Tuesday 13 November 2018

December Speaker


Our December speaker is Janet Wroe, the wardrobe mistress at the Concordia Theatre in Hinckley.  Her talk is entitled "You be the Judge".

Don't forget to bring food for the faith supper after the talk or any show and tell you may have completed.

The programme for next year is now available in pages and Pat will be taking bookings for the first workshop with Philippa Naylor see below.















The Finish Line. Unusual, creative and clever ways to complete your quilts.

Full day suitable for all levels.
Be inspired by a range of decorative edges to take your quilt, wall hanging or home furnishings from being good to being really special. We will make samples to discover how to create shaped and straight edge facings, how to make decorative rouleau loop trims and how to create a range of fancy prairie point details. In addition to this we will learn how to hang and support unusual shaped quilts with plastic boning reinforcements that are invisible from the front of the work. So much more interesting and inventive than the usual binding, this class will inspire you to make the most innovative design choices right up to the very last stitch!

November Meeting

At our November meeting we welcomed a local speaker:  Sandra Jenkins.

As a textile artist she presented a most comprehensive account of her sources, mostly from nature, for her designs.  Sandra explained them referring both to slides and actual samples.

While maybe not what many of the members of the audience had previously done themselves, Sandra captured their interest with her light hearted, easy manner.

She explained how she develops her designs from original images and drew parallels with the selection of colours, fabrics and designs for quilts.




 

Wednesday 17 October 2018

November Speaker



Our speaker for November is Sandra Jenkins.  Her talk is entitled "Exploring Design Source for Embroidery".















This presentation traces some of the themes she has explored to develop ideas for textile work.
Drawing forms an important starting point and helps to shape ideas towards satisfying creative responses.

This is embellished handmade felt machine embroidery & printed paper.




Don't forget the Big Textile Show on the 27th and 28th of October.

Wednesday 10 October 2018

October Meeting

We went on a journey with Carolyn Gibbs at our October meeting.  She took us back to her early patchwork experiences when she did patchwork by hand, without papers, sewing all the seams by hand.

As she developed her interest and skills she did both hand and machine quilting.

She showed numerous examples of her use of half and quarter square triangles with special attention to pressing seams to avoid bulk and making quilting easier.

It was fascinating to see how rather "random looking blocks, when repeated and rotated, made very attractive and striking designs.

Kathy Francis

Examples of her quilts.





Friday 7 September 2018

Speaker for October Meeting

Carolyn Gibbs has been developing and teaching her own patchwork and quilting designs for over twenty years from her base in Sheffield.  She specialises in traditional style patchwork and loves the variety of blocks available and the changed effect caused by a different choice of layout or fabric.

In her other life she teaches Chemistry and this mathematical and technical interest is perhaps why she love and geometry and precision of patchwork.

She enjoys teaching both beginners and those with experience.  She likes helping students to learn how to improve their techiques so that they get really good results and her patterns include information about her tips.


Carolyn with her quilt entitled "Thunderstorm"

On the Thursday she is holding a workshop entitled "Flutterbyes" see image in the post of 19th July 2018.  There are still spaces available.

September Meeting

What an evening's entertainment we had at our September meeting!

Our Speaker, Lynne Edwards, delivered her talk in such an easy-going and humorous way.

The first surprise was that she showed none of her own quilts.  All of her examples were made by talented quilters whose work she admired and usually purchased from them.

Each quilt came with its own story of how she came to own it, as well as an explanation of the often innovative techniques and development of designs.

Most of all she was able to explain what she admired in each one .

Lynne's love of colour, texture and expertise came up again and again and she obviously had great affection for her quilts.


Saturday 1 September 2018

Jacquie’s Worksop

Jacquie’s workshop is on the 29th September at Ashby
Magna.  See picture below.



