Author: Annie

New Exhibition in the City of London: 3 – 19 December

When an opportunity arose for a pop-up exhibition in the heart of the City we grabbed it! 

Members of Contemporary Textiles London swiftly went into action and the result is a tightly curated show of small textile art pieces – many at Christmas present prices – at Theatre Deli, the studios, meeting space and cafe/bar where the 26-strong group gathers each month.

Theatre Deli Café at 107 Leadenhall Street, London, EC3A 4AF. 

Open December 3-19, Monday to Saturday, 10am-10pm. 

Statement for December 2024 exhibition

Meeting Dates 2024

Below are a list of meeting dates, together with the topic for discussion. We meet on the third Thursday of the month in a venue close to Bank tube station.

18th January: One thing I learnt last year or one thing I want to try this year

15th February: Now we are Contemporary Textiles London, textiles and techniques beyond patchwork and quilting

21st March: Photographing our work 

18th April: Pieces for the exhibition

16th May: Complementary colours/analogous colours in quilts 

20th June: The piece of work I’m most proud of

18th July: Mixed media quilts, quilts not made from fabric

No meeting in August

19th September: Quilts at the Festival of Quilts and perhaps having a challenge for the summer which we then show off in September

17th October: Journal Quilts

21st November: Using (high value contrast) stripes

19th December: Our favourite textile artist

And ideas for next year include: how do you value/put a price on your work and arranging to have the CQ suitcase collection.

Upcoming textiles exhibition

 Contemporary Textiles London is delighted to announce their forthcoming exhibition:’Free Hand’.

The exhibition will open on the 30th April and run until the 11th May 2024. It is not open on the Bank holiday.

Opening hours:

  • Weekdays: 10.30am-8pm
  • Saturday: 10.30am-5pm
  • Sunday: 12pm-5pm

The title ‘Free Hand’ reflects the recent name change of the group from quilt to textiles, broadening the scope and literally allowing each member a freehand to produce a textile piece both enjoyable to produce and also celebrating their artistic skill, with some nod to their quilting roots. 

Separately the group produced the ‘blue’ display, a set of tightly defined pieces, of equal size and colour, providing a panel which is considerably greater than the sum of its parts. The two displays express clearly and graphically the ethos of CTL: the synergy of the blue pieces and the diversity of the Free hand works are the dual aspects of a group where mutual support and close working are rewarded, whilst individual expression is strongly encouraged. 

We very much look forward to welcoming visitors to our Free Hand exhibition.

Below is a link if you wish to download our leaflet about the textile exhibition.

https://ctlondon.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/CTLFlyer5.pdf

Members exhibiting are: 

  • Annie Folkard
  • Amanda Ogden
  • Cathy Corbishley Michel
  • Connie Gilham
  • Dani Atkinson
  • Dianne Whyte
  • Helen Harris
  • Jane Munns
  • Jane Wray
  • Janet Beck
  • Janine Pound 
  • Jill Holden
  • John Miller 
  • Khurshid Bamboat
  • Linda Seward 
  • Lucy Poloniecka 
  • Maggie Jarman 
  • Nicqui Willis 
  • Pauline Macauley 
  • Rachel Tyndall 
  • Sandra Grusd 
  • Sarah Hibbert 
  • Urszula Chojnacka 
  • Valerie Huggins 
  • Viv Philpot 

Meeting dates 2023

Our meetings will take place on the following dates,  the third Thursday in the month as follows:


Thursday January 19th

Thursday February 16th

Thursday March 16th

Thursday April 20th

Thursday May 18th

Thursday June 22nd

Thursday July 2oth

No meeting in August

Thursday September 21st

Thursday October 19th

Thursday November 16th

Thursday December 21st

A list of the meeting activate and proposed exhibitions to visit can be found in the members area under Meeting activities

‘CLOSE TO HOME’  an exhibition of contemporary textile art

‘CLOSE TO HOME’  an exhibition of contemporary textile art by members of CQ London celebrating the 20thanniversary of Contemporary Quilt. 

Willesden Gallery, 95 High Road, London NW10 2SF. 

24th May – 7th June 2022Daily 10.30am to 8.00 pm  Mon – Fri  (weekend hours vary)  Admission free

Meet the Makers: Sunday 29 May 1.00 – 5.00 pm refreshments available

Exhibition flier

This is the second exhibition that Contemporary Quilt London have held and the title Close to Home has been chosen to reflect the on the fact that the last two years have been an unprecedented time for all of us. As the pandemic eases and life has slowly started to resume its usual pace members have been reflecting on their own experiences. The pieces produced for this exhibition are their individual responses and reflections on this time when we were all required to stay at home.


