What a FAB-ulous Open Meeting we had on Saturday last, thanks to everyone who helped to make it such a success, from the committee members, who did such great work, to the wonderful demonstrators – Heidi, Tina, Sandra, Eilís, Ailbhe and Assumpta, to the shop, Moya of Patchwork Plus and to you all for coming.
There was a huge and hugely inspiring Show and Tell. Here is a just taste of what was on show…
Our next meeting is on Saturday 10th December, Sacred Heart Church Hall at 10am. Please note that we will have a Christmas Challenge – bring along any Christmas tree decoration that you have made – if you don’t have one already you have plenty of time to make one before the next meeting. We will display them all, everyone gets to vote for their favourite and there will be a festive prize for the winner.
Ukraine Quilts Day – please note that there will be a sewing day to make quilts for Ukraine this coming Sunday 20th November, hosted by Mary Palmer. Mary will also host a Sit and Sew day on Sunday 27th November. Please contact Mary Palmer on Facebook or at http://www.marimudesigns.com for details.
As the Autumn starts to bite, we are looking forward to our November Open Meeting on this coming
Saturday 12th November 2022.
An Open Meeting means that it’s free to all, so do bring along your friends. Details of the meeting are as follows :
Venue: Sacred Heart Church Hall
Door opens: 10am
Door fee for members: FREE
Door fee for non-members: FREE
Shop: Patchwork Plus
Demonstrations: there will be a number of demonstrations on a variety of techniques to tickle your creative buds
Show and Tell: Please bring your creations to inspire us
Raffle: Lots of lovely prizes, only €5 a strip
Coffee and Tea: Provided. Please bring along some sweet treats to share!
Library: No library this month, so return your books at the December meeting
See you on Saturday!
Note We ask all our members and visitors to be mindful of others as we get back together after Covid. Hand sanitiser is available at the door, wear a mask if you wish and give people the space they require. Thank you x
There was such a buzz at the meeting last Saturday, and what a turn out! It was great to see everyone.
We were joined by Moya Geraghty of Patchwork Plus, whose shop is always a big draw. Moya gave us a fascinating and inspiring talk entitled ” Sure, I haven’t a Notion – Current trends in Patchwork and quilting”
Moya Geraghty, Patchwork Plus
Also with us were Adam and Jack from the Singer Sewing Centre, Waterford, who expertly serviced more sewing machines than I could count in the course of the meeting. Many thanks to them for coming along. If you didn’t make it to the meeting on Saturday and your sewing machine is overdue for some TLC, then check out the website here https://www.sewingmachines.ie/
Adam and Jack from the Singer Sewing Centre, Waterford
And, of course, we had our usual amazing Show and Tell of our members’ work…
Ann Pasley was delighted with her adorable Reindeer mug rug; Assumpta Lydon showed us her completed quilt from Lena Pugachova’s Improv Curves workshop last month; Heidi Wischniewski showed off her Improv Curves quilt, cute (and useful!) trinket trays and a ‘manly’ quilt in autumnal colours; Bernie Kelly brought in a beautifully hand quilted baby quilt panel; Noreen Brazier showed us an I Spy quilt. As an Early Years Education specialist she had added a matching bag of squares, each with a different texture, to match to the jars on the quilt – amazing; Marie Sprott also brought in her completed Improv Curves quilt as well as a quilt she has very kindly made for the local priest; and finally Tracy Wardle showed us her completed quilt made for her Row by Row Block of the Month (course is still available to purchase!), and two Christmas items – a Shoo Fly Christmas tree wall-hanging and a Leaf and Berry table runner – both for upcoming workshops, contact Tracy at twaddle1164@gmail.com for details.
As part of Show and Tell Mary Palmer showed off one of the Quilts for Ukraine that she and lots of our members have been working on in the last while. The next Sewing Day for Quilts for Ukraine is Sunday 20th November. Please note that Mary will also be having two Open Sew Days on Sundays 30th October and 27th November.
All of these sewing days will be held at Knockavilla Community Hall. Contact Mary Palmer here marimu.designs@gmail.com or call +353 87 948 1567 for more details or to get involved.
Mary Palmer with a Quilt for Ukraine
Next meeting is our Open Meeting on Saturday 12th November, same time, same place. This meeting is free to attend, we’ll have a shop, demonstrations of various patchwork techniques, tea/coffee, cake and chat! Why not come along and meet up with like minded thread-heads?
Our October meeting is coming up this Saturday 8th October and it’s a packed schedule!
Venue: Sacred Heart Church Hall
Door opens: 10am
Door fee: members €4, non-members: €8 (you are welcome to attend two meetings as a non-member)
Shop: Patchwork Plus
Speaker: Moya Geraghty. “Sure, I haven’t a Notion!” a talk on what’s trending in quilting at the moment, tips and tricks and gadgets, oh my!
Machine Maintenance Q&A: Bring your questions about how best to look after your sewing machine for the lads from the Singer Sewing Centre to answer
Show and Tell: Please bring your creations to inspire us
Coffee and Tea: Provided. Bring along some sweet treats to share
Library: A small selection from the library will be available for your perusal. Don’t forget to return previous borrowings!
Sewing Machine Services by the Singer Sewing Centre Waterford: We are very fortunate to welcome the lads from the Singer Sewing Centre, Waterford to service members’ machines this Saturday. It’s not too late to add your machine to the list!
* Please note, you must be a fully paid up member to avail of this opportunity. Contact us for details.
Sew While You Wait: While we are waiting for our machines to be serviced, we thought it would be a good idea to do a bit of hand sewing together, so do bring along a project to work on.
Please bring along your printed and completed forms to the meeting. Subscription fee is €50 (cash or cheque, if paying at the meeting) Forms will be available at the meeting.
