September 2025 Newsletter

Hello all Happy Quilters’ of the SHQA, can you believe our amazing community is six months old on 6th September. And what a six months it has been!

Since our website went live on 9th June, our membership and followers to our community platforms have grown to over 6,000! What an achievement in just over two months.

Our ethos of Shine, Embrace & Wellbeing is transforming the quilting world, driving meaningful change, fostering inclusivity and creating a truly welcoming community.

Whether you have YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, X or even Bluesky, there is something for everyone with our variety of Social Media platforms. Plus our thriving closed Facebook group is waiting for you to join. You have received this newsletter, which means you have joined on our website, we want to personally thank you for being with us and for helping to power this incredible sea of change.             

Over the past six months, we’ve been working enthusiastically to grow our community and the results are inspiring! If you haven’t visited our website recently www.SHQA.co.uk now is the perfect time. You’ll discover amazing Suppliers in our Directory offering exclusive deals for SHQA members, talented Tutors showcasing their fabulous workshops and talks and a Quilting Groups Directory that highlights the wonderful quilting groups right in your local area.

Our Events Page is full of wonderful opportunities to connect, whether it’s special offers, stash sales, quilt shows, inspiring talks, sewing retreats, or free Zoom events. No matter where you are in the world, there’s always a way to join in and be part of our community.

Our Gallery has blossomed into a celebration of creativity, with members loving the chance to see their beautiful quilted and sewn creations showcased. We’d love to feature your work too, simply send your photos to hello@SHQA.co.uk. And if you’re a quilt group, we can host your own album in our Gallery to share your members’ wonderful creations with our community.  

June and July were an exciting whirlwind for the SHQA team as we prepared for Europe’s biggest quilt show The Festival of Quilts! We were thrilled to sponsor For the Joy of Sharing category, the second largest at the Festival with an incredible 71 quilts entered. Over two unforgettable days, we enjoyed meeting quilt entrants, recording inspiring interviews, connecting with suppliers about their amazing stands, and most importantly, sharing wonderful conversations with so many visitors. The warm welcome we received was truly heart-warming and everyone absolutely loved the rosettes and free sewing kits our team handed out.

In August, we made our way to Lucy Boston’s house in Cambridge a visit we had eagerly booked into our diaries a full year earlier. Although the SHQA was created after this booking, we knew we couldn’t miss the chance to see Lucy’s breathtaking patchworks in person. What an inspiring woman she was. It was especially meaningful for SHQA CEO & Founder Rachel, to bring along one of her own Patchwork of Crosses Quilts and capture a photo of it in Lucy’s home. A heartfelt thank you to Diana Boston for so graciously showing us around.

Our YouTube channel just keeps on growing with nearly 50 videos now live. We are loving every moment of content creation, and if you haven’t checked it out recently, grab yourself a cup of tea and follow the links below via the Thumbnails. You’ll find a wonderful mix of videos from exploring patchwork patterns aboard the Celebrity Apex Cruise ship, to uncovering why female Viking graves were far more significant than expected (a surprise video I never thought we’d make).

We also captured our visit to The Isle of Wight Sewing Studio, where we chatted with Karen about her Brother sewing machines. And met Garry, Keith and Phoebe from The World of Sewing at the Kempton Park Quilt Show.

We have some truly special videos coming soon, including the inspiring Liberty 150th Anniversary exhibition at Liberty London, and the powerful Covid Quilts curated by Richard Kenyon at The Royal Courts of Justice. And of course, all of the Festival of Quilts interviews and highlights. In the meantime, you can already catch the livestreams from Day 1 and Day 2 of the Festival. Subscribe to the channel so you don’t miss a thing.

As a fast growing Association of Quilters, we are passionate about partnering with meaningful charities, and one that is especially close to our heart is Quilts for Care Leavers (Q4CL) www.q4cl.org.uk. One of the most inspiring moments at the Festival of Quilts was interviewing Maggie from Q4CL. If you’ve followed Rachel’s journey over the past few years, you’ll know how deeply she has supported this wonderful charity. Now, through the SHQA, we’re thrilled to be sponsoring stands for Q4CL at major UK quilt shows helping Maggie and her incredible team share their mission with quilters nationwide. We’re truly honoured to play a part in amplifying their work. In addition, the SHQA team will be hosting free online Q4CL Charity Sewing Days via Zoom, check our events page for dates and register to join us in supporting this amazing cause.  

