Quilts for Heroes

This month we had a very inspiring and uplifting evening lead by Brenda Lincoln. She is the driving force behind a local group which calls itself 'Quilts for Injured Servicemen' and makes quilts for those servicemen (and women) who are recuperating at Headley Court Hospital. Her husband, Dave, was a serviceman himself, and benefited from the healing powers of the staff at Headley Court, so this is one way for her to show her appreciation, as well as supporting our forces. She had a fund of funny and heart-rending stories which show the power of the human spirit over adversity, and serve to put our everyday problems into perspective.

Here is Brenda with several quilts she brought to show us. These are utilitarian quilts, made often from shirtings (complete with pockets - for their fags and lighters!), masculine fabrics, including camouflage fabrics, and the obligatory Union Jack!

This one is one which was brought along on the night for Brenda to take.

Here is another one with a very patriotic colourway!

Once she had inspired us, everyone got to work. Here are some members chosing fabrics from the selection Brenda had brought.

Some people had brought sewing machines, while others cut, ironed, advised or supervised!

Every little helped, and Brenda was pleased to take home several completed strips ready to be made up by her group of volunteers.

Some people spent time perusing the goods on the sales table - which grew from one table to three as more and more items arrived. Most of us were tempted to buy a goodie or two, and some of the sellers must have a lot of room in their cupboards now!

The show and tell was varied, as usual. Elaine showed this whimsical wall-hanging which she had made in a workshop. What a clever use of log cabin blocks.

Here is the first completed item from the Anja Townrow workshop we held last month. What a fabulous choice of colours.This is another, different, piece from the workshop - the lime green definitely adds a certain something!

Andrea had made this lovely 'Through the Window' wall hanging at a Jenny Almond workshop. I wish it was the view through my window!

Ann had made this piece as the centre medallion of a quilt, but when her daughter saw it, she thought it would make the perfect wall-hanging for the stairs of their cottage. Guess who won?

Ruth had taken some novelty fabric with boats on it out of the Linus box, and had managed to make two appealing quilts out of it. This one has appliqued boats and quilted waves.

Di had also been inspired by the novelty fabric, and had made two prem quilts, this one with nursery rhyme figures on it.

She had also made this lovely quilt for her great nephew, with tractors and farm animals on it. It's a pity I didn't take a picture of the back, as it was a bright rural scene, which would make the quilt reversable. Last month we challenged the group to make blocks for our group quilt, which will be domnated to the Leicestershire and Rutland Air Ambulance. The blocks were to be 12" stars of any design, in autumnal colours. Here are the first few blocks. I can't wait to see them all!

We have a full programme of workshops and trips. Look at the meetings side bar to find out when they are and make sure you don't miss out!

February meeting

This month's meeting will be a charity sewing evening. We will endeavour to make some quilts for the local charity, Help for Heroes. There will be a short introduction by Brenda Lincoln followed by a workshop making quilt tops. Could you try to bring a used man's shirt or sheet or duvet cover or fabric from your stash in masculine colours? Plains, stripes or checked look good.If you can bring along your machine, cutting board, large scissors or rotary cutter as there will be jobs for all. If you have time beforehand ready cut 6 inch squares will mean we can start to sew straight away.

See you there!

Starting the new year with a bang!

If anyone was feeling a bit low after Christmas and all the cold weather we've been having recently, this month's speaker was guaranteed to restore your enthusiasm. Anja Townrow has been to Lutterworth before, and is always an inspiring yet remarkably down-to-earth speaker. Her quilts are outstanding, but she's happy to point out the places where she had to add some applique to cover a bodge! It's hard to believe, but very heart warming!

When I asked her permission to take her photo, she said, 'What, with this hair?' I was able to assure her that the hair she had brought with her was indeed what I wanted for the photo, so here she (and it) is.

People were thrilled to be able to see her work at close quarters. It certainly repays careful study.

Anja had done us proud and displayed lots of beautiful quilts for us to admire.

Here is Ann having a rootle in the Project Linus rummage box. Thank you to all who have bought items from the box. This time, I collected £8.30 in donations!