Monday 27 August 2018

Speaker for September Meeting

The speaker for the September meeting is Lynne Edwards.  Her talk is entitled "A Private View"

Lynne started sewing the the 1960s.  She trained as a primary school teacher.
She had an interest in all aspects of craft work and ran after school craft clubs. Her love of quilting began after she saw the old quilts at the American Museum near Bath.  After she married she began to teach evening craft classes.  She has written children's books which were illustrated by her husband.  She started writing instruction sheets for the projects that she was teaching which led to the books that most quilters know her for.  Lynne is currently writing for Today's Quilter.  

Tuesday 24 July 2018

July Meeting


At our July meeting we were able to examine and handle numerous examples of Katharine Guerrier's work as it was circulated to illustrate her talk "Small and Miniature Quilts".

We were able to appreciate her bold use of colour and the contemporary feel of the textiles and their design process.

On the Thursday her workshop was enjoyed by everyone.

Pieces of work completed in her workshop.


Thursday 19 July 2018

Lynn Edwards Workshop Alterations

Please note that the date and venue have changed.

The new date is the 4th September 2018 and the venue is Blaby Baptist Church.

Pat advises that she will be able to help carry machines etc up the stairs.

Carolyn Gibbs Workshop

Flutterbyes

Thursday 14 June 2018

July Speaker


Our speaker on 4th July is Katharine Guerrier.  Her talk is entitled "Small and Miniature Quilts".

Katharine Guerrier has been making quilts and embroideries since 1980. She was trained at Camberwell School of Art in London and worked for some years as a teacher. Further courses in textiles followed, particularly the one year course in design and embroidery at Loughborough College of Art in 1983/4.

She has been a member of the Quilter's Guild and the Worcestershire Guild of Designer Craftsmen. Katharine's work has been featured in various magazines both British and American, and in her books.  She has worked as an occasional consultant exhibition organiser for Forge Mill Needle Museum and for five years taught on the City and Guilds patchwork and quilting course at Hereford Art College.

Her work draws on the traditional motifs of pieced patchwork, developing them to give a contemporary feel as shown in her retrospective exhibition, "Adventures in Colour" (2014) at Rhoudda Valley Heritage Park. An interest in all the Decorative Arts provides the motivation to attempt to create textiles which are original and collectable. In April 2018 Katharine was honoured with a life membership of the Quilters' Guild for services to quilting.

On 5th July Katharine is doing a workshop entitled "Postcard Patchwork" for details see the post on 19 April 2018.  Contact details for booking workshops and venues can be found on the workshop page.  Further images for workshop.





Tuesday 12 June 2018

June Meeting

A beautiful evening on 6th June found everyone in good spirits for our visiting speaker Gail Lawther.  It was not her first visit to Cosby Quilters but her ideas were fresh and motivating.

In her easy going manner she explained her innovative designs and methods with numerous examples of beautiful quilts featuring cottage garden flower, bugs, butterflies and many different birds.  Vibrant colours played an important part in her designs and differing backgrounds were used to effect.

On the following day er bird silhouette and cottage garden workshop was fully subscribed.  Detailed instruction and support to make our work individual, made it a productive and enjoyable day.

Kathy Francis


The messy play day will be on the Saturday 28th July at Ashby Magna.

Thursday 31 May 2018

June Speaker




Our Speaker for the June meeting is Gail Lawther. Her talk is entitled "A Trip Around the World.

She began working full-time in fabric and thread about 20 years ago and can't imagine a better way to earn her living. She designs and stitches quilts for books and patterns and also creates larger pieces on commission.
She travels all round the UK and further afield, giving talks about her quilts and teaching workshops and several times each year she does residential workshops in different places.




Saturday 19 May 2018

May Meeting


Immediately after Judi Mendelsohn's talk "Not being a Championship Quilter" at our May Meeting, one of our members said "That was the best speaker I've heard!"  That sentiment was endorsed by other members.  Judi was a very entertaining speaker explaining her quilting journey.

Each quilt she showed us had its own story.  At the first Festival of Quilts Judi and a friend had entered a quilt worked by two people and after judging they were thrilled to be awarded first place.  Having 'phoned her friend with the news and celebrated with fellow stallholders the organisers informed her that a mistake had been made and they were not  winners!  - hence "Not being a Championship Quilter.  We could only guess at their feelings on that day and sympathise with them.

