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KINGSTON HEIRLOOM QUILTERS NEWSLETTER,
January, 2007

Contact the Kingston Heirloom Quilters at (khq at quiltskingston.org).
KHQ web: quiltskingston.org/khq /

Programs & Projects

Message from Your President
Donna Hamilton

Happy New Year to everyone! I hope you had a wonderful holiday and enjoyed family and friends. I know everyone dreams of a "white Christmas", but I have to admit that I rather enjoyed our green Christmas. We got a break from winter boots, shoveling, heating bills, winter driving, and yet were still able to enjoy the crisp cool air. What a nice Christmas present!

With the New Year comes Resolutions. What are yours? Those participating in the UFO project already have some of theirs set. I hope you will be able to set aside plenty of time for our favourite past time. And don't forget about the Humour Challenge and Margaret's Memorial Challenge for our 2008 show.

We have an exciting winter/spring program lined up: machine quilting demonstrations, trunk show of antique blocks, appliqué tips, drafting the mariner compass in new ways on the computer and easier ways with pencil and paper, discussions of copyright issues and quilting designs (plus tips on what kinds of markers to use, making stencils and other methods and tools) and more. The Singing Quilter will visit the end of May.

Your Executive hopes there is something for everyone. Again, if you have ideas please continue to let us know. We will be planning for the next season before your know it and will need your suggestions. I am happy to report that by the end of this program, we will have covered topics you asked for as your first and second choices from our survey and much more!

I hope you will prepare for the April 3 trunk show where we each bring in our first and last quilt. Yes, and even if that first quilt is "almost done", do share it. If your first quilt isn't around, then bring the next one you made. We should all have a lot of fun with this one. I've certainly learned a lot since my first quilt!

New Years causes us to look back over the past year. In the article "A Review of the KHQ Web Page", I have done just that and compared it with the previous year's statistics, an interesting comparison.

Before I end, I'd like to ask that each of you consider how you might contribute to the Kingston Heirloom Quilters. In late February we will learn which of your Executive will be returning. There will be positions opening up. I think you will all agree that your Executive is doing a magnificent job this year. If you speak with them, I think you will also find that they have enjoyed the job. It is a great way to get to know the wonderful, talented women in this group close up. If you'd like to help but are not sure what to do, please talk to us. We can find "little" and "bigger" job for all.

All the best in 2007! And Happy Quilting!

Something to think about: "A well adjusted person is one who can make the same mistake twice and not feel nervous about it."

Margaret, Our Mentor
Sylvia Currie

What a treat to pick up the current issue of Fifty-Five Plus and see those sparkling eyes of our own Margaret Rhodes on the cover! And the lovely article and pictures very clearly define our co-founding member. Margaret has the ability to identify the important facts in life and history and to piece them together as seamlessly as the many quilts she has produced, in a clear and relevant statement. She has been known to sit quietly during a heated discussion at general meetings, and then put it all to rest with a single clear summary of the issue. She happily joins those at the quilting frame and will send the group into peals of laughter with some of her straight-faced one liners. She has memorialized her beloved Murray by twice sponsoring an award for the best hand pieced, hand quilted bed quilt entry in our quilt shows; nothing less would be good enough!

Margaret keeps us well-tuned into our quilting heritage. We are currently working on a project, "Fashions through the Centuries", which she brought out from her store of treasures, and we look forward to her show of antique blocks next month. There is no doubt she has many more treasures awaiting some needle and thread, and she'll get us to apply them to her long time favourites.

To assist us with all our quilting activities, Margaret keeps us well fortified with her home-baked goodies on a regular basis. She has agreed to share some recipes with us, which appear later in this newsletter.

So, here's to Margaret; you have made us what we are, and for that we thank you!

