Sue's blog

We all enjoyed the Miniature Landscape class with Dianne Bergmann on Sunday. These are just a few of the pieces she showed us. I'm sorry I didn't photograph the participants' projects. I'll try to remember to do that next time. Dianne came into QC the day before the class and chose kit fabrics to represent each of the four seasons. Each person in the class could choose their season. Surprisingly, nearly everyone in the class chose to do a winter scene. I guess we've all had enough of this hot, humid weather.

I was thrilled to get this review in my email this morning:

"... I was amazed and surprised at the level of the class. Dianne's teaching, organization, ability to adapt to rowdy participants (me), knowledge of art, articulate manner in conveying the artistic nature of the medium, and her demeanor were a perfect combination for an all day class ... I could have stayed longer to work on my trees. I would definitely take another class from Dianne."

We've already booked another class with Dianne and if you're interested in fibre arts and fabric landscaping, you can register now for Saturday, October 23 from 10:00 - 4:00.

Shop Hop was a blast! Thanks for participating, we had as much fun as you did. First prize was won by Marilyn Mass of Windsor and three second prize baskets were claimed by Rachelle Wallace, Susan Poth and Bev McCrae. Sydney Enghelbrecht of Leamington scooped up our BYOB (bring your own bag) prize. Thanks for the fun! We've already started planning for next year!

July 1st is fast approaching and with that the introduction of Harmonized Sales Tax (hst). We don't have to like it but we do have to live with it. So, what better to do than to make a quilt? This is mine – the body of the quilt is made up of 192 half-square triangles (hst's). More are added around the quilt to complete a secondary pattern. This quilt is offered as a free class when you purchase our precut kit. We've even presoaked the dark fabrics so you don't have to worry about colour runs. Check the class lineup for dates. Look closely at the quilting – it's amazing, both front and back. It's machine quilted by Melissa Milos. You may already know that Melissa teaches our “Learn to Love your Quilting System” class. She quilted this for me on her B-Line quilting system.

Do you enjoy taking classes? Quilting classes encourage us to finish projects, they provide a social outlet where we meet like-minded people and spend some time enjoying our hobby. Set aside some time for yourself, come in out of the heat and share some fun! And don't forget that kids like to share the fun, too. Heather has prepared a simple quilt for Kids Can in August. We've planned it like a day camp - three consecutive mornings. If you know a young person who would like to spend some time making a quilt and sharing some fun, check it out in our Classes lineup.

Quilting Confections has just finished up on our second year in business and what a year it's been! I'm excited to say that we've taught 29 new quilters this year! I wish I'd taken photographs of each and every "first" quilt but … well I'll try to be better about that next year. I love to teach the beginners! For several years I would only teach the intermediate classes where everyone already knows the lingo and the basics. I was afraid … but I'm over it and I'm looking forward to starting all over again with it in January. (Tuesday afternoons starting January 12).

In 2009 we grew our fabric inventory, added several Superior Thread lines including King Tut for quilting, Trilobal Polyester for embroidery and quilting and the most recent addition - Metallics for thread play. We've offered a wide variety of classes from beginners to doll making and fibre arts. We have lots of fun things planned for 2010 including two "block-a-month" programs. Piece, Love and Applique is a beautiful quilt with some piecing as well as applique. I did my applique by hand but if machine applique is your thing then go for it. Each month there will be a bit of applique and a bit of piecing. The 12th instalment will include the border and instructions on how to put it all together.

The Patchabilities monthly projects are fun, fun, fun. Licia Cipkar sewed our samples using a buttonhole applique technique. In January Katrina will be teaching a class on this technique, so if you want some instruction, that class will be Monday afternoon January 18 from 1;00 - 4:00.

We look forward to 2010. Come on in and share our love of quilting, maybe spend a Friday afternoon at sit & sew or join us for first Saturday - Demo Day. We're always happy to see you!