Orpington Quilters
News
April 2024
This month's meeting was our AGM. It was agreed the existing committee members would remain in their respective positions and Anna kindly agreed to step up as Vice Chair. One of the many topics discussed was how we might recruit new members. So it is planned that a few members will approach their local libraries and other community centres about a poster and/or display of the work of Orpington Quilters. Hopefully this will provoke some interest from people that possibly do not know that we actually exist!
Following last month's talk from Bonnie Foster, members have been busy making heart cushions for patients recovering from breast cancer surgery. Here is a picture of those passed over to Jennifer at the meeting, for her to hand on to Bonnie.
Bonnie had also talked about fidget quilts for dementia patients and as a group, we have decided make these too so they can be donated to the PRUH. A member's daughter is a nurse at the hospital and she and her team would be so grateful for these quilts. Here is the first batch of seven ready to be handed over.
At the meeting there were tables of fabrics and books for members to purchase for a small donation, though if the fabrics particularly were going to be used to create more items for charity, then they were free of charge.
March 2024
Bonnie Foster, from Beckenham Quilters, joined us this month to talk about their charity quilts and also to run a small workshop making heart cushions for breast cancer sufferers. Click here for more details.
Next month is our AGM and we welcome any ideas from the members on any projects or demonstrations that they would like to see in the coming months,
February 2024
At this month's meeting we welcomed Jo from Puddleducks, who came along with some examples of her wonderful quilting and a small pop-up shop of fabrics. Click here for more details.
Sadly, the group was informed of the passing of a long-standing member, Rose, who we believe joined Orpington Quilters in the early 1990s. Mags and Carol, who knew her very well, put together the following...
"When we joined Orpington Quilters, Rose was an intricate part of the group. She was on the committee for many years, taking part in the agenda, tea duties, demonstrations and exhibitions. Rose really pulled her weight. She was well known for her love of flowers and bling. When it came to making our 25th anniversary quilt, she was in her element when Rosemary suggested we added silver to each block. Rose was also known by many of us for saying things just as they were. This made her well loved and respected by all that knew her.
Her cremation will be held on 22nd February, 9:15am at the Bluebell Cemetery, Halstead. No flowers, donations to St. Christopher's Hospice."
Such sad news, she will be very missed.
Click on the following links to see the progress of the Community Charity Quilt project and the lovely pieces recently completed by our members in the Show 'n Tell Gallery.
Many thanks to Yvonne for providing a cake to go with our tea and coffee.
January 2024
We started off the new year with a fabulous talk from Sarah Hibbert, a modern quilter influenced as much by art and architecture as quilting heritage. She talked us through her journey of quilting, from the early days through to the production of her book "From Collage to Quilt". Click here for a more in-depth piece on her talk. It was lovely to welcome a number of visitors from other quilting groups who came to hear about Sarah and her quilts.
In addition, members also brought in their contributions to the Mystery Quilt and Community Charity Quilt projects, click on the links to see them. Also, other lovely pieces were displayed which can be seen in the Show 'n Tell Gallery.
A raffle was held and refreshments supplied so many thanks to those members who provided prizes and cakes.
December 2023
As usual, our December meeting was the Christmas buffet, where the members produced a wonderful array of festive foods for us all to enjoy. A free raffle was held, ensuring all members received a prize and Sue created a quiz of sewing terms and patchwork blocks. Much fun (and discussion) was had trying to solve the questions. A tub of Quality Street went to the winning table, which was happily shared around!
In response to last month's Christmas Challenge, where members took home some donated fabric to create something to be judged at the December meeting, there were many lovely examples of what could be achieved with some material and a bit of imagination, including an over-sized hare!
This picture shows the range of items created, all beautifully crafted. The members voted on their favourite and eventually the wreath (at the bottom of the picture) was voted the winning entry, with a voucher from World of Sewing as the prize.
Here is a close-up of the hare, made by Karen. He is quite magnificent.
Many members also brought in their completed pieces of block 2 for the community quilt project being led by Jennifer.
Huge thanks to everyone for their contribution in making it a very successful evening.