I started off show and tell with my mystery quilt from a pattern by Bonnie Hunter. I started it in August to have it on my son's bed for Christmas.

I also showed another Bonnie Hunter pattern, I spy a 4 patch, which I have made up for Linus. It's a very versatile pattern, and if you want to see Bonnie's free patterns, click here.

Several people seemed to have taken advantage of the awful weather recently to do some sewing for Linus. Di made up two quilts from orphan blocks. Thisa one was sashed in bright pink to give it a very cheerful look.

Paula completed this one which was made up of squares and half square triangles.

Ruth made several quilts, mainly from scraps - my favourite kind! This one was particularly bright and child-friendly. If you would like to see these quilts in close up, click here to go to the Leicestershire Project Linus site.

Andrea had made up two quilts using jelly rolls. They are both the same pattern, although the colours give them quite different feels. This one is sophisticated and masculine.

This one is earthy and warm.

Ann brought her completed 'Sizzling Strips' quilt. It certainly sizzles with her fabulous choice of colours!



The final quilt was one completed after a workshop with Sandie Lush. The workmanship is outstanding, although it doesn't photograph well! The designs were completed individually and then joined to give the impression of a wholecloth quilt.

You can see this clearly from the back!

Piecemakers continues to have a lively programme of workshops and outings. Anja kindly gave us a workshop on the day after her talk. I'll look forward to seeing the fruits of that. Linda Rudkin will be showing us all about Flower Pounding on Saturday 15th May. 'Patchwork Schoolhouse' will take place at Threads and Patches on Saturday 29th May. The cost for this will be £50, which includes 10 mini demonstrations/workshops, instruction sheets/kits, refreshments and a full lunch. This is exclusively for our group, so be sure to book your place quickly. Quilts in the Garden at Trentham will take place on Saturday 10th April. The long awaited "Hidden Histories, Untold Stories" exhibition at the V&A is starting in March, and there will be a trip to visit on Saturday 26th June. A booking sheet for this will be at the February meeting. This is a chance to see quilts which have been stored in the V&A for hundreds of years, and will be a once in a lifetime experience. make sure you don't miss it!

Christmas Social

This month's meeting was a nice relaxed way to start the Christmas season. Lots of time to chat and socialise, a free raffle, lovely refreshments and three demonstrations to inspire, and of course, not forgetting show and tell!

Here are the raffle prizes, tantalisingly wrapped. I wonder how many have survived temptation to be put under the tree? I know mine didn't!

Here are people taking the opportunity to catch up with the latest news - or gossip - while sampling the goodies on offer!

Liz was demonstrating some very clever flowers which would look fabulous on bags or as brooches. She had a couple pinned to her coat to show the effect.

'Fairy slippers' was the title of this demo. It was a chance to make some really original Christmas tree decorations, and use up some of your special sparkly bits at the same time.

And here Margot shows how to make a simple wrist pin cushion (she's modelling it too!) for times when you need to have your pins really handy!

Show and tell came round really quickly and was suitably kicked off by Gaynor, showing the fabric crackers she had made. All she needs now are some small gifts to go inside, and a more attractive container! She'd also made two Father Christmas dolls. Although they were identical, their faces seemed to have quite different expressions.
I showed the diagonal strippy quilt I'm making for Linus. It was a technique I showed last month, so I thought people would be interested in how it had turned out. I just need to bind it now.Paula made this bright quilt for a young relative from strips of pictures. It looks really cheery.

Ginnie's rainbow quilt is for her daughter. She had a bit of trouble getting the colours in the correct sequence, but it turned out beautifully.

Many of us have seen Sylvia working on her Patchwork of the Crosses, as it has taken her a long time to complete. It is completely hand sewn over papers (except for the borders) and is destined to be a wedding present for her grandaughter, who will soon become Mrs Cross! Sylvia has wisely decided to have it professionally quilted by Ann.

Bunty has made this charming Christmas wall-hanging at a Jenny Almond workshop,

and this sophisticated brown and turquoise streak of lightning design as well. A bit of a departure for Bunty, colour-wise!

