The Stitch Gathering

Sunday was the second Edinburgh Stitch Gathering and I was happy to attend again.  I went to the first one last year and had a lovely time meeting new people and creating.  All the attendees signed up for two workshops that they would like to attend and were sent a printed tote bag to embellish as the ticket, along with the name of another attendee to give it to on the day.

My tote bag was going to Elaine, who I immediately googled and found that she collects Matroyshka dolls, and so this is what I did with my tote bag for Elaine:

front

back

I received a tote bag from Sally, who I also had the pleasure to meet at the first Stitch Gathering last year.  She made a really smart looking block for both the front and back of my tote, you can see it in the bottom left of this photo of all the things I made or were given at the Stitch Gathering!

We could also make a name tag for a secret person if we wanted to, and then we'd receive one too.  My name tag was made for me by Helen, and I made one for Kim.

Workshops

My morning class was all about paper piecing curved shapes with Fiona.  We were asked to bring along a list of tools as well as the printed off templates that were emailed to us.  The shape we were using is known as the apple core.  First we were given tips about basting stitches and knots and then asked to baste a few.

Then we started whip stitching them together with a few tips about direction and colour placement.  I got three stitched together during the class and am now all ready to get on with finishing this during some winter TV watching!

My results

After a delicious lunch my afternoon class was also handstitching and taught by Fiona.  This time we worked on some reverse applique to create a piece of work that could be hung on the wall.  We were shown some pinning and snipping tips.

I finished my work within the class time too!  That is my sewing spot above, with my workbasket all closed and put away!

Some results from the class

 Lunchtime

During lunch we also had a chance to look at all of the ticket tote bags.  The landscape one was my favourite.  It was awe-inspiring to see such a variety of creative takes on the one bag!

There was also a lucky dip, and a chance for anyone who wanted to show and tell us about something that they had made.  There were some very impressive works being shown!  I even got to see a Farmer's Wife quilt, made by Sheila.

It was really lovely to catch up with some people that I met last year, whom after meeting them I started to follow their Instagram feeds or read their blogs.  Claire, Jenny, Sheila and I have been in the Little Blogs Quilting Bee since we met last year, and so it was really fun to see them again!  I also met a few new ladies who were very friendly and nice to sit beside and stitch with for the day.  

There were other classes on offer too, so if you are interested in reading about them a few other attendees have also written blog posts about the day. There is a link-up on Jo's blog myBearpaw .

 The Goody Bag!

When we entered the building we handed over the ticket/tote bag and were given a goody bag full of pretty and useful things!  Here is what was in them:

FABRIC:  Five fat quarters from Robert Kaufman, two fat quarters from Blend fabrics, one fat quarter from Dashwood Studios, a scrap pack of Liberty from VeryBerry fabric and a piece of tana lawn and a tote bag from Liberty.
THREAD: perle cotton no.8 (and sequins) from myBearpaw, embroidery thread from DMC, two spools of thread from Coats and a spool from Aurifil.
TOOLS: Frixion pen from Pilot, scissors from Grove and Banks and oat biscuits from Nairns.
We also got a Love Patchwork and Quilting magazine, which I have already posted to a friend.


Jo at myBearpaw is giving one away, so do hop over to her blog if you are interested!