Events – Mahone Bay Quilters’ Guild

Introducing Sew Days for Members

Webmaster — Wed, 11 Feb 2026 19:48:38 +0000

As the saying goes, “birds of a feather flock together”… and so we are delighted to offer all Guild members the opportunity to come together to sew in an unstructured, companionable setting.

The possibilities are unlimited. Bring the project you’re currently working on, team up with another to create something for charity, demonstrate a special skill, offer help to others or offer tips to newer quilters, or, or, you get the idea!

The Place: Trinity United Church Hall, Mahone Bay

The When: At Least Once Per Month — First One: February 21, 2026

The Time: 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. (feel free to drop in for any amount of time!)

The Cost: Free (included in your membership)

What’s Provided: Tables, Chairs, access to 2 Ironing Boards and 2 Irons,

Tea & Coffee, Kitchen Access

What to Bring: Your Project, An Extension Cord, Lunch, Treats to share (if you wish)

Sign-Up: Each session can accommodate 12 members — sign-up at the next monthly meeting or by email to Didi at: sewdidisew@gmail.com

Future Dates: March 7, April 18, May 9 and June 6

Your Hosts: Nina Scott-Stoddart and Didi Morton-Spaan

Name The Day Contest

At the moment we are calling these gatherings “Sew Day” or “Open Sew Day” however we believe that a name with more pizazz is needed. So, delve into your creative mind and come up with a suitable alternative and a very special prize will be yours! Email your entries to Didi at sewdidisew@gmail.com

We are very excited to offer these events as opportunities to strengthen our connections as Guild members while doing the things we enjoy so much. See you there!

Nina and Didi

Information for members entering the 2024 Quilt Show and Sale

Webmaster — Sat, 01 Jun 2024 12:00:56 +0000

It’s that time, again, when members finalize their entries into the quilt show, decide what Boutique items they might make for sale and commit to bringing in their Challenge Quilts to support charity.

This is a long post, so I’m breaking it into three parts:

QUILT SHOW ENTRIES
CHALLENGE QUILTS
BOUTIQUE ITEMS

QUILT SHOW ENTRIES – questions to Cheryl Borden (or 902-237-0096)

Online entry form for quilts will be active between June 1 and June 30, 2024

ONLINE ENTRY FORM

open to all MBQG members, up to 3 entries per member. (Only open to members who have paid their dues by June 30 — if you’d like to join, we’d love to have you!)
please only submit quilts that have not been entered in a MBQG show before
only enter quilts that are finished, or close enough that they are identifiable by the
photograph, and you have all the information required below – quilt size; name of quilter; sale price; etc.
please submit one online entry form per quilt (i.e. if you’re entering two quilts, you’ll submit
the form twice
PLEASE NOTE that the Mahone Bay Quilters’ Guild can accept no liability for quilts at the show.

Please drop your quilt off at the Mahone Bay Centre between 9 am and 11 am on Thursday September 26.
All quilts must have a label sewn on the back bottom left corner with your name and the name of the quilt;
All quilts must have a 4″ sleeve, except small wall hangings may have a 3″ or 4″ sleeve. Download Instructions

CHALLENGE QUILT SUBMISSIONS – contact Nina Scott-Stoddart

Challenge Quilt Entry Form active between June 1 and September 1, 2024.

If you’ve bought your Challenge Quilt Kit, and intend to submit a Challenge Quilt for the Show, then just let the Hanging Committee know that you’ll be dropping off your quilt at the September 2024 meeting.

You don’t have to give it a title or know the exact dimensions (but remember it can’t be bigger than 120 in circumference) – just give us a heads up that it’s coming.

You can find more information about the 2024 Challenge Quilt Guidelines plus the Entry Form HERE.

BOUTIQUE ITEMS – email Jill Green or phone her at 902-518-2543 (evenings and weekends only)

We are excited to share information about the registration process for Boutique sales at our upcoming Quilt Show in September 2024.

You must be a paid-up member of the guild by September 13th for your products to be marketed in the Boutique. Members that wish to sell products in the boutique should be willing to volunteer to work at least one shift during the quilt show.

Registration will open on Thursday August 1st and close at midnight on Friday September 13th. Simply click on the following link to the Boutique Product Sales Registration Form on the Mahone Bay Quilters Guild website:

BOUTIQUE REGISTRATION LINK

You must fill out and submit one form online for each different product you plan to sell.

