Passing on the Comfort

By Mary Willis

On March 11^th nine of us gathered at the London Mennonite Centre in Highgate to learn something of the history of quilts that had been made in response to the severe needs of Dutch people during World War II. Mennonites in North America rose to the challenge and provided hundreds of quilts which were distributed via a house in Shepherds Hill run by the Mennonite Central Committee. This inspirational story was the focus of the morning.  Kathy Thiessen, of London Quilters, is the resident quilter at the London Mennonite Centre and led the seminar with fascinating slides and awe inspiring quilts that brought the story to life.

The discussions continued over lunch that was provided by the centre – a delicious, homemade choice of dishes that spoke volumes about the warmth of welcome and hospitality we enjoyed. The relaxed atmosphere made the whole experience one that I would recommend to any quilter wanting to learn a bit more.  

In the afternoon we got down to the practical challenge. We worked together on two quilts that were donated to the Project Linus U.K. charity. This, for me, was another learning experience and certainly the best way to learn a new skill. The quilts were completed in record time but I must admit that Kathy had done much of the preparation before the day began. Together we learnt to tie the layers as a quick way of securing the fabrics rather than traditional quilting.

At the end of the day I felt it had been worthwhile in a variety of ways. We had learnt something of quilting in the past, been introduced to the riches of the Mennonite lifestyle and had the opportunity to practise a quilting skill that will be of value in the future. I look forward to another similar day and would recommend it to anyone.

Earlybird Notice to LQs

from Kathy Thiessen

We are anticipating having another exhibition in Spring/Summer2007.  We will again be applying for a space in the Swiss Cottage Library exhibition hall.  Now is the time for you to be thinking and preparing for this.  This means making a very special quilt that you will not be giving away.  There will not be a theme, so try some new techniques (or old ones!) to ensure you will have something special to show the world! 

Sonnet 18

a themed exhibition of stitched textiles, wallhangings and mixed media by Colour FX Textile Art

28 June-15 July 2006 

Details located on back page under “exhibitions”

Our new exhibition takes the theme of Shakespeare’s eighteenth sonnet, ‘Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?’

One of us, Margaret Jarvie, set the group going with her distinctive piece, ‘Summmer’s Lease’.  We re-read the sonnet, from which her title is taken, and knew we had found the focus for our new exhibition, especially with the underlying but powerful message of time’s effects deferred.

Each of us has responded differently to the thene, but we have chosen to work to a common format.

   Marlene Cohen                       Alicia Merrett

   Claire Crocker                        Christine Restall

   Margaret Jarvie                       Stefanie Rickard

 

The Depression Quilt

I lift the quilt so gently from the chest
and spread it out upon the bed with care;
perhaps to hide the memories it possessed,
for many years she kept it hidden there.
The scraps of calico and work shirts blue,
the tiny, stamp-sized pieces of their lives
pieced all together, tell a story
trueof years of hardship, poverty and strife.

She told me once of how she sewed the scraps
at evening when a long day’s work was o’er;
of sharing space with babies in her lap,
….reflections of a time that is no more.
I’m proud to put this heirloom on display
In tribute to those hard depression days.

© 2002 Yvonne Hollenbeck
Reprinted with permission

 

Dear Members,

Your submissions for the newsletter are greatly appreciated; I couldn’t ‘piece’ it all together without you.  It is a real joy getting to know many of you and I thank you for your enthusiastic support.  

I would ask that you please email your submissions as a Microsoft Word document or other text file which can be read by the standard MS Office suite.  If at all possible, please do not send a scanned document. 

If you have any questions or concerns about emailing documents, please don’t hesitate to contact me at nebraskanative@yahoo.com.

Best quilting,

Andrea Taylor

Would you like to contribute to the newsletter?

Email your articles/information to the editor at:  nebraskanative@yahoo.com

Summer deadline:  3 July 2006

Look no further than our own LQ library!  Here are just a few titles you might enjoy. 

