baby quilts, sewing on labels. This is a low key yet purposeful meeting with a lot of opportunity for socializing with other guild members.
March 15th, 2017 - Quilts Of Valor Presentations
The guild will be presenting quilts to local veterans who have served our country.
Debbie Wendt of Wendt Quilting
Lecture – Bindings: A World of Options
Workshop - “Finishing School” – includes applying straight and mitered borders, different types of bindings such as straight edge, curved, and scalloped; finishing by hand and machine as well as making and attaching simple and creative labels. An additional fee is required for a kit that will include Debbie’s Brilliant Bindings Tool.
If you are interested in attending the workshop, please email Carol Martincheck
Maureen Egan – our very talented Guild member will be providing a Fashion show on May 17th followed by a workshop on making fabric postcards on May 18th.
Runway-style fashion show, "Art to Wear"
Workshop - “Making Fabric Postcards” - Some of the techniques covered will be: how to translate a vacation photograph into a fiber art postcard, effective designs for small 4 x 6 format, how to make the same piece a window type greeting card instead of a postcard, edge finishing, and of course all the basics of meeting US Postal Service requirements for mailing. Postcards are loads of fun, very creative and unusual. By the end of the day there will be a fabulous little exhibit of cards.
To view some samples of Maureen’s postcards: Postcard Gallery
June 21st 2017 Summer Social at Eno Hall, Dinner provided
July & August 2017 Sew-in Days at First Church, Simsbury
Stop in with your quilting projects and spend an hour or a day sewing with friends. Its'a great day to share your projects, meet new friends and learn from each other. If you don't have time to sew, just stop in and say Hello!
September 20th Karen Eckmeier Lecture “Happy Villages and Accidental Landscapes.” Beth is a Connecticut quilter, with a nationwide reputation. She is returning to our guild by popular demand.
Workshop September 21, 2017 “Happy Villages” based on her book with the same name.
Explore the freedom of fabric collage! No seams to piece or match, no lines to trace ... Just free form cutting of step and window shapes. Step by step your little village will magically come to life. A sewing machine is optional for this course. You can do the sewing at home. 10:00 - 4:00 at Sew Inspired
October 18, 2017 Lenore Crawford, award winning art quilter from Michigan will present a lecture entitled: “Fusing, Fabric Painting, and Stitching to Create Your Own Art Quilt.” www.lenorecrawford.com
Workshop on October 19, 2017 “Mini Blended Fabric Art Collage” - a chance to try some of Lenore’s techniques to produce a small collage. Contact Bev Hughes if you are interested in attending.
November 15 Lecture: Massachusetts quilter, Beth Helfter of EvaPaige Quilt Designs will give a lecture “Give it a Scrap Slap”. Her motto is “inspired designs, relaxed attitude”. evapaigequilts.com
November 16, Workshop: “Now YOU Give it a Scrap Slap”. In this workshop we will learn how to use scraps to make the same block with very different effects. Contact Bev Hughes if you are interested in attending.
December Holiday Party - More Info to Come
December 14, 2016 HOLIDAY PARTY
Warren from Linda Warren Designs will be doing a lecture/trunk show entitled Successful Fabric Selection for More Dynamic Quilts. Her lecture will provide practical pearls for taking your quilts to the next level. Linda started quilting in 1999 and discovered her love of designing machine-pieced quilts. She has been teaching since 2004 and publishes her own line of quilt patterns. She is the inventor of The Learning Curve ruler. www.lindawarrendesigns.com
Lecture: Successful Fabric Selection for More Dynamic Quilts
We all know the trick of choosing a "focus fabric" and selecting coordinating fabrics that match the colors in the focus fabric. As Dr Phil says, "How's that workin' for ya?" It works fine for a pattern calling for 3 or 4 fabrics, but what if you want to make a quilt with fat quarters or scraps? What if you want your quilt to look more dimensional? This lecture includes many practical pearls you can take home and use to take your quilts to the next level.
Over the Moon Workshop - Thursday, November 17th
This workshop covers all the same skills as The Learning Curve Workshop, while focusing on a quilt project, "Over the Moon." Full day (6 hr).
Sept 21 & 22, 2016 Michele O'Neil Kincaid - Lecture, Trunk Show & Workshop
“The Metamorphosis of an Art Quilter”! In the 35 years that Michele has considered herself an artist, she has explored pen and ink, oils and watercolors, and mixed media. All this while designing & sewing garments, home dec items, bridal & formal wear. No matter where her art took her, she always returned to textiles for the self-expression and fulfillment. Michele will take us on her travels through Art, craft, clothing, and wedding dresses to her immersion into the world of Fiber Art Quilting. She has exhibited her quilts in many shows including the National Quilters Association, Indiana; Images in Massachusetts, the Vermont Quilt Festival, and the Fairfield Fashion Show in Houston, Texas. Her quilt was featured in the first Fabric Trends magazine. Michele is a New Hampshire native and member of the League of New Hampshire Craftsmen. Her trunk show will include many quilts, and some of her work can be seen at http://fiberartdesigns.com/. Be sure to check out the Snowshoe Gallery.
