Group charity quilt

All of the 25 people who had signed up for the group quilt had dutifully brought their blocks, so Ruth, Lynda, Di A., Di J. and Jane met to start to assemble the top.

The first job was to arrange the blocks into a pleasing arrangement. Luckily we were able to use Clipston Village Hall's large tables to do this. There was such a variety of block designs and diferent fabrics, but everyone had kept to the stipulated autumn colours, so it wasn't difficult to make them play nicely together. Then we hit the first snag.

Di started to square up the blocks and found one where the maker had thought the measurements were 12" raw edge, rather than 12" finished, and had already cut the block to 12". We scratched our heads, but there was nothing we could do to include it, as if we cut the other blocks to 12" we would cut off all the points! Luckily Gill had sent a spare, so we will use the 12" block for the label!

Ruth, Lynda and Di began to join the blocks into rows, when the next snag was found. There was a hole in one of the blocks. Either it was poor foundation-piecing or heavy handed cutting. To my embarrassment, it was my block! (I was able to find more fabric and make good the block later!) All good things come in threes, and the next snag was a block which had a black felt tip stain on one side. This was found to be Ruth's block, and despite careful washing, the stain couldn't be removed. Luckily, it was right on the edge and once it was sewn into its row, the stain was contained in the seam allowance! Hooray!

We decided to make the top easier to quilt, by dividing it into three sections, and joining them together later. We had worked so hard that there was even time to layer up the sections. Di and Jane were delighted that we had accomplished so much in the time. Thanks to all the block-makers, and we'll have the whole quilt ready soon.

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!

No sour grapes

Today I have been to 'The Festival of Quilts' at the NEC. It's such a fabulous show, and I was realy looking forward to the quilts, the shopping, the demonstrations - and to see how our group quilt fared!

Here I am, standing in front of it, and blending in well with the landscape! It was looking very good, nicely hung in a well-lit position, but had received no accolades from the judges. We didn't really enter the show thinking we would win, but you never know. Well, in fact we did know, because the rules on the qualifications for a 'group quilt' have changed this year. To enter this category the quilt has to be made by at least two people. Yes, TWO! So the three prize-winning quilts (all absolutely lovely and very deserving of merit) had been made by just two people. Here is the winning quilt for you to see.

It's a lovely design and the machine quilting is absolutely stunning, but it's not a group quilt, in my book! While Stephanie and I were discussing this state of affairs, two ladies joined in to agree with us. They had entered a quilt in the traditional category, but because one had pieced and one quilted, they were moved into the group category, where they clearly felt they did not belong! Ruth and I have already commented to the organisers of the show about this situation, and would be grateful if group members could do so as well. If the situation remains the same next year, we will have to think hard and long about whether we enter this unfair competition again.

June meeting

After the excellent speakers we have had recently, it was lovely to have a more social evening, so people could catch up and have a good chat! The meeting was used to discuss the forthcoming exhibition, explain the format and have a selection of bag patterns available for people to take.

The exhibition will be on Saturday 10th and Sunday 11th October from 10-4 each day. Volunteers will be needed to help set up on the Friday evening, and to man the exhibition on both days. There will be plenty of different jobs to do, from taking money on the door (£1.50 per person) to serving refreshments - and of course making the cakes which will make up the main part of the refreshments! - serving on the sales table and bag raffle, to generally being welcoming to people, and answering questions. Even if you can only spare an hour, your help will be much appreciated. If you haven't already signed up, you can let Di know or leave a comment on the blog and we'll get back to you. A new idea this year will be a bag and cushion raffle. We are asking members to make either a bag or cushion (or hopefully both!) for the raffle. Each item will be displayed, and people will be able to buy a ticket for the bag or cushion of their choice. Each set of tickets will be placed in a separate container for the cushions and in the bag itself for the bags. At the end of the day, a ticket will be drawn from each container, thus ensuring that every winner will be thrilled to get the item they most wanted! What a clever idea! This means that you won't see the item you've made donated to another raffle next week!

There was much excitement when Ruth unveiled the finished group quilt. Everyone was amazed at how good it looked, as several people secretly confided to me that they had been a bit skeptical when the background and balloon blocks had been first displayed! Apart from the fact the 27 people had taken part, the assembling had been done by Ruth, Lynda, Di and Paula. Many thanks to them for all their hard work. (And also thanks to my talented daughter, who gave us design inspiration when we were all stuck!)

On 26th September, Jenny Almond will be running one of her very popular workshops. She brought along various ideas for us to choose from, all with a Christmas theme. The two most popular ones were two lovely wall-hangings, one with houses and reindeer (above) and the other with four different sections (below).

Jenny will teach both items at the workshop, but needs to know how many people want to do

each one so she can prepare the patterns. If you weren't at the meeting, but would like to do the workshop, please decide which is your favourite and let Ruth know. (I like the reindeer one personally!)

Then it was time for show and tell. Brenda Lincoln (a founder member of Piecemakers) has become involved with 'Quilts For Heroes', an organisation which makes quilts for soldiers who have been wounded on active service. She and a group of friends have made quilts and sent them to a military hospital in Suffolk. Apparently when the first quilts arrived, the sergeant took them into the ward, put them in a corner and just made a general announcement that they were there for anyone to take. Since they were all tough soldiers, he wasn't sure how much takeup there would be. When he next went into the ward, the pile of quilts was gone, and there was a quilt on every bed or chair! No one is too tough not to appreciate a quilt!

Brenda is hoping for donations of fabric in red, white, blue or masculine colours and old shirts.

Chris brought several quilts for us to see.I had looked through the donated Linus fabric, and found a lot of dark plaids, which have been put together beautifully in this quilt. Keep up the good work, ladies!

