Did you know our guild is four years old?   Susan Bowslaugh was our founding president back in October 2014. Susan along with our long time sponsor, Monique Kruppa owner of Modern Bee, founded and nurtured the Niagara Modern Quilt Guild. . As our guild has grown and required more space, Susan has led meetings in three locations:  Modern Bee in Virgil; the former Stitch Store in Jordan and now the Bethany Community Church in Saint Catharines. Susan organized our first quilt show at Quilt Canada that was held in St Catharines in 2014 and it’s success spearheaded our guild onto it’s present model of acceptance and inspiration.

Susan’s career in teaching young children has been a wonderful influence in keeping a focus on learning in our guild experience over the past four years.  As our leader, she focused on helping us to ensure that members had opportunities to learn about which features in quilt making are key to obtaining the modern aesthetic, and challenged us to build new skills and incorporate new techniques into our repertoires.

Susan started quilting in 1980 and became more focused on modern quilting in 2009. She is known for her magnificent trunk shows and teaches modern techniques including improv piecing all through the province.   In an interview for the Record Newspaper in Waterloo, Susan said, in reference to modern quilting:  “We’re not completely reinventing the wheel”.  Susan’s easily recognizable style includes “cartoonish” appliqué with black outline free motion quilting to draw in the details; improv piecing; big stitch quilting and a bright colour palette.  We all tease her for her love of mustard fabric. Quilters find it challenging not to touch and feel all her show and tells, especially when she goes to town with textured linens.

Susan was also featured in an article in Canadian Quilter that you can read all about here

2019 is ushering in a new executive for NMQG, and so, it is with grateful hearts that we thank Susan for her dedication to our Guild for the past four years.

Written by Tara!