We were delighted to welcome everyone to our Open Meeting on 17 October.
Patchwork Plus with Moya Geraghty had plenty of fabric and more to tempt us, and five demonstrators shared their techniques and skills in a busy meeting.
Our Show and Tell contributors wowed us with a range of old and new works.
Assumpta Lydon’s pair of Christmas Countdown Quilts, one for home and one for her son in Spain.
She also shared her samples from her new beginner’s class.
Linda Foley brought her stars sampler and a stunning bed size quilt.
Lesley Bell’s piece from EQA2024 Alsace has returned, “The Morrigan” depicted stealing a ring.
Ann Pasley brought her jelly roll quilt, a contribution to the care-leaver’s project.
Heidi Wischniewski also shared two care-leaver quilts, the first made from 1/2 square triangles, donated by Linda Foley as left overs, the second created from scraps from her friend Kate.
Mairead Christie brought her Hallowe’en Witch.
Mary Hynes’ work shown included a foundation pieced Christmas panel and a Christmas Tree with charms.
Fionnuala Creed brought an unfinished baby quilt ‘for Lily’ – to be gifted before the November meeting.
Eilis Watson’s stack and whack kaleidoscope was made from striped Hallowe’en fabric.
Angela Aylward’s WIP is a pattern from Pixie Sticks, she used a fat quarter for each colour.
Tracy Wardle’s unfinished quilt is a free pattern from Tilda, acting as a “Welcome-home-from-New-Zealand-congrats-on-getting-married-and-welcome-to-your-new-home” gift.
Christine Sawyer brought her demonstration of the floating block quilt, to be donated as a care-leaver quilt (seen in the gallery above)
1. Assumpta Lydon2. Assumpta Lydon2. Assumpta Lydon2. Assumpta Lydon3. Linda Foley3. Linda Foley4. Lesley Ball5. Ann Pasley6. Heidi Wischniewski6. Back of Heidi’s Quilt7. Mairead Christie8. Mary Hynes8. Mary Hynes9. Fionnuala Creed10. Eilis Watson11. Angela Aylward12. Tracy Wardle
Reminders for next month – we meet on Saturday 14 November, 2026.
Please note that this meeting is on the third Saturday of the Month.
We meet on Saturday 17 October at Sacred Heart Church, Western Road, Cork. If you signed up for the Quilt Ireland Southern Branch “walk and talk” that will be held on 23 October, and you are not intending to attend in person, please bring your quilt and blurb for Frances.
We will be hosting a Sit & Sew in the afternoon, all welcome and ideal if your machine is in for servicing.
Date: Saturday 17 October 2026
Venue: Sacred Heart Church Hall, Western Road, Cork
Door Opens: 10am
Door fee (usually for members: €4, Door fee for non-members: €8) – waived for the Open Meeting
Speaker: 5 demonstrators showing various skills and techniques throughout the meeting
We were delighted to welcome everyone back after the summer, full of ideas and inspiration.
Lismore Quilts with Áine Foley had plenty of fabric and more to tempt us and the Pinpals shared highlights of their recent trip to the Festival of Quilts.
Our Show and Tell contributors wowed us with a range of old and new works.
Siobhan Miller Stone quilt made for a special class at a local school.
Ann Pasley’s scrap bag and two Australian style works, “Pippi Platypus” and friend.
Noreen Brazier’s Peter Rabbit qyuilt for a grand nephew, complete with a pocket label for a book.
Linda Foley made up one of the patterns from the pattern library – “Costa Maya”
Dorann Loehr showed a rainbow quilt – no image shown.
Sheila Devereaux shared her EQA2024 piece on the theme “Imagine a Bird”, entitled One for Sorrow.
Christine Sawyer brought
a baby quilt for a great-granddaughter
2009 quilt made with a square on square and flip technique
same technique, but larger!
same technique, but add another square to the middle
(my brain couldn’t figure this technique out – but she’ll demo at the October Meeting)
Catherine Sanborn shared a ‘slow quilt,’ 6 years in the making with 1 in finished squares
— crossed out–
Lesley Bell brought a Youghal Village inspired quilt, created from a fellow quilters de-stash.
