Author: nipatchworkguild

The NIPG, as we are affectionately known, welcomes anyone interested in any aspect of patchwork and/or quilting, in whatever form. Beginner, advanced or in between. The Guild usually meets on the first Saturday of the month in the Parochial Hall of the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum, Cultra, Co Down, Northern Ireland. Contact us for more information. Meetings open around 10.30 am with tea/coffee for which we charge a small visitor's fee. This is quite informal. The meeting proper begins with 'housekeeping' - various announcements relevant to our members. Often we will have engaged a speaker of note, which is sometimes followed by a workshop/ sew-in. Full day workshops are held on Sundays. We have had speakers and teachers from USA, Germany, Holland, England, not forgetting the excellent people who are locally based. Contact us or Facebook https://www.facebook.com/nipatchworkguild for further information.

Christmas 2017 at the NI Patchwork Guild

On By nipatchworkguildIn Christmas Tree Baubles, Quilting Guild Meeting.1 Comment

Santa Claus honoured our Guild with a visit on Saturday 2nd December, which made a good day great.

It’s the child within us who greets Santa with enthusiasm and smiles.

It was our own esteemed Man Friday and Quilter, Brian McKenna who fulfilled the role.

Photos of the Christmas Baubles may be found here.

 

Members crafted tree decorations from felt, beads and fabric to create a stunning display. Santa Brian patiently wrapped them all and then redistributed them to the NIPG members.

Jingle Bells Quilting all the way

 

Mince pies were consumed and everyone was encouraged to sing  a particular  version of Jingle Bells. The one depicted here is similar to that which we sang, but if anyone would like to send in the actual words we could put them up here.

 

 

 

Dec2-Dec- 20170912A delightful display of glass ornaments was the first thing you saw when entering the hall.

 

This was accompanied by an intriguing talk from Anne Marie Nelson and her partner about glass making. A great variety of questions were put to them.  All in all, very interesting indeed.

Dec2-Dec- 20170910

 

 

 

A link  to their website will follow.

 

Hallow’een is almost here, but first our October Meeting

On By nipatchworkguildIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

A word from Paula, our Chair about our next meeting on October 7th

Hi to all,

October meeting is fast approaching and I hope you all are looking forward to it.   I will be on holidays and will not be with you, but I have left you in the capable hand of Adrienne ,who will collect any of the syringe bags you have made for Judith Hollies charity

This should be a very interesting talk and half day workshop, not forgetting the half day workshop on the Sunday

Some of the workshops filled up very quickly so we will start a waiting list on a first come basis in case of cancellations

Please check out November workshops as I believe there are some spaces .

I’m  hoping you are all working on your Christmas tree ornaments as we will have a great display.

I will see you all again in November so enjoy next weekend    Paula

New section on workshop requirements has been added, especially for those who are fortunate to get on one of the workshops.

Galloping towards Saturday Sept 2nd

On By nipatchworkguildIn Embroidery, Game of Thrones, GoT, Guild Meeting, Quilting, Quilting Guild Meeting., TapestryLeave a comment

We’ve had a  somewhat wet summer here in Northern Ireland, fortunately we can always find  plenty to do as we are gallop towards our first 2017 – 18 Guild meeting on Saturday 2nd September.

August is Craft Month and  we have been enjoying many exhibitions, workshops and talks all over Northern Ireland – too many wonderful projects to mention and there’s still a wee bit of time in the month to catch something else.

alkisti_hou

Days of blue skies and fluffy clouds and sunshine. as evidenced thanks to an Instagram photo from @alkisti_hou, have been punctuated with rain, as of  just  now,  at the time of writing, the rain is pouring down, or ‘bucketing’ as we call it.

Luckily there is no shortage of things to do, including   the odd excursion to one of the many establishments serving  refreshments. Such as   “The Dark Horse” near the Cathedral Quarter and the tenth establishment to receive one of the special Game of Throne’s doors.

Tourism Ireland Unveils the Last Door. The Dark Horse, Belfast

Not that everyone in Northern Ireland is  “Game of Thrones” mad, though it may appear that way and if you follow on, you will see why it is being mentioned in connection with the first Guild meeting of our season.

It is impossible to live in Northern Ireland and not be aware of  GoT and it is so exciting to see the many visitors coming to here to visit  GoT film locations  and we hope  enjoy our hospitality.

3883967054_bb2277e7a3_b
The Dark Hedges, Ballymoney.  18th Century Avenue of Beech Trees. Aka Kingsway in Game of Thrones.
What are the Game of Throne doors?

