Christmas Meeting

Don't forget our Christmas Meeting is on December 14th.

We'll be having Patchwork Bingo

Patchwork Plus will be the shop on the night. 


We'll be having our usual pot-luck supper, hopefully everyone will bring some food (not too much though!).


Make sure to wear a Santa Hat on the night!!

Also, a reminder that the Villiers Sewing Day will be taking place this Sunday December 9th...

November Meeting

The November meeting was full of demo's of all Christmas decorations.

Tracy gave a demo on Christmas decorations using paintsticks. 

Kathleen gave a demo on making a quilt-as-you-go table runner

Kathleen giving her demo on a Christmas table runner

Grania Preston gave a demo on making Christmas decorations using small polyestrene balls and folded fabric pieces.(Apologies for the sideways photo!)

Grania showing Isobel how to make the decorations

Show & Tell:
Paula Rafferty brought in a number of quilts that she has been busy making.

Quilt by Paula Rafferty

Anita's Arrowhead quilt by Paula Rafferty

October Meeting

For our October meeting, Cindy from Fluffy Sheep Quilting came with her shop for the first time.

Cindy also gave a demo on making portholes. She learned this technique from Lu Summers at last years Fat Quarterly weekend in London.

Cindy giving a porthole demo

Show & Tell:
Priscilla from the Kerry group brought in this fun wall-hanging which says "Dare to be Different".

Dare to be different by Priscilla

Quilt made by Marcella

September Meeting

Ester Kiely (from the Western Branch) was our guest speaker at the September Branch meeting.

A selection of sketchbooks by Ester

Show and Tell:

Gillian Sheehan with a bag that she made

Quilt made by Gillian Sheehan

Gillian with a nifty thread-catcher that she has made

Monthly Challenge
Our challenge for this month was to make Do Not Touch quilts for the National Exhibition.

Do not Touch Quilts

 Phil Awylard made two great Do Not Touch 3D traffic sign for the exhibition, including this one that looks like a traffic sign.

National Exhibition starting next week in Limerick

Councillor Denis MacCarthy (Deputy Mayor) will be opening the National Exhibition on Friday 5th October at 7.30pm.

Villier's Sewing Night

The Villier's Sewing night will be taking place again tonight; Thursday 27th Sept.

 This for people who can't make the Sunday sewing days, or who want to meet up more regularly to get sewing projects completed. 

Those of us who attended last week  had a great night of sewing and chat.

Times are 7 - 9.30pm.

Cost €5. 


If any beginners are interested in attending, please leave a comment or email us for further details. 

New Sewing Shop opening in Cappamore, Co. Limerick

 One of our Mid-West members, Rebecca Palmer, is opening herr own little sewing shop on Saturday 29th September in Moore Street, Cappamore, Limerick.

When Rebecca Palmer and her family decided to move to Ireland seven years ago, they never dreamed that they would be opening a shop.  But that is just what they are doing in Cappamore this Saturday!

For several years now, Rebecca has been running sewing classes in the area which have proved very popular.  Although Rebecca predominately teaches adults all aspects of sewing she has also found a niche teaching local children.  

Along with a venue for classes, the new shop, trading as Rebecca Palmer Originals will offer alteration and embroidery services, soft furnishings and haberdashery as well as some fabric.

Class schedule as follows:

Monday 9.30am - 12.30 - Caherconlish as Before
Monday 7pm - 9pm          At the Shop!
Wednesday 7 - 9pm         At the Shop
Thursday 4.30 - 6pm       At the Shop for beginners (children)
Thursday 6pm - 8 pm      At the Shop for advanced sewers (children)

AND NEW!

Saturday morning - 9am - 12noon    At the Shop - Childrens sewing club, come and sew on your current project (not suitable for total beginers)

Saturday’s events include a free draw, refreshments and demonstrations b y Rebecca as well as the launch of her newest original quilt design.

Tea and coffee with cakes (!!) will be served from around 9am on Saturday. 

New Villier's Sewing Nights

The Mid-West Branch are now going to be running Villiers Sewing Nights which will take place on Thursday nights.

This for people who can't make the Sunday sewing days, or who want to meet up more regularly to get sewing projects completed.

The1st night will be taking place this Thursday 20th September.

Times are 7 - 9.30pm. 

Cost €5. 

