November meeting

 We had a very interesting meeting in November.  Teresinha Roberts talked to us about sustainability in fabrics.  Sounds a bit dry, but Teresinha is a great speaker and made it all come alive for us. 

Here she is, showing her rag rug, made from strips cut from worn out clothes, and some trousers where she has successfully replaced the zip to give them more life.  Her talk covered all fabrics, cotton, wool, silk, linen and poly, and we learned that being a responsible fabric user is darn near impossible!  I was surprised to hear that lots of the cotton grown in China and the Far East is produced using slave labour!  Then there is the durability factor.  Some polyester items are very hard wearing, and while their ultimate disposal is a problem, the fact that we can wear them for years is a huge plus point.  Anything which has only been worn a couple of times or (heaven forbid!) bought in a sale and never worn are much more problematic. 

Madeline and Di are very creative with the raffle, which is always popular. 

Show and tell started with a seasonal theme - tree skirts. 

Then other beauties. 

This floral one is completely pieced - amazing. 

This one is for Linus.  Beautiful quilting. 

A couple of Christmas cushions. 

Is this Jacob’s ladder? 

This is a beautiful panel. 

And last of all, Jacquie’s mushroom quilt.  Lots of fun! 

I would like to wish everyone a happy Christmas and a healthy and quilty New Year! 

We don’t have a meeting in January, but don’t forget the Sit and Sew session at North Kilworth on 10th February 10-4.  Members and non- members welcome for a nominal fee.  See you there! 

AGM

 October is the month when we hold our AGM, but it’s generally a quick affair. An AGM gives a round up of the year, future plans and a chance for people to have their say.  This one fitted the bill perfectly. People were keen to discuss the way forward considering our smaller membership and consequent smaller revenue.  Since we have recently had our exhibition, our finances are assured in the short term, but next year’s committee have decided to look carefully at the group’s activities, especially outside teachers.  We were delighted to hear that Vicki has agreed to take over the chair from Jacquie, but all the other members are staying on. Watch this space! 

Then we moved on to the workshop part of the evening.  Lynda had prepared some kits for a cute felt bird Christmas decoration, which seemed to go down well.  Here is the Blue Peter. 

People got busy as you can see.

The raffle was Hallowe’en themed. 

The show and tell was quality. 

Ann had made a couple of cute small quilts for Linus.  

Blue and white quilts are always stunning. 

This medallion is fabulous. 

Here is a Hawaiian design from last month’s workshop made into a cushion.  

Here is a finished quilt from last month’s workshop.  There are some quick workers around! 

I have made this photo bigger so you can see the design.  It is a giant insect created using quilting thread.  Well done Vicki for this. 

Exhibition 2023!

 We usually have an exhibition every second year, but Covid disrupted our schedule, so our last exhibition was in 2019.  After four years we were concerned that we might not remember all the improvements we had made to the set up, running and take down which we had made over the years, but no, everything went very smoothly.  We had a fabulous exhibition subcommittee, ably led by Vicki which worked hard before the weekend to ensure smooth (and speedy!) running.  There were a few hitches of course, such as not finding our quilt hanging loops until after the quilts had all been hung, hanging a quilt back to front, and missing a label completely, but fortunately people were very forgiving, and knew that mistakes happen!  Twenty three members helped over the weekend, which is the majority of the group, just under three hundred people visited and we have made in excess of £1,000 to boost our depleted funds.  In addition, a great time was had by all, helpers and visitors, which is the whole point of the exercise. 

Here are some arrivals, met with smiles by the door helpers. 

Here are some of the large quilts, hanging beautifully. 

Small quilts and items were also displayed. 

Including our fabulous suitcase collection of quilts on the theme of The Royal Family. 

There were shopping opportunities too, with Jeannie from ‘Quilteeze’ selling fabric and kits, 

And Di and Madeline manning our very popular sales table. 

Chris and team kept the refreshments coming. What a star! 

And the winner of the Visitors Choice? 

Chris Hunt was flabbergasted to win both small (for her cheeky emu) and large (for her turquoise delight) and we were all thrilled for her. 

Due to the hard work work of members and their families, the whole exhibition was packed away in an hour.  Thank you to everyone who exhibited, helped and came, for making it such a great success!  

Here’s to 2025! 

Hawaiian applique.

 Our September meeting was lead by Janet Goddard, who is ran a masterclass in Hawaiian applique.  Christian missionaries introduced the art of patchwork to the Hawaiian islands, and the people are famous for their wonderful appliquéd quilts, with designs featuring their native flowers and foliage. 

Here she is with her sample piece.  It was a 20” square which will be ideal for a bag, cushion or medallion centrepiece. 

Lots of people were eager to learn this technique. 

This is the kind of effect we were aiming for.  

Here is a rabbit inspired mini quilt.  They look so lifelike! 

This wall hanging was made at a workshop. Great use of scraps for the background. 

This stunning quilt is a great optical illusion.  I love it! 

Paula made this Linus quilt from half hexagons cut by Julie on the Accuquilt cutter.  Beautiful use of colour. 

Here is a book cover made from fabric made at our flower pounding evening.  Very contemporary. 

And, last but not least, a gorgeous cushion. 

And, just for fun, here is a drag queen wearing an outfit made from a quilt!  There’s food for thought!