Busy Sewing Bees…..

Today, we focused our minds on bees and pollinators to kick start our Power of Plants project. Relevant books, magazines, embroidery transfers etc. .were shared to help generate discussion and ideas to decorate a vintage tablecloth. Members were invited to create bees or flowers on pre-prepared hexagons which would then be used to embellish the cloth. We were delighted with the interest and enthusiasm that was shown and look forward to seeing some wonderful contributions in the next few months. We might even receive a completed hexagon from a past member, Fiona Ferguson who visited today. She is travelling back home to France tomorrow but has promised to post her completed hexagon back to us!

It was great to see members busy with other personal projects too. Keris was busy working on a hexagon kit.

Ella was making a book cover with vintage fabrics

And Maggie was making some of her floral fabric cards

Amanda was making an intricate fox – looking forward to seeing him when he is fully assembled.

Corinne was finishing a hare project

Eleri and Sally were continuing with their family heritage projects

And Jaci was busy working on a boro kit

Monica had completed her verison of a boro Japanese knot bag. It was made from a variety of scrap fabrics, some that she picked up on her recent trip to Japan, and others taken from her fabric stash. A little vintage Indonesian fabric was slipped in too!

She had also been making Japanese folded aprons for her granddaughter

And she shared a photo of a Hedwig owl costume that she created with her daughter over Christmas. It was fancy dress for a New Years eve party. The costume was created from Monica’s fabric stash. It used a lot of fabric but hardly made any difference to the stash pile! The head was created from cereal packets and painted with acrylic paint.

As ever, Kerry had produced some beautiful quilts and showed a dragon embroidery

And Caroline brought along a very old (late 1800s) book that had been passed on to her by family. It was called the language of flowers and was certainly an interesting read!

Finally, Fiona T has created and donated a minitaure of St Johns House, Bridgend to the Trustees of the house. They were delighted and responded that “it captures the essence of the house even down to the fine detail of the blue plaque. We are blown away by the craftmanship.” Well done Fiona.

Another exhilirating day and so many more to come. BLISS!

A New Year Full of Promise

A New Year and looking at the frenzy of activity today there is no doubt it is going to be a busy and joyful year at DtP!

We welcomed Linda who is keen to have a go at new paint and print activities and keen to learn how to use her new gelliplate. So, we introduced her to the two Fiona’s who were busy creating on theirs. In fact, Fiona T and Dianne were on a mission with black.

Pat was busy painting a scene from one of her Japan photos and showed the pearlised watercolour paints that Santa delivered

Liz was stencilling

Monica was trying out stamps on tissue paper

Linda brought along some of natural dyed fabric

Ella was engrossed in adding goldleaf to circles of card – it will be interesting to see the finished piece of work

And Rosie was watching paint dry!

The first of many fun and enjoyable days to come – can’t wait for more!

Fundraising for Vikasbloom

Throughout September – November we fundraised for an Indian chariy called Vikkasbloom that empowers disadvantaged children and women by connecting them with opportunity and helping them reclaim a secure and independent future.

It is a cause that Monica’s daughter Claire and her friends have been involved with for some time – visiting the and volunteering their time on a number of occasions.

Monthly stash sales were held to raise the £545 that we donated to the charity. An enjoyable activity for us as we recycled items that we no longer needed but were much needed treasures for others!

A huge THANK YOU to those who gave their support – your generosity is so very much appreciated!

Below is a thank you note from Vikkasbloom and a few photos. Click here if you would like to read more, or follow Vikasbloom

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

It’s Christmas!

Today was officially a day for Christmas celebrations. The show and tell was particularly festive and our bring and share Christmas share lunch was truly awesome!

Some of those who attended the 18 November festive workshop brought along their beautiful creations. Sue and Sharon made Christmas trees which they would have liked to add some diamante to but the hot fix gun just wasn’t playing ball today!

Janet and Chris showed table runners that they had made and Rosie sent a photo of hers. Janet was not too happy with the effect of the thinsulate she had added but it looked fine to us.

Keris had made a ‘countdown to Christmas’ wall hanging for her grand children

Corinne had finished her gingerbread house – it had only taken her two years!

and both Keris and Corinne showed Santas that they had made with Caroline Allen from Neadal and Fred. From the interest shown by many in the room it is likely we will be making them at next years festive workshop.

Truda was hiding behind a beautiful robin that she had made

Linda showed a fairy that she had made by fussy cutting patterned fabric

Sally was busy making a fab little red Ted

And Caroline showed a wonderful star decoration made from twenty four tiny triangles – a labour of love!

So much beautiful work to admire, plenty of chatter, a delicious Christmas lunch and Secret Santa – what more could we ask for?

Another wonderful year of creativity which hopefully will continue into next year when we dive into our new project – the Power of Plants!

In the meantime we wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a peaceful New Year!

Festive Dyeing to Paint

Today we relaxed and enjoyed what has become our annual Christmas lunch, which this year was held at the Bush Inn, St Hilary.