Details of some of Judi's quilts



Friday 20 April 2018

May Speaker

Our speaker for the May meeting is Judi Mendelssohn.  Her talk is entitled "Not being a Championship Quilter.

Judi started patchwork in the 1980's, although she had sewn as a teenager at school.  She was an executive on the committee of the Quilters' Guild from 1991 to 1995.  She also owned a patchwork shop in South Wales called Joseph's Coat which she ran for several years and was assistant editor of (British) Patchwork and Quilting magazine.

Currently she teaches workshops around the country and runs Patchwork and Quilting Tours, taking groups of people on patchwork tours to various places and countries. 




Please take time to look at the workshops that we have available this year.  Images for the workshops for Katharine Guerrier, Lynne Edwards and Carolyn Gibbs can be found in the posts on the 19th April and Gail Lawther on the 24th February.  

Don't forget to bring your show and tell for the meeting and your scrap for the Leukaemia Research Shop in Lutterworth.


Thursday 19 April 2018

Lynne Edwards Workshop Images




Katharine Guerrier Workshop

Patchwork Postcards and Pinboard Quilts.

Learn to manage composition with shapes and colours on a miniature scale of 6½" x 4½" Piecing techniques include curved seams, strips and prairie points. Each 'postcard' is interlined with 'stitch 'n' tear', backed with handmade paper, then machine quilted ready to frame or mount onto a small canvas. A miniature 'Art Quilt'. They are also ideal for individual greetings cards. In a one day workshop you will have time to make several finished postcards to explore the principles of abstract shapes, line, form and colour. Another option is to make a 'Pinboard Quilt' a small quilt using similar techniques which is finished with wadding and quilted by machine. Lots of samples to inspire you on the day.

Additional Requirements.

  • sewing machine with the quarter inch foot if possible.
  • Fine pins. One or two sheet of A4 tracing paper.

Fabrics.

  • About half a metre of Stitch ‘n’ Tear and Half a metre of Bondaweb.
  • Small pieces of fabric in bright colours in the marbled batiks, Moda marbles (or similar) or hand dyed. If you want to work with patterned fabrics, small scale prints are better as these will fit into the scale you will be working on. Choose fabrics with a fairly high thread count (In other words not loosely woven, the batiks are good for this) Quarters or smaller pieces will be sufficient: about 6 - 7 different colours minimum in a variety of values.
  • A sheet of hand made paper, available from Art shops, or I can supply pieces.
  • Machine quilting thread in variegated colours to go with your fabrics.
  • For the Pinboard Quilt you will need a piece of wadding about 15" Square and a square of backing fabric the same size.

  • Small bits of embroidery or interesting fabrics such those printed with motifs can be incorporated in these quilts, so if you have anything like this bring it along.


  • Wednesday 28 March 2018

    April Meeting

    The April meeting is our practical evening.  There are three projects.  Two of which are pictured below the third project is a needle case, designed by Viv.  You can either do one or two of the projects or you can bring your own project.  We look forward to seeing you there.


    Scissor or key fob with Jo Turner


    Post it Cover with Jean Waterfield

    Wednesday 14 March 2018

    March Meeting

    Through her enthusiasm for batik fabrics, Roxanna our March Speaker from Hannah's Room reminded me of something I read a few years ago:

    Does anyone expect stamp collectors to use their stamps to post anything?

    Does anyone expect coin collectors to spend their coins to buy anything?

    Then why shouldn't we fabric enthusiasts enjoy collecting and owning fabulous fabrics?

    Roxanna explained with video clips the process of producing  batiks.  In addition, through samples passed around, we were able to follow each stage.  Few of us know how many processes are involved.  The skills displayed especially in the printing were impressive.  Roxanna had real enthusiasm and empathy for the fabric she buys and sells.

