:: NEWSLETTER - SPRING 2010
Dear Fellow Quilter
Happy New Year.
LOOKING BACK TO 2009
At the end of a very busy year we all relaxed and enjoyed our Christmas in November social day with workshops, for which we thank Caithness Textile Artists, a display of competition entries, tasty food and even spontaneous song. Thank you to everyone who helped make the day a happy one.
Ann Ross and Isobel McBay have put some photographs from the celebration on our website, www.caithnessquilters.co.uk, and we'll have a slideshow of more of the photos on January 30th. The website has now been running for over a year, ably looked after by Davie Swanson.
SINGING THE BLUES
When I proposed 'Singing the Blues' as the title for our most recent challenge competition I had no concept of the hours and hours of thinking and sewing time you would put in to the entries. They made an impressive show and I hope the recipients of the heirlooms you created will treasure them all. Thank you very much to everyone who entered and congratulations to the winners. In first place was 'Hiawatha' by Ann Cullop. Janet Maclennan's 'Up, Up and Away in My Beautiful Balloon' and Dorothy Johnston's 'Song of the Whales' tied for second place, followed by 'Minstrel Shows' by Joyce MacDonald. Joint winners of the 5th prize were 'The Quangle Wangle's Hat' by Libby Wilson and 'California Blue' by Ella Lawrence.
Displaying and judging the competition was a trial run for the next Challenge, 'A Walk on the Wild Side', our annual competition for the Caithness Highland Trophy. Your entries will be needed for our 29th May meeting when Highland Quilters join us in Wick. It was a great relief to share the responsibility for judging with all of you. Lots of lessons have been learned. For example, we now know how to deal with a potential tie and we've purchased black fabric to make back drop sheets so that all entries can be displayed to equal advantage. Judging will take place over a longer period with small numbers of people judging at any one time. Please give any further suggestions or comments to anyone on the committee.
LOOKING FORWARD TO 2010
JANUARY AND FEBRUARY
January and February's meetings are part of Saturday Sewing Days whilst the nights are still at their darkest and weather may be bad. On both days you are welcome to Sew Your Own Thing if you wish or to have a go at the featured techniques which reflect our continuing theme of Wearable Art. In January we have Skills Slots on Fat Quarter Scarves and Appliqué Aprons. February's Member Led Workshop is on T Shirt Quilts. Carry on with hand sewing through the afternoon meetings if you would like to do so.
MARCH - HELP PLEASE
On March 27th our plans for the Saturday Sewing Day have been changed to a Grand UFO Day because we have so many things to do to round off much that we have started in this quilting year. The Laurandy Quilt has been raffled but our other charity quilt, for Crossroads, has to be finished. It would be good to display it when Highland Quilters visit as they gave us the batiks used in this quilt.
On that day we should also have the green, white and violet Suffragette quilt started in Strathpeffer in 2009 on show, at least as work in progress. Next on our list of unfinished projects are the 'Walk on the Wild Side' Elephants we plan to have in varying sizes walking through the foyer to greet our Highland guests on May 29th. In addition we have a quilt to make for Davie Swanson.
If you haven't been in the Laurandy or Crossroads Charity Quilt teams, or even if you have, we hope you'll volunteer for these other projects. If you want a different sort of activity your help on March 27th would be most welcome in another way as the display stands are in a state of disarray and we need a small group of people to sort them out. Perhaps the same people would then make up the black display back drops to go on the stands for exhibiting quilts.
Please note that even on days when we are sewing for Caithness Quilters or for charities we support rather than for ourselves as individuals, the hall still needs to be paid for, refreshments purchased and ongoing expenses like the insurance premium contributed towards so the usual sum of £3 for the day, or £1 if you just come for the afternoon meeting, is charged.
AGM
March marks the return to evening meetings. The AGM begins early at 7pm on Tuesday March 30th.
It would be good to have a Show and Tell which includes examples of Wearable Art as well as other quilted items. There will be reports on the past year from the Treasurer and Chairman and then the election of the Committee and Office Bearers for 2010 - 2011, our 10th birthday year, leading up to the actual event on March 29th 2011. According to our Constitution no office bearer may serve for more than 2 years in succession, so we have to elect a new Chairman. All other office bearers have served for one year so far and so may stand for re-election if they are willing to do so. Election of non office bearing committee members will take place too. Please think about people to form next year's committee, volunteering your own name or checking on nominees' willingness to serve before the meeting.
Please give Libby a note in writing of any item you would like placed on the agenda for the AGM.
PLANS FOR THE FUTURE
The outgoing committee have the responsibility for setting up the programme for the first few months of the next year to ease the load for new committee members who take office just as the busiest time of the quilting calendar gets underway. This also enables us to book visiting speakers well in advance when they have vacancies in their teaching schedules.
Ideas for next year's programme include a Skills Slot on Sleeves for hanging quilts and making Fabric Flowers as a Christmas workshop. What would you like for Workshops and Skills Slots? Visiting tutors are expensive but bring us ideas and techniques from the wider quilting world. Please tell us your thoughts about speakers and subjects.
Fund raising and charity quilting are two more things for you to think about. We usually make a raffle quilt to donate to a charity for them to raffle for their funds only every other year. However, already in the pipeline is the Crossroads Quilt and we have yet to decide how the Suffragette Quilt and the Elephants will be used (suggestions, please). The Crocus Group, the Child Bereavement Support Service, at Raigmore Hospital continue to welcome our quilts. Blankets of Love are also given to Raigmore and Caithness General Hospital. I would also like to request we have a Linus Quilt making day.
Happy Sewing.
Kind regards,
Valerie Barker
End-of-Document
