Quadrille Quilters October Newsletter

Report Back of Previous Meeting:
All members and visitors were welcomed by Grace.
Members were reminded to switch off all cell phones or turn them to silent as they do disrupt the flow of meetings.
Members were also reminded to wear their name tags at all friendship meetings.
The craft table was complemented on their interesting wares, but members were kindly asked to take home their unsold items at the end of the meeting.
The books sent by Maggie have still not arrived. Maggie has just returned home, and has had a wonderful holiday. She will look into the missing books.
The challenge entries are to be hung at the next meeting. It was disappointing that although 20 ‘kits’ were sold only 5 were returned and one unfinished one. Edwina suggested that the theme for the next challenge be sent out earlier, perhaps in November or December already. The Committee will take this into consideration at their next meeting.

There is still some silver jewelry left over from our 25th anniversary celebrations. Charms, pins and earrings are available at R100.each. Please contact Averil Barker on 011 802 1426.
Leonora thanked all members on the vast improvement of the show and tell slips and asked members to continue including tit bits of interesting information.
Members were again reminded that if asked to provide tea they are also required to help with the cleaning up in the kitchen area.
Members were reminded of the exhibition in the Heathway shopping centre on the 29 October. QQ will require volunteers to help hang up and take down as well as quilts to be hung. Volunteers to do demos will also be needed. Quilts, especially Christmas quilts for sale are popular, so should you wish to sell a quilt or two please bring them along. A quilt donated by Maggie Ball will also be raffled during the exhibition.
Members were reminded to keep looking at the notice board as there are always new items being displayed.

The Handbag Project has been adopted as our next charity. Should have an old handbag or two please bring them to one of our meetings. Instead of the proverbial Christmas gift members were encouraged to donate any of the following items at the December meeting:
Face cloth Panties (med. or large)
Sanitary Towels Soap Tooth Paste
Tooth Brush Shampoo Deodorant
Body Lotion(small) Bubble bath (small )
Comb Tissues Chocolate
Hair clips/bands Small soft Toy
Note – words of comfort/care
Bag to place above items in
QQ will consider making some of these bags with the mile a minute strips left over from the previous charity project. Dates for these sessions will be announced soon.

The Library reported that they are getting new books soon, which will then be reviewed.
Lesley reported back from GRG that they were looking for a new venue. Apparently a version of Bingo was played and much fun was had by all. The Part Time quilters also showed some of their quilts. The I Africa quilt show at the Emperors Place next year has attracted many overseas teachers and members were encouraged to keep a look out for their bookings. The event is to take place in July next year.

Jenny noted that the last house in this years back page is a real challenge. She did a lot of unpicking and changed her way of working. Tiny strips were sewn through freezer paper. She suggests to cut larger pieces and then trim it down. There is a cactus in the picture which she suggests you colour in beforehand.


Guest Speaker: Marina Sigalis
Marina was born in Greece into a rich culture of crafts and spinning. However her move to South Africa and the birth of her second child did introduce depression. It was not a chemically introduced depression, but rather one associated with loneliness. which was not surprising being new in a country with no support system in place. Her doctor told her to get a hobby.
She remembered her weaving skills and went to the wool board in Pretoria for a visit. She took a week long course and one thing led to another. From weaving, spinning was introduced. This led to her interest to dye yarns. She experimented with natural products such as turmeric, saffron, marigolds and celery. Chemical dyes were easily available but they are poisonous. Dying fiber to dyeing fabric was a natural progression. A book by Adriene Buffington “Hand dyed Fabric made easy “ she still maintains to be the best available.
She progressed to mixing her own dyes and made her own colour wheel. Dying is the second most stressful job around. Reproducing the exact same colour with every dye lot is almost impossible. She generally dyes on calico, but stresses to be careful as colours vary when dyed onto white or cream cloth. She loves immersion dyes as so called imperfections result in very interesting products. She started rainbow dying with yarns, but now uses the technique with fabrics.
Marina uses various methods of dying but finds the Sun dyes the easiest. This also allows for interesting additions of leaves , salt and other creative produce, including old door mats.
The book ‘Complex cloth’ by Jane Dunnewold taught her to combine different methods She now confidently combines stenciling, bleaching and stamping .
The embellishing of fabric, Marina claims can bring out your inner child(which we all should strive to maintain).
Marina strongly suggested to keep a log book when entering the dying world – as future reproductions might not be possible without one.
Marina now also teaches her dying skills, but is very reluctant to sell
any of her fabrics. She just packs them away neatly and “visits” them on occasion.



Forgiveness is the fragrance the violet sheds
On the heel that has crushed it.
Mark twain


Giving from the Heart…Our Charities…
Remember to save your scrap fabric and put them into an old pillow case for the SPCA to use for all the unwanted animals. Your old towels and sheets will also help with bath time.

CHOC is always in need of bed socks and beanies and scarves for children of all ages…so get some wool from QQ and get knitting.