Mary Palmer shared her huge quilt from Festival of Quilts, made of Oakshott cotton, inspired by the art of Frank Stella.
Tina Hawkes was inspired by her peacock fabric.
Our chair Heidi Wischniewski brought the Summer Exhibition table makes, now assembled to a quilt, and her own handbag.
1. Siobhan Miller Stone
2. Ann Paisley
2. Ann Paisley
2. Ann Paisley
3 Noreen Brazier
4. Linda Foley
6. Sheila Devereaux
7. Christine Sawyer
7. Christine Sawyer
7. Christine Sawyer
7. Christine Sawyer
8. Catherine Sanborn
10. Lesley Bell
11. Mary Palmer
11. Mary Palmer
12. Tina Hawkes
13. Exhibition Made
13. Heidi Wischniewski
Reminders for next month – we meet on the third Saturday, 17 October. Sewing machine service and open meeting.
We meet on Saturday 12 September at Sacred Heart Church, Western Road, Cork.
Date: Saturday 12 September 2026
Venue: Sacred Heart Church Hall.
Door Opens: 10am
Door fee for members: €4, Door fee for non-members: €8
Speaker: PinPals on the Festival of Quilts
Shop: Lismore Quilts with Áine Foley
Show and Tell: Please bring your latest creations
Raffle: Only 5 Euro a strip
Coffee and Tea: Provided but please bring some of your goodies to tempt us.
Sign up for forthcoming workshops
Sewing Machine service with John O’Donnell at the Open October Meeting (17 October, note 3rd Saturday!).
Ruth Bourke TickerTape Workshop in November (meeting is 14 November).
Quilt Ireland have asked Southern Branch to “walk and talk” 25 or so quilts on Friday 23 October at the event. Frances will be circulating with a sign up list – please let her know if you would like to contribute a quilt.
You can renew your membership directly through the IPS site, or in person at the meeting. We can take card payments for the national membership.
We welcomed Paula Rafferty and her shop to our busy June meeting, and were wowed by Paula’s overview of her work.
Paula is a well known maker, teacher and quilt judge and brings her fashion and art background to her work. She enjoys a challenge and belongs to the 20 Perspectives Textile group that exhibits three times a year.
Amongst the striking quilts she showed were a sampler quilt that she created for teaching, a layer cake quilt that makes different scale stars, her “Emoture” – emotion and temperature quilt (read more about how it was created at https://paularafferty.blogspot.com/2021/07/emoture-my-temperature-quilt.html), her series of whole cloth quilts, custom printed from Paula’s digitally manipulated images, then quilted (carefully!) in the 1/8 inch black lines! The specialist printer has now closed, but Paula reckons she has two years worth of work stocked up.
Paula offered a workshop in the afternoon on Manx Quilting and whetted our appetites with her own version of this style of work – which is very much based on personal measurements. She recommended the video tutorial of Amy Smart as a great introduction: https://youtu.be/U4pks5ff7B0?si=n9xI5Ifi6e-bb3oG
Sampler Quilt for a classFrom a Layer CakeEmoture: Emotion meets Temperature Quilt over a year!Emoture quilting detailWhole cloth, custom printed from digitally manipulated images.Manx Quilt
Our Show and Tell featured the works of
Mairead Christie, with three quilts, a machine pieced black and white hexies, and two quilts that use fabrics purchased in Australia.
Carol O’Callaghan’s squares, with thanks to Assumpta for help.
Eilís Watson’s rainbow crayon quilt, “to use it up!”
Ann Prendergast brought two quilts, the yellow and brown from a pattern of Mary Palmer, and her star from a Ruth Bourke workshop.
Joanne Harrington brought a quilt made for a grandson, and a sherbet colour way squares.
Ann Kelleher showed an unusual crochet edging on her hexes quilt and a panel of Beatrix Potter.
Rebecca Uí Laughin brought “short and sweet” mammal pouches that can be used in animal rescue work.
Fionualla Creed’s quilt was quilted by Christine Sawyer for a grandson.
Mary O’Connor shared two small works that use vilene geometric print for precise piecing and warned us all: “beware of Birmingham and the demonstrations…!!”