Here are some examples:

– If you have 3 pillows to sell, all at the same price you will only need one registration form. Your items can be different patterns or colours but if they are pillows at the same price that will only require one form. If you have other pillows at a different price, then you must submit a separate registration form for each pillow when the prices are different.

– If you have a baby quilt, 5 placemat sets (same price for each set), 20 Christmas ornaments (same price for each one) and 6 mug rugs (same price for each one), then you need to fill out four registration forms.

– If you want to donate products for the guild to sell (where all proceeds would go to the guild), then please fill out a registration form for each different product and ensure you mark the product as a donation.

– If you have entered a quilt/product into the quilt show and opted on the quilt submission form that you wish to sell your quilt, then you do not need to submit a separate Boutique Product Sales Registration Form. We will cross-reference the forms for you.

Pricing Guide – FYI

If you’re curious about some advice for pricing items for sale, you can download a Pricing Guide for Quilted Products in either pdf or Excel format:

PDF. XLSX

At the end of the day, it is completely at the discretion of members to price their own products. Please remember to factor in that the guild uses the Boutique to raise funds to support member activities by retaining 20% of all sales.

SKU NUMBERS

Between September 13th – 20th we will upload all the information from the forms into our inventory database and email you back by September 20th (at the latest) with a unique identifying number (SKU) for each product you registered, including quilts/products listed for sale as part of the show.

All products that will be for sale in the Boutique or as part of the show must have a price tag securely affixed by the maker. The tag must include your unique identifying number (SKU) that we provide you on the top line of your tag and the price for the item below. We are asking that you put a price tag on donations in the same manner as your own goods. Products cannot be accepted without the tags affixed. If you wish to add a description of the item, please put that on the back of the tag.

PRODUCT INTAKE – Mahone Bay Centre, Thursday September 26, from 10 am to noon

When you drop off your products, we will double check to confirm we receive all of the product you registered and make any necessary corrections. We will treat all sale items with respect and rotate products to ensure that all our members products are given equitable visibility.

END OF SHOW and PAYMENT

Unsold products must be picked up on Sunday September 29th between 5:00 and 6:00PM. If you cannot make it at that time, please arrange for someone else to pick up for you. We have a detailed tracking system to accurately track inventory and report on sales. While it is rare and the boutique team will exercise upmost care, the guild cannot be held responsible for lost or stolen items. Members will receive payment for their sold products (minus the 20% Guild commission) by cheque at the October guild meeting.

PROMOTION

We would love to receive some photos of products you plan to sell so that we can use them for promotional activities.

April – A Busy Start! Tea Anyone?

Communications — Sun, 14 Apr 2024 14:33:47 +0000

Welcome to April! We have crammed such a lot of activity into a very short time frame!

If you didn’t make it to the meeting on April 8, you missed the completion of the President’s Ugly Fabric Challenge and quite a diverse set of projects undertaken by our participants. Be sure to check out the album here to take a look. In particular, check out Pam W’s Challenge project as she was the winner of this challenge event with her creative use of the fabrics that were chosen for her. Who would have thought that something so cool could come from a handful of “ugly” fabrics? Perhaps this proves that there is no such thing as an ugly fabric! Depends how you use them, I guess.

As usual Sew and Tell gave us an impressive array of colourful quilts. For the complete set, visit the album here but here’a a sneak peek.

Of course, the highlight of this past week was the return of our Extraordinary Quilter event – this year, featuring Melissa Marginet. We filled the Mahone Bay Legion to enjoy an assortment of tea-worthy sandwiches and sweets. Everything went off like clockwork. There are far too many volunreers to give adequate thanks for putting on such an event – but special thanks must surely go to Eldora and Pam for their organizational skills, Krista for heading up the kitchen crew and to Pina for all her hard work organizing Melissa’s talk and trunk show, and of course the remaining events – three days of workshops! If you missed it, or just want to refresh your experience, check out the album here.

And be sure to check out the cutest centerpieces ever – many thanks to the team that created these! They were so cute and definitely keepers for the next event!

So, now we have a few weeks to catch our breath, catch up with other Guild members at Slow Quilting (April 15th and 29th) and Sew Zoom (April 17th and 24th), and start getting ready for the Virtual Retreat on May 7th and 8th (with lunch on the 9th)! There is still lots to do before the end of our quilting year.

If you don’t have your share of the Raffle Quilt tickets yet to sell, be sure to let the Show Chair know – or any of us on the Executive – and we can make sure you have them. You will find contact info in the Newsletter. The tickets are an important way for us to finance the show so anything you can do to help sell them would be great.

