Arnprior & District Quilters' Guild Newsletter - November 2025
I’m thrilled to share that over half of our members have signed up for the President’s Challenge! The positive feedback so far has been heartwarming, and I can’t wait to see the results of everyone’s efforts. Your willingness to step up, experiment, and share your artistry truly reflects the heart of who we are as quilters and as a Guild.
Our Sewcial Nights have also been a resounding success! It’s been inspiring to see many members come together to sew, laugh, and connect in such a relaxed and joyful setting. Based on the fantastic response, we’ll be continuing these monthly evenings.
Looking ahead, please note that our December meeting will be held early this year on December 10th. We’ll be celebrating the season with a Potluck and Trivia Night! It promises to be a fun and festive evening.
As we stitch our way toward year’s end, I want to thank each of you for your continued support, energy, and generosity. Together, we’ve created something truly special - a community that inspires creativity, fosters friendship, and celebrates the art of quilting in all its forms.
See you at the meeting!
Amanda, President
Photo credits: "Wild Poppies Stained Glass” quilt pattern by Bear Paw Productions, quilt made by Johanne Vajda
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November Guild Meeting
When? We hope you'll join us on Wednesday November 26 for our next guild meeting. The meeting begins at 7 pm with doors opening at 6:30 pm. Where? 257 John Street, Arnprior Ontario (Christian Education Centre) Parking is available on the nearby streets. Please do not park in the adjacent church parking lot. Win! The meeting will feature draws for door prizes, and a Guess-the-Number of Pages book sponsored by our Library. Tickets will be sold for draws of a basket of quilting goodies, and 50-50. And you can win fat quarters if you participate in the optional Fat Quarter Club. Bring
Visitors We welcome visitors to our meetings for a $5 fee payable in cash at the door. Program
Madonna Oliver is our guest presenter for the November meeting. She is the owner of Paisleys Quilt Shop, in Carp, which has been a Canadian online store since fall 2018 and a Brick & Mortar since 2019! She brings new fabric lines and old ideas to the Ottawa Valley. Her mission is to bring traditional prints and create updated classic looks. She is a classically trained sewist and brings this rich background to her choices for colours and quilts. Her classes include beginner quilting as well as bag making. She specializes in William Morris prints. We are excited to hear about her journey and see some of her quilt choices. Madonna will also be bringing her Paisleys Shop-of-the-Month to the meeting. -- Martha Palmer, Programs Co-ordinator Check out the extensive collection of Paisleys Quilt Shop's Free Patterns
Program Notes
Quilt Along
We had our first virtual Quilt Along meeting on November 5, and the excitement is growing for this quilt design that we are all doing. We have received the third month instructions now and some great tips were shared with the group. Here are some ideas from the month block learning:
Happy quilting!! -- Martha Palmer, Programs Co-ordinator |
I hope we are all planning our projects to work on during our February quilting retreat. I have received confirmation the pricing has not changed for this retreat. It is still $475 for 4 nights and $390 for 3 nights.
The major change is the method of paying. We will be collecting the fee two weeks prior to the start date of each retreat. This means we must have your payment by January 19th to confirm your attendance at the early February retreat. Payments could be made by e-transfer and Sandy Beach will let me know who has paid. We will send out payment instructions closer to the due date.
You can still register for this retreat, right up until January 19th.
Refer to the Retreats page for more information.
-- Sue Hodgins, Retreats Co-ordinator
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We were pleased to welcome 2 returning members and 1 new member.
It was also a pleasure to welcome 9 guests - we hope to see you again soon.
Our membership continues to grow, and we're proud to report that we now have a total of 78 members.
Thank you to everyone for your enthusiasm and support.
Name Badges
Personalized name badges are now available for members.
- Cost: $10 each
- How to get one: Stop by the membership table to place your order.
Set-Up and Support Team
We've created Set-Up Groups to help things run smoothly at our meetings. This group is responsible for:
- Room setup
- Assisting the speaker
- Bringing snacks
- Clean-up and takedown after the meeting
Thank you all for your time and dedication - it truly helps make each meeting a success.
-- Johanne Vajda, Membership
The “Holiday Placemats“ are due this month at our November meeting and will be delivered to the Arnprior Meals on Wheels.
