By Diane Harris, HQ Stitch Brand Ambassador

Last week it was my pleasure to speak at two quilt guilds in New England. Hannah Dustin Quilt Guild meets in Hudson, New Hampshire. It’s named after the colonial woman who was captured during an Indian raid, and escaped from her captors by killing them in the night and fleeing in their canoe. She was the mother of nine children.

Squanicook Colonial Quilt Guild meets in Pepperell, Massachusetts. I can’t account for the difference in spelling, but the Squanacook River runs for 16.4 miles in northern Mass (that’s what the locals say: Mass instead of Massachusetts). So maybe that’s how the group was named. The members I asked weren’t sure.

Both guilds are medium in size with more than a hundred members but fewer than 200. This was my first experience with quilt guilds in the Northeast, and I wondered if they’d be different from the guilds in the Midwest and the South.

Turns out things are pretty much the same, as quilt guild meetings go. They keep the business short. There is a lot of chatter and laughter, which leads me to believe they know and like each other.

The show and tell was interesting, and there were some wonderful finishes. Just above is a Quilt of Valor, and I wondered if it would be presented on or around Veterans Day. I hope so.

Some serious bargello in blues and greens.

At least one male quilter, who brought this quilt for show and tell:

Clearly not his first rodeo!

I fell in love with this design called Dimensions, above, which was a BOM from Quilt Addicts Anonymous.

And what’s not to love about a scrappy string quilt with a piano key border?

I missed the fall foliage by about a week but there was still so much to see and enjoy. The architecture alone could keep me busy for weeks! My class was held at the Lawrence Library in Pepperell, Mass.

Not too shabby. The Squanicookies, as the quilters are called, hold quilt shows here on occasion.

And I ran into this guy in a kilt. Nice to know he reads!