Ruth had made a quilt for soldiers, using some old duvet covers. Very masculine.

She had also had a go at flower ponding. I'm amazed that she managed to find so much colourful material in her garden at this time of the year! She has embellished the designs slightly with embroidery to make this gorgeous cushion cover.

Ruth has also been busy organising more outings for next year. Saturday 10th April we will be going to Quilts in the Garden at Trentham Gardens. Saturday 29th May to the Patchwork School House demonstrations & mini workshops at Threads & Patches. And the one everyone will be loking forward to, the 300 Years of Quilting Exhibition at the V&A in London. Dates will be chosen from March 20th, June 19th or June 26th by members at the January meeting. We are going by coach on all these trips with pick up points at Market Harborough (8.30), North Kilworth (8.45) & Lutterworth (9.00). Put these dates in your diary and sign up for them in January.

Annual General Meeting

AGMs aren't usually very well attended - I know some groups who try and tempt people along by offering cheese and wine or other bribes. However, we don't need to do this to get people along to a Piecemakers AGM - they're interested in the group and what's going on!

Di gave us a brief outline of all the things which happened in the last year. We had well-known speakers such as Jenny Almond, Jenny Raiment, Felicity Howatson, Sandie Lush and Linda Rudkin to enthuse us, and several of these also ran workshops for us. We had outings to Redditch Needle Museum, Hemingford Grey and Chilford, which were all meticulously organised by Ruth, well-supported and enjoyed by all. We held the bi-annual exhibition of our work which brought nearly 200 visitors and raised a substantial amount for group and charity funds, apart from raising the profile of patchwork and quilting generally. We made a group quilt, 'Up, Up and Away' which we exhibited at The Festival of Quilts at the NEC and we also raised money for the Leicestershire and Rutland Air Ambulance, apart from supporting other charities, notably Project Linus and Help the Heroes. We were sad to hear that both Di and Stephanie were retiring from the committee, but thanked them very much for their work over the years.

Next year looks to be as interesting. Speakers include Anja Townrow, Angela Madden, Susie Corke, Margaret Shah and Ferret and there will be at least four workshops, one of which will be specifically for beginners. Ruth has the members' wish-list of possible trips, including the Redditch Needle Museum (again!), a museum with old quilts, a National Trust property, the American Museum in Bath and a day workshop at Threads and Patches. She will investigate these and let us know. Membership fees are to remain the same for the next year, and it would be useful if members could bring their £15 in an envelope with their name on to the January meeting, to speed up the payment system. Receipts and membership cards will be given out at the February meeting.

Ruth did a demonstration of Manx log cabin, while I was demonstrating a diagonal strippy technique. Unfortunately I didn't manage to get any photos of us, but perhaps that's not such a bad thing! Then on to show and tell.

Muriel showed this lovely chevron quilt in bright colours - shame my photography leaves a lot to be desired!

Nik revealed that she and her husband have been having some difficulties in the bedroom department. Apparently there is some tugging of covers going on, so she made this large quilt to stave off divorce proceedings. We were really impressed with the front,

and then we saw the back! The batik prints are to be found on Milton Keynes market at a bargain price! They are fabulous!

My New Year Resolution was not to make any Suffolk puffs this year, but Doreen's lovely trees are very tempting. And this cheery wreath (which sent her to the charity shop for more buttons!) is a super idea.

Alison had made this sweet cot quilt (and a starry project under her arm).

Gaynor brought the wall hanging she had made in the Jenny Almond workshop in September. It's perfect for the festive season.

Here is another Jenny Almond Christmas table runner with Father Christmases at either end.

I always find it fascinating how the arrangement of even simple blocks can make very different results. Here is a prime example of how straightforward diagonal blocks can be put together to produce very varied blocks.

Sylvia brought a couple of quilts which have been made to give to wounded troops and made by a local group. The fabrics must be plain (or at least, not floral!) but the quilts are far from boring.

This one is made from stripes of chevrons and patches and pockets from shirts! This is the essence of patchwork - nothing is wasted!