Attendee Info

Admission is $25 for the entire day. There is no charge for members of the sponsoring guilds (Royal City, Waterloo County and York Heritage) to attend.

Mark your calendar for this fully virtual celebration on Saturday, March 21, 2026.

Some of the events for this year will include:

• featured speakers;
• a vendor showcase;
• concurrent session speakers;
• a virtual quilt show featuring work from attendees;
• door prizes; and discounts!

Would you like to make your own International Sister quilt block?

Leslie Batt showed us how at the 2021 International Quilting Day! Click here for the tutorial PDF and create your own International Sister quilt project!

Keynote Speakers

Priscilla Bianchi

Guatemalan native, Priscilla Bianchi, will be one of our keynote speakers on International Quilting Day, March, 21, 2026. Priscilla represents a unique personality in today’s fiber arts world. Her innovative, one-of-a-kind art quilts unite cultures by combining the richness and ethnic appeal of Mayan Guatemalan hand-woven textiles, colors, patterns, textures and symbolism, with American quilt making techniques, giving life to a myriad of designs that are fresh, original and contemporary with profound Guatemalan roots and identity. Her main inspiration for her geometric abstract work comes from Mayan Guatemalan traditional textiles and costumes.

World renowned, Priscilla’s prolific multicultural artwork is exhibited nationally and internationally and has been acquired by the Museum of Arts & Design (MAD) in New York City, the Hyatt Centric Hotel in Guatemala City, Hotel Museum Casa Santo Domingo in Antigua Guatemala, and many private collectors. She is invited to teach and lecture about her artwork and about Guatemalan textiles around the world, in places like the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Europe.

Priscilla will speak to us about The Exciting Life of a Guatemalan Quilt Artist. Her inspirational lecture will appeal to quilters and non-quilters alike. In it, Priscilla tells her amazing story as a quilt maker: what motivated her to start quilting and how she was hooked; the difficulties and obstacles she’s had to overcome living in a country without any quilting tradition, community or resources. Her message is simple: if, against all odds, she was able to achieve what she has . . . anyone can do it! Her slides show her sources of inspiration: the Guatemalan textiles and Mayan culture that influence her to create unique art quilts, as well as an overview of her body of work. This talk will surely please audiences with Priscilla’s humour, entertaining stories, and lots of insight.

Ben Robinson

Curious about how Makerspaces serve and empower the community? Makerspaces allow people to discover, experiment, and create in an inclusive hands-on learning environment. In this fun and informal talk, our local Makerspace supervisor, Ben Robinson, will give us a behind-the-scenes look at what equipment is available, how staff help you with your project, and why Makerspaces are such a great resource for quilters and textile artists in particular. You’ll see examples of quilts and textile projects that combine traditional skills with modern technology, and you might just walk away inspired to try something completely new on your next quilt!

Bring your questions, ideas, and curiosity – there will be plenty of time for conversation and brainstorming about how Makerspaces can open up new creative possibilities for our quilting community.

Biography

Ben Robinson has been the Supervisor of the Guelph Public Library’s Westminster Branch and Makerspace since 2021. Prior to this, Ben acted as Children’s and Teens Services Librarian. His own creative pursuits include writing stories for his three children and film criticism.

Concurrent Session Speakers

Becky Fiedler – Stitching Our Stories: Easy Embroidered Quilt Labels with Ink/Stitch

Quilt labels turn a finished quilt into a lasting story. In this beginner-friendly session, you’ll learn how to create clean, readable embroidered labels using Ink/Stitch, a free Inkscape extension. Becky will walk through a simple design-to-stitch workflow and share tips for success on any embroidery machine. She will also touch on using local Makerspaces—many offer public embroidery machines—so you can design at home and stitch in a shared studio. Attendees receive a ready-to-use label template and next steps to get started.

Becky is a retired teacher who spent decades in both in-person and virtual classrooms and now brings that same spirit to quilting. She loves helping quilters try new tools—whether it’s Zoom, Electric Quilt or free creative programs like Inkscape and Ink/Stitch—so that designing, personalizing, and labeling quilts feels fun, doable, and maybe even a little addictive. Becky loves her local Makerspace where she enjoys having access to creative tech (and a bit of extra encouragement) for quilting projects.

Download and unzip this file for Becky’s handouts.

Sharon Fisher – My Favourite Things for Wool Applique

Embark on a delightful exploration of wool applique with award-winning quilter Sharon Fisher as your instructor! She will unveil her personal favourites in tools, tips, and techniques through this engaging lecture. You will be led through the entire process of creating beautiful wool applique projects, from the initial pattern preparation through tracing and design transfer to the final appliqué, stitching, piecing, pressing, and finishing touches. You will learn invaluable insight and practical advice to enhance your craft.

Sharon Fisher has been quilting for over 30 years, beginning her journey in a basement quilting class while raising three young children and starting a new career. A lifelong learner, she has studied with many well-known teachers and developed a love for texture, wool appliqué, and hand stitching. Sharon’s work blends traditional, primitive, and whimsical styles, brought to life with rich colour and embellishment. An award-winning quilter and popular instructor, Sharon teaches workshops for guilds, shops, private groups and at Quilt Canada.

Bonnie Rankin – What the Judge Sees

Do you ever wonder what the judge sees when looking at a quilt?  This is an opportunity to view the 2025 National Juried Show winners and listen to a Canadian Quilters Association National Certified Quilt Judge, Bonnie Rankin, discuss design and workmanship in quilting.  Learn about the most common problem areas when creating a design and how to avoid construction issues which plague many quilters.  As well, quilting trends will be discussed.  You will leave this lecture with a pocket full of valuable hints to improve your quilting and hopefully alleviate some of the challenges quilters face.

Bonnie has been quilting for 35 years and comes from a family of quilters with both her mother and father having been award winning quilters.  She has seen quilting evolve from traditional quilts to modern and art quilts using multi mediums and innovative, interpretative techniques. She has been active in quilting both in Ontario and British Columbia holding guild executive positions in both provinces.  As well, she was the President of the Canadian Quilters Association (CQA/ACC). She is a CQA/ACC Certified Quilt Judge and was the 2024 and 2025 National Juried Show (NJS) Coordinator for Quilt Canada. Bonnie has judged, juried and scribed throughout Canada. In person and zoom presentations, as well as giving NJS tours, allow her to share her quilting knowledge with the objective of encouraging quilters of all levels and skills to exhibit and share their work. 

Virtual Quilt Show

Would you consider sharing photos of your quilted creations with others? Your work inspires others and is a joy to view. We encourage members of the sponsoring guilds and paying guests to submit up to two quilts to the Virtual Quilt Show.

Please be prepared to provide the following information about your quilt(s):
* Quilt name
* Pattern designer
* Quilter, if other than yourself
* An artist’s statement or brief history of the quilt (Limit of 50 words)
* Up to five photos for each quilt. We recommend an overall view of the quilt along with several closeups of interesting details.

You will be asked to upload your photos. To be able to do this, you will need to log in to your Google account. If you do not have an account, you may ask someone with an account to submit the photos on your behalf.

The deadline to submit quilts for the virtual quilt how has passed.