A general reminder that the opening for the
Community Exhibition
at the Sirius Arts Centre in Cobh
at 6:30 pm on the 2nd of March
Looking forward to seeing you there!
Community Quilts
Just a reminder that Saturday is the Committee meeting where you can drop your quilts off for our Community Exhibition in Cobh.
We meet at the Clayton Hotel Silver Springs from 11:00 to 13:00:
If you can’t make it to the committee meeting, be sure to connect with a Committee member to submit your quilt!
We usually meet in the restaurant area to the right of reception.
Joanna and I met on Tuesday to work on the Branch Community quilt made from nine patches you submitted:
We can’t wait for you to see it finished!
Remember, your final FIRM deadline for quilt submittal is the 20th of February!
February Meeting Recap
On February 11 we met for our most recent meeting.
We started the meeting with announcements. These included:
Our upcoming exhibition, “Community” important information:
- Final date of quilt submissions is February 20th. Connect with one of the committee members to submit your quilt.
- The committee is having a meeting on February 18th at the Clayton Hotel Silver Springs from 11 am until 1 pm. You can drop your quilt off here as well.
- Be sure to have a hanging sleeve, quilt label and filled out submission form. You can download the form here.
- Opening reception is at the Sirius Arts Centre in Cobh on the 2nd of March at 6:30 pm.
Upcoming Exhibitions:
“Fun”
Modern Quilters Ireland second exhibition at St.Patricks Hospital, Dublin May 2nd to June 23rd.
Courthouse Gallery in Ennistymon, Co. Clare.
An exhibition that will be held this summer by Tracy Watson and Joke Buursma. 12th May and 23rd June. Gallery website is theCourthouseGallery.com for details of opening times
Hands across the Border “ Aurora”
Official Opening Tuesday 16th May 2017 in CHQ Custom House Quarter, IFSC, Custom House Quay, Dublin Northside, Dublin. Exhibition will run until the 26 th May. Northern venue is Island Arts Centre, Lisburn, June 2017
The Spike Quilters
Exhibition in Thurles Source Library centre from Tuesday May 2nd toTue May 30th. Library hours. (9.30 to5 pm week days and10 to 5pm Sat. Closes 1pm to 2pm for Lunch.
Third Irish Quilters’ Showcase Exhibition
May-June 2017 The Mitchel Hall, Spike Island
The Kniting and Stitching show 2017
Simmonscourt, RDS, Dublin 9-12th November
Upcoming Exhibition Opportunities:
Hands Across the Border – theme is Aurora due 31st March, maximum 1m square
EQA annual challenge for exhibition at the Festival of Quilts in Birmingham – theme is Inspired by New York Beauty, also due end of march, 30th March, 25cm x 35cm in Landscape format
EQA Diversity in Europe – no theme but showcasing the best example of quilt making, due 30th April, size is minimum 1m x 1m to a maximum of 2.5m x 2.5m
Open European Quilt Championships – theme is Illuminate due 31st May. 20″ x 40″ portrait format
After the announcements, our block of the month was debuted, the Eight Pointed Star.
After the block of the month, we had the pleasure of having Emer Fahy present a talk on colour theory.
Next, we had our Show and Tell.
February Letter from the Chair
Greetings Members!
I’ve finally pulled out my Community Exhibition quilt to hand sew the binding on so it will be ready for our deadline for submission on the 20th of February. (The binding has been on since before the holidays!) If you’re planning to submit, don’t forget to sew a hanging sleeve and quilt label on!
As I’ve been talking about the Exhibition, some members have had questions about what type of quilts they can submit. You are free to exhibit any quilt you’ve ever made! In your artist’s statement, just be sure to tie it into our theme of “Community.” Our deadline for submittal is the 20th of February. You have the following options to submit quilts:
- Connect with me via the Branch email or by my phone number, 0871438506. I live in Ballincollig, and can take your quilts.