One of the most iconic scenes and most visited site is the Dark Hedges, aka Kingsway to GoT fans. Locals have always known and loved this avenue. The beech trees are 300 years old,  so  no surprise to hear that some were felled during fierce storms.  A sad demise for such proud trees, and a dilemma of what to do with them. Someone came up with the idea of using the fallen trees to carve out scenes from each of the GoT series.   Ten in total.  

The intricately carved door depicting scenes from the final dramatic moments of Series 6. Location : The Dark Horse.

These, such as the one above, have been placed in different locations throughout Northern Ireland. In April 2017 Tourism NI launched a “Journey of Doors passport” –  visit the 10 Game of Thrones Doors across Northern Ireland and collect a unique stamp at each of the locations.

Why all this talk of GoT? During the summer  some of our members have been  engaged, under Valerie Wilson’s direction, in embroidering the Game of Thrones tapestry now hanging in the Ulster Museum.

Jayne McClenaghan is the link between GoT  and our forthcoming programme, about which, we are very excited; a varied and interesting series of talks and workshops.

Indeed our 2017 – 18 season kicks off on Saturday 2nd September, with the aforementioned, Jayne  who with others,  has spent some of her summer embroidering the GoT tapestries.    [Seamless, if long winded link?]

Jayne’s talk is entitled ‘Improving lives through craft’, intriguing? Find out more about her at her blog  One Day At a Time.  This gives you a glimpse into her life: in addition to working part time as a nurse, embroidering GoT, and teaching patchwork and quilting, she volunteers at the National Trust property Mount Stewart .  Where she finds the time for all her activities is a puzzle. Jayne certainly proves the truth of the old adage: “if you want something done give it to a busy person”. Lucille-Ball-Quote

The committee has been working hard to make the programme current, varied and related to NIPG interests and activities. There will be a mixture of talks, short afternoon workshops, and all day workshops. Also a few Friday workshops which proved so popular last year.

We apologise for the delay in posting our forthcoming programme. In addition to confirming speakers, venues have to be confirmed. Though we are indeed fortunate to have our base in the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum, at times they need the space we use for events they are organising.  We will be posting our programme very soon so keep your eyes peeled and enjoy the last few weeks of summer.

Happy Sewing

NB Header photo shows a few of the quilts seen in situ on the beds in various cottages in the Folk and Transport Museum at Cultra. 

 

Tapestry and Teacakes by Anne James

On By nipatchworkguildIn Embroidery, Game of Thrones, GoT, NIPG Members, Tapestry2 Comments

Working on The Game of Thrones (GoT) tapestry

On 26th June, I received an email from the Guild asking for volunteers to hand embroider a “very important piece – fabulous fabric – specially made” at the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum, that had to be finished by 10 July 2017, with the unveiling of the project on 17 July.

 

I liked the sound of it!  So I signed up for it.  What a surprise – it was a huge tapestry specially woven for the latest series of The Game of Thrones!

And it was gorgeous!  And very, very bloodthirsty!

 

We were all sworn to secrecy.  And we kept our word.  Not a single leak!  My husband became more and more curious as the days went on.  I didn’t tell him what I had been doing, until the Mail and the Sun broke the news on-line the night before the media launch.

It was fascinating work.

 

The tapestry had been specially woven and our job was to highlight various parts of  it, generally hair and clothing, with the blood, crowns, sword hilts etc being highlighted in metallic thread (a nightmare to sew!) to make them stand out even more from the background.

 

 

 

I was very proud of my “hair embroidery”, and even more proud of embellishing the zombies’ clothing to make it look even more decayed.  Not often one is asked to do that!

There were four of us from the Guild and others from the other Craft Guilds, around 30 volunteers in all.  We worked well together, with quiet conversations going on all round. The constant supply of Tunnocks Tea Cakes greatly helped!

The tapestry came to us in 6 panels, as they came off the looms.  Each panel represented one series, with an illustration of each episode woven into it.  The last panel was very late indeed, arriving on 13th July.  With the media-launch scheduled for 17th, we were working as fast as we could.  It also meant that I didn’t get to embellish the ‘decaying flesh’ I had been asked to do, and for which there was a specific colour of thread!

Each panel – about 35 feet long – was laid out on a long run of work tables, and a number of us worked on each panel simultaneously.  As well as the embroidery and embellishing, we needed to sew Velcro to the back of the tapestry so that it could be hung.  Once I got into a rhythm with this, I reckoned to herringbone Velcro at a rate of 5 feet per hour.  Others were faster!

