AGM - Chair's Report

2022/23 has been a great year for our group, the first year where we have been able to meet here together since the pandemic. Except of course for a few days last Summer when it was too hot to venture out. We had to revert to zoom for our meeting sharing ideas and patterns for tombola makes. The resulting Tombola stall at our October exhibition illustrated what a creative and busy group we are.

During the year we have drawn on the talents of our members. At the last AGM Jenny B gave a fascinating talk on her training at the Royal School of Needlework. And then in October three members (Jill H, Kate E and Anne D) gave us a glimpse into their quilting lives – any resemblance to three crows sitting on a wall was purely coincidental! (reference to Jo S’s review of the evening?).

Members also willingly share their skills and experience. In February Jill H, Chrissie, Anne L and Jenny T led demonstrations on different aspects of English Paper Piecing. Then, in February, Eileen, Jo S, Deirdre, Kate E and Jill H led mini sessions on various quilting techniques “in a nutshell”. And for our Christmas make Jill H showed us how to make a Christmas bauble out of polystyrene, fabric, beading and some pins.

We have also had some visitors. In April Andy, from Crafty UK, showed us in his inimitable style what happens when a packaging designer, with an Acrylic template machine meets quilters. A fun evening for all.

In March we invited Kate Findlay to return, following her well-received talk last year. Kate led a Saturday workshop creating Bluebell and Beechwood collage quilts, using her design skills to guide us to produce 16 unique pictures. Earlier in January we had another Saturday Workshop discovering how to use a Jelly Roll, creating versatile tubes that then became either a bag or a rug. 

We also continue our charitable traditions, in addition to the money raised from raffles and other events such as “wear it pink” in 2022 we donated to Linus, Demelza and for Prem babies:

• 291 Quilts

• 24 Christmas Stockings

• 34 Knitted Blankets

• 143 knitted hats

• 66 pairs of bonging squares

• 40 pairs of bootees and 25 pairs of mittens, and

• 20 Izzy dolls

It was also a year when we welcomed new Members bringing new ideas and experiences to the group. Sadly it was also a year when we lost some long standing Members, whose faces will have been familiar to us all – Chris Percival, Ann Thomas and Jean Dodds. We also learned of the death of Margaret Penn who had been a member for many years.

The highlight of the year though was probably the Exhibition – the first since 2018. It began with an exciting evening in September when all the items were collected – the temptation to look at each item was great but we had to resist or we would have run out of time. It was a great display, proving how well we had used our time in lockdown, but how would we display it all. ?? Never fear, it’s amazing what you can do with an old washing line, sheeting and a set of tall, slightly wobbly steps. And so it all came together. 

It was a great day, busy with a great buzz about the church. It all went very well, including putting the church back together in about 45 minutes!