News

Chronicle report – January to March 2026

Written by Anne Carter For the second year in a row, the first meeting of the New Year was cancelled due to heavy snow! On 20th January, members made greetings cards recycling off- cuts of silk left over from the last group quilt. Beartown P’s and Q’s and Montague Patchers from Sale have a long history of exchanging “meet the neighbours” evenings. In February, several Beartown members took dozens of quilts and quilted items to Read more

By Diana Woods, ago

Nantwich Quilt and Fabric exhibition

This was held in Nantwich Civic Centre on Sunday 18th January 2026. Beartown had been asked to provide the display of quilts along with a stand upstairs for the group. There was a lot of interest in all our quilts and the people manning the stand answered a lot of questions! Our prize winning Rust Collective group quilt was in pride of place. We were displaying quilts that had been shown in exhibitions (NEC, Uttoxeter, Read more

By Diana Woods, ago

A prize winning quilt

Made by Doreen Parsons She used Piece o’ Cake design – “Welcome to the North Pole” to make a quilt for her grandchildren – Ben who has a lot of Lego, and Zoe who likes dolls and cats. Doreen said it was fun to do and she enjoyed adding the embellishments. She entered it in region 13’s Cheshire area’s Christmas challenge competition, where it was awarded first prize:) It was on display at the Nantwich Read more

By Diana Woods, ago

Meet the Neighbours!

Written by Donna Hanmer Beartown Patchwork and Quilters have long believed that creativity thrives when shared, and one of the group’s most cherished traditions is meeting with neighbouring quilting communities. These friendly exchanges allow members to showcase their work, learn from others, and celebrate the craft that brings them together. Just as importantly, the groups we visit often return the gesture, creating a lovely cycle of inspiration and connection. On Tuesday 10th February, members of Read more

By Diana Woods, ago

The story behind Donna’s Dunkerque quilt

Written by Donna Hanmer What was the inspiration for my quilt? In June 2024 at Beartown P&Qs we had a guest speaker -Mike Fitchett – whose talk was titled “Travels with my sketchbook”. He recounted how he had started his quilting journey creating railway poster style quilts. They looked really simple and effective and I left the meeting feeling really inspired to create my own quilt in the style of a vintage railway poster. Shortly Read more

By Diana Woods, ago

Chronicle report – October to December 2025

On 21st October, speaker Tina Saunders entertained the group with “An Embroiderer’s Tale,” in the form of a slide show and also some examples of her work that she’d been able to bring in person. After leaving school, Tina trained at the Royal School of Needlework in London and later worked for Jimmy Choo, embroidering shoes! Eventually, she started a job at Buckingham Palace as a dresser to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Tina had Read more

By Diana Woods, ago

Chronicle report September 2025

The autumn meetings of Beartown Patchworkers & Quilters began on 9th September with a new group quilt project. Members dyed some cotton fabric and took it home to rinse out, wash and press, before returning it to have a fusible interfacing attached. At the next meeting on 23rd September, members cut out dyed shapes to be bonded onto a black background fabric and stitched into place. The group recently won the Group category at the Read more

By Diana Woods, ago

Festival of Quilts 2025

A memorable year for Beartown Patchwork and Quilters – the group quilt – “Rust Collective” – won first prize! Thanks must go to Ruth Axon who organised its design and construction. I think it stood out in the winners gallery – best in show! Though obviously I’m biased. Several people entered quilts in this year’s festival. Val Lancaster entered her Magic Tile Bonzana quilt in the Novice category and was Short Listed. Her entry was Read more

By Diana Woods, ago