But before jollying off to fill our tums some engrossed themselves in a little art work. Janet was busy lino cutting.

Ella was painting

Eleri was continuing with her family tree sketchbook

Dawn was busy making Christmas cards from serviettes

Corinne was eager to finish a Mandy Shaw design Gingerbread house

Fiona T was busy creating a piece of art work for a friend

And Isobelle showed the group some eco dyeing that she had done on the Sissix machine

A quiet morning but as always plenty of creative ideas to discuss and enjoy

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Talent by the Bucketload!

Wow, what an amazing show at Cutting Edge today. It is always a delight to see what everyone is up to and today we enjoyed a great show of work alongside plenty of sharing of links and You Tube videos to fire the imagination.

New member Linda showed off two of her makes – a beautiful felted bear and a lion – gifts for two special little people

And Monica showed a bear that she had made – a teddy for grandson Freddie! Wool fabric samples were used to make the lovely Ted

Elaine and Kerry showed quilts – a beautiful coordination of colours in both

and Kerry had repurposed one of her quilts and given it a new lease of life as a jacket and tote bag.

Andy told how she had used an old sweatshirt with a jelly roll to create a new jacket! Not surprisingly there were quite a few who were fascinated with the process and expressed an interest in learning how to make one – looks like a workshop for the future!

Sally was also busy making a baby quilt

And Monica had spied some of Sally’s work in recent exhibition at Insole Court – her beautiful embroidery, a Manx quilt and an ocean themed quilt that she made for the 2018 Cutting Edge exhibition at Tapestri Cafe

Amanda is ahead of the game with her fabulous mushroom wall hanging, which fits nicely with our 2026 project “the Power of Plants” and will do nicely for our 2027 exhibition. Dilys’ cushion fits our theme too!

Fiona B was doing a little hand embroidery which is unusual but on closer inspection we found a little machine embroidery – rather lovely little pics emerging Fiona

And Fiona T showed some colourful textile art along with a photo of her ceramic St Johns House and which she plans to gift to the St John’s House Trustees

Wendy has been working on this autumnal embroidery for some time and pleased that she has finally finished and framed it

Jaci created a stir with her eco-dyeing using a Sissix machine which she found much quicker than some of the other techniques she had come across. She urged members to look at Saascibo on Instagram and directed members to useful You Tube videos

And Sharon was pleased with her little pocketbook as she had found the perfect fabric for the cover at last month’s stash sale

We couldn’t possibly finish without sharing images of Eleri’s family tree in textiles – truly a work of art. Eleri is currently doing Carol’s family tree workshops at Insole Court.

Yet another amazing day – so much creativity and chatter to share knowledge, skills and ideas. And of course, not forgetting the generosity of our members. For the last three months we have run a stash stall where individuals have donated items they no longer need and others have made small donations for something they have wanted. As a result £545 has been raised for Vikasbloom, a charity that empowers girls and women in India who have endured the challenges of orphanhood, abandonment or gender-based violence. Such a worthwhile cause and wonderful to be in a position where we can extend our support. A huge thank you to everyone. You are stars!

Getting Ready for Christmas!

Another great day of DtP creation and this month there was quite a bit of festive flair!

After a good rummage through the die cuts there was a queue for the Sissix machine

Keris was busy making Christmas gift tags and Fiona B was using snowflake dies to make Christmas trees – very inventive!

There were lino cut robins

Janet was printing papers for Christmas cards

And after experimenting Dawn decided on tea bag paper and a stamp for a simple but effective Christmas image for her cards. Lovely to see Dawn back with us today.

Dianne had made a scrap journal as a gift for a friend and was working on another one for herself

Ella was focused on autumn

And Eleri was working on her family heritage project. She has completed a stitched panel and was working on a retrospective sketchbook

Pat and Monica were focused on greetings cards

And Rae was busy with her linocuts and mono printing. Monica showed her how she could use the Sissix to frame her prints while others were interested in commissioning Rae’s tutor to facilitate a workshop on lino cut and monoprint.

Always great fun and a chance to catch up for a chat. Looking forward to next month already

Many thanks to Dianne for her donation of Sissix die cuts some of which will be very useful for our 2026 project!

And thank you to Janet for organising our Christmas lunch at the Bush Inn, St Hilary

Rural Industry Bureau Quilt Scheme

4 November 2025

Another wonderful session with Elen Phillips, Principal Curator at St Fagan’s Museum who introduced us to the work of the Rural Industries Quilt Bureau in the South East Wales valleys between the 1920s and 30s. In 1928, the Bureau commissioned Mavis Fitzrandolph to carry out a survey of the state of quilting in South Wales. She concluded that a few remaining village quilters in south Wales were producing work of poor quality, but were capable of improvement given better materials and financial incentives.

