Felicity Howatson

I was so disappointed at our April meeting, not that it wasn't up to the usual high standard, but because I had to miss it! With the date falling in the Easter break, my husband had the week off and we went away. We had a good time, but I wanted to see Felicity's talk as well! Fortunately I have heard this talk before, so it wasn't too much of a blow. She tells how she inherited her Victorian grandmother's sewing box, which is not only a beautiful object itself, but is still full of all kinds of beautiful items which would have been essential in the 19th century. Thanks to Ruth for taking the pictures.

You can see the box is gorgeous, and lots of the items, including cotton reel tops of all things, were very decorative and carved from ivory. The two best things about the talk are Felicity herself - she's so amusing and very down to earth, it's a joy to hear her - and the fact that she passes all the items round, so you can not only see them properly, but handle them too. There's nothing like actually touching something which is over 100 years old to give you a real experience of the past.

Show and tell was of the usual high standard and there were several Sizzling Strips quilts. Muriel had put hers together, ad it defintely sizzles! I'm very envious of all that lime green!

Sue had got her Turkish Delight lap quilt together. The browns haven't come out so well here, but when you see it, the colours are just like the Fry's chocolate treat! She has chosen a light/dark arrangement for her blocks. This technique is so versatile and there are hundreds of different ways of arranging the blcoks, all of which look fabulous.

Muriel's quilt is a feathered star. Muriel is a member of Flutterwheels, and each member of the group made one block, and then Muriel 'won' all nine blocks (the nineth one is on the back). It's a great way to try out blocks and see if you like them. the memebers of the group found that making one block was sufficient to cure them of ever wanting to make any more. There are certainly too many little half square triangles to make!

I'm assuming that this is Gaynor's sampler quilt - it's certainly in one of her signature colours, which is blue. (In case you're wondering, the other is pink!). Blue and yellow is always such a wonderful combination, and ties this quilt together with its freshness.

Unfortunately there are no more pictures, as Ruth's camera battery ran out at this point! So if you had a masterpiece at show and tell, bring it again to the next meeting, and we'll see what we can do!