About ABERMULE QUILTERS
(Last revised July 2024)
Founded in 2006, we are a small informal group affiliated to Abermule Community Centre. We meet throughout the year in the Hafren Room at Abermule Community Centre, Abermule, Montgomery, SY15 6ND. The centre has free parking, and disabled access.
Meeting days/times
We meet on Tuesday afternoons (1-4pm) including school holidays, but not bank holidays.
There is no joining fee. Attendance is £2 per session, which includes refreshments of tea/coffee and biscuits, sometimes cake! Please bring your own mug. We always require help at the beginning and end of the session, either setting out tables and chairs, or putting away.
What we do
We make large and small patchwork and quilted items, for example: quilts, cushions, runners, wallhangings, decorations, boxes, bags. These might be for our own use, as gifts for family and friends, as donations to charitable causes, or to sell to raise money for the club or for charity.
We welcome new members, beginners and experts alike. Sew by hand or by machine. Learn new techniques.
The Committee puts together the programme of activities. If there is something you would particularly like to learn (or demonstrate) let them know. For weeks in which we will learn or make something specific, there is usually a list of requirements issued in advance.
Some members bring their own projects, or unfinished items to work on. There is always someone you can ask if you need help with something.
For photographs of some of our club sessions and workshops, see our Gallery.
Where to start
Buy or borrow a magazine or book on patchwork and quilting, to learn about the terms and techniques and some of the designs. Local stationers and public libraries have a few, and the club has a large selection of books on the subject.
Tools and Equipment
To start with you will need a basic sewing kit: needles, pins, scissors and thimble (if you use one). For faster piecing at home you will want a sewing machine. An expensive computerised machine is not necessary. You need one that does at least straight and zigzag stitches in various widths and lengths. Talk to other members about what they use and the features they find useful.
For more accurate cutting you will need specialist tools such as cutting mat, rotary cutter and grid ruler. These are quite expensive. We have some spare tools and equipment (cutters, cutting mats in different sizes, various long and square rulers) for new members to try out in club sessions until they can obtain their own. Please do not take them home.
Some techniques require special items such as freezer paper, Vilene or Bondaweb. These are usually available in sewing shops. In addition, the club has some supplies available for purchase.
Fabric
Patchwork is almost always worked in 100% cottons. We have a supply of fabric oddments, which are donated to us from time to time, or which we buy in specially. We also have a supply of cotton-mix wadding for putting inside quilts.
Exhibitions
Like all quilt groups, we enjoy showing off our work. We have determined to hold an exhibition every two or three years. This entails a great deal of work in making items to exhibit, making items to sell, and organising the two-day exhibition itself. Quilting magazines and websites advertise quilting exhibitions all over the country which members might visit. The secretary will keep you informed of local ones.
We held full exhibitions (usually over a weekend in September) in the Abermule School Hall in 2009, 2012, 2014, 2018 and 2023.
We also held mini exhibitions (usually over a month in the summer) in Newtown Library in 2017, 2019 and 2022.
Fire Safety
Do not smoke inside the building. Do not overload power points or extension leads. Take care when storing hot items (irons and kettle) in cupboard.
It is important that all members know the following:
- Nearest Fire Alarm: just inside door to Hafren Room.
- Nearest Fire Exit: door to patio area from corridor.
- Nearest Fire Extinguisher: next to Fire Exit.
- Muster point: All-weather tennis/netball courts.
- Fire marshall: Treasurer.
Constitution
If you require a copy of the Club's Constitution, ask the Secretary. The Annual General Meeting is usually held in September or October.
Suggestions
If you have any ideas or suggestions for meetings, any views on how the group should be run, any comments on this website, or any items of interest to members, tell one of the committee.