Please join me in welcoming a Guest Blogger to the Quilting Gallery. If you’re interested in being a Guest Blogger, please read the info on the submit page then drop me an email.

By: Margaret Bucklew

An epiphany happened to me about twenty years ago. There was a void in my life and I didn’t even know it was happening.

I think an inspiration is like a flash of light in your psyche just waiting for action, and I needed one.

On the wall in a fabric store hung a stunning Oregon Trail Jacket. I bought the pattern and soon realized, even though I had no quilting experience, it had to be very similar to making a quilt. There was piecing, thin batting, matching seams and so on. Whatever it was called, I was hooked.

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Happy 142nd Birthday Canada! For those that don’t know, I live in Canada’s capital, Ottawa. This city has been buzzing with excitement all week leading up to the best day of the year.

My apartment has been cleaned, beer is cooling in the fridge, and groceries purchased for a BBQ. The weather is looking rather dicey, but then again it’s changed a dozen times the last few days, so we’ll see what the day brings. I was very lucky to see the snowbirds do three flybys over the city yesterday, one right over my head.

Scroll below for two give-aways from a new Canadian online fabric retailer. Best of all, you don’t have to be Canadian to win; read the details carefully though.

I have GREAT NEWS for my fellow Canadian quilters. We’re getting our own Canadian quilting magazine. Yes you read that right. It’s called Quilter’s Connection Magazine. It will be a national magazine, published quarterly for now and bi-monthly next year. Their web site is not ready yet, believe me I’ll be sure to post as soon as it is. For now you can find out more information on their blog or join their Facebook Fan Page. I’ve exchanged several emails with Heather, the editor, and this is going to be fantastic for us.

I’ve come across another great Canadian site this week, that I wanted to share: Indie North: a Canadian indie business collective. Definitely one to watch, and they have a Friends of Indie North site too, where small Canadian businesses can get listed for free.

Wishing all of my Canadian friends a wonderful Canada Day. (Please Mother Nature you can rain all day on Thursday, just leave us dry today.)

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Please join me in welcoming a Guest Blogger to the Quilting Gallery. Find out how you can be a Guest Blogger.

I am honored to be considered for guest blogger on Michele’s blog which I have been following for some time… I somehow discovered Michele’s blog while browsing blogs one day (a favorite pasttime for which I have no time these days!) and discovered that she lives in my hometown of Ottawa! I now have my own blog and have posted over 200 times (which probably means I like to talk! Or something!)

My name is Lisa Filion and I am addicted to quilting, crafting, and blogging! In actuality, I am a wife and mother to three busy kids (15, 12, and almost 10 years old). I get up incredibly early (at least that is what most people tell me) to run or take a class at the gym, but it jump starts my day! The rest of my day is often a blur of household chores, homeschooling my middle child, undertaking the day-to-day landlording duties (we have one apartment building currently), chauffeuring the kids about town for art classes, snowboarding, bowling, figure skating….and when I have a spare moment, I quilt (or sew or applique or knit or draw)!

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Please join me in welcoming a Guest Blogger to the Quilting Gallery. Find out how you can be a Guest Blogger.

Thanks Michele for allowing me to share my love of quilts especially antique quilts and quilt history. If this sounds like a dry topic — think again.

Did you know that at one time it was illegal to export the red dye insect and fabric printing methods and illegal to import Indian chintz fabrics?

Who knew that Germany had to turn over secret fabric dyeing recipes as part of the resolution of World War I.

The history of fabric, dyes and quilting is full of life and death intrigue and what better way to learn than by looking at beautiful quilts?

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My daily life is filled with quilts and fabrics as a designer of both. But my love of quilts and fabrics began many years ago. It seems like I have always been drawn to needlecraft. My earliest memories are filled with sewing of some kind – including a shoebox of small doll clothes that I designed (and most of those were evening gowns) to 5″ scrap squares that I cut out to make my first quilt.

Various forms of needlework were instilled in me from my earliest years. My grandmother (as well as her ancestors) quilted. I have several quilts passed down from my great grandparents along with the “wedding” quilts for my grandmother and grandfather. My grandmother had a quilting frame attached to her ceiling that she dropped down to quilt. My mother sewed and knitted. She knitted matching sweaters for us when I was a toddler (and I still have both of them). My aunt cross stitched, needlepointed, embroidered and crocheted. So from these fabulous women in my life, I learned the same skills as soon as I became old enough to hold a needle and I’m still holding that needle.

I’ve also tried many other crafts along the way, but always come back to that needle. I was very adept at macramé and made several pieces of my own design. I did lots of crewel because I loved the needle. I tried decoupage. I took batik classes and stained glass classes. I have to admit that I was a drop out on the stained glass – I didn’t like to see the spots of blood on my hands from the glass cuts. You have to draw the line somewhere and that was the one for me.

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Hello everyone,

My name is Debbie Maddy and I live in a small town in north Texas with my husband of 38 years. We have two grown sons.

Probably like many of you, I learned to sew as a young girl. I did all kinds of needlework and was a garment sewer until 1982 when I learned to quilt. My first quilt was a king-sized sampler cut with paper templates and hand stitched. When I discovered the rotary cutter I felt like I had been riding a horse and had bought a new car. I took every class I could and tried to soak up the knowledge of every teacher.

I soon discovered that no matter what class you are attending or what teacher is teaching, you can always learn something. I soon learned how much I enjoyed sharing my knowledge. I have been teaching quilting now for about 16 years and love every part of it.

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