    Kathy Francis

    Saturday 24 February 2018

    March Speaker

    The March Speaker will be Roxanna from Hannah's Room of Ibstock.  Her talk is entitled "The Beauty of Batiks".  




    In June we have a workshop with Gail Lawther.  Information about the workshop is below, if you wish to attend contact details are on the workshop page or talk to Pat at the next meeting.




    TWILIGHT SILHOUETTES PUBLICITY BLURB
    Workshop with Gail Lawther
    As the light of the sun fades, the silhouettes of different birds appear against the twilight landscapes. All the dark motifs are fused onto backgrounds pieced from strips of fabric; your background can be quite detailed (eg using Jelly Roll strips), or created from three or four much deeper pieces. You can even use a single piece of dramatically-shaded fabric. (On the day, I’ll bring a few different pieces of shaded fabric with me that would make good backgrounds, either for the design you’re doing that day or others you might want to do in the future!)
    You can copy one of the five designs I’ve created, or design your own version on the day by mixing and matching the bird and plant motifs I’ll supply. And during the workshop we’ll explore lots of different methods of simple machine-quilting.

    TWILIGHT SILHOUETTES
    Workshop with Gail Lawther
    As the light of the sun fades, the silhouettes of different birds appear against the twilight landscapes.
    All the dark motifs are fused onto backgrounds pieced from strips of fabric. These backgrounds can be quite detailed if you wish – for instance, behind the swallows and the nightingales I used eighteen Jelly Roll (2½in) strips graded from dark to light. In contrast, the backgrounds for the geese and heron just use three or four larger pieces. You may even have a single shaded piece of fabric that would work beautifully – in which case you don’t even have to piece the background. When I do this workshop I often have a few random-striped batiks with me, cut to the size of the background, which you’re welcome to buy either for use on the day or if you want to do more designs in the future.
    The projects are wonderfully versatile; if you don’t want such a large wallhanging, simply reduce the length of the pieced background, then use fewer bird and branch motifs, and shorter plants. You can copy one of the five designs I’ve created, or design your own version by mixing and matching the birds and plants. You can choose to quilt the final design very simply, or as intricately as you like; during the workshop we’ll explore lots of different methods of simple machine-quilting.
    These designs work best in cotton fabrics for the pieced backgrounds; for the silhouettes, choose a tightly-woven cotton, or polyester/cotton sheeting, then the edges of the motifs will stay really crisp as you cut them. If you cut your fabrics to size before the day of the workshop it means you’ll be ready to get straight on with the creative bit (remember to alter the dimensions if you’re making your background a different shape or size from mine).
    As well as the things below, you’ll need your usual sewing kit of small and large scissors, pins etc. Simple machining is used to hold the fused patches onto the background (and quilt the shapes at the same time), so you will need a sewing machine; if you’re new to your machine, or not quite sure of all the things it can do, bring the manual too. And don’t forget to bring everything that goes with your machine – foot pedal, flex, knee lift if you have one, and all the feet and other bits that go with it – then we can choose the best feet etc to use on the day!
    Finished size: each of my panels is 42 x 21in (roughly 108 x 54cm)

    Thursday 15 February 2018

    AGM

    Our AGM went off smoothly on Wednesday 7th February.  Minutes of last years meeting were read and accepted and Gina gave a report of the 2017 activities and our financial position.  Anyone interested in joining a very friendly and happy group on the committee?

    This was followed by a presentation by Gill Greany on her "textile rich" visits to India.  Led by Gill's obvious enthusiasm for the crafts people and the stunning textiles they produce, we were introduced to different areas, buildings, customs and sewing skills.  Many richly decorated samples were handed round for close inspection.  We marvelled at all that hand stitching.


    Saturday 3 February 2018

    February Meeting

    The February meeting will be the AGM followed by a talk from Gill Greany entitled "India a Textile Journey".  Gill Lives in Countesthorpe and is a textile designer with an interest in Indian textiles.  She exhibits and does workshops at the Big Textile Show.

    Gill is on the left in the picture.

    Information about the speakers and workshops for 2018 have been updated on the appropriate pages.