The gallery we were working in was closed to the public “for routine maintenance”.  I did rather wonder what visitors to the Museum made of the groups of ladies coming and going to carry out the “Maintenance”!

We were given a preview of the tapestry in the Ulster Museum immediately after the media launch.  My word, it was impressive!  And the really interesting thing is – it is a work in progress.  Each episode of the current series will be woven and sent to the Museum for embellishing and hanging along with the rest of the tapestry.  Our incoming Treasurer, Jayne McClenaghan  was lucky enough to work on the first episode.

I have really enjoyed the experience.  It was exciting, interesting and varied work.  I met new people, which is always good, and in short, I had a ball!  I’m looking forward to working on it some more.  My friends and my younger relatives are so impressed!

Hands Across the Border Exhibition, “Aurora” 2017, comes to the North of Ireland

On By nipatchworkguildIn Aurora, Ireland, Irish Patchwork Society, Quilt Exhibition, QuiltingLeave a comment

Island Arts Centre

Yes, we are getting very excited about the Hands Across the Border exhibition coming to the beautiful setting of the Island Arts Centre, Lisburn.

Capture

 

 

It had a successful showing in Dublin, where it was exhibited in the Custom House Quay, IFSC, Dublin Northside, hosted by  the Eastern Branch of the Irish Patchwork Society.

Eastern Branch have kindly posted 58 photos of the Opening Night, at which  Leo Enright, the well-known RTÉ broadcaster, news reporter, and scientist,  officiated. The photos may be found on their Facebook Page  and give a glimpse of what you can expect to find in the exhibition.

Now all 63 quilts will be at the Island Arts Centre,  where you will be able to view them from  the 1st June until 1st July.

 Opening times of the Island Arts Centre, Lisburn  are:
Monday – Friday: 9.30 am – 10 pm
Saturday: 9.30 am – 5 pm
Sunday: closed

 

Enchanted Aurora Anne Frenc

Enchanted Aurora by Anne French

Link to Jayne Mcclenaghan’s Blog: “Busy times for the NI Patchwork Guild”

On By nipatchworkguildIn Guild Meeting, Quilting, Quilting Guild Meeting.Leave a comment

Jayne has posted a great summary of what’s been happening with NIPG, so here’s a link to her blog. You might want to see what she’s up to in Mount Stewart. Would love to know how she finds the time  to do all that she does?

The Guild had a demonstration and display at the Create a thon in the Ulster Museum in April. Yet again we discovered how many ladies can’t/ won’t sew, majority being under 40 years old.The display demonstrated the variations in patchwork as well as the process. Examples from the past up to modern day. There were many…

via Busy time for Northern Ireland Patchwork Guild — one day at a time

Important words from Brenda. May Meeting is at St Dorothea’s.

On By nipatchworkguildIn Guild Meeting, NIPG Members, Quilting Guild Meeting.2 Comments

Members and friends

Brenda Richardson at the Creative Crafting Exhibition in Titanic Quarter
Spring is well and truly here with lots of blossom and buds on the trees.
The May meeting is on Saturday 6 May in St Dorotheas, Gortland Park Belfast 
[Postcode is BT5 7NQ, for your SatNav
Situated at the junction of the Gilnahirk Road and the Lower Braniel Road.]
As usual doors open at 10.00 a.m. with tea & coffee.
The speaker is Pauline Openneer from Donegal whose talk is entitled “Tweeds and More”.
Caroline Bag
Sundays workshop is in the Museum as usual, where we shall be making a Caroline Bag. You can make the bag in any fabric you like.
The last workshop of this quilting year is on Friday 12 May in Orangefield  Presbyterian Church, Castlereagh Road from 10.00 a.m. to 4.00 p.m.
Valerie McKeown
The tutor is our own Valerie McKeown, and she will be teaching us to make a Dragonfly Cushion. I think there are still a couple of places left.
The June meeting is our AGM and I am hoping that we will get some names for committee as there are 4 vacancies.
If you are willing to serve please speak to me or a committee member at next Saturdays meeting.

Cuddlies;

Well done everyone.
We have to date 154 Cuddlies, well over the target of 100 for the Neonatal Unit at the Royal Maternity Hospital.
If any one has any more please bring them on Saturday as I would like to hand them over at the A.G.M.
Hope to see you all on Saturday.
 
