:: NEWSLETTER - SUMMER & AUTUMN 2009
Dear Fellow Quilter
High Summer is here - we've had the heatwave of Harbourfest Weekend and now the nights are drawing in and there's cooler, wetter and windier weather to give us an excuse to leave the garden, the golf or the bowls and do some sewing. As well as current projects like ecobags to sew and the Gala Exhibition only days away, we can begin to plan for the long autumn evenings, including hand quilting to do at the fireside.
THANKS
We've had a busy time since the spring.Thanks go to those members who have led workshops and skills slots, taken photographs and done the thousand and one other behind the scenes things which keep Caithness Quilters going. Janet Maclennan got our year of Wearable Art off to a flying start with 'Janet's Jackets'. Dorothy Johnston's 'Paint, Paper and Paste' Skills Slot fired our imaginations and by popular demand Dorothy will now run a day's workshop on this technique. Please add this to your programme card on Saturday November 14th from 10.00 to 4.00.
In May Juliana Teixeira gave us a slideshow with many ideas for wearable art and other quilting. At the end of the month 18 of us boarded the train for our annual exchange visit with Highland Quilters. We always enjoy the day even though it is a very long one. The competition for the Caithness Highland Challenge Trophy was very well supported and we had many entries to 'show and tell' on the train. This year's winner was Sheena Norquay of Highland Quilters. Have a look at the Strathpeffer 2009 photos on the website. (Google Caithness Quilters and go to Caithness Quilters Homepage, or search for www.caithnessquilters.co.uk.)
Janet Maclennan introduced us to Anne Hoggan of Cupar Quilters and in June we had a delightful evening attended by members and visitors looking at Cupar Quilters' collection of 24 inch quilts on a Scottish theme. The following day Anne's workshop on 'Little Landscapes' taught many useful techniques and those who attended, and some who didn't, have made very attractive pieced and quilted scenes. 'Coordinating Corsages' rounded off the month with crocheted, knitted and sewn corsages displayed.
Helen MacGregor and Celia More led our Ecobags Saturday Sewing Day on July 11th, producing bags for sale. Last year's bags sale helped towards our hefty insurance bill and this year's fund raising is equally important. Marshillie Campbell's skill with Polymer Clay resulted in a small but enthusiastic group making 'Marshillie's Miniatures', working with clay instead of fabric, on the last Saturday in July. Ella Lawrence's Skills Slot on 'How to put a quilt together' was requested by newer members but revises the techniques for us all. July ends with the annual Gala Exhibition of Quilting and Handicrafts, shared with Wick SWRI, in the Assembly Rooms in Wick. Thank you everyone for your preparation and, for those who can manage, for helping on the day. Sewing ecobags, home baking for the cake stall and for the refreshments, bringing a bottle for the bottle stall and groceries for the Grocery Bag Raffle are all ways every member contributes and thanks go too for all the hours spent making the exhibits. Features of this year's show are quilts made by members over past months including String Quilts, Wearable Art, Batik Heaven, Beautiful Bags, Little Landscapes, Corsages and Blankets of Love. In addition we have quilts made by children at some local primary schools. Caithness Quilters has its own Junior Membership and we thank David, Katherine and Jenna for their contribution, taking part and helping out at meetings and making items for exhibition. Our junior members are accompanied by adult members and we thank everyone for encouraging our younger quilters.
CHARITY FUND RAISING QUILTS
Work is continuing on the quilts two teams of Caithness Quilters are making to raise funds for the Laurandy Centre and for Crossroads in Caithness. These are on display as Work in Progress at the Gala Exhibition. We now have a third charity quilt to complete. One of the workshops at our day with Highland Quilters in Strathpeffer in May gave us blocks in Suffragette colours which we plan to hand quilt using techniques we'll learn at Sheena Norquay's workshop on October 10th. If every member of Caithness Quilters hand quilts a block we'll soon have them ready for putting together to make a Round The World quilt. Of course that stage will need a third team and we will also have to decide which charity will benefit from this quilt. Our target date for completion is May 29th 2010 when Highland Quilters visit us.
JOINT MEETING WITH HIGHLAND QUILTERS
One of the things discussed after our visit to the joint meeting in Strathpeffer this year was 'Why Strathpeffer?' This was prompted by the very long day including minibus travel and a long time in Dingwall waiting for the train home. I've been in touch with Highland Quilters who were also wondering about changing the venue for May 2011. Culloden is their suggested alternative though we'd been favouring central Inverness. What do you think?
FINANCES, FUND RAISING and VISITING TUTOR WORKSHOPS
As well as raising money for various charities we also need to boost our own funds. Subscriptions and workshop fees don't cover all our expenses so we rely on what we raise at the Gala Exhibition and other ventures to balance the books.
We are looking at various fund raising ideas for the rest of this year and for the future. Suggestions include a tombola of A4 quilts, perhaps at next year's Gala Exhibition where we could also look at alternatives to ecobags to sell, such as jewelry bags or dish cloth novelties. On the January 30th 2010 Saturday Sewing Day we're thinking about holding our own January Sale, a Bring and Buy Sale of sewing and craft related items.
