Links from Our VP Retreat!

We had 35-ish members at both days of our recent retreat. Over 40 members stopped by for a very little or most of both days! Lots of great quilting inspiration! Below are links to some of the quilts we were working on, or things we talked about. In case you couldn’t be there or you aren’t a member of our guild (yet)!

If you aren’t sure what we do at a “Sit and Sew” on Zoom, we just sit at home, and sew and chat and ask our fellow members any questions we have about our projects. Is this colour too dark? How would I do this technique? We were all very happy on the weekend that we didn’t have to brave the frigid temperatures to sew with friends. We do “Sit and Sew” every Monday afternoon from 1-3, using the same Zoom link. And if you have another time that works better for you, just ask and we can set that up!

Jill – Quartered Stripes Quilt

Jan G and Stephanie (and originally Janice) – Modern Squares Quilt

Monica – Craftsy 2012 Block of the Month with Amy Gibson. 12” blocks

Sandra – Chapman Coverlet and Simple Folk by Sarah Fielke

Anita – Folded Corner Clipper

Jean – Jordan Fabrics Free Patterns and Tutorials

Suzanna, Jill and Stephanie – Postcard from Sweden QAL

Kathi – Featherweight Machines at Heirloom Treasures

Nancy – Turning Twenty Quilt for Indwell

Karen Z’s Triangle Peaks Baby Quilt

Stephanie, Patti and Anita – Sta-Flo Concentrated starch Can use at 1:1 or different ratios. In the laundry aisle of US grocery stores but also available on Amazon.ca ( at a much higher price)

Stephanie – Using a mist bottle for your spray starch. Be sure to get one with the air vent on the bottom! Available at quilt shops or repurpose a Mr Clean Clean Freak spray bottle

Monica, Jean and Carol – Jack Reacher on Amazon Prime coming on February 4th

Books mentioned

Jack Reacher series by Lee Child

Jack Ryan series by Tom Clancy

Cormoran Strike series by Robert Galbraith ( alias JK Rowling)

Peter Ash series by Nick Petrie

Flavia de Luce by Alan Bradley

Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osmond

Ross Pennie books – husband of Ancaster MQG quilter Lorna P, set in Hamilton and local areas

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.”

group of photos showing close ups of sections of quilts made with 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!

Shannon Fraser on her 100-Day Project

Looking for ways to develop your quilty creative practice? Shannon Fraser will share how taking on a 100-day project can help you do just that. On Monday, January 10, Shannon will share her first 100-day project experience with members of Twilight Quilters’ Guild. The Zoom doors open at 6:30 p.m. and Shannon’s presentation will begin at 7 p.m.

She will tell us how she picked her topic, how she kept it manageable, the challenges she faced, the quilt she created through the journey and what she learned from sticking with this creative challenge. Shannon will also share tips on how you can successfully navigate this challenge to reap the most of out it and build a lasting creative practice.

Modern quilting is Shannon’s preference, but she also loves learning from traditional techniques and putting her own spin on them. She loves sharing those creations and has discovered designing quilt patterns is her jam! Math and all! Shannon is also a total homebody who loves working from her home studio in Montreal.

After teaching herself to sew a few years ago, she stumbled upon quilting and it was like finding her creative home – and has been hooked ever since!

Shannon is still learning and exploring the craft and creativity of quilting but is happy to share her knowledge, as well as trials and tribulations so we can learn from her mistakes and happy discoveries.

We can see what Shannon is up to over on her Instagram page. When you explore Shannon’s website, you can expect to see modern quilt projects, tutorials to help make quilting easier for you and resources so you don’t have to hunt them down or spend hours searching for the perfect tools – Shannon has done the work for you!

If you aren’t a member yet, follow this link to learn how you can join us to hear Shannon’s presentation.

Scrap Sewciety BOM

Starting in January, Twilight is running a 6-month Scrappy Sew Along designed by Sandy Lindal of Scrappy Gal Quilt Company. Karen Zanstra is going to be explaining the blocks and showing photos every month at the meetings. Every member will get an email right after the meeting with the instructions for the month. Many of our members have picked out their colour schemes but in case you aren’t sure, here’s what Karen, Jill and Stephanie are using. They will be working one month ahead!

