My First Shirley Quilters' Exhibition - by Nicky
My first ever Shirley Quilters exhibition was on Saturday 8th October 2022. It did not disappoint!
There was so much to admire and discuss, from the two halls full of unique quilts, cleverly displayed, to the smaller “challenge” quilts filling another room. Members had been working on many different projects and lockdowns had certainly not been wasted. I was patiently guided through Eileen’s excellent nautical flags quilt by her husband (thanks!) and took inspiration from many other quilts. The exhibition guide was great for giving details of everything displayed- thank you.
There was definitely something for everyone who visited. One lady was delighted to win a beautiful cushion and a bird doorstop on the tombola; she could not have been happier. The refreshments room was steadily busy and visitors were very complimentary about the cakes, which did look excellent. We even had a thank you for providing ingredient lists.
The variety of displays of work was impressive. I found a table of Ugly Fabrics, from which very presentable items had been made. Sit and Sew members were working on paper piecing, involving some finger-twistingly small shapes. The front reception room had so many beautiful and tempting items for sale at bargain prices. The number of Linus project makes was impressive and I was touched by the thank you cards and notes from grateful parents and foster parents. It made me realise how these quilts and stockings comfort so many children and their carers.
Cottage Patchwork provided a very tempting sales table.
Altogether, the exhibition was very enjoyable and members of Shirley Quilters are clearly hard-working, talented and multi-skilled. Thank you for putting on such a show. As a new member, I found it very inspiring.
A Wonderful Day - by Erica
Well! What a wonderful day that was! I think the excitement and anticipation began as far back as September's Shirley Quilters meeting. After a flurry of last minute binding and hanging-sleeve stitching and the relief of making the September submissions deadline it was quite something to sit back and take in the view of the church hall stage piled high with finished quilts and challenge items. It has been four years since the last Shirley Quilters exhibition, but that mountain of quilts showed that we are a productive lot and had not been sitting on our hands in the interim! Even still, to those of us on the outside, the piles of quilts did not give too many clues the spectacle that they would become. Perhaps only the committee, who diligently catalogued each and every submission, were starting to see the full picture. Fast forward to Friday night before the exhibition and members and a couple of extremely helpful menfolk descended on the church and its rooms. Quilt stands went up, quilts were hung and pinned, the tombola table was filled to overflowing and a band of santas took up position on the Christmas table. For those of us who love fabric, it really was starting to feel like Christmas!
And then finally the big day arrived. I arrived on Saturday morning to take my place on the door, eager to welcome everyone and show them the beautiful pieces that our talented quilters had made. But the day was run by a whole army of volunteers, who, to name a few of the many positions made sure the tombola table was staffed, kept everyone refreshed with tea and cake, sold raffle tickets and manned the sales table, which was as full of treats as the tea room!
And all of the hard work and preparation was rewarded as the visitors streamed in. The quilts were beautiful when we left them on Friday night, but the buzz in the church as people gathered to 'ooh' and 'ahh' over the lovely work, discuss the different techniques and finishes and how they might use their gathered ideas in some of their own future projects was something else - a buzz and a joy that I had forgotten that I'd missed over the lockdown years.
The exhibition went on for a magical six hours, and as it was for Cinderella at midnight, our clock struck 4pm and the pack-up began almost instantly. In record time four rooms of quilts and quilt frames were taken down by volunteers and packed away (thank you again to the menfolk that helped with the heavy lifting!), quilts were collected by members, chairs were replaced and the last remnants of the show, little thread ends and a few stray pins were swept up and discarded. The church and its halls may have returned to normal but I'm sure everyone who attended was still thinking about the show that evening, whether deciding what to submit for the next exhibition or playing with some lovely purchases from the sales table or trader store. As I opened with, it was a wonderful day and one that will not be forgotten in a hurry.
On behalf of everyone that attended the exhibition I would like to extend a sincere thank you to the committee who put in so much work behind the scenes, to everyone who stitched an item for the exhibition and to everyone who volunteered on the day - you contributed to spectacular show that we all enjoyed.
Post review extra from Erica -
It was a great day. I sent lots of photos to my mum in Australia and she sent back the following:
'They are beautiful Erica. Let the group know I congratulate them on a lovely display and wish I could see the real thing'
We hope Erica's Mum will make the journey to England for the next Exhibition in 2024