Perhaps you are needing a few…

‘Quilting Shortcuts’ by Maggie Malone

Maggie’s book is all about the shortcuts, but not for first-time quilters.  It includes examples of geometric shapes as well as curved pattern elements also instructions for backing whole quilts or blocks by machine, and finishing, and patterns and tips for quilt-top stitching.

And in keeping with the 2006 Sandown theme of Baltimore Beauties, why not try…‘Baltimore Beauties and Beyond’ by Elly Sienkiewicz  For Washington, D.C., quilter Elly Sienkiewicz, the quilt tops made in Baltimore during the mid-1800s exemplify the classic standards of the appliqué craft. In a series of 12 lessons, she describes the ingenious methods employed a century past by Baltimore women, and others favored by contemporary needleworkers. Each lesson prepares the reader to execute a 16-inch quilt block in one or more of 27 full-size patterns, advancing from cutwork appliqué to folded rosebuds, stuffed berries, ruching and inked calligraphy.

Have you recently borrowed a book from the library you’d like to tell others about?  If so, would you consider writing a short review for future publication? Everyone likes to hear about a good book!

 Chair Chat

Dear LQ’s,

Now that Spring has arrived I know that my quiltmaking will change. In Autumn and Winter days I love hiding in my quilt room which is warm and cosy with the shelves packed with boxes of fabric and rows of books and magazines and one wall covered in quilts. I can spend hours at the sewing machine which looks out through the window sheltered from the cold and wet beyond.  I can cut my patches using rotary cutting, layering the fabric to make it even faster. I can speed piece with each patch following the other, hardly pausing for breath. If I get on a roll I can make a small quilt in a weekend, just as long as no one expects me to do anything else. It can be exhilarating but exhausting.

Today looking out of my window at the blue sky and the trees in leaf I keep thinking about being outside in the light. So maybe I should put my machine sewing away for a few months and recharge my batteries with summer sun. But that means putting away my books and gadgets, turning off the sewing machine and doing a simpler sort of quilting. If I want to sew I have to go back to the roots of hand sewing and just carry the fabric patches, thread and needles, a few pins and a thread cutter. All in one small bag.

Sitting on a river bank, watching the swallows swooping over the water and listening to the breeze in the willow trees I can carefully sew the patches together and when I get home I can put the finished block in an ever growing pile and take out the patches for the next one. Over the summer the pile of completed blocks will grow so that when I am forced back inside I can enjoy putting the blocks together and finishing the quilt. It might not be as quick  but there is a quiet contentment of doing things in the old ways.

So, just as there is a movement called slow food which aims to bring back  the pleasures of leisurely dining in an effort to combat fast food, maybe we should try out slow quilting. I don’t want to abandon quick quilts but maybe we’re loosing some of the pleasure of quilting in an effort to complete lots of stuff. So take a deep breath, slow down and remember, unless you’ve taken the plunge and become a professional quilter, it doesn’t matter how many quilts you make this year.

Tricia May 2006

Fabric Postcard Exchange

I had this from Terry Doyle who is the President of the Morningstar Quilt Guild, East Aurora, New York. We are going to exchange postcards so if any of you are interested please let me know and I'll send your names and addresses to Terry.

Some members of Morningstar have been making fabric postcards and sending them to each other. I would like to reach out to other guilds and find other quilters who would like to participate.  It's just so much more fun to get mail from outside your own area.  We have had a successful exchange with a guild from Kansas.  I sent them the names and addresses of those here who wanted a 'postcard pal'.  Our members  then sent a card to the return address.  To me, it's invigorating to be able to finish a project in a reasonably short time.  I have experimented with different techniques that I would not have tried on a larger scale.  Not that I'm expert....just enthusiastic! 

Here's a few websites with some fancy examples:

Joyce R. Hartley's Fabric Postcards and Journal Quilts www.jpycehartley.com/postcards.htm

Making Fabric Postcards

www.4ormore.co.uk/projects/postcards.htm

Red Shoe Ramblings: How To Make A Fabric Postcard DebR Style http://debrichardson.blogspot.com/2005/09/how-to-make-fabric-postcard-debr-style.html

I hope some of you will be interested. Our guild website is www.morningstarguild.net.  It's not a fancy website, but we do have a nice picture album. v

Barbara Weeks would like your participation in her 19^th June discussion on ‘Traditional, Contemporary or Innovative’.  As she states…’I will show some images and bring a few quilts to discuss the issues, but it would be great to have some quilts from London Quilters to add to the debate.  Note that any such quilts are not in any way being 'judged' but rather considered in terms of Traditional, Contemporary or Innovative'.

