Quilts and Quizzes

Audlem W.I. ladies always approach a 'Member's Meeting' with a sense of trepidation, after all we all know a little too much about each other and it could be dangerous to place our scrupulously clean reputations in the hands of others!

However we needn't have worried as that doyenne of Audlem Charity Shop's precious metals and diamonds department, Christine Plume, took to the stage with great aplomb and became temporary President for the afternoon with her trusty sidekick Daphne Mounteney as acting secretary – we knew we were in safe hands.

June Perry and Jerusalem have now become synonymous with each other, played flawlessly once again as a huge gathering of over 50 members and one visitor – welcome Lyn Hopkins – sang their hearts out. There's no stopping us now we have the words!

Our President, Lin Nicholas, stepped up to the microphone, struggled and cast it aside with great aplomb! We are thinking of having a whip round for a headset microphone – hands free would be an improvement!

With business done, minutes read, Christine Salisbury stood up to remind us that she had arranged a trip to Media City on April 11th – I shall be reporting on this, so I will expect at least one appearance on North West tonight!

Remember the days when you would temporarily forget about your child's age in order to get them in free? Well, there's always one person who lets you down at a meeting and this time it was the turn of Helen Drake. Christine clearly stated that those over 60 would be charged £9 for the trip and anyone under 60 would have to pay £10. Helen had the audacity to pay £10, we offered to show her details of our wrinkle enhancing tricks, but she would not be moved!

Christine Plume then rose from her seat to take up her position as temporary President and Lin could finally relax. Christine's talk was on the history of Quilt Making, and together with a variety of exquisite examples from Daphne Mounteney and Anne Hollins she gave us an insight into the historical and mysterious world of quilt making.

Quilts

Quilt making is all about being thrifty and re-using scraps, apparently women call their bits and bobs of material 'a stash,' watch out for the police sirens in Audlem then.

Quilting dates back centuries, though the origin is unknown. The true definition of a quilt is two layers of fabric with a soft substance, such as wool, down, or cotton batting secured between the two.

Quilting most likely got its name, however, in Europe. Quilted garments were made to be worn for comfort under knight's armour in the 12th century. It is said that more knights died from heat stroke due to their quilted undergarments than in battle!

This practice evolved into a doublet, and then into quilted petticoats and underskirts for English women in the 18th century, and then finally into quilted bedding.

The patchwork quilt was invented by the poorer members of society who needed warm bed coverings in the winter. They pieced together layers for the quilt using old bed coverings, clothing, and coats.

Fast forward a few centuries and hop across an ocean, and we enter the heyday of the quilt in eighteenth and nineteenth-century America. Quilts, which provided excellent insulation against the cold, were particularly useful for colonists because access to new cloth was sparse, and homespun fabric was very labour intensive. The use of salvaged fabrics made quilting an effective means of maximising one's resources.

Quilting was often a communal activity, and villages would sometimes come together for "quilting bees," where multiple people worked on the same quilt. Quilts were an important part of daily life.

As the years progressed, patchwork became not a desperate means of staying warm through the winter, but a design statement for many a quilter. As the world progressed and became more technologically advanced, quilting became fashionable in many social circles, and many a young lady took it up as her hobby.

Christine, Daphne and Anne had bought along an amazing array of their own work which was held up for display to their audience. After all, lives are like quilts, bits and pieces of joy and sorrows, stitched with love and when a women quilter says 'thank goodness for my Fat Quarters,' it's not what you think!

Personally sewing and crafts fill my days not to mention the living room, bedroom and closets and my husband said he would leave me if I bought anymore fabric – I'm going to miss him!

Lyn gave a vote of thanks to Christine, who had provided us with such a stimulating and informative talk, after all friendship, like old quilts, stands the test of time and in the crazy quilt of life we're glad she's in our block of friends!

A combination of fine tea, exquisite cakes and the soothing buzz of conversation exerted a therapeutic effect on our members by washing away the corrosive strains and stress of modern life and preparing us for''.

Christine's Quiz!

Now we all know that life is not a competition, life is about helping and inspiring others to reach their full potential, however when it comes to a WI quiz, rules go out of the window and determination sets in! I can't remember the names of all the winners- ten out of ten?- as I was too busy covering up my sobs, but I believe Pat Winfield and her team were some of the lucky winners.

Finally it was time to judge the monthly competition of a flower posy. I didn't enter this month as I am somewhat lacking in floristry skills, however the winner was Joyce Clydesdale, second place Lyn Hopkins and third Maggie Phillips. (Please click on photo so it shows in correct proportions)

Birthday flowers were handed out to Sheila Webster, Marie Warburton, Jessica Trudgill, Margaret Thornton, Jane Stevenson, Sylvia Davies, Mavis Bolter and Anne Hollins.

We are particularly proud to inform the rest of Audlem that our WI Quiz Team extraordinaire, comprising Pat Smith, Christine Plume, Shirley Firth and Anne Watson, did us proud at the Cheshire WI heats and came second out of 22 teams, by one point!

It could be argued that it was almost a draw as one of the questions was 'What was Dick Turpin's trade before he became a highwayman?' From the deep depths of Shirley Firth's erudite mind she dredged up a memory that he had been a butcher, which was correct, but sadly the collective decision was a blacksmith, so the important drawing point was lost! Our ladies go forward to the Cheshire WI Quiz Final which will take place on Friday 1st April, and they're no fools!

See, we're not just a bevy of beauties, but we have brains as well and we all know that if the world were run by women there would be no wars, just a couple of nations not speaking to each other!

See you all next month.

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