Beauty in Nature - CCoI Exhibition at the Knitting & Stitching Show

Beauty in Nature is an exhibition of textiles in conjunction with the Crafts Council of Ireland (CCoI) and the textile GANS (Guild Association Network and Societies) which will be on display at the Knitting and Stitching Show in Dublin, 1st to 4th Nov. 2013.

Theme: Beauty in Nature
Work in the exhibition must be in response to and inspired by beauty in nature and our natural environment - colour, texture, pattern and form. It can take the form of literal or abstract interpretation. 

Some of the entry rules:
No size restrictions, work must have been made within the last 3 years and not shown in the Knit and Stitch Show or in any CCoI exhibitions. 

10euro entry fee

Closing date for work is the 8th October, work cannot be accepted after that date. 

Click here to see the entry form

Start of a New Quilting Year

The first meeting of the 2012-2013 season is quickly approaching, Friday 14th September at 8pm. 

Our guest speaker is Ester Kiely from the Western Branch.


The challenge for the night is to make some "Do Not Touch" small mini-quilts which we are going to use for the National Exhibition. The National Exhibition will be taking place in Istrabaq Hall, Limerick from the 2nd-12th October.

We will also have a sign-up sheet on the night for members to volunteer to help man the National Exhibition. 

Don't forget to bring your bags for the start of the brown paper bag swap!!

In the paper bag, just put some fabric pieces and a piece of paper with your name. Hand the bag in at the start of the meeting and it will be put in with all the other swap-bags. The bags will then be swapped at the end of the meeting, and you'll receive a bag back.
So when you receive a bag, keep quiet about whose bag you got! It will be much more fun, if nobody knows who's working on who's projects.

Everyone will then have until the December meeting to make something using the contents of the bag. You can add as much or little of your own fabric to the swap bag contents. There's  lots of projects that you can make e.g. pincushions, small purses, mini-cushions etc. or cushions and bags if you want to be really ambitious and make something larger!

 This could prove to be a very interesting project, as people will have to work with other people's fabric choices.

At the December meeting, the original owner of the bag will get a finished item back and find out who was working with their fabrics.

IPS AGM - Special Offer

For any IPS member travelling to the AGM which is taking place in Limerick on Saturday 6th October, we have organised a special deal with the Limerick Strand Hotel.

€119 euro for 2 nights B & B and 1 dinner per person sharing.

 The cut-off date for booking this accommodation deal with the Strand Hotel, Limerick is Monday 10th September.

The official opening of the National Exhibition "Buildings, Bricks and Blocks" will be taking place on Friday 5th October at 7.30pm.

So if you book in for the weekend you'll get to see the national exhibition, the AGM and talk by Annette Morgan (plus her two 1-day workshops).

Those booked into the hotel, and who're not doing the workshops can use a sewing room in the hotel all day Sunday




Remember, all motions for the AGM must be sent into the Executive Committee 6 weeks before the AGM takes place. 

National Exhibition 2012

Don't forget to enter your quilts into this year's National Exhibition. 

 The theme is "Buildings, Bricks and Blocks".

The deadline has been extended till the end of August.

If you would like to enter your quilt in the exhibition, please send your quilt to the Mid-West Chairperson Tracy Watson. 

The exhibition will be taking place 1-12th October in Istrabraq Hall, Limerick City Hall, Limerick City.

EQA "Crossroads" Exhibition at Festival of Quilts

The EQA "Crossroads" exhibition was on display at this year's Festival of Quilts.

Two of the quilts in the Irish section were from Mid-West branch members: Claire Lynch and Cecilia O'Doherty.

EQA Crossroads Irish Exhibit

Cecilia O'Doherty's entry

Claire Lynch's entry

Extension of deadline for the National Exhibition

The deadline for the National Exhibition has now been extended to the end of August. So there's still some time to get a quilt made for this exhibit!!

The theme for this year's exhibition is "Buildings, Bricks and Blocks".

Remember, the exhibition this year is on in Istrabaq Hall in Limerick, so hopefully we will have lots of quilts by Mid-West members on display.

June meeting

Our guest speaker at our June "Summer Party" meeting was Eileen Browne, a Limerick Lace-maker.

Eileen Browne demonstrating Limerick lace

Eileen came into give a talk and demo about Limerick Lace. The AGM challenge for October is to make a piece (15"max) inspired by Limerick lace so this talk gave our members plenty of ideas to think about over the summer.

