Tidal Threads

Meeting April 7, 2016

I’m writing this on the morning of April 8, after a wild night here on Grand Manan.  For those of you who are not here at the moment, the highest gust on Swallowtail was reportedly 167 kph, and the stern of the ferry came loose from its moorings.  Crew was called in to help tie her up again.  Luckily there was someone aboard who could call in reinforcements.  She may have bumped the old ferry wharf.  Some dents in the hull are evident, but no major damage.  She left on time at 7:30 am today.  Rumour has it that the waves were washing over the fishermen’s wharf at high tide, around 2 am.

Yesterday we had a moderate crowd, with delicious snacks as usual – this time thanks to Ruth.  Dawn had her just completed quilt top, “Whirlwind”, which is destined to become the summer fund-raising quilt for the museum.  Lovely colours, and a generous size.  Dawn also had her yellow and black geometric quilt, which she is calling “Sunshine and Shadows”. It was great to see Sandra I. again.  She shared her baseball quilt made for a grandson.  I brought my quilt, “Cabins by the Shore”, a scrappy log cabin.  Our knitters were going great guns, as were our caner, Ce, and basket maker, Wendy.  (See attached photos). We welcomed back Wendy D., Ce B., and Ineke D, all of whom were away for part or all of the winter.  I’ve noticed that the GM “seasonal chickens” are returning to the roost.  Hope to see more of you all in the near future!

Members were reminded that Dawn and I are looking to take items from the group to Moncton for Gathering of the Guilds on April 22.  Please bring in your display items over the next two Thursdays so we will have lots to share with the other guild delegates.  We want knitting, hooking, baskets, crochet – as well as quilted items to take with us.  In lieu of an official Show and Tell at the gathering, each guild will display their members’ items in their hotel rooms.  We will also be taking the Wings Over Water quilt, our little guild raffle quilt (hopefully it will be done!), as well as one of each of our own quilts to show off.  In addition we have prepared a summary of our past 2 years’ activities, a poster advertising our July quilt show (thanks to Mary H), and children’s pillow cases to give to the IWK.  We are looking forward to touching base with other quilters in NB.

Here’s hoping our wet and windy spring weather will soon calm down and warm up!

Hello All,

Not exactly spring yet, but we are not getting snow or freezing rain here, so that’s a bonus.  We had a good crowd out yesterday morning, some needles clicking and some silently quilting, with lots of chatter in between.  Pauline brought in her first completed quilt top with lots of bright colours.  Very impressive!  Dawn was working on pressing some tiny half-square-triangles which she had thriftily sewn up from scraps of a previous quilt.  See attachments for those pictures.  Lots of others are working on socks, shrugs, and items for missions in the knitting department.  We invite anyone who would like to put a few stitches in our guild raffle quilt to come on Thursdays with your needle and thimble.  It is not quite half quilted, and needs to be completed, with binding, in less than a month.

Just a reminder that each week we depend on  your loonies and toonies to keep our coffers full enough to make our church donation.  Please don’t forget to put something into the yellow box on the table when you come to guild.

Also, Dawn and I will be off to the Gathering of the Guilds in Moncton on April 22, just a month away.  We need items to show off our talents, so please plan to start to bring items next week for us to gather together.  This includes not just quilted items, but hooking, knitting, baskets, etc….anything you have completed in the past year or two.

Don’t forget to check out our website for our irregular updates, and feel free to send the link to friends and family!

Tidal Threads Quilt and Needlework Guild – WHAT WE DO….. Tidal Threads is more than a quilt guild.  It is a group of ladies who work with their hands – choosing to knit or crochet, make baskets with beach rope, make jewelry using sea glass or handmade glass beads, hook rugs, do embroidery,  chair caning, needlepoint, or make rag rugs.  Here are some of the items we have made over the past few years.

About 9-10 of us made it this morning, despite the heavy rain, thunder and lightning, and wind.  Dawn and I each had quilt tops ready to display, and we worked a bit on our little guild raffle quilted wall hanging.  My blue and red miniature quilts are each 12″ square.  Check out the beautifully pieced points on Dawn’s triangles! Here are some photos from this am.   Mary H. is making her plans to return, and is looking for a ride from Saint John back to Blacks toward the end of April.  She will have specific dates shortly.  Hard to believe that Feb. is nearly over, and that it was 9C above zero this am!   Take care,Martha