See you at the May meeting.

Celebrating International Quilt Day!

Communications — Sun, 17 Mar 2024 14:54:35 +0000

Saturday, March 16, was International Quilt Day, better known in this Quilt Guild, as our annual Cuddle Quilt Day!

Guild members and members of the public gathered together at the church hall and enjoyed a busy day putting the finishing touches on a colourful array of donated quilts. On-site sewing, quilting, binding, adding Guild labels and more took place through the day thanks to our team of volunteers, led this year by Betty L.

The end result was a church full of quilts destined for those groups that our Guild supports with quilt donations each year, made possible through the continued generosity of our members. Check out the full album of Cuddle Quilt Day photos here.

March is ticking away – days are getting longer (Yay!) and every so slightly warmer. Easter is almost here and very shortly after, our Afternoon Tea by the Sea, introducing our Extraordinary Quilter (EQ) teacher for this year, Melissa Marginet. If you haven’t picked up a ticket, please do so. This is a rare opportunity to be entertained with a trunk show by a well known Canadian quilter. If you’re not a member of the Guild, no problem. Just drop an email to info@mahonebayquiltersguild.com and we can make sure there is a ticket waiting for you at the door. Tickets for members are $10 and for non-members $25. The three days of workshops following the tea are almost full – space is only available for the April 12 workshop, the Zen Tree project. You can register at workshop@mahonebayquiltersguild.com

The next Guild meeting is Monday, April 8. Note that we move back to evening meetings in April so doors open at 6:30 for a 7:00 pm start. The program that evening will feature Lynn Jones of Lynn’s Quilting Studio in Bridgewater and I hear there will be a pop-up shop!

Plans for the Spring Retreat from May 7th to 9th are coming together. This will be a first for the Guild and there is a growing number of members signing up. If you’re not on the list already, there is certainly room for more. The deadline for sign-ups is April 13th – you can pay your $10 at the April meeting or by e-transfer to Krista G. – check her email address on the member list. More information will be coming soon!

See you there. And for those with a touch of the Irish in them (like me!), Happy Saint Patrick’s Day!

Colleen

Are you Ready? Outdoor Quilt Day 2023

Guild Blogger — Fri, 04 Aug 2023 22:50:32 +0000

What a summer! From the dry days of April and May, to the pouring rain in June, the oppressive humidity of July and the torrential July downfall, this has certainly been one to remember. Of course, it ain’t over yet but we can hope that the worst is behind us!

One positive note is the effect of all this on our gardens. Bushes that have had only a modest presence in my garden are now overflowing with blooms from the unique combination of hot days and never ending rain. It’s nice to see all that colour – and what a perfect setting to introduce still more colour into the landscape. Yes, it’s Outdoor Quilt Day once again!

You’ve no doubt seen Annette’s email reminder. This is your chance to give some of your quilts a fresh air experience. Show them off for your neighbours and passers by with your display of a quilt or quilts this Saturday, August 5. The forecast calls for some rain so if need be, Sunday the 6th is our rain date. Show one – show more! Show them for a few moments, or a few hours – depending on where you live and how safely you can put them on display. At the very least, use the day as a photo opportunity. Like people, quilts really shine when they are photographed outside in the fresh air and sunlight. Not at home? Take one with you to your favourite spot at the cottage, at the beach, or really anywhere at all. You might get a bit of attention but why not show off your work! Take a photo and send it to me at mbqgcommunications@gmail.com or post it on our Facebook page. Why not encourage your friends and family to take part – all are welcome. Outdoor Quilt Day is really a day to celebrate this addictive hobby of ours – whether you make them or simply have the pleasure of owning one. We’re looking forward to your photos.

Any plans for the rest of the summer? Just in case you are out and about exploring the roads – and quilt shops – in this lovely province of ours, we have a new tool for you. Thanks to Jill G.’s hard work, we now have a Google map showing the quilt shops and longarmers throughout the province. You will find the link on our Quilting Services page here or directly here. If you come across a business that hasn’t made it on to this version, please let us know and we can add it in.

Why not plan a Quilt Shop Hop? Living in Ontario for a number of years, I had the pleasure of an annual shop hop, organized by local quilt shops, taking me to all the quilt stores in my area one weekend each fall. The State of Maine holds one every April for the entire month! Check it out here. This one is on my bucket list! We hope you find the new map useful.