Brenda

Visit us [Stand E20] at Crafting Live, Titanic Quarter, Belfast. Also, read the wee note from our Chair, Brenda.

On By nipatchworkguildIn UncategorizedLeave a comment
17991730_1322907917774323_3698040205928583345_oQuilters can cope with weather warnings of snow and ice, we’d just stay home and quilt. Sun is still shining at the moment and happy days – only one day to go for the Crafting Live exhibition at the Titanic Quarter, Belfast.  STAND E20
NIPG will be there, Stand E20,  so proud and thankful to our members  who have worked Titanic 1really hard behind the scenes, liaising with the exhibition and  a hundred and one things required to participate in an exhibition like this.  Best bit is that they have quilts to decorate the stand, Stand E20. Visit to see what they have found, or keep an eye on the Facebook postings. 

Anne James posted in today’s FB:   Exciting times for us! We’re gearing up for this, and hope to see you all there. We’re on Stand E20 and will be delighted to chat to you all about all things patchwork. Do come and see us!  Stand E20

NIPG Stall

Brenda’s letter to us:

Hi Members                          24 April 2017 22:09

There are 2 workshops left for this quilting year, the usual Sunday workshop on 7 May and one on Friday 12 May. As the meetings are always so busy I thought you might like to see more details.
Sunday 7 May Folk Museum.
This is a bag workshop with Pauline Openneer from Donegal. Pauline is Dutch, who came to live in Ireland some time ago and used had a shop in Dunfanaghy for some years.
She will be making a large bag, photo below. The photo shows the bag in tweed however Pauline has told us that you can make the bag in what ever material you like cotton, linen or tweed.
If you are interested in either of these workshops please get in touch with Paula.
Do not wait until the next meeting email her  through the NIPG email patchworkguild@yahoo.com
She will be able to give you all the details and requirements list.

Friday 12 May Orangefield Presbyterian Church

This workshop is being given by our own Valerie McKeown and is a Dragonfly Cushion.
The workshop is suitable for people with a basic knowledge of machine quilting and want to expand their skills to create colour and texture with thread.
 Using a line drawing of a Dragonfly students will learn how to create fusible pieces for the body, stabilise the fabric surface, and choose the right threads for thread sketching.
Brenda

Volunteering at Mount Stewart with Jayne

On By nipatchworkguildIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

This beautiful blog posting from Jayne McClenaghan, NIPG member just had to be shared.  A huge thank you to Jayne and all the other volunteers for the work you do to maintain this rich heritage and thank you for this glimpse into life with Smudge.

[Mount Stewart is a National Trust property in Northern Ireland, which, according to their website is:  “one of the most inspiring and unusual gardens in the National Trust’s ownership”.
The garden reflects a rich tapestry of design and great planting artistry that was the hallmark of Edith, Lady Londonderry. The mild climate of Strangford Lough allows astonishing levels of planting experimentation. The formal areas exude a strong Mediterranean feel and resemble an Italian villa landscape; the wooded areas support a range of plants from all corners of the world, ensuring something to see whatever the season.
Mount Stewart House
The house has now re-opened after our 3 year long restoration project.We’ve brought back the elegance and charm of the house when it was home of the 7th Marchioness Edith, Lady Londonderry and her family in the early 20th century and we look forward to welcoming you to enjoy in all its splendour]

Despite the fact I had made an agreement with myself that I would volunteer a few hours once a fortnight which has become three days a week, I am still managing to have my regular visits with Smudge. Can’t have her getting withdrawal symptoms. The weather has allowed a few picnic days so we can…

via Mountstewart- Visiting and Volunteering — one day at a time

Michele Hill’s Beatrix Potter quilt is now on display in Hill Top, Cumbria. 

On By nipatchworkguildIn Australian Quilting, Beatrix Potter, Quilters, QuiltingLeave a comment 
This blog  posting comes from C&T Publishing who published, Michele Hill's beautiful book entitled:  'Stitching with Beatrix Potter'.  Posted by Deirdre Quirk on March 23, 2017.