Also keep knitting vests for all the aids babies.
Wool donations have arrived.
Bring your old egg boxes, cotton reels and other useful recyclables to be given to St Vincent School for the Deaf

Bring your old glasses and glasses cases to be used by the Lions Eye Clinic in Roodepoort, for people with no money or medical aid but in need of glasses. They use your old frames.
Have an ‘old’ bag just taking up storage space? Why not support our Handbag Project?
Instead of the proverbial Christmas gift please donate any of the following items at the December meeting:
Face cloth, Panties (med. or large),Sanitary Towels, Soap, Tooth Paste, Tooth Brush, Shampoo, Deodorant, Body Lotion(small), Bubble bath (small), Comb, Tissues, Chocolate, Hair clips/bands, Small soft Toy and a
Note – words of comfort/care
Bag to place above items in
QQ will consider making some of these bags with the mile a minute strips left over from the previous charity project. Dates for these sessions will be announced soon

Which are You?
Some members keep a group so strong.
While others join just to belong.
Some dig right in; serve with pride;
Some go along just for the ride.

Some volunteer to do their share,
While some lie back and just don’t care.
Some do their best, some help, some make;
Some do nothing, only take.

Some greet new members with a smile,
And make their coming so worthwhile.
While some go on their merry way,
No greeting or kind work to say.

Some help the group and grow,
When asked to help they don’t say “no”.
Some drag, some pull, some don’t some do;
Consider, which of these are YOU?


Color my Memory
By Margaret Kaufman
The jewelry will be easy to divide-
The books will interest only one of you,
But one day you will stand here
Side by side, unfolding these quilts,
Exposing to light their color, the blue,
Rose, white, saying their names
Of things I loved, Ocean Waves,
Ships at sea

Perhaps you will grow silent and puzzling
Remembering me, the way I folded
Myself into silence,
Piecing and puzzling until
Design came clear.
If you find it hard to keep
What took me often far away from you
As I worked, intent on making whole
What I’d begun,
Pin my quilts on the clothesline.
Let them fly in the autumn sun.
Summer joy, cover my memory
With color.


A smile for You
Smiling is infectious; you catch it like the flu,
When someone smiled at me today, I started smiling too
I passed around the corner and someone saw my grin, when he smiled I realized I’d passed it on to him.
I thought about that smile, then I realized its worth,
A single smile, just like mine, could travel around the earth.
So, if feel a smile begin, don’t leave it undetected,
Let’s start an epidemic quick, and get the world infected

Quadrille Quilters Sept Newsletter 2011

REPORT BACK
Grace welcomed all visitors and members with a special welcome to Maggie Ball.
There were several apologies, including, Jeanette Trichardt, Cathy Pollitt, Ira Auf, Carol Poutney, Rhona Lobbin and Avriel Barker.
Ladies were reminded to please switch their phones off or to silent. Ringing phones do disturb the smooth running of our meetings.
Grace commented that it was always good to see previously ill members back at meetings.
A buddy system is to be introduced. This will make it easier for new members to ease into the Quadrille circle. It would also make it easier to let the older members know of possible ways to improve our group.
Tall ladies were asked to please help with show and tell; Bridget Ferguson and Ann Robertson have volunteered to help for 3 months.
Members were reminded that photograph fees are to be increased to R5.00.
It has come to our attention that there are 25 members whose fees are still outstanding. Should you no longer wish to remain a member, please let us know. Our lists do need to accurate as they affect the general running of meetings, e.g. how many newsletters to print, tea duties etc
QQ charities did very well this year, 53 quilts were given to the orphanage, 10 were sent to
Japan to help those affected by the Tsunami, we still have 12 available.
Members are reminded to wear their name tags, we are all getting older and memories are not what they were.
Thank you to all members helping out with the tea and helping to keep the tea area clean. If you are tea duty and are not helping, please do so next time round.
Several unusual and useful things are appearing on our craft table. Please take a look and keep things coming.
The notice board always contains something of value; please take the time to read it.
Jenny’s back page: Apparently last month’s challenge proved problematic, it being an asymmetrical block. Jenny suggests you reverse when you cut the pieces. The facia boards proved most problematic. This month’s block is a contempory double storey house. Jenny suggests not to use freezer paper as it shifts, photocopy onto paper and work from there. Reduce the size of your stitches. Fold along the lines of the paper to weaken it so stitches are not ripped. Number the units as they appear e.g. 1st row left and so on. Please speak to Jenny should you have missed the last meeting as several changes needed to be made on the actual pattern to simplify the stitching.
Members are reminded that membership fees are due next month. R150.00. should you prefer to pay in February the fee will increase to R160.00.
It was noted with concern that the noise levels during QQ meetings are increasing, even while speakers are presenting their speeches, and especially during show and tell. This shows a lack of respect towards speakers and all members trying to listen. Members are encouraged to please not talk during meetings. Should you wish to be heard and have something of interest to contribute or a question to ask, please stand up (it helps others hear better) and state your name (not everyone knows who you are and most of our memories are not what they where).
Any teachers who wish to have their pamphlets/leaflets/business cards handed out during the Christmas Exhibition held at Heathway Shopping Centre in October, are to ensure that they are handed to Grace before the exhibition

Giving from the Heart…Our Charities…
Remember to save your scrap fabric and put them into an old pillow case for the SPCA to use for all the unwanted animals. Your old towels and sheets will also help with bath time.

