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...