Deirdre Quirk writes:

Planning a visit to Hill Top, Beatrix Potter’s farmhouse, today a historic home and museum in Cumbria? Well, now when you tour the lovingly preserved home, you’ll get to see a beautiful quilt created by none other than Michele Hill, author of Stitching with Beatrix Potter! Michele tells us the whole story below:

Because of my love of the designs of William Morris, and then my William Morris in Appliqué books, in 2012 I was invited by Helen Bertram of Whitecroft Tours in the UK to accompany tours in Britain. Helen and I escorted six sold-out William Morris tours from 2012 to 2016, and it was through this association that I discovered that Helen had been a Chairman of the Beatrix Potter Society. Our mutual love of Beatrix Potter resulted in many conversations, and Helen finally persuaded me to write the book Stitching with Beatrix Potter. While I was doing my research, Helen suggested (well she actually told me I had to!!) do a version of the quilt on Beatrix Potter’s bed at Hill Top. So I emailed the National Trust to get photos and permission, but I did not hear back for quite some time. I started to worry about time and my book schedule, so after a bit of my own online research I found a photo of a simple green and pink patchwork quilt on the bed at Hill Top.

Above: 1863 wedding quilt from Hill Top.

Imagine my surprise when I finally heard back from the National Trust and the photos were of an entirely different quilt … the 1863 wedding quilt. So my task was a lot more daunting—and I only had a photo and no measurements! Not much is known about the quilt except that it belonged to Beatrix Potter’s parents, Helen Leech and Rupert Potter. It is thought that Beatrix’s mother, Helen, might have stitched this very special quilt with friends for the occasion of her marriage to Rupert in 1863. The original quilt is very fragile and is rarely seen, so I felt very blessed to have been given permission from the National Trust to reproduce it. I didn’t actually see the quilt in person until after I had completed mine, so it was a very special moment when I finally did. The quilt is made from velvets, silks, and cottons and is hand appliquéd, hand pieced, and hand embroidered.

The above photo is of me finally seeing the original last year in September. Helen put on a special Beatrix Potter tour in the UK to launch the book and that story is on my blog here.

After I finished the book, my version of the quilt was left simply sitting on a shelf. It was not something I felt I would use in my own home, and it seemed such a waste to have it stored in my wardrobe, so one evening in November 2016 I emailed Liz Hunter MacFarlane, the House & Collections Manager of the National Trust South Lakes, which manages Hill Top. The response I received from Liz was overwhelming—I did not really think they would be interested, let alone want to put it on display! Liz’s response to my email was as follows: “How can we possibly thank you for such a wonderful gift—you are so, so talented, and we are so fortunate to have the opportunity to share your work with our visitors.

“The National Trust’s strategy requires us to create experiences that ‘move, teach and inspire.’ Having this wonderful quilt will quite literally move our visitors in a way that photographs and books cannot. It can teach them that we should preserve and celebrate traditional crafts and craftspeople, and it will inspire them to help us preserve more of our heritage for future generations to enjoy.”

You can imagine how my heart burst reading that!

Although I sent the email in November, the quilt wasn’t posted to the UK until February 2017. When I made my reproduction version of the quilt I did not include the appliquéd 1863 wedding date and initials of Helen Leech and Rupert Potter as I felt this wasn’t appropriate for a wider audience. So before I sent the quilt to the UK I decided to hand appliqué the letters and date to replicate the original quilt.

I have not yet been back to the UK to see the quilt, but I am hoping to receive photos soon! I feel incredibly honored to have a piece of my work displayed at Hill Top, where it will be seen for many generations to come. I made sure I stitched a label on the back of the quilt explaining how it came about too!

(I forgot to photograph my label but the photo above is of the label that is on the bag that I made for the quilt!)

About Michele Hill

Michele Hill ImageI was introduced to the wonderful world of quilting in the late 1980’s when I was looking for a diversion from my role of motherhood and part-time nursing – the rest as they say is history! This hobby has led me to amazing opportunities that I never expected and it is through my love of applique and William Morris that most of this has come about.

A raffle prize of airfares to Europe in 1997 resulted in a life-changing event. This is where I had my first William Morris ‘experience’ at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. When I came home to Adelaide I discovered that our Art Gallery of South Australia has one of the biggest collections of Morris furnishings outside of the UK – so I can see it whenever I like! In 2009 I retired from 35 years of nursing and took up a ‘new career’ – to keep the “genius of Morris alive”.

Opportunities to share my passion have resulted in two books, four ranges of fabrics and more recently sold out William Morris tours in the UK….who would have thought?!! I have been a proud member of the Quilters’ Guild of South Australia for over 20 years and have had the honour and thrill of winning awards at our shows, including Best of Show four times. In 2014 I received the highest accolade an Australian quilter can receive – The Rajah Award in recognition of services to Australia through quilting.