Newsletter (6) January 2012

Special Projects

As you will know if you came to the AGM last November, there are two special projects this year.

One is the Cushion Auction in September and we hope that as many of you as possible will take part, partly for the fun of it and partly to raise funds, some of which will be donated to the Eleanor Foundation.

We are asking you to donate a cushion, made or acquired by you. There is no set shape to the cushions - square, round, heart shaped, oblong or bolster, but overall it should be about 12 inches across. Any technique, and this would of course include plain and unadorned, but we hope you will be as adventurous as possible.

The July meeting is the official closing date but if you can get it to us by the end of August that would be okay. However, we will ask you to make a commitment prior to this just so we know what we might expect.

The second is our joint project which is to be an Olympic Commemorative Quilt. For the past couple of years this has involved only fifteen or sixteen members but this year we’d like more to take part. And it will be different. We would like as many of you as possible to produce a small finished piece, postcard size or thereabouts, either portrait or landscape, which will be used to create a lasting memory of the London Olympics.

Many of you will have no trouble in designing something appropriate and doubtless the website of the London 2012 Olympics organisation will get lots of hits from people looking for ideas. Just remember that you mustn’t actually copy any symbols exactly, but there’s nothing to stop you having a look and working up a similar design or symbol, featuring either some aspect of a sport or even one of the magnificent buildings under construction - some have actually already been opened. If you don’t have access to a computer but need some ideas, talk to us about it, I’m sure between us we can come up with something. If you were at the AGM you will already know that we cannot use the Olympic Rings and that Lesley has already elected to produce the torch, so please avoid these two topics.

The start date for this is now, and the finish date is when I have enough to fill the background, the dimensions of which are yet to be decided!

Day Schools

There will be a day school on Saturday -17th March with Coral making a decorative panel using Markel etc. A board will be passed round for names and Coral can take up to 14 people. All the details are on the board, including the cost and I should point out that a non-refundable (barring exceptional circumstances) deposit of £15 is payable to secure your place.

There will also be a day school on Saturday 15th September with Eliza McClelland. Again a board will be passed round for names, 16 people maximum. All details on the board and again a non refundable deposit of £15 is required to secure your place.

Book Club

Don't forget that we run a Book Club where you can buy books from Search Press with a 25% discount to members and the group get 10%. This is on total orders over £50. Ask Carole (Treasurer) for a catalogue or go the Search Press website (www.searchpress.co.uk) and browse. Give Carole an order at a meeting with your name, the book name, code and price. Or you can email this information to Carole at carole@tacks-crafts.co.uk. You only pay when you get the books.

Important Diary Notes

Firstly, The Local Authority has cancelled our booking for the hall on 2nd June due to a public function being held there to celebrate the Queen’s Golden Jubilee. It has therefore been decided that we will have June as our holiday month this year instead of August. Therefore, the programme for the June meeting will take place on Saturday 4th August.

Secondly, our speaker/demonstrator in March has contacted us to say that she will be unable to come in March after all but can come in April instead. So the March programme will now take place in April and the April Corners will take place in March.

Sorry about these alterations after our programme has already been announced, but we have only recently been notified of these changes.

Exhibitions

Did you know that Bluewater now has an exhibition centre called Bluewater Glow? There is a Creative Stitches/ Hobbycraft show there in February - Thursday 2nd to Sunday 5th. Entry is by ticket which is valid for any one of the four days. Pre-booked tickets cost £6 or £5 for Seniors (£8 or £7 respectively on the door). An additional bonus is that a ticket for the February show also entitles you to visit a similar show in September (5th to 8th). To pre-order tickets visit www.ichf.co.uk/tickets.php or telephone 01425 277988.

Did you know too that there will be a new Quilt show in Kent this year? For the very first time there is to be an Autumn Quilt Festival in the Exhibition Hall at the Kent Showground, Detling from 18th to 20th October.

I shall be making enquiries to find out if it is a suitable event for airing our Butterflies, Flowers, Beach huts and Boats.

APPEAL !

Corners in 2013

We are about to start planning for 2013 and we really need your input to decide on topics. Have you got any ideas about what you would like to do? Something new? Something repeated?

We also need some volunteers to take Corners - we have been twisted the same arms over and over again and it’s time for some new blood. It doesn’t matter if you haven’t been a member for long, if you could put something into your Club, please don’t hold back.

And finally,

We all know that doing some sort of creative craft makes us feel good.

Well, it’s now official! According to a report in the Daily Telegraph a study has recently been carried out and reported in the Journal of Public Health, and they have reached the astounding conclusion that “all hobbies improve wellbeing in ways that physical and outdoor activities could not”.

They mention quilting as being particularly beneficial - “the use of bright colours being uplifting and quilting offered challenges such as maths and geometry”.

They pronounce that quilting “aids cognitive, creative and emotional wellbeing, particularly amongst older people”!

Since most of the things we do require the use of colour and maths not to mention dexterity and artistic ability, I think we can safely say that, broadly speaking,

TACKS is good for you!

Tricia, January 2012