November Meeting

Wednesday 6^th November was another of those “grey days” we had become accustomed to for so long but once at Cosby Quilters we were transported to the colourful world of Gilli Theokritoff.

Surprisingly, we learnt she began as a designer of shoes and then knitwear for exclusive London stores and yarn companies.  She followed a City and Guilds Course and in her early sewing days made items for her children but used a limited colour palette.  Once persuaded to embrace colour she has not looked back.

Through her friendly and bubbly personality, she showed her beautiful colourful quilts, many of them being exhibited and entered in competitions.  She even shared the judges’ comments.  Despite her talk being called “Please don’t look at the back” these too were eye-catching.

Some of us had already done Gilli’s kantha workshop in the past and several people seemed interested in one of the workshops she talked about in the future. 

Kathy Francis

Examples of the work Gilli showed us.

November Speaker

Our speaker for November is Gilli Theokritoff and her talk is entitled "Please don't look at the back".

Gilli Theokritoff is an experienced quilter and teacher and has won awards for her contemporary quilts. She loves traditional piecing too and is keen to encourage new quilters with her lively and engaging classes. Gilli started her career as a shoe designer, moved into knitwear, designing for exclusive London stores and later for yarn companies such as Rowan. Eventually she discovered her true passion, patchwork, while bringing up her children (they are very handy with a sewing machine too!). She now teaches around the country and occasionally exhibits her work.

September Meeting 2

The afternoon of 2^nd October was a colourful one for members of Cosby Quilters as we welcomed Nikki Parmenter.  We knew she was a multi- media textile artist but the examples she brought with her were breathtaking.

With the help of images on the screen and actual examples she explained the process of planning and making them, many based on myths and legends.

A wide range of materials were used including fabric, net, threads, metal, acetate, plastics, paint, padding and funky foam which were used as a ‘base’ for her creations.  Heavy free machining, as well as embellishment by hand and the addition of threads, feathers, beads, jewellery and spray paint lead to pieces of rich depth and colour.  Many pieces were really large but at the end many ,both large and small, were passed around for really close inspection.

A workshop was held on the Thursday, which everyone thoroughly enjoyed.  The results are shown below.  They are all work in progress.

September Meeting

 

Our speaker for the 2nd October is Nikki Parmenter and her talk is entitled "Post Cards and Projects". This is an afternoon meeting.

She is a Cheshire based artist who specialises in mixed media, textile based pieces. She takes her inspiration from a variety of sources and she is particularly interested in the way in which ancient societies created a series of visual symbols to represent the things which were important to them. She investigates myth and legend and draw parallels between societies, showing that although many people have different beliefs we are all united by visual iconography.

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She has exhibited widely both in group and solo shows both here and abroad  and has had articles published in magazines and on the internet. She also features in Kim Thittichai's book, 'Experimental Textiles'. Her work has won  prizes at The Ferens Open, The Potteries Open and the Grosvenor Open  Exhibitions.

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She has received positive feedback from the galleries where she has exhibited as  she tries to make her work accessible to all age ranges and to people from different backgrounds. Viewers, especially younger people, respond to the visual  richness of the objects whilst others make connections with their own religious beliefs and feelings.

Her workshop on the 3rd October is Fantastic Flowers

A sewing machine, fabrics, soldering iron and glue gun are needed for this workshop. You will learn how to bond fabric together in order to create an intensely coloured piece of material which will be made into a 3D flower with a padded centre.

 

Our speaker for September was Jane Cobbett and she entertained us with a talk on the history of quilting from a reference to Mary Queen of Scots and her ladies, cutting triangles of fabrics to modern art quilts.  The inspiration in that period for the shapes used for patchwork were probably leaded windows and tiles.  She encouraged us to make a template out of a square of paper which produced an elongated hexagon.  This was how patchwork pieces were produced prior to 1860 when templates were first available. 

In the late Victorian period, the popular quilts were Crazy Patchwork which used all different types of fabric and was usually embroidered, Sun Bonnet Sue, which evolved into the crinoline ladies, and Red Work which could also be brown and blue but is still called Red Work. 

She also told us how seed sacks were used to make quilts in America and as a result manufacturers of the seed sacks created patterned sacks.  Four sacks would make a quilt backing and three would make a garment.  The fabric was very course but sugar and flour sacks were of a much finer quality. They were particularly used during the depression.

In the 1950’s the quilts were very much make do and mend and then in the early 1970’s became popular eventually evolving into the art quilts that are made today.

It was a very enjoyable evening and very informative.

Crazy Patchwork Tea Cosy

Cathedral Window Patchwork

Dresden Plate block made from Seed Sacks

July Meeting

Gill from GillyMac Designs had us all doodling to encourage us to take up free machine quilting. On the overhead screen she showed us various different continuous patterns that are simple and look effective.  After she had showed us each design she then encouraged us to try drawing the designs and to get our minds and hands to memorise the action required to create them.  Free machine quilting requires lots of practise and drawing the designs does help.

Examples of Gill's free machine quilting

July Speaker

Our speaker for July is Gill from GillyMac Designs and her talk is called "Doodle your way into confident machine quilting." 

 In 2014 Gill set up GillyMac Designs to teach local children and adults to sew.  Gill quickly won national awards with her children’s classes and was recruited to teach classes for Liberty of London and works nationally for the Quilters Guild of the British Isles. 

Gill’s work has been shown around the UK as part of the GENArt movement, including being exhibited at the Turner Contemporary Gallery.

Over the past 5 years, Gill has expanded GillyMac Designs to four adult weekly classes and three weekly teen classes and the much loved Junior Sewing Bee.  Other classes are developed and fitted into this busy schedule.

Gill has also grown a large vibrant online community on Facebook and Instagram as well as setting up the online GillyMac Club for all her pupils to join and continue to share their work and learn from Gill regular online sewalongs.