About Us

Niagara Heritage Quilters’ Guild is dedicated to promote the appreciation of the art of  quilting, be it traditional, modern, contemporary,  pieced or appliquéd , through education from our shared collective knowledge base with fun and celebration and to recognize community needs and the contribution that quilting can make.

Our members are like our quilts, completely unique!

Niagara Heritage Quilters’ Guild was established in 1980 when a member organized a quilt show to raise money for the Pelham and Effingham Heritage Associations. Recruiting several other women, all pretty much strangers, working together produced a very successful show. At the celebration party, and further discussion, the guild was formed over a pizza at Mother’s Pizza in St. Catharines.

Posting an ad in the St. Catharines Standard in December announcing the very first meeting was to be held at the library, the guild felt numbers would be only 20-30 people at most, considering the upcoming Christmas season.

Well, the date arrived and people kept coming and coming!  It was a success!! Jackie Morningstar offered to do  a bulletin and Marg Walpole got Irja Donahue to do membership.  She had moved to the area from Sault Ste. Marie and wasn’t too happy to be in St. Catharines so Marg thought this would be a good chance for her to meet people.

And so the Guild was on its way!  All thanks to Marg Walpole for persisting.

It was found later in the minutes that there were 90 people at that first meeting of the Niagara Heritage Quilters’ Guild.

OUR 2023-2024 EXECUTIVE

President - Carol McRae

I’ve spent 30 years in Credit and Office Management and when I retired I knew instinctively what I wanted to do.

At a young age my mother taught me to sew, knit and embroider and these skills have served me well over the years. She also taught me the joy of quilting and I’ve hand quilted and own many of her quilts. I enjoyed piecing, appliqué and embroidery work. In 2017 I purchased a HandiQuilter Avente and absolutely fell in love with long arm quilting.

I have been a member of the guild since 2018 and shortly thereafter volunteered to help out with the newsletter. Before I knew it I was not just helping, I was actually producing the newsletter. I’ve gone from newsletter coordinator to Publicity Chair and now President. Did not see that one coming. I have never regretting one moment of putting my hand up to volunteer. I’ve met so many wonderful ladies and learned a lot along the way. I like being busy and trying new things. I am proud to be a member of the Niagara Heritage Quilters’ Guild.

Treasurer - Theresa Bell

I have been quilting for about 20 years now.  I am more of a traditional quilter although I have been known to put my own spin on things from time to time.

I have been working in the accounting field for a very long time and I had short stint in the banking world where I retired from in the Spring of this year.

This is my third session as treasurer for our guild.  I look forward to another successful term.

Past President - Lynda Iannandrea

Many of you know me from my 15 or so years at the guild, that I love
quilting, but did you know that I was born and raised in St. Catharines, and spent my childhood in the rural city, close to St. Davids. Being a country girl, I was introduced to the 4H program and received my Provincial Honors, learning how to be a housewife and digging in with great enthusiasm to the sewing units. Did I get introduced to quilting – NO.
I always loved sewing but never saw quilts in my home, grandparents or aunts homes, or even in my friends homes. I have one memory of a quilt in a neighbours older daughters bedroom. I think it was very old, but nobody ever mentioned it. It is the only quilt I remember ever seeing.
Weird isn’t it?
I moved to Port Colborne when I married and there raised my family and ran a photo business. I was always involved with the community, in business I was President of the Chamber of Commerce. In the community I sat on the Port Colborne Hospital Foundation for eight years, and I was a Lioness for 20 years, serving as President for two terms. I am not shy. Through this period of my life I always sewed. I got my Fashion Arts degree at Niagara College night
school in the 80’s. And I sewed and loved tailoring coats and jackets. I signed up for every sewing academy I could find, and learned everything about every aspect of sewing except
QUILTING.
When I retired, twenty years ago, I spent 5 years giving my kids free babysitting services. I loved spending those five years with my grand babies, but when they went to school and grandma had time on her hands, I talked my husband into down sizing, due to health issues he was having, and we ended up in Welland. In Welland I started spending time at Bernards
Sewing Shop where I saw QUILTS. So I signed up for a beginners course- and I was off. I knew about QUILTING!
I took every course I could find the time for. My dear husband took me to Paducah that first April and I had my first experience of the quilting culture. I loved QUILTING!
At Bernards I heard them talking about the Quilt Guild in St. Catharines and they invited to take me to a meeting. I wasn’t quite ready, but in September I showed up at a meeting all by myself, and to my utter shock, there you all were. There was Margaret Glassford on the stage making it
look like so much fun. I was fascinated with the guild and started to get involved. That’s me. Involved as usual. And now, President, in the time of Covid.

My focus at the present is to keep us together until we are together, I can’t do it alone, so please stay in touch with the guild and lets share our thoughts on how we are going to share our quilting experienced in this unprecedented time.

CHAIRS AND COMMITTEES

Auxiliary Groups - Heather Murray

Committee Member

Lolly Challice

Fundraising - Lynne Wilkinson

Sub Committees                       Committee Members

50/50 Draw                                   Donna Murray, Karen Augerman

Loonie Draw                                  Stephanie McBride, Kelli Steele

Giving Back - Gloria Meyer

Sub Committees                              Committee Members

Community Quilts                                Kathryn Karr

Meals On Wheels                                  Sharree Eidt

Neonatal                                                 Donna Murray

Raft                                                          Julie Bayza

Membership - Maureen Morrison

Committee Member 

Sharon Watson

Programs/Workshops - Irene Bootsma & Jean Christie

Committee Members

Luci Ronald, Judy Yovanovich

Publicity - Carol McRae

Sub Committees                        Committee Members 

Publicity                                      Fran Inglis

Newsletter                                   Lynn McDonald, Heather Murray

Website/Social Media

Scholarship - Heather Murray

Committee Members 

Anne Converset, Marlene Paulak, Carolann Danch

Social Events - VACANT

Committee Members

Gloves and Greeters - Lynne Wilkinson

Committee Members

Kelli Steele, Liudmila Charles, Stephanie McBride