Quilt Day at the V&A

What a lovely day we had at the V and A, all thanks to Brenda Fish for arranging it for us. The coach was super(and I don’t like coach journeys!). We got to London> with ample time for coffee, lunch and a look round before our booked time to enter the quilt exhibition.

The exhibition itself was very good. It was lovely to see these old quilts, the skill of the quilters was stunning especialy considering how poor the lighting would have been. Some of the fabrics used looked as though they could have been bought very recently because of the patterns and the colours. One particular quilt I liked had several different sizes of spot fabrics in it that I would love to have in my collection today!

Do you wish you had come with us? There is still time to see it as it’s on until July.

Many thanks once again to Brenda.

Christa

NEW GROUP

Kathryn Greig is starting a new evening Subgroup and the first meeting is to be on Wednesday 17th March at Kathryn's home.

Her address is;
33 Heighton Crescent
South Heighton
Newhaven
BN9 0QT
Her phone number is 01273 510193

email kathryn.greig@uwclub.net

If you are interested in joining or would like more details please contact Kathryn

Hanging Together Exhibition

There is a fantastic exhibition at Chequer Mead in East Grinstead. It is a group of quilters/textile artist some of whom you may know. June C Barnes, Sandra Grusd, Jennie Lewis, Inger Milburn, Leslie Morgan, Ingrid Press and Julie Senington They are know as Hanging Together, in the programme it states that they encourage each other to think outside the box, they truly do.

The exhibition is on until Wednesday next 10th February and it really is worth a visit. If you can manage Saturday between 11am and 3pm you will be able to 'Meet the Artists' The exhibition is free and you will be able to get nice refreshments/lunches, parking right opposite.

Get to know you day

After all the snow and cancellations, Patchdean and Seahaven Day Groups decided to have a 'Get to know you day'

There were 12 of us and we all met at my house. Pauline and I made soup which went down very well and lots of yummy cake made by Christa and Julia.

Everyone brought along one of their first pieces of patchwork/quilting and we had a very noisy Show & Tell. Great to see how we have all developed and quite alarming to see how much the fabrics have dated.

Caroline who has just joined OVQ had a good initiation into the group and went home wanting to make everything.

We also collected £40 for the Haiti earthquake appeal.

Brenda

JAN'S WORKSHOP 15th Feb

I expect by now you have all received the details of requirements for the above workshop. If you haven't please either contact me Brenda Fish on 01273 302221 or Penny Jones 01323 890925.

If you have any queries about the fabric needs list or equipment etc for the workshop, please contact Jan Hale on 01273 475408

Doughty Fabric Sale

DOUGHTY BROS WILL BE AT PATCHAM COMMUNITY CENTRE ON SATURDAY 16th JANUARY 2010 STARTING AT 10am Lots of fabric at great prices wadding calico etc.

SNOW...........

Not a very good start to the new year. We have had to cancel our meeting on Tuesday evening with Sandra Grusd. Too chilly and more to the point too slippy.

Lorna's workshop on 21st has been postponed as Lorna has been unwell. We hope she makes a speedy recovery.

We did try to book another tutor and got all excited about Louise Mabbs, she would have done it. But in the end we decided that there would not be enough time for preparation and sourcing materials. We will book her for later in the year or early next year.

Our next workshop will be with Jan on Monday 15th February. You can come and make a big bag for your cutting board and equipment, great for taking to workshops etc and it is also good for storing your board. They are quite sensitive to heat and extreme cold, once they are warped they stay that way. The details and some pictures of the main block choices are on the Workshop page and the needs list can be found there too.

Keep warm Brenda x

APPLIQUE EVENING TUES 10TH NOVEMBER

On the 10th November we will be doing an Applique evening with Maggie North (this is top secret but I have heard the word 'Butterfly' mentioned).

You will need to bring your normal hand sewing kit with you, plus two 10 inch squares, one plain and one patterned and thread to match.

If I hear any more juicy news I will post it here, so keep checking in.

Brenda

CHRISTMAS

I know it is a little early to be mentioning the dreaded word above, but.....You have things to do;

Each group will be making a Mini Christmas Hamper to be raffled at the meeting on Tuesday 8th December. The hamper should be no larger than a small shoe box, (no I don't know what size shoe) just small. It would be nice if it could have some home-made items in it. If you have any ideas speak to your Co-Ordinator.

The Challenge will not be too challenging. We just want you to make a Textile Christmas Card, you can use what you like but it must contain some type of textile. A while ago we did fabric postcards, what a variety we had. With so many new members we should have lots of cards. Think early for Christmas and get your card done, out with the glue fabric and maybe even sticky back plastic.

Brenda

JACKIE DORKINGS

Jackie Dorkings and her quilts gave us a great evening last Tuesday. Lots of colour and lots of dyed fabrics. I think maybe some of us will rethink our feelings about dying fabric. There was a good variety of quilts and all different techniques, Jackie did fill the 3 large tables she requested with her lovely quilts and at the end of the evening people were still queuing up to ask questions. We will definately put Jackie down on our list for workshops next year.

