Tiny Treasures Workshop

On National Quilting Day, March 15th, what better thing to do than spend the day with friends learning new quilting and embroidery techniques? Jenny Rolfe led a workshop with 16 participants making 'Tiny Treasures'. These were exquisite little embroidered and embellished panels which could be used to make book covers, boxes, cards or just enjoyed in their own right.

Here is Jenny cutting some wire for June to use to decorate her work.

Bunty and Andrea looked very serious, but it was the strain of trying to dodge the camera rather than any problems which the workshop posed them which has resulted in such worried faces!

Jill looks a bit happier - maybe it's because she has chosen such beautiful, rich colours for her design.

Paula is very sociable (and tidy - look at her lovely uncluttered workspace!)

Beverley was having a little trouble with her machine. I thought we were pretty good friends, so was a bit surprised when she managed to get the end of her shuttle to shoot me on the cheek. Good shot, Bev! Sylvia had chosen the other design (ie. not the one nearly everyone else was doing). What a surprise, as she is not known for her independent mind!

Stephanie takes a moment to ponder the next step.

Ann and Sue are struggling a bit with invisible thread. It's nearly impossible to see!

Merleen is another one doing the alternative shape - another free thinker! Both she and Doreen are engrossed in the task.

Sharon and Eunice were concentrating so hard, they didn't even realise I was taking their photo!

Everyone was really enjoying the workshop, and fully absorbed in the task. Most people had arrived at the embellishing stage (the best bit!) well before 3 o'clock, so we look forward to seeing the fruits of their labours at the next meeting.

Friday 22nd February 2008

At our February meeting we were lucky enough to have a talk by Jenny Rolfe. She is a member of the Midlands group of five quilters, TextileARTS, which was set up in order to exhibit their work. While still thinking of herself as a quilter, she is currently working with fabrics, which may be dyed or painted to give them a contemporary feel, but always with dense machine stitching.


She started the evening by showing us a selection of gorgeous quilts, many of which she was generous enough to pass round for us to inspect more closely. Her work is meticulous, beautifully quilted and embellished. Most of her quilts were designed to be wall-hangings, and we recognised several which we had seen in national exhibitions or in patchwork magazines.

Some people felt the need to admire her work very closely! It was certainly very inspirational.

After her talk, Jenny set up her machine and gave a tutorial on machine embroidery. She made it seem very easy! I think it's one of those skills which has a certain mystique about it, but actually demands lots of practice. There is no secret about how to machine quilt or embroider, just the willingness to put in the hours of stitching and practising which are required.

Since Jenny is running a workshop for us on 15th March, she had brought along some samples of the kinds of things could be achieved on that day for all to admire.

Gill had had a bout of spring-cleaning fever, and had had a clear out of quilting books and magazines. This attracted a lot of attention from those deluding themselves that they needed more quilting patterns and tips! There was also a rummage bag of fabric for those poor souls who have no supplies at home. Quilters are always happy to adopt stray pieces of material which will 'definitely come in' one day!

Bunty and Andrea unveiled their ideas for a group quilt to be displayed at the NEC in August. Twenty five people have agreed to make a block for this, on the theme of The Seasons. Each block will have a foundation pieced background and a Bondawebbed tree and then each participant will have free rein to embellish their block in any way they desire, in order to depict their designated season. All blocks must be returned by the next meeting to give Bunty and Andrea time to join them together for the exhibition.

The evening ended with 'Show and Tell'. Here is Bunty's stunning 'Stack and Whack' quilt.

Gaynor showed her lovely 'Card Trick Variation' quilt which has turned out so big that she had had to unpick and modify it to make it fit her bed!

Lynda thanked all those who had bought the 'Green Book' as it had raised £140 for Macmillan. She also reminded us that National Quilting day is on March 15th, so get your needles ready!

Scrap quilts explained.

To start the year off with lots of inspiration, we were lucky enough to hear a talk by Margaret Torrance entitled 'Scrap Quilts'. Margaret is a well-known local quilter, and until recently had a shop in Leicester, where many of us used to go for fabric, advice and inspiration. Her talk showed many different ways of using scraps, from simple four and nine-patches, to snowballs, pineapples and snail's trail. She also gave us tips along the way, such as making sure that every quilt had plenty of dark, medium and light fabrics in it, that yellows must be used with caution and that putting scraps in a carrier bag and shaking them about is a sure way of getting a good mix of fabrics and colours in every block.

Here are some of her quilts, handily draped over a table tennis table! The beautiful courthouse steps is actually made from animal prints. You can also see another courthouse steps quilt with a scrappy piano keys border, a cot quilt in pastel colours made from nine-patches on point and some pineapple quilts on the table. Margaret was very generous in letting people examine and touch her quilts. That's often the best part of the evening, when you can see the quilts close up.

I don't know what has made Ann laugh so much, but I'm guessing it's something Stephanie has said, rather than one of Margaret's hilarious quilts!

It was also good to be able to chat to Margaret (on the left) after her talk, ask questions and clarify a few things, or just catch up with her news and family gossip.

Jenny Rolfe came and brought some examples of the kinds of things which will be produced in her 'Tiny Works of Art' class on 15th March. It is always a change for quilters to work in a small scale and make something which can be completed in a day. Quilts are usually a bit more time-consuming than that! This class is now full, although names can be put on a waiting list.

It was wonderful to see so many people had turned out in the cold and dark to hear Margaret's talk, and lovely to have quite a few visitors as well. I got so excited when I heard there were over 50 people in the hall, that I couldn't keep the camera still! Either that, or Beth and Chris were serving more than just coffee!

The evening finished, as usual, with show and tell. Quilters always like to see others' work, whether it is extravagant or simple. We were all beginners once, and remember clearly how proud we once were (and still are) of quilts which we now would regard as pretty basic. Paula showed some Linus 'Dancing Gingerbread Men' quilts she had made from scraps.

Quilters are very generous people and often use their fabric and time to make quilts for others less fortunate than themselves. This quilt is for one of the many babies born in prison. It is no fault of theirs that they end up in that harsh environment and sadly they have to leave their mothers behind when they are 18 months old, and either go to relatives or into care until their mum's release. Hopefully their quilt will act as a momento of their mother until they are reunited.
Our next meeting will be when Jenny Rolfe will demonstrate machine quilting. Unfortunately it won't be possible for everyone to have a go, but if you are very keen to take advantage of jenny's advice, you can put yur sewing machine in the car, and we will do our best to accommodate you. Either way, it will be an interesting and informative evening.