Membership

We are delighted to add two new members to our evening group. And to know that we retain loyal members, even though they may be in British Columbia , Florida or Arizona . Nelly will surely find plenty of snow in the mountains around Invermere, B.C. Rosalie sounds as though she is getting well acquainted in her winter home in Florida . And Fran reports she and Daniel will be moving to their new home in Victoria , following an extended stay in Arizona with her mother. It looks as though Victoria and Kingston are both setting sights for a 2008 quilt show.

Ontario Quilting Connections
Sylvia Currie

On October 28 th Donna Hamilton, Marg Henshaw and Sylvia Currie attended the regional guild seminar in Brockville, sponsored by the Ontario Quilting Connections. Representative from seven eastern Ontario guilds were in attendance.

The OQC is a provincial organization, formed in 1988 for the purpose of linking quilting guilds across the province. There are currently 85 member guilds. OQC sponsors two seminars, such as we attended, annually, in various parts of the province. They maintain a directory of guilds, teachers and quilt shops in Ontario . They provide rosettes to guilds (one per year per guild) upon request and certificates of appreciation. Every two years OQC sponsors a workshop at Geneva Park . This year it will be from August 23 - 26, consisting of keynote speakers and workshops. Registration closes June 30, 2007. Information about this event is on our information table.

The morning session of our seminar featured a talk by Kathy Coddington on group development, the stages of group formation and function. After lunch we rotated among three group discussions on running an effective meeting, guild finances and newsletter software and suggestions. We will make a presentation regarding this seminar at our January 18 th meeting.

Christmas Lunch
Joan Bales

The Heirloom Christmas lunch was held on December 5 th . Thirty-one members attended and a group photo was taken for our records (and to share with distant members). Thank you to everyone for your delicious food.

A Review of the KHQ Web Page
Donna Hamilton

Over the holidays, I reviewed the statistics for our KHQ web page. I discovered that we averaged over 1000 unique visitors a month since September, with December having over 1300. Just for fun I decided to compare the visitors we had in 2005 with those in 2006. Here is what I discovered.

In 2005 we had 5,652 unique visitors to our site, while 2006 brought 11,066 visitors, almost twice as many! The software was able to tell us where 20% in 2005 and 60% in 2006 of our visitors came from.

In 2005, 706 or 47% came from ".net" which is probably from the U.S.A. , 388 or 26% were from Canada , 328 or 22% came from ".com" or company computers and 21 or 1.4% came from the Netherlands . It went on to list 24 more countries similar to those from this year.

In 2006, 4512 of 74% came from ".com" or company computers probably from both Canada and the U.S.A., 689 or 11% came from ".net", 462 or 7.53% came from Germany, 273 or 4.45% came from Canada, with 58 from Japan, and 18 from the Netherlands. The list of countries for this year is: Russian Federation , U.S.A. , Australia , France , United Kingdom , Finland , Brazil , Switzerland , Israel , Lithuania , Austria , Cyprus , Denmark , Malaysia , Mozambique , Norway , Poland , Togolese Republic , and South Africa .

Our site has many pages and our visitors saw many of them. The most popular this year are: Margaret's Basket (214), School House Sampler (198), and Diane Berry's Basket of Flower's, Fran McArthur's 2001 winning wall hanging, and Tumbling Stars all were seen by 192 visitors.

There you have it! A glimpse of what's happening with our web pages. Next Step? I'd like to put up pictures of your quilts and their stories, as long or short as you'd like. If you have a quilt you'd like to do this for, please contact me. We can use the pictures from our last show, if you'd like. This is one way for you to document your own quilts and share with the world.

Library
Mary Ann McAndrews

 Please add the following new and donated books to your library list. If you don't have a list, please speak to Mary Ann.

- Clever Quarters Too, New Quilts From Fat Quarters, by Susan Teegarden Dissmore
This book features scrappy quilts that focus on fat quarters. There are 16 projects including a table runner, wall hangings and bed quilts. Projects use as few as 5 to 26 fat quarters, some even a whopping 62. There are tips for combining a multitude of colours, values and patterns to get a classic scrap look.

