Author: corkips

Letter from the Retiring Chair, Announcement of New Committee

On By corkipsIn Letter from the ChairLeave a comment

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I would like to thank everyone for my beautiful roses, and for the kind wishes I have received on finishing my 2 years as Chair of the Southern Branch.

It has been a privilege to make so many new friends.  It hasn’t just been me – I have had a great team on the committee, and I do have to say especially Tracy who’s has been an efficient, reliable and hard working member. We felt the handover to the new committee was so much easier because she had prepared things so well.

My very best wishes go to the new committee, and I know Erin  will make a great chair, and I am sure the Southern branch will continue to go from strength to strength.

Happy sewing,

Jane

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The new committee met today, and we’re happy to announce the new committee’s positions:

Erin Case – Chair
Ann Prendergast – Treasurer
Assumpta Lydon – Secretary
Susan Garde – Member
Eileen Mangan – Member
Joanna Harrington – Branch Representative

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If you’re interested in joining the committee, our next meeting is May 28th at the Clayton Hotel Silver Springs at 11 am.

Back To Basics – Quarter Inch Seam Test

On By corkipsIn Back to Basics, UncategorizedLeave a comment

After a bit of a break, our Back to Basics video series has returned!

Have you ever wondered why your quilt blocks have come out short, despite accurate measurements of your cutting?  It may be that your quarter inch seam is not a quarter inch!

This video outlines a simple test you can perform with some fabric scraps.

Fabric scraps should measure 2.5 inches wide, length does not matter.  Sew your three scraps together, and the middle piece should measure exactly 2 inches wide!

April Meeting Recap

On By corkipsIn Meeting Recap, UncategorizedLeave a comment

On April 9, we met for our monthly meeting.

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It was a very good meeting, full of lively discussion!

One topic discussed was our Library.  Since it is not an option to store the books at the church, options were discussed to decrease the physical labor for our amazing librarians to bring the library to meetings.  The next committee will focus on making the library the best it can be and an excellent resource for members.  (We’ll be putting a post on the website with the list of the titles we have in the library in the upcoming month.)

Jane gave her Chair’s report, followed by Ann’s Treasurer’s report.

Olive gave an Executive Representative’s report as well.  Highlights of her report included the discussion of plans for the IPS gallery at the Knitting and Stitching Show, the National Exhibition, the National AGM in October, and the creation of a Young IPS website by Paula Rafferty.

Also discussed was the EQA Diversity in Europe Exhibition.  This is an opportunity for our branch to nominate a quilt to be exhibited in the European Quilt Association Diversity in Europe Gallery at the Festival of Quilts 2016.  For more information, there is a short article on page 8 in the latest newsletter.

Our branch is to nominate a quilt by May 31st, so bring your quilt for consideration to our next meeting!

Also during our AGM, we formed a small subcommittee in order to draft a motion for the National AGM happening on October 1, 2016 in Kilkenny.

We also had some new committee members step forward.  Assumpta Lydon, Eileen Mangan and Joanna Harrington will be joining Ann Prendergast, Susan Garde, and Erin Case for the next year.

Following the AGM, Erin gave a presentation on Zippered Patchwork bags:

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You can download the the instructions for the bag here.

After that, we had our fantastic Show and Tell!

Susan showed off her Block of the Month Quilt Top:

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Stephanie showed off a block she made using Lynne Edwards Sampler Blocks:

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Then Fionnuala showed us a baby quilt she made which also included a matching Christmas stocking:

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Then Tracy showed us a Kissing Fish quilt:

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A baby quilt:

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and a pillow cover made from a Mariner’s Compass:

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Assumpta showed us a quilt she made using some Tumbler blocks:

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Siobhan showed us her quilt:

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followed by Joanna’s Log cabin quilt:

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and disappearing nine patch:

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Mary showed us her quilt made for a motorcycling friend:

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Frances showed us a quilt for Effy:

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Eilís then showed us a quilt made using inserting 1 inch strips:

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and Anne showed us some of her quilts made during workshops:

Here’s some snapshots from the meeting:

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We’ll see you on May 14th for our next meeting!

Letter from the Chair

On By corkipsIn Letter from the ChairLeave a comment

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Well, my time is finally up!  This will be my last Letter from the Chair as our next meeting on

Saturday 9th April at 10am

At

Sacred Heart Church, Western Rd Cork

will be our AGM.

The bylaws state that a position on the committee can only be held for 2 years.   Tracy Wardle, our amazing secretary, Colette Casey, our membership secretary and Olivia Sullivan our Branch Representative will also be leaving their positions.  We have 3 vacancies needing to be filled, and we now have 72 members, so please think about it.

The AGM is only a small part of the morning, we are lucky to have our home shop:  Moya from Patchwork Plus, she will also be giving us an interesting demonstration.

Erin will be presenting the second Little Bits Project, a zippered patchwork bag.

We will also have our raffle.

Show and Tell will again be a highlight of the morning, when we can all enjoy the amazing work our members are doing, don’t forget it doesn’t have to be finished, or perfect, we just want to see it!

