Trip to Chilford

Ruth has kindly organised another trip for us. It is to visit the quilt show at Chilford and is on Saturday 7th November (unfortunately my husband's birthday, so that counts me out!)
Quilt shows are always muh more enjoyable if you go with like-minded people, and if you don't have to drive, it makes for a very enjoyable day!



This is a view of the hall - looks great! There are still a few places left on the coach (and the more people who go, the cheaper it will become) so if you would like to join the party, please leave a comment on the blog, or contact me. The coach costs £15.50 at the moment, with entry to the show as an extra charge. Pick up points will be in Lutterworth and Market Harborough. You could be lucky enough to pick up some Christmas presents - what a great idea!

Evening to dye for!

September's speaker was Linda Rudkin, an expert in using natural dyes. Now, I have always been very happy with using Dylon dyes for the bit of dyeing I do, but Linda was so inspirational that I wanted to go out into the hedgerows (and supermarkets) straight away and have a go!

Here she is after her talk, giving Chris some advice about using dyes for her forthcoming art foundation course. All the different substances Linda has used, from the ubiquitous onion skins to osage orange bark, have been carefully documented and the results mounted on beautiful boards to display the effect on different fabrics.

I thought that using non-commercial dyes required lots of equipment and chemicals, but apparently you just need a large pan, a spoon or stick, water, alum and then plant material. Good results can be obtained from onion skins and marigold flowers and for those wanting to really go back to basics, she had some packs of woad seeds on sale.

She brought copies of her book as well as other goodies, which were eagerly snapped up on the night.

Show and Tell was as varied as ever. Stephanie showed a quilt she had made for her daughter. the patchwork Irish Chain was quite straightforward, but it was the cross stitch motifs which took her three years to complete! It was well worth it though, as it's a beautiful quilt.

Stepahnie has made her Flutterwheels challenge of curves and circles into a cushion. It looks stunning.

Chris also had a cushion, but this was made from the blocks made with Jenny Raiment. Each one was different, and beautifully embellished with mother of pearl buttons.

Chris, Beverley, Sylvia and some friends have been making quilts for injured servicemen. This one so simple, but striking.

Here is another one - a kind of grown up I-Spy, with novelty fabrics!

Ruth had used some recycled fabrics (shirts and pyjamas) to make this quilt for the charity. It looks very sophisticated.

I spent time in the holidays making this French Roses quilt which is the first time I have used raw edge applique. The results were very attractive.

I also finished a quilt from my UFO box. I made some Elly Sienkevicz Baltimore blocks a few years ago, and have finally layered and quilted them. I quilted feathers all round the borders - all good fun!

Carolyn had made some items for the exhibition sales table. Aren't they cute?

Doreen showed this Sudoku quilt made from squares of fabric. Very effective.

Ann treated us to another showing of this wonderful old hexagon quilt. it had been made in the 1920s but still looked fresh and pretty. The planning of the design is clear and beautifully done.

And, last, but not least is Elaine with her piece made at a Pat Deacon workshop called 'Working with irregular shapes'.

What a masterpiece!

Exhibition!

The exhibition is coming up fast, and all the arrangements are now in place. The hall will be open to the public between 10 and 4 on Saturday 10th October and Sunday 11th October. Obviously the quilts will have to be put up the day before, and the hall will be open from about 3.45 on Friday for receipt and hanging of quilts. The quilts must have a hanging sleeve of about 4", either sewn or safety-pinned on, ready to hang. You can either bring your quilts to the meeting tonight, bring them to the hall on Friday 9th or to my house in Lutterworth if that's more convenient. E-mail me for the address.

All quilts must have a label, telling the name of the quilt, the maker and a brief description, eg.

Fried Egg by Freda Bloggs.

I made this quilt for my husband's birthday, used lots of yellow as I thought it was sunny and bright and called it 'Sunshine'. He took one look at it, and said, 'All that white and yellow makes it look like a fried egg!' so the name was changed!

Bring the description to the meeting, or email it to me and I'll forward it to the relevant person.

Refreshments will be a popular feature of the weekend, and members are being asked to make cakes to sell. These can be brought to the hall on Friday or on the day.

Bags and cushions can also be brought at the same time, as can the items for the sales table. Make sure your sales items are clearly labelled with a removeable label (can be sticky or pinned) giving your name and the price of the item. 10% of that price will be retained by the group. If you are willing to donate all the proceeds to the group, just write 'DON' on the label instead.
The show will end on Sunday at 4pm, so please come and collect your quilts then or arrage for someone to do it for you.

Get ready for a wonderful show!