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astmonth,I beganmycolumnwitha quilting
storyfrommychildhoodwheremybigsister
taughtmehowtosew.Janewasa verykeen
dressmakerandmadeclothesforthewholefamily,
includingbeautifuleveninggownsforourglamorous
motherwholikedto‘entertain’,astheycalledit inthe
70s.Eachyear,I wouldspenda fewweeksofmyschool
holidaysstayingwithJane,whowasnewlymarriedwith
a homeofherown.I haveveryfondmemoriesofthe
hoursspentinherspareroomwithherassheranup
a newdressortwoonherJonessewingmachine,while
I leafedthroughbackissuesofWomen’sWeeklytofind
thetoypatternsshehadsavedforme.I lovedmaking
softtoysandplayingwithfabricandthread,butI loved
it evenmorewhenJanewasaroundandbusywith
hersewingtoo.Thishappycompanionshipthrough
stitchinghascontinueduntilthepresentday.Jane
andI likenothingbetterthantositandsewtogether
(orcrochet,orembroider!), something we do at every
availableopportunity.Quiltingretreats
I draftedthismonth’scolumninbetweenmanicbouts
ofpreparationfortheseventhannualStitchGathering
Retreat.Thisis theone-dayeventI organisein
EdinburgheveryOctoberforaround 90 attendees.It’s
anexcitingdayofworkshops,prizes,showandtell,food
andshopping.Butit’sthe‘sewingtogether’aspect of the
daythatreallygalvanisestheexperience.
There’salsothechancetolearnnewskillsand
techniquesfroma widerangeofexperiencedteachers,
aswellasfellowattendees,whoI findarealways
generouswithadviceandtips.Everyyear,wehavea
newbunchofvisitingguesttutorsfromaroundtheUK
alongsideourregularlocalteachers.I usuallyteach
bothmorningandafternoonclasses,butthisyearI
decidedtotakethingseasierandteachjustone.This
is a newclassusingmyFreehandFoundationPiecing
techniquetocreatemy(veryabstract!)interpretationof
a Dandelion Clock block. This meant I was free to takepartinoneoftheotherclasses in the afternoon, which
wasa hugetreatforme.
Themostexcitingpartofthewholedayis when
wehandoutthegoodybags.Ourwonderfulsponsors
donateitemssuchasfabric,patterns,threadsand
notions– myshopmanager,Jane,andI enjoya happy
fewhourspackingtheseinto 90 bagsbeforehand.We
alwaysneedtofightthetemptationtosquirrelawaystu
forourselvesintheprocess.Thisyearwewerelucky
enoughtoreceivebeautifulfabricfromLewis& Irene,
AnnaMariaHornerforFreeSpirit Fabrics and Anna
Gri n forBlendFabrics.Ticketproject
Atourfirstevent,insteadofsendingeveryonea boring
paperentranceticket,I sentthema pieceoffabricwith
ourlogoprintedinthecentre.Inanaccompanying
letter,I askedeachattendeetoembellishthisfabric
ticketanywaytheylikedandtohandit inwhenthey
arrivedat theretreat.Wedisplayedalltheamazing
fabricpiecesat lunchtimeinwhatturnedouttobe
aninspirationalexhibitionshowcasinga community
project,andI latermadethemintoa quiltwhichwe
ra edforcharityat thefollowingyear’sevent.
Thisideahasbecomea traditioneversince.Some
years,wemakethemedblocks,suchashousesorcats
anddogs.Theyhavebeenmadeintomanycharityquilts
bywillingvolunteerswhowere‘encouraged’totake
homea stackofblocksat theendoftheday.Thisyear,
wecreatedandswappedhoopart,withthewoodenhoop
beingprovidedastheticketitem.Wealsodisplayed
a quiltmadeofwordblocks,madewith‘tickets’from
the 2015 retreat.Sincethen,theyhavebeenmadeinto
a quilt,whichhasbeenlaboriouslyhand-quiltedbya
wonderfulvolunteer,Lynsey.Nowit’slookingfora new
homeina worthwhilecommunityspace.I feelthissort
ofprojectis allpartofthe‘sewingtogether’ethosand
helpstospreadthequiltylove.However,it doesgiveme
a hugeproblemeveryyearasI trytocomeupwitha new
idea. The words ‘rod’ and ‘back’ come to mind!QUILTINGRETREATSAND
SEWING WITH OTHERSCREATIVE CORNER l sewing with others
CREATIVE
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