CHOC is always in need of bed socks and beanies and scarves for children of all ages…so get some wool from QQ and get knitting.

Also keep knitting vests for all the aids babies.
Wool donations have arrived.
Bring your old egg boxes, cotton reels and other useful recyclables to be given to St Vincent School for the Deaf

Bring your old glasses and glasses cases to be used by the Lions Eye Clinic in Roodepoort, for people with no money or medical aid but in need of glasses. They use your old frames.


A Visit from Maggie Ball.
Maggie is the author of various quilting books, including books on quilting with Kids. Originally from England, she now lives in Bainbridge Island in the Pacific North West of the USA.
When she came to America she noted quilts hanging over fences for sale. She wanted to learn the art, so frequented her local library until she discovered the local quilt group. When she moved to a different town she joined a larger group who was a little more adventurous in their quilt making.
A few years ago she received an e-mail from Selinga, a lady who lived in Mongolia and had visited the USA, fallen in love with quilting and wanted to bring quilting to Mongolia, to help empower women living in Mongolia. The long term aim was to start a quilting centre. A symbol, the Olsii Symbol was prominent in Mongolia, so Maggie designed a quilt capturing this important symbol of prosperity and longevity.
Maggie and her daughter went to Mongolia with 5 sewing machines and other sourced materials.
She found the materials available in Mongolia out dated, but the women very willing and eager to learn this new craft. She taught and lectured in Mongolia drumming up interest in the art of quilting and after more visits and much fund raising; Mongolia now has a quilting community centre, where women are making articles for sales using the Olsii symbol and other quilt articles.

Maggie shared her knowledge of the Olsii Quilt with Quadrille members and her other quilting skills. Two classes were offered – One the Olsii quilt and the second a Kaleidoscope quilt. Quadrille members were all eager to get started, and all were rather brain dead at the end of each day. But so inspired!

Thank you Maggie for being so patient and so supportive. And thank you Grace for making this happen.

We left exhausted, inspired and few inches thicker in the waist.....all that food.....
If you missed it, shame, you will just have to salivate when you see our show and tell..
Written by Leonora Cloete

There is one sad truth in life I found
While journeying east and west-
The only folks we really wound
Are those we love the best
We flatter those we scarcely know,
We please the fleeting guest

Grandmother’s Quilt
A tattered quilt all frayed and torn,
Beneath whose warmth a child once slept.
A memory in each patch is kept
From clothing long ago well-worn.
This cherished quilt brings back the touch
That wiped away a tiny ear, and softly rocked while giving cheer….
Sweet comfort always treasured much.
Now generations feel the love
Of someone they have never known
The seeds of love forever sown By grandma, smiling from above.
Author unknown

