We had a good turnout yesterday, and everyone was very happy listening to Irene MacWilliam. She showed us a wide variety of her quilts and had many, many stories to tell. A very inspiring and interesting lady!

She uses a lot of free machine appliqué and stitching as well as other decorative techniques. She also uses techniques like fabric dyeing, screen printing, stamping, sun printing, etc. Her work is greatly varied: Some of her work deals with conflict and the effects of it on children and families, other pieces show a brilliant sense of humour. She has also made numerous “year quilts” depicting world events, and journal quilts.

If you missed the talk, or if you want to see more of Irene’s work, find her website at http://www.irenemacwilliam.co.uk/ and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/irenetextiles/ . Searching her name online and going to images also gives a lot of photos of her work…

Our own (short) show and tell was lovely, too. See the photos here:

In the afternoon, Tracy gave a workshop to a good few of our branch members. We all got a little bit in the Christmas spirit…! I think everyone ended up with a finished item, and I am probably not the only one intending to make more of these versatile trays as gifts and for use around the house, and not just for Christmas.

Our next meeting is planned for 13 November. Since government guidelines will most likely have changed by then, we will update everyone by email what form that meeting will have…

To receive updates of the branch, please renew your membership so that we can keep sending you emails (tick that box), and keep an eye on your inbox!

Our new year started today with a lovely meeting, even if it had to be online.

We had Suzanne Pass give us a personal tour of last month’s Festival of Quilts. Lots of photos of quilts and much background information. Suzanne sent four quilts to the show which were very personal to her, and they looked wonderful.

There were also a few photos sent in for our Show & Tell:

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Lastly, Tracy announced that she will be having a Row-by-Row sampler class, which will start in October. Anyone interested can find more details on her website, or contact her directly (or contact us and we’ll pass you on):

We will be announcing our plans for the coming months to our members by email. Information on renewals will be sent, as well as plans for future meetings.

Anyone who would like to (re-)join the Irish Patchwork Society can contact us for information (see About Us page or find us on Facebook). You can also leave a comment here so we can respond to you (comments will not automatically be published so they will not appear publicly if they are not meant to). You can also find more information on the Society’s main website at https://irishpatchworksociety.wildapricot.org/.

Members, keep an eye on your emails…

This morning we had our last meeting for the summer and everyone was in good spirits.

All members should now have received your fat quarter (get in touch if you haven’t), and hopefully it will inspire some projects to keep us busy over the coming months.

We are planning a sewing meeting (socially distanced) outside in the Regional Park in Ballincollig. We hope some of you may join us there to work on your own hand project, or to help with sewing bindings to some of the quilts of the “Keep Well” project. We hope to be in touch with details (and directions) about this in a few weeks time, and dependent on the weather of course.

Also, a reminder that the national AGM for the IPS will be held on Saturday 19 June online. Check your emails for details and to register. This is the opportunity for all members to find out what is going on at national level and to make your voice heard if there is anything you want to discuss.

We do not know yet what September will look like regarding meetings, so we will be in contact about that nearer the time.

Below some lovely work that was shared with us from Tracy, Assumpta and Sandra. Wishing you all a lovely summer!

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Thank you to all who joined us for today’s meeting. We were happy to welcome Frances Gamble from New Zealand for a talk on how she documents her work.

After a false start caused by me (twice!! – I’ve sat on my hands the rest of the time), Frances treated us to a lovely talk. She showed us how she keeps track of how projects are made (pattern, fabrics, and all kind of information). Of course this included lots of photos of her quilts and other makes, which was most inspiring. In preparation for the talk she had gone through her older records as well, and found it most interesting to see how her style has changed over time, too.

Another inspiring theme was Frances’ use of textiles like old table clothes or embroidered blocks into her quilts. Sometimes they were used as a frame around the label, other times as blocks in a quilt, or as pieces into the back.

We all came away with ideas and inspiration. And in discussion it was concluded that it is never too late to start keeping a record of your own, even if it is just to look back on what you’ve made, or to easily find that pattern that you want to make again.

Colette send us some photos of her quilts to share:

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Our next meeting will be on Saturday 12 June, so be on the lookout for the link in your emails a few days before that.

Sandra

This morning we had a brilliant meeting, with a record number of attendees. Thank you to members of “other” branches of the IPS who attended, I hope you enjoyed your visit “down South”!

The highlight of our meeting was the talk by our visitor Judith Hollies, from Belfast. Judith spoke about her personal journey from sewing on a treadle machine for many years, making clothes and other items, followed by doing a City & Guilds course in patchwork and quilting, and finally to teaching and having her own premises to teach in.

This introduction was followed by Judith’s extensive Show & Tell of the many items she has made in different fabrics, many of which are repurposed. Vintage sheets, denim, tweed and many other fabrics are used, and the explanations of the specific techniques used for each showed Judith’s expertise and experience. The talk was very much enjoyed, and many of us felt inspired to give our “non-patchwork” fabrics a try in a future project. On behalf of everyone, thank you Judith!!

If anyone wants to know more about Judith and her work, find her website at https://justjude-designs.com/ or look her up on social media:

• https://www.facebook.com/justjudebelfast/ (Facebook)
• https://www.instagram.com/justjudebelfast/ (Instagram)
• https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpmeL4QuorlTXzUChudJEnQ (YouTube)

Other links can also be found on her website, as well as (free) tutorials and patterns.

During the meeting other companies/websites also got a mention:

• Judith used patterns from Emmaline Bags (https://emmalinebags.com/) and Noodlehead (https://noodle-head.com/) for some of her bags
• Irish linen was sourced from Baird McNutt (https://www.bairdmcnuttirishlinen.com/)
• The penguin toy was made from a pattern by Purlsoho (https://www.purlsoho.com/create/2012/01/08/mollys-sketchbook-the-purl-bee-penguin/)

Our own members have also been active, and have sent these pictures of their own work:

Assumpta made this quilt top from a pattern from quilts.com found on Pinterest:

She also made this “Trip around the World” quilt which has just come back after Mary worked her quilting magic on it:

Colette made these journal quilts, “Curves and Discord”::

Moya sent this picture of an Easter altar cloth that she made for her Mom’s parish:

And finally, Sandra finished this wall hanging “Against the Current” which was made following a “sew-along” organised by Nicholas Ball on Instagram (@quiltsfromtheattic) making improvised fish. It was a great way to make it up as I went along, and trying a facing on non-straight edges:

Next month we will have a visit from Frances Gamble from New Zealand, so mark your diaries for the 8th of May.