November 2023
This month Mags walked us through the creation of a Seminole patchwork, named after the Florida Indians collectively known as Seminole (a name meaning "wild people" or "runaway"). This intricate handwork was developed by Seminole women in the 1800s as a necessity for clothing which had to be made from scraps of material and leftovers during difficult times. Basically starting with strips of fabric sewn together, these strips are then chopped into segments and rejoined in a 'stepped down' pattern. Seminole patchwork makes for great borders on quilts and as lovely patchwork for other items such as bags, cushion covers, etc. Plain fabrics are best used with this type of patchwork but small prints can be effective combined with some plain materials.
Here are some samples that were displayed.
This is a sampler of Seminole patterns by Mags.
.......and a cushion cover made by Mags.
Jennifer's quilt has a Seminole border, cleverly placed to look like hearts.
Many thanks to Mags for showing us this very interesting technique.
For the community quilt that Jennifer instigated last month, several of the needle-turn applique blocks have now been handed in.
Jennifer has received 27 of this first block, almost enough for 2 quilts.
She has now handed out the instructions for block 2.
Someone outside of the group donated about 3 metres each of two different Christmas fabrics so the committee decided to set up a Christmas challenge. The fabric was cut up and members were asked to take a piece and make something to be shown and judged at next month's Christmas buffet, with a small prize to the winner.
October 2023
At our October meeting, Jennifer proposed a group project for a community quilt, to be donated to charity.. She gave us a masterclass in needle-turn applique, a first for some members but all were keen to learn. Click here to see the details.
As always. a few members brought in other completed projects they have been working on. Click on the Show 'n Tell link to see them.
Planning has started for our Christmas meeting in December where we celebrate with a Christmas buffet.
Next month, Mags has kindly offered to do a Seminole demonstration.
September 2023
This month we were delighted to welcome Nicola Walton from Daisy & Grace, and her lovely husband Dave.They brought along a pop up shop of their fabulous fabrics and templates, and the group was eager to spend money! Members were asked to bring any Daisy and Grace projects that they had completed, or were still working on. Nicola was delighted to see so many examples of her work and products amongst the group, Click on the Show 'n Tell link to see them.
Nicola was also asked to judge the Rice Bag Project that Norma instigated earlier this year. Many lovely examples were presented and the first prize was presented to Diane (centre) and Norma and Jennifer were worthy runners-up.
Nicola kindly provided the prizes: 1st Prize was a £10 discount on Diane's pop-up shop purchase, and the runner-up prize was a free fat quarter each for Norma and Jennifer.
Following last month's reveal of the mystery quilt by Diane, many members brought in their own runners and quilts, some completed and some still a work in progress. Click here to see the project update.
It was a lively evening, with a raffle and refreshments. Thank you to those members who provided cakes and raffle prizes.
August 2023
As this summer month is often quiet in terms of attendance, people off on holiday, etc., this meeting was a sit-and-sew session, giving members the opportunity to bring along quilts they are working on. For those ladies that wanted to sandwich their quilt, tables were put together giving a generous space that is often difficult to achieve at home.
There were also a couple of completed quilts presented, click on the Show 'n Tell link to see them.
Diane finally revealed the Mystery quilt that some of our members have been working on over the past few months, following the monthly instructions to build the individual components of the final block. The end result was a beautiful, and clever, quilt that nobody was expecting. Click here to see the project updates and the final reveal.
As a group, we have quite a number of quilts that were previously created by sub groups of members. These are currently stored by various ladies in their homes and we are looking to find outlets for them, such as charities, etc. Wendy brought in one she has been looking after and suggested we ask Crofton Halls to display it in the building so that other users of the facilities are aware that a quilting group meets there monthly, maybe drumming up interest to increase our membership. The management team at the venue have been approached and we await their decision. Meanwhile, Mags has offered to add a sleeve to the below quilt so it can be easily hung, hopefully in a prominent place.
"Orpington in Bloom"
On the reverse of the quilt is the label detailing all the contributors.
July 2023
There was no speaker this month so we entertained ourselves by some of the committee members bringing in various items that they had made using strips. Techniques were explained and samples shown. Many members enjoyed the evening, learning new things to do with their ever-growing piles of leftover fabric pieces.
Sue showed the 5 steps to creating a log cabin "with attitude", from joining wedge-shaped strips to create a fabric piece, trimming each round to a wonky shape and finally squaring off the last set of background strips.
In addition to this lovely bag, Jennifer also showed several quilts made from strips.