From Karen: “My choice was based on what I have the most of in my trays. After many Jen Kingwell projects I have a great selection of brights and white/grey neutrals so that’s what I will be working with. My trays (as shown in the pictures) hold fat quarters and anything smaller than that. My plan is to work through all this before going to the shelves and use my yardage stash. Hope I can stick to this plan and see a dent in my smaller cuts. Looking forward to seeing what everyone else has selected!”

From Jill” “I have chosen to do a neutral quilt…greys and whites. Picking colours for each block is always a struggle for me so I’m hoping this will simplify things and the results will be ‘quiet’ and not boring. In addition to actual scraps from my scrap basket, I have an assortment of low volume FQs and some leftover yardage. The directions give instructions for making sets of blocks which will work well with my larger pieces. Don’t worry if you plan on only using scraps, there are instructions for that as well!”

From Stephanie: “I was planning on making a brown queen sized quilt and when this BOM came up, I decided to combine the 2 projects. I will be making more blocks each month, for the larger size and I may upsize the assignments. When we need 3.5″ unfinished blocks, I may make 6.5″ UF instead. Or some of both! The final layout is flexible and it is your quilt, so make it your own!”

Also from Stephanie: “I’ve had this 40 fabric Fat Quarter bundle for quite a few years. I’m going to do a second top using it! Call me crazy! This will have a completely different look than the browns. And hopefully, it will give everyone a different visual preview of the blocks each month!

Karen will be happy to answer your fabric questions by email or at the December and January meetings.

Christa Watson in December!

Twilight Quilters’ Guild is excited to bring Christa Watson to members via Zoom on December 13, 2022. Not a member yet? You can solve that by joining online to see Christa and many more fantastic speakers and events!

Most quilters understand how important it is to practice machine-quilting designs on small fabric samples, but they often have trouble applying those designs to an actual quilt.

In this informative lecture, Christa will share her secrets for domestic machine-quilting success: adequate basting, choosing the right thread colours, thinking about how to divide and conquer each task, and learning how to create rich texture with little to no marking of the quilt.

Christa will also discuss the importance of making a quilting plan, so you can figure out the best path around the quilt with the fewest stops and starts. Once you see how easy and carefree her methods can be, you’ll feel empowered to quilt your own quilts!

You can learn more about Christa, her talents and offerings via Instagram at @christaquilts on her website Christaquilts.com or by joining her Christa Quilts Facebook Group!

Community Service Day, Nov. 13

In early fall, Monica Thompkins contacted some Norfolk long-term care homes to determine what items TQG could provide to benefit the residents. After a day of sewing fidget quilts in October, we are looking for lap, fidget and memory quilts.

On Saturday, November 13, from 9 am to 4 pm, we’ll be using the TQG Sit and Sew link to get together virtually to make quilts to fill this need in our community. There will be door prizes and we encourage you to drop in and take part for even part of the day!

The Thunder Bay Quilters’ guild has excellent links and information for community sewing projects on their website. Here are some suggestions and requests to keep in mind as you plan and gather your supplies for Saturday.

Lap Quilts

About 40″ x 40″
Flannel backing is suggested to help avoid slipping

Fidget Quilts

About 20″ x 20″
6 to 9 blocks with different things to fidget with, like zippers, buttons, elastic, textured fabrics, ribbons, fringe, rickrack, strapping
Batting is optional, but a stabilizer may be necessary to support heavy items
Flannel backing is suggested to help avoid slipping
Please do not to use any plastic, as that may not stand up in an industrial washing machine.

Memory Quilts

About 40″ x 40″
Fabric blocks with illustrations of items that might spark a memory
Flannel backing is suggested to help avoid slipping

Add your sources for patterns or tips for these sort of quilts in the comments below!

Sylvia Schaefer – Flying Parrot Quilts – November 8, 2021

Sylvia Schaefer has been quilting since 2007. Her quilts have a very modern vibe and she is the author of “The Quilter’s Negative Space Handbook”. Her Presentation is “Quilts from Science”. Sylvia earned a PhD in marine science before moving into quilting full-time. Inspiration is everywhere and Sylvia draws on her background in science to come up with science-inspired quilt designs, ranging from the purely visual like chemistry glassware on the lab shelves to actual scientific ideas like ocean circulation or the colours of light emitted by stars. She studied marine science, so there will plenty of oceanography-inspired quilts, plus astronomy, chemistry, biology, and more. And we will hear about her parrots!