Quadrille Quilters Feb 2010

Grace welcomed back all members and visitors. The following apologies were received: Erichka Bick, Nola Mayes, Rona Lobban, Lorna van Doorene, and Merl van Niekerk. As always members were asked to please ensure their cell phones do not disturb the meeting or the speakers. Thank you notes were received from Choc, SPCA and Ina Le Roux from the Venda ladies; all were overwhelmed by the generous response from all the QQ. All the love quilts are still handed in. Every quilt tells a story – it was made for a reason, something inspired its creation, perhaps something significant happened whilst in the making – when sharing your quilt with us during show and tell, please include this in your slip. It makes for interesting reading and could even inspire someone. Members were reminded to wear their name tags. Name tags can be ordered from Jeanette Botha. Tea duty: Ladies if your name is down for tea duty you are also required to help in the kitchen –even if you have brought your own mug. Members were also reminded to have a look at the notice board. MEDALLION QUILTS -A talk by Ansie Reyerse Medallion style quilt making was favored from the 1780s through the early 1800.in America. In Europe however this style remained in favour well beyond that time. A medallion quilt has a large central area. The Centre is usually surrounded by two or more borders. The borders can be plain, pieced or appliquéd. The centre piece can be a large solid piece of fabric, a large print such as a tree or basket, embroidered pieces or even a large pieced star or a set of stars. Some early fabric manufacturers specifically designed panels to be used in the centre of medallion quilts. These prints could be square rectangular or oval. The borders could be plain, pieced, some featured stars, or printed fabric or fabric strips sewn together to make patterns. Borders could be pieced triangles in border patterns such as sawtooth or pyramid style. Squares could be turned on point along a border strip or simply sewn together. The hourglass and modified nine patch patterns were some of the simpler blocks used in borders while various intricate star block patterns were created for more elaborate borders. These borders were often made of varied fabrics giving scrappy look. Often the pieced borders were alternated with strips of fabric in prints or solids. Some borders were made of a chintz print or even a special border fabric. Fabric manufacturers noted that quilt makers wanted fabric for these multiple borders and, “Around 1790, prints on a dark background became fashionable and were often printed in strips ready for the quilt maker to cut out for borders”. 2011 CHARITY DRIVE The main charity chosen for 2011 is the Bronkhorstspruit Orphanage. Suzen Bornman has identified this orphanage as being is need of some extra sunshine to bring that extra bit of love to the children. This orphanage receives no government help is looked after by the Church and the Bronkhorstspruit community. Yvonne Jordan and her Western Line Dancers are doing their best to make the children feel as normal as possible, by holding charity drives to fund things normally unavailable to the children such as pocket money, if and when they manage to go on holiday, but funding mostly food shortages. Quadrilles have committed itself to make a quilt for every child in the orphanage. There are at present 34 children housed in the orphanage, some helpers, and the house mothers. The idea is also to make this a community project – to get as many QQ members involved as possible. You are therefore encouraged to join a group of about 4 to 5 members and by doing so get to know one another, and at the same time learn from each other. Groups can decide where and when they could meet. Should your time be limited and you unable to participate, you can still be involved. Perhaps you are able to sponsor backing flannel? The batting will be sponsored by Quadrilles. QQ members have already produced 7 quilts. Thank you ladies. All quilts will be shown. Wendy and Suzan gave a very informative talk of how to use up fabric scraps. They warn that scraps can look too busy, thus suggest you look for unity. Arrange the scraps from light to dark. Join the scraps together then cut strips; add a few bits before cutting into blocks. Another suggestion involves foundation piecing. Narrow strips can be sewn onto a foundation. From this various shapes, such as squares or triangles can cut out. The idea is to have fun and expand your horizons. FROM THE HEART SPCA – Instead of throwing your fabric off cuts, thread off cuts into the bin – collect them in a used old pillow case. When full sew it closed and bring it to your next QQ meeting. We will give these to the SPCA. The animals of the SPCA are really greatfull for these scrap cushions. St. Vincent School for the Deaf – Old egg boxes, empty toilet rolls, cotton reels or other recyclable goods are appreciated – as they are used by the children in various artwork projects. Just drop off your bag at the next QQ meeting. CHOC – feel like knitting? Beanies and socks are always appreciated. Patterns are available should you require. STRESSED ? ….. keep stitching…. We live in a new world – a world spinning so fast we are all literally and figuratively in danger of falling off. Stress takes many different forms, stress at work to perform, pressure from the boss, pressure from home, divorce, school, study, illness, death the list is endless. The secret seems to be how we cope with stress. It is estimated that between 60 to 90% of illnesses seen by GPs are stress related. Too much stress leads to illness –sometimes mental illness, a well known one depression and insomnia. But more often than not physical illness, the most common being heart related problems, high blood pressure, and cholesterol. Psychologists have identified through research that other common illnesses are also stress related. Headaches, muscle related illnesses, diabetes basically name an illness and somewhere along the line it can be linked to stress. But stress has been around as long as man himself, what has changed, why are we no longer coping, why is our coping method in the medicine chest. Think back. Think of our grandparents lives. Surely life then was more difficult. They had very few of the luxuries we have now. Crime, our political situation and the recent economic depression have without doubt contributed to our stressful lives. What has changed however is our coping mechanisms. We constantly seem to be on the go, we do not take time out to relax or recharge our bodies. Yes we take holidays, which takes our minds off things for a week or two, but does little to help with our daily stress. So what to do? Exercise is a wonderful stress relief, but so is meditation. With meditation the persons attempts to enter a deeper state of relaxation and awareness. This makes me wonder – is embroidery, quilting or crafting in general, not a form of meditation? Surely you have been told ‘I don’t have the patience for this or you have a lot of patience’ the answer should be– no embroidery, quilting teaches you patience. It forces you to slow down, it forces you to relax. Think, can you really cut or sew fabric when you are tense. And if you are rushed and flustered and pick up your work – how long before you slow down, you cannot embroider fast, each stitch has to be formed one at a time, if you are tense your work will be tense, so you unpick, or re cut and redo properly this time. What happens to your focus? You are forced to concentrate on your work, your brainwaves shift from the right frontal cortex, which is associated with stress to the left frontal cortex, which is calmer. When you think about what you are doing let’s say stitching flowers, you think about the flower you are stitching and then other flowers and your mind is released, your thought patterns change, you start to contemplate, think things through – should you lose focus your stitching brings you back. You calm down – so yes embroidery and crafting in general, teaches patience. It slows you down, in my mind there is no doubt it is a form of very powerful form of meditation. MRIs and EEG have shown changes in brain waves in Monks during meditation. It increases the beta waves which result in a more relaxed state. Therefore in general, meditation reduces stress, produces inner calm, lowers blood pressure, slows heartbeat, quiets breathing boosts the body’s immune system. As does any form of crafting or a good hobby for that. So ladies, when next you sit down with a quilt in hand – know that you are starting a healing process – so relax, release your mind, and know that you can only benefit from this wonderful experience. Let your family know that this is your “ME” time and you need it to remain sane and stress free! Leonora Cloete What is a Love Quilt? A Love Quilt is a quilt is sewn by QQ members for a member. A Love quilt is usually given to a member going through a difficult time; it is meant as form of comfort –to remind the “patient” that there are people who care, and people thinking of them, in their time of need. Love Quilts are usually kept by the “patient” for a period of time (usually a month or so) and then returned so it can be passed onto another member in need. A booklet is included with the Love Quilt to allow you to express your feelings at time.

