July meeting and AGM

Tonight we had to get the business side of the meeting over before we could begin to stitch.

The election of officers and the accounts were swiftly approved by the members and we can now go forward to another year with a healthy bank balance.

That done Mary Whitehouse was able to begin to show us her version of Slow Stitching. 

This gentle hand stitching way of recycling old scraps of material to produce a new piece of fabric was very relaxing. Repetitive sewing movements produce endorphins in the brain to give a feeling of well being.

The finished piece can be made into several different things including mug rugs, book covers and fabric containers.

Hope to see lots of things at the September Show and Tell

 The June meeting took place on a very warm night but we were pleased to welcome Chris from The Cone Exchange in Harrogate.

His talk was about how the Cone Exchange came into being because of a small boy visiting Taylors Tea Factory, a waste Cone and  500 Christmas Angels (see more in Meetings review)

An enjoyable and interesting run through the charities past and present ideas for repurposing "waste" ensued.

A visit to the Cone Exchange shop in Harrogate which stocks lots of recycled crafting material and employs disabled young people in its cafe, is a very worthwhile way to supplement your stash at a reasonable price.

 

May 2026

Another change to the programme I'm afraid. Things seem to have got a bit muddled this year.

Tonight we had a go at weaving material. An interesting way of making your own fabric for a bag or a book cover.

More photos on the Meetings Review pages.

April 2026

This months meeting was a talk on English Paper Piecing by Hilary Spilsbury.

The talk was full of tips on how to do this hand sewing technique without getting frustrated. Hilary's work is stunning as you can see from th photo below.

She has even inspired me to hunt down the hexagon quilt that I started many years ago and have never finished, and give it another go.

 The March meeting was making bottle top pincushions

These cute pin cushions can be decorated with embroidery and beads and are an ideal size to take to a workshop

 

A change to our published programme in February as unfortunately our speaker had to cancel. 

Instead Lis Tate gave her talk on Seminole patchwork which she was due to give in March.

Seminole Patchwork was specially designed to be made on the sewing machine by the Seminole Indians of Florida. Traditionally it was used in their clothing and is still used to make patchwork waistcoats but can also be used in other items.

I produces intricate strips of patchwork patterns which can be incorporated into quilts and bags.

The process is time consuming and fiddly but is well worth the effort for the results it produces. I can recommend the book Basic Seminole Patchwork by Cheryl Greider Bradkin if you want to have a go for yourself.

 We have had 2 meetings since the last blog post.

December was our Christmas festivities with mince pies, and a Christmas raffle. 

We also made some Christmas coasters featuring baby polar bears. Everyone went home with a prize and a coaster.

January's meeting saw us examining some handling items from the Quilters Guild Collection and learning how to be quilt detectives. What do you look for in a quilted item that will tell you more about the type of patchwork. its age, the types of fabric, and its provenance.

November's meeting was an interesting talk on Eco-printing.

CarolAnn Allan explained how she uses the plants in her large garden to dye silk, cotton and threads which she then uses in her patchwork. The results were brighter than I had expected from natural dyes. 

Perhaps we should have a dyeing workshop next Spring?

White Rose Quilters has a New Programme for 2025-2026

 September saw us welcoming Althea Smith from Harrogate Quilting Studio with a talk entitled 

"Don't look at all my Mistakes" and lots of beautiful Quilts for us to admire.

In October we were making book covers with Kate Smith, another busy and enjoyable evening.

We also have a group challenge for the year. Find out more by navigating to the new page Group Challenges

Happy Quilting Everyone

 Last night was our AGM which our constitution states  we must hold every year.

We made the business part of the meeting as short as possible and both the yearly accounts and the members of the committee continuing for another year were voted on positively, and so we will run for the year 2025-2026.

We then got down to the business of making mini broaches with Gill and Karen, much more enjoyable.

Now we will take a summer break and meet again in september.

AND THE WINNER WAS

At our last meeting we had our own mini quilt show and tried our hand at being quilt judges. This was only after Nadine Paver, qualified quilt judge and tutor on the Quilters Guild of the British Isles Quilting Course, had given us an overview of the judging process and what to look for in a quilt. The judges at Festival of Quilts are experts in what they do, and I for one don't envy them their job, having looked at what is included in the quilt judging course. 

Thank you Nadine for a very informative evening.

 WHITE ROSE QUILTERS have had a busy couple of months.

The April meeting saw us gathering at BUGWEEDS our local Quilt Shop full of all the fabric and quilt notions that you cannot possibly do without. They provided refreshments whist we browsed the shelves and spent a lot more of our pennies than we should have.