Well, what a start to the year we had! We welcomed so many members back after the Summer break and we were all clearly raring to go. Lots of people renewed their membership – yes, it’s that time of year again! But if you haven’t yet and you’d like to there’s still time. You can join online on the website https://irishpatchworksociety.wildapricot.org or you can bring along your completed form (available to print on the website) and subscription fee of €50 to the next meeting on Saturday 8th October. Contact us if you need more details, we love to see you.
We welcomed the very talented Lena Pugachova who gave us a wonderful Show and Tell of her wide ranging and beautiful work. From traditional to modern, full size to mini and all the colours of the rainbow. We were all transfixed by her inspiring work and we hope to have her back soon. Take a peek at just a small selection of her wonderful work in the gallery below.
Lena with her Improv Curves baby quilt
It was a pretty difficult act to follow but we then had Show and Tell from the members….
We started with a classic Irish Chain quilt from Assumpta, made as a raffle quilt – tickets anyone? Next was a fabulous EPP quilt from Sheila, hand pieced AND hand quilted. This was followed by a stunning quilt from Michelle, with origami flowers, made for her brother. Clare wowed us all with a beautiful applique row by row quilt in tribute to Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee. Next Joanna showed us a gorgeous blue and white zig zag quilt made for a friend’s grandchild. Then we had an amazing memory quilt from Louise, made from her mother’s friend’s scarves as a special gift. Finally, Heidi delighted us with three pieces – two of which had just returned from their travels in various exhibitions – first an amazing rose quilt, then a piece made for Old Roots New Shoots and finally, a wall-hanging called One Sky.
And the day wasn’t over yet for some lucky campers. After the meeting, Lena ran a fantastic workshop on Improv Curves. All participants were thrilled with the results. Thank you, Lena xxx
Lots of happy faces after Lena’s Improv Curves workshop
Are you impressed by Lena’s designs? She has a new pattern out now in her Etsy Shop, just in time for Halloween…..Spooky!
After our sultry summer break it is time to break out the needles and pins again! Our first Branch Meeting of the year is this coming Saturday 10th September.
Venue: Sacred Heart Church Hall
Door open: 10am
Shop: Lismore Quilt Company
Speaker: Lena Pugachova
Show and Tell: Bring along your most recent work for us to coo over
Coffee and Tea: Provided. Bring along some sweet treats to share
Library: A small selection from the library will be available for your perusal
Please note that if you haven’t already renewed or joined online via the website, that you can renew your membership at the meeting. Please bring along your printed and completed forms with the subscription fee of €50 (cash only if paying at the meeting). Forms will also be available at the meeting.
We welcome Lena Pugachova to our first meeting of the year. Lena will be our speaker and is also giving a workshop on Improv Curved Piecing in the afternoon. Workshop was full as of June 2022 but enquiries can be made via our email corkips@gmail.com.
Last Friday a group from Cork travelled up to Dublin to Áras an Uachtaráin. They were invited to attend a gospel concert as part of the garden party season at the president’s residence.
Assumpta made the president a lovely little quilt as well, which was handed to him personally. The wall hanging depicts a Galway Hooker (pattern unknown):
(photo from the president’s website)
In the photo: Marie Sprott, President Michael D. Higgins, Assumpta Lydon, Siobhán Miller Stone, Margaret Twomey, Ellis Watson and Nora Healy. Frances McCarthy enjoyed the evening too, but missed the photo opportunity.
Our last meeting before the summer was extremely enjoyable.
Our speaker was Heidi Wieshniewski, who took us on a very interesting journey through her textile history.
She has made different items at different phases of her life and she showed many of them: from an exquisite jacket and lovely dresses to miniature embroidered landscapes, from quilts to appliqué portraits and many more.
Looking at her lovely work was a real treat:
See more photos in this slide show. From her first quilt to lockdown projects, and appliqué landscapes inspired by the views around her, and much more:
Members’ Show and Tell followed:
Marie showed us her double wedding ring quilt. Stitched mostly during occasional travels over many years, she recently finished the top. Mary Palmer’s quilting magic finished it off brilliantly.
Our next meeting will be held in September, with a visiting speaker and a workshop in the afternoon! And with a refreshed committee there are quite a few things planned for the following months… So keep an eye on your emails for news from your branch.
And don’t forget that next Saturday is the national AGM in Dublin! Please let them know if you want to attend (see emails), they would like to know numbers as soon as possible…
This Saturday, 11 June, we will hold our last meeting before the summer break:
Door open: 10 AM (Sacred Heart Church) Shop: Patchwork Plus Speaker: Heidi Krug-Wischniewski Show & Tell: Bring your creative works to share!!! Coffee & Tea: Provided, bring any biscuits/ cakes to share Library: We hope to have the library back in action
Also, sign up for a workshop with Lena Pugachova in September (see your email for details) or sign up your machine for a spa day (=service) in October with John O’Donnell.
We had another great meeting in May and it was well attended. Thank you to those who came along!
Áine brought her well-stocked shop, the Lismore Quilt Co. and many had a lovely time browsing and buying some of the fabrics, threads and notions.
The AGM went without any hiccups. With the chairperson we had a short look back on the previous period and we can all agree that it has been a very strange time! Months of “only” Show & Tell, and online at that! Followed by quite a few online monthly meetings, which had the advantage that visitors from anywhere in the world could be invited. We are very happy to be able to meet in person once more, though.
There were heartfelt “thank you”s and a plant for the committee members, and the outgoing chair was surprised with a quilt especially made for her.
Have a look below at the photos from the meeting and the projects shown by our members, starting with some of the outgoing committee with the chairperson’s quilt:
Next month we will be meeting again, keep an eye on your emails!
Southern Branch of the Irish Patchwork Society 