But hey, that’s life! To be honest, there was much overdue family stuff to be done. With lockdown eventually easing, there were people to see and other things that needed to be done. So, we took a week or two, or three, out for family time. Chief stitch finally had her son come to visit, and it was well worth the wait for all of us, I think. Green Global Grub and the Witches in Stitches had a fabulous catch-up courtesy of Smokey Pitmaster and a bit of a brew was imbibed in the process.

Not that sewing was completely off the agenda by any means. When Chief Witch was away to England to visit the octogenarian mother, she was very quickly presented with a sewing machine that apparently was ‘jammed’. “just take a look at it?” – well thankfully, it wasn’t jammed at all, but it was sporting some particularly dozed thread of questionable vintage, so the first thing to be done was get that out. And within minutes we had it purring away.

But a couple of days later, my oldest friend produced a beautiful vintage (circa 1970) Jones machine that we were, sadly, less successful with, Oh well, can’t win ’em all! However, Mater did come through with an absolute gem. “You should take home that Singer Handcrank” she says. Hate to tell you Mum, but that Singer handcrank is already in my craft room. Apparently not – there is another languishing in the glory hole under the stairs. This time, it has a shuttle bobbin! And again, within minutes it was happily stitching away, much to not only my delight but also that of my son. Who, during this week-long interlude, learned to sew and produced a cushion cover. He is now the proud keeper of my first Jones electric machine, bought in 1986 from the club book and paid for over 26 weeks (as we did back in the day).

But what have I unleashed? One’s offspring is now talking fabric squares, finishing seams, and piecing – another budding quilter in our midst possibly. I did mention that his bookshelves will soon be packed up and replaced with a fabric stash – he cannot say he hasn’t been warned.

Throughout all of this, we have not neglected the Quilts for Care Leavers, and we are enormously proud to say that the quilt collection is growing. Under the auspices of receiving some quilted donations, we had the privilege to connect with other members of Q4CL NI and have a chat over coffee. (Members names have been deliberately omitted to protect their identity). This gathering took place in the corner of the garden centre veranda, and the cackling that ensued over the next 3 hours was nothing short of magical – even if we did garner some sideways glances from other tables in the process! These three ladies welcomed us into their quilting circle, offered advice and help and the benefit of their quilting and long-arming expertise. Stories were swapped; Experiences shared; A fabulous day of merriment was enjoyed by all. A generous offer to long-arm a couple of the quilts for us was also promised.

This is an offer we may have to take up in the not-too-distant future, because one member of our coven has recently started producing quilt tops of such variety and at such speed, we may have trouble keeping up! However, as we hope to have at least 60 quilts in time for Christmas, we are just so thankful that they keep coming. The supply of blocks is now strong and steady as well.

So, continue to wave those magic wands fellow witches, something very special is taking shape.

Keep Stitchin’