Diane presented a number of quilts, explaining the techniques of joining the strips to get the required pattern. Here are some pictures.......
Norma presented and explained a couple of quilts using 95% of Liberty fabrics, which were about 30 years old. To a few members she showed how some of the blocks were built on a foundation fabric, which gives strength and stability.
And Yvonne showed a bag made from 'wonky' log cabin blocks using the foundation paper piecing method.
June 2023
This month we were treated to a talk from Sylvia Critcher on Raised Quilting. This technique produces the most wonderful hand quilted pieces. In addition to many examples, Sylvia also brought along a little pop-up shop so we could purchase the materials to try this for ourselves. Click here to find out more.
Back in February, Sue proposed a joint effort to create some Log Cabin quilts for the Linus charity and this month she brought in the completed quilts, Click here to see them. Many thanks to all the members who participated.
Thank you to those members who provided raffle prizes and those who provided the refreshments.
May 2023
At this month's meeting Tony Mansi delivered his talk on the Canadian Red Cross Quilts WWII, which we all really enjoyed and were fascinated by the back stories of the dozen quilts he brought along. Click here to see the details.
A lively raffle was held, and lovely refreshments were served, so many thanks to those ladies who provided prizes and those who baked the delicious cakes.
Next month the speaker will be Sylvia Critcher on Raised Quilt and Stitch, with a small project.
April 2023
The evening started with the AGM and there were some enthusiastic contributions from various members. The subject of the club quilts were brought to the agenda. The committee explained that as yet we had not found a charity to take the quilts. Wendy and Michelle offered to create a sub committee to try to get this moving. All ideas, suggestions and offers to help are very welcome!
The Show and Tell followed and many beautiful quilts were presented, most of which were made for Linus by the Colourwheel Quilters who put together combinations of blocks which had been donated to them. There were some interesting blocks and lovely colour combinations. Click here to see them.
After this, Norma demonstrated how to embellish the rice bag, one of our ongoing projects.
Thank you to those members who paid their annual subscription and we look forward to the next meeting in May where Tony Mansi will be giving us a talk on the Canadian Red Cross Quilts sent to families during the last world war.
March 2023
Our meeting this month was a lively affair. Firstly, several members brought in their January and February blocks for the Mystery Quilt project. Click here to see progress so far.
In addition, those in the group that are involved in the Charity Quilt project brought in their Log Cabin blocks. Well, the ladies did us proud and there are enough to make a number of Linus quilts. Click here to see the detail.
Finally, Jennifer showed a stitched panel which is part of a Japanese Rice Bag project proposed by Norma. The idea is to use different stitch techniques in the style of Boro, Sashiko, Kantha, etc. to create the sides of a round-bottomed, drawstring bag. Details of fabric and sizes will be emailed out to members so the panels can be brought to next month's meeting.
February 2023
At a previous committee meeting, each of the committee members agreed to add a mini project to the year's agenda in a bid to involve all of our quilters on some combined projects. As stated below, Diane kicked the year off with a mystery quilt and has now issued the instructions for the second block.
This month, Sue has asked each member to complete 5 or more Log Cabin blocks which she will combine into a Linus quilt for charity. The fabric requirements are for children's prints/colours in dark and light shades. In order to tie all the blocks together Sue has provided the central red square that is classic in a Log Cabin block. The members were asked to bring their blocks to the March meeting so we can all help work out the best layouts for Sue to put together. The Log Cabin instructions have now been emailed to all members.
With regards to the group quilts that have been offered up to members, Wendy claimed the Flower Fairies quilt for her 4-year old granddaughter and took a picture of it in use. Apparently the little girl is delighted with it.
January 2023
The first meeting of the new year was a lively affair, with everyone catching up with friends after the Christmas/New Year festivities. In her absence, we said goodbye to Yvonne Seymour, who was our Joint Chair. She has now moved out of the area so we shall be looking to replace her on the committee.
Diane has kindly put together a project that all members can be involved in. It is a mystery quilt, where Diane will provide instructions each month for making a block but we won't know what the final piece looks like until all the blocks are put together. The project comes in two forms, either a table runner or a Linus quilt. and this month Diane has provided fabric requirements for both and the first set of instructions. This project will take about 8-9 months to complete.