Quadrille Newsletter January 2011

REPORT BACK
Grace opened the meeting by welcoming all members and visitors. With a special welcome back to Els Cleet.
The ladies were reminded that cell phones should be switched off or turned to silent.
Several apologies were given.
Choc is still in need of socks. Jean’s mom has undertaken to help fill this need.
The members were reminded to please wear their name tags.
Members were encouraged to bring items for sale at the craft table, to make it more interesting.
Bridget has gone to a lot of trouble with the notice board; members were encouraged to keep themselves updated with what is available.
A Round Robin exercise was explained – the ladies worked in groups of 6. Each initially made a block and passed it on to the next person, who adds a border to this block. This is repeated until after 6 months you get your original quilt back. The ladies found it to have been a great learning curve.
The Heathway Quilt Exhibition was reported on in the Randburg Sun.





From the Heart
Thank you so much from….
The Venda Ladies. for the embroidery cotton received, and especially for the generous donations of Dawn Body Lotion.
Choc
The SPCA has sent out a big thank you to all who so generously donated cushions throughout the year. All the love quilts have been returned and a special letter of thanks was received from Annette Grobler



2011 Charity Drive


The main charity chosen for 2011 is the Bronkhorstspruit Orphanage.
Suzan Bornman has identified this orphanage as being is need of some extra sunshine to bring that extra bit of love to the children.
It was decided to make a quilt for every child in the orphanage.
Suzan will report back on the ages of the children and their sex and perhaps any special request they might have.
Quadrille members are encourage to do what they do best, and make a child feel special by giving them a quilt made especially for them.
Quilts are please to be for a single bed and not be smaller than 190x150.
Work parties at Quiltec 25th ,26th, 27th Jan
9am to 1pm



The History of the Christmas Stocking.


There are several stories as to the origin of the Christmas Stocking. One theory maintains that once upon a time a poor man and his three daughters lived in a peasant’s cottage. There was no money for the girls to get married and the man worried about what would happen to his daughters after his death. St Nicholas was passing through the village when he heard about the girls and wanted to help, he also knew the old man would not accept charity. So he waited until night fall and crept in through the chimney. He had three bags of gold and was looking for a place to keep the bags. All he could find was the stockings of the girls hanging over the mantel piece to dry. He placed the gold coins in the stockings and girls could get married and lived happily ever after.
The story changes in regions and the gold coins are actually replaced with gold balls.
Hence the tradition evolved of children placing their stockings over the mantle piece or at the ends of their beds in the hope that St Nicholas/Santa Clause will reward their good behavior with presents in their stockings.
At times the stocking gifts are the only gifts the children would receive; while at other times the stocking contains only small gifts which are now called Stocking fillers.
Today the Christmas stocking is no longer the child’s everyday socks, but elaborate stockings especially created for this purpose.
A second theory originating from Germany – is that children would place their straw, carrot or sugar filled boots near the chimney for Odin’s flying horse, Sleipnir, their effort would be rewarded with boots filled with candy or gifts.
Another theory claims the tradition was started in Holland where children filled their clogs with straw and place it near the hearth for the reindeer. Sintaclaas (Santa Clause) would reward their kindness with gifts. With time the clogs were replaced with stockings and Sintaclaas with Santa Clause.

Another tradition claims that the tradition goes back to the XIX Century to an illustrator Thomas Nast, who illustrated a story by George Webster about a visit from Santa Clause. In his poem “The Night Before Christmas” Clement Clark Moore the Christmas Stocking is mentioned twice – once in the beginning and again towards the end.

“Merry Christmas” in different languages
Australia – Happy Christmas Spain – Feliz Navidad
Germany – Frohe Weihnachten Thailand – Ewadee Pe-e Mai



Please Diarize……….


QQ Meeting Dates and Talks 2011
10 January – Ansie Reyerse - Medallion Quilts.
Talk: Wendy Burtenshaw – Scrap Quilts
2 February – Diana Perrerson – Machine Embroidery
2 March – Jenny Svvensson – Maths and Quilting
6 April – Tertia Duvenhage – Felt Applique
4 May – Leslie Pahl-Stain Glass Window
1 June – Jeanette Botha – Bargello
13 July – All the girls – Festival Report Back
3 August – Marina Sigalas – Quilt Manipulation
7 September – Wendy and Suzan – Surprise!
5 October – Rose Espach – To be announced
2 November – Bridget Ferguson - All Appliqué
7 December – Ina Keyter - Art is Good




GRG Dates for 2011


The Golden Rand Quilting Guild is the umbrella body for the PWV area. They meet 4 times a year at the Alberton City Hall.
19 February, 21 May, 20 August and 19 November.



Jakaranda Dates 2011


The Jacaranda Quilting Group meets in Pretoria 3 times a year on 12 February, 11 June and 8 October.


