Chairperson Miriam Gogarty with President Mary McAleese

Chairperson Miriam Gogarty recently presented President Mary McAleese with "Emma's Tree". The President was very impressed with the wall-hanging and said that it will hang in her home in Roscommon for Christmas.

A pattern for making "Emma's Tree" is included in the Winter Issue of the IPS Newsletter.

How to make fabric postcards

HOW TO M AKE A FABRIC POSTCARD.

Materials:

• Bondaweb
• Pelmet Vilene
• Plain fabric for the back (The writing side)
• Fabric for the front.

Method:
Cut Bondaweb and 2 pieces of pelmet Vilene to measure 6” x 4”

Cut the backing fabric - also 6” x 4” and bond onto one piece of Vilene.

Write or stitch POSTCARD on the back and also a line down the centre of the card.

Now for the fun part.

You can cut a base fabric for the front of the post card and bond it to the second piece of Vilene. You are now ready to decorate in whatever way you choose. You can finish your card with appliqué, piece, embroider or just about anything. In the case of the International Postcard Exhibition it must suit the theme of the National Exhibition…Environmental, floral, landscape, etc.


When you have finished the front of the postcard, square off both front and back ensuring they measure 4” x 6”. Line both pieces up and stitch around the outside edge. You can use one of the fancy stitches on your machine or you can hand stitch it or you can put a binding on the edge. You may even have your own favourite method of joining the pieces and edging the cards.

Miriam Gogarty

Hands Across the Border Deadline

All Branch members please note that quilts for Hands across the Border must be in Dublin (at Miriam Gogarty's house) by December 17th which is the FINAL DATE.

You can contact an executive committee member to get Miriam's postal address.


Quilts for the Mid-west branch will be collected at their Christmas meeting (Dec 10th)

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.