December 2022
The Christmas meeting was good fun, despite the really cold weather. The buffet supper was delicious and also varied as supplied by the members. Thanks to Mags and Carol for the Christmas tablecloths which made the room look lovely and festive. Next on the agenda was a patchwork quiz set by Sue Ingram. After a lot of brain searching for the correct answers, the winning table scored 23 out of 30 and won a tin of Quality Street chocolates. The evening concluded with lots of raffle prizes and happy faces!
November 2022
This month we welcomed Karen Parry to talk about pins and needles. As an experienced sewing group we did wonder what on earth she could she could tell us that we didn't already know, but how wrong we were! Karen gave a lively and fascinating talk on the wide variety of hand-sewing needles, machine needles and pins. She was born into the sewing industry as her parents were retailers with five haberdashery stores operating from the 1960s to 2000. Her career started here when she helped Mum at the stores. When this business closed, Karen worked for a number of big name companies in the sewing industry, first in Development and then in Sales. Eventually she joined John James Needles and worked there for many years. However, she got tired of the long commute from Lincolnshire to Redditch every day so she left four and a half years ago to set up her own company "Needles to Pins". At our meeting Karen handed out information sheets on needles, which she said were the bibles on the right needle to use. She also explained the different sizes and shapes, and the reasoning behind the wide variety on offer. She gave lots of advice and happily answered questions from the audience, all of which was highly enlightening. Karen brought along a pop-up shop as well and after the talk, trade was brisk now that our members were better informed on their needle use.
Refreshments were served and a lively raffle was held so thank you to all the ladies who contributed cakes and raffle prizes.
October 2022
This month our meeting was a quieter affair as fewer members than usual attended. However, we were delighted to welcome three new members to the group. For those that did attend, a lot of fun was had working on the Face mini project and the excellent works-in-progress can be seen by clicking here.
September 2022
We were delighted to have Pamela Egan-Wyer, from Beckenham Quilters, to give us a wonderful talk on "Scraps & Stash", click here to get the full story. A number of visitors also attended for this engaging subject. Refreshments were provided and a lively raffle was held. Thanks as always to all contributors.
August 2022
Our meeting this month was very quiet, with many of our members either off on holiday or too exhausted to leave the house during the heatwave we are currently experiencing. However, the air-conditioning in the hall was very efficient, some members in short, sleeveless dresses actually felt it was too cold!
We had planned to welcome a talk from Lucy, a long-arm quilter who is new to the area but due to unforeseen circumstances, she had to postpone that visit until a later date.
Back in July, Yvonne Stafford, our Secretary, received a request on behalf of Great Ormond Street Hospital for catheter bags for children of all ages. When children go into hospital for surgery, they are left with catheters that need to stay in place for potentially months after the surgery, which can be an embarrassing visual, but having these hand made bags really brightens their recovery. As usual, our members, and their friends, responded brilliantly and this week Yvonne sent over 200 bags off to GOSH. Click here to see some examples on this month's Show n' Tell, as well as some quilts displayed by members.
June 2022
Jennifer Viner and Yvonne Seymour have volunteered to act as joint chair for the group, taking over from Anna Jardine. Our thanks go to Anna for stepping up during lockdown when our previous chair person, Polly, left the group following her move away from the area. Anna has led us with humour and good grace during the past two years and will continue be a strong member for the group. Good luck to Jennifer and Yvonne.
Back in April, photographs were taken of a number of suitcase quilts that had been made by various members, showing wonderful examples of excellent techniques. Click here to see them. These have now been returned to their owners.
Also that month, we photographed several group quilts that had been created by a number of different collaborations between our quilters. Currently they are being looked after by several members but it has been agreed that they now need new homes. Click here to see these fantastic quilts and the wide choice if you wish to own one. Members of the public will also be able to buy any of these quilts but priority will be given to group members.
Cath Anley, of Beckenham Quilters, has notified us of the details of their July meeting at Beckenham Methodist Church. Judi Kirk will be giving a talk "25 years of tips, tricks and techniques". This meeting is open to non-members for a fee of £5, it will start at 8:15pm but there will be refreshments and registration from 7:45pm.
July 2022
This month we welcomed Carolyn Forster to speak to us about Utility Quilting. She gave a lively talk and displayed a number of both antique and modern quilts as examples of this very useful technique. Click here to read the details of this fascinating subject. Many thanks to the group members who provided delicious refreshments and items for the raffle.
