Limerick Quilt Retreat 2011

For the 1st time ever the Irish Patchwork Society has decided to run a Quilt Retreat Weekend in 2011.

This is will be different to the An Grianan weekend, as there wil be no scheduled teachers or workshops. Instead, this will be a social weekend where you have the entire weekend to work on projects and catch up with IPS friends from around the country. This could also be the perfect opportunitity to finish up your "Branching Out" quilts for the upcoming exhibitions.

The weekend will run for the weekend of Friday 18th February to Sunday 20th February 2011 at the Limerick Strand Hotel, Limerick City.

There is a reduced rate of €169 per person sharing in a twin room for the weekend. This includes 2 night bed and breakfast and 2 evening meals. Single supplement is €40 for the weekend.

Also included in this price the use of a large "sewing room" for members which is at the top of the hotel and has wonderful views over the Shannon. This "sewing room" will be set up so that people can use it till late on Friday night, all through Saturday, and on Sunday until 4pm. 

Booking is via the reservations number 061-421890 for Irish Patchwork Society members. Note: People will have to make the bookings with the hotel themselves!

The Limerick Strand Hotel, Ennis Road, Limerick is centrally located in the city, so it should be easy to get to for most people. There is an on-site underground car-park with 200 spaces (€5 per 24 hours).
The hotel also has a heated 20m swimming pool, jacuzzi, sauna, gym room etc. so there is plenty of amenities on-site. See http://www.strandhotellimerick.ie/ for further details.

South-West Branch "Branching Out" Exhibition

The South-West (Kerry) Branch will be holding its Local "Branching Out" Exhibition at the Killarney Outlet Centre on 23-25th April (Easter Weekend). 

The Killarney Outlet Centre is conveniently located in the centre of Killarney adjacent to the Malton Hotel, the Bus Station and the Railway Station. See http://www.killarneyoutletcentre.com/

The centre is open Mon-Sat: 10am-6pm, Sun: 12pm-6pm, Bank Holiday Monday: 12pm-6pm.

Congratulations to Bernadette Falvey

Congratulations to Western Branch Member Bernadette Falvey who won a prize for her piece in "Tread Softly" a recent exhibition run by the Crafts Council of Ireland.

Further details will be in the Winter Issue of the IPS Newsletter.

Quilting in America Survey

For those who might be interested here's a link to a 2010 survey of American quilters. Quilting Survey
Wonder if any of it compares to Irish quilters??

According to the survey, the average quilter is 62 years of age and has been quilting for an average of 16 years.

"Branching Out" Postcard Exhibition

As part of the celebrations for the 30th Anniversary of the Irish Patchwork Society in 2011, we have decided to run a postcard exhibition in conjunction with the Special National Exhibition.

We hope to get National and International Postcard Entries for the Exhibition.

• Postcards must be on the theme of "Branching Out" i.e. horticultural, flora, botannical and environmental themes.
• Must be standard postcard size i.e. 4 x 6 inches
• Must be fabric-based
• Postcards must be sent through the post (i.e. stamped, not posted in an envelope).
• Send all postcards to the Irish Patchwork Society PO Box. Address is The Irish Patchwork Society, PO Box 45, Blackrock, Dublin, Ireland.
• The postcards are non-returnable. Instead all the postcards will be put up for raffle/auction at the Knitting and Stitching Show 2011. All proceeds raised will go to Breast Cancer Ireland.

The "Branching Out" National Exhibition will be on display in the Botanic Gardens from July 2nd to August 2nd.

Details on how make fabric postcards will be in the Winter Issue of the IPS Newsletter.
Further instructions on making fabric postcards will be displayed on the blog in the coming weeks

Irish Patchwork Stand at the Recent Knitting & Stitching Show

Some photos of the Irish Patchwork Society's stand at the recent Knitting and Stitching Show

Celebrate 30 years of IPS in 2011

The Irish Patchwork Society will be 30 years promoting patchwork and quilting in Ireland in 2011. To celebrate this event there will be exhibtions of our members work across the country. Each of our branches will be hosting a local exhibtion between January and May to be followed by a national exhibtion in July. The National Exhibition will be exhibited in the Botanic Gardens, Dublin. Members can get more details of Branch exhibitions from their branch.