You can find out more about Sylvia on her website, Flying Parrot Quilts and on Instagram and Facebook.

Sylvia does not allow guest passes to her lectures, so if you are interested, you can still buy a guild membership. It is only $35 for the remaining 8 meetings plus our retreats, and BOMs. Details can be found here!

Please don’t leave your Show and Tell photos until the last day, Sunday, November 7th. We had 40+ last month and members really do like to see what you have been sewing! You can see them all after the meeting on our Twilight Facebook page! So please send them along to twilightsimcoe@gmail.com any time now!

Virtual Learning

In March, 2020, as the pandemic started to unfold, some businesses and organizations embraced social media and Zoom and never missed a meeting! Locally, that was the Royal City Quilters’ Guild in Guelph. Designers scrambled to get cameras and microphones and convert their trunk shows into virtual presentations. Designers, stores and guilds started running quilt alongs and mystery quilts through email (most people were comfortable with this), and Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. It was a great way to connect with people when we weren’t leaving home!

And in 18 months, learning opportunities in quilting have exploded. At our October meeting, Stephanie did a presentation on the evolution of virtual learning. You can see it here, with links to many of the things mentioned.

Our members did vote to provide the Scrap Sewciety BOM free to all our members, another perk of membership! You can find some information at here at Scrappy Gal Quilt Co! More information will be emailed out next month! Karen Z will be giving us monthly guidance and we will have a few colourways to show you!

It’s still a great time to join the guild! Details here!

Sarah Yetman – Spooled Rotten Quilts

Vicki, our Vice President and Advertising Co-ordinator, is going to feature one of our advertisers every month. We are starting with Sarah Yetman!

“Hi Everyone I’m Sarah Yetman of Spooled Rotten Quilts. I operate a small longarm business out of my home in Brantford. I made my first quilt in 2009 when I was on maternity leave with my first child and was hooked. I quickly realized I was getting into this in a big way. I was drawn especially to free motion quilting and knew I wanted to tackle it. I worked kind of obsessively on my domestic machine to FMQ (free motion quilt). This went on for about 6 years, building my skills. By this point I made a huge decision to follow my passion and take the leap into longarming. With the help of an inheritance I purchased my longarm and left my retail job. Although going into business for yourself can be a challenging, at times scary decision. I am so glad I took that chance. After much thought I decided on purchasing an Innova longarm. This machine, over the years like the domestic before her, has become an extension of me. Today I offer edge 2 edge digitized quilting services as well as custom work. I continue to practice FMQ on my longarm as the learning never stops with this amazing art we all love so much. I work in a small shared space and make the most of every nook and cranny! Most recently I was so honoured to quilt a piece for Sherri Hissey of Border Creek Station that was featured in the yearly quilt calendar for American Patchwork and Quilting. I consider myself so lucky to be able to do what I love everyday and continue to be inspired by the beautiful pieces my clients allow me to quilt for them. ❤”

You can see more of Sarah’s work on her Facebook page, here!

Lana Thomson – October 18th, 2021

Our October meeting is always the Monday after Thanksgiving! Join us on Monday, October 18th at 7pm for our second meeting of the year when a local quilt shop, Quilt Junction, will be featured. We are looking forward to a very large show and tell as well. We will have members projects to show from last year’s ModernBOM, our MiniMod Swap, our Summer QuiltConcert Quilt Along and our Ice Dyeing Workshop as well members finished UFOs!

“Quilt Junction is a quaint fabric shop housed in the historic train station of Waterford, ON. Lana is in her 11th year as owner/operator of the business. She and her team endeavour to provide inspiring samples, patterns and ideas for their clients. In pre covid times she and her team offered workshops ranging from beginner classes to advanced level sew alongs. “We strive to offer the latest fabric collections, the nifty new notions and the most recent books and patterns on the market.”“

Lana’s presentation, My Favourite Things, will feature some of the favourite techniques and tools she likes to use with hand applique and paper piecing. The presentation will also include a tour of the shop so you’ll see some of the newest collections in stock.

Please send your show and tell photos before Sunday night at 6pm to twilightsimcoe@gmail.com. Here is our post with the photo instructions!

It is not to late to join our guild. Payment details can be found here and you can print out the program PDF from this link.