- Submit your quilt at our February meeting on the 11th
- Submit your quilt at the next committee meeting, February 18th at the Clayton Hotel Silver Springs, from 11:00-13:00.
Be sure to include the entry form and €5 entry fee. You can download the entry form on our website under the “downloads” folder or fill it out at our next meeting. Or download the form here. We will do our best to hang all quilts received.
The opening reception will occur on the 2nd of March, at 18:30 at the Sirius Arts Centre in Cobh.
The 11th of February meeting is also your last opportunity to submit a 6.5 inch nine patch with blue centre for the group Community Quilt Joanna is sewing together! The video tutorial for a nine patch can be found on our website.
Don’t forget, next week, the 11th of February, we’ll be meeting at the Sacred Heart Church on Western Road in Cork for our February meeting.
Patchwork Plus will be our shop.
The Agenda of the meeting will include:
- Welcome and announcements
- Block of the Month
- Emer Fahy will be our guest speaker
- Pincushion swap
- Show and Tell
- And social time!
If you’re bringing a pincushion to swap, please bring it in an opaque/brown paper bag, so we can have a blind swap.
You’ll also have the opportunity to sign up for our March workshop with Ruth Bourke, the Ticker Tape quilt.
Tea and coffee is provided, other refreshments depend on your generosity.
Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns!
See you on Saturday!
–Erin
Cork Exhibition Opportunity
A call for quilts!
The committee has been working hard over the past few months planning the Cork Exhibition, Community. It’s an opportunity for Southern Branch members to show their work at a non-juried show at the Sirius Arts Centre in Cobh.
Important dates for the Show:
- Quilts must be received by the 20th of February
- Hanging of quilts happens on the 27th of February. All quilts received will be hung, as space allows.
- Show runs from 2 March to the 26th of March.
Opening Reception for the show is happening 2nd March at 18:30. Cork County Mayor, Seamus McGrath will be in attendance.
You can find the entry form here. A €5 entry fee is required to cover the cost of hanging rails.
Show Rules Include:
- Quilts can be made to a maximum of 80 inches wide.
- The quilt must have a 4 inch (10 cm) hanging sleeve, with sufficient fullness to accommodate the hanging rod.
- Please ensure that your quilt is labelled on the back at the bottom edge with the following information: Name of the Quilt, name of the quilter.
- By entering your quilt, you agree to having it photographed for publicity purposes.
- Quilts must include an entry form with €5 entry fee.
Feel free to enter any quilt you’ve made. We’d love to help you show your best work!
*********
You can also participate by making nine-patch block that will go into the “Community” Quilt. Blocks made must be 6 1/2 inches, with a blue centre. Deadline for nine patches will be our next meeting on February 11! Quilt will debut at the Exhibition. Find more information, including a video tutorial here.
If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact us at corkips@gmail.com
January Meeting Recap
On January 14th we met for the first meeting of the New Year.
We started the meeting with thanks to Apple Tree Crafts for being our shop for the meeting and to Frances for giving us a demonstration on quilt labels.
After that, a few announcements were given. These included:
- Entry forms for the following exhibitions have been added to the website under the “Downloads” tab: Hands Across the Border, EQA Challenge, “Inspired by New York Beauty,” and Open European Quilt Championships, “Illuminate.”
- The IPS gallery at the Knitting and Stitching show will be similar this year, with galleries of the following themes, Traditional, Modern, Young Quilters and Art quilts. The submission process will change slightly, with one email to submit photographs. More information from Executive to come.
- Cork Branch Exhibition “Community” Entry forms are currently available. You can find them on the downloads tab or at our February meeting. FIRM DEADLINE for submitting quilts is February 20th. A separate blog post on this is to come.
- Nine Patches for Community Quilt are due at our February meeting.
After the success of our Mug Rug swap, we decided to host another swap in February. We’re challenging members to make pincushions to swap. Feel free to make any sort of pincushion you desire to swap. We’d like to make this a blind swap, so please bring your pincushion in an opaque bag. If you’re looking for inspiration, check out our Pinterest site!
