Lockdown laughs

 

While writing these recaps of our lockdown I went through all the posts and of them all this one received the most responses and the biggest laughs.

Pauline, take a bow……..

 

I'm posting this with a heavy heart...

 

As much as I love my sewing , it takes up too much of my time and I am struggling to keep up with the everyday basics such as cleaning and maintaining my home, so something has to give.

 I will be re-homing most of my stuff.

Please don't ask any questions, as I can't handle talking about it.

 Below is a list of what's available. All FREE of charge, but to good homes only.

Serious enquiries only please.

Thanks for reading and understanding...

 

1. Dustpan and broom

2. Sponges

3. Dusters

4. Mop and bucket

5. Window cleaner

6. Hoover

7. Dishwashing liquid

8. Laundry detergent

9. Fabric softener

10. Laundry baskets

11. Toilet brush

12. Cleaning sprays

13. Scrubbing brushes

 

There will be a prize once I think of something suitable….

 

 

Lockdown quilt-a-long-it’ll be fun!

 

Can’t remember who said that, but it might have been me. I got the job of head designer, mainly because I had EQ8 and had produced lots of pictures of blocks and quilts-unfortunately I hadn’t actually made any of these out of fabric but how hard could that be? Lots of people signed up.

I designed lots of lovely blocks, many of which were totally impossible to make, but eventually I came up with this-called Together Alone

 

The idea was to send out two or three blocks a week for 10 weeks. I would write the patterns and sizes. Because my wrist wasn’t working I then sent this to Heather, who tested the blocks and we then sent them out, starting on the 1^st of April. Simple! Hmmm….

Several things came to light early on-

My woeful arithmetic/maths abilities had not improved with age

Heather has the patient of a saint

 

Blocks went back and forward between us for adjustment. Thankfully, because of lockdown she couldn’t throw things at me. There may have been one week where I managed to get them right. But (possibly because of boredom setting in) people persevered with the curves, FPP and even partial seams and produced lots of stunning versions of the blocks and eventually beautiful quilts

  

                         Heather                                                    Karen                           Mags                                                       Katie    

                       Margaret                                                          Lucy

    

                           Helen                                                        Anne

Fiona

 

 

 Lockdown blues (part two)

So we all moved on a bit. And decided to join in with the nationwide project to make scrubs. The trouble with a nationwide project is that it requires a lot of fabric. Fabric that has to be shared between a lot of groups. We finally triumphed and found a supplier. Except he didn't really supply everything he promised, but we got a free sample book of upholstery fabric(?)  which would have made some nice cushions, but a bit thick for scrubs. Mags drove around and delivered parcels of fabric and patterns. She was so excited by finishing her first piece! And the first recipient of the first set of scrubs was our own lovely Lucy-got to be some bonus being part of the group!

 

Juliet made this lovely set for her GP but he felt the need to remove the pockets before wearing them. Perhaps a bit racy for the genteel ladies of Gullane?

And then we came across the miracle that is Zoom. Suzanne generously allowed us to use her account. Thankfully she wasn't around too often at the start, when the main conversation revolved around who could we see and not hear, and who could we hear and not see. We eventually got the hang of it (well, most of us did......) and Tuesday night-our usual Guild night-became our social night. We had our guild night, with show and tell, but people enjoyed the company and chat so much that every other Tuesday night became a couple of hours of intelligent discussion, such as-

How totally nuts is Donald Trump?

How do you stop your glasses steaming up while wearing a mask?

What do you do about having a wee now that you're allowed out again but no toilets are open for use?

Whose cat is going to turn up and show us their bum tonight? (take a bow Fang and Saffron-almost every week!)

What is Pam having for her tea?

We had our first sewing Sunday on Zoom where we all made these lovely mug carriers accompanied by the lovely sound of people's sewing machine and Mags saying "you're not on mute!" every few minutes

Even now, when we are allowed out and able to stand at each others' front doors for a socially distant chat, the Tuesday night social has continued to thrive, allowing the participants to get to know each other in a way that we never would have under normal circumstances-even if we can't always see all of them onscreen.....

Next time-

Design a sewalong? Of course i can do that. How hard can it be?

      Lockdown blues (part one)

Hi everyone. The blog has been on a bit of an extended holiday, so i thought i'd start with a look back at the strangest 6 months any of us has ever experienced 

March 2020

           

So, here we go then. The world, as we know it, has gone mad. The guild has been overtaken by a manic hilarity, as if the realisation of what is happening hasn't quite got through yet. Queue the Sew Social What'sApp group. Started as a distraction from outside, we would talk about quilting, sewing, knitting, etc. Mainly at the beginning we talked about toilet roll. Jokes about toilet roll, videos about toilet roll, a toilet roll quilt and a constant running update on supplies in nearest supermarkets. Everyone had good intentions about how they would use their time productively-yoga, gardening, finishing all our WIPs (although for some members of the group this would have required lockdown to have lasted into the next decade..) and the funny pictures, videos and jokes continued. And then it all started to sink in. We had people who were shielding with their whole family, and there were no delivery slots to be had. Everybody rallied round, picking up stuff, dropping it at each others' front doors. Sewing became a way to distract from the outside. Online shopping became our new hobby. A new type of show and tell became the norm-