Consequently, the Bureau established six groups –  Porth in the Rhondda, Abertridwr, Merthyr Tydfil, Splott in Cardiff, Blaina and Aberdare. The aim was to raise the standard of work produced and to establish classes to ensure the continuation of the craft by training new makers. A variety of large and small items were made. This included dressing gowns, bed jackets, cushions and quilts.

The Bureau paid for the provision of materials and sourced commercial outlets for their work. one being Miss Muriel Rose’s The Little Gallery, off Sloane Street, in London. Miss Rose demanded well-designed quilts and needlework of the highest standard, a contributing factor, no doubt, in her winning a commission to supply quilted bedcovers for Claridge’s. They famously placed a large order for quilts and pillowslips to be used in their new Art Deco style extension.

Two of these well used quilts were rediscovered by the hotel in 1980 and donated to the Quilters Guild. They were both made in South Wales, one being of a traditional Welsh design and one bearing a signature lotus motif taken directly from the Art Deco style of the building.

During the session we explored the work of individual quilters involved in the Rural Industry Quilt Scheme. This included Irene Morgan, Amy Thomas and Katy Lewis. One of our CE members remembers that Katy Lewis was a member of Glamorgan Quilters in the early days.

Irene Morgan and Amy Thomas belonged to the Aberdare group. Irene is pictured on the left and Amy on the right in the photograph below

Irene’s niece donated her bed jacket and some photos to St Fagan’s. Irene moved from Aberdare to Porthcawl and taught at night school in Bridgend. She entered the jacket into a competition at the 1948 Eisteddfod and won a prize for her work. She died in 2000.

Katy Lewis was born in Abertridwr, near Caerphilly. She learnt to quilt when she was about 17 years old. From about 1939 until the mid-1950s, she taught quilting at evening classes. She reproduced a quilt based on the early Abertridwr rose design in 1987. Katy died in 2002.

A silk velvet Abertridwr star cot quilt, probably made by the Abertridwr quilters was given to Theresa Godwin, a contralto soloist with the Royal Welsh Ladies Choir, after singing at a concert attended by royalty. The cot quilt was a gift for her baby.

Although geared towards a luxury market outside their locality, the scheme succeeded in raising the standard of Welsh quilting, producing a new generation of quilters who were well-versed in the traditional Welsh techniques and patterns.

The Bureau’s scheme ended with the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939.

A huge thank you to Elen Phillips for another awe inspiring talk and to CE member Eleri for sharing her notes from the session

Further reading

Moda fabrics – Welsh Quilt Centre
BBC – How Instagram Opened up a new world for Welsh Quilting

Sew Much to Admire!

Well, what a blockbuster day it was today. As well as welcoming two new members Linda and Chris we were treated to an amazing show and tell!

It was wonderful to see the art of journaling in its many forms is flourishing throughout the group. Jaci brought along a miniature fabric book that she is creating; coloured and free machine embroidered

Jilly’s book was full of beautiful hand embroidery, patchwork etc.

Corinne’s book was a mix of fabric and paper. The cover was recognisable from an Angie Hughes Birchwood Bondaweb workshop that members attended some years ago.

Jacquie had a sketchbook of pumpkins. The cover was made from wool felt and there were numerous pumpkins sketches inside

And then there were the little pocket books that we made at the Becky Adams workshop last week. There are so many! I think some must have been on a creative mission when they got home!

Sadly, Mary couldn’t be with us today but she sent a photo of the little pocket book she had made

All beautifully executed and worthy of being treasured items!

Carol continues to be busy with her stitched family tree

And Eleri is doing Carol’s workshop at the moment to create her own stitched family tree

There was a wonderful show of embroidery. Sharon had finished a beautiful cross stitch to celebrate her and her husband’s 50th wedding anniversary

Maggie was making little embroidered cards

Rosie showed a lovely picture of trees that she had stitched

And Fiona B was making some lovely little stitched pictures

Its always a pleasure to see members latest quilts and today was no exception. Caroline was finishing a hexagon quilt. All hand stitched with some expert fussy cutting to incorporate bees and dragon flies

Elaine showed a quilt she had recently completed but started around 15 years ago. She had also made cushions and panels for the backs of her chairs to match the quilt

Chris was pleased with the teddy she had made from Monica’s pattern

And we came across a fab sewing roll that Linda was using, and interestingly she had used wool packaging to make it – a great recycling project

Isobelle showed an amazing wall hanging that she had created from her cyanotype prints

And Truda was rightly pleased with the bird that she had made.

Next month there is a festive workshop where members will create something for Christmas. One of the patterns is of a Christmas tree that some of us made a few years ago. So, Liz brought in the one that she had made and below is a photo of some that others that members made

And finally, a huge thank you to Sue for sending photos of the Calico Cymru dress. She took them at the National Botanical Garden of Wales at the beginning of October when Stitching Botanical were adding daffodils that they had embroidered – stunning!

What talent! A thoroughly enjoyable day and so many more to come – how lucky we are!