Quiltec Open Day


Saturday 5 February 9am to 2pm


National Quilt Festival Stellenbosch
1 to 7 July 2011
Clubs…
…Classes……Courses…….“out of the Box”
This is a new group which will be held on the last Thursday of each month at Quiltec from 9am to 12pm unless otherwise stated. Please contact Grace for details o11 679 4386
24 February 24 March 28 April
26 May 23 June 25 August
29 September 27 October 24 November


Block of the Month


Piece makers Times and Seasons 2011
28 January 25 February 25 March
29 April 27 May 24 June
29 July 26 August 30 September
28 October 25 November


Share and Care Dates for 2011
Share and Care is our Masibambani School held at the Methodist Church in Linden for our African Ladies.
22 January 12 February 12 March
9 April 14 May 11 June
9th July 13 August
10 September 8 October 12 November

Mayflower Meeting Dates
10 January 14 February 13 March
11 April 9 May 12 June
11 July 15 August 12 September
10 October 14 November 28 November







Websites to visit
http://www.artfabrik.com/ Laura Wasilowski
www.originalquilts.com
http://www.craftown.com/
http://www.ellyienkiewicz.com/
Joyce Becker can be checked out on uTube
Hobby X is advertising exciting courses on
in2crafts@Hobby-X





Quilt Festival 2011


The 2011 National Quilt Festival will be held from the 1 - 7 July at the Bloemhof Girls’ School in
Stellenbosch, in the heart of the Cape Wine lands. The Exhibition will be from the 1 – 6 July and the quilts will be taken down on the last day of the Festival to give quilters an opportunity to collect them.
The theme for the 2011 Festival is “Alive with Colour”, which should inspire all traditional, innovative and art quilters to make amazing quilts for the exhibition. Our logo depicts Table Mountain, all dressed up and colourful to suite our theme.
We trust you are all working industriously on the quilts you would like to enter for the 2011 National Festival. The Exhibition hall is large and we therefore need lots of quilts to make the Cape Town event as successful as previous Festivals.
The winning rosettes for each of the quilt categories have been designed and made by Mari Claase, with the help of the Langeberg Laslap Guild, who have generously sponsored the rosettes.
We chose Stellenbosch for our Festival so that quilters can escape from the rat race of the city and come to the country to relax and enjoy the historic town and its beautiful surroundings, such as the lovely wine estates that can be found on the outskirts of the town!
The Bloemhof School has excellent hostel facilities that can accommodate up to 160 delegates. There are 2 big lounges (with DSTV) where delegates can socialize and relax during the Cape winter evenings. The hostel is in close proximity and within walking distance to the school.
For those who prefer a different type of accommodation, there are many B&B’s in the vicinity of the school. Related B&B information is available on our website.
Our challenge packs have been sent to guilds all over South Africa, but we still have a few left and they are available from Jenny Hermans: hermanshome@telkomsa.net There are fantastic cash prizes to be won!

Some time ago invitations were sent to a number of overseas teachers and three were selected to teach at the Festival. The Committee is in the process of finalising the local teachers and workshops. This is an enormous task and is being done with great care and consideration as we want to ensure that there is a good mix of quilting techniques and workshops. This process should be completed by the end of June 2010.
We were impressed with the high standard and quality of workshops offered by our overseas and local teachers. Besides the planned workshops, there will be demonstrations for beginner quilters, “Kids can Quilt” - workshops for the younger generation of quilters

Rules for Quilt Shows


By Krista Sheehan ,
I want to do this! What's This?
Quilting is a hobby shared and enjoyed by many people. In fact, quilting has become such a popular craft that a wide variety of quilt shows are now held across the country. If you are thinking about entering one of your quilts in a quilt show, it is extremely important that you review the show's rules and regulations. Although each show varies, the rules for quilt shows are often quite strict and unwavering.
Appearance
1. To be entered into a quilt show, all entries must be free of dirt, smoke and animal hair. Quilts must be completed and ready to hang with a stitched-down sleeve of a specific size.
2. Many quilt shows maintain that they will not hang incomplete, dirty or torn quilts, and these quilts will not qualify for entry into the show. Typically, quilts also will need to have a label sewn in a specific place on the back of the quilt. This label will need to detail the name of the quilt along with the name and address of the quilter.
Size and Construction
3. To be considered a "quilt," most shows insist on a work with three layers: a backing, filler and top. These three layers must be held together with stitching through each layer. Each show has its own determinants regarding the size of the quilt, too. Most quilt shows judge several different categories of quilts based on size. For example, some shows simply categorize quilts into large, small and miniature groups. Other shows, however, have more extensive categories: bed quilts, crib quilts, wall quilts and fabric art, among others. Refer to your specific show's rules for size regulations.
Additional Information
4. All shows require that the quilt is the work of the person who enters it into the show. If you received help, inspiration or guidance from another source, most shows require you to name those sources on your entry form. Some shows do not allow you to use kits, while others will accept this as long as you have disclosed the kit information. Check with your local show for its rules on presentation; some will require you to submit specific pictures of your quilt before judging. Also, most shows have time restrictions on all entries. For example, they may require that your quilt was completed during a certain period of time, or they may require that your quilt has never been shown in a previous quilt show.

