Ash Valley Quilters' Newsletter

March 2025

Thursday 20^th March – Jennie Rayment – Manipulated Magic & Devious Delights. A remarkably light-hearted romp through the mysteries of fabric manipulation and surface texture showing the vast array of ingenious ideas for nipped, tucked, fiddled and twiddled panels for use in quilts, garments and bags.  The sign-up sheets for Christine Green -  Improv workshop Friday 20^th June and Kate Findlay – E-textile lantern workshop Friday 18^th July will be available to sign.

Workshop on Friday 21^st March - Tucked Up and Embellished Circles - Jennie Rayment workshop. We will be experimenting with delectable, textural and tactile circular designs. Tuck, twist and twiddle the pleats for a stunning square or circular panel.

Thursday 17^th April – Sit & Sew. Collection of all items, except for books/patterns/kits for book stall, in preparation for the Exhibition the following month.

Thursday 15^th May - Janet Goddard – Hawaiian Applique evening workshop. Collection of books/patterns/kits for the book stall.

2025 AVQ Exhibition – 17^th and 18^th May 2025 The exhibition date is creeping ever closer & will be with us before we know it. Are you prepared for handing your quilt, challenge and other items in at the April meeting. Help is still needed with stewarding, refreshments or helping on a stall - more hands make light work!! The tombola will be a regular tombola, like the Christmas raffle, and we are asking members to supply a wrapped prize, can be sewing or non sewing item and if a child’s item please clearly wrap in child wrapping paper or fabric.  These prizes along with items for the sales table will be collected at the April meeting,  Book/pattern/kit stall items will be collected at the May meeting…… we need your help!!!!

Exhibition general information – I have been asked some questions about submitting items for the exhibition and so thought the following might be helpful:    

Each member can submit one large quilt, one small quilt and one small item (wall hanging, cushion, bag, etc) that the committee will exhibit.  If a member wishes to submit additional pieces we will exhibit if we have the space but this will be at committee discretion.  If a member is wanting to submit more than one item per category, the first choice of item to guarantee being exhibited must be clearly labelled. More than one workshop item can be submitted and will be exhibited space allowing and at committee discretion. All entries for the challenge will be exhibited for judging by our Region 8 representative.

All items submitted must be in a bag (not a bin bag for obvious reasons!), clearly labelled with members name, and each item must have a clearly completed entry form attached.   All items to be submitted by the April meeting.  All items to be collected when exhibition closes at 4pm on Sunday, as they are taken down from the display.  If you cannot collect yourself, you must arrange for someone to collect it on your behalf, and that person must have details with them of the item they are collecting.

Also to note that help is always required to support the work of the exhibition over set up, the exhibition weekend and take down.

Exhibition challenge – The theme for the challenge is “Dragon”.  The piece to be inspired by dragons (lots of possible twists and exciting options maybe even 3D) but must be no more than 24 inches in any direction.  The entry form was sent out earlier this month.

Extra support for our 2025 charity: St Clare’s Hospice – One of our members, Becky Burton, is running the St Clare’s Hospice 10k on 6th April and is looking for sponsorship.  She completed the Cambridge half marathon on Sunday (see photo). If you would like to support her and St Clare’s, please follow the link to the fundraising page - St Clare Hospice: St Clare 10k 2025

Carpark - Please don’t forget the system for the carpark at the hall, all drivers must register their car on the system inside the hall to avoid any fines.

Rags!!!. A big thank you to Jackie Nash and Hazel Sugarman who are still taking ‘Rags’ bags in support of St Clare’s Hospice.

Mugs and name tags -  Please remember to bring with you your mug for tea or coffee and your name tag.  This will help new members and me!! Thank you.

Facebook group & website – The Ash Valley Quilters facebook group is open to members and is an ideal way to chat and connect between meetings. Lindy is the person to speak to if you would like to join our facebook group.  The website, http://www.ashvalleyquilters.com has details of the programme for 2025, the events and shows list for 2025 along with a copy of the newsletter.

Last meeting in February – The ‘sit and stitch’ evening was a relaxed and enjoyable chance to stitch and chat.  Thank you to everyone who put their names down to help with stewarding and refreshments amongst other things.  It was a pleasure to see Natalie from And Sew On and to be able to add to our stashes.