A second body of work on display is Crossing the Line. This challenge asked members to use three specific colours and a prescribed size to produce a piece with a distinct diagonal line through it.
Members have used surface techniques such as printing and dyeing and textile techniques including piecing, applique and surface stitching and quilting either by hand or machine.


As the exhibition demonstrate each artist has their own individual style but all members share a common passion for textiles.

Further details: cquiltlondon@gmail.com  

www.cqlondon.org.uk  www.brent.gov.uk/willesdengallery

Meeting dates for 2022

Our meetings will take place on the following dates:  the third Tuesday or Thursday in the month as follows:


Thursday January 20th

Tuesday February 15th

Thursday March 17th

Tuesday April 19th

Thursday May 19th

Tuesday June 21st

Thursday July 21st

Tuesday August 16th

Thursday September 15th

Tuesday October 18th

Thursday November 17th

Tuesday December 20th

CQL Meeting Dates update

June 22nd – definitely Zoom @10.15
July 22nd – inperson 11 – 4pm
August 24th (if we want to have a meeting) – Zoom
September 23rd – probably Zoom
October 19th – probably in person
November 18th – tbc
December 14th – tbc

Japan House either 10th or 22nd June.

Meeting in each other’s houses

Please see members area for details under Programme and dates 2021.

Sit and Sew on Zoom

Monday afternoons every other week at 2.30, next meeting 7th Jun Contact Lucy if you want to join this fortnightly meeting.

Meeting dates 2021

Meetings will continue on Zoom until further notice.  Once some sort of normality returns we will resume meeting in person and at that point plan a programme of activities for these meetings.  In the meantime we will continue to meet monthly, alternating Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Christine Chester workshops will be additional to the monthly meeting dates on dates to be confirmed.

THURSDAY 21 JANUARY 2021

TUESDAY  16 FEBRUARY 2021

THURSDAY 18 MARCH 2021

TUESDAY 20 APRIL 2021

THURSDAY 20 MAY 2021

TUESDAY 22 JUNE 2021

THURSDAY 22 JULY 2021

TUESDAY 24 AUGUST 2021

THURSDAY 23 SEPTEMBER 2021

TUESDAY 19 OCTOBER 2021

TUESDAY 19 OCTOBER 202

THURSDAY 18 NOVEMBER 2021

TUESDAY 14 DECEMBER 2021

ZOOM virtual meeting

Because of the COVID 19 lock down it was decided that the group would meet virtually and on Thursday 7th May we held our first virtual meeting, which was hosted by Sarah Hibbert and chaired by Rachel Tyndall. 21 people attended and it proved to be fun and an effective way of seeing what everyone had been doing during lockdown. Below are some of the participants.

Zoom meeting 7th May 2020
Some of the participants in our first Zoom meeting: Sarah, Rachel, Rae, Viv, Annie, Linda, Nicola Sabi and Jill

Some members had been extremely busy during lockdown. Some showed collage ideas, works in progress and journal quilts, and some showed pieces nearing completion.

Below is a small gallery showing photos of some of the works that we talked about.

Our next virtual meeting will be on Thursday 4th June at 10.15am. Please see members area of the website for the joining details. https://cqlondon.org.uk/meeting-dates/

Contemporary suitcase collection

Unfortunately due to the current Corona virus this meeting has had to be postponed.

At our next meeting on Thursday 19th March, we will be looking at the quilts in the new Contemporary Suitcase collection entitled, “On the Road” . This suitcase collection was only put together at the end of last year.

The suitcase contains 55 A3 quilts. They are divided up into 8 groups with five or six quilts in each group.

The exhibits have been contributed by CQ members from first-timers to well-known professional quilters. All quilts were generously and freely offered to help raise income for CQ.

The interpretation of the theme produced a wide range of topics. These included details of drains and people along the way, through to camper-vans, maps and wide open scenery. The different types of compositions and techniques used, offer many valuable discussion points and learning
opportunities. They are rich source of inspiration.

Included in the suitcase are information sheets for each quilt giving its design inspiration as well as the media and techniques that have been used. The quilts are enriched by their background stories.

You may wish to bring your own pair of clean white gloves. Two sets of gloves are provided for each group, together with notes provided by the quilters.

Looking forward to receiving the suitcase and for us to have the opportunity to discuss and critique.

https://cqlondon.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/ON-THE-ROAD-QUILTS.pdf. This link takes you a list of the quilts contained in the suitcase, together with the name of the quilter.