'Galway Celebrates Year of Craft' with a display of craft at the Galway County Hall

'Galway Celebrates Year of Craft' with a display of local craft at the Galway County Hall. The Western Branch of the Irish Patchwork Society is currently displaying a selection of members work from 2nd to 29th August, 2011. It is hoped that the display might attract the attention of those wishing to learn the craft and Membership Application forms have been left at the County Hall for anyone interested. If you are in Galway and wish to view the display it's in the lobby of the County Hall, Prospect Hill, Galway (near TK Maxx).

Western Branch Quilts on the way to Festival of Quilts, Birmingham

Here is the link to see which quilts have been chosen for the shortlists to hang at the IPS stand at the Festival of Quilts, Birmingham, UK.

http://irishpatchwork.blogspot.com/p/branching-out-quilts-selected-for.html

It is hoped to hang all the quilts on the first list, and perhaps, most of the ones on the second. However, there is no guarantee that any particular quilt will hang.

But....congrats to the following Western Branch members who are shortlisted: Marea Mulqueen, Ann Marie Horan, Ester Kiely.

Patricia O'Dowda Obituary

Patricia O'Dowda Obituary

Patricia O’Dowda moved to Westport from Wales in the early1990’s. She had been an active member of the Glamorgan Quilters and in an effort to stimulate interest in patchwork and quilting in her new home area she held a one woman show during the 1991 Westport Arts Festival. In the following months 7 other interested ladies joined Patricia for weekly get togethers. We met in a variety of venues and finally found a home in the Town Hall. The room we used was called the Octagon room and hence we became the Octagon Quilters. Over the years the group has grown to about 20 members, who still meet on a weekly basis, and we have just celebrated our 20th anniversary with an exhibition in the Custom House Studios, Westport.


Patricia had joined the IPS and encouraged the rest of us to follow suit. She enjoyed the company and stimulation of other quilters at the monthly meetings of the Western Branch in Galway. She joined the Western Branch committee and was its Chair in the mid ‘90’s. She also served a term as Education Officer of the IPS.

A great believer in education Patricia set about teaching the techniques of patchwork and quilting to the members of the Octagon group. Visiting teachers were brought to Westport several times a year to pass on their knowledge. She never passed up an opportunity to visit an exhibition or take a trip to visit other quilt groups. We had one memorable trip to Northern Ireland where not only did we meet with local quilters but also had the opportunity to see quilts that are normally held in storage at the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum at Cultra. She encouraged us to exhibit both locally and nationally as it was all promotion of the craft.

Patricia’s own work took on a local flair. Her home, some miles outside Westport, looked out on Croagh Patrick or the Reek as it is known locally. The winding path to the top was clearly visible on fine days. She drew up a pattern of the view from her home and used it as the centre of a medallion style quilt. As a member of Westport Country Markets she displayed this quilt in the market and was inundated with requests for more of the same. She made many of these quilts as wedding gift commissions and being the skilled needle and machine woman that she was she incorporated scenes from the intended couples lives into the surrounding blocks……….farming scenes, pets, hobbies, etc.

Patricia embarked on a number of personal projects. She appliqued and machine embroidered Brighton Pier and the curved sweep of listed buildings in the town. Another project was a wholecloth quilt documenting the history and activities of her family. Her attention to detail and search for the correct fabrics and threads was part of every project. Her home was a veritable treasure trove. One room contained all her works in progress…………and they were always many. Each project was boxed with all the details written on the outside so she could put her hand on any piece in an instant.

From an early age Patricia loved to travel and it was fascinating to listen to her stories which ranged from cycling through Europe in the 1940’s to her visit to China with her son David in the late ‘90’s. We all received pieces of silk which she encouraged us to incorporate in a piece of our work. Her visits to her daughter Kathy in France always resulted in her returning with some local fabrics to be incorporated into yet another project
Due to failing health Patricia moved back to the UK in recent years but she still relished news of Westport and quilting from visiting friends. She will be sorely missed by all who knew her.

Marea E Mulqueen

"Branching Out" National Exhibition photos in Irish Times Healthplus

Photos above show IPS member Maria Bolton demonstrating patchwork techniques to children visiting the National Exhibition at the Botanic Gardens. The photos appeared in an article about activities for children during the summer in the Irish Times Healthplus supplement on 12th July.

Octagon Quilters Annual Exhibition in Westport

The Octagon Quilters will hold the Annual Exhibition of their work as part of Westport Arts Festival in the Parish Centre, James Street, Westport.
The exhibition will be open from 10am to 5 pm from Monday 3rd October to Saturday the 8th October. Admission Free.

Irish 'Let the Flowers Bloom' quilt features in MagicPatch Magazine

The above scanned image is on page 45 of MagicPatch magazine issue 56 (June-July 2011) and it shows the Irish 'Let the Flowers Bloom' quilt made in collaboration with Gyongyi Varadi and the Hungarian Quilting Guild. Full instructions for the Hungarian 'Mountains in Bloom' quilt are given in the magazine. For more information on this French publication see http://www.edisaxe.com/.