We are also thrilled to be collaborating with another wonderful charity From Me to You Letters www.frommetoyouletters.co.uk. This incredible organisation sends handwritten letters to people undergoing cancer treatment, and places them in hospital waiting rooms where they can be discovered and chosen.

In 2024 they sent out 13,500 letters. Each one included a couple of tea bags so that recipients could enjoy a comforting cup of tea while reading their note of kindness. That sparked an idea! What if those letters could also include a handmade quilted cup mat, stitched with love by our community.

Calling the SHQA Community to action!

We’re inviting you to create 4–5 inch square cup mats as many as you like, and send them to us directly. We’ll keep a record of every mat made and passed along to the charity. You can even add your name or a short encouraging message if you wish. Each cup mat will then be finished by us with one of our ‘Shine, Embrace, Wellbeing’ labels, so the recipient knows that the quilting community of the SHQA is standing with them providing warmth, encouragement and support.

Please email hello@shqa.co.uk for address details when you have some ready to be posted.  

We’ve got some truly exciting milestones ahead!

Keep your eyes peeled for our “Sew September” campaign launching across our socials! To celebrate National Sewing Month and our incredible 6 month birthday we’ll be filling your feeds with inspiration and creativity. September is about to get seriously stitch-tacular!

Doncaster Quilt Show – 3rd – 5th October 2025
We’re thrilled to be sponsoring the Beginner’s Category at this year’s show, run by Grosvenor Shows. Even more exciting, we are soon visiting The World of Sewing in Tunbridge Wells to purchase the sewing machine that will be awarded as the prize!  

Christmas Advent Calendar Launch – 1st October 2025
Our Advent Calendar arrives in our online shop this October. Priced at £75, each calendar includes 25 fabulous sewing surprises from fabrics, patterns, and notions to four very special Golden Tickets tucked away at random. All orders will be dispatched by 1st November, ready for that magical December countdown. Limited to 50.  

SHQA Sewing Retreat – 14th – 16th November 2025
We’re hosting our very first sewing retreat at The Felbridge Hotel, East Grinstead. It’s set to be an unforgettable long weekend filled with quilting, pop-up shops, workshops, talks, delicious food and even a spa. The retreat is £499 for a two night stay with three full days of sewing. Spaces are limited, but we still have a few available, plus a pre-event WhatsApp group to connect with fellow quilters before the fun begins!

SHQA Quilt Show – 5th – 6th September 2026
Mark your diaries now this is set to be our biggest event yet! Held at Brighton Racecourse, the show will feature two huge event halls with inspiring quilt displays, charity partners, top names from the quilting world, and plenty of shopping opportunities. With free, accessible parking and tickets already available on our Events page, it’s shaping up to be an amazing weekend. If you’re a supplier interested in exhibiting, or part of a quilt group keen to showcase your work, we’d love to hear from you at hello@shqa.co.uk

Sasha Fancy – Facebook: Sashasews123 - Spend £25+ and get a FREE Limited Edition Prym tote bag!

SewEzi Sewing Tables – Website: quiltersquest.co.uk
Enjoy FREE delivery on Clare’s fantastic sewing tables.
Watch our YouTube interview HERE to see them in action.

Lady Sew and Sew – Website: ladysewandsew.co.uk
Explore brilliant September workshops on their website under “Classes” including… Jennie Rayment: Hexagon Happenings & Anita Birtles: Bag Making Masterclass

Netty Made – Website: numonday.com/shop/netty-made
SHQA members get 50% OFF Manx Log Cabin instructions with code NM50

World of Sewing – Website: worldofsewing.com
Try your luck with Lucky Dip: 10 x Fat Quarters for just £10!
Watch our YouTube chat with Garry, Keith & Phoebe HERE

IQuilt Studio – Website: iquilt.studio - 25% OFF Everything (excl. 2025 fabrics) with code SHQA25(until 30 Sept 2025) 25% OFF Longarm services with code SHQA25 (until 31 Aug 2026)  

London Textile Month – Website: selvage.org
All through September get involved and dive in.

Stash Sale for Alzheimer’s Society
13th September | Grange Lane, London
Find more details on our events page HERE“

All Stitched Up” Exhibition – New Embroidery Group
16–28 September | Oxmarket Contemporary, Chichester
Find more details on our events page HERE

Live Stream: SHQA CEO’s Favourite Sewing Gadgets
23rd September | 7pm  

Get ready! We are absolutely thrilled to announce that our exclusive Membership Cards are officially launching! They'll be winging their way in the post to you very soon.