October 2015

The last meeting was spent sharing ideas and making items for our exhibition sales table. Bags seemed to be the overall theme on everyone's mind, probably because of the introduction of charging for plastic carriers. Lets hope this also means the our visitors have the same thoughts and will buy them.
Next month Kate Smith will be demonstrating a cheat quilting block so I hope there will be photos again next month

Septembers meeting was a talk by Susan Hill about the quilt she made to commemorate the Canadian Royal Airforce being billeted at Beninborough Hall during the last war. Susan's quilt was beautiful and made all the more interesting when she disclosed why she had chosen each block and its association with the history of Beninborough Hall. Her talk was amusing and very informative and made me think I should take another trip out to the Hall which is to the North of York as I have not been there for some years.

We also had an show and tell with the first of the sew a row quilts being shown. Well done to Liz

There was also another lovely quilt be Carol and some Christmas bunting by Christine.

This month we are sewing for the sales table which will be part of our exhibition next year. I hope members will bring along lots of good ideas for items that can be shared to inspire others.

September 2015

The new programme for White Rose Quilters is now on the blog under the heading programme of events. Do take a look and see if there is anything you wish to come and try. As a visitor to the group you will be made most welcome.

Also the date of our Exhibition next year is May 14th. We are holding it in the centre of York, at The Kings Manor in St Leonards Square. This is a splendid old building that will make a beautiful backdrop for our work and all the proceeds are being donated to charity so do come and join us and see how creative we have all been.

We are also pleased to have Brioni Greenberg joining us again for a workshop in October. Brioni will be teaching us about curved piecing and we will be making the Big and Bold Circles Cushion which is featured in her book 25 Ways to sew Jelly Rolls Layer Cakes and Charm Packs.

Keep an eye on our blog as I will publish photos and updates throughout the year about the group and what we are doing.

Well doesn't time fly by. With going away last month I have completely forgotten to update the blog.

In May we spent a lovely evening looking at the Handbag collection of miniature quilts which we loaned from the Quilters Guild. Some of the quilts were amazing. How does someone get so much accuracy when sewing such a small piece. I have such a great admiration for all the quilters who have donated a quilt to this collection.
Since we also had a go at piecing 1/4 inch hexagons ourselves I also greatly admire their patience.

In June we looked at another form of patchwork that can be said to be small and fiddly and had a go at making strips of Seminole work. This patchwork was created by the Seminole Indians to adorn their clothes and has always been traditionally done by machine.
Since I enjoy making bags and clothes I have used it on several occasions to embellish my work.

There are photos in the meetings review section. Please take a look at what we have been doing.

The April Meeting of White Rose Quilters had us all making tool caddies that fit onto a mug, a very handy accessory for any quilter going to a workshop. Not only does it hold all your sewing essentials but you also have the mug for your favourite beverage.
Moira did a great job of teaching us how to make these handy caddies which look quite complicated but were surprisingly easy to put together with the right tuition. (See the photo in the meetings review section.)

May has seen a change to the published programme. Everyone seems to be progressing well with their sew-a-row quilts without needing any extra help at the meeting, so we thought we would spend the evening exploring miniature quilts instead.

We have sent off to the Quilters Guild for the handbag collection of miniature quilts so we will be examining these closely and then having a go paper piecing with 1/4 inch hexagons. I think it will be a technique you love or something you hate. We will see!

Last month saw us catching up on the Sew a Row challenge with the remainder of the patterns being given out to all the members. I am really looking forward to seeing everybody's efforts which I hope will be at the July meeting.

We also discussed the exhibition we are planning for 14th May 2016. It seems along time in the future but I know it will quickly come around and we have a lot to organise.

We have already booked the venue. It is the Huntington room at Kings Manor in Exhibition Square in the centre of York. Can I also say a big thank you to PenLife Associates who have kindly helped us with sponsorship towards the cost of the venue.

We have also made a start on our charity quilt which will be raffled at the exhibition and again thank you to Cotton Cloth Sales for donating the material for this.

We have chosen our charities and any money made by the exhibition and raffle will be donated to York Hospital Special Care Baby Unit and the national charity BLISS, which helps families with premature babies. These charities were chosen as 2 members of the group, a mother and a grandmother have a special reason to be grateful to these two organisations.

At the next monthly meeting, April 22nd we will be making a caddy that fits around a mug. The caddy will hold all your sewing bits and pieces especially when you need to take a mug to a sewing event or be given as a gift to hold make-up brushes, hairclips etc to keep things tidy on a dressing table.

I will need to search my stash and find some pretty fabric before the next meeting to make this.

January saw a visit from Philippa Naylor. We are lucky that she lives just up the road in Beverley and was able to fit us into her busy schedule. What an inspiration to see her award winning work on a bleak January night, and to hear her amusing anecdotes of how she became such a famous quilter. Just what was needed to motivate us to get back to sewing after the Christmas break. Have a peek at the meetings review section to see some photos.

We have another teacher coming to join us in February. Katie Chaplin from Japan Crafts. Katie will be showing us her techniques for making Kanzachi, or folded flower brooches. She will also supply the necessary kits, so all members need to bring along is their hand sewing tools.  Very easy for everyone.  I am looking forward to a convivial evening spent sewing in the company of friends.