Tea & coffee, and any refreshments you are kind enough to bring.

Don’t forget that the rules of the National Exhibition, ‘Evolution’ is in the latest newsletter, as well as the entry form.  There are also articles on preparing quilt sleeves and bags for the quilts.  The deadline for entry is May 31st!

The sign up list for our June workshop will be available at the meeting!  The cost of the workshop is €35 and a €15 deposit is required to save your seat.  Ruth Bourke will be our speaker for June, talking about Modern Quilting.  After a brief lunch break, she will be running her workshop after the meeting.  Her workshop is entitled “Traditional Blocks Made Modern.”  Find more information in our blog post here.  Be warned that sign ups are first come, first served, so if you want to sign up, please arrive to the April meeting promptly!  

Please don’t be put off by the AGM, it is your chance to tell us if we are doing things right, or if you would like any changes. If you have a motion you would like discussed please let a member of the committee know as soon as possible.

Looking forward to seeing you all on Saturday !

–Jane

What’s an AGM?

On By corkipsIn AdminLeave a comment

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We’ve been mentioning these letters in reference to our April meeting.  Just what does this mean?  AGM stands for Annual General Meeting.

Why is this meeting important?  It’s the main meeting of our branch where official branch business occurs.

What kind of business?  Lots!  During the meeting you’ll have the reading of the minutes from the last AGM, Chair’s Report and the Treasurer’s Report. There will also be an election of committee members, and voting on any motions presented.

How is the meeting run?  The meeting is run a bit more formally than the usual branch meeting.  We do our best to follow Roberts Rules of Order in order to run an efficient meeting.  This includes presenting motions, seconding motions, and voting.

Do you have an agenda?  Yes!  Below is the agenda we have so far.  Final agenda will be posted at the meeting.

  • Welcome
  • Apologies
  • Chair’s Report
  • Minutes of the Previous AGM
  • Matters Arising
  • Treasurer’s Report
  • Executive Representative’s Report
  • Motions
  • Election of New Committee
  • Any other Business

What kind of motions are voted on?  Last year, a motion was presented and passed concerning increasing the door fees charged to members.  The group gave the committee the final decision on the exact number, but the thought behind this increase was to cover the room rental fee.  We also had a motion to present a motion to the National AGM presented as well.

Basically, motions guide the committee on how to run the branch meetings.

Do you know of any Motions presented this year?  Not yet.  Send us an email if you’d like to draft one, we can help!

What about election of committee members?  This year, only a portion of the current committee members will be continuing on next year.  That means, we’ll need a few more members to join in to help out in the assisting of the programming of the branch.  At the first committee meeting after the April Branch meeting, jobs of the committee members will be voted on by the committee members.

Do you have any job descriptions for the committee jobs?  Sure do!

  • Chair:  Responsible for pulling everything together.  Runs committee meeting and general meeting, prepares newsletter prior to next meeting, public face of the branch in national matters.
  • Secretary:  takes minutes of the committee meetings, assists the Chair in preparing agendas for the meetings and prepares the shop rota and confirms shop attendance.
  • Treasurer:  Maintains finances for the branch, collects membership dues.
  • Editorial Rep/PRO: Writes articles on behalf of the branch for the National Newsletter, maintains and regularly posts on website.
  • Ordinary Committee Member – No assigned position, works on jobs as assigned by the chair.
  • Executive Representative

I’ve heard that the branch needs a Executive Representative as well.  What are the responsibilities of that?  Role : To represent your Branch on the National Executive Committee.  All travel expenses are reimbursed!

Responsibilities :

–Attend the Executive Committee meetings which take place on the first Saturday of each month in the Asisling Hotel Dublin (opposite Heuston Station)
–Take part in discussions on National and Branch issues
–Report back to local Branch Committee
–The Executive Rep does not have any additional responsibilities on the Executive Committee. These are fulfilled by the elected members of the Committee so the duties of the rep are relatively very light.
–Any further information can be supplied by Olivia on 0868248917

Let us know if you have any questions, buy sending them to us at corkips@gmail.com

Announcing our June Speaker and Workshop

On By corkipsIn Class Opportunity1 Comment

For our meeting on June 11, we’re excited to announce Ruth Bourke as our speaker for the meeting.

Ruth is a member of the Mid-West Branch of the Irish Patchwork Society, and is a member of the Modern Quilt Guild and Modern Quilters Ireland.  You can find her personal blog here.

She’s planning on speaking to us about Modern Quilting during our June meeting.

Her workshop is entitled Traditional Blocks Made Modern.   We’ve currently set a class limit of 15 people, €35 per person.  We plan on running it 1 pm – 5 pm.  Please bring a lunch if you plan on doing both the meeting and the class.  You’ll need that fuel for all of the learning you’ll be doing!

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Ruth has created this awesome handout with more information about her class!

The sign up list will be available at our April meeting.  Be warned that sign ups are first come, first served, so if you want to sign up, please arrive to the April meeting promptly!