2025-2026 Workshops
Improv for Planners
By Monika Henry
Date: May 23, 2026
Time: 9:30 am – 4:00 pm (in-person)
Location: Notre Dames des Champs Community Centre
Cost: $60 (supplies not included)
Class Description: Are you overwhelmed or intimidated by improv quilt techniques? Do you feel like you’re too much of a planner to enjoy making a quilt without knowing what it’s going to look like, and possibly “ruining” fabric in the process?
Join Monika Henry for Improv For Planners, a full-day workshop where she teaches you her easy, not-intimidating method of making an improv quilt while still having control and structure throughout the process. And yes, the use of rulers is very much encouraged 😉
About the Instructor: Monika is the designer and teacher behind Penny Spool Quilts, based in Ottawa, Canada, where she creates bright, modern quilt designs with a nod to tradition. Her own quilting journey started a bit over 20 years ago, when she was at university in Switzerland, with traditional patterns done the traditional way. And while she calls herself a modern quilter now, she still takes inspiration from traditional blocks and designs and tweaks them to suit her taste for modern fabrics, colours, and bold shapes.
Faux Cathedral Windows
By Michelle Van Dyk
March 28, 2026 9:30 am – 4:00 pm (in-person)
Location: Notre Dames des Champs Community Centre
Cost: $60 (supplies not included)
Class Description: This workshop invites quilters to explore the elegant illusion of cathedral windows – without the hand-sewn curves! Using the Faux Cathedral Windows pattern from Bits & Pieces Quilting, participants will learn how to create dimensional blocks that mimic the classic look with clever folding and stitching techniques.
Make a quilt or a table runner, both available in beginner and advanced options.
Beginner Option – focuses on the main cathedral windows block and offers an easy finishing option with straightforward construction
Advanced Option – introduces a more advanced construction option that is more time consuming, but so worth the effort!
Whether you are new to quilting or looking to elevate your skills, this workshop delivers inspiration, technique, and a touch of textile magic.
About the Instructor: Michelle is a lifelong maker inspired by her mother and raised in southern Ontario’s Mennonite country, where quilting was a way of life. From hand-quilting whole cloth quilts to machine piecing and quilting, she has developed a deep love for colour, design, and texture, with scrap quilts as her favourite creative playground. Today, quilting is both her passion and creative outlet.
The Veil – Precision Piecing Masterclass
Presented by Peter Byrne
Date: Feb 28 & March 1, 2026, 10:30 am-3:45 pm (virtual)
Class Description: Level up your piecing skills over the course of this two-day virtual workshop. This masterclass has been designed around the techniques developed during the creation of Peter’s precision pieced quilts titled Veil and Veil 2.0. The Veil won First Place in the Modern Category at Quilt Canada 2025!
The Veil – Precision Piecing Masterclass covers a range of technique-based concepts including:
- learning how to make a new block called The Veil Block
- creating your pattern using freezer paper
- precision piecing using the ADD-A-QUARTER ruler and completing a 35 inch square, mini Veil quilt
- how to make 1/4 circles using the 9-inch CLAMMY ruler and glue basting our seams
- piecing skinny lines with accuracy
- straight line walking foot matchstick quilting
- advanced binding techniques incorporating twill tape into our binding
The class fee includes the cost of the kit (4 colours to choose from!). Optional for purchase: 6” Add-a-Quarter ($10) and 9” Clammy Rulers ($25) are available at cost
About the Instructor: A nationally and internationally award-winning modern quilter, Peter Byrne brings a passion for innovation, original design, and technical mastery to both his work and teaching. After a 25-year career as a stylist and salon owner, he discovered quilting as a creative outlet and quickly immersed himself in the community. Since joining the Toronto Modern Quilt Guild in 2017 and beginning to teach in 2018, he has shared his love for modern quilting with students of all levels. Known for my positive, supportive, and patient teaching style, he strives to inspire creativity and share new techniques within the quilting world.
Introduction to Rope Bowls
Presented by Laura Malo
Date: Tuesday, 28 October 2025, 10am-2m pm
Location: Notre Dames des Champs Community Centre
Cost: $75.00 (includes rope)
Class Description: Discover the art of transforming simple rope into beautiful, functional bowls in this hands-on sewing workshop! Perfect for beginners and confident sewists alike, this class will guide you through the entire process of coiling and stitching rope on a sewing machine to create sturdy, one-of-a-kind bowls.
You’ll learn:
- How to prepare and handle rope for sewing
- Techniques for coiling and shaping your bowl
- Tips for adding color, fabric accents, or decorative stitching
- Finishing methods to give your project a professional look
By the end of the class, you’ll leave with your own handcrafted rope bowl—perfect for organizing, decorating, or gifting—and the skills to make more at home.
Pictured samples will be at the September meeting if you want to take a closer look, and a supply list will be provided to participants. The class fee covers the cost of the rope.
About the Instructor: Laura Malo has been a member of our guild for many years and has held several positions of the executive, most recently as workshop coordinator. She is a self taught quilter and has enjoyed quilting for over 30 years. Like a lot of quilters, she has also dabbled in other creative areas such as knitting, painting and sewing.