January 5th, 2022

With no further restrictions announced by the Government, it was full steam ahead with the resumption of our face-to-face meetings. We held our first-ever daytime meeting and, another first, in a new venue. So far so, good.

There were a few items brought along to show-and-tell. Firstly, some charity quilts made by Pat for Project Linus and Quilts for Care Leavers using gifted fabric.

Two in-progress contemporary pieces by Elizabeth.

This Christmas tree skirt is embellished with applique by Amanda. It took quite a while to embellish but was ready in time for Christmas.

The meeting is on 19th.

The replanning is now done and we have a programme for 2022. It's slightly different to previous years as we'll be in two venues from January. Still one evening meeting each month, but we've swapped the other evening for a daytime meeting and that has necessitated a second venue. It's all very exciting.

Time for a change

As part of the planning for 2022, the possibility of a daytime meeting was raised. This proved a hugely popular idea so, to cut a long story short, WCQ will be moving from two evening meetings per month to one daytime and one evening meeting. The  Saturday morning Zoom, introduced during COvid-19 lockdown, will stay for the foreseeable future. Details of the new arrangements can be found on the 'meetings' page.

And we're off!

And, what a fabulous turnout of 18; would've been 19 had it not been for the demonstrations blocking the M25. 

Several members remembered to bring something for show-and-tell and we saw an array of finishes, some from recent Zoom workshops, some from pre-Covid face-to-face workshops, new work and entries for competitions, and items for charity and future fund-raising. 

We made a start on our planning with a view to having a new programme in place for January 2022  and also started to discuss the structure of the group and membership and how it'll all run going forward. 

The other thing we talked about was our next exhibition. The last, and our first exhibition, was in 2018 to celebrate the 5th anniversary. At the time, the intention was to hold an exhibition every three years but this never happened and then you-know-what happened.  The group started in 2013 so 2023 will be our 10th-anniversary year. It seems sensible and achievable to go with 2023 for our next exhibition, fingers crossed!

WCQ gets going again

September sees WCQ resume face-to-face meetings now that Covid restrictions have been eased. We've been Zoom-ing through Covid and, until the end of the year, we'll keep Zoom-ing on the first Wednesday of each month and meet face-to-face on the third Wednesday of each month. Like everyone else, we're keeping everything crossed for no more lockdowns.

WCQ may look a bit different going forward. We'll be replanning until the end of the year with the expectation of having a programme in place commencing January 2022.

We're still hoping to hold a workshop with Gail Lawther (it's been postponed a couple of times now) and the workshop with Pat Archibald has already been rearranged for April 2022. Both of these will be face-to-face workshops. 

One year on.......

The last blog was 4th May 2020. We're almost one year on now and looking forward, with everything crossed, to June 21st 2021 when step 4 of the Government's roadmap kicks in and we can start planning a return to some sort of normal.

In the meantime, we've been meeting on Zoom; every Saturday for a quick chat plus the 1st and 3rd Wednesday evenings when we'd have met face-to-face pre lockdown.

Having been rescheduled, our workshop with Gail Lawther is in the diary for September 2021 and the workshop with Pat Archibald is in the diary for 2022. Everything else needs to be revisited.

It's like starting again! What will the new 'normal' look like?

Safe at home....

With lockdown now in week 7 and here, I'm guessing, for some time beyond the current May 7 milestone, we've moved the group online. Even if lockdown is lifted in some way on May 7, the impact will be felt for many, many months to come.

Show-and-tell is now on our Facebook page on a fortnightly basis and, as of the week before last, we introduced a weekly Zoom video call on Saturday mornings. Both are working quite well and are 'well attended'. Certainly, everyone is keeping busy, with many of the group making masks, ear-savers for the masks, scrubs and laundry bags; others are working through their UFOs, trying something new and/or revisiting stuff. Oh, and lots of baking is going on too.

If you're really stuck for inspiration or just want a change, there are lots of online events/challenges/projects to take part in. These are just a few:


Dionna Swift, Janice Gunner and Magie Relph have a virtual quilt challenge and are inviting people to make a log cabin block (Janice has written the requirements) and, for the moment, submit a photo to an online gallery. I think 300+ blocks have been made so far.

TextileArtist.org also have a community stitch challenge that's now in week 6. This one's running on their Facebook page.

Region 8 also has moved its coffee mornings online (you bring your own coffee and cake to this one!) and has organised postcard swaps. Both are taking place on their Facebook group.

It's never too late to join in with #the100dayproject. Largely on Instagram, there is also a Facebook page and the website. Use the hashtags  

#the100dayproject and #the100dayproject2020 to see the diversity of projects.

Stay safe everyone.