May 2022
At this month's meeting we had Nicola Walton from Daisy and Grace as our guest speaker. Click here to read her story and see some of her amazing work. Nicola brought along a pop-up shop, which always delights our members. Delicious refreshments were served and a lively raffle was held.
April 2022
We held our AGM at this month's meeting. In addition to the usual business of an AGM, all the group quilts held by various members, past and present, were photographed and will be catalogued so they can either be auctioned, sold or donated.
Also, members brought in the results of the fat quarter challenge that was set in December. Click here to see some amazing examples of the inventiveness of our members.
Next month, Thursday 12th May at 7pm, we will be welcoming Nicola Walton from Daisy and Grace, who will be joining us with her pop-up shop, a demonstration and a display of some of her beautiful quilts. Visitors are welcome, fee £5. There will be a raffle and refreshments provided.
March 2022
This month we were treated to a visit by an old friend, Jo Baddely from Puddleducks. The meeting was open to visitors and we ran a very successful raffle. Refreshments were enjoyed by all and there were lovely cakes donated by various members. Click here to see a selection of Jo's fabulous quilts.
Next month is our AGM, which is a closed meeting. Members are reminded to bring in any group quilts they may be looking after so they can be photographed and catalogued.
February 2022
Due to an increase in COVID infections our January meeting was cancelled. However, the February meeting was very lively as members were invited to bring in a selection of their unfinished objects and give the background as to why they haven 't been completed.
December 2021
Our annual Christmas buffet was a lively affair, with all members contributing to the party with all sorts of lovely food and drink, what a spread it was! Everyone brought a fat quarter and Diane led us, in groups of six, through the process of cutting these down and passing half on, with the end result being each member in the group having 6 random pieces of fabric with which to make some quilted object to be presented at the April AGM as a finished article.
November 2021
At this month's meeting, members took part in creating some festive decorations. The Christmas bells can be seen on the Show 'n Tell Gallery page.
October 2021
Our delayed AGM was held in October. Many items were discussed, including the election Yvonne Seymour and Jennifer Viner to share the post of Deputy Chair. It was also agreed that the group quilts, held by multiple members, should be catalogued and then offered up for sale or auction, the details to be confirmed at the April AGM.
September 2021
Our meeting this month was very noisy, as you can imagine. It was so lovely to catch up with friends that we had not seen for many months. It is hardly surprising that not all topics of conversation were quilting related! Luckily it appears that most of our members seem to have avoided the ravages of this terrible virus.
Also, many members presented their 'show and tells', including several Block of the Month quilts and other projects. Click here to see their amazing quilts on the Show'n Tell Gallery page.
During lockdown Polly, our chair, decided to step down following her move out of the area, the commute was just a little too far! Therefore we have a vacancy for the Chair position. Anna has stepped up into the Acting Chair role until this position is filled. Also, the committee member for managing refreshments also stood down so in the interim, until this position is filled, it has been agreed that each member will provide their own refeshments if required. The caveat to that will be that when we have a speaker, tea, coffe and refreshments will be provided.
April 2020
After the March meeting it became necessary for us to cancel our meetings at Crofton Halls due to the Corona Pandemic. The suspension lasted for much longer than anyone thought it would but happily we were able to restart our meetings in September 2021.
March 2020
This month we were treated to a wonderful talk on English Paper Piecing by Nancy Adamek. Click here to learn more about her career in this method.
Also, many members presented their 'show and tells' including several incubator quilts. Click here to see their amazing quilts on the Show'n Tell Gallery page.
February 2020
At this meeting we were treated to another episode in Jennifer's series of "My Life in Stitches" It was the turn of Yvonne Seymour and Diane Brown to be interviewed and they both brought in a fabulous selection of their work for us to see. Click here to read more about this.
We also had a visit from Jo at Puddleducks with her Pop-up Shop, a wonderful selection of gorgeous fabrics for sale.
We also saw a terrific selection of Tree Blocks made for the Australian bush fires victims. Read more on the Show'n Tell Gallery page.
January 2020
Very exciting start to a New Year - the group was offered a block of the month project to start this month. Three main colours and background required or the project can be made with scrappy fabrics.