And then we decided that we would all make a video of our sewing spaces. There's nothing quite as good as seeing who's got a better sewing machine/bigger stash/better view than you. It was fascinating to see how these people we thought we knew, lived. We learned many things-

Who lied about not having tidied up first

Who wasn't fessing up to all of their stash

The fact that Juliet seems to have spread her sewing space across most of the rooms in her house

That what Liz calls a "filing system" is known by the rest of us as a "pile"

Suzanne is trying for a Guinness world record for the most crafts stuffed into one room

Then  normal sewing went on hold for a while, replaced by masks and scrubs, all co-ordinated through the group. Much time was spent deliberating how to get rid of husbands. People went quiet for a few days, but some funny post always brought them back. We all leaned on this group in a way that few people would have imagined. And most of us kept sewing-

Coming next in part two-

Lets have a QAL

Zoom? What's that?

  

**Cancelled** An Evening with Jo Avery ~ 3rd April 2020

**We have had to cancel the scheduled talk with Jo in April.  All refunds should have now been recieved. Hopefully we will reschedule to a future date**

To celebrate the release of Jo's first book we are hosting an evening with Jo Avery.  Jo will be sharing a new lecture she has prepared especially for this evening. Find out about the process of writing a quilt book, from conception to promotion, and the daily life and times of a quilting professional and serial entrepreneur in this entertaining and illuminating talk. Jo will be bringing all but one of the book quilts to show us, alongside other recent work, and will be selling and signing books on the night.

Refreshments will be served.

Fri, 3 April 2020

19:00 – 21:00

Challenge from the Chair: A Story Quilt

2019 Challenge from the Chair

Each year The Edinburgh Modern Quilt Guild set a "Challenge from the Chair".  This is a project on a theme which results in a "mini quilt". What is a mini quilt I hear you cry?  It's a small quilt!

As a guild we have been running challenges since 2017, our new chair, Mags,  continued the tradition that Cathlene had started.

The 2019 challenge was inspired by the traditions of the past and the merging of our craft with that of communication and protest across history into the modern day. Sewing for ceremony and protest has a long history whether it is the beautiful banners representing political unions or religious messages sewn to adorn churches. As a community of modern quilters we still feel connected to our past regardless of the aesthetic.

2018 saw the centenary of women's suffrage in the UK the Quilters Guild of the British Isles featured the colours and themes at their showpiece Festival of Quilts in 2018.  

In 2019, a small contingent of our guild visited Nashville for Quiltcon and one of the lectures we attended was the fantastic and inspiring Sara Trail.  Sara is a member of the Social Justice Sewing Academy who are set up to give young people a voice, a skill, a way of engaging.  Her lecture gave us a kick in the proverbial pants about how important this traditional skill is. The display of quilts and blocks made by many was a highlight of Quiltcon.

So the challenge was set....

I want to see the story of what challenges you in your daily life what's the thing that gets to you?

A tremendous amount of heart and soul were included in the mini quilts which were submitted to our September meeting.

Presented here are some of the entries and the stories that accompanied them.

CHERISH by Sheena

The countryside is being eaten away.
Replaced with tarmac, houses, industry.
Native plants are disappearing under a torrent of plastic and fly tipping.
Our summer sky is full of pollution.

Cherish what we have now.

Life Destroys Life by Cathlene

Highly commended by the judges for the use of quilting to ghost the words.

Bawbags

Joint winner from the guild and the judging panel.

Mother Nature Needs Our Help by Jo Avery 

Hiding by Audrey

I Hate Waste by Juliet

Hospital Waiting List by Katie

Spilt Milk by Lucy

"Breastfeeding is a mother's gift to herself, her baby and the earth"  - Pamela K Wiggins 

To me breastfeeding is the biggest thing I've ever done.  It's the biggest challenge with the greatest reward.  I have been supporting women for the last 20 years with their breastfeeding journeys.

Is this Fergus's Future by Mags

Mag's own quilt was voted the public choice winner from the 2019 Stitchgathering.

Breaking the Stigma by Barbara G

Barbara's quilt inspired by her son's Pure O condition.  She won the Chair's prize and jointly the guilds favourite. https://www.confessionsofabasketcase.com/

Sisterhood by Heather

Heather's quilt was the overall panel judged winner.

Time For Action by Sue

Sue's quilt is made from the rubbish she found whilst walking the lanes around her remote home.

The Benefits of Reading to Children by Fiona

Losing Earth by Barbara M

Life Sentence by Cat

Ruth Bader Ginsberg by Anne

It's OK to not be OK

Frank by Pam

Here's to the 2020 challenge...