From a self-taught quilter at age 22, to an international award-winning quilter today, Marilyn Farquhar’s presentation entitled Quilts to Challenge and Techniques I’ve Learned was truly stunning.
Farquhar is very passionate about the machine quilting element, and likes her quilting to cross over the pieced blocks so the straight-line design is more prominent. She likes the dramatic contrast achieved when working with black and whites. Sometimes her projects are about colour, other times textures. She has enjoyed collecting and stitching out vintage linens, likes modern quilting and its minimalist look and enjoys using fluorescent threads. Many of her favourite fabrics are Japanese prints.
She likes adding interest to the back of the quilt and takes an artistic approach in using scraps to make it look intentional, rather than just using up leftovers. Rarely does she follow a pattern, as she wants the project to be her own creation.
In January 2020, Farquhar’s brother was shot and killed by the RCMP during a mental health crisis (her brother was an advocate for the homeless in British Columbia). She has since created a series of three quilts which have helped her to heal during the grieving process. These quilts bring a message that addresses mental health, changes in policing, grief and loss. A documentary is being created around her actions and will feature these quilts. The quilts are currently touring across Canada and eventually will travel to different quilt shows in the United States.
Next month’s speaker will be Kim Jamieson-Hirst of Chatterbox Quilts in Calgary, Alberta. Her presentation “How to Wrangle your Scraps” will be a great evening to learn about using fabric odds and ends that accumulate in every quilter’s sewing room.
Back by popular demand will be Melissa Marginet and her modern Walking Foot Quilting workshop taking place Oct. 26 and 28. She will be back in February 2022 to teach her new Edge to Edge Walking Foot Quilting workshop.
The Nov. 20 Zoom sew-along day will be a self-taught class whereby members will work on their own Glorious and Free wall-hanging in whatever size they have chosen.
The quilt show committee provided an update and announced tickets for the raffle quilt are now available.
This a great time to be a member and take in these exciting learning opportunities. If interested, please contact newmillenniumquiltersguild@gmail.com.