Quadrille Quilters December 2010

REPORT BACK

· Grace welcomed all visitors and members.
· Thank you from choc for all our support throughout the year.
· Thank you also from the SPCA for all our cushions – we are currently supporting Randburg and Roodepoort.
· The Heathway exhibition was as always a good show case for our group. There seemed to be a growing interest in the purchase of completed articles – it was suggested to start collecting/making articles for sale next year. There was also an increase in interest in classes especially from African ladies.
· A letter of thanks was received from Erichka for her gift and all her support for her year as chair lady.
· QQ members were asked to please remember to wear their name tags – it does make communication easier between members.
· A list was sent re learning computer skills, should you have missed the list and be interested please speak to Grace. These classes will be offered free of charge!


Giving From the Heart

You can’t live a perfect day without doing something for someone who will never be able to repay you.
John Wooden

· Bronkhorstspruit Orphanage provides shelter for many children abandoned by their parents – and to provide some cheer and warmth the QQ committee has decided to make this their main charity for 2011. The aim is to make a bright cheerful Quilt for every child in the orphanage – a total of 35 quilts by June! Suzen will be the quilt block co-coordinator. Watch this space to see how this wonderful project will be organized.
· The SPCA is always in need of something soft to sleep on for their residents – so please continue to collect your scrap fabrics in old pillow cases.
· CHOC is helping on average 110 new children per day –so if you have spare time and enjoy knitting, please keep beanies, scarves and socks coming.
· Margaret Bowyer is still collecting egg boxes and other materials with which the children of St Vincent’s School for the Deaf use to make masterpieces.
· Should you have any old clothes or other unused items, please bring them to QQ to be given to Go Sizwe.

Shadow Applique and Shadow Embroidery
By Lesley Glover

Shadow appliqué is a form of appliqué that uses a sheer or transparent fabric to give a shadowy effect.
Shadow appliqué was used to repair worn clothing in days gone by. The stitching done by hand would be simple. The aim being to secure the layers together, with stitching such as back stitch, blanket stitch, stem stitch and running stitch. In Shadow Appliqué, you begin as with normal appliqué. A design is chosen and cut out of fabric. A better result is obtained by using good big images such as line drawings of butterflies or clear bif leaves. Appliqué the design onto the background fabric as normal and embellish with embroidery stitches.Then overlay with your voile (you could also use netting or any other see through fabric). Lesley adds her batting and backing at this stage as she finds it simplifies matters in the end. Now either hand stitch or machine stitch around each piece of the design.You could get really creative and bend the rules as Colleen Harris does. She sometimes adds more than one layer of different coloured voiles. Using free motion quilting patterns are put into work. Once complete, she burns the top layer in parts to create interest and expose the exciting parts underneath. Basically the shadow effect is created with a sheer fabric overlay. White fabric was traditionally used, which resulted in an opaque effect and subtle colours. But experimenting with other colours, can result in interesting effects, Lesley found that a darker voile allows one to see the background more clearly.
One also has to take the type of voile used into consideration –There is a soft cotton, very see through available, that lends itself to this type of work. Lesley found that synthetic voiles pucker easy and do not lie flat. By using a stabilizer, puckering an be avoided. The message is clear – use the best quality fabric you can afford for the best results. Even though voile curtaining is synthetic does seem to be of a better quality and does yield good results. With Shadow Embroidery the design is drawn onto the voile. The outline is back stitched and the design filled with a herring bone stitch. Only the underside of the voile is stitched to create a shadow effect on the top side.Although an old technique, it can be modernized to create new dimensions.

Membership fees

Ladies – a friendly reminder! Our year runs from 1 November to 30 October. This means it is time to pay your subs again! There has been an increase of 10%.
The amounts due are as follows:
o R150.00 per year
o R25.00 / visit – visitors are reminded that after 3 visits you are required to become a member.
o An extra R5.00 / meeting for the security guards.
· Existing members who are exempt will remain so.

History of the Month!

Kente Cloth

Kent Cloth is native to the Akan people of Ghana. It is a type of silk fabric made of inter woven cloth strips. Usually the pattern consists of bright multicoloured geometric shapes and bold designs.
The cloth is locally known as ‘nwentoma’ and is a sacred cloth worn only in times of extreme importance. Kente was the cloth of Kings! But over time it became more widespread but has retained its importance and is still held in high esteem in the Akan family and the whole of Ghana.
Kente Cloth is made by the Akan people, and is the best known of all African textiles. Kente comes from the word Kenten, which means basket –it is therefore referred to as Nwentoma or ‘woven cloth’. It is an icon of African cultural heritage around the world.
Kente cloth is chosen by the Asante for their names colors and pattern. The names are derived from various sources –e.g. proverbs, historical events, chiefs and plants. The colors also are chosen because of their meanings e.g.
· Black – maturation, intensified spiritual energy
· Blue peacefulness, harmony, love
· Green –vegetation, planting, harvesting, growth
· White - purification, sanctification rites, and festive occasions.
Patterns woven also have certain meanings e.g. Emaa Da symbolizes novel creativity and knowledge from experience.
Legend has it that Kente was first made by two friends who went hunting in a forest and found a spider making its web. The friends stood and watched the spider for two days and then returned home and implemented what they had seen, thus claiming the cloth to have originated independent of outside influence.