Please tell us other things you think we could do to raise funds.
Workshops with visiting tutors are very expensive because we have travel and overnight expenses to add to tutor fees, so please support these events. Still to come are Margaret Owen's 'Isosceles Triangles' on 18th September and 'Log Cabin Revisited' on the 19th. On October 9th we have Sheena Norquay's 'Contented Cat' workshop which explores the techniques of free machine embroidery, hand applique and free machine quilting to make a cushion, quilt or rug. Sheena's 'Hand Quilting for Beginners' is on the following day. Please note these dates in your diary now.
WEARABLE ART and MORE
The remainder of our programme for 2009 is a mixture of Saturday Sewing Days and Tuesday Evening Meetings with Workshops and Skills Slots presented by our own members. At all of these you are welcome to 'Sew Your Own Thing'. The Wearable Art theme was the inspiration behind 'Bouncing Babies' (August 29th), 'Wonderful Waistcoats' (September 29th), 'Quilted Yokes and Cuffs' (October 27th), 'And Sew to Bed' (October 31st) and 'Fabric Necklaces' (November 28th).
One thing tends to lead to another. Last year we had 'String Bags and String Quilts'. The techniques of String Piecing (sewing fabric strings or strips on a foundation) and Strip Piecing (just the same, but no foundation) were used by Janet for her 'Jackets', taken up by Libby Wilson for her 'Batik Heaven Elephants', requested by members wishing to make children's hooded jackets at 'Bouncing Babies', our August workshop when some members wish to make elephants too, and next year we hope for a whole string of elephants 'Walking on the Wild Side'.
Between now and Christmas we also have 'Mitred Corners', 'Preserving, Storing and Presenting Quilts', 'Quilting on the Internet', and 'Paint, Paper and Paste with Napkin Layers'.
That, of course, is not all as for Caithness Quilters Christmas comes early with our Social Sewing Day, 'Christmas in November' on November 28th, so it is no surprise that members are already asking for details of the Challenge Competition, 'Singing the Blues' so that they can sew early for Christmas. A solution to the thorny question of judging competitions is one of the things we plan to trial with this challenge.
WHAT ELSE IS ON?
As well as our own programme of activities there are other events of interest to Quilters too, including 'Quilt Makers' in the Swanson Gallery in Davidson's Lane in Thurso. This runs from August 8th to September 12th. Until the end of August the Lyth Arts Centre Summer Exhibition includes textile art by Debbie Lee, of particular interest to those who have been making their own little landscapes. Janette Sutherland of Highland Quilters has an exhibition of her work in Elgin Town Hall until August 27th.
RESPONSIBILITIES
I thought it would be useful for everyone to set out our responsibilities as individual members of Caithness Quilters and our joint responsibilities as a club regarding insurance and safety:
INSURANCE
Every July we get a reminder to renew our insurance for Caithness Quilters. As a club it is important we take out Public and Products Liability insurance. This protects against our legal liability for bodily injury to third parties and damage to their property. We are covered up to a limit of £2,000,000. The second thing we need to insure against is accidental loss or damage to those things which we own as a club, such as our display stands and the stock of equipment (cutting mats, cutters, irons and boards, etc.) we have purchased over the years for us all to use at workshops and meetings. We also jointly own the Back Drop Quilt which we display from time to time. We purchase items for resale to members at cost, like fabrics, wadding and Bondaweb. These are covered too, up to a maximum of £250. Our insurance covers us at our base at Pulteneytown Parish Church. We are not covered for our materials or equipment taken away from our base. If we decide to hold meetings elsewhere we need to notify the insurers. We have taken out additional cover for our equipment at up to two exhibitions a year and whilst in transit to or from those exhibitions. There is an excess on our policy which means we pay the first £100 of any claim.
As individual members of Caithness Quilters we are each responsible for insurance of our own property. This includes sewing machines, other sewing equipment, materials, work in progress and finished quilts. It also includes anything else we might bring to meetings, such as a camera, computer, money, books, etc. By and large this will be covered under each individual's home insurance policy. However, please check your policy to make sure you do not need to take out extra cover for individual items (eg. one of the more expensive sewing machines) which are valued over a specified amount.
SAFETY
We are individually responsible for the safe state and safe use of our own property, and jointly responsible for safe operation of club activities. If you see something which concerns you please bring this to the attention of the member concerned or of a committee member. We must ensure we do not block fire exits and keep a safe, visible route clear to these at all times. Trailing electrical cables across walk ways, hot irons and unguarded rotary cutters are the three major hazards for any sewing group. As individuals we are not required to have electrical safety checks carried out on our own sewing machines or other electrical equipment so long as we do not let other people use these. The club is responsible for organizing safety testing of electrical equipment we share. We must also ensure safe use of kitchen equipment as we provide refreshments as part of our activities.
That's ended this newsletter on a serious note but I hope you find Caithness Quilters' activities to be pleasurable and fulfilling and enjoy your sewing for the rest of this year.
Happy sewing.
Kind regards,
Valerie Barker
End-of-Document