- Baltimore Elegance; New Approach to Classic Album Quilts, by Elly Sienkiewicz.
This is a new collection of smaller, less complex blocks that are perfect for a first Baltimore Album. The blocks can be enlarged. There are more than two dozen block designs as well as in depth how-to's and skill building lessons.

Baby Quilts
Joan Bales

Remember to work on your baby quilts for the hospital. We are continuing to tie at least one baby quilt at each meeting and also we have a baby quilt on a frame for those who wish to hand quilt. Selected hand quilts are being kept for the Boutique at our next quilt show.

Quilts Kingston 2008

Committee positions are nearly finalized, and as soon as this is complete we will begin regular committee meetings. If you haven't yet offered your services, there are still vacancies; speak to Marg Henshaw, the show co-convenor.

Quilts Kingston 2008 Challenge
Sally Hutson

Once again there will be challenges to stimulate our quilting for the upcoming quilt show.

Most Humourous Wall Hanging - one that brings a big smile or chuckle from the viewer. May be any technique, made by hand, machine or both. May be any shape, with the perimeter no larger than 120 inches. Entry fee and prizes will be finalized and announced at a later date.

The Murray Rhodes Award - for the best hand pieced, hand quilted bed quilt. Details of judging and prize to be announced later.

The Ort Box Legacy
Sylvia Currie

It was in the lull of after-Christmas that a phone call started it. On answering the phone, a gentleman asked me if I was Sylvie Currie. I assured him I was the anglicized version of that name. The caller identified himself as Don Currie, of a different address than ours. "Well", he replied, "I think I have some mail for you from New Brunswick ." Not immediately aware of anyone in New Brunswick who would be corresponding with me via the address of "the other" Don Currie in Kingston , my curiosity was certainly piqued. Mr. Currie offered to forward the mail to me. But before we finished our conversation, Mr. Currie said he was aware of our family, for he had read an article about my husband in our paper a few years ago. In fact, he said they had both sung in the same church choir more than 20 years ago. Furthermore, he was aware that my Don was a sailor, as Mr. Currie had fielded calls from Don's crew about upcoming races. And to top it off, Mr. Currie wondered if we had family in Osgoode, as his daughter has "that Currie kid" (our granddaughter Holly) in her kindergarten class.

With all this information to consider, I looked forward to my New Brunswick mail, which arrived in a few days, with the envelope inscribed in beautiful calligraphy. Inside was a delightful assortment of quilting items, and I quickly realized my mail was from Juanita Allain, who had requested instructions for making ort boxes, having gotten one at Quilt Canada . Juanita is a member of the Chocolate River Quilters, The Greater Moncton Quilt Guild and the Wednesday Wonders (is she a dedicated quilter or what!). She organized the Greater Moncton's Christmas dinner, which included ort boxes as table favours, and will introduce the boxes to the Chocolate River group this month. Along with Juanita's note were two GMQG pins, a lovely set of note cards featuring photos of group quilts and a clever golf tee pin cushion - a great Boutique idea!

A phone call to Mr. Currie to thank him for forwarding the mail produced more connections. When I told him the mail was from a fellow quilter, he inquired if I knew Mrs. Rhodes who lived across Victoria Street from him years ago and Mrs. Berry at Sydenham Church , whose boys he knew at school. Meanwhile Juanita (who had used Canada 411 to find my address) wondered if we have a Barbara Reynolds amongst our members. She was a member in Moncton a few years ago. I wonder how many more connections we can find! All thanks to the Ort Box! Check out the Greater Moncton's excellent website at www.gmqg.com

Grandmothers' Connection Blocks & Sewing Machines for Zambia

Please bring your blocks to the January 18 th meeting for the Grandmothers' Connection. June Mason is collecting them. June has brought to our attention an article in a recent issue of the Whig. Dr. Pancham, a Kingston physician, is collecting used sewing machines to provide the widows in Zambia a means of earning a living. He would welcome any used machines and also fabric. The women will be working in churches with electricity. There will be ongoing shipments to Zambia . Dr. Pancham may be reached by phone at 613-542-5916.