Anne Weald is still missing a strip of blocks for our Signature Quilt. Someone has taken them to sew together and they haven't been returned. Please, if you have them Anne desperately wants them to enable us to finish the quilt. Even if you haven't had time to sew them together just let Anne know.

JACKIE DORKINGS 13TH OCTOBER

Don't forget to come along to the talk by Jackie Dorkings on Tuesday 13th October. Jackie's work is beautiful and I am sure we will all go away 'inspired'. She has asked for 3 large tables so it sounds as though she will be bringing along lots to 'Show and Tell'. If you would like to bring a guest with you they will be very welcome.

Look forward to seeing you all on 13th.

Brenda

CHARITY SEWING DAY

What a lovely day we had on Thursday at Berwick. Really relaxed, lots of laughter and some sewing done as well. We all sat outside at lunchtime and put the world to rights. There are some lovely rag dolls on the way, a couple of Linus quilts, a great dog, that doesn't need walking every day and some Christmas decorations to sell for our charity.

It is just such a shame that more of you didn't manage to come. These sewing days are a great way to get to know other members of the group in a very friendly, relaxed way.

Brenda

Jelly Roll Workshop 12th November

Jo Baddeley from Puddleducks is doing the above workshop for us. The cost of this workshop is only £20 and ........You will be given a voucher for £15 to spend with Jo on the day.
Even if you already have your jelly roll you can buy backing wadding etc from Jo. Quite a bargain!

You can look at the website for the shop on www.puddleducksquilts.co.uk

QUILTING TV PROGRAMME

Did you all know that there is a quilting programme on Sky number 279 called Quilt in a Day and it is on every Friday at 1pm lunch time. If any of you watch it let us know what it is like. Thank you Gloria for the information.

SUMMER PARTY

Jan, Jill and Anne with 'Colin' the cockerel. Colin was a gift for Jill as a very big thank you for all her help with the group over the past 15 years. Jill has now retired from Committee work after tireless support which is greatly appreciated. It is hoped that Jill will now be able to sit back and enjoy all the activities, and have a very well deserved rest.

MONKEY BUTTONS WORKSHOP

The above workshop last Thursday was really good. Amanda is a very good tutor and she does a whole lot more than just bags. It would be nice to get her back at a later date to do one of her quick quilts, she has designed several using Jelly Rolls, have a look at her website.

I have spent years of frustration trying to find a good way of marking quilts ready for quilting. Well here is the solution....(I got it from Amanda at Monkey Buttons). It is made by Clover and is described as a CHACO LINER PEN STYLE. Mine is bright yellow but I gather you can get it in other colours and is just brushes off when you have finished. It is like a tiny wheel and is filled with powdered ink, you can get refills. I'm sure some of you already know about it but it's new to me.

INVITATION FROM SANDITON QUILTERS

Sanditon Quilters from Little Common Bexhill have very kindly invited us to their group on Wednesday 8th July. They are having Eva Thomas giving a talk entitled 'From Stockholm to Sussex' .

JANICE GUNNER WORKSHOP

There are still some spaces on the Janice Gunner workshop 'Sensational Shibori' Thursday 16th July. It would be great to use your dyed fabric for the workshop, but don't let this put you off if you haven't managed to dye fabric, you can take some of your stash, or try using batiks. It will be a great chance to learn from an award winning quilter and textile artist. Janice is also a City and Guilds tutor. Have a look at her website www.janicegunner.co.uk her work is very impressive. Janice is giving a talk on Tuesday 14th July (2 days prior to the workshop) you will no doubt come away inspired and wishing you had booked the workshop..........Don't wait until the then because there won't be any spaces, get in touch with Penny because we are now going to offer the spaces to non-members.

MONKEY BUTTONS WORKSHOP

There are still a few places left on the Monkey Buttons workshop on Thursday 11th June. The cost is just £25

We will be making a choice of two bags, you can see these at www.monkeybuttons.com
Barcelona Bag or Pacific Blue. The web site is well worth a visit to see all the lovely kits that they do.

You will probably all have noticed that our web site has been up-dated, and the gallery has been changed. We are sorry that some of the quilts do not have the name of the maker, if any of them are yours, please email us and we will rectify this. Last years gallery is still on the web site you just need to click on the link.

Don't forget that tonight Tuesday 12th May is a talk by Carolyn Forster. This should be a very interesting evening. Carolyn has a book out at the moment called 'Quilting On The Go' and hopefully we will see some of the lovely quilts that are in her book. No doubt the book will be on sale tonight, and you could maybe get a signed copy. If you would like to bring a friend along the entrance will be £3.

Cut and Splash Workshop

Thank you so much Gunnel and Helen for a lovely workshop yesterday.

It was good to start a workshop and be told that you don't have to be really, really accurate. Some are just naturally accurate, but lots of us gave a sigh of relief. Planning is important, but with this technique you have no idea how it is going to look until you finish the block.

It was a beautiful day and at lunchtime we were able to sit in the sun and eat our lunch, we were then back at our machines and furiously cutting.

There were 16 ladies doing the workshop and every one's blocks looked so different, it will be great to see the finished quilts.

Send in your photos as soon as you can

Brenda