Our last meeting before the summer was extremely enjoyable.

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…

Wishing you all a sunny and creative summer!

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!

Yesterday we met with a lovely group of ladies (as always).

Our speaker Clare Newell introduced us to the Crisp Packet Project, and her involvement with it. The project make emergency “blankets” out of (you guessed!) crisp packets. These emergency covers are handed out to homeless people to provide them an extra insulating cover to keep them warm and dry. Clare is in touch with a Cork charity who hand them to the people needing them.

Crisp packets (OPENED, WASHED AND DRIED) are joined together into large sheets by pressing them briefly with an iron, using a sheet of baking paper. Then polythene is added on both sides (more pressing). This “fabric” can also be used to create duffel bags or toiletry pouches. Such valuable items from waste products!

Clare is happy to accept help, but if you are saving your crisp packets for her, please wash and dry them or she cannot use them!

Find more about the project on Clare’s social media pages: Facebook – Instagram

Show & Tell:

Mairead showed us covers she is making for covers for baby incubators for CUH. She is using any dark (heavy) material for these, so if you have any dark flannel or upholstery fabric, let her know. Several “penny rugs” were shown off, everyone has been very inventive with those wool scraps! Unfortunately, I forgot to take photos of them!!

Next meeting, May 14, is our AGM, please all come and support our branch. We will be in touch by email with details.

Last week 34 people attended our meeting, and it was lovely to see you all together.

Our speaker was MaryAnn Browne who spoke about her stitching life, illustrated by some of her lovely work.

Show & Tell had some more treasures:

Our next meeting will be on 9 April, details will be emailed nearer the time.

It was great to see so many of you turning out to attend the meeting in person, some of whom we hadn’t seen for years! There were also some people attending online, some of those from other branches… an advantage of online meetings.

Annie Hogg gave a very interesting talk on natural dyes and pigments. She told the stories of plants like woad (blue), weld (yellow), madder (red) and oak galls (black), with an emphasis of their history and their importance and use in an Irish context. Annie has a website https://www.anniehoggstudio.com/, and can be found on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/anniehogg_thewildhedgeinkco/.

Show and Tell had a few gems from Assumpta, Heidi, Ailbhe and Bernie. Thanks to Siobhan for the photos:

Sandra also finished a quilt top recently, but since it was the only “virtual” finish it wasn’t shown during the meeting. Inspired by the fat quarter that was sent for the summer challenge, she found enough coordinating batiks in her stash to make this Jewel Box lap quilt:

Aoife Carr from the North Eastern branch showed the online group a cushion she has made called Spring Bunnies in Love, depicting appliqué bunnies on a strip-pieced background. The free pattern can be found at https://flamingotoes.com/spring-bunnies-love-pillow/, a lovely project for spring or Easter.

Our next meeting is planned for 12 March, as always keep an eye on your email inbox for updates.