Here are some of the wonderful quilts shown at September's meeting.          Many Thanks to Liz who organized and coordinated the signature block swap. We look forward to seeing the quilts from them :o)  |
Here are some of the wonderful quilts shown at September's meeting. Many Thanks to Liz who organized and coordinated the signature block swap. We look forward to seeing the quilts from them :o) |
Despite the rain we had yet another fabulous meeting at the Crescent School. This time our speaker was Pat Deacon who shared her collection of quilts. Pat is a big fan of circles and curves and her use of colour made these simple shapes spectacular.
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Rocheberie Schoolhouse Quilters celebrated its 10th Anniversary this past weekend with cake, games and presents and I can say a fabulous time was had by all! Muriel, Laura and Gaynor (pictured here) are 3 of the founding members and shared the story of how this once little sewing group has grown over the years. Now, 10 years on, Rocheberie attracts ladies from around the Midlands and brings in speakers from up and down the country.
 We were lucky enough to have Lynette Harris as our speaker and were delighted in the afternoon with her many quilts and interesting stories. Many of you might recognize her as the Stitch Witch. We also had a fantastic Show and Tell! You ladies have been busy! All of the following pictures were of quilts made from the workshop day we had at the last meeting! Isn’t it interesting to see how different one pattern can be depending on the colours used and how it is sewn together.  Here’s another set of pictures with some of the other finished projects....lots of inspiration!  The committee would like to thank everyone that came along to share this special day with us...many we have another 10 years! |
For our May meeting we were entertained and wowed by Claire Tinsley from Hannah's Room. Claire shared with us so many of her Award winning quilts. It was truly an inspirational talk.
 As ever show and tell was full and the talented ladies of our group have been busy!   |
  Leaving it all as a bit of a surprise, members were asked to prepare some blocks in advance and then on the day they modified these blocks to create a completely different effect. With an early start, ladies got busy sewing and cutting. It was fasinating to see how the different colour choices created different effects and how each quilter's eye brought something new to the endless possibilities of design. As the day went on, Lynda showed the ladies her finished blocks and the two possible designs she thought would look nice with her blocks.  Not only was the day full of ideas, but Show and Tell was full of inspiration!   |
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This weekend Ferret came to speak and teach at Rocheberie Schoolhouse Quilters.
As an award winning long arm quilter,
I knew the quilts would be spectacular and I was really looking forward
to seeing them in person and hearing the stories behind them. Ferret
was a great speaker and her work was very inspiring. Her raw edged appliqués are sensational and she has a fabulous talent
for capturing the shapes and shading. This isn't painted in any way.
The shading is all done with fabric..and a lot of it is commercial
fabric!  As usual there was a lot going on at the meeting. We had a mammoth sales table and an great show and tell. 
On Sunday, Ferret treated us to her Speed Quilt class. Many ladies finished their quilts by the time we packed up in the afternoon. Being completely reversible and quilted as you go, these ladies will only need to slap on some binding and they will be finished. Fabulous! Honestly, if you ever get the chance to hear Ferret, or even get the chance to take a class with her, you won't be disappointed. She has a wealth of knowledge and excellent advice that even the most seasoned quilter will learn something new. P.S. She has a blog too...it's http://ferfab.blogspot.com/  |
Whoosh...wasn't it warm this Saturday! And yet despite the heat we had a fabulous meeting! Just proving once again that quilters are a hearty bunch and are willing to endure the weather to get out and talk "shop" :o) Pat Archibald, a textile artist from Edinburgh, was our speaker in the afternoon. 
Pat took us around the world in 80 quilts and explained how her travels to Africa, the Orient and America inspired a series of quilts. The amount of thought and emotion in each piece was evident and Pat shared her love of colour and shape with us. It was an inspiring afternoon. Once again the ladies of the group have been busy since we last met and Show and Tell was full of fabulous finishes. Here is just a small sample. 
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Rocheberie Quilters played host to Jennie Rayment who is world renowned for her fabric manipulation and folding techniques. Jennie instructed a twiddle and fiddle workshop in the morning and delighted us with her comedic talk in the afternoon. Jennie is not only a talented woman with her beautiful quilts, but she has a fantastic manner of speaking that makes the ordinary hilarious. Jennie told us about her recent experience running the London marathon and her rather unorthodox approach to the training before hand. A very agile women, Jennie sported running shoes in the morning and rather alarmingly high kinky boots in the afternoon...all the while teetering on some school desks. We were very appreciate that Jennie came to visit and left us with much inspiration and smiles on our faces. For even more photos..have a look at Angie's post on her blog. 
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What a wonderful meeting!! We had so much going on at this meeting. Not only did we have the inspirational Gail Lawther as our speaker, but we had 5 wonderfully talented demonstrators, a full sales table, Crafts and Quilts from Heart of the Shires and of course a super show and tell.  |
Yet another fantastic day. This time we were very lucky to have Sally White as our speaker. Sally is the owner of Threads and Patches in Milton Keynes. Sally not only shared some of her beautiful work, but also gave us an insight on the life of a quilt shop owner. Threads and Patches has recently moved to a new location with plenty of parking. Show and Tell was fabulous. Our ladies have been very busy over the summer and this is just a snippet of what we saw.  Lastly, I just wanted to let you all know of the wonderful work that Brenda is doing. Brenda has started an appeal for quilts for our injured men that are coming home from Afghanistan. Brenda ideally is looking for quilts that are 60" x 72" and that would be masculine in taste, but is also looking for donations of old shirts as they lend themselves to simple designs.  |
We had a great speaker this time who spoke with humour and expertise. Jackie is the owner of White Cottage Country Crafts and had several beautiful quilts to look at as well as giving us helpful hints and tips along the way.  Once again the members of Rocheberie brought a amazing show tell...  |
Our meeting in May was a feast for the eyes as our speaker was Shirley Bloomfield. Shirley is well known for her exquisite applique in a Baltimore style with an English flare. We learned about Shirley start in quilting and how she fell in love with this very intricate form of quilting.  We also had a bumper show and tell with a few mystery quilts completed (see the previous post) and an array of beautiful work. Here is just a sampling,
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As promised...if not a little late...some pictures of the mystery quilts that were made at the March meeting.  |
What a fun meeting! This was the first time that Rocheberie hosted a Mystery Quilt Challenge and it turned out to be a very successful day. Chris had everyone sewing to a schedule piecing the several components together and by the end of the day several quarters of the quilt were put together. Here are some pictures from show and tell, the cakes and the ladies hard at work...I'm afraid there are no pictures from the final reveal (so far) ...perhaps in coming show and tells we will see the end results. 
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We've kicked off the new year with a bustling meeting. Our speaker was Amanda Hall from Monkey Buttons. Amanda spoke of the extensive line of patterns she has developed over the last few years. It was a delightful day with a very inspirational show and tell. 
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We had a wonderful day sewing different bags. Many thanks to the ladies that organized it and prepared all the patterns. 
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