After lots of suggestions and debate by the Branch Committee ‘Shades of Summer’ – portrait 20 x 40 inches – won out as our branch exhibition team. We knew we had hit the jackpot when we saw two quilts entered by new members. Janet Egan’s beautiful quilt ‘Philomena’s Garden’ was her very first project and Ciara Brennan exhibited a gorgeous yellow ‘Sunflower Stars’ quilt.

We were delighted to acquire the Phoenix Park Visitor Centre as our venue for the month of July. It’s a beautiful setting for an exhibition and the staff in the Visitor Centre were extremely accommodating and helpful.

Ann Fleeton, renowned textile artist and Eastern Branch member, was our Guest of Honour. Ann gave a fabulous talk focusing on quilting through the generations, remembering some past members of Eastern Branch and the Irish Patchwork Society. She finished off her presentation by bringing it full circle with her memories of quilting with Catherine Duggan (1938-2023) whose daughter, Catherine Britton, exhibited a quilt entitled ‘West Cork, Summer 2018’ in memory of her mother.

Our members did not let us down either and a stunning array of quilts ranging from flowers, biodiversity, childhood memories, gardens, nature, seascapes, landscapes, and holiday themed art quilts started to flow in.

We were given a very generous donation by Christine Brennan (@theirishquilter) when she was a guest at one of our Branch meetings. We decided to use this for our exhibition as a viewers’ choice award. We had a voting box for visitors to the exhibition to cast a vote for their favourite quilt. We had over nine hundred votes and thousands of visitors to our exhibition. Our visitor’s book is filled with joyous comments from people from all over the world. Lena Pugachova’s quilt, ‘In the Shade’, was the winner of the viewers’ choice award. Lena received a Newbridge Silver Plate and a voucher for a day of long arm quilting at The Irish Quilter shop. Congratulations, Lena!

A huge thank you to all our exhibitors without whom this fabulous exhibition would not have happened.  A big thank you goes out to Lena Pugachova for her help with the promotional work and digital catalogue for ‘Shades of Summer’; your invaluable knowledge and generosity with your time and beautiful photography of each quilt was very much appreciated. Finally, the committee deserve a big bualadh bos for their stellar work – as always – in making our Shades of Summer exhibition the huge success that it was. The colour, the vibrancy, the happy memories recalled, and the sheer oodles of talent displayed by our exhibitors put a smile on everyone’s face for a few moments in a very wet July.

Karen Monahan

In the Autumn of 2022, after the pain and isolation of the pandemic and facing into the gloom of a cost of living crisis the committee of the Southern Branch felt it was time to have something to look forward to: a chance to show off our work again and give a little fillip to the soul! The idea of a Branch Exhibition burst into being.

The membership was enthusiastic and once the title for the exhibition was announced they got to work. Meanwhile, Heidi Wischniewski took the reins and did great work tracking down a venue, gathering all of the paraphernalia needed to put on an exhibition and forming a team to help her as she planned and organised.

Came the day of the opening and there were more than thirty stunning quilts and other projects by twenty-nine makers on display in Abbystrewry Hall in Skibbereen. The exhibition was opened on the evening of Thursday 14^th July by Mary Palmer, who was witty, funny and sincere in her praise of patchwork and quilting in general and the quilt makers of the IPS Southern Branch in particular. The appreciative audience was delighted.

It was a busy weekend with a surprisingly high footfall, particularly on Saturday during the market and on Sunday after church. Some visitors had a go at hand stitching a quilt-as-you-go hexagon. One such, Linda Syme of Midleton, East Cork was very happy with her experience “I heard about the exhibition from a committee member and decided to come down for the day. I dabble in different crafts, so I’ve done a little patchwork, but this is amazing, and the display is superb.” Linda seemed very happy with her hexagon and said “…the activity made the whole exhibition meaningful, and it really gives you the confidence to try it. Love it!” When asked to pick a favourite piece from the exhibition Linda had great difficulty but eventually singled out Simona Damerell’s African ladies’ piece for its colour, movement, and use of embellishment.

Linda wasn’t alone in her appreciation of the exhibition, here are a few more quotes from visitors : “Absolutely stunning and such variety. WELL DONE ALL!” Patricia Tomlin, Drimoleague; “Woo! Breath-taking art.” Frank Fiorini, Alicante, Spain; “Spectacular craftsmanship. An absolute pleasure to browse.” Naomi Dieter, Skibbereen; “I so want to learn it!” Jayne Logan, Belfast; “Lovely quilts! So amazing!” Roger and Christie Colby, Oklahoma, USA.

And finally, just to echo the lady from Drimoleague: WELL DONE ALL!

Tracy Wardle

MADE IN IRELAND Exhibition | Open Call

POSTED 11.11.20

National Design & Craft Gallery are delighted to announce a major open submission exhibition for 2021.

‘MADE IN IRELAND intends to celebrate the skill and vitality of the island’s makers, and inspire pride in the remarkable and distinctive work being created in Ireland today.’ Mary Gallagher and Hilary Morley.

Ireland has a rich heritage of craft with wealth of studio craftspeople working across all regions of our island making exceptional functional and artistic pieces. Makers invest in honing their skills over many years and work with carefully sourced, often local materials, to create high-quality pieces designed to last lifetimes. At a time when customers are showing a considerable preference and appreciation for goods that are Irish made, there is no better time to produce a vibrant, inclusive exhibition that celebrates the very best of craft MADE IN IRELAND.

Submissions are invited from all skilled Irish makers; those with extensive exhibition experience, and those quiet makers who are stepping into the limelight for the first time. Requirements are:

• makers living on the island of Ireland
• working in clay, glass, metal, wood, textiles, paper, or other craft materials
• creating original work
• demonstrating accomplished skill and artistic merit
• work made in collaboration with other makers is welcome

An independent panel of craft experts will assess the submissions.

MADE IN IRELAND will launch at the National Design & Craft Gallery (NDCG), Kilkenny in November 2021 and will tour to other Irish venues in 2022. This open call exhibition has been originated by Mary Gallagher, Owner of Blue Egg Gallery, Wexford and Hilary Morley, Editor of MAKING.ie and Independent Curator.

Application deadline: 1st February 2021

Our Autumn newsletter is on the way with articles, branch news and updated membership form.  Members can log in to read online in the Resources tab.

Our Western branch have made a fantastic video for National Heritage week on a 130 year old log cabin quilt and the method used to make it.  Please visit Learning from a Log Cabin Quilt made in 1890 on the National Heritage Site to read about this project and to watch the video. 

Our Summer newsletter has been dispatched.  Members can log in to see our latest newsletter containing articles, news from the branches and the Sparkling Star pattern designed by Ruth Bourke of the Mid Western Branch.

Log in and click on the Resources tab to find our members only content. 

PDF's of current and past newsletters are available in the Newsletter section and templates for the Sparkling Star are available for download in the Things to Make section.

If you have any trouble logging in please email ipswebsitehelp@gmail.com.

Stay Safe and Happy Sewing!

The Midwestern branch are having a summer quilt a long making a quilt from Star blocks.  To join in see the branch blog page or click under the Branches tab above.  Post photos of finished blocks and quilts to midwestpatchwork@gmail.com or share on our facebook group.

We would love to have you join in our Quilt A Long (QAL).

The latest newsletter has been sent in the post and details of the magazine and upcoming challenges are now available to members who log in and access our resoures section.