Enjoy the rest of the summer. See you next month!

Colleen

Outdoor Quilts and Connections

Communications — Wed, 27 Jul 2022 10:00:00 +0000

The August long weekend is straight ahead – where is the time going this summer?

Don’t forget that Saturday, July 30th is our second annual Outdoor Quilt Day – a day to showcase your love of quilts by hanging one, two or more somewhere outside so that others have the chance to enjoy the colours and the craftsmanship on display. Rain date is Sunday, July 31.

Quilts on the line, 2021 – Krista

Whether you live on a busy road, or a quiet street, passersby will be sure to take notice and your quilts will no doubt spark more than a few smiles. Don’t forget to send a photo to Barb for our Flickr page. Not a member, no problem. Why not join us by showing off a quilt or two that you’ve made, or perhaps quilts received as a gift. Send me a photo at mahonebayquilters@gmail.com so we can share it. We’d love to see them!

Also on our calendar for July 30 and 31 is the Global Quilt Connection. Once again, the Guild has registered our members for access to this wide range of quilting sessions, offered from 4 pm to 7 pm (Atlantic) each day. The access link will be emailed to all members this week. Hope you can find some time in the midst of your other long weekend plans. Enjoy!

2021 Display – Angela M.

Colleen

Take A Tour Of Our New Website!

Webmaster — Tue, 03 May 2022 14:16:59 +0000

Welcome! The new Mahone Bay Quilters’ Guild web site is now live and waiting for you to explore. In this post, we’ll offer you a guided tour – but don’t hesitate to explore on your own. Plans for the new site have been percolating for a bit, and we are very pleased to finally invite you to take a look. More important, we hope that the work we’ve done to reorganize the Guild’s information – along with new features we’ve added – will make it easier to find the information you need. Technology has come a long way since our former web site was created and you will find that this new site takes advantage of those improvements.

SO, let’s get started!

You’ve already seen the home page above in this month’s newsletter. Check out the top navigation bar – this will appear on every page in the site and will guide you to where you want to go. Any time you want to come back to this page, just tap or click on the Guild’s name and you will be there. The home page is really the Guild ‘at a glance’ – we will be highlighting important events as they come up (currently the Quilt Show), and providing quick links to recent blog posts and to social media. Scroll down the page and you’ll find upcoming events from our calendar and recent photos from Instagram and Flickr.

Time to explore further! Let’s go back to the navigation bar at the top and see what’s there.

About briefly describes our Guild, and also lists our current Executive Committee members.

Join is an invitation to prospective members to find out more and encouragement to fill out the Membership form – on line or in paper form.

The Calendar is an exciting new addition – you’ll see a list of events by date but look closely – you can also search by event name, or on the far right side, you can click on Month for a view of everything that is happening month by month. If you click on an individual event, you’ll be taken to a page that includes full information on that specific event – date, time, location (even a map!), what you need to bring, as well as any documents that are being provided. We’ve only just begun to explore what the Calendar can do so stay tuned – we think you will find it handy.

The Quilt Show 2022 page will grow as more information is released – but check out the promotional artwork and the countdown clock. You’ll want to check this page often as the show gets closer – asnd we will continue to highlight it on the Home Page.

After you leave the Home Page to explore other pages, note the right hand sidebar on those other pages. You will find a short list of upcoming events with a link back to the Calendar. If you scroll further down the sidebar, you will find links to Guild Member blogs, and to Quilting Destinations – just as they appeared on our former web site. We’ll refine the list over time, but it will remain as a quick way to reach links important to all of us as Members.

There is more to discover under the next two navigation buttons, which lead you to drop down menus.

Under Special Events, you will find:

Workshops – where you will find any upcoming events, with posters, material supplies, and other important information
Cuddle Quilt Day – while over for 2022, there are good tips here on free patterns and other material to help you prepare for Cuddle Quilt Day 2023
Extraordinary Quilters – our list of EQ teachers is here

For Members – pages that provide the tools and information that Members rely on are now located in one section of the web site.

Membership Application/Renewal – check out the new on-line application form – just fill it in and press submit.
Guild Newsletter Archive – yes, they are all there, listed by year as they were on our former site.
Charity Patterns – if you are looking for information on preemie quilts, pillowcases, or Bravery Bead bags, here they are.
Guild Merchandise – information on Guild pins and aprons is here.
MBQG Library – you can still download library lists but even better, there is a searchable database on this page. You can search by title, or search and sort by title and author.
MBQG Ruler Library
MBQG Bylaws

Last, but not least, is the Blog button. All of the Guild’s blog posts reside here – starting with the most recent but extending back to the earliest post in 2008. Just tap on the post title to access the full post, Clicking one of the Categories (on the right) will take you to a list of blog posts about that subject.

