March meeting & workshop photos!

Last month we welcomed Arlene Shawcross to our branch for a talk and a workshop.  We were treated to delicate works of free machine embroidery.  Using a soluble base Arlene is able to make very intricate pieces that she quite often turns into clothing.  Thank you Arlene for sharing your work with us!

 Thank you also to our volunteers and shop on the night!

Our extensive library looked after by Kate and Imelda

Frances and Kate for helping with teas and coffees!

Sew Crafty Fabrics our shop on the night!

Our workshop involved a piece of art created using organza and blending thread and fabrics to reflect a line or image from a piece of poetry or a story.  We all had fun reading things into the shapes and colours.   Arlene's piece that she used to demonstrate her method was based on the image of a woman in a red dress lying on the green grass on a bright sunny day!

This was our show and tell table at the end of the day and it was filled with beautiful colour and texture!

I loved this detail in Louise's piece.  We were all very generous with each other and swapped organza bits.  Louise used some of the selvedge of a piece of yellow I had to make Daffodils and then added some bling!  A lovely touch to her art piece.

These are some of the examples of Arlene's work shared with us on the day!

And the other things I found really pretty were the baskets of thread that Arlene had brought to sell.  I am totally drawn to the warm colours and did have a case of thread envy when I saw Tracey's collection shown on the bottom right.  One day, maybe!
More photos on our Flickr page here! 

National Exhibition in Limerick!

Irish Patchwork Society

The Midwest Branch of the Irish Patchwork Society invites all IPS members to submit quilts for the National Exhibition on the theme of “Evolution”.

Limerick School of Art and Design (LSAD), Limerick City, 12 ^-22^nd July 2016.

Rules of the exhibition:

1.                   The quilt must consist of a minimum of two layers, although any technique may be used.

2.                   Size: quilts can be made to a maximum of 1.25 meter (approx. 50”) on any one side.

3.                   The quilt has a free choice of edging treatments.

4.                   No glass fronted, framed, mounted quilts or quilts made from kits will be allowed.

5.                   The work should have been completed in the last two years.

6.                   The quilt must have a 10 cm (4 inch) hanging sleeve, (with sufficient fullness to accommodate the hanging rod).

7.                   Please ensure that your quilt has a stitched fabric label on the back at the bottom edge with the following information:      

• Name of the Quilt, Name of Quilter, Postal Address, Telephone number.

8.                   The quilt should not have been exhibited prior to submission to this exhibition.

9.                   Quilts made by more than one person at any stage of construction should identify all of those involved.

10.               Quilts are not for sale during the exhibition.

11.               All IPS members are eligible to enter and there is a €10 entry fee per quilt to defray the costs of holding the exhibition.

12.               This is a juried exhibiition. The judging panel’s decision will be final.

13.               The quilts are covered by the IPS insurance once the quilt is received by the hosting branch.

14.               By entering your quilt you agree to have it photographed for publicity purposes and the catalogue of the exhibition.

15.               Each quilt must have its own bag labelled with both the name of the quilt, the name of the maker and your branch.

16.               Quilts will be released at the end of the exhibition period and not before that time.

17.               Deadline for quilts to be received is the 31^st May 2016. No late entries will be accepted due to cataloguing and photographing of quilts. 

Entry form can be downloaded here.

We look forward to receiving your entry and seeing you all for our National exhibition in July!