The sun shone brightly in Cork this morning for our final meeting of the year. A great crowd gathered to celebrate, chat, encourage and exchange quilting ideas over coffee and as usual a lovely selection of cakes.

Nikki Foley of The Sewing Shed, Kerry, joined us with a selection of fabric and notions from her shop including some fabulous novelty fabrics and some great end of bolt bundle bags.

Nikki also gave an enthralling talk about her sewing life and the roots of her passion for needle and thread. The variety of the work that she brought to show was breathtaking with a huge range of techniques and designs. From simple block work to developing art quilts for exhibitions and everything in between. From traditional cotton to organza, glitter, felt and wool she has incorporated them all into her quilting. And has experimented with rust and tea dying to produce unique pieces. Her love of old suitcases has led her to fill them with samples quilts each one with different techniques, designs and fabric. They are a true treasure chest for a quilter.

There was a display of the branch quilt challenge entitled “Cork is a wonderful City”, which were judged by Nikki and will be displayed next week at the National AGM at Cork International Hotel.

Outgoing Chairperson Ann Pendergrast thanked the members for their support during her time as chair and wished the incoming committee every success in the coming year.

The first meeting of the new year will be held on Saturday 14 September.