EQA NEWS: Fashion San Frontieres

Four members of the IPS, including Western Branch member, Mogs McDonnell are taking to the catwalk in the Hilton Birmingham Metropole Hotel at 7.30pm on Thursday 11th August. If you are travelling to Birmingham for the Quilt Festival, please show your support for our members by attending and cheering them on.
Mogs has been working hard on her designs and we wish her all the best!

National AGM and Conference: 15-17 October at the Ambassador Hotel, Cork

Booking forms are available in the current IPS Newsletter Magazine for the National AGM in Cork from 15-17th October. Forms must be returned by 1st September, 2011.

The AGM takes place in the morning and Philippa Naylor is the guest speaker in the afternoon (see http://www.philippanaylor.com/ to read more about her work)

Philippa will also provide 2 workshops:

Contemporary Curved Piecing - 16th October
Free Motion Feathers for Everyone - 17th October.

AGM CHALLENGE: Miniature Quilts
Create a miniature quilt no larger than 20inch square to exhibit at the AGM. It must have the appearance of a full size quilt (i.e. in a photo, you wouldn't be able to tell if it were large or small)

Pricing:
15th October full day 25 Euro
15th October talk only 10 Euro (15 non-members)
Workshops are 70 Euro each or both for 125 Euro

Western Branch visits 'Branching Out' at the Botanic Gardens

Our bus left Galway at 8.15am on Saturday 9th July to travel to the Botanic Gardens in Glasnevin for the National Exhibition.
Tea, coffee and buns were very much welcomed on arrival! Then we had plenty of time to see the exhibition which included a great variety of techniques, sizes, colours, styles, themes, fabric choices. There's something to appeal to everyone here.
Lunch in the restaurant was delicious. And to finish off we stopped at Liffey Valley for some shopping before returning to Galway. A great day out!

These are just some of the pieces made by Western Branch members which were included in the show.

A catalog of the exhibition was for sale (5Euro) and includes photos of all the quilts.

Fabric postcards were sent to the exhibition from all over the world and these are also displayed.

The exhibition runs until 2nd August. If you cannot get there some of the work will be shown again at the IPS stand at the Knitting and Stitching Show at the RDS in Oct/Nov 2011.

Bus-trip to 'Branching Out' the National Exhibition at the Botanic Gardens, Dublin

Western Branch quilters are off on a road trip!
On 9th July we will meet at the Galway Cathedral carparkat 8.15am. The bus will make a second stop to pick up Roscommon quilters in Athlone on the way. It will then take us directly to the Botanic Gardens to view the National Exhibition 'Branching Out', followed by lunch at the cafe in the Gardens. The bus will stop at Liffey Valley for a short break and leave Dublin at approx 6pm to return to Galway.
Cost of the trip, including lunch, is 25Euro. Contact Joan Colleran for further information.

Crafts Council of Ireland calls for textile submissions for SEASCAPE

Following on from the success of 'Tread Softly' an exhibition of textile work by members of the Crafts Council of Ireland at the Knitting & Stitching Show, RDS, Dublin, October 2010 we would like to announce for 2011 - Seascape an exhibition for the Knitting & Stitching show - 10th-13th November

SEASCAPE – date for first round submission extended to 20th July!

Makers will be invited to apply for the 1st round submission by the 20th July with the following information
. images and/or design drawings of their intended piece
. four images of relevant work made within last two years; images must be jpeg images, no larger than 300dpi sent on a cd
. completed application form (available on line from Thursday 7th July)
. 100 word interpretation of the brief.

for further information contact registration@ccoi.ie

Patchwork classes at SUAN on the Headford Rd. Galway

This year the Western Branch of the Irish Patchwork Society was contacted with a request to teach patchwork to residents of the SUAN community housing scheme on the Headford Road in Galway. This is a group of houses managed by COPE. There is a community room at the centre for community activities.

When the request came to the group, Sandlin and Margaret kindly volunteered to get involved and they provied 4 2hr classes over a period of 4 weeks. Thank you Margaret and Sandlin for getting involved at a time when you were both very busy with other projects for family, friends and an upcoming exhibition!

They taught the group to cut squares using templates and sew them together to make a nine patch. Borders were added to cover a 16ins cushion pad.
The squares were hand-pieced and the borders were machine-sewn using a sewing machine owned by the centre.

The group then learned how to quilt the block. The sewing machine was used again to add the back to the cushion.

All the work was completed in the class as participants did not want to work on them on their own.

The participants said they found the class to be one of the more enjoyable classes they've had in their centre, eventhough 5 of the 6 ladies were initially non-sewers!