15th May – Jenny Dobson: ‘In Praise of Scraps’

“By offering ideas on working with scraps and sharing the benefits that I’ve enjoyed from mine.  I hope to encourage you to establish and use your own scrap basket.”

19th June – Barbara Weeks: ‘Traditional, Contemporary or Innovative’

'This should provoke a lively debate about how we view our quilts. I will show some images and bring a few quilts to discuss the issues, but it would be great to have some quilts from London Quilters to add to the debate.  Note that any such quilts are not in any way being 'judged' but rather considered in terms of Traditional, Contemporary or Innovative'.

17th July – Sewing Evening – members demonstrations

August – no meeting

18th September – Susan Pritchard: Quilts from the Victoria and Albert museum

'Under the covers; revealing The Victoria & Albert Museum's Patchwork Collection'.

15th October – Kate Dowty Workshop: Contemporary Wallhangings

16th October – Kate Dowty: ‘Trial & Error’

'My approach to quilting and some of the mistakes I have made along the way'.

20th November – AGM 

18th December – Christmas Party

Chairman
Patricia Revest p.a.revest@qmul.ac.uk

Vice Chairman
Judy Roose jroose.highgate@virgin.net

Treasurer
Janne Bell jannebell@hotmail.com

Minute Secretary
Margaret Mavay jsbach99@blueyonder.co.uk

Membership Secretary
Traciy Fogarty traciy@mahonkin.com

Newsletter Editor
Andrea Taylor nebraskanative@yahoo.com

Librarians
Evelyn Hurst evelyn21@btinternet.com
Fran Katkar frkatkar@homechoice.co.uk

Hospitality:
Yzabel Field yzabel@tree78.fsnet.co.uk

16 May-24 June: ‘Elements of Nature,’ an outdoor juried exhibition by members of the Quilters’ Guild of the British Isles at Nature in Art Museum and Art Gallery, Wallsworth Hall, Twigworth.  Tue-Sun 10-5 Contact: Tel. 0845 045 00233   www.nature-in-art.org.uk

1 June -28August: Constable: The Great Landscapes at Tate Britain 

10-11 June: Viking Quilters’ Summer Quilt Exhibition at Manston Village Hall, Preston Road, Manston.  Sat. 10-4, Sun. 11-4. Traders, demonstrations, charity quilt raffle.  Contact: Kay Horne Tel. 01843823849 email: shudy@talk21.com

22 June -1 October: Kandinsky: The Path to Abstraction 1908-1922 at Tate Modern

28 June-15 July: ColourFX Exhibition at Gallery 47,

47 Great Russell St., London W1 Open Mon.-Sat. 10:30-4:30 Admission free.  Contact Stefanie Rickard Tel. 020 8455 7620 email: info@colourfx.org.uk

30 June- 2 July: The National Quilt Championships at Sandown

Exhibition Center, Sandown Park Racecourse, Esher

Theme for 2006 ‘Baltimore Beauties’ Open 10-5 (Sun. closes 4:30) Contact: Grosvenor Exhibitions Lts. Tel. 01775 712100/722900/767400

Details 01775 712100 or 01775 722900
Email: emma.cooling@btconnect.com

Contemporary Art Quilts 2006 juried exhibition showing in three venues in England and Wales. (one in central London).  More information from:

caq2006@hotmail.co.uk  The exhibitions will take place at:

* Uffington, Oxfordshire in August 2006
* Minerva Arts Centre, Llanidloes, Powys, Wales in September 2006
* Morley Art Gallery, London in January and  February 2007

 

The London Quilters web site address is:  www.londonquilters.org.uk
It is run and maintained by Tricia Revest.
Email: p.a.revest@qmul.ac.uk