There was lots of home-made food on the night

Only 1 person managed (or remembered!) to bring their Mystery Quilt in on the night. Gillian Killick brought in her quilt which she is in the process of hand-quilting. Gillian did a lovely job on selecting colours for her quilt and has even incorporated some of the left-over blocks into the quilt-back.

Mystery Quilt by Gillian Killick

Back of quilt

 Grania gave a demo on "Antia's Arrow". We're just waiting now for the September meeting for Grania to bring in three finished "Anita's Arrow" quilts!  Here's a link to more info on making the Anita's Arrow block.

Grania demonstrating Anita's Arrow

Anita's Arrow samples

Quilt top by Grania made using Anita's Arrow block

 Show & Tell:
Phyl Awylard brought in this Sunbonnet Sue quilt top that she has been working on for the past few months at the Villier's Sewing Days. 

May meeting

 The May meeting was our AGM so we had a lot of official business to do on the night e.g. chairperson's, secretary and treasurer's report, election of new committee etc.
 
One of our new members Caroline Borden very kindly volunteered to join the committee on the night. Caroline is now going to be the Mid-West Executive Rep.

There was a lot of show & tell on the night.

Gillian Killick modelled this patchwork cap that she has made.

Patchwork hat made by Gillian Killick

 

 

Grania and Kate have gotten very engrossed in making quilts using the "Anita's Arrow" block. Grania will be giving a demo on this block at the June meeting.

Anita's Arrow Quilt

Another Anita's Arrow quilt made by Grania Preston

This is another Anita's Arrow quilt that is in progress. Great vibrant colours in this quilt top. 

New York Beauty quilt by Maureen Talbot

 This quilt is being raffled by Paula Rafferty to raise funds to send herself and her daughter to the Fashion Sans Frontier event.

Quilt that is being raffled by Paula Rafferty

Mid-West members printing bags

Spotted in the Limerick Post this week: a photo of three Mid-West Branch members at a recent design-a-bag workshop held at the Limerick Printmakers.

In the photo from left to right are Doris McMahon, Loretta O'Brien and Cecilia O'Doherty.

June Meeting

Hi everyone,
Just a reminder that the June Meeting is going to be our summer party. So hopefully everyone will bring in a plate of food whether it's savoury or dessert!


The finale of the Mystery Quilt will also be taking place at the June meeting, so we'll finally get to see what the quilt is supposed to look like.  Even if you haven't finished your Mystery Quilt yet, please bring your blocks in. It's always interesting to see everyone's colour choices etc. 

We extended last month's challenge to June. The challenge was to make "Do Not Touch" mini-quilts which we will use for the National Exhibition in October.

Eileen Brown will be coming in to give a talk on Limerick Lace. The challenge for the National AGM is to make a piece inspired by Limerick Lace, so hopefully we should all have some great ideas after Eileen's talk.

Grania will doing a demo on "Anita's Arrow".

The committtee are currently working on organising speakers and activities for next year's schedule. If you have any ideas or demo's that you would like to see at a meeting, please pass your ideas onto a committee member or leave a comment on the blog.

"Do Not Touch" small quilts for May Meeting

Reminder: Don't forget that the monthly challenge on this Friday is for small "Do Not Touch" quilts.

We need these little quilts for the National Exhibition in October.

Trip to South Midlands Branch

The Mid-West Branch were invited to be guest speakers at the South Midlands Branch. So on Saturday 21st April , 10 branch members made the trek to Kilkenny. The directions from the South Midlands branch were spot-on, so no-one had any problems in finding the venue.

The South-Eastern Branch were also guest speakers at the meeting.

The South Midlands Branch usually have their meetings on a Thursday, so for the visiting branches they arranged for their meeting to take place on a Saturday. When we arrived at the venue, we found that Frances Sawaya was giving a talk for the 1st part of the meeting, so we had a fun-packed and informative day.

Frances is currently trying to use up her stash, and is also having shoulder problems so can't work on large quilt anymore. This has lead to her using the quilt-as-you go method, the quilt in the photograph was made using this method.

Quilt as you go quilt by Frances Sawaya

Quilt by Frances Sawaya

Show and Tell:

The Kilkenny Cats had to make an appearance at the meeting!

