2019 March Meeting
March Meeting - by Ann D
The March meeting started amid a buzz of activity. Margaret, a long time member of Shirley Quilters, had laid out a cornucopia of sewing paraphernalia – a huge selection of fabrics, books etc. Margaret had been sewing all her life and, I’m told, had been a talented quilter, but sadly due to ill health was no longer able to sew, so her supplies were being sold, with all funds raised being kindly donated to Linus. There was also a table of Dee’s cards, with a percentage of the money raised being donated to Shirley Quilters. Hannah had also set up an ingredients table of items for sale and together with the vast selection of Shirley Quilters’ books for loan, there was plenty to occupy members even before the meeting began.
Claire then opened the meeting in her usual cheery style. She reminded us that there was only one place left for Linda Mercer’s Octagon Workshop on 6th April – so sign up quickly if you haven’t already done so! She also suggested that we bring our own mug if we want a more substantial cuppa during our tea break.
This led us on to the main event of the evening – making mug rugs. The activity was led by Hannah, who introduced the three designs: ‘Mum’, ‘Rabbits’ and ‘Scottie Dog’. Detailed instructions were provided on the tables and members came prepared with a variety of fabrics, all cut to size and ready to begin. Hannah explained the method, telling us how to use the templates and bondaweb to transfer the designs to our fabrics. Beautifully completed mug rugs were also shown to demonstrate what our finished creations could look like! This helped in the arrangement of our fabrics, though in retrospect an illustration of the designs would have helped in the choice of fabrics prepared prior to the meeting. As we set about tracing, cutting and ironing there was much chatter and excellent support was provided.
After a break for tea and biscuits, creativity was refreshed and by the end of the session some fantastic mug rugs were well on their way to completion. I look forward to seeing the finished products, and a big thank you to Hannah, Eileen and other Shirley Quilters for all their support and hard work.
The evening finished with Show and Tell. Claire’s bag and a ‘Boho’ bag demonstrated how our Christmas present fabric and random blocks could be ingeniously transformed into attractive and serviceable bags. We were then shown how strips and jelly rolls could be used to create stunning fabrics and quilts. We were also shown a number of Linus quilts and a very clever nine-patch quilt.
What a very interesting, busy and enjoyable evening.