Finally Heidi’s Nymph Echo has returned from exhibition.
On a bright and rainy morning in Cork we welcomed our guests from Mid-Western Branch, thanks to the six visitors for bringing a range of their current work.
1234567891. Kate Hennessey’s Persian piece was inspired by antique images, note the human figure! 2. Alison Bingham (the “scrap queen”) brought a large hand sewn quilt with scrap stars. 3. Tracy Watson shared a work in progress made from half square triangles created from the fabric collection of Gillian Killick (RIP), blended with her own collection so that every coloured fabric is unique. 4 & 5. Ruth Bourke showed an early patchwork cushion contrasted with a more recent “economy block” exchange, where fussy cut fabric forms the centre of each block. Her framed piece explored the nature of symmetry. 6. Loretta O’Brien’s triangle demonstrates how to work with large scale fabrics that you don’t think go together — you chuck them in the washing machine with a machine dye! 7. Loretta’s passion for Peace is evident in her war-peace balance. 8. Loretta’s Kandinsky inspired piece. 9. Loretta’s latest is a quilt for a couple – using the purple bunting that they had at their reception!
Show and Tell
Olivia O’Sullivan:
Hand pieced from a Judy Newman pattern, long arm quilted
Olivia O’Sullivan:
machine pieced and home quilted
Evelyn Draper: meet Henry, created from collage quilting
Anne Pasley: Cushions from fat quarters
Mary O’Connor: “It’s the year to finish what I started!”
Mary O’Connor: “It’s the year to finish what I started!”
Frances McCarthy: WIP for Pride
Linda Whyte: Apple core quilt with a vintage feel from a 5″ swap
Christine Sawyer: Quilt 1 from 2009
Christine Sawyer: Quilt 2 from 2009, same pattern!
Christine Sawyer: Quilt 3 from 2009
Heidi Wischniewski
Heidi Wischniewski: recent workshop piece
Marie Sprott: Counter-cross work in progress
Ella O’Connor: Purple for a friend’s daughter!
Cathy Davis: Sea glass quilt
The new committee members that were elected in April have met and are delighted that Heidi has agreed to be co-opted to serve as Chair for the next year.
Others roles are:
Membership: Assumpta Lydon Secretary: Catherine Sheehan Treasurer: Trish Hollywood PRO: Susan Garde Editorial: Frances McCarthy Executive Rep: Noreen Brazier
This new committe will be up and running for the September meeting.
A quick reminder that out next meeting will be on 16 May at Sacred Heart Church hall, Western Road, Cork. Doors open at 10am.
It is guaranteed to be a jam packed meeting with shop being provided by Moya from Patchwork Plus and a host of fellow quilters from the Mid Western branch joining us and bringing along a selection of their work. There will, as always, be a warm welcome and delicious treats and a great raffle too.
A fuel protest and a return to wintery weather were no obstacles to our determined members at a good crowd turned out for our AGM and monthly meeting. Our outgoing chairperson Cath welcomed everyone to a jam packed meeting. Notices included reminders about our summer exhibition which will take place in Skibbereen 8-15 August. Along with quilts for entry a request for a selection of favourite, unfinished blocks was made. These blocks will be displayed to show the variety of styles and show the steps to completing a quilt. Blocks should be no bigger than 10″ and clearly labelled.
The closing date for completion of the national survey is 17 April. Any member who has not yet submitted a survey should do so this week.
A reminder that the National AGM in Galway’s challenge is entitled “Gatherings” and members are encouraged to enter a piece of work.
The AGM followed and a new committee was elected to commence service in September. All the current members were sincerely thanked for their commitment and hard work over their term of office. It was noted that the branch is going from strength to strength with membership now reaching over 90 and with a average attendance at meetings of 48. Cath delivered her speech highlighting the variety of activities, speakers and shops that we have seen over the last 12 months. Along with the other business of the AGM it was agreed that a challenge programme would be organised for members to complete over the coming year. Watch out for more details. There will also be a “Sit and Sew Day” organised over the coming months at a local venue. Any members who were unable to attend the meeting and would like more details of minutes of AGM can contact Cath Davis.