Quadrille Quilters November Newsletter

Report Back

· Grace welcomed all members and visitors.
· A big thank you to Erichka and her committee for all their hard work and good luck to the newly elected committee! We wish you well and look forward to a successful new year.
· Leonie Malherber’s classes have been cancelled.
· Quiltec will no longer be at QQ meetings. However should you require anything, please let Grace know and she will bring your requirements.
· Quiltec will from 2011 only be open on Thursdays and Fridays.
· Thank you to all who donated items for the Nobili Foundation during the year.
· QQ photo albums are always available at Quiltec for that trip down memory lane.
· The Editor welcomes any contributions to the newsletter; the deadline for submissions is the 20th of the month.
· A friendly reminder also to our advertisers – please remember that your advertising fee of R130.00 per year is also due now.

Giving From the Heart

QQ members are encouraged to continue their generous support with all our charities.
Remember:
After the verb “To Love”…..”To Help” is the most beautiful verb in the world. Bertha von Suttner
· Bronkhorstspruit Orphanage provides shelter for many children abandoned by their parents – and to provide some cheer and warmth the QQ committee has decided to make this their main charity for 2011. The aim is to make a bright cheerful Quilt for every child in the orphanage – a total of 35 quilts by June! Suzen will be the quilt block co-coordinator. Watch this space to see how this wonderful project will be organized.
·
Please diarize……………
Provisional dates for 2011 QQ Meetings
12 January 13 July
2 February 3 August
2 March 7 September
6 April 5 October
4 May 2 November
1 June 7 December
1 – 9 July SA Quilt Festival
Hole in the Wall – is a baby shelter for abandoned babies. QQ would love to give them a Christmas gift of Nappies (especially new born) fissan paste and baby wipes

. Please support us in this drive by bringing your donations to our December meeting.
· Embroidery Ladies who sell their work to provide for their Families.

QQ thought it would be wonderful to spoil them with a bottle of body lotion (they seem to love Dawn Body lotion) as a Christmas gift!
If you would like to help, it would be much appreciated.
· The SPCA is always in need of something soft to sleep on for their residents – so please continue to collect your scrap fabrics in old pillow cases.
· CHOC is helping on average 110 new children per day –so if you have spare time and enjoy knitting, please keep beanies, scarves and socks coming.
· Margaret Bowyer is still collecting egg boxes and other materials with which the children of St Vincent’s School for the Deaf use to make masterpieces.Should you have any old clothes or other unused items, please bring them for Go Iswe

QQ Calendar of Events

1 December 2010 –Julia Heaney: The History of Christmas Stockings and a fun morning of Demonstrations.
12 January 2011- Ansie Reyerse: Medallion Quilts and Wendy and Suzen will demonstrate Scrap quilts.
Watch this space for many more interesting Histories, General talks, Demonstrations and other surprises!

PLEASE NOTE
Membership fees due

· Ladies – a friendly reminder! Our year runs from 1 November to 30 October. This means it is time to pay your subs again! There has been an increase of 10%. The amounts due are as follows:
o R150.00 per year
o R25.00 / visit – visitors are reminded that after 3 visits you are required to become a member.
o An extra R5.00 / meeting for the security guards.
· Please remember that the package you receive costs you R12.50 a meeting and R5.00 for security. Much less than the cheapest fat quarter at R20.00. So please step up and pay your subs.
· Existing members who are exempt will remain so.

Want to make friends with your computer?

Grace has kindly offered to help get interested QQ members computer literate. Classes will be held at Quiltec on a Tuesday morning and afternoon to accommodate the working ladies. Classes will consist of 10 ladies per class and will start next year. The newsletter will keep you updated.

The 2010 Quadrille Challenge Results.

Each entrant was given 3 colour swatches and a quilt had to make using the given colours.
As always the judges were impressed with the quality of the work and choosing a winner was no easy task. But a winner had to be chosen!

Congratulations to

-Tilly de Harde for walking away with the First prize.
-Shirley Prakke for taking the second place
-Tertia Duvenage for 3rd place and
- Patricia a Bear for Highly commended
The next Challenge will be launched in January 2011. However there will be split judging.
This means that there will be two categories of judging so to speak. The Winners circle group – consisting of previous 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners and the general group, all judged on same category. This is to encourage more members to enter challenges.

The 2011 Quilt Festival
Members are encouraged to visit the website to keep abreast of all that is being planned.
www.quiltfestival2011
Vendors who have not received their notices by November should contact Jeanette or visit the website.

Jenny’s Back Page
The new set of 12 back pages will all consist of foundation pieced houses. They will start easy and get progressively more difficult as time goes on. When finished the houses should be 8” by 8”.
Hint: Take photos of finished squares to help with colour choices.
Number and label your blocks e.g. top, 3rd left etc.
Sew units together in rows.
Remember to cut on the dotted lines and sew on the solid lines.

OOOOps Something went wrong with last month’s print! It seems the design got stretched somehow! The pieces did not match up! Please see Jenny if you are making this house for original correct copies.
The printers have been made aware of the problem and hopefully the problem has been sorted.

Websites to visit;

www.molaartandcraft.com
www.womenfolk.com/baby_quilts
www.100mile-house-log-homes.com/christmas-bedding
www.denacrain.com/blog/?page_id=337
mysite.mweb.co.za/residents/dorisf/group.html