QUIP: Quilting in Public Day on June 18th 2011

The EQA encourage all countries to participate in QUIP - Quilting in Public Day. A day where you and your group take your patchwork and quilting projects into the community. For more information on the background to QUIP see http://www.e-q-a.eu/Events/events.html.
This year the date is 18th June 2011. If you would like to let us know what public events you are planning for this date just email westernips@gmail.com.

River of Dreams exhibition in Limerick

The annual River of Dreams exhibition will be opened by the Mayor of Limerick on Friday 10th June at 7pm in the Franciscan Church on Henry St., Limerick. All are invited to attend.
If anyone wishes to submit a quilt get it to Maeve Meaney at her shop The Limerick Quilt Centre before Saturday 4th June!
The exhibition will run from 11th to 19th June.
Maeve will hold a sale in her shop until 17th June (see www.quilt.ie for more info).

May: AGM, plans for 2011/12 and Spanish Tapas

May is the last meeting for our quilting year 2010/2011 and so we hold our AGM at this time.

The AGM is our chance to review the year with reports from the Chairperson, Secretary and Treasurer.

Special thanks too to Theresa O'Riordan from Limerick who brought her shop to the meeting which generated great interest.

Special thanks also to Colette who put in a lot of work to create a new Library system which will make it easier to manage the library in the future. Remember, if there are any books you would like to see in the library collection, talk to Colette about adding them to our catalogue.

Joan announced the committee's plans for a coachtrip to Dublin on the 9th July to see the National Exhibition at the Botanic Gardens, followed by lunch and some retail therapy in Liffey Valley before coming home again. The trip is open to all members, contact Joan if you wish to travel.

The bus will depart from Galway Cathedral carpark on Sat 9th July at 8.15am, stopping at Athlone IT college for another pickup on the way. We hope to arrive at the Botanic Gardens at approx 11am. Lunch in the restaurant there is at 1.30pm and we will depart Liffey Valley at 5.30pm for the return trip.

Cost including lunch is 25Euro.

Future plans for 2011/2012 include:

Sep: Agnes Warren is our speaker and will give us tips on using technology and the internet to fuel our passion for quilting! 'Rags for Linda' will provide the shop and our workshop in the afternoon is a 'quilting bee' to make our 'hands' blocks for the 'Céad Míle Fáilte' quilt for the upcoming International Quilting Festival of Ireland in 2012.

Oct: Ann Fahy is our speaker. Our workshop in the afternoon is a 'quilting bee' to get started on our exhibition for the upcoming International Quilting Festival of Ireland in 2012. Shop to be confirmed. Those of you wishing to get involved in the design of this exhibition of quilts should contact chairperson Lynn Naughton.

And our May meeting finished up with 15 members heading off to 'Cava' on Dominick Street for Spanish Tapas. Olé!

So enjoy the summer hols! And for those of you going on the coachtrip....see you on 9th July!

Viewer's Choice Award at our recent Branch Exhibition

At our recent Branch Exhibition 'Branching Out' at the Galway City Museum we asked the public to vote for their favourite quilt in the exhibition. A lot of people commented they found this a difficult task as they liked so many quilts for different reasons. However, one quilt received the overall majority of votes and that was...

'Up the Garden Path' by Mogs McDonnell
Here Chairperson, Lynn Naughton, presents Mogs with a bundle of fabrics for her next stunning creation!

Mogs explained the quilt was made for her son Jimmy who is a writer, poet and great fan of Macnas and the Arts in general. On the back of the quilt are some Macnas-type masks and one of Jimmy's poems.

And here are some additional detailed photos of this wonderful quilt.

May: Western Trophy Challenge

Our Western Trophy Challenge this year was to create an A4 piece using any craft discipline but to include stitching somewhere.

And the winner (by viewer's choice) was...

Bridie Mahoney who was presented with the Trophy and a voucher by Chairperson, Lynn Naughton.

Here are some of the other entries for the challenge:

May: Show & Tell

Today's 'Show & Tell' included the following items:

Theresa O'Riordan

Mary McDonnell

Margaret Cunnane

Lynn Naughton

Johanna Tyrell

Cindy Coleman

Official opening of "Branching Out" at the Galway City Museum by John Killeen of "Lets do it Galway"

Chairperson Lynn Naughton has a wonderful blog with lots of interesting news. And thanks to her husband there is a great video clip of the opening speeches at the "Branching Out" exhibition at the Galway City Museum. To see the video please see www.lynnnaughton.blogspot.com/2011/04/branching-out-at-galway-museum.html

Please note early closure of 'Branching Out' exhibition at the Galway City Museum

Unfortunately our Western Branch Exhibition 'Branching Out' has had to close at short notice as the Galway City Museum is closing for renovations. Apologies to anyone who intended to travel next week to see the exhibition. Some of the quilts on show will be selected to travel to the National IPS exhibition in the Botanic Gardens in the summer so perhaps you will have the chance to see them there.