2,000 Years of Patchwork: Elizabeth De Croos

At the next TQG meeting on Monday, January 9, Elizabeth De Croos will join us to talk about patchwork traditions in Korea. The Zoom “doors” open at 6:30, and the meeting starts at 7 p.m. Hear about pojagi, jogakbo and patchwork traditions, the story of Korean women who developed these utilitarian art forms and how they fit into Korean history and culture. See many samples of wrapping cloths, fabrics and techniques and discover the similarities and differences between pojagi and quilting.

Elizabeth started sewing as a child and has always been interested in various needlecrafts. In 2009, she took her young family to South Korea, where she had the opportunity to learn pojagi – a traditional Korean art form that goes back thousands of years.

Upon returning to Canada, Elizabeth developed techniques for similar patchwork using a sewing machine and materials more readily available in the west. Her batik window hangings look like stained glass in the sun.

She works with this technique in her home base – Epida Studio. Her pattern line is called Epida Designs, and she publishes pojagi patterns and traditional quilting and embroidery patterns. She teaches live workshops both in person and virtually and has on-demand courses.

You can see tutorials and inspiration at epidastudio.com.

My Design Process – From Concept to Quilt

Tina Curran will be presenting her lecture, My Design Process – From Concept to Quilt, at the next TQG meeting on Monday, December 12, at 7 p.m.

Tina Curran has been a quilter for over 25 years.  Her work has earned multiple blue ribbons and the rank of Master Quilter at her local quilt guild in Glendale, CA. Her quilts have hung at major quilt shows, including Road to California (Ontario, CA), the AQS quilt shows in Lancaster, PA and Paducah, KY and the International Quilt Festival in Houston, TX.  Tina’s work has been featured more than 20 times in quilt magazines (Quilters Newsletter and Quiltmaker) and in three books (including Ricky Tims’ Kool Kaleidoscopes).  

She has been designing patterns since 2002, began giving quilt lectures in 2012 and started teaching her designs in quilt guild workshops in 2013. In 2015, she started a free monthly email newsletter to chronicle her adventures in quilting, which is read by thousands of quilters around the world. And in 2021, she started hosting her own virtual quilt workshops for the fans of her quilt designs.

Photo of a quilt with six wreathes, all with Christmas motifs.
Wreathorama by Tina Curran

Her work can be seen on her website at tinacurran.com.  Her patterns are sold in her shop on Etsy.com (tinacurran.etsy.com) and have sold to quilters in all 50 of the United States and more than 30 foreign countries.

Build a Better Relationship with Your Sewing Machine

Learn how with Bernie Tobisch at our October 17 meeting!

Bernie Tobisch

Are you having relationship problems with your sewing machine? Is there tension in the air? Is the honeymoon over? Maybe you and your machine only need to learn to communicate more clearly.

Let Bernie be your counsellor and help you discover how to understand what your sewing machine is trying to tell you. Learn how to get it to do what you would like it to do. End the tension-filled battles once and for all! Reconnect and grow to love your machine all over again.

Let’s get this relationship off on the right foot! To get the most out of this presentation, Bernie suggest that you set up near your machine.

This presentation is based on Bernie’s book You and Your Sewing Machine.

Vanessa Genier Kicks Off Our New Year

Quilts for Survivors founder, Vanessa Genier, will join TQG at our first meeting of the 2022-23 year! Join us on Zoom on Monday, September 12th at 7pm to hear about Vanessa’s start on Facebook to the nation-wide effort that it is today.

Vanessa has built a great group of stitchers and encouragers on Facebook but it’s easiest to find information about how to send your blocks, tops or quilts on the Quilts for Survivors website.

Quilts for Suvivors

Please renew or purchase your membership before the meeting!

Dresdens Reimagined

Candy Grisham will be sharing her Dresden plate quilt block journey with TQG members on Monday, May 9. The Zoom doors open at 6:30 p.m. and the meeting starts at 7p.m.

What happens if you give a girl a wedge ruler? She makes a quilt and then another. She writes a pattern, then makes another quilt or two or three, then writes a book and begins to share her passion and love of Dresden quilt blocks reimagined. Join us for a trunk show featuring this journey with many photos and instruction; followed with Q & A session.

Candy says that she has always been fascinated with fabric, sewing and quilting since the age of nine when she took her first sewing class and won a prize for her corduroy jumper and print shirt with a necktie. When she saw an ancestor’s quilt in the Smithsonian at age thirteen, she was hooked. She taught herself to quilt from books and used cardboard templates and scissors to make her first quilt, a Log Cabin. It has been a love affair ever since.

Candy loves using fabrics, themes, and colours from nature, although she finds that she is leaning more and more toward bright fabrics with a lot of prints. Many of her works have a “tradition-with-a-twist” quality, and although she relies on inspirations from genera­tions gone by, they also have a contemporary feel. She has dabbled in fibre art, challenges, traditional quilting, and modern quilting, and she loves it all!

She has taught quilting for more than twenty years and loves teaching and exploring with students as much as creating. She has had quilts and fibre art pieces juried into shows with Missouri Fiber Artists, the American Quilter’s Society in Kentucky, the International Quilt Association in Houston, and the National Quilt Association in Ohio, as well as into many local and regional shows and displays.

Candy published her first pattern on the Dresden quilt (of course!) in 2015 and her second in 2018. Her book Dresden Quilt Blocks Reimagined was published in 2019. 

You can learn more about Candy on her website, Instagram and Facebook.

Tamara Kate on Colour!

Tamara Serrao will be talking about colour at the TQG meeting on Monday, March 14. Tamara’s For the Love of Colour trunk show will have all members thinking about colours in new and different ways.

Tamara’s joyous use of colour, her fabric designs and quilt patterns have inspired many quilters.

Tamara has been sharing her love of designing fresh, modern quilts and other needle arts with students across North America for a number of years. She equally enjoys teaching techniques and inspiring others to embrace their unique voice in creating contemporary textiles true to their personal vision.

You can learn more about Tamara and her fabric designs and quilt patterns on her Instagram page and her website Kayajoy Designs.

Scraps vs Scrappy

Cheryl Arkison says, “Far too often I hear people say that they can’t do scrappy because 1. It looks too messy, or 2. They don’t have pretty scraps.”

On Monday, February 14, Cheryl will present a lecture and trunk show to show us all the pleasures of using our scraps. She says that it starts with sorting and storing. Then Cheryl will talk about the difference between a scrap quilt and a scrappy one. That’s right, they are not the same.

When it comes to making I am happy to make what inspires. I am well known for my use of bold colour and the quiet whispers of low volume fabrics but I will use anything in between as well. Use what you love, make what makes you happy. Just get your butt in the seat and sew.

Cheryl Arkison

You can learn more about Cheryl on her website and Instagram.

Learn about how you can join us for Cheryl’s presentation – it’s sure to spark ideas and inspire you!