Thank you,
Carolyn Prince &Marilyn Erskine
Charity Team
Our guild has a lot going on! Here are the sewing opportunities for you:
- Magnificent Mystery Quilt Along
- Presidents' Challenges - Formal and Informal
- Retreats
- Fat Quarter Club
- Charity Projects
- Personal projects for our Quilt Show
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Date |
Activity |
Details |
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November 26 Wednesday 7 PM |
Guild meeting |
Location: 257 John Street, Arnprior Ontario (Christian Education Centre) Guest: Madonna of Paisley s Quilt Shop for a trunk show of her own quilts, and shop-of-the-month Fat Quarter Club: NEUTRAL (neutral) colours Examples: white, cream, beige |
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December 10 Wednesday 7 PM |
Guild meeting |
Holiday Potluck Party Meeting Members with surnames beginning with A-L are asked to bring a dish to share appetizer, main or dessert Fat Quarter Club: Christmas fabrics Location: 257 John Street, Arnprior Ontario (Christian Education Centre) |
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January 5 2026 Monday 7 to 8 PM |
Quilt Along via Zoom |
Participants in the Magnificent Mystery Quilt Along can share tips and ideas with each other and get any questions answered |
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January 28 Wednesday 7 PM |
Guild meeting via Zoom |
Guest: Sandy Lindal of Scrappy Gal Quilt Co. |
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February 2 to 6 Monday to Friday |
Retreat |
Come for 3 or 4 nights, and quilt from morning until night! |
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February 25 Wednesday 7 PM |
Guild meeting via Zoom |
Guest: Cassandra Beaver Website |
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March 25 Wednesday 7 PM |
Guild meeting via Zoom |
Preemie quilts sew night |
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April 22 Wednesday 7 PM |
Guild meeting |
Location: 257 John Street, Arnprior Ontario (Christian Education Centre) Program TBD |
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May 27 Wednesday 7 PM |
Guild meeting |
Annual General Meeting Location: 257 John Street, Arnprior Ontario (Christian Education Centre) Program TBD |
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May 29 Friday |
Quilt Show Set-up |
Many volunteers needed to help with quilt show set up Location: Nick Smith Centre, 77 James St., Arnprior ON |
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May 30 to 31 Saturday to Sunday |
Quilt Show |
Setup by guild members Friday May 29 Location: Nick Smith Centre, 77 James St., Arnprior ON |
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June 17 Wednesday 7 PM |
Guild meeting |
End of year potluck Location: 257 John Street, Arnprior Ontario (Christian Education Centre) Unofficial President s Challenge projects due |
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November 16 to 20 2026 Monday to Friday |
Retreat |
Come for 3 or 4 nights, and quilt from morning until night! |
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Completed Events 2025-2026 |
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September 24 Wednesday 7 PM |
Guild meeting |
First meeting of the 2025-2026 guild year Location: 257 John Street, Arnprior Ontario (Christian Education Centre) Guest: Monika Henry of Penny School Quilting Fat Quarter Club: colour Autumn Brown |
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October 8 Wednesday 7 to 9 PM |
Sew Evening via Zoom |
Join us via Zoom for a fun evening of sewing in the comfort of our own home. Zoom info has been sent by email. |
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October 17 to 18 Friday and Saturday |
In-Town Retreat |
Two days of sewing, relaxing, visiting and laughing. |
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October 22 Wednesday 7 PM |
Guild meeting |
Location: 257 John Street, Arnprior Ontario (Christian Education Centre) Fat Quarter Club: Black & Hallowe'en themed fabrics Guest: Val Forte who has led and guiding students to make more than 200 quilts for Victoria s Quilts |
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November 5 Wednesday 7 to 9 PM |
Sew Evening via Zoom |
Join us via Zoom for a fun evening of sewing in the comfort of our own home. Zoom link will be sent by email. |
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November 10 Monday 7 to 8 PM |
Quilt Along via Zoom |
Participants in the Magnificent Mystery Quilt Along can share tips and ideas with each other and get any questions answered |
You can click/tap on any of the advertisements in this newsletter to access the vendor's website. Please support our advertisers!
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Location |
Dates |
Guild |
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Arnprior ON |
May 30-31 2026 |
Our guild! ADQG |
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Winnipeg MB |
June 18-20 |
Canadian Quilters Association Quilt Canada |
Photos of the award winning projects can be found here. Click/tap on a photo for details about the maker and the project.
Quilt Canada 2026
You can monitor the evolving plans for Quilt Canada 2026 here.
Dates: June 18-20 2026
Location: Winnipeg Manitoba
The Canadian Quilters' Association is very active on social media and you can follow along on Facebook or Instagram.
President: Amanda Vajda president@arnpriordistrictquiltersguild.com
Charity: Marilyn Erskine charity@arnpriordistrictquiltersguild.com
Treasurer: Sandy Beach treasurer@arnpriordistrictquiltersguild.com
Secretary: Pamela Friedrich
Programs: Martha Palmer programs@arnpriordistrictquiltersguild.com
Membership: Johanne Vajda membership@arnpriordistrictquiltersguild.com
Library: Jacquie Lavictoire
Communications: Janet Brownlee arnpriorquilters@gmail.com
Photographer: Emma Russell
Preemie Quilt Coordinator: Carolyn Prince
Raffle Ticket Sales: Brenda Payer
Retreats: Sue Hodgins
Have you followed us on Facebook yet? It’s a great way to stay up to date with our upcoming events and guild news.
To follow us on Facebook click/tap here.
To join the Members-Only Group click/tap here.
About a week after our beloved local Sew Inspired quilt shop closed last spring, I urgently needed some work done on my Pfaff Quilt Expression sewing machine. Our nearest Pfaff service centre is now Mad About Patchwork located just south of Stittsville. I received excellent service from them and I'm very happy to recommend them for your Pfaff machine servicing. Be sure to check their hours, which are quite limited, before you go there. I think you can drop off or pick up outside of their published open hours if you call ahead to arrange a time.
-- Janet Brownlee, Communications & Newsletter Editor