Workshop with Gwen!

Last month on the 18th September we had another brilliant workshop on miniatures with Gwen Cottis.  We were shown the most detailed samples and told that miniature quilts are those that if you saw a photo with nothing to give a hint at the scale, you would think they were full standard sized quilts.

Getting the crisp points on such tiny pieces involves Foundation Paper Piecing and Gwen talked us through her method, brought books to show us for inspiration and gave recommendations for our own bookshelf.

We started with trees and leaves as our practice pieces and we were given an amazingly detailed folder outlining the steps, pre-printed templates on foundation paper and layouts for three different mini quilt layouts.

 You would think an Autumn workshop would have us reaching for the golds and browns and reds and greens as in Gwen's beautiful mini but quite a few of us were drawn to the umbrellas!  That's Limerick weather for you!

It was a busy day and the time just flew but we all had little finishes we proudly shared when the 2.5" square mini blocks were all squared up and looking so crisp and cute!

Imelda tackled the Hunters star and completed this lovely piece on the day!

At the end of the day most people had 4 little minis and we laid them all out to admire each others work.

 Here they are in their teeny tiny glory...

Didn't we do well?

Thank you Gwen for such a wonderful workshop!

Welcome back!

Now that our summer break is over we are back to our branch meetings this Friday the 9th September.  We meet in the hall of the Limerick Baptist Church, Old Cratloe Road, Limerick. 

New members and visitors are most welcome to join us for our branch meeting which includes show and tell and visiting  shop, Lismore Quilt Company.

Members pay €5 on the door and non-members €8. Visitors are welcome to attend 2 meetings before joining the IPS. 

Returning members please remember to bring back your library books and pincushion if you signed up for our swap!   Louise will be taking membership renewals and it would help a lot if you have filled in the renewal form in advance.  Download form here!

Sign ups for our upcoming workshops (Journal Workshop with Esther Kiely and Bargello Workshop with Rosin Mc Manus) will be available on the door - see Grania!

Looking forward to catching up with you all!
-Ruth

Branch news update

We have had a date change to our miniatures workshop.  It is now no longer on the 11th of September but the week after on Sunday the 18th September in Villiers School.  Further information on what to bring will follow!

Our National exhibition - Evolution - ends today.  Thanks to all our branch members who helped in any way with the success of the exhibition which was featured in last Monday's Limerick Leader! 

Coming up in October is the IPS display at the Knitting & Stitching Show.  This year we are inviting our members to submit work for exhibition over the 4 days on the themes of :

Traditonal, Bags, Modern, Young Quilters and Art

If you have any pieces not previously shown in Dublin that you would like to submit please see the details below and send a photo with overall dimensions to the nominated contact person.

Evolution - Opening Night!

Thank you to all who attended our exhibition opening yesterday evening in the Limerick School of Art & Design.  The Mid-Western branch has the honour of hosting the IPS National exhibition this year on the theme of Evolution.

Also on display is the EQA International exhibition titled Distance which comprises quilts from Ireland, Latvia and Austria.  The exhibition runs through to next Friday 22nd, open every day from 10am to 5pm - all are welcome!

For now here are some photos from our opening night!  A special thank you to Paula Rafferty, Loretta O'Brien and Senator Maria Byrne for opening our exhibition.

Mid West Branch News update

Our National exhibition "Evolution" is hanging in the Limerick School of Art & Design along with 60 quilts from the EQA "Distance"collection of quilts from Austria, Latvia & Ireland. All are welcome and our opening is tomorrow night from 5 to 7pm with guest speaker Senator Maria Byrne.

Also showing in the Hunt Museum is a collection of quilts curated by Paula Rafferty "Freedom".

Our September workshop on Miniature Quilts with Gwen Cottiss will take place on Sunday 11th September in Villiers School, North Circular Road. There are places available on our other two workshops:  Journal Workshop with Esther Kiely October 15th and Barjello Workshop with Roisin McManus November 5th, both in the hall of the Baptist Church, Old Cratloe Road.  Sign up sheets will be available at our September meeting on Friday 9th or email us at midwestpatchwork@gmail.com.

The IPS Annual General Meeting details have been printed in the summer Newsletter and the form to attend the talk by Dorothy Russell and New York Beauty workshop is below and can be downloaded in PDF form here!

Evolution - National Exhibition Opening