Christine Green -  Improv workshop Friday 20^th June

Christine has been patchworking since childhood and loves using preloved items for her work. Her style of improvised patchwork is very liberating, creative and mindful – anything goes. The workshop is suitable for experienced quilters and those with less experience too.

She will bring lots of samples and you can decide what you would like to make from bag to cushion cover or throw.  You will be shown how to create a unique design using a diverse selection of fabric and how to turn your panel into a useful item.

Workshop requirements:

A sewing machine

A 45mm rotary cutter, 6x24 inch quilting rule & A2 cutting mat

Sewing thread for piecing

Thread for hand stitching to embellish your work

Pins and a needle for hand stitching

A selection of preloved fabrics & scraps. A good mix of patterns – something with a small design, a big design & something formal eg stripes, checks & anything else you have.

For a bag you will need enough fabric for a lining, for a throw enough fabric for a backing.

Kate Findlay – E-textile lantern workshop Friday 18^th July

Make a stunning lamp using lutradur and a variety of decorative effects, then learn how to sew in a circuit to switch on a colour changing LED (light)

Kate will bring lutradur sheets, artists paint sticks, acrylics, some brushes, a heat gun and soldering iron, and the components needed to make a sewn electronic circuit with a switch, to light our lamps. She will also bring kits for this project at a cost of £9 each.

Workshop requirements:

Hand sewing kit, needles, pins, scissors etc 

Gluestick  Craft knife, Ruler, pencil, Cutting mat, Needle nose pliers.

Sewing machine (not essential – but great if you like adding free motion details or

couching decorative ribbons and threads) The branches in the right hand lamp were

freemotion machine stitched, and the houses were outlined with stitch.

Optional extras – bring if you have them:

Watercolours/acrylics/inktense sticks and a few brushes, waterpot and saucer to mix

colours in (Don’t buy in specially – I will have stuff to use too!)

A selection of interesting organzas/sheers/ribbons/threads/beads etc which could be

used as decoration – to be hand or machine sewn on.

Heat gun and/or soldering iron, irons and parchment

2025 Quilt show dates

20 – 23 March 2025                The Stitch Festival, Business Design Centre, London

15 – 18 May 2025                   Quilts UK, Malvern

17 - 18 May 2025                    AVQ Exhibition

13 – 14 June 2025                 Patchwork at Kempton Park Racecourse

31 July – 3 August 2025         The Festival of Quilts, NEC, Birmingham

9 – 12 October 2025               The Knitting & Stitching Show, Alexandra Palace, London

17 – 19 October 2025            Quilt UK at Malvern

7- 9 November 2025              Autumn Quilt show at Newmarket

With best wishes

The AVQ Committee

Directions

DIRECTIONS to Memorial Hall from Bishops Stortford. 

Take the A1184, Cambridge Road, south.  As you come into Sawbridgeworth, turn left at 2 mini roundabouts into Station Road and after about 100 yards, turn right into Knight Street.  Turn left into the Forebury and the Memorial Hall is on your left opposite a school.,  You can park either behind the hall or in the road.

DIRECTIONS to Memorial Hall from Harlow. 

Take the A1184, Cambridge Road,  north.  As you come into Sawbridgeworth, turn right by the White Horse pub into Bell Street and at the T-junction, left into Knight Street.  The turning to the Forebury is on the right, about half way down the street and the Memorial Hall is on your left opposite a school.

DIRECTIONS TO OSCA, HENHAM from Bishops Stortford.

Our workshops are held at OSCA (Old School & Community Association) premises, Crow Street, Henham, CM22 6AG. 

In Stansted turn down Chapel Hill, and at the bottom turn left into Lower Street, bear right and go up the hill, over the traffic lights and keep on into Elsenham village. Go straight over the double roundabouts by the shops and carry on through the village. Once through the village then take the next turning on your left - signposted Henham and follow the road into Henham village.

OSCA (The Old School) is on the right by the green. It's a red brick building and looks like an old school!  Turn down the path and then left into the old school playground.

* if you get to the war memorial- you've gone too far! (but only just)

Contact us