We were delighted to be joined by Nikki Foley of The Sewing Shed, who brought her shop along. She also announced a new venture under the banner of Quilt Ireland. This will be an annual event which will bring together the best of Ireland with exhibitions, Irish quilt businesses and talks and workshops and sew days. The first event will take place 22-23-24 October at the Heights Hotel, Killarney. More information can be found at quiltlreland.ie and on social media.
Our speaker this month was our own Pat Hurley who bought with her a plethora of work from her 40 years of crafting and teaching. She spoke with passion about all her work and explain details of the different styles and some of the history and development of the skills. The Highlight was a stunning lace wedding vail made for her daughter’s wedding, which Pat designed and took two years to complete. The range of was was truly incredible. it was all beautifully worked with exquisite detail. Some of the different work included was several methods for lace making, Macrame, Blackwork, ribbon embroidery, crewel work, cross stitch, bead work, gold work, Italian and English hand quilting, crochet, stuffed animals, knitting, Shadow quilting, Stump work, Penny felts and Dorset buttons to name just a few!
The show and tell was, as always, a delight with members bringing along a great selection of work. Frances had made great progress with the quilt which she was working on last month and Trish’s memory quilt fantastic.
The Spring flowers were in full bloom and the sun was shining on all who gathered last Saturday for our monthly meeting. A excellent number were in attendance who enjoyed cakes and chat while surveying the beautiful fabric on offer at the pop up shop. We were delighted to welcome Tonomi from Slaney Quilts https://slaneyquiltingstudio.com/
Our current Chairperson Cath Davis made announcements to take note of. The Southern branch exhibition will take place in Skibbereen on 8-15 August. Anyone wishing to enter a quilt should complete the sign up sheet or notify Heidi. Any size quilt may be entered but it must have a hanging sleeve on the back and be clearly labelled. There will also be a display of favourite quilt blocks. Members are encouraged to make a 10″ block (unfinished) which will be displayed to show visitors different techniques and assembly methods. The branch is also looking for members to help in the running of the exhibition, if you are able to commit to some time to help please complete the sign up sheet or notify Heidi. Thanks to Heidi for once again coordinating this event.
Our next meeting on April 11th will be out AGM. it was again announced that several members of the committee will be ending their term in office. A new committee will be elected and members are encouraged to stand for office. More hands make light work so please consider it.
The national survey has now been emailed to members and should be completed online. This research will be used to determine the societies national strategy for the future.
There will be a “train the trainer” course commencing shortly for those members who wish to pursue a leading role in delivering talks and workshops. Anyone interested should contact Ann Marie Horan.
As previously announced the National AGM challenge is entitles “Gatherings” and should be A4 size. Attendees are encouraged to book accommodation as soon as possible.
The branch now has a SumUp machine which enables members to pay fees with cards as well as cash.
Our guessed speaker this month was Julia Zagar, who is a Cork based textile artist. She bought along some of her work that spanned a wide range of techniques all with here clear understanding of nature and a talent for using multiple different mediums to create both pictural and 3D work. 15 years ago she completed a Art Quilts workshop, with her first work a collage Cockrel. From the beginning Julia understood the importance of colour and used colour theory as a key element as she constructs her pieces. Compiling a fabric stash from charity shop clothing she incorporates texture and pattern in a layering effect that gives her work great depth. During covid Julia committed to making a postcard sized piece of handstitched work every day. This resulted in an amazing collection of work which was displayed on six double sided sheets. Other items on display included work using Suffolk puff circles. A self portrait and abstract work inspired by nature.
The show and tell was an animal parade that had a guest appearance from Chester the cat and we all quacked with delight at the 2 little ducks! Claire McSweeney showed her amazing quilt and Dorann had us seeing double with her pair of twin quilts which included rats as symbols of the recipients year of birth in the Chinese calendar. Ann shared her doggy panel which included the names of past and present pets quilted into the background. Clare Newell’s hexagon quilt was full of dogs. Rebecca’s hedgehog wall hanging was really cute and her night sky included bats, owls and woodland critters. Tina even brought along a highland cow.