May was our Cross Body Bag workshop with Kate Smith. A full day of sewing with like minded people away from the distractions of everyday life. The result was a very stylish bags and the experience of how to sew zips that can be used in future bag making projects.

The May evening meeting was spent with Gini from Dorset Buttons making button broaches and learning about the history of hand made buttons.

 MARCH AT WHITE ROSE QUILTERS

This evening's meeting saw us creating mini pictures with Nadine Paver. 

(These were Nadine's samples curtesy of Heather Chalkley who unfortunately could not make the meeting, so Nadine stepped in and did a sterling job). See more photos in the Meeting Review section.

 February at White Rose Quilters

This months meeting saw us getting to know members quilting history. 

We had a huge Show and Tell featuring each members first and latest quilts.

We heard some good stories and saw some wonderful quilts.

Photos of a few more of the quilts can be seen in the meeting review pages.

HAPPY NEW YEAR 

2025 and ANOTHER YEAR TO INDULGE IN OUR FAVOURITE HOBBY

JANUARY 22ND 

We start the year with Gill and Karen, and Till Roll Crumb Piecing.

A way up-cycle all the small scraps left over from other patchwork and make long strips of new fabric.

A fantastic way to be thrifty and eco friendly. (see meetings review for more details)

Christmas Party December 2024

A Jolly Good Do with Secret Santa, Mince Pies and Nibbles, and making Snowmen or Ginger Bread Persons.

 Interesting and informative meeting in November.

One of our members Mary Whitehouse gave us a talk on the courses she has been doing at Bradford College of Art. Further details on the meetings review page.

We also had a visitor, Sue Cooke
from Hartrigg Oaks. 

Three of our members Janice Lawson, Kate Smith, and Lis Tate helped them to make a memorial quilt to celebrate the 25 year anniversary of their opening. Alongside the quilt, they also produced an album detailing each block in the quilt and its maker plus the overall construction process.

Sue kindly bought along a copy of the album to present to the group and the members who helped.

 The October meeting saw us making magic bags with Kate Smith.

These are small draw string bags that are very simple to make and have one drawstring to open the bag and a second to close it. Magic!

They are very quick and easy and can be made with Christmas or fancy fabrics and used instead of wrapping paper for presents.

WORKSHOP  APPLI-PIECING WITH KAREN AND GILL 

SATURDAY 19TH OCTOBER 2024

An interesting technique and very ably taught by Karen and Gill.

Personally, fabric glue and me have never really got on but even I managed not to get in a sticky mess whilst I aligned my pieces like a jigsaw. Then everyone concentrated on their machines in order to sew them together using invisible thread and a small zigzag stitch

10 members attended the workshop and everyone managed to come away with a finished or nearly finished piece of work. We look forward to seeing the results at the show and tell at our next meeting.

 WORKSHOP LINUS QUILTS    SATURDAY 11TH MAY

A great day when 10 members got together to sew Linus Quilts on Saturday following the talk by the Linus Quilt Representatives at our last meeting.

Lots of sewing and lots of chat. Members gave each other feedback and ideas on their quilts. It was a very productive retreat, away from the distractions that you get sewing at home.

The day was warm and sunny and we enjoyed lunch in the churches garden and scrumptious cake kindly provided by Janice.

Here are the end results.

 24th July 2023

A small select gathering for tonight's AGM.

We said a grateful thankyou to the retiring members of the old committee and finances being in order are ready to go forward with our newly elected officers next year. 

Business having been got out of the way we spent a convivial session hand sewing thread catchers based round old Pringles tubes. Thanks to Ann for leading this.

North Country Quilts 26/6/24

What an interesting evening we had hearing about North Country Quilts from Kate and seeing an example of one from her heritage quilt collection. 

See meetings review for more details. Also check out Show and Tell to look at some of the fantastic makes from our talented members. 

 MEETING     WEDNESDAY MAY 22nd

WONKY LOG CABIN with CAROL BOWDEN

A good evening with Carol who demonstrated this quirky log cabin technique. It seemed anything goes in the way of strips in this technique, meaning it is a good way of using up your stash. All those bits you thought were too small to do anything with can be joined and added as a log cabin strip to make up the blocks. As you trim the blocks to size when you think they are big enough, accuracy is not a problem, and with no seams to match up either, it is a quick and easy way to make a scrap quilt of any size.

A great way to make a great Linus Quilt !

Clever half square triangles

 What a good evening we had learning a new (certainly for me) way to make half square triangles (HST). Beth Helfter’s Accordion Sewn Scrappy half square triangles method. No two sewn squares turn out the same!  Although initially it looked baffling, it was a very simple technique and we all enjoyed having a go. 

Showing the HST 

Border showing a different way to use this HST technique