Nancy Arbogast, is the Regional Representative in Ottawa for Quilts of Valour (QOV), Ottawa. QOV supports both past and present injured members of the Canadian Armed Force. She will elaborate on both the mission and logistics of QOV.

Seasonal Celebration and Presentation by Paige Willis on her Mother's Quilting and her Legacy to OVQG's Charity Quilts.

We look forward to finding inspiration and guidance from Brandon Wulff at our January Zoom meeting.  An autistic individual who worked hard, and developed a dedication and passion for his crafts. He is a true Renaissance man and a shining example of what can be achieved with determination and perseverance.

Brandon is an accomplished and talented artist who has found success in both quilting and life coaching. Growing up in a fiber focused family in London, Ontario, Canada provided him with a solid foundation for his future endeavours. With a background in hair styling, Brandon later pursued a career as a life coach and researcher before discovering his true passion for quilting.

His sister Michaelanne, owner of Stache Fabric and Notions, was the one who sparked his interest in quilting. She inspired him to start quilting when she opened her store and he wanted to support her. He soon discovered that he had a natural talent for the craft and his skills flourished.

Brandon's talent and passion for quilting have not gone unnoticed. He has been featured in well-known publications in the industry, including House and Home magazine and Canadian Quilter. He works with interior designers and decorators to create one-of-a-kind pieces that add stunning beauty and style to homes.

His commitment to both quilting and life coaching has made him a sought-after figure in the industry. He offers classes in non-continuous ruler work and his Biscotti process.

In February we are delighted to welcome Elizabeth DeCoos to our zoom meeting to share with us her quilting journey and her passion for Pojagi.

Pojagi (Bojagi) is something Elizabeth learned as an adult in 2009 when she took her young family to South Korea. While there, she attended a traditional Korean sewing class. Beth loved the class and learning all the hand-sewing techniques for making wrapping cloths (pojagi) and other items made with these techniques.

When she returned to Canada, she didn’t have the same access to Korean fabrics and threads, and wanted to mimic some of the traditional hand-sewing techniques on a sewing machine. As a result she developed the simple method for sewing a reversible patchwork seam. She uses this technique to make window hangings that look like stained glass, as well as other reversible patchwork items.

Elizabeth’s philosophy is that everyone can add joy to their lives by making beautiful things to use everyday. “Joy comes from both the process of making and using the things that you have made.”

Diane Harris isa quilter who loves everything about the process and enjoys sharing it with others. She has been sewing for almost 50 years and quilting for three decades and yet can’t imagine ever running out of ideas.

For 11 years, Diane was an editor for Quiltmaker magazine where she wrote patterns, product reviews and how-to articles. Her quilt designs can still be seen regularly in the pages of Quiltmaker, McCall’s Quilting and Quick Quilts.

Her web site is called Stash Bandit and Diane thinks of herself as a scrap quilt specialist. She likes to let the fabric do the work. Her patchwork is usually simple but the way the fabrics play together is more complex but totally achievable if you know a few tricks!  We look forward to learning some of these tricks. 

Executive Decisions

An introduction to the current members of our OVQG executive. Each member will give a brief description of the duties, responsibilities, and joys that their positions hold. Some of our executive members are completing their terms with the Guild this season and you are invited to put your name forward for the vacated positions.

We are happy to welcome Linda Coulter to our meeting in May. She produces stunning fibre art pieces and will share some of her ideas and inspiration. 

Linda uses the technique of collage to create her art. Her pieces are abstract and colourful. Her subjects are eclectic and inspiring.  She state that her subjects are personal and with each she adds a hint of abstraction, lots of colour and hand stitching to add personality. She claims “My art is a calming factor in my life.”

Linda writes on her web page: “It often starts with an old white sheet.  Then a surface treatment is used. Techniques include dyeing, painting, stamping, rusting, screen printing, thermafax, or leaves and natural dyes are applied.  Colour is added and the appearance of texture evolves. My drop cloths and cleaning rags are saved. I wash and iron each new piece of fabric lovingly and add them to my ever growing stash of hand treated and commercial fabrics. Now I am ready to begin.”

We will celebrate with the makers of some of the winning quilts from our quilt show. Besides showing us their winning projects they will share their inspirations and process that led to their huge success!