Past Quilt Shows

A CELEBRATION OF QUILTS XV

On November 14 and 15, 2025 the Guild, with the assistance of our many members who volunteered to help, hosted a very successful two-day celebration of quilts and quilting. The Guild recognises that the contribution of our members was instrumental in making this show the success it was and is thankful to have such wonderful members.

More than 1000 guests visited the show. To promote the show the Guild made extensive use of social media, advanced on-line ticket sales, direct links to our vendors’ websites, and important information for members and guests on our webpage.

The show included many elements to interest our visitors starting with the more than 200 quilts submitted by our members, from small quilted wall hangings to award winning large quilts and everything in between, showing the diversity of skills in our Guild.

Then there was a large Guild shop where all kinds of quilted items could be purchased, a fishing booth where for a toonie one could fish for beautiful fat quarter fabrics, a large and well organized Vendor marketplace, four interesting presentations during the two days, and a selfie station to take selfies in front of a gorgeous butterfly quilt made by one of our members. For guests needing a break there was the excellent catering with many delicious options for just a coffee and snack or a more extensive lunch.

The layout of the facility was also a contributing factor to the positive experience of our visitors. All areas of the show were on the same level and guests could easily move between areas of the show. Parking was available free on site.

The show included Viewers’ Choice voting and on Tuesday, January 20th the three award winners were announced.

FIRST PLACE:

Tella V. – When the Stars Align

SECOND PLACE:

Alexandra S. – Floral Herbs

THIRD PLACE:

Teresa M. – Butterfly Wishes

A CELEBRATION OF QUILTS XIV – November 11-12, 2022, Toronto Botanical Garden

Our guild members once again successfully held a two-day celebration of quilts, quilting, and fellowship.

We all owe the committee and board of directors a huge round of applause and gratitude for putting in hours of work, creative thinking, and collaborative team work. Also, there can’t be a show without volunteers and so many of you took part. Thank you!

Many of the elements of the show were the same as in 2017: a large display of quilts mostly in the main hall, but also distributed to other areas of the Toronto Botanical Garden (TBG); vendors in three locations; featured speakers in the TBG library; concurrent shows in various areas; the Guild Shop featuring our handiwork; the Toonie Sale (used to be the Loonie sale, but inflation hits everywhere!); and a café.

But there are refinements and improvements from show to show and this year’s was no different. There was a larger use of social media, advanced online ticket sales, larger use of “Square” for making purchases, direct links to our vendors’ websites, and a very useful printed program. This program included Viewer’s Choice voting, a show survey, and even more important, the Quilt Show Passport that was used to encourage our visitors to go to each part of the facility to get “stamped” and then be eligible for draw prizes. This passport (a bit of brilliance thought up by Jacintha B.) really went a long way to encouraging our visitors to explore the building and it pleased the vendors who saw more traffic in some of the more remote parts of the building.

We were fortunate to have received four $50 gift certificates from Len’s Mill Stores. The names were drawn from the returned Quilt Show passports and the winners are: Kim W., Heather F., Nancy R., and Sue G.

At our January guild meeting on Tuesday, January 17, the five Viewer’s Choice award winners were announced.

First Place: Marilyn B – Quilt: Who is hiding in the woods. Marilyn also won the Canadian Quilters Association Ribbon

Second Place: Tella V – Quilt: 21 Days in Ibiza

Third Place: Heather B. – Quilt: Is it Finished Yet?

Fourth Place: Ann H. – Quilt: Global Warming

Fifth Place: Theresa M. – Quilt: Birth Flowers

Here are some other stats:

Visitors – 1200
Toonie Sale tickets sold – 1096
Guild shop participants – 15
Vendor booths – 16
Volunteers – 78
Volunteer hours – countless
Number of quilts/quilted items displayed – 201
Number of postcards printed and distrib- uted – 6,000
Social media – 2.5K views on the YHQG Facebook page in the week leading up to the show and many, many more in the months leading up to the show

We strongly encourage you to consider taking part on the next show committee. Each new group brings lots of fresh ideas and improved practices and keeps our show a welcoming destination for quilters around the GTA and farther. It’s a great way to “give back” to the guild and meet/work with other enthusiasts.

A CELEBRATION OF QUILTS XIII – November 10-11 2017, Toronto Botanical Garden

First and foremost, thanks to all guild members who entered quilts and/or attended our guild’s 13th Celebration of Quilts. We would all like to give a special thank you to the Quilt Show Committee for a job well done.

L to R: Fran Auty, Judy Messenger, Chystle Stucky, France Barrette, Bev Sturgeon, Jane Cramer, Valerie Prideaux and Shirley Dawson. (Missing: Maria Steventon, Lynne Lee and Linda Van Lierde)

We have all kinds of winners to announce. First the winners of the raffle quilts:
The winner of the large hand-pieced, hand-quilted grandmother’s flower garden quilt was Michael Lane of Toronto (photo below):