Stephanie had made some cushion covers which were all made from strips of fabric sewn into squares, then chopped and mixed up. This ensured that they all match, as they are all made from the parts. Stephanie and Sharon had finished their hand quilting which they had started on the Sandie Lush workshop. Beautiful work.

Di had made three different bags for the raffle. One was a tote, one a shopping bag and the other a little purse. I'm sure people will be buying lots of tickets to win those.Last year, Flutterwheels's theme was stars. These were choppy stars, which Chris won. She fell in love with the fresh colours and quirky look of these blocks and has made them into a quilt for herself. Perfect colours for a dreary day, I would say. Nearly every meeting sees Paula presenting me with a quilt for Project Linus! This one is dancing gingerbread men (or star jumping gingerbread men as I prefer to call it!) Many thanks Paula. You're a star!

And finally, here is my Mystery Quilt which I made at Rocheberie Quilters in March. It's totally scrappy, as you can see, and quilted with feathers in all the cream spaces. I love it!

Group quilt revealed!

After all our hard work designing the blocks for the group quilt, Andrea has put in even more hard work in assembling the blocks. They look fabulous, and the free quilted border she has added (which unfortunately you can't see in the photo!) is first rate! I'm sure this is a winner, but in any event we have had great fun making it.

You may notice the posh stand which the quilt is hanging on. It is actually a photographic stand, but is so light, stores well and collapses easily that we decided to buy two for the group. This will make displaying quilts so much easier at meetings.

This month's meeting was very informal and enjoyable. Apart from the group quilt's unveiling, we had Jeanne and Vicky from Chaos Traders to tempt us with their merchandise and to stimulate us with two demos.

Jeanne was demonstrating an easy way to make accurate prairie points, for the edge or embellishment of a quilt. She had plenty of paper so people could practise.

Vicky was demonstrating Thangles, a way of making accurate half square triangles. They are foundation pieced, but mean you never have to trim a half square triangle again, as they are all perfectly formed! The downside is that each packet has only one size, but you can't have everything!

Their stall attracted a lot of attention, and I don't think anyone went home without something gorgeous tucked away in their bag, whether it was fabric, threads, needles, rulers or one of a myriad of other quilting 'essentials'.

Lots of people were tempted by the fabric (myself included), while Ruth was happy to be snapped looking for needles. Incidentally, where do needles go? I buy packets and packets, but rarely throw one away!

Sharon was perusing the excellent selection of rulers and templates. I wonder if she actually purchased anything?

This time I made sure I got photos of the show and tell. This was an example of holiday photos printed onto fabric and made into a beautiful wall hanging. What a special way to remember a holiday.Carolyn had made this attractive quilt which was made from a very simple four patch block. I have made a note of this pattern for future reference.

Jane made yet another Mile a Minute variation, with alternate white and coloured rounds. It looks fresh and vibrant. I never cease to be amazed at the versatility of this block.

Stephanie showed this lovely flower quilt in some of her trademark colours.

It's a shame this photo is a bit blurred, but you can get the general idea of this gorgeous quilt which Bunty made at a workshop with Jenny Almond. I think it's the fabulous red fabric she choose which really makes this quilt zing.

Group quilt evening

Bunty and Andrea were waiting with some trepidation to see how many people had managed to complete their blocks for the group quilt which will be displayed at the Festival of Quilts at the NEC in August. 25 people had taken kits (which would make a lovely 5x5 block quilt) so they were hoping for 25 blocks back - or at the least 24, no less! They need not have worried, all the blocks bar one returned (and that one is promised asap) and they were magnificent!

Every one was individual, with applique, beads, sequins, embroidery, embellishments, buttons and lots of other clever ideas too. It was easy to identify each season, even if you couldn't spot the labels, as eveyone had worked so hard at interpreting their theme. Now Bunty and Andrea have the difficult job of putting them together. They haven't exactly decided how to do this, and there will be a lot of playing, rearranging and auditioning of sashing fabrics to be done before they make a final decision.

They have decided to put them together using 'quilt as you go'. This is a great method for those not confident enough to machine quilt a whole quilt, as each section is quilted individually and then the blocks are joined together afterwards, making the whole process much simpler - especially if it's Bunty and Andrea who are doing it!

Andrea gave a demonstration for those who didn't know the technique, or those like me, who had forgotten how to do it!

There were two more demonstrations. Jill showed how to do trapunto, a method which stuffs extra wadding into certain areas, to give them an extra defined look. Why did it look so easy when she showed us how to do it?

Sharon showed easy crazy pieceing. She used a piece of fabric as a foundation, and sewed the scraps onto the backing. What a clever idea! It makes the whole block easy to handle, and ensures that it lies flat when completed. She brought some beautifully embellished examples for all to drool over.

A very popular feature of this meeting was the sales table (or tables). This photo shows one of the tables after the mass had descended! There were lots of goodies for all - fabric, books, patterns, kits, gadgets, bags, bowls, notebooks and for those who could really smell a bargain, I had brought a rummage box of bits and bobs, hoping to get donations for Project Linus.

Paula, Jill and I were so busy with the sales table that I completely forgot to take any photos of the show and tell (which was fantastic as usual and included all the beautiful boxes and stunning Tiny Treasures). When we came to count up the money, and then had taken off 10% for our charity, the Air Ambulance, we found that we didn't have enough money to pay everyone, never mind have anything over for the charity! Back to the drawing board, and much scratching of heads, as we recalculated all the sales labels. Hooray! We found a mistake. We owed Bunty another £1, which made the situation even worse! We were beginning to despair, and Paula even took her shoes and socks off to help with the mathematics, when we discovered a £20 note which had managed to hide itself under the chair. Phew, the relief was palpable! That meant that everyone got their money, and we made 17.60 for the charity. The Project Linus box made £10. 35, so everyone, buyers and sellers, went home happy!