The biggest change is that all new Blog posts will be sent to you automatically from the web site. No more need to have the Membership Chair alert you when a new post is published. If you’ve received this post, then everything has gone according to plan. However, because the site is new, your first email might be diverted from your InBox to your Junk or Spam folder. Just retrieve it, and identify the source – Mahone Bay Quilters’ Guild – as a safe sender or put us in your Contacts list, and future emails should find their way to your Inbox. If you’d rather not see new blog posts as they are published, there is an Unsubscribe button in the email for you to use.

And there you have it. A big thank you is extended to the team of enthusiastic and dedicated Guild nembers who worked with me to develop the plan for this site – Krista, Elizabeth, Barb, Jill, Bev, Tara, Gail, and Nina. Nina put her considerable technical expertise to work to make the site’s outline come alive. We hope that you find it useful – and please let us know what you think or if you uncover any errors or problems. In the meantime, go explore and enjoy!

Colleen Paton, Communications Chair
mbqgcommunications@gmail.com

MBQG Annual Retreat 2020

Guild Blogger — Fri, 27 Nov 2020 17:56:18 +0000

The Quarterdeck

MBQG’s 3^rd annual Retreat at the Quarterdeck in Summerville was a success again this year. With all that is going on we were very lucky to be able to have those few days together to enjoy sewing and friendship.

Table with a view

Laughter and ideas were freely shared. Days were spent sewing with an occasional walk on the beach, dinner at Quarterdeck, White Point Lodge and pizza night with games. Lots of tips and new ideas were discussed and new friendships were made. Plans are already being made for another retreat next May.

Gail trying something new

A productive three days!

Please take a look at the MBQG Flicker page to see more pics. https://www.flickr.com/photos/mbqg/albums/72157716969293232

Contributed by Pam Wells

Christmas is Coming!

Guild Blogger — Fri, 22 Nov 2019 15:46:18 +0000

Once again the Mahone Bay Quilters Guild will be having a Christmas Quilt show at the official Welcome Centre for the 15th Annual Father Christmas Festival. Come see our Christmas quilts and Christmas themed wallhangings and home decor at the Welcome Centre, 583 Main St., the yellow house next door to Amos Pewter. Free admission! We are open from 10am-4pm Saturday November 30 and Sunday December 1 as well as Saturday December 7 and Sunday December 8. For more information about the festival, check out their website here

Hope to see you there!

New Members Tea 2019

Guild Blogger — Tue, 17 Sep 2019 15:29:52 +0000

Our third annual New Members Tea was held on Monday September 16, 2019. The tea is hosted by the executive, Christine polishes her silver service and it always adds such “glamour” to the table.

We were delighted to have 3 of our new members, Judy Cooper, Janet Joyce and Isabel Burgess (Isabel who is from Paradise in the Valley, won a membership at our Extraordinary Tea last spring). Welcome to you all! We also had 2 of our “Life Members” join us, Sandy Alexander and Sandy Bruce.

We are a big guild, we always get a lot of members to our meetings, it can be overwhelming but by hosting an afternoon tea it gives us a chance to spend time and get to know our new members. We understand that it is hard to get everyone out on any given day, we were missing quite a few new members and wished they could have joined us. Please don’t hesitate to raise your hand to ask a question, approach any of the executive if you have a question or a suggestion. All new members are given a “Guild Glossary” when they join, be sure and read through it, the more you now about the Guild the more you will get out of it.

For the new members who couldn’t make the tea, you are very welcome to join us at our Slow Quilting afternoons at the Biscuit Eater Cafe (16 Orchard St., Mahone Bay) on Monday September 30 from 2-4pm. Even if you don’t have any hand sewing/quilting to do come out and meet you other Guild members, we always have lots to chat about! Future dates are October 21 and November 18. Slow Quilting is open to all members.

Also a reminder about emails, all Guild related emails come from Krista Garber, usually an email about the Guild will have “MBQG” in the subject line. Be sure and read them, be aware of what is going on so you don’t miss anything!

A few more pictures can be found on our Flickr pages (just click on the red “here” link) here