There was not much sewing going on last Saturday at Clock Tower Quilters monthly meeting once we were joined by our newest member George, he was born on 10th July (3 weeks early!!) to one of our members who is so organized she managed to call by for a cuppa!! Of course once they arrived everyone went into overdrive as we queued up for cuddles to the accompaniment of loud Oooh's & Aah's. Well he was gorgeous! Some of us are meeting again tomorrow to get some sewing done but more about that in a future post...
On Wednesday it was the monthly meeting of Severn Valley Quilters, there was a good turn out to hear our speaker Jane Grendon, who told us about trips to Mongolia with her sister Lesley Coles Lesleycolespatchwork@hotmai1.com They have been traveling to Ulaanbatar (the Capitol City) for several years, teaching women patchwork and quilting techniques, the women and girls then make items to sell which in turn helps them to generate some extra income and improve the quality of life for their families. Her stories had us all laughing and her slides were lovely, giving a real feel not only for the poor conditions the people live in but also for the stunning scenery of this huge landlocked country - based around the culture of the country, the Mongolian Knot features prominently in most of their work, all the women have always sewn and despite their low incomes many have hand sewing machines, the work they have been producing since learning patchwork is wonderful and they are all eager students despite language barriers. Lesley and Jane's efforts along with Selenge Tserendash (a young lawyer) and Maggie Ball Dragonfly Quilts helped to set up The Mongolian Quilting and Patchwork Centre in Ullaanbatar in 2003. They have also trained local teachers who continue this work and go out into rural areas to teach the women there.
Jane also brought along a selection of items for sale, which had been made by the women and I treated myself to a little purse, a bag and a couple of 'Be Happy Bags' which I have included pictures of, all of these items are sold to raise funds to continue supporting the work in Ulaanbatar.
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| Silk knot-work quilt |
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| Knot work quilt made from cotton |
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