This piece was made at the Jenny Rolfe Workshop at An Grianan.

The South Midlands Branch usually have their meetings on a Thursday, so for the visiting branches they arranged for their meeting to take place on a Saturday.

The show & tell at the meeting was incredible – there was so much work shown at the meeting by all the quilters that we ran out of time to show them all. The work covered all aspects of patchwork from traditional to art quilts, beginners to advanced, so there was something to interest everyone.

And as if that wasn’t enough, after the talk and show & tell had finished, the South Midlands Branch had laid on a fantastic buffet for the visiting branches. If you want to know where to go for great food, it’s this branch!!

Many thanks to the South Midlands Branch for organising this meeting of three IPS branches!

Nancy Doyle - R.I.P.

The Irish Patchwork Society lost a very valuable member on January 1st last when Nancy Doyle of Kickham St, Thurles, Co Tipperary died.  Nancy was married to Tommy Doyle who won five all Ireland medals in Hurling.

She was a very gracious and gentle Lady and a kind thoughtful neighbour. Nancy’s passing is greatly regretted by her loving family – sons, daughters, grandchildren, great grandchildren, brother and sister. One of her daughters Valerie Shortt and her sister Kathleen Sheedy are also valued members of the I.P.S.

Nancy joined the I.P.S. Mid-West Branch in the late 1980’s and travelled together with her great friends from Thurles: Phil Dwyer, Bridget Keane, Kitty Mockler and sister Kathleen, to our many meetings and challenges over the years.

We both got to know Nancy very well through our sewing days in Villiers Secondary School, Limerick.  Nancy and those Tipp ladies provided a wonderful knowledge “booster” to those of us still learning the art of Patchwork with their vast amount of knowledge. During our lunch break we all sat around a table with our buffet lunches enjoying the company of Nancy and her friends.

When the South Midlands branch was formed Nancy and her friends still found time to fit in the Mid-West branch meetings along with the new branch in Kilkenny.  We have no doubt that the new fledgling branch gained lots from her attendance.

We will dearly miss her gentle and friendly way as will her travelling companions from Thurles but most of all her daughter Valerie and sister Kathleen.

Until we meet again,

Phil Aylward & Cecilia O’ Doherty

Mid-West Branch

April meeting

 Chairperson Tracy Watson gave a talk on Welsh Quilts at the April meeting. This went through the history and design of the quilts.

 Monthly Challenge:
The monthly challenge for April was to make a project out of one of library books. We had a number of entries on the night.
 The winner was Rebecca Palmer, her quilt is the yellow and blue quilt at the back of the table - unfortunately I didn't manage to get a shot of the full quilt on the night..

Monthly Challenge Entries

Cushion cover by Kate O'Donoghue

Challenge entry

Show and Tell:

Flying Geese quilt top by Alison Bingham

 Alison Bingham showed off this fantastic flying geese quilt top that she has recently completed. Alison incorporated a New York Beauty Block from a NYB workshop with Tracy Watson a few months ago. The use of the NYB block really adds a touch of drama to the quilt and was a great idea. Apologies for the strange lighting on this photo - the projecter was still on!

 

Paula Rafferty showed this quilt made using the Swoon block. The Swoon block has been a big hit recently on a lot of quilting blogs, quilting websites etc. The Swoon block makes a 16" block so you only need 9 blocks to make a very large quilt! For anyone who wants more information on the Swoon block here's a link to the Swoon Flickr Group.

Ger Larkin's daughter (apologies - have forgotten her name!) made this lovely block inspired by the pop group One Direction, and the colour that each band member uses. Ger said that she hasn't used much of the fancy quilting and embroidery stitches on her machine, but it was put to great use by daughter. Each square has used different stitches etc. 

Quilt by Kate O'Donoghue

 Kate O'Donoghue showed this quilt that she made, based on a pattern from a Kaffe Fassett book.

Quilt by Rebecca Palmer

 Rebecca Palmer is currently finishing off this Christmas quilt for entry into the International Quilting Festival of Ireland.











 A friend of Alison's brought in this lovely patchwork bag for show & tell.

Patchwork bag

For anyone who's making the Mystery Quilt here's a sneak peek of some of the blocks....

Mystery Quilt blocks by Tracy Watson

Table runner by Moya Geraghty

Moya Geraghty showed this table runner she has made.