A Name for Our Quilt

Our broken star quilt is growing, and hopefully will be ready for the quilt frame in March. It is time to give this elegant quilt a proper name. Do you have a suggestion?

The Singing Quilter

Plans are well under way for this exciting event featuring Cathy Miller and her husband, John Bunge. Diane Berry and her committee are working on the details and will have further information for us. Tickets will be available in February, $8 in advance, $10 at the door. Please note, the performance begins at 7:30 pm on Thursday, May 31 st . We plan to have refreshments and a mini-quilt show of ours, to round out the evening. Check out Kathy's website; she is an incredibly prolific quilter. www.singingquilter.com

The Quilt of Belonging

Marilyn Vance's visit and pictures on November 23 rd were a real treat. It is inspiring to see how well the quilt has travelled and how warmly it has been received across the Arctic . Marilyn and George were excellent docents to accompany the quilt. Marilyn even made distinctive vests for the "southerners" to wear. It will be interesting to watch the quilt as it continues on its journey across Canada . It is at the Woodland Cultural Centre in Brantford from January 15 - February 25. From June 29 - September 27 the quilt will be at the Glenbow Museum in Calgary . You can follow the quilt's progress on http://www.invitationproject.ca/

Quilting Tip
Sylvia Currie

To prevent fabric from fraying when washing/drying, cut a 45º piece from each corner. With thanks to The Country Register - Ontario , a newsy, chatty freebie covering northern Ontario .

Another tip from The Country Register - Ontario : A carrot and some coal, to make a winter friend. Just add snow. Your editor's comment: yes, and where would we find that!

Recipes
Margaret Rhodes

Cornflake Cookies

Cream well shortening, brown sugar, beaten egg; add vanilla. Stir the flour and measure; add soda, cream of tartar and salt. Blend in flour and, lastly, the crushed cornflakes.

A sprinkling of "Hershey's Caramel bits" seems to add another tasty flavour to the cookies. Bake at 350º - 375º 8 minutes; turn and finish baking

Easy Mocha Torte

1. Whip cream to about half the desired thickness, while adding the icing sugar.
2. Add the coffee and topping and finish whipping until stiff.
3. Line 9" pie plate (or 9" square pan) with crackers (cut to fit), cream mixture, crackers, mixture until you have three layers and end up with cream on top.
4. Let sit overnight in fridge or at least all day.

 Upcoming Events

Mar 2-4 - Cornwall Quilters' Guild and the Giroux Sewing Centre present "Quilters Pleasure Weekend", Nav Canada Conference Centre, Cornwall . Quilt show, workshops, demos, children's classes, merchant mall, quilt challenge, antique quilts, fashion show. Fri 1-9 pm , Sat 9 am-6 pm , Sun 10 am-4 pm. $5. Info: www.quilterspleasureweekend.com

Mar 9-11 - "Small Scale Landscapes" with Valerie Hearder, presented by Fibreworks, Room 12050, St. Lawrence College. Fri 7-9 pm , trunk show, $5 at the door. Sat & Sun 9:30 am-4 pm , workshop to design and create a small landscape with supplied fabrics. Info: Beth Garner, 613-376-6150.

Mar 30-Apr 1 - Daily workshops with Judy Morningstar, presented by THE QUILT, Stratford . 9 am-4 pm . $70/day incl. lunch. Info: 519-272-2588.

Apr 21-22 - "Patchwork Pizzaz" Quilt show, Region of York Quilters Guild, Newmarket Seniors Meeting Place, 474 Davis Drive , Newmarket . Sat 10 am-5 pm , Sun 10 am-4 pm . $5.

Apr 25-28 - 23 rd Annual AQS Quilt Show & Contest, Paducah , Kentucky . Info: www.americanquilter.com/shows_contests/#paducah07

Our Commercial Members - Be sure to tell friends and family to visit these shops.