Author: maureenbilbao

Sit and Sew Saturday

A bright sunny day encouraged members to brave the cold for the first meeting of the New Year.  As members arrived, the hall soon buzzed with chatter and laughter whilst we all worked on our individual projects and enjoyed some lovely cakes and biscuits that had been brought for us to share.  We also took the opportunity to look at a selection of Maggie’s fabric that Kate had kindly brought along.  At the end of a very pleasant and productive day members went home happily laden with quilts to finish or a collection of Maggie’s fabrics to add to their stash. 

The last meeting for the year was the Annual Christmas Party, when 20 members arrived promptly, armed with delicious plates of food to share.  Tables were set up and arranged quickly then everyone was treated to a glass of warming mulled wine or soft drink.  The evening’s festivities started with the Charity Game, kindly organised by Carol.  With much laughter some very interesting presents were swapped around the group.  As members chatted and enjoyed the refreshments a selection of clever and attractive Christmas Cards, made by members, were exchanged.  The Fabric Challenge attracted a varied selection of items for the 1p vote, which was won by Carol for her book cushion.  As the evening came to a close we said farewell to one of our members, Deborah Jarman, who was moving away from the area.  It was suggested that at some time in the future we might be able to twin with the new quilting group she had identified.  Everyone agreed they had enjoyed the evening and all that was left for us to do was tidy up before we went home.  Thanks go to everyone who helped with the washing up and stacking the tables and chairs away. 

As the programme for the year came to an end, 14 members attended the last sit and sew session for the year.  Accompanied with plenty of chatter and laughter it was interesting to see some clowns appearing from the last mini workshop meeting. Other members worked on their individual projects or worked hard to increase the supply of baby quilts ready for donation

Thanks go to Lindy and Adele for making the teas and to Adele, who provided us with some lovely homemade cakes. 

The Final Stretch, Completing a Quilt

It was pleasing to see that the first afternoon meeting of the Autumn season was well attended by members eager to hear what Frances had to tell us, and we were not disappointed.

Frances had brought along a selection of smaller quilts which she used to demonstrate various options for free motion quilting.  She explained that when you were ready to quilt you needed to decide whether you wished to enhance the patchwork or draw attention to the quilting pattern.   She explained that free motion quilting, which many of us found daunting, could be helped by practising a design with pen and paper or a whiteboard in order to imprint the design on our brain before we started sewing on our actual quilt.  Then using her whiteboard she demonstrated a method for working a feather design.  Various samples of fabric were passed around to demonstrate the difference between the cotton fabric used for piecing and the extra wide backing fabrics. She had brought along several quilts which were also passed around enabling members to take a closer look at the quilting patterns.  Everyone agreed it had been a very enjoyable and interesting evening and Frances was thanked for all the useful hints and tips she had given us.  I am sure that with all the information Frances had given us it would enable many of us to improve our future free motion quilting skills.

Thanks go to Jane and Sally for making the tea and coffee and providing the delicious cakes.