Our History

Our Guild came into being one evening in early October, 1986. Florence Staples organized a get-together in her home to discuss the aims of a Guild and see if there was enough interest to form one. Those present voted to go ahead and try to meet in the afternoons instead of evenings and to meet once a month on the second Monday, as long as we could make a go of our efforts.

At first, we met in private homes. A secretary was chosen to record our minutes and we collected $2.00 from everyone to help with some expenses. It was a small amount but we couldn’t ask for more until we knew if we would succeed. However, by word of mouth, we did start to grow. We outgrew private homes and had to look for a more permanent location. We met for a short time at the Red Cross offices but outgrew our space there. Our membership fees were increased and we started renting a room at Cambridge St. United Church. We have outgrown three rooms and are now meeting in their gymnasium. Our membership increased to 160 members by 2004 and the membership fee to $35.00 for the year. 

Until we were established we had to rely on our members to do programs. At the same time, Joan Ross, Betty Ann Welsh and Elda Wilson were drafting our Constitution and in due time this was adopted by our members. We also chose a motto—”We’ll Try It”, and our formal name ”The Lindsay Creative Quilters’ Guild”. We now have a program committee that looks after our program during the meetings. The various committees over the years have provided us with wonderful varied meetings that are very informative as well as being very entertaining. We have an 8 - 12 pages newsletter that is emailed or mailed out to all of our members monthly. 

While examining a book of quilts owned by the Royal Ontario Museum, Greta Hambleton came across a quilt that had been made here in our area. The pattern was a stylized green maple leaf on a white background called the Lindsay Quilt. She brought her discovery back to the Guild and the ladies all felt that the connection and association could not be overlooked and the Leaf was adopted as our Logo.

We continued to grow in strength as a Guild. We started a Guild library and we designed a Guild Banner. The Banner was initiated by Sadie Barnes during the year of her presidency. It is two wall quilts joined by one binding and shows our Logo and Name. The floral design was one submitted in a guild contest by Roxie Growden. The bulk of the lovely quilting was done by Janice Frain and Helen Tengesdal. In 1990 we started putting out a monthly newsletter. Over the past few years we have had many workshops and speakers. Some by our own members, some by well-known personalities like Win Burry, Kay Phillips, Camille Remme, Marilyn Walker, Betty Ives, Eunice MacLeod, Florence Wright, Linda Goldman, Christine Reber, Carol Gould, Vera Hugo, Maureen Samuels, Penny Berens, Pat Menary and John Willard...covering such techniques as rotary cutting, quick and strip pieced methods, Baltimore album appliqué, shadow appliqué, pictorial work, lined baskets, fabric wallets, decorated sweatshirts, crazy patchwork, machine quilting, Seminole patchwork, quilter’s tote bag, marbleized fabric, paper piecing, machine appliqué, stained glass quilting, ribbon embroidery and quilt history. We have also done mystery quilts as a guild and done a pieced jacket as a quilt of the month project.

Each year we do a community project. Some of these have included raising charity funds from raffle quilts Quilt Shows. A pictorial wall hanging plus crib quilts for the Women’s Shelter; give away gifts donated to the C.Q.A. National Quilt Conference in Waterloo; lap quilts, bibs and wheel chair bags for extended care patients at the Hospital and Seniors’ Homes; a demonstration quilt at the International Plowing Match held here in Victoria County; a wall hanging for Community Care, Victoria County, in celebration of the 10th anniversary; sleeping bags for the John Howard Society and baby quilts, care packages and crib donations for the Pregnancy Crisis Centre.

In September, 1999, as part of millennium activities, those founding members presently part of the Guild—Jean Baker, Shirley Dickson, Greta Hambleton, Polly Lees, Bertha Phelan, Joan Ross, Florence Staples, Betty Ann Welsh and Elda Wilson were given Lifetime Memberships.

From the beginning, we have stayed a friendly group and have been complimented on our friendliness. We have members from Bethany, Bobcaygeon, Cameron, Coboconk, Dunsford, Fenelon Falls, Irondale, Kirkfield, Lindsay, Little Britain, Minden, Moore Falls, Nestleton, Norland, Omemee, Oshawa, Peterborough, Port Perry, Reaboro, Seagrave, Sunderland, Udora, Uxbridge and Woodville and we represent all skill levels from green beginner to our Ontario Grand Champion Winner, Diane Tink, whose quilt “Currants and Coxcombs” is now in the permanent collection of the Ontario Agricultural Museum at Milton. We still meet the second Monday of each month from September to June other than October. October is the third Monday - 1:00-3:30 p.m. now at Celebrations Inc., 35 Lindsay Street North and we always welcome new members. New members mean new ideas.