Workshop: " Poppies" - Thursday, Sept 22nd - Michele O’Neil Kincaid will be teaching her “Poppies” workshop, which will include machine applique, free form machine piecing for the background, free motion machine quilting and hand beading. You choose the colors – red, orange, yellow, purple, etc. and make them POP! http://fiberartdesigns.com/poppies/
July & August 2016 Sew-In 9AM-9PM at the First Church of Christ, Simsbury
A day-long "retreat" for sewing and socializing. Bring your machine and projects.
June 2016 Summer Social at Eno Hall, Dinner provided
April 2016 - Connecticut Historical Society Quilts
An exclusive “Behind The Scenes Look at some of Connecticut Historical Society’s Quilts” at the Connecticut Historical Society in Hartford http://chs.org/
March 2016 - Alice Means Lecuture "A Potpourri of Quilting Techniques"
Alice has been quilting for 22 years. Since she retired in 1994, she has made over 250 quilts of all sizes and techniques. She has done over 75 trunk shows and workshops for quilt guilds and has been the Guest Speaker at the 2009 Titusville Florida Show, the 2010 Clamshell New London CT Show, and the 2011 Largo Florida Show. Her quilts have been entered into and won awards in several Juried Shows and the Hoffman challenge. Her quilts have also appeared in magazines including Quiltmaker, American Quilter, Machine Quilting Unlimited, and the AQS Quilt Art Engagement Calendar. She does applique and piecing by hand and machine, and does all of her own quilting on her home sewing and embroidery machines. Her trunk show will include many quilts, and Alice will describe the various techniques, tips, and shortcuts that she has learned on her quilting journey. Alice is from Bolton, Connecticut.
February 17, 2016 - Service Meeting at Eno Hall
January 20, 2016 - Members Teaching Members
December 8, 2015 - Holiday Social, Dinner Provided
Lynne Zacek Bassett is an independent scholar specializing in New England’s historic costume and textiles. From 1995‒2000 she was the curator of textiles and fine arts at Old Sturbridge Village in Sturbridge, Massachusetts. Since going independent, Lynne has undertaken a number of large projects, including curating an exhibition and catalogue for the Mark Twain House & Museum in Hartford: “Modesty Died When Clothes Were Born: Costume in the Life and Literature of Mark Twain,” for which she won the Costume Society of America’s Richard Martin Award for Excellence in 2005. Since 2007, Lynne has been the guest curator of costumes and textiles for the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, also in Hartford.
Pat learned to sew in 7th Grade Home Economics after all of our family’s worldly goods went up in a warehouse fire after returning from diplomatic duty in London. She received her first sewing machine that Christmas and has been sewing clothing, home dec, and quilts ever since. She discovered how wonderfully extensive the world of quilting was in 1993 and began joining guilds and taking quilting classes. She became Rhode Island’s first longarm quilter, developing her longarming skills in the evening while continuing to work as an elementary school librarian during the day. In 2008, she became an NQA Certified Quilt Judge, and in 2011, she became an NQA Certified Master Quilt Judge.
August 19, 2015 - Sandy Morawski Electric Quilt 7 Demo & Service Meeting
July 2015 Willow Bascom
Willow Bascom from Plymouth, Vermont will be doing a presentation on World Textile Designs
Willow will be talking about textiles, patterns and color palettes from around the world. She has lived in Saudi Arabia and Panama and has collected textiles and art from the many cultures she has visited.
She is also an award winning children's author and illustrator and has published a book, Paisley Pig and Friends: A Multicultural ABC. You can find more about Willow Bascom at www.willowdraws.com
June 2015 Social
Annual June social. Potluck. Auction in honor of Carrie Bacewicz to benefit Pancreatic Cancer Research. June challenge reveal. This years challenge was to work with solid fabrics.
May 2015 Jessica Leger - The Selvage Queen
Jessica Leger will be giving us a lecture entitled “How to be a Selvage Queen”. The format for Jessica’s presentation will be done as a fashion show complete with a red carpet. Jessica plans to bring over 60 garments along with some quilts that she has made. And, of course, she will also have items made with selvage edges.
April 2015 Sue Bleiweiss Lecture & Workshop
Sue Bleiweiss – Lecture/Trunk Show - Sue will talk about her art quilting journey and will be bringing lots of quilts to show. She will also talk about her materials, techniques and processes and how she found and developed her unique style.
Sue Bleiweiss is a full time artist living in Massachusetts. Working primarily with her own hand dyed cotton, she creates vibrant colorful art quilts intended to delight the eye of the viewer and draw them in for a closer look. Her latest book “Colorful Fabric Collage” will be available Spring 2015. Sue has published an extensive array of articles for several internationally popular fiber and craft magazines and has had her work featured in numerous books. Her work has been exhibited internationally and resides in private collections all over the world.
Workshop with Sue Bleiweiss entitled: “Coloring Book Fabric Collage: Designing, Fusing, Quilting”
Workshop: Create a fused 8” x 10” three little wonky houses art quilt in just a day. Using Sue Bleiweiss’ pattern or create your own and she will take you through her entire art quilt making process from start to finish. You’ll learn her methods for working with Mistyfuse fusible web and her quilt as you go method. Suitable for all levels.
March 2015 Michelle Muska Lecture
Michele Muska will be giving a lecture entitled “Quilting The New Classics”, which is based on her most recent book that was released in October 2014. She will also be bringing many of the quilts that are in the book.