We also announced our March speaker and workshop. Ruth Bourke will be presenting the talk “Trends in Online Quilting” and the Ticker Tape Quilt Workshop:
After the announcements, the Block of the Month was presented, the Greek Cross.
Then Tomomi McElwee presented a talk of her history of work:
Below is a slideshow of her amazing quilts:
Next was our Show and Tell:
After our meeting, we then had our Patchwork Bag workshop:
All in all, it was a fantastic meeting! See you at our next meeting, on February 11!
January Letter from the Chair
Greetings members!
I hope you’re recovering as well as I am from the holidays. Now that my family has returned to the United States, I’ve got access to my sewing machine—a month was too long to be away from it!
Starting with a few announcements:
On a sad note, Southern Branch Member Kitty Whelan has passed away over the weekend. My thoughts and prayers go out to her family and friends in this difficult time.
A call for blocks:
Joanna is heading the effort to create a quilt made of nine patches for the Community Exhibition. Members are requested to create a 6.5 inch nine patch block with a blue centre square. A video tutorial for a simple nine patch block is posted on the blog.
December’s block of the month instructions had an error. For the Double Friendship Star’s cutting instructions, under background fabric, it should read “Five 4 ½ inch squares”
————————————————————————
On January 14th, we’re meeting at the Sacred Heart Church on Western Road at 10:00 am for a day of patchwork fun!
The agenda of the meeting includes:
- Block of the Month
- Quilt label demonstration
- AGM 2017 Update
- February Swap Announcement
- A talk by Tomomi McElwee about her quilting journey. She’s bringing some of her amazing work for us to see!
- “Community” Exhibition Information
- March Workshop Announcement
- Show and Tell
- Raffle
- Apple Tree Crafts will be the shop
Tea and Coffee will be provided at our meeting, however cakes and other goodies are dependent on members.
And in the afternoon, Tomomi will be showing us how to make her gorgeous Patchwork Drawstring Bags! There’s only one space left if you’re interested in joining in! Be sure to let me know, so I can send you the supply list and you can get your fabric precut. If any member who has already signed up hasn’t received their supply list, please let me know! NOTE: If you’re staying over for the class, lunch is not provided, you’ll need to plan ahead.
See you on Saturday! Please let me know if you have any concerns or questions!
Sending Condolences
The committee was informed today of the passing of Southern Branch member Kitty Whelan.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to her family in this difficult time.
Community Quilt
As part of our “Community” Exhibition going on in March, the committee has decided to create a quilt made from blocks sewn by members.
If you’d like to participate, it’s easy! We’re asking for nine patches that have been made from 2.5 inch square patches. These will create a block that measures 6.5 inches unfinished.
We’re also asking that you create a nine patch with a BLUE SQUARE in the centre. All other surrounding squares can be any colour you prefer.
If you’ve never made a nine patch block before, we created this Back to Basics video a few months ago you can use as reference.
January Workshop
We hope you had a very Happy Christmas this year!
After our January 14th meeting, we’re presenting a workshop by Tomomi McElwee,
Drawstring Patchwork Bags
Tomomi’s class description:
Drawstring bags are what we, Japanese had as bags to put things in and carry before Western bags came (Furoshiki, wrapping cloth is other type of item used for carrying things but they are not bag shaped).
Traditionally these small bags are made from scraps out of other sewing jobs. Also young girls made these to practice sewing skills and carried small bits and pieces.
Since they have flat bottom and wide opening, you can see what is inside very easily and they sit on well too.
They can be made in any size but the smaller the cuter, let’s make them in palm size!
Go through all your scrap collection and find nice combination of fabrics.
If you’re interested in taking this class, be sure to contact us at corkips@gmail.com, spaces are limited!
Southern Branch of the Irish Patchwork Society 